Harry Potter and the God of War
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Chapter 2: A Moody Man
To say that Barty Crouch Jr. was nervous was understating it. He practically hyperventilating as he limped down the hallway in his Polyjuiced Mad-Eye Moody disguise. Everything had gone completely upside-down! Lord Voldemort had been resurrected, but only briefly, as the two strangers, Kratos and Freya as well as their talking reanimated head Mimir, had killed the Dark Lord and many of his cronies who had been summoned by him.
Junior fought the urge to wipe his brow clear of sweat. He wasn't sure how long he could keep up his disguise. That muggle bitch Freya (he was certain she was not a witch, not even a pureblood) had given him a look that made him panic. It was all he could do to mutter an excuse to check on security and limp off, hoping to avoid detection from that woman. But he feared he did not have long; a deep fear was now planted inside Junior's mind as he felt that the woman had seen through his disguise.
Currently the woman and her companions were talking with Dumbledore about what they'd done. Junior knew he had only a few minutes at best to do what he needed to. With his disguise he could infiltrate the Hospital Wing and finally put the Boy Who Lived down for good, then get out of Dodge as muggles would put it.
Groaning in exertion and frustration as he staggered down the hall, Junior cursed the fact that Moody had lost one leg forcing him to wear a prosthetic and use his staff as a walking stick. It certainly impeded him from getting to the hospital wing in a timely manner. But sure enough, Junior reached the Hospital Wing where two Ministry aurors flanked the doors on either side.
"Evening gents," Junior greeted them in his disguise.
"Hello, Mad-Eye," the first auror replied back. "What brings you here?" he asked professionally.
"Checking on security," Junior informed before shouting, "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" The real Moody would do no less.
The two aurors winced at the loud exclamation before nodding. "Alright, Moody, you don't need to shout it for the whole castle to hear," the second auror grumbled. "You got five minutes inside to check things over. We don't want that nurse chewing us out for letting someone inside," he said as he prepared to open.
Junior nodded, satisfied that his plan was going off without a hitch as the second auror prepared to open the door to let him inside.
Then a shout came from down the corridor. "Stop him! He's an impostor!" The two aurors looked up the corridor and Junior acted quickly. Pulling out his wand, he non-verbally cast a body-bind curse on the first auror and then cast a laceration curse on the other. Dropping Moody's walking staff, Junior tried to hurl himself into the hospital wing and lock the door behind him.
But then something ferociously hot and hard wrapped around Junior's flesh & blood leg and with a forceful yank, Junior was violently pulled from where he was standing. Junior then landed in the iron grip of the ash-skinned warrior Kratos; There wasn't much that Junior feared in life; disappointing his master, facing the dementors again to name a two off the short list, but looking into the hard stern glaring dark eyes of the man who gripped his wrists in an iron grip had Junior soiling himself. The smell of fecal material and urine filled the air as Junior lost control of his urinary tract and functions.
The ash-skinned warrior's nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell, growling like a wild bear whose cubs had been threatened. With a violent jerk, Junior's wrists were snapped like mere twigs and Junior was so afraid he didn't even feel the bones connecting his hands to his arms break. The warrior then unceremoniously dropped Junior to the floor where the disguised Death Eater sat in a puddle of his own excrement, staring up at the warrior in pure mute terror.
Then the woman walked into view, her face contorted into a fierce scowl. Her hands were wreathed in green energy and Junior felt his limbs lock up tightly to the point of painful. The woman chanted into a strange foreign tongue and Junior felt the real Moody's magical false eye pop out and his real eye grow back into place. His false leg had also detached itself and his actual limb grew back as well. Junior barely registered that his disguise had fallen away as Dumbledore walked up to stand beside the warrior and the woman, his face one of grave shock.
"Barty Crouch Junior," the old wizard breathed in surprise. Looking at the warrior and the woman, he said, "I hadn't believed it when you told me, Miss Freya, but it all makes sense now."
A Scottish sounding voice came from the warrior's hip. "Just add that to the invoice, won't ya?" The warrior then lifted the animated talking head with one hand and the head itself grinned looking at Junior who was stunned to see a talking animated head. The Inferi themselves were human corpses animated by dark magic, but they could not speak or verbally communicate in any fashion, so how was it possible for this decapitated head to be able to speak coherently?
"Thought ye could get away with it, eh?" the head asked conversationally. "Luckily, Lady Freya and I saw through yer disguise right away," it remarked knowingly.
Junior had to fight down a furious glare as the traitorous worm Severus strode into view. Dumbledore looked at the greasy-haired man and whispered some instructions to him. Severus nodded, his expression dour and stony as he cast a full body-bind, as well an incarcerous curse on Junior before using a levitation charm on him to carry him off the down the corridor.
Some aurors came in to assist their fallen comrades while Dumbledore spoke with Kratos and his companions.
"Thank you yet again. I had no idea that Crouch Junior had escaped Azkaban and was masquerading as Moody."
"Eh, think nothing of it," replied Mimir cheerfully. "But ya should really do a background check on your staff. Would help prevent catastrophes in future," he told Dumbledore.
"Admittedly, I tend to put a lot of trust in faculty and it's hard enough to find someone willing to accept the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said regretfully.
"Then the position is available, you mean?" Mimir asked slyly.
"Head?" Kratos vocalised gruffly. Freya merely smiled for her part.
"The position would be available, if someone were willing to accept the job," Dumbledore said with a nod of his head understanding what Mimir was getting at.
"Head," Kratos said warningly.
"And what are the qualifications for the position of Defence against the Dark Arts instructor?" Mimir enquired cheerfully.
"Well, some of the basic qualifications for the position would be at least four years of experience facing dark creatures and dark magic," replied Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes. "Actual combat and war time experience would also be ideal," he then said in amusement.
"Head!" Kratos growled out threateningly. Freya put a hand to her mouth to suppress an amused giggle.
"Well, as it happens I know someone who would be overqualified for the position," Mimir told Dumbledore with a shit-eating grin on his bearded face.
"And that would be?" Dumbledore asked with a grin under his own beard.
Kratos rumbled like a volcano threatening to go off as Mimir replied, "That would be the man holding my head aloft. The God of War himself."
"A God of War?" Dumbledore echoed in carefully concealed surprise.
"Aye, and Lady Freya is the Vanir Goddess of Love, Beauty, Women, and many other things, two of which include Warfare and Battlefields, as well being the Queen of the Valkyries on top of that," Mimir informed the old wizard.
"Truly?" Dumbledore asked looking at Freya who nodded modestly.
"Head, we do not need to waste like this!" Kratos growled to the head in his hand.
"Oh come off it, Brother. Might be a while 'fore we find a way back to the Nine Realms, we may as well take the time to teach and guide the young 'uns, put 'em on the right path. Much like how we did with your own boy," Mimir argued.
Kratos grumbled in annoyance, obviously conflicted on the matter which Mimir sensed and said, "Well, how about this? We stay here for a year to teach the young 'uns what you know about war and battle with the understanding that Dumbledore helps us find a way back to the Nine Realms and if he can't deliver by the end of that year, we leave the position to find our own way back. How's that sound?"
Kratos paused to consider this for a moment before grunting, "Very well."
"Heh, knew you'd see it that way," Mimir chuckled before he asked Dumbledore, "Mind if we check in on the boy? From what we understand that soul leech was in the lad since he were a babe in arms. No telling what removing a thing like that that's been so attached for so long might have done to him."
"Of course, Harry might be feeling empty as one would put it," Dumbledore nodded sagely as he opened the doors to the Hospital Wing.
In a bed by one of the windows, they found Harry laying there awake, his cheeks stained with tears. "Are you alright there?" Freya asked as sat down beside the bed, cupping the boy's cheek tenderly.
"He wasn't supposed to die…" the boy croaked out, his voice thick with heaving sobs.
Kratos had an unreadable expression, but his eyes were seemingly lost in thought. Mimir gently asked, "Are you talking about yer friend Cedric?"
"It should've been me," Harry wept softly, his body shaking. "He could've run or hid, but he didn't. He wasn't supposed to die…"
Freya made gentle shushing sounds. "It's alright. His death has been avenged," she assured Harry kindly.
"I never wanted this, any of it," Harry mumbled numbly. "I just wanted a normal boring year…"
"You mean the past years have all been like this?" Mimir asked.
Harry nodded weakly. "Last year… it was dementors… the year before that it was a Basilisk attacking everyone and the year before that I had to fight Professor Quirrel…"
"You are saying you have killed someone?" Kratos asked in his softest voice.
"I… think I did?" Harry offered uncertainly a look of horrified realisation dawning in his eyes. Kratos nodded before giving Dumbledore a hard glare.
"This boy has killed before, and you did not see fit to help him come to terms with it?" the God of War asked accusingly. Freya also fixed Dumbledore a cold look.
Suddenly, Dumbledore felt very small and insignificant as two very powerful beings glared at him with chilling righteousness, very much like how a parent would upon learning their child had been in danger.
"I thought it best to let Harry… process it on his own," the headmaster offered weakly.
Kratos furrowed his brow, a grunt of annoyed disgust issuing from him. "This boy should never have had to kill anyone at his age. If he has, then he needs someone to help guide him and understand what he has done, lest it haunts him for the rest of his life!"
"Agreed, brother," Mimir stated. "All the more reason I think ye should take the job, so you can help this boy understand what he did, so he doesn't wake up screaming at night," he said with a stern look at Dumbledore.
Kratos grunted in agreement before looking at Dumbledore and said to him, "I will take the position of defence instructor and I will also take it upon myself to help this boy and any others learn and understand what it means to be a warrior and what it entails. Do you have a problem with this?" The growling tone in the man's vocals had Dumbledore understanding that there would be no argument, so he nodded in acceptance.
"Good." Kratos put Mimir back on his hip and said, "I am hungry. Where can I find some food?"
"This way. I'll take you to the kitchens," Dumbledore replied.
"Freya. Stay with the boy," Kratos told Freya who nodded. "I will bring us some food," the ashen-skinned warrior then said to Freya who then asked, "Can you see if they have porridge and honey? It's been a while since I've had it…"
"Aye, we can certainly do that, my lady," Mimir said graciously. "Might be we can also see if there are any of those, whaddya call 'em, olives?" he added to Kratos who grunted in response as Dumbledore led him out of the Hospital Wing.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After a long wait, I've finally updated this! I apologise for it being a relatively short chapter, but so many people were begging me to update and continue this, and I'm honestly surprised at the traction this story has gotten that I feel compelled to continue it.
Of course, with the Valhalla DLC for God of War Ragnarok, this might throw a wrench in what I planned for this story and admittedly, I have very little knowledge on the God of War universe/lore. I know some of the major things like Kratos' overall arc and his journey through the Nine Realms, but I honestly cannot say that I've ever actually played all the God of War games, like, at all. I played a demo of the first God of War years ago when I was a kid, but other than that, no experience in that regard, so if anyone wishes to help in regards to lore and characterisations of characters like Kratos, then feel free to PM :-D.
In other news, I've got the idea of an Elder Scrolls/Highschool of the dead crossover and I've set up a poll on my profile of what the setting could be, so if you haven't already, then feel free to cast your vote.
And that's all I have right now, so I'll see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.