Chapter 25. Chariot of Fatality
"Listen, I've been wanting to ask you for a while," Harry asked Jeanne as they returned to the Gryffindor common room. "When you talk about the scream of the soul and all that, what happens in that moment?"
"I want to burn my enemy at the stake," Jeanne replied.
"Wait. Did you also want to burn Voldemort?"
She nodded in agreement, but Harry remained puzzled.
"So how does it work?"
"Have you never read about Servants?" Jeanne asked. "It's my Noble Phantasm, a very powerful ability."
"How powerful?"
"It can guarantee the destruction of most enemies."
Harry paused for a second.
"Is there a Servant with even greater Phantasm power?"
"There are Servants capable of conceptually damaging the world," Jeanne replied.
Harry felt uncomfortable hearing those words.
"Is there any way to summon a Servant for assistance?"
"Yes. The person who summons a Servant enters into a binding contract and from that moment on, the Servant is obligated to carry out all orders of its master."
"Even if the master is Voldemort?"
"The identity of the master is irrelevant to the Servant."
Harry stopped and sat on the steps. Jeanne climbed a couple of steps higher and looked back at him. For a few seconds, Harry sat there, holding his head. He felt that after such news, he wouldn't be able to sleep properly for a long time. Thoughts immediately began to swarm in his mind.
"Jeanne, is summoning a Servant very difficult?"
"You'll find out someday, if you want to," she replied with a self-satisfied smile.
"Can Voldemort handle it?"
"Easily, if he gets the assistance of a Servant like Gilgamesh or Merlin."
"Why?"
"Gilgamesh has everything, even the artifacts necessary for summoning any Servants, and Merlin can help with the summoning."
"Artifacts?"
"Any item associated with the Servant – an object they used in life, fragments of their remains, or something else."
Harry looked up and glanced at Jeanne.
"And the Holy Grail, can it bestow magic on non-magical people?"
"It can do anything."
Harry pondered. If he had the Grail, he would wish to bring his parents back to life and live his life surrounded by their love and care. He really wanted to imagine how he would go to work at the Ministry with his parents in the morning, how they would return home in the evening, where a house elf would have already prepared a meal, and how Sirius and Lupin, and maybe even Tail, who never betrayed the Potters, would come to celebrate his birthday. His nose began to catch the scents of a delicious home-cooked dinner, and a vision of a happy family appeared before his eyes. Tears welled up in his eyes from such a surge of fantasies. Jeanne did not react to his emotions – such things were foreign to her. She stood nearby and silently watched him, trying to mentally penetrate the secret meaning of what was happening.
"What would you wish for if you had the Grail?" he asked her, turning his face towards her.
- The death of all pitiful people, of course - she replied without hesitation.
- So how are you better than Voldemort?
- I don't divide people into the right ones and the wrong ones - she shrugged.
In response, Harry just laughed bitterly, staring at his shoes.
- You're not much better than him.
Jeanne approached him and sat next to him. Then, looking into his eyes, she asked.
- Will you teach me to value people?
- Everyone, except Voldemort - Harry quickly turned away, as he couldn't look into her amber eyes for long. Every time he looked into them, he envisioned the horrors of the alternative Hundred Years War, and the image of Jeanne, striking down everyone indiscriminately. In these visions, she appeared as a terrifying shadow, whose movement was completely uncharacteristic of a human, but rather resembled some infernal beings. Even the geometry of space in these visions lost its obedience to the laws of Euclid. Distorted bodies of the dead lay among the ruins of villages and cities. They all, without exception, looked into Harry's soul with black eye sockets and silently warned him not to stand in the way of the cruel avenger in black armor. But now, his fear of this infernal figure was accompanied by something else, and he couldn't fully explain the nature of his feelings. He remembered her peaceful face, as it appeared to him in the cemetery where Voldemort's father was buried, and since that night he has been trying to understand what Jeanne felt then.
- And Umbridge?
- Up to you.
When they entered the Gryffindor living room, Harry met Ron and Hermione there. They were prepared to scold them, but from the faces of those who entered, they understood that it wasn't necessary.
- What did McGonagall say to you? - Ron asked.
- She didn't object - Harry dryly replied. - And she didn't scold us, but punishment for Ambidge is mandatory. Now, five days this week at five in the evening, we will go to her.
- What a wretch! - Ron exclaimed. - And it's just before the Quidditch team tryouts!
- I know that - Harry grumbled discontentedly. - Angelina will kill me for this.
- Maybe you should talk to this Ambidge? Tell her that the Dark Lord is just a nightmare for you - Dudley suggested.
- Yeah, right! - Hermione answered. - She has a special grudge against him!
- How do you know that? - Dudley was puzzled.
- Because of this! - Hermione threw a bundle of newspapers on the table.
Taking them in his hands, Harry immediately read a few eye-catching headlines. His name wasn't mentioned in them and there was no mention of Voldemort, but they all had one common theme - inexplicable and mysterious events of the past summer. Harry sat on the couch in the living room and began to read them.
At present, the official investigation into the crash of the A320 Airbus, which occurred on the night of June 24-25, is complete. Many wizards were not satisfied with its results and question the Ministry's point of view. The Minister of Magic stated that he sees nothing in what happened other than an accident.
- Well, well… - Harry smirked thoughtfully. - An accident.
- An accident that only the lazy didn't see - Jeanne smiled, peeking over his shoulder.
- My father told me that Fudge agreed to take your side - Ron muttered. - We were shocked by such news.
- Maybe someone Imperiused him. Like Malfoy, for example. - Hermione suggested.
Today, the transcript of the interrogation of the suspect known as Bartholomew Crouch Jr. was made public. From it, we learned that the suspect infiltrated the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry disguised as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. According to him, he enchanted the Goblet of Fire with a Confundus charm, causing the Goblet to swallow the name of the Boy Who Lived, which he himself had inserted. However, even for him, it remains a mystery why another participant in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter's classmate named Jeanne d'Arc, had her name drawn on the same piece of paper. The suspect assured us that all this time, he was following instructions allegedly received personally from He Who Must Not Be Named, so that the Dark Lord could regain his lost body. He evaded direct questions about the form the Dark Lord took and his whereabouts. Truth Serum was used during the interrogation, and this potion is known for leaving the interrogated with no room for manipulation.
"So, they did interrogate him after all?" Harry asked Hermione.
She nodded.
"He revealed quite a lot of interesting information."
"And where is he now?"
"In Azkaban, of course."
"Until Voldemort decides to free his followers from there," Harry muttered. "By the way, why hasn't he done that yet?"
"What do you think?" Hermione asked, looking at Jeanne. "I think it has something to do with her."
"Oh, so I startled him a bit?" Jeanne smirked. "How did that happen?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Hermione immediately retorted. "If he's not calling his old allies right now, he may be looking for ways to become stronger."
"He's just wasting his time," Jeanne rolled her eyes.
In recent days, there have been numerous cases of Muggles transforming into wizards. According to our information, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is expecting an unprecedented increase in the number of students this year, with at least a hundred new students. Our special correspondent reports that most of the newcomers are teenagers aged fifteen. They will all be admitted to the fifth year accordingly. Deputy Headmistress McGonagall was quick to assure us that the school does not see a problem with such a number of new students. Of course, since not all of them can receive advanced training in all necessary subjects beforehand, a special accelerated learning program will be implemented for them to quickly catch up with magical disciplines. Hogwarts Headmaster is currently considering various candidates for a position that will involve helping the newcomers adapt to the wizarding world.
"A new position? I wonder who could have been appointed to it," Harry mused.
In response, Hermione pointed to the next newspaper.
The international magical community is seriously concerned about the rapid increase in the number of Muggle-born wizards. The extraordinary surge in magical abilities among teenagers over the age of eleven has alarmed wizards worldwide. In response to these events, an international commission has been created, and an independent expert body has been organized to help newcomers adapt to life in the wizarding world. Its members will also investigate the reasons behind the transformation of such a large number of Muggles into wizards. The international commission has already decided to appoint its specialist, a young Japanese wizard named Fujimaru, to the appropriate position at Hogwarts.
Below that, Harry saw a photograph of the wizards who were part of the commission, and next to it was a photo of Fujimaru.
- So, this Fujimaru is a deliberate move by Dumbledore? - Harry pondered.
- But this Fujimaru looks like a person... of a different position. - Hermione mused thoughtfully.
- Don't you trust him?
- I want to first find out whose side he's on. - Hermione replied.
Recent events have cast doubt on Cornelius Fudge's competence as Minister of Magic. Too many wizards who voted for Fudge five years ago are now asking him questions and receiving no answers. There is tension in the air, which the magical community has not seen since the arrival of the Dark Wizard. Many high-ranking wizards have declared that voters have the right to know the truth about the A320 Airbus disaster. Recently, renowned wizard Amos Diggory linked the June catastrophe to the resurrection of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, stating that all the signs, along with the results of independent investigations, point to the use of a powerful forbidden spell, which previously affected known Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. Furthermore, Cedric Diggory, one of the recent winners of the Triwizard Tournament, gave a detailed interview describing the Dark Lord's resurrection. This interview caused a huge political scandal. The future of Cornelius Fudge as Minister remains uncertain.
- And now he's infiltrating our teachers with this vile toad. - Hermione commented on the article.
- Is this Fudge's last chance to hold onto his seat, if he declares me a liar?
- He wants Cedric's testimony to lose its weight. - Hermione explained. - For that, he needs to portray you and Jeanne as liars and force you to retract your words.
- But why all this? Isn't the evidence of Voldemort's return enough for him? - Harry wondered.
- He's desperate, Harry! How can't you see?
- In my opinion, he's doing it for no reason. - Dudley interjected. - It'll only create more problems.
The news of the altercation with Umbridge spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Students on every corner were only discussing the details of their conversation, retelling them to each other. Some openly discussed what they heard in front of Harry or Jeanne, hoping they would join the conversation and reveal new shocking details about that mysterious night. As Harry expected, Angelina wasn't pleased with the news of Harry's punishment and demanded that he lie to Ambros and say that Voldemort was just a dream.
Harry waited for Monday evening with little hope, when at five o'clock he and Jeanne headed to Umbridge' office. At first glance, the punishment seemed trivial - just writing lines with a pre-prepared quill, but the novelty came from the fact that each line had to be written with his own blood on parchment. Simultaneously, the dreadful quill scratched a line on the back of his hand. With each new line, it became more painful and harder to concentrate on the task, but he refused to give up. Umbridge called him for a duel, and he cannot afford to lose. He will not show any weakness in her eyes. It seemed Jeanne followed the same strategy. In the entire hour they spent with Ambros, not a single muscle twitched on her face, and not a single sound escaped her lips.
So it continued day after day from Monday to Friday - they would come to Ambridge and write their lines with their own blood, and then Umbridge would check their hands. "I must not lie" was imprinted on his hand. But there was not a trace left on Jeanne's hand from the lines she had erased, which astonished Umbridge to the horror. Harry only noticed how she changed the feathers given to Jeanne every day, but nothing changed. It seemed that by Friday evening, she had become completely disillusioned with her attempts to punish Jeanne, as she showed no interest in her on Friday, while Jeanne openly destroyed the parchment, trying to scratch something on it. Umbridge didn't even bat an eye when Jeanne started tearing the parchment, and didn't notice when the parchment suddenly burst into flames, only closing her nose.
An hour later, Harry stood in front of Ambridge on his last day of punishment, looking at her with firm and confident eyes, waiting for the verdict. Jeanne maintained her usual self-satisfaction on her face. She deliberately ignored Umbridge and looked over her head, studying the plates with kitten images, while a pile of ashes lay on the table in front of her. Luckily, Umbridge was satisfied with the results of the punishment and let them go.
"My discretion confirms that she is a monster in sheep's clothing," said Jeanne on the way to the Gryffindor common room. Harry didn't say anything - he couldn't add anything to her words, and found no point in arguing.