CHAPTER 10:

THE RAID

The next morning, Harry was surprised to find that training had been cancelled. Instead, it seemed that Dun Scaith had a mission. And he would be involved, at least peripherally.

He'd been brought into Lily's office by Alpha. And standing in front of the desk was someone Harry hadn't met. Another teenaged girl, a little older than him or Alpha, she still carried herself in a noble, stoic manner. Her beautiful if stern features were framed by black hair, her eyes crimson.

"Ah, Harry, allow me to introduce you to Claire Kagenou, the heiress to the Kagenou Barony. Claire, this is my son, Harry."

"Pleased to meet you, I guess?" Harry said, shaking the girl's hand.

Claire nodded, shooting him a slight smile, before returning her gaze to Lily. "May I begin?" On Lily's nod, she said, "You know of the dispute between the vineyards owned by Esquires Wall and Mule?"

Lily nodded, but looked to Harry. "Wall and Mule are minor nobility, pretty much down the bottom of the ladder being Esquires, below Baron Kagenou. They've been locked in a dispute over their neighbouring lands and their wine-making businesses for a couple of decades now, ever since Claire's father took power."

"And showed himself unable to wield it," Claire said in disgust. "I love my father, but he is also a coward, unwilling to take action when it is needed. And my mother said he got worse since she suffered a miscarriage with what would have been my younger brother."

"Can I assume there has been a recent escalation of matters?" Alpha asked.

"An escalation would be a misnomer, Alpha," Claire said. "Wall's estate has been destroyed as of last night. The survivors have claimed that they were attacked by monsters…except for one. A bastard son of Esquire Wall, who claimed that the late Esquire Wall had a pair of monsters in the wine cellar. I rode to the Wall estate as soon as I could, before dawn. I didn't enter the manor itself, but I looked around the estate. While I did not see the monster, I did see the remains of its rampage. Whatever it was, it's humanoid, and large. I could tell by its tracks, and how it barged through the vineyards. I also heard it in the manor. It was sobbing, in a deep, guttural voice, though I didn't hear it speak any words. However, it was then that I recalled something about Esquire Wall. Both his trueborn daughter and a bastard daughter came down with Demonic Possession about two years ago, and were reported to have been shipped off to the Church for 'purification'. I used that Portkey you gave me to come here when I realised the possible implications."

Lily nodded, as did Alpha. "In other words, these 'monsters' in their wine cellar may be Possessed. The Cult of Diablos has been known to experiment on those suffering from that condition. It was why Viscount Grease kidnapped you, when someone leaked not only your Demonic Possession, but you being cured."

"An embarrassing time," Claire said with a grimace. "But I am grateful to you and Dun Scaith for saving me, as are my parents. My father is, at least publicly, dithering, but in truth, he'd like your help in resolving this matter discreetly, especially if it was linked to the Cult."

"He had an inkling that Wall had links to the Cult?" Alpha asked.

"Both Wall and Mule have acted rather aggressively during their dispute, even hiring bandits or disguised mercenaries to cause trouble, but after the talk of monsters, we began to have our suspicions, especially as Wall had extensive military service with the Church of the Three Heroes. Not conclusive evidence, by any means, but suspicious enough to take a further look."

"Good call. We'll send the Seven Shades down to the estate ASAP. If we're able to retrieve the Possessed, will you be able to absorb them into your own household?" Lily asked.

"Maybe. But it's up to them, and it may look suspicious if we do that to the trueborn daughter. If she hadn't been shipped off to the Church, we could have had her assume her family's seat. But it's public knowledge she was sent off for 'Purification'," Claire said.

"Very well. Anyone else in the area?"

"I only took a detachment of my father's most trusted men, the ones who know about Dun Scaith," Claire said. "I can't speak to any curious gawpers, though."

"Well, we'll have to do what we can, then…"

Harry, as it would turn out, was going on his first proper mission with Dun Scaith. Once they were kitted out, he, Lily, and the Seven Shades would head to the Wall estate, Claire in tow. Claire had a quick but tense conversation with the soldier in charge, before returning. "They haven't seen anyone or anything arriving or leaving."

"Good. Have them stay back for now." Lily, her features obscured by a Disillusionment Charm (something applied to the others, with masks and hoods completing the ensemble) turned to the gathered fighters. "Delta, Epsilon, with me. We'll be going by the front door. Alpha, take Zeta and Eta to the back door. Beta, you, Gamma, and Setanta are on observation duty alongside Claire. Position yourself to face that window there, just in case. If anyone or anything flees the estate, take them down."

Harry scowled, wanting to be able to fight, but part of him recognised the logic. Everyone but him were experienced in such matters. He was the rookie here, and the stakes were higher. The misadventures he had at Hogwarts were nothing compared to this.

The vineyards looked like an elephant had run through them. Fittingly, for all the death that had taken place, the skies were cloudy, dimming the light. Beta led them to a hill overlooking the manor, facing the window Lily had pointed out, while ensuring Gamma did not trip on anything. Harry, on his mother's suggestion, had taken a pair of Omnioculars with his equipment.

After they arrived, though, Beta looked to him. "I can sense two powerful mana signatures, both chaotic. They feel like those who have undergone Demonic Possession. Which worries me."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, even as he looked over the estate through the Omnioculars, noting how the groups went in.

"Demonic Possession usually reduces the victim to a living blob of rotten flesh," Beta said. "And the process, I should add, is immensely painful. I speak from experience. By the time Scathach and Alpha found me, the lower half of my body had mutated." She winced at the memory. "But the Cult of Diablos, thanks to papers we have stolen and analysed, as well as a few of our recruits who were defectors from the Cult, say there's a means by which certain victims of Demonic Possession or Possessed can be turned into monsters. We even encountered one."

"I sort of gathered that from what…Scathach said to me before," Harry said, mindful of using codenames. And Lily had told him something about that.

"Well, these mana signatures are similar. But if so, how could a noble low down on the pecking order gain access to the Cult of Diablos' work?" Beta pointed out. "There's four options, assuming we are right, and there are enhanced Possessed here. The first is that, somehow, one of the Wall family found fragments of the Cult of Diablos' research. The second is that they discovered how to enhance those with Demonic Possession independently. The third is that one of the Walls or their associates had current ties to the Cult. And the fourth is that one of the Walls or their associates was a former member of the Cult, and they are exploiting knowledge they learned. It's possible that one of the retainers or someone who married into the family was one of the Children of Diablos."

Harry nodded. Those were orphans recruited by the Cult, brainwashed and enhanced, according to Lily and Alpha. The Children had various ranks, First, Second, and Third, and were their elite enforcers and soldiers.

"In any case, should someone escape in this direction, use Stunners," Beta said. "That's why we have been positioned here. Only use lethal spells as a last resort."

"Right." Harry frowned as something occurred to him. "You know, in hindsight, Demonic Possession sounds a bit like what we call a Blood Malediction, which is basically a curse that manifests itself as a genetic disease. Some die from it, others have been known to be cursed with an irreversible Animagus transformation."

"Yes, Scathach discussed that possibility with us," Beta said. Before she could say anything more, though, muted but powerful roars to emanate from the manor. A hulking, malformed shape burst from a window, roaring as it headed in their direction. It reminded Harry of the Troll he had saved Hermione from.

As ordered, Harry immediately began firing Stunners at it, joined by Beta and Gamma. The first few crimson jets only seemed to make it stumble, shaking its head, but another volley made it trip and fall. It wasn't unconscious, but it was definitely down for now, and only a short way away, maybe twenty metres.

"Incarcerous Maxima," Beta and Gamma intoned simultaneously, and the creature was wrapped in heavy chains. They then got up and headed down the hill, with Beta reaching the creature first. Harry grimaced at the smell, like rotting flesh, and the creature was covered in suppurating, weeping sores.

"Gamma, cover us," Beta said to the dark-haired Elf, who nodded, keeping an eye out for anything else. As the chained monster began to struggle, surprisingly feebly, Beta said gently, "Shhh…it's okay. We'll be taking away the pain now. You'll be back to normal soon." She laid a hand on its exposed skin, and a gentle glow began to emanated from her hands. Bolts of dark energy seemed to crackle around the monster, before it began to warp and shrink. Harry realised he was witnessing Demonic Possession being cured before his very eyes.

What eventually emerged was a young woman in her late teens. Human, with brown hair, barely conscious. And naked, especially once Beta Vanished the chains. Harry blushed, and looked away. "Anyone have a coat?" he asked.

Beta nodded, before pulling one out of her bag (Mokeskin or something similar?) and laying it over the naked woman, who was falling unconscious. She checked her over, before nodding. "She'll live. Exhausted, though."

"What about the other one? Wasn't there supposed to be two?"

"I don't hear any roaring, so she's either confined, or the others have dealt with her," Beta said. "For now, we stay here and observe. If Scathach sends for us, then we need to leave one of us here to look after her. Gamma?"

"Of course," Gamma said with a nod, before turning to Harry. "Sorry, but I do have considerable experience reassuring those who've gone through the same thing if she wakes up."

Harry nodded in his turn, conceding the point. Despite having a clumsiness that surpassed Nymphadora's, Gamma was not just smart, but compassionate. And if she did have such experience, well, Gamma would be the best.

So he and Beta returned to observation. Eventually, after several minutes, the others emerged from the manor, Zeta carrying another woman wrapped in a cloak, Alpha and Lily carrying many documents. Eta was conspicuous by her absence. Lily approached Claire, and discussed matters with her. The teenaged warrior nodded, before signalling to her men, who began riding away after their leader asked some questions, taking Claire's horse away.

After Lily came back, she said, "Eta will be analysing the scene. Don't worry, she'll be fine. Even outside the laboratory, she's a force to be reckoned with. Let's go, we'll have a debrief once we've got these two unfortunates being treated…"

In the round table room of the Alexandria castle, hours later, they got their debriefing, with only Eta absent of the Seven Shades, as the researcher was tending to the rescued women-turned-monsters. Harry found himself sandwiched between Delta, who looked happy, and Beta, who looked more serious. He waited, albeit impatiently, for his mother to speak.

"Firstly, everyone, well done on the mission. And Harry, Beta, Gamma? Good work on stopping the rampaging Possessed," Lily said. "She seemed set on remaining on the estate, she must have retained enough of her humanity to not wander away, but when we entered, we spooked her. She seemed to realise she was outmatched, so she fled." Her eyes went over to Claire. "Did you recognise either of them?"

"I'd met Kiana Wall before she contracted Demonic Possession," Claire said. "The one still chained up was her. You could tell by her darker hair colour."

Lily nodded. "Thank you, Claire."

Beta leaned forward. "So, what was the Walls' link to the Cult, if any?"

"We found papers in the basement regarding Esquire Wall," Alpha said. "Wall was a former associate of 'Sir' Gaunt, the former Twelfth Seat of the Rounds." She looked to Harry. While he had been educated on some parts of the Cult of Diablos, he didn't know this part. "The Knights of the Rounds are their elite warriors and a key part of their leadership. However, some members, it seems, can be dismissed from their post if they are too weak to remain there."

"We'd heard rumours about Gaunt's dismissal. Apparently he retired years ago, but while he allegedly desires to regain his seat, he remains a figure of considerable influence within the Cult," Lily said. "And Harry, Gaunt is a pseudonym, a nom de guerre. His true identity is unknown, though we have a shortlist of suspects. Though Viscount Grease, at least, wanted to take his place in the Rounds."

"Judging by what little we know about the Cult's inner politics from our previous raids, Gaunt's dismissal has marked the rise of others wanting to take his place," Gamma pointed out. "Still, what links did Wall have to Gaunt?"

"Mostly as a flunky, but he learned enough about Demonic Possession to be able to take advantage of his own children when they fell victim," Lily said in disgust. "He had drugs he had stolen from the Cult when he left in the wake of Gaunt's dismissal, and used them to shape the mutations of his daughters, hoping to use them as weapons to not only win the dispute against the Mule family, but to potentially take over the Kagenou Barony. I doubt the Cult would have liked that very much. While they are filled with the ambitious and upwardly mobile, Esquire Wall had even greater ones. His ambitions were to rise to the very top if he could. And he didn't care who he killed or hurt to get there, even if it meant exposing his former associates. He probably would have been taken out by the Cult for disrupting the status quo too much if he didn't get hoist on his own petard."

Zeta scoffed. "A good thing he got taken out, then," the blonde panther Therianthrope said with a scowl, before looking to Claire. "Oi, Claire. What's going to be done about the Wall estate?"

"We'll announce a cover story that two monsters had been captured by the Walls for use against the Mules, which is somewhat true," the red-eyed girl said. "However, the monsters got loose and wiped out the Walls. The survivors should be amenable, none of them seemed to know what was going on, save for the bastard son."

"I'll go to them and interrogate them with Legilimency, just to be sure," Lily said. "If need be, I'll wipe their memories. Still, Esquire Wall's wife took her own life when her daughter showed signs of Demonic Possession. His trueborn sons were willing accomplices, and they died during that mess. Anyway, I presume the Mules will get what they want?"

"Only once an investigation is completed to exonerate them of any wrongdoing," Claire said. "I'd like your help, just in case the Mules also have links to the Cult. For all we know, they were rivals in that organisation."

"It's possible, but I'll run under the assumption they aren't until we find proof to the contrary," Lily said. "The documents we found suggested otherwise, that the Mules were the intended victims, along with your own family. They were just waiting until they could find a reliable method of controlling those poor girls."

Claire sneered. "I doubt they could have. I saw the way those unfortunates acted. You'd have a better chance with wild beasts. And you'll have your work cut out for you helping those women recover from their trauma. I know you have the experience, Lily, but having your own family treat you like an animal for two years…if they were still alive, I'd be tempted to cut them down myself, or better still, leave them naked in a forest, and have Delta hunt them."

The wolf-girl smirked maliciously. "Delta's the best at hide and seek," she said.

"Well, we'll work something out," Lily said. "Merlin knows those women have suffered enough…"

CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry's been on his first mission with Dun Scaith.

I honestly think that many of the names in The Eminence in Shadow are ridiculous. Admittedly, so are many in the Potterverse, but they either are real names, or else sound like them in a very Dickensian manner. But Skel Etal? Po Tato? Perv Asshat? What. And these are the dub names. It wouldn't hurt to do names that evoke the feeling of the originals, or else just use the original Japanese ones. FFS, guys…

Anyway, I chose the names 'Mule' and 'Wall' to denote how stubborn these feuding families are. I also wanted something minor, as Shadow Garden in canon doesn't do big raids that often, at least in the timeskip between Claire's kidnapping and Alexia's. I actually changed things around, with Dun Scaith investigating the massacre of the Walls at the hands of the Mules, who were the ones with the mutated offspring. I thought it would be too messy to deal with, so instead, I simplified matters somewhat.

Review-answering time! WearyCurmudgeon: It's good to see you at last. Anyway, I don't think being married into the Black family would have made Bellatrix trust Barty Junior any more. I personally think that psychotic bitch trusted nobody but herself and Lord Voldemort.

As for Dun Scaith's membership, by the time canon begins in earnest, Shadow Garden has over 600 members. By this point, Dun Scaith has somewhat less, and many of them are adult women. Also, it's the Seven Shades in particular, along with a few of the Numbers, that Lily has discussed her son with. That being said, to modify Gregg Landsman's paraphrasing of a certain Warhammer deity, Mama Lily cares not from whence the grandbabies flow, only that there are grandbabies. The current harem is Alpha, Beta, and Delta, though I am considering adding Gamma to the list.

And yes, I recognise the emoticons. That's what they're called, FYI. :P

Regarding heels: IKR? And yet, you see them everywhere in video games and anime on female characters. In HoYoVerse's games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail, it's a rare female character (beyond a certain age) who doesn't wear heels.

As for blunt force weaponry, well, the Black Slime bodysuit isn't used that way normally. I say normally, because Delta, in the anime at least, creates a building-sized sword that she uses to squash Archbishop Nelson's clones. Also, the blades it creates (probably because Black Slimes can channel a LOT of magical energy) could probably cut through a lot. Think Valyrian Steel from Game of Thrones compared to normal steel.

As for Delta's interest, she's not exactly being subtle, it's just her wording is enough to obscure why. In addition, Harry's still a bit hung-up on Hermione's death, and while attracted to Delta, he was raised by Lily during the first decade of his life, and, in part, by Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) for another four years. I wouldn't say he's a perfectly chivalrous gentleman, but he knows what boundaries are.

No numbered annotations this time.