Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, I welcome you all to another chapter of "The Heir and the Champions"

The card for this chapter is…

Death.

Now come little children, let us greet our Queen.

On with the show,


Little Hangleton Graveyard.

The Graveyard was quiet as the woman turns away from Harry and looks back down at the three kneeling figures before her with the same smile she had shown Harry, "My eldest and dearest Macha, my stern and motherly Anand, my crow and fog of war Badb, it feels that I had only created you all yesterday though by looking at you three I can feel the ages weigh heavily upon you, tell me, my Morrígna, how long has it been?" the woman asks, her voice a deep alto, almost as if she sang every word she spoke.

None of the three look up at her, but Anand speaks for them, "It has been almost two thousand years, my Queen," she says softly, and the look that comes over the figure's face is nothing less than devastation.

"Oh, my poor Morrígna, you have been alone for all that time," the figure says as she bends forward, placing her hand gently under Anand's chin and raising her head to look at the figure in the eyes, "I knew when I was sealed, that I would be gone a long time but never did I imagine how long," she says before letting go of Anand's chin and reaching out for Macha and Badb, raising their heads as well, "But mourn no more, fear no more, and weep no more, my Morrígna, for your long vigil is now over, I have returned," she says before standing straight once more as Harry watches as reality stutters for a moment, one moment the woman was nude the next she was dressed in the finest black silks.

The dress hung off her shoulders loosely, with large baggy sleeves and thigh-high slits in the skirt along with a simple corset wrapped around her middle. Around both her biceps were wrapped a torch, one of black iron and emeralds, the other of gold and polished black slate. The woman then pauses and her brow furrowed in confusion before anger flickers in her eyes as Harry feels the cold snap of power as the ice begins to thicken.

"My Morrígna, Pray tell, where. Is. My. Crown?" the figure asks in a growl, looking down at the three bowing at her feet, they flinch and hesitate to speak, but someone else does.

"Who are you?" Voldemort asks, stepping forward and inspecting the woman with a sneer on his face, "What are you?" he demands from the figure who turns to him, confusion on her face as though she had forgotten that Voldemort and his followers were there.

"You may leave," the woman says, not even giving Voldemort's questions a thought before she turns back to the three in front of her, but Voldemort continues to speak.

"I beg your pardon?" he says with a huff of amusement, "Do you dare dismiss me?" he asks in a dangerous tone of voice as his Death Eaters begin to stand up.

The woman frowns before looking back at Voldemort, "You may beg all you wish, mortal, but it will not get you far," she says as her eyes narrow at Voldemort, "But I have given you leave, I suggest you take it while I find myself in a good mood, you may take you and your follows and leave," she says as she sweeps a dismissive hand over the gathered Death Eaters, "the boy, however, will remain, I have further need of him," the figure says, waving her hand at Harry.

She turns back to the three women squirming under her gaze, "Now, I will ask again, My Morrígna, who was released before me? Was it Scá-"

"Crucio!"

Harry had no idea what possessed Voldemort to cast the torture curse at a being that pulled itself from mud from a split in the universe, but the look on the monster's face when his spell hits the woman and does nothing to her was a sight to behold and if it wasn't for the fact that Harry was deeply afraid of what was happening he would have laughed at the ridiculous look of shock and surprise upon the Dark Lord's face.

Both Macha and Badb both turned to look at the monster with wide unbelieving eyes, as the figure slowly began to look at Voldemort again, but Anand swiftly turned to look at Harry, her own eyes wide with fear and worry. Anand catches Harry's eyes before they flick over to the tri-wizard cup, before returning to Harry, he watches as her hand twitches before her eyes look back to the cup. Harry looks over to the cup as well to see the willow wand slowly being dragged toward him by a faintly glowing thread, he looks back at Anand who nods her head unblinkingly at him as the figure begins to speak again.

"In my eternal mercy and endless magnanimity," she says in a low, angry voice as she steps forward, the Morrígna quicking moving out of the way of her, "I had given you and your followers leave, to go from this place unharmed and unmolested in thanks for your help in freeing me, and this is your gratitude for that mercy," she says walking closer to the gathered Death Eaters all who were now pointing their wands at her.

"You try to curse me!?" she snarls, causing the earth to shake as her anger builds before she takes a deep breath and the anger fades from her face as it takes on a curious look, "And I find myself asking, Why?" she asks, pausing for a moment looking over the gathered Death Eaters, "Do you not know who I am? What I am?" she asks and before anyone could say a thing she waves her hand to quiet them, "You need not answer, for I see the ignorance in your eyes," she tells them before turning and beginning to pace, one hand picking up her slitted dress as confusion dances across her face.

"But this brings another question to mind, If you are truly ignorant of who I am, then why do you use my epithet so readily?" she asks as she turns back to look at the confused Dark wizards, "You greet each other with my name, seal, and honor packs in my name, even bless your children in my name in hopes they will have strong magic," she says, sounding confused herself all the while Harry's wand continues to get closer to him.

"But you need not answer that either, for I can smell the answer in the air," she says before turning back to them and vanishing, causing most to look around to try and find her outside of their formation, "Roman dogs," she hisses out, causing the Death Eaters to jump and to find her in the middle of them all, "All I smell is the blood of Roman dogs amongst you, not a drop of our blood, of the Tuatha Dé Danann in any of your veins, just foreigners and would-be conquerors, all following a malignant thing that I hesitate to even call human," she says as she turns to glare at Voldemort who glares back with curiosity and hatred.

"This thing of stole blood and bone, of borrowed flesh and a soul so in tatters that not even I know what to call it other than a pox upon my isles," She says with a scoff and a look of disgust, "So, it does not surprise me when those of Roman blood flock to such a monster and still pay lip serves to the true gods of the isles," she says before turning back to the Death Eaters.

"I am a god, far more deserving of the title than any before me," Voldemort says, standing tall against the figure, but his lips curl in anger as she laughs at his proclamation.

"You are no god, mortal, you are not even a king," she spits at Voldemort as she rounds on him again, "You are like all others that stand at your side, you think by the right of just being born, for having blood in your veins, that that alone makes you a lord or king," she says mockingly, "But Kings and Queen are not just born, They. Are. MADE!" she says, snapping at them all, not even remotely worried about the wands pointing at her.

She steps around Voldemort and begins to walk back over to the cauldron she had crawled out of, "But ignorance can be fixed," she says softly, "Minds can be reminded of things they had long ago forgotten," she tells them all while looking up at the night sky, as the Willow wand finally makes it to Harry's hand.

Harry doesn't waste time as he points his wand at the tri-wizard cup with the cry of "Accio!" causing the cup to zoom right into his open arms.

Voldemort's head snaps to Harry at the cry of the spell, "No!" he yells raising his wand and sending a bolt of sickly purple light at the boy, but in the blink of an eye the woman is standing in its way, and bats the curse of the path with her bear hand as Harry vanishes in a twist of reality.

"You dare!" snarls Voldemort before raising his wand again to aim at the woman.

"You have something much worse to worry about than one boy getting away," She says before stalking forward, "You wished to know who I am, Mortal, then allow me to tell you, to remind you and your followers of who I am," she says as she makes it before the Morrígna that were now standing and slowly backing away for the queen.

"I am your Queen," she says in a hash whisper as she turns back to the gathered wizards, "I am your Mother Magic," she says with a scowl on her face as the atmosphere grows think with cold power, "I, am, ...THE MORRÍGAN!" she screams out to the heavens, the Queen announcing her return to the isles where she had once ruled. The earth is ruptured, the sky darkened, and with her hands beginning to raise she calls upon the sweet silence of her domain, and from the earth coffins begin to burst from below. The Death Eaters and Voldemort are knocked from their feet by the twisting and erupting earth

"All who are born and who live upon MY ISLANDS are mine to rule over, mine to slaughter and bless as I wish," The Morrígan shouts as the coffins begin to crack open, "All who died and who are entombed upon these islands are MINE TO COMMAND!, You think yourself a god, Mortal! Then let me show you what a god can do and see if you match up!" she yells as the group before her struggles to stand, only Voldemort, who begins to hover above the ground, stands back to his feet, pointing his wand at her.

"Enough of this! I am the only god of these islands," he says with a growl, "Avada Kedavra!" roars, sending the sickly green light of the killing curse right at The Morrígan. The spell hits The Morrígan sending black cracks down her form and igniting her face into pure rage as the cracks heal almost as fast as they come.

"You Dare!?" The Morrígan screams, "To curse me with a twisted version of mine own domain loving embrace!?" she roars as the coffins begin to slide open one by one and under her command, the dead begin to rise, even the twitching body of Selwyn begins to stand to the horror of his former comrades, "This is my power, my blessing, my will! This is what a Goddess of Death can do," she says as Voldemort watches as the skeletal body of his father stands and turns to look at him with endless black pits for eyes.

"Now, allow me to remind you Draoi, you mortals, why you once feared the dark," The Morrígan says before letting her hands fall, "Rip them apart," she orders, and the dead heeding the orders of their Queen, charges the Death Eaters and they choke on the death they swore they ate.

The Morrígan watches as the mortals try using fire to no avail, then curses and hexes that held no effect on the dead, and before any of them could use a spell that was actually useful they were swarmed by the dead, the Dark Lord screamed for a retreat in rage as one by one his followers vanished with him, bleeding from bites and claw marks. She smiles before letting go of the power that kept the dead on their feet and turning back to her Morrígna, "Where did the boy go?" she asks, watching them shuffle nervously.

"The boy has gone back to Dún Scáith, My Queen," Anand answers with her eyes downcast.

"So it was The Scáthanna released," The Morrígan says, her irritation coloring her face.

"No, My Queen," Anand says, looking back up to the Morrigan, "The Scáthanna is still sealed away, but her school was rebuilt by four powerful Draoi over a thousand years ago and has been a school they send their children to ever since," she explains to her Queen before bowing her head once more.

"Then who has my crown?" The Morrígan asks with a raised brow.

"...Cernunnos, My Queen," Anand answers after some hesitation and watches her Queen's face twist with disgust.

"You let that hunt mad fool be freed before me?" The Morrígan snaps, glaring at her Morrígna.

"It wasn't our fault!" Macha cried, shrinking into her hood and cloak, "His stupid wild hunt found him before we did!" She defends herself and her sisters as their mother takes a deep and calming breath.

"It is fine, my Morrígna," The Morrígan says in a whisper, restraining her temper in a strained voice, "No plan is perfect, and Cernunnos will fall in line, as will the rest," she states calmly as if she was stating a fact that was already known, "But for now my Morrígna, it is time for you to come home, to rejoin me," she says spreading out her arms as to welcome the three crows back to her, "For what is to come next, I will need all of me for," she tells them softly with a smile.

Macha smiles before transforming into a crow and flying eagerly to her mother before landing on her right hand and sinking into The Morrígans flesh like a shadow in the dark.

Badb pauses for a moment, "A moment Mistress I just need to tie up a loose end," she says before raising her hand and gathering the mist around her fingers and snapping them with a chuckle, "There we go, that should make things a lot more interesting," she says with a cackle before transforming into a crow and going to The Morrígans left hand before, like Macha before her, sinks into her mistress.

Anand however, waits for a moment, and The Morrígan frowns at her middle child before putting her hands down, "What is it, Anand?" The Morrígan asks softly, seeing the worry in Anand's eyes.

"The boy, what will you do with him?" Anand asks, looking down at her question, knowing she should question her Queen's plans or motives, but couldn't help it.

"Raise your head, Anand, there is no shame in your question nor will I push you for helping the boy escape," The Morrígan says, and Anand flinches slightly at her Queens accusation, but still she looks up and into the black eyes of the Goddess, "You've grown fond of the boy, Haven't you?" The Morrígan asks, and Anand nods her head, "Then know that I need the boy alive and healthy, and so long as he continues to be of use, I shall bring him no harm," she offers her crow, Anand frowns but nods before taking flight as The Morrígan opens her mouth and swallows her crow whole.

The Morrígan lets out a breath and comes out like a mist on a cold December day as it curls like smoke and her eyes flash between Green, milky white, and gold as she finally, for the first time in a thousand years, becomes whole once more. She looks into the night sky with a smile, "To Dún Scaith I go, do wait for me a little longer my love, for I will free you soon, but first," she says softly before lifting her arm and tearing away a piece of the night sky to wrap around her like a cloak, "A walk, I think, it has been such a long time since I have walked my islands," she says with a smirk before turning north.


Harry Potter, Hogwarts.

Harry Potter arrived back at Hogwarts with a scream, landing on a broken leg would do that to anyone, but his cries were drowned out by the cheers of the crowd almost an hour after the champions went inside the maze. But as the crowd made their way to the champion, the first one that made it to Harry was his mother, Artemis.

"Harry! Harry!" she cried as she made it to him, Amber eyes were wide with fear and worry, and she slides to her knees to get to him before wrapping her arms around him, hugging him close as the snaps and pops of cameras echo around them, "Thank the higher powers, you're back, you're alive," she mumbles as she feels her son hug her back.

"Mom, where's Dumbledore?" Harry hissed through the pain and clung to her, "I need to talk to him, I need to warn him," he says as Artemis pulls back to look Harry in the eyes and freezes at what she sees. Harry's eyes were amber, like hers.

"What did you do?" Artemis asks, horrified and confused at the sight of the Ancient Domain settling into her son's eyes, confused at how he wasn't foaming at the mouth, mad with it. But before Harry could ask what was wrong he hears his name being called by another.

"Harry! Move! Get the hell out of my way! Harry!?" Atalanta screams as she shoves and pushes her way through the crowd, knocking the Minister of Magic aside as she passes, soon followed by Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, Zoë, and Sophie. Atalanta power slides to Harry's side, stopping just before hugging him, pinned in place as she looks into his eyes, "Harry, what did you do!?" she almost screams at him to Harry'ss confusion, "How many times do I have to tell you not to dig that deep into the Hunt," she says before grabbing his head and placing his forehead against hers, "You need to cut the flow, turn off the tap Harry, Now," she orders him as Harry closes his eyes to reach out for the tap in the back of his mind and tries to close it. But it felt like it was stuck, rusty, and unmovable.

"Remember Harry," Atalanta whispers, "Remember what makes you human," she says, and he focuses on that, Hermione and her tutoring, the games of chess with Ron, Sirius' bark like a laugh, Zoë's teasing, Atalanta's warm hugs as they snuggled together, and slowly the rusty tap begins to turn with the help of ice cold hands as his body, once so full of energy feels like a lead weight as it seizes up once as the pain from the Hunt, his arm, and leg hit him all at once.

When he opens his eyes, Atalanta sighs in relief as she sees Harry's normal emerald eyes looking back at her as Artemis looks on with an unreadable look on her face.

"Harry," another voice says, drawing his attention to it, Harry turns to see Dumbledore kneeling next to him, his eyes hard and expecting.

"He's back, Sir, Voldemort is back," Harry says, talking through the pain, all Dumbledore does is nod once before standing.

"What? What is he talking about?" Cornelius Fudge says, looking between Dumbledore and Harry, "He's joking, surely, he-he can't be back Dumbledore, He's dead," he says in an unbelieving tone.

"Sirius, Remus, take Harry to my office, I will need to speak to him before we deliver him to Poppy's tender care, but I need to speak with Cornelius and Bartemius beforehand," Dumbledore says turning to Sirius and Remus, both had their wands out and scanning the crowd, but at his words, Sirius looks at Dumbledore in shock.

"He's hurt, Albus, I'm taking him to Madame Pomfrey first," Sirius says in a hard tone.

"No," Dumbledore rebuffs him, "I need to know what happened, in detail, while it's still fresh in his mind, not muddled by sleep and potions," he says, turning to Sirius with hard eyes.

Before Sirius could speak up, Harry cuts in, "That's fine," Harry says, grimacing in pain as Sirius turns to look at him, "But my leg is broken and I can't walk," he points out as Dumbledore moves back over to his right side, Atalanta moving out of his way as he pokes Harry's thigh with his wand before nodding.

"It's out of alignment, but I can fix it," Dumbledore says before looking back at Harry, "It will hurt for a moment, I can't do much else for your arm and hand sadly," he tells him, and Harry nods before Dumbledore flicks his wand causing Harry to curse as the bone was mended before standing.

"My office if you please, Lady Diana, I expect you will want to be there as well," he says, not even pretending it was a question Artemis nods her head and stands as Atalanta and Sirius helps Harry to his feet. Dumbledore and Fudge depart into the crowd as the Professor starts to clear away the students from the pitch, telling them that the award ceremony will be tomorrow and to head back to their respective dormitories. The walk up to the Headmaster's office was one of the longest walks of Harry's life, limping aside, he was trying to put everything in his mind in order with what had happened and how quickly it had happened.

Snape, Brittany, Cecilla, and Daisy were all there when they arrived, and it seemed that the Professor's frown deepened with every person who entered the room until he saw Sirius and Remus and then he outright glared at the men.

"What the hell are you doing here, Snivelly?" Sirius asks, glaring right back at the man and almost growling at him, "Don't you have a master to crawl back to and lick the boots of?" he asks.

Snape sneers at Sirius, "Well look at this, it seems you're playing the good dog and coming to heel when Albus calls," He says with venom, "Are you going to roll over and let him give you belly rubs or are you going to do us all a favor and play dead,"

As Sirius opens his mouth to no doubt throw a scathing remark back at the dark man, Artemis speaks up, "Enough," is all she says before both Snape and Sirius close their mouths and glare at one another, Artemis shakes her head before muttering something under her breath that suspiciously sounds like the word "boys" before turning to her hunters, "Report, where is the man you were sent to find?" Artemis asks as the three hunters nod their heads in respect before answering.

"We check the perimeter of the maze like ordered, my lady, but we couldn't find the man who was described," Brittany says, her face pitched, "But we ran into this guy," she says jerking her thumb at Snape, who hadn't looked away from Sirius, "He said he was looking for Moody as well when we told him he wasn't around the maze, he leads us to the guy's office and we searched there and, well,..." Brittany says, trailing off unsure how to finish, but Sophie speaks up after her from her place sitting on the Headmaster's desk.

"We found his ass stuffed into some magic box with some other dude that tall, dark, and scarecrow knew," Sophie says, nodding her head at Snape before leaning back and kicking her feet, "Needless to say, I think the old guy was right, whoever we were looking for wasn't this Moody dude," she says with a shrug.

"Who was it, Severus?" Remus asks, looking over at the dark man.

"Barty Crouch Jr," Snape says with an even uglier sneer, "Both he and Moody are currently in the hospital, Jr is restrained and stunned, while Moody is just restrained," he says, never looking away from Sirius.

"Why the devil is Mad-Eye restrained?" Remus asks, confused before Snape just turns and gives him a look that explains why they had a PTSD-riddled ex-Auror and battle magic practitioner restrained in a hospital wing, "Ah, fair point," Remus says, conceding the said point.

"Barty Crouch Jr is supposed to be dead, I was there when it happened, saw him get buried from my cell," Sirius says from where he was standing next to Harry, his arms crossed over his chest.

"A lot of people who should be dead seemed to be rising from it tonight," Snape says under his breath, his face going carefully blank, and before Sirius could say something else, the door to the office opens, and in walks the Headmaster and the Minister.

"Bartemius Crouch is dead," Dumbledore announces before walking over to his desk with a rare frown on his face, "He was struck by some kind of delay curse, it was over too quick for me to stop it," he says as he sinks in his chair with a sigh, placing one hand over his face.

The Minister, pale-faced and shaking, shakes his head, "We were just, ...talking, then all of a sudden he starts spitting up blood and razor blades," he says pausing to swallow his own sickness to it.

"Did you find Alastor?" Dumbledore asks, paying no heed to Sophie sitting on his desk, and looking at Snape.

"Yes," Snape says, "He was locked in his own trunk with who I believe to be Barty Crouch Jr," the dark man says with a frown, "They have already been transported to the hospital wing, Headmaster, and I am ready to question Barty Crouch Jr as soon as you are," he says nodding to Albus.

Dumbledore nods back, "Thank you, Severus, please make sure our esteemed healer is safe, if you would," he tells his Potion Master, and Snape nods before turning and briskly leaving to room passing the shocked Minister on the way out. Dumbledore turns back to Harry, leaning back in his chair as he stables his fingers, "Now, Harry, in your own words, what happened after you entered the maze tonight?" he asks, and Harry takes a shuddering breath and begins his tale.

He tells them about running through the maze and finding the cup, how it was a portkey that took him to a graveyard somewhere, how Pettigrew was there waiting for him, the pain in his scar that had stunned him long enough for Pettigrew to put him into a body bind. Sirius had cursed under his breath at that while Harry could feel Atalanta's grip on his shoulder, Harry told them of stolen blood, pilford bone, and borrowed flesh. How Voldemort had crawled out of the cauldron and called his followers to him, how they begged and scraped, kissing the hem of the monster's robe. How he walked around the circle of Death Eaters, calling them by name, and how he had survived what had happened on Halloween thirteen years ago.

"Preposterous," Fudge snapped, his face growing redder and redder as Harry had named half his Financial backers, "Those men were cleared of all charges, innocent men, and just as I expected," he says turning to Dumbledore, "This story is a load of malarkey, are you really believing this Dumbledore?!" he asks.

"Yes," Dumbledore says looking back at the Minister, "I have never known Harry to lie abou-" he tries to finish but Fudge was quick to cut him off.

"Not known to lie!?" Cornelius says, his face twisted up in disbelief, "The boy cheated his way into the tournament, ruining years of planning, he has either, done illegal blood magic or has been a subject of it, he has a dark artifact of the islands and told no one of any of these things," he says as he begins to pace, "Not known to lie," he says with a scoff, "Its either your losing your touch or you in on this, Dumbledore!" He accused the Headmaster.

"Cornelius!" Dumbledore shouts, causing half the room to jump as he stands, "Listen to me, and listen to me very carefully," he says as the hardness in his eyes returns, "The enemy has returned, you need to send envoys to the werewolf packs, the giant clans, and the Irish Circles and open talks with them as soon as you can, you are to remove the Dementors from Azkaban immediately and send word to the ICW asking them to send Lady Makoshi and the ICE task force at once," he says, his voice growing softer as he spoke, urging and trying to convince the man to action, but as the Minster stands in the room, shock and rage painting a picture on his face he begins to shake his head, "Cornelius, please listen to me, you can either be remembered as the man who prepared us for the storm to come or the coward that stood aside and did nothing," Dumbledore says, standing tall and looking Fudge in the eye.

The Minister is quiet for a long moment, his face reaching an almost purple color before he turns to Artemis, who was standing by the window looking out over the lawns in quiet contemplation, "Diana Phaesporia, I am asking you now to hand over the Gaé Bolg to the British Ministry of Magic peacefully," he says, his voice tight and controlled.

Artemis doesn't even turn around and look at him as Dumbledore sighs, "The Elgin Marbles," Artemis says, causing the Minister to look at her confused.

"What?" Fudge asks.

"Return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, and I may think about returning the Gaé Bolg," Artemis says in a cold, bored, and detached voice.

"I don't even know what those are," The minister declares, causing Artemis to shrug.

"A shame then," Artemis says with an exaggerated sigh, "looks like Harry will be keeping his spare," she tells the Minister with a smirk reflecting in the window as the man looks to be close to blowing a blood vessel.

"I have a team of Aurors downstairs that will come in here and forcibly take it back!" Fudge snaps at Artemis, and before he could finish his Proclamation, the Hunters moved.

Sophie had hoped off the desk and aimed her cocked and ready rifle at his head, Atalanta had her bow drawn and loaded with an arrow aimed at his heart, Zoë was in front of him with the point of her sword at his throat, and Brittany was behind him, Hatchet raised and ready to swing. It was then Artemis slowly turned her head to the man as no one dared breathed, "You say that like you would make it across the room to open the door Alive," she says to the man's rapidly paling face.

"I-I'm the Min-Minister of Magic!" Fudge stammers out.

"And that means, what exactly, to me?" Artemis asks, quirking her eyebrow at the man in question.

For that, Cornelius Fudge had no answer.

Artemis turns back to look out of the window, dismissing the man before speaking again, "If you will not believe Harry, then leave, you are no use here," she says as her Hunters slowly lower their weapons, Fudge clears his throat before picking up what dignity he had up off the floor before reaching into his coat jacket and pulling out a small sack before tossing it into Harry's lap, mumbling something along the lines of "Winnings" before turning on his heel and leaving.

Dumbledore sighs once more before sitting down and turning back to Harry, "I will deal with Cornelius later, for now, continue, if you please, Harry," he tells the boy sitting across from him.

And Harry does, he goes over the duel, his overconfidence in attacking Voldemort head-on, and how the monster had taken him apart with little effort. How his wand was destroyed, his hand ruined, and his elbow getting shattered, then him hiding and the Willow wand waking up. How he fell back on escaping, how his magic felt weird when he cast or conjured anything, how he had killed Selwyn or was at least responsible for his death.

Dumbledore sighs, his eyes closing and a look of pain and disappointment flashes across his face, "I feel as though I must once again apologize to you Harry," he says in a whisper as he shook his head, "I knew one day you would be forced to kill but I had hoped that day was far off in the future, but when over last summer, I had got the floo call telling me that you had been arrested for murder before turning into self-defense, I knew I failed in almost every way I could protect you," he says, regret heavy in his tone, "I had hoped you would have a normal childhood, a peaceful one, one where you could remain innocent and your hands blood free, but in the end, I had failed to protect another child," he says quietly.

Harry is quiet for a moment, looking at the floor before he looks back up to the Headmaster, "I haven't been a child since I was nine, sir," Harry says, causing most of the adults and the Goddess in the room to flinch slightly at the can't dead tone in his voice, "And I don't feel bad about killing them, the only thing I regret is that I didn't get to kill them when I had the chance at the world cup when I should have," he states causing Dumbledore to look away from him, "I won't be making that mistake again," Harry tells the Headmaster before continuing his story.

Then he got to the cherry on this shitty Sunday, Badb, Macha, and Anand showing up. The three of them revealed how they had tricked Voldemort and got him to spill his blood in a way that Artemis couldn't interface with, and how they finally freed their Queen and her rebirth.

After the story, all the Headmaster did was nod his head before turning to Remus, "I think it's time, as the muggles say, to get the old band back together," he tells him, all Remus does is nod, pat Harry on the shoulder, telling him hell see Harry at home before departing. They departed to the hospital wing after that, where Snape was waiting with a vial of clear liquid after placing three drops into the unconscious man, who wasn't Professor Moody, mouth they woke him up, and in a dead flat tone he told them everything.

Escaping Azkaban, his father enslaving him with the imperious curse, how Voldemort and Pettigrew had shown up and freed him before he and Pettigrew went to Mad-eye house, subduing the old Auror with surprised and ambush before impersonating him and coming to the school to enter Harry into the Tournament; but he didn't even get that far.

He was attacked by an old crone who was unaffected by anything he did to her before she beat him into submission and locked him in the same truck as Moody and carried on as Moody for the rest of the year, she had him and Moody fight over food for her amusement as she held them captive, showing him horrible nightmares of his mother, or his master, and of his failures before she got bored with them and fed them without much fanfare.

Dumbledore sent the man to a secured cell in the dungeon before looking at Snape and nodding once.

Snape squares his shoulders, and nods back, before leaving.

Harry was forced into a bed as Madam Pomfery fused over him, fixing up his arm before pushing a goblet into his hands filled with Dreamless sleep potion which he happily downed, wanting nothing more than for this day to be over.


?Hospital Wing?

Harry was floating, his mind a haze of half-thoughts and muddled feelings, almost hearing the two people talking in the hospital wing but it was like listening to the conversation through water, all echoes and hard to make out. He knew he was being held by warm arms in an overly soft bed, they were wrapped around him like iron-clad braces that refused to let him go and felt protective all at once.

"-Went to talk to Cernunnos," Harry hears his favorite Lioness say softly, "She is looking to get an extension on her time here, just by a day, just long enough to talk to Harry in the morning about something," she whispers.

"Is she going to let one of you stay?" Padfoot asks in a whisper from beside Harry.

"I don't know," Atalanta answers, "Cernunnos knew she snuck Zoë onto the islands through the Ministry, he didn't seem too pissed about it when he had met Lady Artemis to give her formal permission to set foot on the Islands," she says with a sigh right next to Harry's ear, "But one way or another I will be staying, I won't let Harry face this alone," she affirms.

Harry could make out the scratching of a beard in the room before Sirius speaks again, "Not trying to sound ungrateful here, mind you, but it's gonna take a lot more than one Hunter for what's coming," Sirius says with a sigh, "With Fudge denying Voldemort's return, we're not gonna be prepared in time when he finally makes his move, do you think Artemis could spare one or two more of her hunters?" Sirius asks, his voice light and full of levity.

But Atalanta doesn't answer back for a moment, seemingly thinking of the question, "No," she finally says, "It's one thing to switch out one of her best hunters with a handmaiden from her temple, but two or three of her best so soon after losing another of her best? No, the hunt would be handicapped," she says in frustration, "Besides, Sophie can't leave the hunt for her own reasons, it would be far too dangerous if there wasn't someone who can handle her rages around, and either me or Zoë would have to be there to train Daisy in controlling the hunt," she explains to Sirius who sighs in return.

"What about the small one, the one with the hatchet?" Sirius asks.

But Harry feels Atalanta shakes her head, "Brittany isn't a fighter, she is an amazing tracker and trap maker, but she hangs around the edges of a battlefield making sure nothing hurt gets back up, she's an ambush predator at most," Atalanta tells Sirius.

"Fuck," Sirius curses.

"You see the problem now," Atalanta says, "The Hunt is exactly what it is, full of Hunters, the few who can fight are its vanguard and the first line of defense, and we're all needed to defend our sisters," is all Harry heard said before he drifts off to sleep once more.


Hospital Wing

The next time Harry woke up, he thought he was having a nightmare and was hoping it was all at once because leaning over him with a smirk on her face was the Queen.

"Well hello, Boyo," she says looking him in the eyes, "Having a pleasant rest, Hmm?" she asks, and as Harry opens his mouth to say something or to scream, he really didn't know which one, she puts a finger to his lips before putting one to her own, "Shhh, Everyone in this room is asleep and will remain so, so long as you do not try to wake any of them because if you do," she then smiled that terrifyingly beautiful smile, "Well, then they'll never wake up, do you understand me, Boyo?" she asks, and all Harry could do was slowly nod his head.

"Good," she says before standing to her full height once more, "Now get up," she orders him before turning and moving away from the bed. Harry slowly pulls himself from Atalanta's arms, and his feet from under Padfoot who was sleeping at the end of the bed before standing, his body protests with aches and pains as it still feels like lead.

"Atta, Boyo," The Queen says, before beckoning him forward to her, "We have little time to waste, and many Dé Danann to release, if all goes well, I'll have you back in your bed before anyone realizes you were ever gone," she tells Harry with a smile.

"You're not gonna try and kill me?" Harry asks, leaning away from the Raven-headed Queen as she chuckles.

"Oh, Boyo," she says with a slight shake of her head, "I've yet to wash your armor in the fen, and I very much need you alive, so you are safe," she says with a pause before smiling a bit more cruelly, "For now, that is," the Queen tells him as she lays a hand on his shoulder.

Harry swallowed nervously, "G-good to, ah, know," he says nodding.

"Now, enough stalling boyo, it's time-" she begins to say but is cut off when two things happens at once, first the door to the hospital wing slams open to reveal Dumbledore with his wand leveled at the Queen, and the tip of a silver sword is pressed against her neck.

"Let, him, go," the enraged voice of Artemis orders through clenched teeth, "Now,"

"Harry, over here if you can," Dumbledore says calmly while watching the two goddesses wearily, but as Harry tries to back away, the Queen's grip tightens on his shoulder, and She turns to look at Dumbledore, pausing for a moment while looking at him.

"Well, where did you ever get that I wonder?" She asks, eyeing the Headmaster, but when the man doesn't answer she continues, "However you did, it won't help you Albus Dumbledore, and I grow so very sick of having wands pointed at me tonight," she says lightly but with a lick of fire to her tone before she turns to Artemis, "As for you, Artemis of the Olympians, I would suggest you point that sword elsewhere, your hollow threats will do you no good here," she tells Artemis before the Goddess of the Hunt digs the tip of her blade into the Queen's neck.

"Does that feel like a hollow threat, whore?" Artemis says, her eyes never leaving the Queen.

The Queen chuckles deeply, "Oh, yes, it does," she says, still smiling, "You were Invited onto the islands under guest rights, and while you remain on the islands you can do nothing that could harm those who live here unless asked by the one who invited you," she tells Artemis, who growls in anger.

"What do you want with Harry?" Dumbledore asks, his wand never leaving the Queen as he walks deeper into the room, his eyes flickering to the sleeping hunters and Sirius with a frown forming on his face.

"Oh, you should already know that, Albus Dumbledore," The Queen says, turning back to look at the Headmaster.

"So, Harry is key to freeing the old gods," Albus states, "I had suspected, but had no confirmation that he had the blood of shacklers that was spoken about," he says, eyes flicking to Harry and then back to the Queen before letting his wand drop to his side, "Is my assumption of your identity of The Morrígan also correct?" he asks, a curious look overtaking his eyes.

The Queen's smile widens, "Oh, well aren't you a sharp one," she says.

Dumbledore pauses for a moment, before bowing his head in respect and lifting again, "Then you have my apologies for my rude actions, Queen Morrígan, but I will have to side with Lady Artemis on this and ask you to let my student go," he says politely but with a hard edge to his tone that cause The Morrígan to laugh loudly.

"Brave indeed, Albus Dumbledore, knowing who I am and still making demands of me, My, how entertaining," The Morrigan says with a smirk, "But sadly a request I will have to deny, for I need the boy to free my lover, I will not walk this world without him longer then I need to," she tells him in an even tone.

Dumbledore turns to look at Artemis, who looks ready to break her guest's rights and lop off The Morrígan's head, "Then a question, and a request," he says, causing Artemis to snap her head to the Headmaster.

"Albus, you can not seriously be considering letting her leave with Harry?!" Artemis shouts at him, but Dumbledore doesn't look away from the Morrigan.

"What alternative do I have?" he asks back, without looking at Artemis, "If you attack her, your guest rights are revoked and you would be ejected from the islands most likely, and even if you do fight her, I doubt Hogwarts would be standing after, and then Harry isn't the only student I have to worry about," Dumbledore says with finality, causing Artemis to grind her teeth as she glares at him.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Harry asks the three other beings in the room

"No,"

"I would hope so, my boy,"

"Yes,"

Were the answers all given at once before the Morrígan turns to him, "No, and not anything your mother can say is going to change that," she tells Harry as he frowns.

The Morrígan turns back to Albus, "I will allow it," she tells Dumbledore as she nods to him.

"First, a curiosity of mine, Harry is a Greek demigod, not a Roman one, how does he have the ability to unbind the Tuatha Dé Danann?" Dumbledore asks, lifting his chin a bit as The Morrígan turns to look at Artemis with a smirk.

"Don't you dare, my own king, has forbidden that knowledge being told to either side," Artemis says with a growl.

But the Morrígan only smiles wider, "It's a shame then that I don't really care what your king told you, isn't it?" She says before turning to Harry, who also looked curious at the question, "It's because Artemis isn't just a Greek God, but a Roman one as well," she says, causing Harry's eyes to widen before looking over at Artemis, "The Greek and Roman gods are two sides to the same coin, just different faces of said coin, but there are two among them that do not split between their Greek and Roman personalities, and Artemis is one of them," she says looking over at Artemis who had her fury written on her face.

"I see," Dumbledore says, pausing for a moment to think, before turning his attention back to the Morrígan, "As for my request, I want your word that you will bring Harry back unharmed and within an hour," he says, causing the Queen to raise a brow to him.

"You have my word that I will bring Harry back unharmed and in an hour," the Morrígan says with a shake of her head, "I need the boy whole and hale, hurting him will do me no favors, besides he had already agreed to come, haven't you?" she asks, turning to Harry.

Harry was still looking at Artemis in shock, and she was split between fury and concern depending on who she was looking at. She was trapped and she knew it, she could do nothing to stop it unless The Morrígan did something to infringe on her rights as a guest on the islands, and the other Goddess hadn't.

Harry's lips press into a thin line, Artemis couldn't do anything and he really didn't have a choice or else he feared the goddess would make good on her words, so Harry finally turns to The Morrígan with a glare, "Fucking fine," he says through gritted teeth.

"Atta, Boyo," The Morrígan says with a grin before pulling Harry closer and grabbing the hem of her cloak, "Before the hour is up, He'll return, whole and hale," The Morrígan says before drawing the cloak over Harry as the Queen and Shackler are drawn back into darkness.


Harry Potter, Ireland.

Harry lands face-first in a grassy field with a curse on his lips as he falls from the cold familiar Darkness that had brought him to…wherever the hell he was.

"Motherfucker!" he curses as he pushes himself up on shaky arms, his body still protesting any movement from whatever he had done earlier and the repeated exposure to the cruciatus curse.

"Quite the mouth on you, hmm?" Harry hears as he looks up to find the Morrígan standing on the shore of a small lake looking over it with her hands behind her back.

"Well, …" Harry wants to tell her to go fuck herself, but he stops just short of it, he didn't want to piss her off as terrifying as she was, "Where the fuck are we?" he asks hotly, ignoring her question.

The Morrígan chuckles before pointing off to the Southeast, "We are 29 kilometers away from Brú na Bóinne, where the mortals think my Lover's resting place is," she says with a sigh as she drops her arm, "It is a heartwarming try, but to try and seal him in the earth would be a mistake of the highest order, no, sadly the Romans were smarter than that," she tells Harry as he stands, brushing the foliage off of himself as he walks forward.

"So, where is he?" Harry asks, looking around, all he saw was a lake and some rolling fields, before he watches the Morrígan gesture at the lake, "Oh," is all Harry could say because how the fuck?

"They shackled him in water so he could not grow from the earth again," the Morrígan says with a shake of her head and a frown.

"Right," Harry says, pretending to understand anything about what The Morrigan had just said, but by the small smirk on her lips he didn't think he fooled her, "So, how do we, ah, do this?" he asks her.

"I'll show you in a moment, Boyo," she says, looking out over the lake, "For now I'm waiting for someone to find his Trialacha and come bow before his Queen," she says with a calm smile, confusing Harry and before he could ask who was she talking about because he is damn well sure wasn't gonna bow to her, he hears a voice call out that floods him with a bit of relief.

"You ain't my Queen, leannán madra," Cernunnos calls out, causing Harry to whip around to see him leaning on his motorcycle with his helmet off and arms crossed.

The Morrígan just chuckles, "Ah, Cernunnos, so good to see you haven't changed in the last two thousand years," she says as she turns and looks back at him, "Tell me, are you still the Deer fucking Hunt-mad half-wit I remember, or did you miraculously grow a second brain cell?" she offers back with an unfriendly grin.

Cernunnos just growls in response as The Morrígan turns and walks up to him before holding out her hand, "My crown, Cernunnos if you please," she asks, though it sounded more like a demand.

Cernunnos shuffles a bit before speaking, "I'd much rather give it to the King," he says with a grunt.

"And my love would turn right around and offer me it as soon as I asked, as you full well know," she says back, her tone quickly losing what levity it had. Cernunnos grunts before scratching at his beard In thought for a moment.

"Fine," he finally says, "But I want a favor," he says crossing his arms.

"What favor?" The Morrígan says with a roll of her eyes.

"The type that I don't have to tell you about until I ask for it," Cernunnos responds with a scowl. The Morrígan narrows her eyes at the Horned God for a moment, frowning, obviously not liking handing out unspecified favors to anyone, but in the end, nods.

"Fine," she says with an exasperated sigh, "But by Dana and Oberon if it's something stupid or threatens-"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, it's nothing like that, I'll just need a hunting buddy for something I've got my eye on, that's all," Cernunnos says, cutting her off before uncrossing one of his arms and holding out his hand and all Harry sees is golden light, blinding and ephemeral, that looked to raise fairy lights from the earth, he quickly had to shut his eyes and turn away from the overwhelming light as Cernunnos hands over the authority of the king over to The Morrígan.

As the light dies down and Harry can finally look back, The Morrígan now holds a crown of crystal and silver in her hands and looks upon it with a smile before she turns it around and raises it above her head, "Long live the Queen," she says to Cernunnos as she places it on her head.

"I'll be calling a meeting when enough of us are freed, I expect you there," The Morrígan tells the Horned God who just waves her off.

"Yeah, Yeah, whatever," He says before turning around and throwing his leg over the seat of his bike before sitting down on it and picking up his helmet to put it on, "Oi, Greek!" he shouts as he puts the helmet on and turns to look at Harry and Harry looks back.

"Damn fine Hunt you had with that half-fae, and tell that little cutie of a captain of yours she did a damn good job too," he tells Harry, who all he could do is blink and nod at Cernunnos, "If you two ever want a spot in my hunt, all you need to do is ask, pass that along will ya?" he says, and Harry nods, not even remotely entertaining the thought of doing so as he watches Cernunnos kickstart his motorcycle to life before disappearing in a lightning strike.

"Well, glad that's over," The Morrígan says, sounding as if she meant it as she walks back over to Harry, "Come along, Boyo, we have a god to free," she says walking by him and Harry quickly follows behind her.

Freeing the Dé Danann was as hard as Harry thought it was going to be, all he had to do was wade out into the water with an oak bowl filled with a bunch of herbs and different grains, place it on the water to where it would float and then cut his palm to bleed into it as The Morrígan chanted behind him, what happened after that was not something he was expecting.

As the Ritual was completed, the bowl started to catch fire before sinking beneath the surface of the lake, when Harry was going to turn back and ask if that was supposed to happen, the lake started to glow a soft green with little wisps of golden motes raising from the surface, and then he felt it. A shaking that caused ripples in the lake, coming one at a time in what couldn't be anything but steps of something huge, and as the lake continues to glow, Harry sees a shadow breach the surface of the lake, then a head, followed by a half of the largest Mace Harry had ever seen. It was followed soon by a head full of shaggy dark brown hair and a full beard that reached down to mid-chest. Harry once thought that Cernunnos was the largest person he had ever seen, but what broke the surface of the lake made Cernunnos look tiny in comparison. He was well over twelve feet tall and probably pushing thirteen, his arms were like mature tree trunks connected to his chest like someone had stacked three of the largest pumpkins that Hagrid could grow on top of one another, and glowing green roots were painted over his body, looping and twisting around bands of muscles. his bare belly hung over his waist and belt that held up an armored kilt of leather, bracers like tower shields ran from wrist to elbow as he looked down at Harry with glowing emerald eyes.

He squats down and inspects Harry, brushing his long stringy hair from his face before he speaks in a bellowing voice, "A bit tiny for a Roman cunt, who are you, Boy?" he asks, but before Harry could dig himself out of his shock and fear, because he could feel the tingle of power from the giant before him against his skin, much like the Morrígan, the Queen speaks out.

"Mo ghrá, mo Dagda," The Morrígan cries out in heart-wrenching joy, and the giant freezes in place, before his head slowly turns to the shoreline, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Mo réalta sa spéir na hoíche," The Giant says, as his mace, which was leaning on his shoulder falls off as it slips from his grasp, and lands, shaking the world as it does before the Giant stands and takes slow steps toward the shoreline of the lake, almost knocking Harry over.

When he makes it to The Morrígan, he falls to his knees, now knocking Harry into the lake, as the Giant reaches out with a gentleness that betrayed his size and caresses the side of the Morrígans face just before they put their foreheads together and closing their eyes and basking in each others presence for the first time in almost two thousand years. Harry pushes himself out of the water, spitting out a mouth full before coughing and dragging his sore and tired body back to the shore before flopping onto the grass.

"Can I go home now?" Harry calls out, he just wanted to sleep for the next three days. But his answer back was the chuckle of The Morrígan as she turns to him.

"You have done something for me this night that I can hardly put into words," She says as Harry pushes himself up to a sitting position to look at her, "You have reunited me with my lover and king, my Dagda, for this, Harry Potter, you have my thanks," she says as she curtsies to him, her head bowed as she does before she turns back to the giant, Dagda and speaks to him in their language, the giant nods before holding out his hand to the lake and like Harry could do with his spear, calls to himself the mace he had carried from the depths. It was a beautiful weapon of carnage, the haft was swooped and curved wood that looked to be a living tree with a large iron ball hanging off the side, the top half was stained dark while the bottom was of white wood like Harry's own willow wand. The giant flips the mace to where he was holding the iron ball before reaching the butt of his weapon over to Harry, tapping him with the end, and in an instant all of Harry's aches and pains bled from his body as if he had gotten a week of dreamless sleep on top of ambrosia and nectar.

Harry looks back over to The Morrígan once more as she speaks again, "Your trails are yet to be over, and you stand on the precipice of your greatest hunt, child of Artemis, but know before you reach the peace you so desperately seek and so rightfully earned, you will face hardships few in this word has gone through," she tells Harry in a hollow voice as she walks over to him to kneel in front of him, looking into him with her {Fathomless Black Eyes}, "And as that Hunt comes to it's close, you will face a choice, man or monster, and then, you will meet the one who whispered so lovingly to you in the Dark of the Cupboard you so dearly wish to escape," she tells him, stunning Harry before she stands once more, "We will meet again, Harry Potter, of that I'm sure of," she tells him as she raises her hand.

"Wait!" Harry says as he pushes himself to his feet, "What do you mean? How did you know about that! Who was there with me!?" but before he could even stand, The Morrígan waves her hand, and Harry is swallowed by darkness as he is sent back to Hogwarts.

The Morrígan pauses for a moment, "I can see why the Scáthanna took him on as a student," she says as a smile grows on her face, "so much alike one could almost call her his other mother," she says before turning back to her lover, ready to enjoy the night with him once more.


Death

Depicted on this card, is a woman of such terrifying beauty it is hard to believe a mortal had drawn it. Hair as black as night and her eyes bottomless pits, she sits naked on the lip of a cauldron in a misty graveyard with her legs crossed and one arm over her breasts as three crows sit on her shoulders.


Chapter done!

And yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Queen is indeed The Morrígan, the most fearsome and feared Celtic Goddess of war, death, fate, and sovereignty.

Know now, that when everyone was saying "Oh I can't wait to see Scáthach bully the ministry" I was laughing so hard because it's not Scáthach who will be doing all the bullying.

It will be The Morrígan who does it, because everyone is fucked.

Death Eaters, fucked.

Voldemort, fucked.

The ministry, fucked.

Harry, not as fucked as everyone else.

To put it simply, Voldemort will be playing chess, Dumbledore, 3D chess, and The Morrígan will be playing 5D chess set in a hypercube while setting the rest of the chessboards on fire because she thinks it funny.

The Morrígna:

So, if you didn't know, the Morrígna are a trio of goddesses that appears throughout Irish myth, while two of their numbers change from place to place and myth to myth, The Morrígan was always included no matter what. So in this, the Morrígna are small pieces of The Morrígan that she created and gave control over three out of her four domains with the single goal of freeing her later on down the line, with her crows rejoining her she now has her full power at her beck and call.

The Dagda:

Yeah, this was the "King" that Fleur was talking about back in The "Knight of Swords" chapter. In Irish myth, the man is a straight-up Giant that has a tree for a mace.

But this is it, one chapter to go.

The next card.

"The World"

Kingsaxcul, Out.