Hurray, as of this chapter, we're breaking the 200k word mark, and still going! *Pops small party cracker* But what is even more impressive, is that we're rapidly approaching the same level of favorites and story alerts that are on my original 'most popular' story, PotDS, and we are eclipsing its sequel in all aspects, despite being nearly 100k words shorter. That is extremely impressive. Many thanks to all those who are making this possible with their words of encouragement and contribution via suggestion and speculation. To breaking personal records! ~F
Chapter Twenty Eight
The Department of Mysteries
Alastor Moody was not pleased to have been pulled from his retirement so soon to go back temporarily to work as a lead Auror, but when Amelia Bones explained the situation, it made the old scarred man's missing eye twinge in disgust, so that he could not refuse the woman.
The passage to Knockturn Alley was crawling with younger Aurors and their trainees, gathering what clues they could, and attempting to coax some witnesses out of the various buildings of the seedy area of the wizarding marketplace. Alastor knew a waste of time when he saw it, and barked at those trying to persuade the locals into doing something more productive, like helping preserve and cover the three Aurors that had been killed, and their bodies left here in the street like refuse.
For his part, Alastor scanned the area with his magical eyes, picking up details that he knew these rookies he had been saddled with would never see. There were auras of magic that he had never seen before, which Amelia had noticed as well when she herself had investigated, and was what prompted her in summoning him back from his cozy home and secluded life.
What the magic in the air appeared like, to him with his eye, was swirling clouds of acidic green that clung to every surface like a film of some putrid mold. The heaviest concentrations were upon the bodies, naturally, and left no doubt that it was Dark Magic of the vilest kind that killed the three Aurors. There were also magical scorch marks all over the ground that betrayed the nature of the magic that was used. But what it added up to scared Alastor more than anything he had ever encountered.
What daft Dark Wizard actually managed to learn how to perfectly control Fiendfyre, and could execute the cast in quick succession. Amelia might have turned to his expertise with hunting Dark Wizards, but even this was well beyond Alastor's pay grade. He could hear the other Aurors talking about him behind his back, even now. Mad-Eye they called him, but it didn't bother him. Better they be wary and fear him than anything else. Constant Vigilance was his motto, and his continued survival was proof that the adage worked.
"Right then," he shouted to the assembled Aurors, "pack everything up, we're leaving. Scour the magic from the area, I've seen everything that I need, and will be going to consult with higher ups regarding what to do next."
As the Aurors hurried to obey, Alastor stomped away on his wooden leg. Of all his injuries, this one pained him the most, serving as a constant reminder that even the very best couldn't afford to get complacent. And that was why, instead of the incompetent Ministry, Alastor apparated to Hogsmeade, to consult with Albus Dumbledore as to the possibilities behind this rise of Dark Magic, and speculate on the identity of who this Fiendfyre villain could possibly be.
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Nobu'tan was highly unimpressed with the look of the seat of wizarding power, with its ridiculously hidden entrances, smuggled into the everyday appearances of the nonmagical communities. Foremost, the fact that such powerful magic users felt the need to hide from their nonmagical counterparts was insane, but not his problem.
Nobu'tan shifted his disguised and illusioned self as he followed Lucius Malfoy through the Atrium of the Ministry building, ignoring the slight stares that his black cloak and staff gathered. They needed to see that it was not the slim build of the thirteen year old Harry Potter that had come with Lucius, so that their planned escape later would go off smoothly.
Lucius bypassed the booth where wands were registered, and when the scrawny older teenager tried to stop Nobu'tan, he glowered down at the boy, eyes gleaming from beneath the dark hood. The teen quailed, falling back a step in surprise, and Nobu'tan chuckled at his fear. It was really true that none but he had ever laid eyes on a real living orc before.
Apparently the Ministry had no real idea what to do with him, so even the security guards hesitated, unable to say anything with Lucius Malfoy, one who held the Minister's ear, telling them to let his compatriot pass, and that they had important business in the courtrooms floors below, conveniently where the Department of Mysteries also lay.
"I still say we should have slipped in disguised as Unspeakables…" Lucius complained when they entered the empty lift, all passengers departing after one look at the young human warlock.
"Anonymity is my best tool and ally now, and if your Ministry is worth anything, they'd be on the lookout for people doing exactly that. This way they know of some sort of intrusion, but will never be able to find the source."
When they arrived at the correct floor, Nott Sr. and Walden Macnair joined with them, having already been in the Ministry since hours earlier, keeping watch.
"The floor is rather deserted," Nott reported, bowing his head slightly to both Lucius and Nobu'tan, "although I still sense magic being used within the Department itself."
"It is irrelevant," Nobu'tan said, waving his hand to cast similar illusions over the other three warlocks, giving them the appearance of variously featured orc warlocks from Azeroth. "Lead the way Lucius," Nobu'tan ordered once he was finished, and together the knot of now orcs turned toward a long corridor that ended at a solid black door.
Nott halted the group as the approached, "I sense wards going up on the far side of the door, I think they know we're coming."
"I though no one knew about this?!" Macnair said, glowering at Nobu'tan, "You promised that this would be done in secret."
"Plans change… We'll take the direct approach now, as they probably sensed our intent by the time you both entered the Ministry…" and he turned to face the door, gathering fire and shadows to himself.
Lucius flicked his hand, calling forth his imp minion, while the Macnair and Nott called forth Voidwalkers out of the shadows, where they stood like silent sentinels. Nobu'tan however, called out of the ranks of the Legion his personal Felguard, Ikzilgoril, and gestured at the relativly small door, when compared to the massive demonic warrior. "Break it down," he commanded, and the Felguard turned, raised his massive war axe, and charged the door with a roar of rage.
Enchanted or not, the portal caved immediately to the blunt force trauma of the legionaries' axe, scattering wood and chips of stone along the corridor. "Let's move," Nobu'tan ordered, leading the way as the Felguard stomped ahead, squeezing through the doorway into the chamber beyond. Once inside, the group of wizards turned warlocks were encountered with a ring of identical doors.
"Normally there'd be a trap here," Lucius explained, his imp trotting at his heels, "but with the exit door destroyed, I doubt that it would be able to activate perfectly."
"Which way to the Tome…" Nobu'tan questioned, but neither his companions, nor the room itself held any answers.
But what did occur in response was not completely unexpected either. From back toward the lifts out in the littered corridor, the rustling of robes was heard, and the warlocks, illusioned as orcs turned, even as a trio of Aurors hastily skidded to a halt, wands raised. "Halt intruders!" the lead one called. But Nobu'tan simply gestured at the pair of Voidwalkers, and after nods from their masters, the pair of ethereal demons surged out of the room, holding the rear as the Aurors cried out and shot spells at the charging creatures.
"Now that we are discovered, we must move with even more haste…" Nobu'tan declared, pointing at a door at random. The mighty axe of the Felguard swung obediently, caving in the door with one stroke. Nobu'tan entered, followed by Lucius. "Keep the exit clear, we will return when we have our prize," he told Nott and Macnair, who nodded and gathered their magic to cast bolts of shadow at any who actually made it past the Voidwalkers. Killing their fellow wizards seemed a small matter for them, since they were not recognizable.
Nobu'tan pressed on; entering what looked like a drab set of offices, desks and other furniture strewn about as though many people left in a great hurry. "They knew we were coming…" Lucius commented.
"It seems so… and personally I'd like to find out why that is, but the Tome is our priority." Nobu'tan replied, ordering his Felguard toward one of the doors leading from this new room, while he himself approached a second. He had just swung open the door before him, revealing another set of offices, with a large bell jar in the center of the room, displaying an egg hatching and resealing itself in a continual loop, when the Felguard's angry bellow tore his eyes away.
Wizard's were lurking in the room that the Felguard smashed open, and retaliated with a barrage of spells, pushing back the demon in its surprise. Lucius retaliated, curses of great anguish and pain flying from his lips, even as his own imp launched a storm of fire bolts in the wizards' direction.
The wizards retreated, only one falling as the Felguard's axe caught him as he turned to flee. The unfortunate human was partially crushed, partially cleaved in two as the powerful swing dug deeply into the ground beneath him.
"If they are defending that direction, then there may be something of use there…" Nobu'tan decided aloud, and ordered the Felguard to push into the room. The brute obeyed, snarling at the peppering of spells that washed over it, but most of the magic was meant to try and hinder rather than kill it, and it was able to shrug off a vast majority of the weaker magic.
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Albus was just sitting down chatting with his good friend Alastor Moody, when the old scarred Auror decided to shock the Headmaster to the core. "Unfortunately, I'm not here for just a social call, Albus," he had begun, which Albus had perfectly expected. Alastor never did social calls, being quite impersonal and somewhat of a recluse when he could manage it. "There has been quite a disturbing attack just inside Knockturn Alley, and magic I've never believed possible was used…"
The words chilled Albus' blood, his thoughts immediately leaping to the one being he knew of that could generate magic unknown to the wider wizarding world. And, unfortunately, the more that Alastor described what he found, the more that Albus' hopes sank. Yes, he knew exactly who was capable of the overwhelmingly precise fiendfyre that Alastor spoke of, and as much as he would rather keep this unfortunate business a secret until he could find and recapture Harry himself, there was no case for him to guarantee the boy's safety after he murdered three Aurors in the street.
"I'm quite saddened to say that I do indeed know of the magic you speak, Alastor," he began, but the scarred Auror jerked suddenly, before plunging a hand into his robes and removing a small mirror. "This is Alastor, speak!" he commanded, and the voice of Amelia Bones filled the room.
"Alastor, the Ministry is under attack! A group of unknown creatures are down in the Department of Mysteries, causing untold damage and fighting openly with the Aurors we sent to stop them. The Unspeakables got wind of the attack moments before and have retreated, but many of their people are foolishly remaining behind to protect their projects and the other secrets hidden down there…"
"Bloody Ravenclaws, the lot of them…" Alastor swore, turning his attention to Albus, "If you have any idea about this madness, you'd better come with me Albus, we need every able wand to deal with this threat, and yours counts as at least five when it comes down to it."
Albus sighed, knowing he had no ability to deflect or refuse. "I will do so, but I hope our aim is to capture and not kill…"
"That's up to those idiots who attacked the Ministry in broad daylight…" Alastor retorted angrily, turning and stomping from Albus' office. Thinking mournfully of what Harry… Nobu'tan… could possibly be after, Albus followed, hoping beyond hope that he was wrong to assume that this attack was the work of the young Potter heir.
Whether any of the Professors noticed as he and Alastor left the castle in such a hurry he did not know, as no one commented or tried to stop them from reaching the apparition point at the wrought iron gates of the castle grounds. They quickly twisted, popping through space to the Ministry Atrium point, where a great number of witches and wizards, both civilians and Ministry workers alike, were crowding to stay where they thought it would be safe.
"Make way! Make way! Move!" Alastor barked, shoving through the terrified crowd, while Albus simply started toward the golden gates of the lifts, and the crowd parted for him instinctively. There were some advantages to having taught or been Headmaster to so many generations of people back to back.
Reaching the lift, Alastor yelled orders at one of the Aurors standing guard, and demanded that more be sent down to the Department of Mysteries to support himself and Albus, before limping inside after the Headmaster and ramming the button with his finger.
The lift felt agonizingly slow, and Alastor starting to pace angrily as it descended. For Albus however, it felt painful for another reason. He wasn't sure if he could handle knowing if Harry was involved in this attack, so soon after fleeing Hogwarts. If the Wizarding World learned of this, there would be severe repercussions that could affect the entire war with Voldemort that was still yet to come, and there wouldn't be anything that Albus could do to show leniency or mercy.
As they arrived on the correct floor, the smell of charring flesh invaded their nostrils, and both Alastor and Albus cast Bubblehead Charms to contain fresh air for them to breathe. "Report, what the bloody hell is going on here!" Alastor shouted through the protective sphere at the nearest red robed Auror, even as others fired potshots of spells over a makeshift barricade that they seem to have erected at one end of the corridor.
"We're not sure," the Auror grudgingly replied, "there seems to be at least four hostiles just inside the first room of the Department, but none of them seem human. Two in the lead charge out and attack anyone who gets close, while two more in the next room shoot powerful bolts of magic and fire at anyone who so much as peeks over the barricade."
"What of the Unspeakables?" Moody demanded, making the junior Auror trembling, "Most have reported in, but we believe that there are more planning to apparate back into their laboratories to either liberate their experiments or counterattack the others inside. They said that there were four of the spell casters that arrived, but we can only account for two now."
"So the others are inside the Department proper, doing who knows what while we're stuck out here…" Alastor summarized, and the Auror nodded. The scarred Auror limped to the edge of the barricade, momentarily looked up and over, before ducking a powerful blast of darkness, and nodded to himself.
"All right, listen up!" Alastor shouted at the Aurors fighting down the barricade, "We're making a coordinated attack on the door, I want four in front with the most powerful shields you can make, while Albus and myself take the middle to take out their blue creature friends. The rest of you stay behind us and cover the rear, just in case. As your shields weaken, fall to the back and new Aurors just in to keep to cooperative shield charged. Into formation, go!"
The Aurors hastened to comply, seeming to be rejuvenated from the presence of such a powerful authority figure in Alastor, or perhaps due to the presence of Albus himself, but the Headmaster of Hogwarts didn't bother to consider the reasoning, as Alastor was already waving his wand at the barricade, blasting it out into the corridor even as the massive shield erected itself in front of them from the four Aurors.
"Go, go, go!" Alastor cried, and as one they started to slowly advance, spells and magical flames washing over the shield as they moved.
The smoke covering the corridor was thick, and it made seeing to the end very difficult, but Albus was able to see the shadowy figures rapidly approaching them, seeming to pulsate as they moved, and with the Elder Wand in hand, he cast a powerful stunner at the first, only for the spell to splay red over the figure and knock it back several yards. But whatever it was got up instantly and was charging again.
"Aurors! Attack!" Alastor cried, using a Blasting Hex on the second shape as it started out of the thick dust. A massive form of blue smoke, with glowing eyes and strange magical bracers on its wispy arms barreled out of the darkness, only to be connected with a half dozen spells at once, which only succeeded in knocking the creature about and interrupting its forward momentum, but seeming to otherwise be unharmed.
Albus sensed a need to switch tactics, and immediately started to pull on the powerful lines of magic that ran under the Ministry itself. Thinking of the great power of his familiar, Albus summoned a sphere of pure magical fire, and hurled it with great force at one of the blue creatures. It impacted the mass of blue shadows with a deafening explosion, and ignited the gasses that formed its body.
With a small rush of air, it imploded upon itself, leaving only the magical bracers behind as it vanished, but the other creature was already on them, grappling a now screaming Auror. It seemed just the touch of these creatures caused pain, as the man was flailing in his attempts to strike the blue monster with anyone he could manage. "Impedimenta!" Moody shouted, knocking the creature off of his man, even as Albus conjured magical projectiles of pure Arcane energy, which dispersed this beast as it had its fellow.
Alastor's eye whirled back to the corridor, "Shields up!" he commanded, and it was not a moment too soon, as a literal firestorm erupted from the corridor, splashing over their shield and causing several of the Aurros to fall back, their magic weakened from enduring such a barrage of magic. From where he stood, Albus could only sag slightly as he spotted the green tint of dark magic in the fire, and he knew for a certainty that the same magic that Harry used was involved here, making it almost certain that the boy was somehow the cause of this unprovoked attack.
A slash of his wand, and Albus banished the dust cloud obscuring their vision, revealing the horde of nearly a dozen angry little creatures, fire pouring off their hands as the skipped toward them from the smashed doorway to the Department of Mysteries. What was more, the figures in the doorway were unlike anything Albus had seen. Imposing bodies that were various shades of green, rippling with muscle and strength despite the robes that they wore, the creatures' tusked faces were set in determination and hatred at the loss of their pets, or minions perhaps. They also were channeling great spheres of fire, orange in color, so not as strong in the same dark magic that Nobu'tan used, but nonetheless the same.
They would be overrun in moments if Albus did not act. Gathering a vast amount of Arcane magic to himself, the Headmaster of Hogwarts unleashed a torrent of pure magic, barraging the advancing creatures and knocking them all flying with the force behind the waves of magical power.
The hulking creatures fled further into the Department of Mysteries, and Alastor ordered his Aurors after them, before stomping to the nearest dead fire-creature and stooping to examine it. "I've never seen anything like it Albus," he said, almost intrigued with the small being, but Albus couldn't bring himself to draw nearer to the tainted thing. It was pure evil, and he could sense its vile magic from where he stood.
"Come, we must make sure that whatever those others are after is protected…" he said, distracting the old Auror from his curiosity. Together they followed in the wake of destruction that had obliterated several of the doors in the Department.
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Lucius could hear the fighting back in the main circle of the Department of Mysteries, but Lord Nobu'tan seemed rather uninterested in what was going on behind them. The massive axe wielding demon had continued its rampage under the order of the warlock, slowly making their progress through the department until they at last came to a door that wouldn't yield to the blunt force of the axe.
"What is this?" Nobu'tan said, more to himself than Lucius, even as he placed an illusioned hand on the door.
"Its rumored that the Unspeakables experiment on various things, and that this particular room was given to the study of some of the most powerful things in the world…" even as he spoke, Lucius winced at the foolishness of what he had to report, "namely, love…"
"Love…?" Nobu'tan repeated, although not nearly as scornfully as Lucius had thought he would. The Dark Lord had certainly thought it foolishness for the Ministry to be studying the magical power of emotions, but it seemed Nobu'tan was actually considering what that could imply. "Where better for them to hide away artifacts that they wouldn't want anyone else to know they had, correct?" he suggested, before focusing his entire will and intent on the door barring their way.
The sheer amount of power that abruptly surged forth from the small boy was enough to make Lucius stagger. He would have been a fool to oppose Nobu'tan he thought, even as Lucius watched the illusioned twelve year old unleash explosions of fire, and missiles of pure Nether energy upon the physical obstacle, seeming to batter some sort of powerful shield that existed over the door, even still, under the strain of the attacks, the door remained obstinately in their way.
"No, I need more power!" Nobu'tan cried, his voice started to warp even as black energy coursed around him. Lucius did indeed take several steps back as the young warlock seemed to grow, transforming into a massive demon-like being of Fel energy. Wings splayed out, the claws of the creature flew forward, Fel energy and fire rained from them in a glorious display, assaulting the door and its defenses anew.
Just then, a shout from behind him caused Lucius to turn. Nott and Macnair were running toward them as fast as they could; only pausing occasionally to fire spells as they fled. It could only mean that the Aurors had arrived, probably with some higher up with them, like Moody or some other that figured out how to defeat their demons. Lucius had noted that while their wizard spells could indeed harm the Nether creatures, they weren't nearly as effective on the extraplanar beings as the raw magic of the warlock. It seemed that their personal brand was more tuned for fine usage, and not fit to try and overcome the natural magic of such powerful creatures.
Then the red robes of the Aurors appeared two rooms back from their position, and Lucius concentrated carefully. He had chosen to train in the arts of Soul Magic, and readily put those skills now to the test, imbedding horrid curses to each of the Aurors, bashing through their shields and other defenses and ripping away their very life force into himself. The wizarding enforcers shrieked as they fell one by one, convulsing on the ground as those riddled with the agony of the Cruciatus, and Lucius could feel the power of their much younger bodies giving him strength.
With a resounding crash, he realized that Nobu'tan had defeated the blocked door at last, and they were ready to move on, but even as he turned, the demonic visage was facing the way they had come, instead of the path ahead. "Dumbledore…" the demonic shape rumbled, and Lucius turned to see the old man standing at the far side of the passage.
The Headmaster spared only a fleeting glance to the fallen Aurors around him, making sure that they were all still alive, before advancing on them, wand out and flames pouring from his free hand, "I do not know who or what you are," he said casually, but Lucius could detect the steel in the old voice, "but I cannot allow you to go any further. Some secrets are best left alone, and beyond that door is a power too great and terrible for anyone to witness…"
Lucius was about to retort, when the demonic form of Nobu'tan chuckled, the laughter booming off the stone walls as he casually waved a hand at the wizard. From far above, there was the sound of shattering stone and great crashing, until from the ceiling a massive meteorite impacted the floor between the warlocks and Dumbledore. But what was more frightening than even such a stone falling through layers of building and wards, was the creature that rose up from the crater. Like a monstrous golem of stone and flame, it rose up, arms drawing back to crush any in its path, and stomping with force enough to shatter the stone floor beneath it.
Dumbledore wasted no time engaging the creature, but Nobu'tan had already turned his back to the wizard, entering with the Felguard into the 'love' room.
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Nobu'tan couldn't help himself abandoning the battle and entering the newly opened room immediately. There was something off about it, something that he didn't understand. The door had been powerfully shielded, and Nobu'tan was starting to think that he wouldn't be able to get through, when all of a sudden it just opened to him, shattering under the pressure of his magic. But it was clearly not of his doing that the doorway became opened.
As he had expected, the room was filled with artifacts, and on a plinth in the very center was the Grimoire he sought, entwined dragons upon the leather-bound cover. But even as he reached for it, Nobu'tan staggered back as a dome of golden light appeared over the entire pedestal, shielding the book from him.
"You have no need for the evil power contained in that tome, young Harry Potter…" entered a powerful voice into the warlock's mind, sounding almost melodic in nature. It startled him enough that he slipped from his demonic form, back into the illusioned state of an orc based strongly off his old Master.
Nobu'tan whirled, seeking the source of the voice, and came face to face with a being that shone with the purity of an inner light. It was crystalline in form, with different pieces that were swirling around some central point in the figure, but clearly not human or like any creature that Nobu'tan had encountered on this world before.
"Who or what are you? And why do you stop me from taking the Grimoire?" Nobu'tan demanded of the light, wondering where his Felguard was. The answer was apparent when he spotted the demon, frozen in place with bonds of powerful golden magic. He knew somewhat of this power, from Gul'dan. The Clerics of Northshire had been some of the human's most powerful spell casters, outside of Dalaran, but eventually they had turned to the knights of Lordaeron to train into Holy warriors, counterparts to Gul'dan's Death Knight. Paladins they were called, if he remembered correctly. But still it was clear that the same holy magic was at work here, and the warlock was at a loss as to how he could combat such a creature.
"I am K'uri, and I am a Naaru," the creature explained, planting the words directly into his mind, "and I stop you, because to claim that book would start you on a pathway to great sorrow and much tragedy…"
"I don't need some swirling light creature to tell me my future…" Nobu'tan snarled in response, "I already know what my future will hold, and I am making sure that it is seen through to the end." Turning to the protected book, Nobu'tan started to channel dark power in an attempt to break the shield, but the creature, the Naaru, spoke again in his mind, "I can tell how much it angers you to not be in control here, but let me speak my piece, and then the book is yours to do as you see it, to whatever end it directs you."
Despite himself, Nobu'tan stopped and listened, allowing the blasted Holy creature to speak, "If you are so intent on following the footsteps of your master Gul'dan, perhaps it would be wisest for you to know that he himself was betrayed by the Legion, and that there is no honor among those demons, and even less toward mortals. You would serve them eternally, until they have no more use for you, and discard you, like they did the old orc."
"I don't believe that!" Nobu'tan snapped sharply, fire blossoming around his arms in his rage. It was not possible, Gul'dan was the Legion's loyal servant, and there was no reason for them to betray him. The orc was simply too powerful and too useful for them to be rid of him so easily.
"Oh, but the Legion doesn't tolerate betrayal with any sort of mercy. In the end, the entire race of orcs were abandoned by their demon masters once they failed to eliminate the human nations from Azeroth." K'uri continued.
"This only makes me desire to return home all the more," Nobu'tan said defiantly, but the laughter of the Naaru was his response. "That is good, as Azeroth is indeed more you home than here, and the Legion would have little power to stop you once you were there. Just know that I and those that follow will not allow you to plunge this world into the flame so easily, just so you can satisfy your desire to return to Gul'dan's side, although it is far too late for that. Take you precious book, but be warned that the Legion is not nearly as honorable as you expect."
With a great rushing of light, the shield fell on its own, and when Nobu'tan turned, the Naaru was gone. A roar from out in the previous room returned him to the situation at hand, and he snatched up the Grimoire, before sending the Felguard to assist his Infernal in fighting those who would hinder him.
When he reappeared, the others looked haggard from fighting, trying to keep the spells of the powerful Archmage from passing the Infernal and interfering with the search for Merlin's tome.
"We have outstayed out welcome." Nobu'tan said simply, and began channeling the spell to open the way out of the Ministry and back to Malfoy Manor. The infernal roared, staggered and fell, its fire extinguished just as the spell completed, and the gateway opened. Nobu'tan smirked as once again, Dumbledore was too late to stop him and his warlocks from escaping via a portal of his own creation.
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Moody had absolutely no idea what was going on anymore, and he didn't like it. These creatures seemed to be quite unlike anything that he or any of the other Aurors had witnessed before, but Albus had simply taken the events in stride, and unleashed magic to counter them that felt so wildly diverged from anything that Alastor was used to seeing the old Headmaster do before.
Even as the four strange creatures that had summoned and controls all the strange beasts vanished through some sort of gateway, the old wizard seemed more perturbed than shocked, and the scarred Auror was ready for some answers.
"Albus, just what on earth is going on?" he said, stomping up to the Hogwarts Headmaster. Albus seemed to be deep in thought, but returned to the present as Alastor approached.
"I cannot be perfectly certain, Alastor," Albus said, but the tone was such that the old Auror knew that his old associate was concealing information that he didn't want casually shared.
"But you do have some information…" he insisted, after dispersing the Aurors to start cleaning up the mess and locating the remaining Unspeakables that had foolishly remaining in the Department.
Albus didn't answer, but Alastor could tell that he would be needed to make another surprise trip to Hogwarts in the near future for the full story, that which needed to stay off the records of the Ministry. Alastor didn't approve of how secretive that Albus tended to be with his information, but sometimes the old Headmaster had a point. The public could only know so much before they were unnecessarily overreact over some things, such as when news of Lord Voldemort's fall became an instant media sensation.
So, for the time being, Alastor took time to examine the remains of the various creatures, which was difficult as most of the corpses were vastly different from what one would consider remains. The little horned creatures had incinerated soon after their deaths, while the blue creatures of shadow had evaporated, aside from the magical bracers that had been left behind. Finally the massive monster that had been formed of fire and stone had merely left great chunks of green scorched rock, filled with dark magic but otherwise indecipherable to him or even his enchanted eye.
Trying to discover what the creatures had been after was even more difficult, as the Unspeakables, one they arrived, completely blocked off the room that the leader had entered, stating that they would be conducting their own investigation, and thus far nothing had been discovered missing.
Alastor knew that it was total lies, but he had no authority within the Department of Mysteries, and there could easily be half a dozen things that they were, no surprise, unable to speak of to other people outside their department.
Still, Alastor wished that he had more information to go on before he had to leave to contact Albus once again. The fact of how quickly the old Headmaster vanished from the scene was actually something of a feat. But regardless, it was almost ironic when he arrived back outside the Headmaster's office at the school, and entered when Albus beckoned.
"Well, what is it that you do know then?" Alastor started the moment he had shut the door behind him.
"Have a seat Alastor…" Albus said grimly, which stopped the old Auror dead in his tracks.
Albus Dumbledore never simply asked Alastor Moody to have a seat. Usually it was a casual invitation along with the ever-present wish for someone to taste of his muggle candies, but this time, Albus was as serious as Alastor had ever seen him before.
He sat, hastily, and worried momentarily as to what he was getting into. "This can be repeated to no one," Albus said dourly, as though even he himself imparting the knowledge to another was a potential mistake. The old man then proceeded, without interruption, to tell Alastor the tale of Harry Potter, the boy-who-disappeared, only to return with strange new magic and a story that had carefully been disguised in full until recently, and even still Albus only knew bits and pieces.
"So, what? You think Potter and his friends through the Malfoys would attack the Department of Mystery? You have to admit Albus that it makes little sense for them to do so, especially so soon after the boy basically declared that yes, he is a dark wizard."
Alastor didn't doubt for an instant that Albus was correct in his retelling, only that some of his speculations surrounding it might be jaded by his own biases, after all, that was why the old man gave Alastor the second in command role in the old Order of the Phoenix, during the last war.
"There is magical residue proof, that I have checked since returning to the castle, that undeniably attests that the magic these unknowns were using in the Ministry matched Harry's signature perfectly, as well as the style of magic generally." Albus said mournfully.
Alastor swore. If Dumbledore had proof, then they were all in for it now. "But you could fight off their beasts with relative ease, how'd you learn this Arcane of which you mentioned?" he asked, hopeful for some ray of sunshine in an otherwise grim and gloomy outlook for their near future.
"I was most fortuitous to make contact with a few of the students that Harry trained, and made several acquisitions of reference notes and other materials." Albus said, holding up a hand as the old Auror was about to speak again, "Yes, Alastor, before you ask I will teach some of this magic to you, and let you pass it on to the Auror office in due time to the end that we prevent a nationally crisis on the same level of the Dark Lord Voldemort."
Alastor relaxed slightly, if they had access to this raw level of magic, then he would feel much safer about those under his command. It was only a true pity that it seemed, between the need for skill Aurors in these now quite troubled times, and the learning of this new magic, that his days of retirement were short lived. Then again, not that big a concern, he had been getting bored in his cramped apartment day after day anyway.
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Nobu'tan clutched his prize tightly as the other warlocks rejoined their full Order in the training room of Malfoy Manor. Despite the high success of their mission, he was still troubled by several events relative to the attack on the Department of Mysteries. Firstly, how had the Unspeakables known that they were coming, and raised what limited defenses against them with little to no warning.
Secondly, it was astounding that the Aurors in charge immediately sent for Dumbledore to counter their threat, which made Nobu'tan nervous as to how much the old Headmaster had shared with others regarding Nobu'tan and his abilities. Normally he wouldn't even guess that Dumbledore would attempt that, but the quick response of the guards left him no other choice but to assume that they at least knew how powerful the warlocks were in comparison to their wizard magic.
And finally there was the glaring oddity that was the Naaru creature that he had encountered inside the room that once held the book now clutched in his grip. Nobu'tan was still unable to piece together everything that the creature had implied, aside from the rage-inducing fact that Gul'dan was supposedly betrayed by the Legion.
It simply made no sense. Gul'dan was the most powerful warlock in the Horde, and they were on the verge of victory, why would the demons abandon them at that crucial moment? Could it possibly be that they succeeded, and the demons decided to usurp power from the Horde? It was all making Nobu'tan blind with rage and he couldn't decide on whom to trust, as the being of light seemed completely confident of itself and Nobu'tan somehow felt strongly that it had no reasons to lie to him.
Shaking himself vigorously from these frustrating thoughts, Nobu'tan clawed at the metal latch that held the Grimoire of Merlin shut, eager to look at the pages of the second artifact that the Order of the Black Harvest needed to summon the Legion to this world. Naturally, the script was illegible to him, being some sort of ancient Ogham writing, but of course that would only be a problem until a translation charm was applied, much like when Nobu'tan learned English two years previously.
Immediate casting the charm from memory, adding in the small twist of phrase in the Latin to make it focus on the language he was looking at, Nobu'tan watched as his mind instantly started to shift the words to a more contextual orcish that he was intently familiar with.
'The History and lore of Myrddin Emrys, also called Merlin Ambrosius, counselor of Arthur son of Uther, and Guardian of Avalon.'
Nobu'tan froze as he read the titles. 'Guardian of Avalon…' so much of this world paralleled with Azeroth, and he feared that this aspect would as well. He knew somewhat concerning Guardians of worlds, especially the powerful Medivh that had brought the Horde to Azeroth, and he would be sore worried if this Merlin was even a tenth as powerful as the Guardian of Tirisfal.
