Angel's Light
Chapter 25
AN: Hello all, it's been a while. Firstly as always I want to thank everyone who reviewed and added the story to favorite and alert list. I've been asked recently why there isn't much action/adventure in this story so far. I'd just like to point out once again the story revolves around Harry and for the first three books/movies most of the action happened at the end of the year. This version of Harry will see more action than that but you have to let me put those things in place. I don't really have much else to say right now so here is the new chapter.
RIP SHANNEN DOHERTY FOREVER CHARMED
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It had taken time for Diana to adapt to living on Asgard, though she still couldn't say she was totally used to it. She knew she'd lived a privileged and sheltered life before leaving Themyscira, especially for a demigod. She was after all not only the Princess of the Amazons but also the daughter of Zeus and for a culture that still worshiped the Greek Gods the latter title held significant weight. The Amazons for as much of a warrior culture as they had and as much training as they did have been living peacefully for centuries. The last time they'd had a problem that resulted in armed conflict had been before she was born when one of the tribes had broken off and left the island.
Diana truthfully had been happy. She lived in a practical paradise, she had not just her mother and sister Amazons but many friends all her own. Apollo for instance had been sending some of his daughters to Themyscira for almost as long as they'd existed and in recent years a few daughters of Hermes had come alongside them. Athena, Demeter and Aphrodite also had daughters amongst the Amazons and as such she had not been the only demigod on the island, just the only one born there.
If Hera had not discovered them, she may not have had to leave but the discovery of not just her but that she had a full-blooded younger sister had put the Queen of Olympus into a rage, the fact that there was a 200 year age difference was minor in her mind. It was Apollo who put her name forward to Zeus for the betrothal while discussing the alliance with Asgard. Her mother Queen Hippolyta loathed the idea of her leaving the safety of the island, but Diana had stepped forward and agreed if only to safeguard her sister and her home from Hera's rage.
They were going much differently than she had been initially expecting. Firstly, she'd needed to get used to being around males, as there were none on Themyscira and had not been any since Leo had somehow found himself stranded on the island. Like her own people the Asgardians were a warrior culture, only they were bred for war and were actively in the middle of one. They were also strong, physically speaking even a common Asgardian was more powerful than a human and many of the warriors could even match her in strength which was something she'd hadn't encountered in over a century.
Elite warriors such as Lady Sif were even stronger than her and Thor trumped everyone several times over, though being the God of Strength would tell everyone that. Her pride had been soothed when she was told that she may one day equal Lady Angela in terms of strength upon reaching her prime and as Angela was second only to Thor in terms of pure physical strength that was very good company.
Training under Lady Sif was also proving to be more than she expected. Training with just Amazons all of her life Diana didn't really recognize other fighting styles and as such had to learn to adapt what she knew to combat other styles. Despite her youth she was a warrior and as such adapted quickly, proving herself many times in the training yard as a result. This time had also had the side benefit of allowing her to meet people more easily than if she'd been left to her own devices.
Asgardians despite being a race of warriors were a friendly people, loud and boisterous true but friendly overall. They had their other moods of course and some she met were not seemingly happy to meet her, mostly females who according to Sif were all jealous that she had claim of Harry. Usually, a good spar had any feelings of negativity overcome and established a bit of respect for her, if grudgingly at first. Over time that respect was not so begrudging, and she began to make actual friends with some of those people.
Today, however, she would not be training. Instead, she would be spending the day away from Asgard and in the company of Harry and her future sister-wives. As such today she dressed not in her training gear but one of the outfits she'd gotten on her visit to London which consisted of a pair of blue jeans, a red top and a blue bomber jacket, a look that certainly drew attention as she walked through the halls of the palace. Leaving the palace she didn't draw much attention as she took one of the Abraxan-drawn carriages to the Observatory.
"Good morning Heimdall." Said Diana upon entering the building.
Good morning to you Princess."
The Guardian of the Bifrost had taken a bit of a liking to Diana in the short time she'd been a resident of Asgard. The man aside from his normal duties had also taken on the role of one of her teachers, in this case teaching her about the Nine Realms and the spaces that they occupy.
"Wasn't Aldrif to accompany you today?" questioned Heimdall.
"She is, she was held up by her mother, I'm just waiting here." Said Diana smiling softly.
The Demonic Underworld was a sprawling maze of caverns that grew more perilous the deeper one descended into its depths. For the one once known as the wizard Tom Riddle and now the demon Voldemort he found himself almost in the very center of the Underworld. His resurrection had cost him the remainder of his prized Horcrux's but that had been a necessary sacrifice.
Once the ritual to restore him to a physical form was completed he'd gone through another ritual, this one which turned him into a demon and while still humanoid in shaping he was clearly no longer human. His new form consisted of dark grey skin that was covered in black markings that resembled tattoos. He was bald and five jagged horns now erupted from his head giving the appearance of a crown. His eyes, once brown and then scarlet red, thanks to several empowerment rituals, had now changed to a sickly yellow with elongated pupils with pitch black sclera.
While his transformation had clearly been successful, he was not satisfied with the end result. His power had certainly increased yet was only considered greater than the lower-level demons, certainly nowhere near to that of Upper-Level demons such as the Brotherhood of the Thorn were supposed to be. While he had joined the ranks of the Brotherhood, it was clearly only to fill a vacancy.
Thankfully despite his lower power level he still possessed all of his previously acquired magical knowledge and could even use his spells wandlessly now. Still his lack of power compared to his new compatriots was intolerable and as if that wasn't enough, he'd learned that there was a group of demons that surpassed even them, each of which was the ruler of their own 'hell dimension' and with the defeat of the 'Source of All Evil' there was an opening within the ranks of the Lords of Hell. His ambition which had seen him rise from a lowly orphan to Britain's most feared Dark Lord would settle for nothing less than for him to be counted amongst the Lords of Hell.
His time in the orphanage as a youth had if nothing else taught him to be ambitious and Slytherin had not only nurtured such a thing but taught him patience and cunning as well. These are traits that he would sorely need as he'd come to realize that while most of the remaining demons were certainly powerful many of them were dregs and as such not powerful or cunning enough to be a threat to him. These Charmed Ones had certainly done him a favor destroying so many of them, he'd still have to kill them of course but he'd make it quick.
He'd have to destroy their entire bloodline as well, from what he'd learned the eldest of their spawn was extremely powerful and was still a toddler. Trying to turn the boy to evil had clearly not worked so he'd have to go, though he wouldn't risk doing such a thing directly as he had no intention of being bested by a toddler again. He would need to kill Potter as well; his reputation would need to be repaired for his plans to come into fruition and Potter's death was the only way of accomplishing that. But before he could do any of that he'd need to accomplish his current objective and obtain more power.
Thor's visit to Wakanda, though brief, had changed things. Prince T'Challa and Princess Shuri had both gone into isolation, though the latter had not strayed from her elder brother's side to do more than bathe and sleep. It took nearly a week before the two emerged from their isolation and currently the Tribal Council had been gathered within the throne room. The council included the elders of each of the 5 of the 6 noble tribes that served as advisors to the King. The Council consisted of the River Tribe, The Merchant Tribe, The Border Tribe, The Mining Tribe and the Golden Tribe, otherwise known as both the Panther Tribe and the Royal Family. The final tribe and the only one not present were the Jabari, otherwise known as the Mountain Tribe, who had long ago removed themselves from mainstream society.
At the moment the Council was silent as T'Challa, and Shuri informed them of all they'd learned thanks to the memories that Thor delivered to them. Learning that the Thunder God had gifted memories to both of them had been curious until Shuri revealed that T'Challa had died, the result of a strange virus that they'd been unable to cure in time. From that point they listened as Shuri explained what happened in the aftermath of her brother's death which led to the silence that had taken over the room once she finished.
"Mistakes were made by all of us. Thankfully we have a chance to change things for the better." Said T'Challa.
"You have a plan?" questioned Zawavari, the representative of the Mining Tribe.
Like many of the council she was an older woman, one that T'Challa looked at as a surrogate grandmother as he'd grown up without his own grandparents.
"We do. It will require changes, things that many of us may be uncomfortable with." Said T'Challa.
"The Jabari were right; we have become too reliant on technology." Said Shuri her expression showing how badly she hated admitting such a thing.
"Our technology is meant to be a tool and somewhere along the way it became our strength and as a consequence we have grown weaker." Said T'Challa resulting in frowns all around.
"We must return to our roots, the things that made us strong in the first place. As things stand we can no longer destroy invading forces like we once could, we must regain our ability to do so." Said T'Challa getting a series of nods from the Council members.
"Putting a strong focus on physical training is not a bad idea." Said M'Kathu, the elder of the Border Tribe.
"That is not all. We must also emerge from the shadows." Said T'Challa holding up a hand to stop anyone from speaking.
"While we have always been isolationist, we have already placed ourselves in a position of power outside of our borders. We have known about magic since before we had Vibranium and are the principle backers of the Uagadou School of Magic even if it is located in Uganda. Remember it was also the Black Panther that ended the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Egypt which is why my father inherited the title of Pharaoh even if none of us have used it since then."
"You wish to use Egypt and Uganda as proxies to hide our involvement in the affairs of the outside world." Stated T'Chaka.
"No baba. I am stating that our control over these places will instantly solidify the might of Wakanda to the outside world. Uagadou is the greatest school of magic in the world right now and its graduates who don't return to their original homes are known to live in Egypt. We can invite some of them to Wakanda to help us improve our defenses." Said T'Challa getting his father to look thoughtful.
"Egypt is also a large area of land and is generally where our people with enhanced abilities are relocated." Said Shuri.
"For good reason, the Enhanced are dangerous and without control of their abilities may have exposed us long ago." Said M'Kathu.
"Perhaps but that's not the point. They are of Wakanda, and they understand we have done the best for them as we could. However, we can do better now." Said Shuri.
"There is a school in the United States specifically in upstate New York led by Professor Charles Xavier. It is a school to train the Enhanced to control their gifts, though they call themselves mutants for some odd reason." Said Shuri.
"So, you advocate sending our Enhanced to this school?" questioned Krodara, Elder of the River Tribe.
"Yes. We would send them as War Dogs with the sole purpose being to learn to control their abilities." Said Shuri.
"While these are good ideas what of the more pressing threats? Klaw and this Killmonger?" questioned M'Kathu
"Locating Klaw is a priority, one I would leave in the hands of Hunter." Said T'Challa.
"The White Wolf?" questioned M'Kathu surprised.
"Yes. The mistake I made in the memories was involving myself personally. This time I'd advise sending a contingent of War Dogs led by Hunter to handle the matter." Said T'Challa.
The council regarded this suggestion with heavy silence as they understood this suggestion for what it was. It was not a capture team that T'Challa suggested sending out but a death squad.
"What of this newfound cousin of yours?" questioned Romonda.
"Let him come and make his way here. When he arrives, he will find that challenging me is a mistake." Said T'Challa.
The students of Hogwarts Academy walked the streets of London excitedly. The group was composed solely of 3rd-5th year students and was accompanied by several chaperones including a few off duty aurors and parents. They were also joined by several teachers including Professors Flamel and who as one of the History teachers was an expected presence. Also joining the group was Diana, who had been accompanied by and left with them by his aunt Aldrif before she'd gone off to handle her own business, both of whom had appeared in front of the group at the castle by way of the Bifrost. The number of chaperones was needed considering the students numbered nearly 120.
For his part Harry was perfectly happy to be away from the school for a bit. With the combination of classes, personal training and his personal projects he found he needed a bit of a break. While his classes and coursework weren't necessarily it was all quite manageable. It was the addition of his other interests which all together had begun taking a toll. His elemental training for instance was at a far lower level than his other abilities but thanks to time compression he'd managed to get nearly three months of training in. Comparatively the time compression had given him nearly three years of fitness training as a basis supplemented with the training he was getting from the Room of Requirement and training in the Mystic Arts.
His project to upgrade the theatre had hit a wall. While the discovery of the crystals beneath Hogwarts had certainly helped him with his plans, he was still no closer to the finished project than he had been. The books on Kryptonian crystal technology hadn't helped as much as he thought as the information had flown completely over his head, though Hermione was having an easier time understanding it. Then there was the order of glasses for Athena which had taken a while to start.
First, he'd had to get the rune scheme patented which even fast tracked had taken a few weeks, in the meantime he'd had Dobby acquire 200 cheap plastic eyeglasses, though only 80 were going towards that order. As for the placement of the runes Professor Babbling decided to help him out and had offered extra credit to five of her NEWT level students, which included Penny and Percy. With those people selected Harry had offered them all 3 galleons a piece for the work, more than enough to make all of them even happier that they'd accepted the extra credit project.
The trip today was to the British Museum in London which he'd never been to before as the Dursley's had never allowed him to go on the school trips, which meant he was usually stuck at the school for the day or worse locked in the cupboard under the stairs. As such, unlike most of his peers that had grown up in the non-magical world and been on school trips before Harry was excited to check the place out. Because of the number of people attending the trip the three different year groups would all be split upon entering the museum to go on their own separate tours. When they arrived at the entrance, they found that the line to enter the museum wasn't too long and as such they wouldn't have to wait for too long before they were allowed in.
As he looked around during the wait he paused as he spotted a familiar figure approaching him. His eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed and he turned to face the figure fully causing them to freeze mid-step. The figure took a breath but firmed themselves up and continued until they stood just in front of him. The two of them eyed each other silently though still managed to catch the attention of those surrounding them with the new figure clearly nervous.
"It's, uh, it's been a while."
"It has, though to be honest I thought I'd never see you again." Said Harry.
"Harry who is this?" Questioned Daphne though Harry was sure she already had a good idea.
"This is Dudley, my cousin." Said Harry the words causing those around them to pay even closer attention.
"Dudley Evans." Said the boy.
"Evans?" questioned Harry surprised.
"I changed it. I was going to write you but I uh, didn't really know what to say or how to get anything to you." Said Dudley.
The name wasn't the only thing that had changed. He'd clearly dropped some weight since the last time he'd seen him, now looking as if his clothes were extra-large instead of a XXXL. Harry was also surprised to see that he could now look at him eye to eye whereas before he'd always had to look up so the growth potions he'd taken had certainly done their job. A nudge into his side snapped him out of his observations.
"Dudley, this Daphne Greengrass, this is Hermione Granger and this is Diana Prince, my betrothed." Said Harry causing Dudley to frown.
"Betrothed?" questioned Dudley.
"We are to be married when we come of age." Said Daphne causing Dudley's eyes to widen in surprise.
"Is that legal?" questioned Dudley.
"For us it is, there are circumstances allowing it." Said Hermione further surprising Dudley though he quickly shook his head to focus on what he came over for.
"Look Harry, I just wanted to apologize, what happened before, what I did, it wasn't right. I know that now." Said Dudley.
That caught Harry a bit off guard. For as long as he'd known Dudley he'd never apologized for anything, especially when he was in the wrong. His parents had certainly never encouraged him to do so, they took his side in everything and never actually held him accountable for anything and always blamed someone else.
"Look Dudley, I appreciate that but I don't blame you. I stopped blaming you a while ago. We were kids and I can't ignore that Vernon didn't encourage your worst behaviors. Just try to be a better person than your dad going forward." Said Harry.
"I'm trying, I know I still have a way to go. I don't know how you put up with everything so long." Said Dudley.
"One day at a time, it helps not to dwell on the past." Said Harry.
"I better go, I just needed to apologize." Said Dudley after a few moments.
"Look D, if you want you can write. Maybe we can try again, get it right this time. Hermione can you give him the information?" Said Harry
Dudley looked surprised at the offer but agreed. Hermione in response reached into her backpack and after withdrawing a notebook scrawled a quick note before ripping the paper and handing it to Dudley.
"The address is for a Po Box, send anything to that address and it will get to Harry at school or anywhere else." Said Hermione.
"Thank you." Said Dudley accepting it before making his way back to a group wearing the same school uniform as he was.
"That was nice of you." Said Daphne once Dudley was well away.
"He's going through a lot right now. His parents are both in prison so he's effectively an orphan. Also, it's not like I lied, all of his worse behaviors were encouraged by them. Besides if I can make nice with Draco then Dudley shouldn't be any harder." Said Harry.
For nearly two and a half years the Nine Realms had been in a state of chaos. The destruction of the Bifrost during the battle between Thor and Loki had massive ramifications that led to what is now being called the War of The Nine Realms. For the last two years ever since Thor returned to Asgard with the Tesseract and the Bifrost was restored Asgard's forces had been engaged in battle across the realms to put an end to the chaos and restore order. For the last few months Thor had been otherwise occupied and following him Sif and the Warriors Three had all returned to Asgard.
Now they had returned to the front lines for the final major battle on Vanaheim. As Sif and the Warriors Three joined the fighting the morale of Asgard's forces grew even more fierce and they fought even harder. As for the forces of Vanaheim they'd been fighting since their world was invaded and had run low on both moral and energy. All attention, however, was caught as a figure dropped from the skies and onto the battlefield. Rather than touch the ground, however, the figure seemed to glide across it as little more than a blur cutting through a line of warriors with ease before coming to a stop.
The figure once visible was revealed to be a woman garbed in a set of gold and red armor with large metallic wings emerging from their back with sharpened blades mixed in with regular feathers. As those gathered beheld her another group moved to jump her causing her to raise her sword and slash once sending a blade of energy out from her sword and bisecting all three. Within the trenches with the Vanir forces one person felt his eyes widen upon recognizing the figure.
"Freya." Whispered the man in surprise
At the name those of the Vanir paused and beheld the figure with new eyes. Before any more could be said or done the clouds darkened before a bolt of lightning shot down striking the ground beside the winged figure revealing itself to be Thor. Without a word he lifted his new hammer as easily as he would Mjolnir despite the fact that it was much larger before bringing it down and striking the ground. From the point of impact lightning surged out before him across the ground in multiple directions taking out entire groups at once.
"Well what are we waiting for? We can't let my sister and nephew steal all the glory after fighting for so long!" exclaimed Freyr before leaping out of his cover and charging out into the fray.
Jane Foster was surprised when she arrived at her worksite and found the area completely surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D agents. Unfortunately, none of them could tell her why they were there other than that they had been charged to secure the area. Thankfully they didn't try to bar her entrance or that of her team, otherwise there would have been an issue. As they were setting up to start working two figures appeared from thin air as if it was an everyday occurrence, though thankfully she recognized both one being Fury and the other being Angela, Thor's sister who was carrying a case that held some kind of dark red liquid.
"Okay what was that?" questioned Darcey.
"I have no idea but I intend to find out." Said Jane before making her way to them.
"So do either of you want to tell me what the hell is going on?" questioned Jane.
"Thor called in a favor." Said Fury causing her eyes to narrow.
"We are nearing the time of the Convergence. It is a phenomenon that happens only once every 5,000 years when all of the Nine Realms are in perfect alignment. The last time this happened my grandfather Bor used it to hide an artifact of incredible power where no one would be able to retrieve it. Unfortunately, those seeking it have also woken and as such the Allfather has commanded that we retrieve the item and move it." Said Angela.
"I'm guessing this item is what you're carrying now." Said Jane.
"It is." Said Fury shortly.
"The security will remain in place for the length of the Convergence. Apparently, it causes wormholes to open in random areas and this is one of the few places we know of. They won't interfere with your work unless there is some measure of danger as they are also charged with your protection." Said Fury.
The trip to the Museum was a success. Magical artifacts being what they were couldn't really be kept on display, especially the more powerful ones and as such there were no magical museums. As such for many of the magical raised this had been the first time that they'd been able to see actual proof of what their history classes were teaching them. The highlight had been the display of Chitauri artifacts from the Battle of New York that the museum had managed to get its hands on. That display had been enough for many of the purebloods to finally acknowledge that the Battle of New York had happened as they'd been told.
As word spread outside of Hogwarts about the trip and what they'd seen there was one group of people who were dismissive and entirely unimpressed with the words they received. From his home office Thaddaeus Nott casually tossed the letter he received from his son into the fireplace and watched it burn. Things at the castle were clearly getting out of hand and combined with the happenings within the Wizengamont even his patience was beginning to run out. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about the Wizengamont for now, Hogwarts however was a different matter. According to the schedule the upcoming weekend would be a Hogsmeade weekend, it would be the only opening he'd have to set things back on the correct course.
AN: That's it, chapter over. We are now in the beginning of Thor Dark World so I wonder how all of the changes will affect those happenings. Anyway thanks for reading and please review, I'd love to know what you guys think. Until next time, LATER.