A Few Hours Before the Giovanni Manor Assault

California | USA

Predator Machine

The machine sat in an old café. The blazing heat outside was troublesome to its coolant components. While it was more than capable of overcoming such concerns of flesh, discretion would be the better part of valor. The Maleficarum was more capable than what the machine or its creators gave them credit for. It summarized that the mages of this time were more prone to paranoid security measures than the ones they had fought in the future. Their own world war had them more cunning. The aerial drone that had been trailing Sirius Black and Viktor Epcott had lost track of them after they had disappeared into a building.

The machine had spied on their earlier conversation and anticipated some action developing in California, America. Normally, such vague leads would be ignored in favor of being closer to Hogwarts's proximity and tracking down Potter look alike. Unfortunately, that presents quite a predicament. Just because they were acting back in time didn't mean that the mages wouldn't be making their own moves. No doubt, Harry Potter had told them enough about enough about the Technocratic Union for them to figure out their Achilles heel. The machine's strategic algorithms churned out a dozen battle plans and contingencies for acting first and mounting an assault on Hogwarts itself.

Action denied. Initiate paradigm shift. Alpha target is shifted. Initiate Helios initiative.

If the machine were a human, it would have grumbled about this. Instead, the machine instantly updated its software and went to work.

"Yeah, I got the picture of the month right here with me, boss!" A man yelled nearby on a paid phone. He vigorously shook the photograph in the air as if trying to showcase it to the man through the primitive tech of this time.

"Yeah yeah, they threatened me a lot about not publishing it. They even took the main picture." The man said. "But the old Chuck Chadwick double sweep worked perfectly! Those two shmucks never figured I had a copy."

A muffled electronic voice from the other end indicated something being said to "Chadwick". Chuck waved the picture around in the air once again and that got the machine's attention. Its bionic eyes immediately zoomed in on the picture and filtered through the memories. Its programming raised alerts all over its mind. These two were there when the other Potter had been cornered by it. If they were here, it confirmed that the Potters were involved and posed a direct threat to Helios. In turn, they were an existential threat to the Union. Once the reasoning was established, the parameters were immediately met, and the machine went into action. Civilian casualties were not a concern anymore. The machine advanced over to the man, grabbed his phone, and immediately cut the call off.

"Hey pal, you drunk or something?" The man angrily said to the machine. The machine loomed over the short man and glared at him. The machine grabbed him by the throat and discreetly dragged him away to the restrooms.

Giovanni Manor Yards

Predator Machine

The venomous plants sprouted by Harry were now sated. They have had a mighty feast comprising vampires, zombies, and human flesh. That was more than some of their kin had in their entire lives. Now the plants gently swayed in the summer evening as if they were palm trees on a beach. Unfortunately, their siesta was not to last. A small rattling sound echoed through the yard, and it was as if the trees themselves screeched in pain.

The rattling was followed by staccato bursts of gunfire that tore through the serene atmosphere, reverberating with a deafening intensity that sent shockwaves through the air. The machine observed the grim surroundings with a human-like grimace. The probability of the success of the Helios initiative looked drastically small in the face of such carnage. Still, it resolutely marched through the macabre surroundings. A few of the monstrous plants lunged at him but they weren't expecting titanium skeleton with synthetic muscle to easily rip them to shreds. A few drones sped ahead of him to scout the manor's vast yards and the insides. The machine's inbuilt sensors were detecting high buildups of dark energy within the manor. The wizards were clearly out here in force to eliminate Helios. His interrogation of the photographer, Chuck Chadwick, had revealed a lot about the area. His investigations had led to the conclusion that something big was about to happen at Giovanni Manor. The pictures of the warehouse alongside guard details he had found at the beach house had led him here. Numerous mind-altering magic had tried to waylay him but switching alternate CPU cores had allowed him to focus for long enough to photograph the plans with his optics. The machine's programming responded appropriately to the scenario and flooded the muscle with vigor chemicals.

It hastened its pace through the manor. A decrypt old life form, which the CPU processed to be a vampire was eagerly lapping the blood of a young man snarled at him as he approached. The creature was rewarded with a stream of thermobaric rounds to the face. It immediately disintegrated under the forceful impact of the bullets.

The Carnage

He couldn't help but giggle as he stared at his coat and tie. The coat's shiny buttons gleamed magnificently in the shining lights. For years he had whined and pleaded with his parents to take him to one of their grown-up parties. They had sternly refused him. They argued that such events were boring and soul-crushing, filled with people offering fake greetings and charm.

But how could it be?

He had seen the lights of such places from outside the houses. The music, the laughter, the lighting, and the oh-so-pretty girls – how could something so beautiful be so boring? The boy always suspected deep down that his parents were being mean and didn't want him to have fun with them. Finally, when they had accepted his annoying requests, he felt like a first-prize winner. That entire thrill had lasted for a whole 30 minutes before the gates of hell had opened. Creatures that he and his cousins had only read about in spooky Halloween books had attacked the party. At first, he thought it to be a silly prank but when the creatures ripped throats and limbs apart, it stopped being funny.

He stood transfixed; his pre-pubescent mind was unable to comprehend the sheer horrors that were occurring all around him. One of the creatures had thrown itself at his father a while back and his mother had tried to fight it off him. He had lost both to the ensuing panic of people trying to get out of the manor.

Amidst the carnage, a young woman, her red party dress splattered with crimson, noticed the boy's frozen form amidst the mayhem. Without a second thought, she darted towards him, her swift movements guided by an instinct to protect the innocent amidst the carnage. With a firm grip, she pulled the trembling boy along, navigating through the maze of corridors and rooms, seeking refuge from the relentless onslaught outside. Finally finding sanctuary within the confines of a lavishly adorned bathroom, the woman gently guided the boy to a corner, her soothing voice a balm to his shattered nerves. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe now," she murmured, her words laced with a quiet resolve as she gathered him close.

As the boy's sobs gradually subsided, the woman's gaze softened, her eyes searching his face for a flicker of reassurance. "What's your name, sweetheart?" she asked gently, her voice a beacon of solace amid the unrelenting turmoil. That prompted the boy to hush and think to come up with a reply. She used the silence to press her ear to the door, listening desperately for any sign of a rescue effort.

A very strange mechanical voice from outside the door stated, "Alpha target located. Proceeding to secure." The woman's eyes widened in horror as she recognized the fact that the man outside was about to come in. She didn't quite hear as the boy gathered his wits and introduced himself.

With a quiver in his voice, he managed to whisper, "m—mI -Michael, miss. I'm Michael Roko."

Giovanni Manor

A bullet ricocheted off their shield as Morrigan glared down hard at Harry.

"I have been betrayed by you Potters for the last time." She snarled.

"What the hell?!" Harry shouted back and fired a stunner at a leaping vampire, sending him sprawling onto a shelf.

"This has your fingerprints written all over it, boy," Morrigan said. "This is the exact same playbook you used against me in Hogwarts."

"A bit more focus on staying alive. A bit less blaming" Harry said and vigorously shook a potion bottle and lobbed it over the side where a few vampires had cornered an eclipse witch. The bottle broke on impact and a torrent of flame consumed the area, sparing the witch who was under Morrigan's shield.

"Oh, trust me, Potter," Morrigan said and transfigured nearby bookshelves into flaming arrows and launched them all over the room. Several figures, vampires, and mages alike dodged to avoid being skewered. "I absolutely intend to live through this. Only if it is to flay Charlus."

"Oi! Avoid collateral maybe?!" Harry admonished.

"Fuck off." Morrigan shot back.

She is pissed now. Harry thought and desperately tried to think of an escape here. Before he could think, Harry stiffened under the pain of a mental assault. Some leeches here were trying to mount a mental assault on them. Harry could see it was affecting Morrigan as well as she began to look even more unhinged. She waved her wand in a broad arc and the marble tiles ripped themselves from the floor.

The room stilled in horror and awe as they witnessed Morrigan stand with her hand wide open in the air. At least 30,000 KG of marble ripped itself from beneath their floor and silently levitated in the air. Many of the combatants lost their balance and fell.

"Morrigan…" Harry warned but she was beyond the point of caring now. She brought her hands together in a massive clap and Harry futilely raised his hands to protect himself. A massive booming sound went off in the room as marble crashed into marble and spread across the room like shrapnel.

"CHARLUS!" Harry screamed as he lost sight of the wizard amidst the thick plume of crashing marble. A deafening quiet filled the room as if time and space itself were reeling back from the mighty magical feat. It was as if a muggle bomb had gone off inside the room, pain filled groans filled the air alongside dust. The wreckage was painted with the blood of dead and undead alike. He spotted Morrigan on the floor keeping herself upright by leaning on her knees.

"Charlus!" Harry called out again amongst the wreckage, not wanting to risk leaving Morrigan's protective shield.

"He is fine," Morrigan said in a hushed voice. She pointed behind her shoulder and Harry's gaped in shock at Charlus lying behind them. "Stop gaping like a baby and get him up!"

That was enough to break Harry from his reverie as he rushed towards Charlus and pushed a Pepper Up potion down his throat. The boy was obviously whiplashed by Morrigan pulling him back into the shield at the last second. With a wave of her wand, Morrigan summoned his satchel and drank one of the potions herself.

"Thanks for the equal attention. Its not like I saved your lives." Morrigan said. "But I suppose you lot have to stick together, no?"

Harry grimaced, "Not the time, Morrigan. Also, we had a deal."

A silence followed as the trio recovered their breath. Harry leaned Charlus against a collapsed pillar and went to check up on Morrigan who angrily waved him away. Harry sighed and sat opposite her as they tried to brainstorm their next moves.

"He saved us. If he hadn't called those people, we would have been dead." Harry said and Morrigan angrily glared at him.

"If he hadn't stupidly caused an explosion in the middle, our portkey wouldn't have broken. We would have been far away." Morrigan spat. "Besides, he didn't deign to inform us about these people. We could have used them earlier!"

The dust seemed to be settling as more and more light rays pierced through the cloud.

"Explosion in the middle?!" Harry said. "If you hadn't turned the entire ground upside down, those people wouldn't be dead in the pile! They were our allies!"

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that? Forgive me, unlike some, I am not intimately aware of the Potter family dynamics." Morrigan said. "What if they were Americans coming to haul us off to prison?"

Charlus groaned groggily as he tried to come to.

"Shouldn't you know who these people are? More hidden Potters perhaps?" Morrigan said. "It's certainly not impossible. Women in your family do have trouble keeping their skirts closed."

"Careful." Harry glared at Morrigan, and she didn't bother replying.

"We need to proceed," Harry said after a while. "I don't see the leading man or witch amongst the rubble. They could still be about."

"No, I am done for the day," Morrigan said to Harry's shock.

"What about Dumbledore?!" Harry yelled. "He is still stuck in the other room!"

"Not my concern anymore. Our deal was my silence in return for your talents in thievery." Morrigan got up. "Perhaps Harry Potter can ask Charlus Potter for assistance? Blood is thicker than water after all."

"Damn it, Morrigan!" Harry yelled as she simply walked outside without a word. Harry got up and began to desperately look for survivors amongst the rubble. He levitated a fallen wall and saw a man lightly breathing. He had a few scratches on him but otherwise looked okay. Harry spied the strange symbol on his neck that others from Charlus's squad had worn.

This is better work. Harry thought as he pointed his wand at the man.

"Ennervate!" Harry chanted and the man gasped as if returning to life. Harry was not prepared for the man's reflexes as he quickly grabbed Harry by the neck and slammed him down into the ground. The man aimed his wand at his eye, ready to end it all in an instant before a voice distracted him.

"Lord Black!" Charlus said. "He's with us!"

Sirius looked at Charlus and then back down at Harry, he still didn't remove the wand from his face. Rather, Sirius stared down hard at him.

"You have no idea of what you have done, do you, boy?" Sirius said in a deathly calm voice.

"I am here to save Albus Dumbledore." Harry spat out. "And I just saved your life from a very grizzly fate. With respect, Lord Black, do you know what you are doing?"

"It's true. We fought like hell to get here." Charlus said and Sirius silenced with an angry glare.

"Now Dumbledore is in the other room, I am going in there to get him. Either you can join in or piss off." Harry spat. Sirius relented and got up leaving Harry free to breathe. Charlus helped Harry up and dusted him off.

"Ennervate." Sirius pointed at another man, and he groggily returned to consciousness. "Viktor. Get up. Songbird was right. He is here."

"I feel like I got kicked by a centaur," The man said as he groggily got back up.

"No, the kid's friend nearly crushed us to death with floating marble," Sirius said and glared at Harry.

"Speaking of which, where is she?" Sirius asked. "I want to have a small chat with her."

"No clue." Harry coolly said. "And just a word of advice, I would avoid pulling any of that attitude with her. It can be unhealthy."

"Young man, it can be unhealthy to speak to a lord this way. Especially to one of the sacred twenty-eight." Sirius said.

"And how's that working out for you lately, Lord Black?" Harry said. "One would have hoped seeing Grindelwald upfront would have humbled you."

"You have a point behind all this, boy?" Sirius said.

"It's simple, titles only work if enough people give a damn about them," Harry said. "Strength is wholly yours."

Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but Charlus interrupted them. "Gentlemen please, this entire place is coming down on us. Let's grab Dumbledore and go!"

Sirius stared at him for a while before relenting. The trio was made to revive whoever was left alive of their team and then departed to rescue Dumbledore from the ritual room.

The Cage

The group burst into the room with wands ablaze, with the entire manor on fire, stealth was a secondary concern. Harry and Charlus stood awkwardly in the entrance of the hall while the trained troopers quickly got into patterns and searched every nook and cranny of the house.

"That's…. impressive footwork," Harry said looking at the ECLIPSE troops securing the room. Charlus muttered in agreement.

Dumbledore lay in the middle of the room, unbothered by the new entrants inside the ritual chamber. He sat in a meditative stance, focusing all attention on maintaining the protective shield around him. Sirius and Viktor resolutely marched up to Dumbledore and started diagnosing the shield around them.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Charlus," Harry said as the two got to work on Dumbledore.

"Why? We are almost there." Charlus said.

"Neither Kendra nor the other man were in the rubble," Harry said. "They could still be out there. The time we spent arguing, they could have used to mount on another assault here."

"Maybe they decided to call it a day and go home? We did kill a lot of those buggers." Charlus said. "Go home and count their losses."

"And leave Dumbledore behind? How often are you lucky enough to catch Dumbledore?" Harry said and Charlus frowned.

"Let's stay on our guard then," Charlus said.

The two wizards were still working on Dumbledore's shield trying to break the man out of his reverie. Judging by their facial expressions, they were no closer to breaking the shield than the vampires were. Harry snorted, despite their gung-ho bravado, the men had no idea what this was about. He ignored Charlus's warning and marched straight up to where Dumbledore was sitting. Sirius stared at him in annoyance and raised his wand in warning, but Harry ignored him.

"Stuff it old man, I am his apprentice. The only one." Harry harshly said. "So, mind it!"

Viktor walked over to Sirius to calm the man down while Harry looked over the shield. He looked over the shield. He cast a few diagnostic spells that didn't reveal anything amiss. Harry even cast his own special Lumos but that had yielded nothing.

Odd. Harry thought as he saw Dumbledore's clutched hands. An odd gleaming rock was inside Dumbledore's hands. Harry leaned in and tried to make out the inscription. He could swear he had read these words somewhere before, a long time ago. It took him before the images flooded his mind.

"Fawkes's Pedestal!" Harry gasped out.

"You have something, Harry?" Viktor said from behind them.

"The metal thing in his hand." Harry pointed out "It has inscriptions on it that I remember reading on the pedestal at his familiar's office?"

"Harry," Viktor said gently. "I don't think I see anything there. Are you sure?"

"What are you babbling about?" Sirius annoyedly said. "Grindelwald's people could be here anytime!"

Harry resisted the urge to snap back at the cranky git but swallowed his rage. Taking a deep breath, he recited the words, and a bright flash filled the room. The men dove for cover expecting a surprise attack but were instantly filled with calm. A soft trill filled the room as the phoenix circled above the room and landed near the shield. The men watched in shock as the bird touched the shield with its beak and instantly vanished it. Dumbledore let out a pain-filled gasp and collapsed to the floor.

Viktor and Sirius ignored everything and rushed towards Dumbledore to help him up. Dumbledore appeared to regain a semblance of consciousness as the phoenix flew to his shoulder and cried on his wounds. Harry ignored the touching moment between the familiar and its master.

He was more focused on the weird emanating from somewhere above. It was akin to muggle firearms but sounded deeper and more furious. Harry's eyes widened in horror and Charlus looked over curiously at him. He had heard such sounds once, in another Hogwarts a lifetime ago.

"He is here," Harry whispered and Charlus narrowed his eyes.

Charlus kneeled in front of him, "Mate, everything ok?" but Harry ignored him.

"Damned Merlin. He is above. Right where Morrigan was headed to." Harry gritted.

Suddenly the room's lights started to grow dimmer and the shadows lengthened. Both Harry and Charlus exchanged a look, they had seen this before.

"Vampires!" Charlus roared and the room immediately jumped into action. Several vampires jumped out from the shadows of the room onto the combatting wizards. Sirius and Viktor formed a protective circle around Dumbledore and conjured shields to guard themselves. Harry looked over Charlus who was looking worse for wear from the earlier action in the library.

He once again glanced towards the door that led to the upper hallways. Hallways, where Morrigan was in Merlin, knows what shape. He then turned towards Charlus who was becoming surrounded by a vampire kill squad. Harry winced as a vampire lunged at them but was thrown away by a flaming arrow lunged into his heart, courtesy of an ECLIPSE trooper. Harry looked at Charlus to gain his attention, his mind made up.

"Charlus, listen to me!" Harry yelled over the sound of the duels. "ECLIPSE can take care of itself, and the Phoenix has taken away Dumbledore. It will soon be back to apparate them away. You need to leave now! You are in no position to fight!"

"Then let's get the hell out of here!" Charlus shouted. "What are you waiting for?!"

"I can't! The thing that attacked you is here! Morrigan is still missing! I need to find her!" Harry yelled back.

If looks could kill, Charlus's glare at Harry would have killed him then and there.

"Forget that bitch! How many times do I have to tell you?! She feels nothing for you!" Charlus shouted. "You think you are the first rube she used to get something she wants?!"

Harry paused amidst the combat. A vision of a warning regarding another Tom Riddle flashed in his mind. He too used people to get what he wanted and then disposed of them. Harry shook his head. There was no use arguing with Charlus right here. He took his pair of the emergency apparition ring that Morrigan had forged and tossed it to Charles. It would take him back to the orphanage in Britain. From there, Harry trusted the man to navigate his way to the safety of his family estate. Charlus's eyes widened as he recognized the device for what it was.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake. Not again! Harry! - "His tirade was interrupted as the portkey took him out of here. Harry pulled out his bracelet, placed it on his wrist, and went invisible. ECLIPSE must take care of itself and figure out a way out of here.

He had a friend to save.

Author Notes:

An early treat for y'all. Read and Enjoy. Have a great day ahead!

P.S: Don't forget to review! :)