9

Master Xander

Chapter Twenty

Hogwarts

Young Harry Potter looked like a bird trapped in a cage. He was stunned. No. he was shocked. No, he couldn't believe this! Why did things like this continually happen to him?

Hundreds of people, ministers, fellow students, professors, news people, visitors, and who knows who else, were staring at him in disbelief. Many of them were glaring as if this was his fault. All of his friends, especially Ron and Hermione, squinted at him as if he were actually responsible for the goblet of fire choosing him. Ron looked envious; Hermione appeared mystified. The Wesley twins looked impressed. The rest of the Gryffindors looked confused. Several of the professors stared at him in shock, disappointment, and true concern. Others glared at him like he was the worst troublemaker in the world, and that this latest prank of his crossed the line from pranking into danger. Professor Snape looked outraged, but oddly reflective. The two visiting professors looked outraged and were already converging on the headmaster.

The reporters from the local news outlets and from around the magical world looked like vultures. The people present for the unveiling of the names were shocked, not knowing what to say. Everyone's attention was focused on him and for a young teenager, that scrutiny was horror personified. He hadn't done anything. And it wasn't his fault, and he was sure one would believe him.

Like the others, Professors Trelawney, Harris, and Delane were surprised and suspicious. Sybill looked worried. The presentation of a fourth champion made her fearful, because it didn't feel like some adolescent prank. She got the impression of danger, not only for the boy, but for her and everyone else around him. Her training using the meditative techniques she learned while working with Ceraine allowed her to develop some come control of her prophetic abilities. The woman still couldn't remember her own prophecies, but other aspects of the power were coming to the forefront. The woman was trusting her instincts, and they were yelling at her now that something was wrong.

She was blossoming, looking far more attractive than she or others imagined. It was amazing what a little change in hairstyle, a few clothing style modifications, and contact lenses instead of those binoculars she used to wear, can do for a woman's appearance and confidence. A lot of wizards in the community began seeing her in a new light.

Professor Harris was, for a lack of a better word, unhappy. This contest was dangerous for anyone to take part in, let alone an underage boy, and there was nothing he could do without breaking his cover. He could find out if the goblet were tampered with, but that would generate too many questions he wasn't prepared to answer yet. He'd check later. For now, there was nothing he could do.

Ceraine looked disappointed. The boy had strength, but obviously someone had it out for the boy. Harry Potter had a chaotic aura not unlike his own, and this incident was suspect. Something or someone was conspiring to hurt this , and she didn't like it.

As for Dumbledore, the man hadn't planned for this and was terrified for the boy. He was livid and raging at Harry. How could the boy be so foolish to do something like this? How did he, a mere boy, overcome the goblet's defenses?

Snape accused the boy of mischief without proof, but doing so with relish. That wasn't a surprise since everyone knew that he hated Harry potter, but that attitude really pushed Alex/s buttons. Snape's hostility was there for all the world to see. That wasn't true, not completely, but he kept in character when it came to the boy, more than the headmaster would have liked.

The Headmaster's initial reaction was to blame Potter for this debacle, but his own instincts were telling him that this was a specific plot aimed at the boy. But he had no idea what to do about it. If he forced Harry to withdraw, then he would lose his magic. That was part of the magical contract forced on the boy, and that was out of the question.

No, the goblet's choice had to be honored, and the only good thing about that was that he had a little time to counter this latest attack and make sure the boy survived the upcoming trials. The questions remaining were: how could he do this? It was one of the few times he was at a loss. Tom had to be involved somehow, and Albus intended to counter this latest move by the dark wizard. Thank Merlin that he hadn't made a personal appearance, or this would be infinitely worse.

Right now, he had only moments to prepare himself to deal with the irate headmasters Karkaroff and Olympe Maxime. This was a firestorm he didn't need at this time but couldn't avoid. They seemed to want his head on a pike for some reason because of this incident.

"Two champions for one school?" Maxime yelled. "Why are you intending to cheat like this? We will not take part in this travesty!"

Dumbledore had to calm them down quickly. "This is most unexpected," he said quickly. "This has never happened before. The goblet…"

Alex felt sorry for the boy knowing that the next few days were going to be a pain for the poor soul, and he resolved to do something to ease his pain when he came to class. Harris only imagine what was going on inside that room with the Headmaster inquisition Harry was going through.

And Snape's attitude wasn't helping.

He couldn't do anything for the young man at the moment, he thought. But Ron had caught his attention. The look on the boy's face. He looked shocked, but more importantly, he looked betrayed and jealous. That was something Alex intended to nip in the bud. However, before that….

"Hello, Rita."

Her usual air of forwardness that surrounded her disappeared the moment he said hello. "Hello, Alex."

Skeeter was breathing heavily, and he knew why. The so-named Boy-Who-Lived was news, and this incident was a major scoop for her and her newspaper. Alex was half surprised she was still here in the school instead of running back to the office. As she looked at him, she seemed to understand what he was thinking.

"It isn't over yet. I want to see what happens next. I want my followers' readers to get the full story. The Boy-Who-Lived!" Her eyes gleamed in the magical candlelight. She lived for moments like this. "My readers are going to love this, every little juicy bit!"

There was no way he could stop her, and he wouldn't try, at least not directly. Rita was doing her job as she saw it for the last ten or more years. What he did plan was to change the direction. "I can see it now," he said to her quietly looking at her was innocently yet as despondently as possible. He poured as much guilt into his voice as he could. "You're going to embellish this, aren't you?"

"I-what? No. I'm going to report the news as it is," she answered indignantly. She wanted to raise her voice but stopped herself after a small bit of effort. "What do you think I am, Alex?" she asked him, looking very conflicted. She felt a little hurt and didn't understand why. "I thought you thought better of me, after our date, I mean?"

Guilt 101. See, you taught me well, Willow. "I do, Rita, but I don't know," he admitted. "I'm watching you because I want to see who you really are. Your actions tell me a lot about who you really are."

The woman looked seriously conflicted. "One date does not a relationship make, Mister Harris. You don't know the real me."

"Are we in a relationship?" Alex asked sweetly, much to her chagrin. "After one date?" Alex had never seen someone turn such a shade of deep read in his life. Not even Willow's blushing compared. It was glorious. Rita looked so cute, frustrated, and embarrassed like this. "Let's take some time and see where this goes. No marriage contracts, no love potions. We need to see if we are compatible. Then we'll see."

He was succeeding in making her feel guilty, and she knew it!

What was wrong with her? She was a seasoned, hard-charging reporter for Merlin's sake! She looked defeated. "Read my article and, and we'll see," she relented. Oh, she had so many good lines she could have used!

"Thank you," he said as sincerely as he possibly could at the moment. "By the way, I see you've cut down on your makeup a little. It suits you, I think."

If looks could kill, Alex was oh, so dead. And he was the one who suggested that she use less. The old git. "I hate you."

"You do," he asked.

For an instant Rita wanted to scream. Then she shook her head, completely nonplussed. "I don't hate you," she admitted.

But I will get my vengeance, she promised. Now she'd have to start writing her article over again from scratch. If only he would stop smiling at her so much. He was just making things worse!

Across the hall, Ceraine just smirked. The man was chaos theory personified. .

She would however make sure he didn't hurt the little news harpy. Rita was a pill, but she was also making gains. Not much, but she was beginning. Alex needed to be care and not hurt the woman. As bad as Rita was, she didn't need to be hurt like that. And she didn't want to hear Alex moaning about his actions for the next few years, either.

She demons, she-vampires, she-mummies, she- mantis' that wanted to mate and then eat him, witches ala Willow, her own witch of a sister, he had experience with all sorts of very dangerous women being attracted to him. Xander once believed it was a curse. But it wasn't. it was a power he could manipulate now. Alex, however, was still a man and sometimes didn't know when to stop, so Ceraine would keep a leash on him, letting him run free when the time was right. As for Rita, he needed to be cared with her. sometimes he needed to be reminded of the Master of the Mystic Arts. or not.

"Small ripples," a smiling Sybill standing next to her, said.

"What did you say?" Ceraine asked.

"Did I say something?" she asked, confused. "Oh, dear. I don't remember. What did I say?"

"Nothing," Ceraine said smiling.

Small ripples indeed.

Three days earlier

Bonderize, Bulgaria

Five kilometers outside of the small town of Abubaraz, a golden-colored portal appeared in a sparse, unkept wheat field next to a rarely used dirt road. A small vehicle emerged from the portal. Clearing the portal, it moved a short distance pulling onto the road before the portal closed in on itself. It was late afternoon and the five people who exited the non-descriptor automobile observed the surrounding area carefully, making sure there were no others around. This emergence area was chosen specifically because of the absence of people. The fact that there were no other people around wasn't surprising because the locals knew something was terribly wrong and instincts were screaming at them to run, which they did.

The targeted town was located approximately six kilometers ahead, and the hunters didn't dare portal or apparate any closer. Their prey was unaware of them so far, and the three humans and two goblin warriors wanted to keep it that way.

Ceraine Delane, Gregory Stewart, and François Almonte looked at the barren landscape, confirming what they already knew. This area was abandoned not only by the people but also by the animals that normally inhabited the area. Dogs and cats, birds, local wildlife, everything left. The denser people in the town whose instincts weren't that great finally gotten the message and followed suit. Only the very stupid stayed. Eventually, even they left as relatives dragged them away for their own good.

Two heavily armed goblins, each carrying goblin black swords, took up positions in the rear, ready to engage and slay anything that would dare try to catch them unawares. Grimheart and Turmis, also known as 'The Worm Killer', were both seasoned warriors chosen by the Goblin leaders who insisted they be represented in the hunt. The two Masters of the Mystic Arts gladly accepted their help.

For both the wizards and the goblin, this was a valuable training exercise dealing with the increasing incursion in the world. It was their world, and they needed to know how to fight other-dimensional monsters.

Most of the non-magical people with a modicum of common sense had fled the area, but those represented only a small portion of the population in the early days. However, it didn't take long for the other non-magical towns, some as far as twelve kilometers from the epicenter to vacate the area. The people didn't know why they felt the need to flee but, as with the people of Abubaraz, they followed their instincts.

For as long as the town of Abubaraz existed, rumors persistent that the area was haunted. Unknown to the no-mag villages, that feeling of wrongness, was a by-product of the manipulations of the local magicals working to keep their town clear of so-called muggles.

The town in question kept their wards, notice-me-not, and muggle-repellent spells at full strength and as a result, most of the locals didn't know that the small enclave existed, which was exactly the way the magicals wanted it. The feeling of fear was always with the magicals, and those fears were only exacerbated during World War Two when the Germans invaded the surrounding countryside. The German army never detected the wizarding town, but several members of the enclave were killed during bombings and random gunfire. The incidents served only to increase the paranoid and fear among the magical town, and by extension, increased their desire to remain as isolated from the muggle barbarians as possible.

The wizards and witches here were some of the more isolationist people in the world. Their culture stopped progressing in the 17th century and their contact with non-magicals was almost nonexistent. This gave them a measure of security in order to continue their way of life without interference.

An isolated people, they barely interacted with the other magical towns in Bulgaria and that isolation contributed to their town being extinguished without others knowing of their plight. Interestingly, no one bothered to inform the authorities that something was terribly wrong, but that was to be expected. The same spells that kept the town secret also kept magical and non-magicals authorities from sniffing around. The magical village had done their jobs too well. There was no one to help.

Ceraine Delane, a Daelvis Lord of the Mayran was her world equivalent of a Slayer. She wasn't as physically strong as Buffy and the other slayers of Alex's world, but she was the equivalent of a mystical powerhouse. Her family was the destroyer of demons and mystical entities.

The Vishanti recruited her for the same reasons they had Alex and the others. They were champions against the forces of the dark. Her natural mystic abilities were valued by the Vishanti, and through their training, she graduated as a Master of the Mystic Arts in record time. Her success and capabilities were just one reason Willow was envious almost to the point of hatred. She never understood that the Vishanti required humility as well as strength to be accepted into their program.

Willow was a mystical powerhouse, but she wasn't what they were looking for in their champions. Upset at being rejected, she forced the issue and challenged the Vishanti, an action that almost got her killed. Trying to prove her worth, she only made it worse. Only Alex's impassioned pleas stopped the ancients from terminating her. However, the damage was done. Alex was one of the chosen and not her. Willow's relationship with Alex was damaged because of jealously, and that envy ultimately ruined their relationship and practically made her enemies with Ceraine. Two decades later, she was still competing with the two masters and their relationship could be best described as tenuous.

In Ceraine's opinion, the less she saw of her, the better.

Gregory Stewart, from Britain and Francois Almonte of France, were recruited by Alex and Ceraine the first year they arrived in London. They were part of a select number in a growing network of magicals and normals being recruited and trained for the battles to come for this world. Grimheart and Turis, the worm killer, were the ones chosen for this mission because they were excellent warriors and were able to get along with magicals and non-magicals relatively easily. The two of them were excited, ready to attack and slay the being that dared violate their world.

"We'll walk from here," she told them.

The two goblins glared at her and nodded quickly, and without a word, began heading towards their destination. Both wizards groaned. Long walks were just more exercises. Alex and Ceraine required them to work out constantly, from the time they were recruited. The wizards and witches were being whipped into shape, but it was exhausting, and their kind didn't take to it well. But they were improving. A five kilometer walk wouldn't kill them, although apparating was so much easier.

Naturally, Stewart complained. It was his nature to do so. "Why so far? Surely, the creature could not sense us if we apparated with a couple of kilometers." He began walking, catching up with the others. Dragon scale armor was light, but not that light when walking long distances in it.

"Don't worry," Ceraine told him. The woman couldn't contain the gentle sarcasm heard in her voice. "The walk will do you some good. The K'sjanx are nocturnal," she explained once more. "They abhor sunlight," she said. "These creatures originate from a dimension of eternal darkness. Sunlight burns them. It blinds the eyes that they really don't have. It doesn't kill them, but they will hide from it. This isn't their natural habitat. But as I mentioned, they can detect magical auras and sense magical based biological beings. You've studied the report. They prey on magicals and have the ability to track down their prey. They feed on our kind. That's why that town was wiped out. Magicals can't detect them with magic. If the vampire entities are detected by magic , it's because it wants to be and therefore, it's a trap.

It never hurt to repeat vital critical need-to-know information before going into battle.

"Yes, Ms. Delane," Gregory responded.

He didn't even think about arguing. Instead, he focused on the mission and trying not to get himself or his mates killed and sucked dry by some-thing that didn't have a definitive shape and far too many mouths. The creature wiped out an entire village of magicals, and he didn't want to be added to the list.

The group reached the outskirts of the town about two hours later. There was no need to rush since any action most likely wouldn't occur at the beginning of twilight. All of them were focused on keeping their magical auras suppressed as much as possible. Their target would sense, probably had already detected them, but not the special weapons they carried. The1 K'sjanx were alpha predators and never backed down, but they were wary of prey that could fight back.

In the Dark Dimension, Dormammu cared little for his subjects, but their constant victimization and the numbers of deaths, followed by a massive proliferation of the creatures, forced the Dreaded Lord to hunt them to extinction. The Faltine lord excelled in his mission. There were few of the creatures left alive, and most of them were trying to escape to another dimension and better hunting grounds. Escaping Dormammu was exceedingly difficult to do, but three entities had made it through a crack in the dimensional wall. Two died during the journey, eaten by the third and largest one, allowing it to survive until it reached here.

The goblins looked antsy, watching every movement, every whisper of the wind. The two wizards were just as wary. Neither one of them had experienced anything remotely like this.

"It is too quiet," the French wizard whispered. "I hear nothing but the sound of the wind, what little there is of it," he added. "It is terrible."

"I agree," Gregory whispered back.

Both goblins glanced at the three magicals and nodded slightly, agreeing with them. The area was absolutely silent. There were no birds chirping, nor were there sounds of animal anywhere. None of the hunters saw or heard in the area. There was absolute silence. Even the grass seemed to sway quietly.

"I have never heard silence before."

The words didn't come out right, but they all knew exactly what he meant.

"Get ready," Ceraine said, not even bothering to keep her voice down. "It knows we're here." She could feel it probing, hunting for her and the others.

They wouldn't have to hunt it down. It was coming for them. Coming now.

TBC