Harry Potter and the Last Dragonborn
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Chapter 2: A Sirius Matter
Triss looked at Dumbledore calmly as he finished telling her and the Dragonborn the sordid past of Tom Riddle also known as Lord Voldemort.
"So, this Tom Riddle, knowingly made these Horcruxes, in a made bid for immortality and when he learnt of a prophecy that foretold his downfall, he hunted the child, Harry, destined to defeat him. Is that about right?" the redhead sorceress asked pointedly.
"In essence, yes," replied Dumbeldore.
Triss frowned deeply and spoke. "How many of these horcruxes did Riddle make?"
"I have my suspicions, which I would need to confirm," Dumbledore said looking very much like an old man with the weight of the world bearing down on him. "Least of all how to…" he faltered.
"How to what?" prompted the Dragonborn.
Dumbledore was silent for a moment before speaking. "Horcruxes are not limited to non-living objects. Living beings such as animals and even people can also be used," he said reluctantly.
The Dragonborn looked at the headmaster silently before he spoke. "You know who Riddle made into a horcrux, don't you?" he asked although his words came more as a statement than a question.
"Yes, but I have been trying to find a way to remove the soul shard from him," Dumbledore admitted. "I have been trying to find a way for many years, as a means to save him and my very soul," he said with tears pricking his eyes as a frustration flickered in them.
"What ways have you found?" Triss asked, her voice becoming softer more gentle and concerned.
"All my research has shown that the only way a horcrux can be removed from a living host is the host themselves to die," the headmaster replied.
"The boy, Harry, is a horcrux, isn't he?" the Dragonborn asked calmly.
"…Yes," came the sad reluctant words from Albus.
Triss put a hand to her chin in thought before nodding. "I believe I can help you, and perhaps save Harry's life," she then said to Albus calmly.
"…How?" came the soft question from Dumbledore.
"From what I gathered of our conversation, there's no magic you've found that will ensure Harry's survival to remove the horcrux, yes?" Dumbledore nodded reluctantly. "What about magic from other worlds? Mine in particular," Triss offered.
"Your world?" Dumbledore said, daring to hope that there was a way to save Harry and his own soul from damnation.
Triss raised a manicured hand and a ball of flickering orange red flames appeared in her hands. "I am a sorceress trained at Aretuza. I know of magic that would make the mages of this world green with envy," she said with a proud look in her emerald eyes. "And I am certain I can save Harry Potter's life," she promised.
"And I will endeavour to help as well. I can certainly help with tracking down these horcruxes," the Dragonborn offered.
"Do you both swear it?" Dumbledore asked almost pleadingly.
"Aye," came the response from the warrior who then took off his helmet revealing his face to Dumbledore and Triss.
Pale almost ivory skin lined with scars, short-cut silver-blonde almost white hair, deep purple almost dark blue eyes and a close-cropped beard of silver bristles was shown to the other occupants of the room. But what surprised Dumbledore and Triss was that the warrior barely looked older than twenty years old at best. The look in his eyes however showed the look of someone who had seen and done much in a very short amount of time.
"We will help you deal with this Voldemort, I swear it," came the solemn promise from the Dragonborn.
Tears then leaked from Dumbledore's eyes and trickled down his cheeks and into his beard. "Thank you," was all he said.
"Right! Let's get on with this, shall we?" Triss said in a brisk tone. "I'll need to see Harry first, then I'll need somewhere safe and convenient where I can perform the ritual I need to cleanse him," she rattled off.
"Harry is in the Hospital Wing right now," Dumbledore informed them. "Moody is about to check on the security," he then said.
"You're letting him check the security?!" Triss yelped in alarm. "He's an impostor!" she cried out.
"Pardon?" Dumbledore asked dumbly.
The Dragonborn was already rushing out of the office and leapt down the spiral staircase as Triss scrambled after him. Now suddenly realising that in hindsight that someone was masquerading as his old friend, Dumbledore ran after the warrior and the sorceress now afraid for his life.
…
Barty Crouch Junior, in his Polyjuice disguise as ex-Auror Mad-Eye Moody, limped down the hall, the false leg clunking with each step. To say that he was nervous was an understatement; the plan had gone to, for lack of a better term, shit. Those strangers, the muggle knight and the redhaired bint, had completely ruined his master's plan to come back to power. The Dark Lord had arisen for a brief moment, only to be cut down moments later. And if the way the ginger bitch had looked at him, Barty knew he only had moments to fix the mess before he was found out.
Nearing the Hospital Wing, Barty saw the two Aurors stationed at the doors. Making sure to keep his Mad-Eye act going, Barty limped up to them and spoke, "Lads. Here to check on the security for Potter," he told them.
"You sure about that, Mad-Eye?" the first Auror asked. "We've got all handled," he then said.
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Barty roared out in Moody's voice, the real Moody would do no less. The two aurors winced at the sudden noise.
"Alright, keep yer shirt on, Mad-Eye, ya paranoid coot," the second auror grumbled as he prepared to open the door to the hospital wing.
With a nod of thanks, Barty prepared to enter the Hospital Wing when a voice shouted him.
"Halt!" Barty whipped his head to see the Muggle knight sprinting towards at him at a speed which would be impossible for someone wearing such heavy looking armour. "Stop him! He's an impostor!" the muggle knight bellowed.
The two aurors raised their brows in alarm. Acting quickly, Barty pulled out his wand and cast a stunner at the closest auror to him. Barty then cast a bodybind on the other auror before trying to make a dash into the hospital wing to kill Potter.
Then there was a wet schlicking sound as something dark and smoky blurred past Barty's field of view. It was a full five seconds before the Death Eater realised that the hand that held Moody's wands was severed at the elbow. A strangled cry of agony escaped Junior's throat as the weight of what happened hit him like an avalanche, but before he could do something to stop the torrent of blood that gushed out like a fountain from the stump where his forearm used to be, a dark armoured fist collided with Barty's jaw and his world went black.
The Dragonborn looked at his now unconscious quarry. It was clear that this impostor, whomever it was beneath the disguise, was in league with Tom Riddle and aimed to finish off Harry Potter while he was vulnerable.
Triss came jogging up followed by Dumbledore. "You got him!" the sorceress panted in relief.
Dumbledore pulled out his wand cast a charm. Almost immediately, the Faux-Moody's appearance changed shaped to someone much younger entirely. Moody's magical false eye and wooden leg popped out as the impostor's real ocularly and limb grew back in place of the fakes. And lying unconscious in a growing pool of blood was Barty Crouch Junior.
"Barty Crouch Junior!" Dumbledore breathed, his expression grave.
"You know him?" Triss looked at the aged wizard who nodded grimly.
"Barty Crouch Senior's son. Tried and sentenced Azkaban for torturing the Longbottoms and being a convicted Death Eater."
The Dragonborn then raised his palm which flared with flames. A jet of flame shot onto the haemorrhaging limb, cauterising it. Barty's body shook from the pain though he did not wake from his near comatose state.
"Seems like he was going to try and finish off Harry. Lucky I knew that he was disguised as this Mad-Eye person," Triss remarked. "Is he a Doppler?" she then asked.
"A what?" Dumbledore asked nonplussed by the term Triss had used.
"A shapeshifter," Triss clarified.
"If you mean a Metamorphagus, then no, I suspect Barty Jr. was using Polyjuice potion," replied Dumbledore. "Severus reported that certain ingredients have been missing from his stores for some time now, although he pinned the blame on Harry and his friends," he explained.
"Polyjuice potion?" Triss repeated the name of elixir. "I'll need to look that up," she murmured to herself. "In any case, it's a stroke of luck we caught this would-be assassin before he could get near Harry, though it was close mind you," she said in relief.
The Dragonborn pulled out some rope his satchel and was already tying the unconscious Barty up. "Is there a holding cell we can put this filth in?" the warrior asked Dumbledore.
"Follow me. I think we will need to check Moody's office. I have a suspicion where the real Moody may be," said the old wizard as he cast a couple of charms on the two downed Aurors who thanked the Dragonborn for his quick actions.
It was then a march to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor's office where Dumbledore cast a spell on Moody's multi-level magical chest where down in a deep pit was an semi-conscious Mad-Eye Moody who was very weak and grateful to be rescued from his predicament.
After retrieving the authentic Moody from his prison, Barty Crouch Jr. was unceremoniously dumped in the pit and Moody was then taken to the Hospital Wing to be tended to by Madam Pomfrey.
Dumbledore exhaled in relief, now wishing he had that pint of Firewhiskey in his hand. It had been a long day now and some strong booze followed by a good night's sleep would be very welcome right now.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! Second chapter of this is done and dusted! I know it's a fairly short chapter, but at least I'm trying to keep this idea going. Hopefully the next chapter will be a little longer with some interaction between Harry and his saviours who have now saved him a second time from the Faux-Moody/Barty Crouch Jr. and perhaps catching a nosy reporter. Regarding that nosy reporter, I think a lot of people wouldn't mind if Rita was squashed in her beetle form and no-one noticed that she's 'disappeared' and some people who have been under her poison pen would be glad that she's dropped off the face of the earth.
But apart from that idea, some other ideas for this story would be Triss and the Dragonborn tracking down Slughorn and pressing him for information on what he knows of Tom Riddle's antics during his formative years. It would be very hard, but the Dragonborn will certainly prove 'persausive' so to speak and 'convince' Slughorn to confess what he knows.
And there will be some noise from the likes of Umbridge who may demand that the Dragonborn and Triss be arrested for murdering upstanding wizards of magical society. And of course, you can guess what might happen if Umbridge or any of her lackeys even try to arrest the Dragonborn, much less Triss; A whole freaking bloodbath, ending with the Umbitch being drawn and quartered by the Dragonborn's sword.
Of course, that bit might not actually happen, but it's fun to think about and I imagine a lot of you wouldn't complain if it LOL.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say about this chapter. In other news I've made the first ever Starfield crossover fanfiction, an Elder Scrolls/Starfield crossover in which the Dragonborn and Triss from the Witcher end up in the Starfield universe. I've only done one chapter to test the waters, so feel free to have a read of it and let me know what you think of it. I'd appreciate some feedback on it.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.