He dragged himself from the mouth of the volcano, his bottom half gone. He pulled himself over the ridge, his black wings emerging to carry his upper-half the rest of the way. But it didn't stop there. His exit had set off the volcano. Balls of fire erupted from the tip, soaring through the air before crashing into the cities surrounding it. He could only watch as those around him were crushed and burned. A single tear fell from his eyes as he watched the destruction surrounding him. He had done it. He had done it again.
Marley-Hizuru War Arc
~ Chapter 6: Battle for the Fortress ~
February 8th, 845
It had been a year and a half since the new Warriors had been chosen to inherit the power of the five remaining Titans. Harry Potter, now eleven, was a Sergeant within the Marley Armed Forces. As a Sergeant, and the current interim Vice Chief of the Warriors, Harry was in charge of assisting War Chief Zeke Jaeger to lead the Warrior unit into battle. And as one of the leaders of the Warrior unit, Harry was one of the few required to enter the battlefield on almost every occasion. He ventured out into battle nearly every day, utilizing his strength, resourcefulness, wit, and magic to defeat his enemies. And when the battle was over, he used his magic once more to repair the battlefield, returning everything to normal.
This led to some significant changes. The Warrior unit was given a massive amount of freedom in terms of their operations as well as their daily lives outside of the military. In battle, the Warrior unit was free to act outside of the supervision of Commander Magath and sometimes Zeke Jaeger, something that led to much greater success due to their creative freedom. And outside of battle, the Warriors were given more freedom than any other Eldian or Honorary Marleyan in the entirety of Liberio and Marley. They could sleep, eat, and train whenever they wanted. They could visit the shops and restaurants in Liberio without supervision. And they could leave the internment zone to visit some of the sights that had once been blocked off from them.
The Warriors themselves were praised highly for their success on the battlefield. The Warriors had led a crusade against the Hizuru lasting over a year and had pushed the nation back across the Middle-Eastern Alliance's eastern borders. Marley had conquered the entire east and west sides of the globe. All that was needed was the middle-east, and Paradis. And after today, the Marley-Hizuru War would conclude, ending in the death of the Hizuru government once and for all. A crowning achievement for the entirety of Marley.
Harry Potter stood within another set of trenches similar to the ones he had visited outside of Fort Izu six years before. But now, he examined the enemy with a much clearer vision. He stood with a pair of binoculars in hand, his eyes trained on the massive enemy city standing before them. And at the center was a fortress armed with so many anti-titan and anti-infantry weapons that the thought of invasion was terrifying to some in the Marley Armed Forces. But Harry wasn't any ordinary soldier that looked upon the sight with fear. He saw the city and the fortress with a sense of great relief. Because despite the massive size of both the city and fortress, he could make use of the factors he saw there. Large buildings. Tiny alleys. The height of the fortress walls. Even the weapons on the walls. All of it could be exploited.
With the binoculars still in hand, Harry peered down from his elevated position to Commander Magath and War Chief Jaeger, both of whom were watching him with interest. "The enemy is stationed behind four walls loaded with anti-titan and anti-infantry weaponry. They're armed to the brim, ready for any attack we might launch against them,"
"So we send in Hoover," said Magath.
"No. We wouldn't be able to send him in without getting caught. And anyone we sent inside with him wouldn't have time to make it out before the detonation went off. But there's another reason. An explosion of any size from the Colossal Titan would reach us here in the trench. Even with the cover, thousands of us would die. An invasion after the fact would be useless. So no. We can't send in the Colossal," Harry explained. "Instead, we have to launch a tactical invasion. Reminiscent of the one we pulled off in the Battle of Izu,"
"An ambassador play?" asked Zeke.
"No. That's been done before, and they'll be expecting it. No, we need to send in prisoners. Prisoners that they will be very interested in capturing,"
Magath grinned. "You're volunteering, aren't you?"
"I am. But not just me. With the use of my concealment charms, I can hide the other Warriors. When we're close, they can turn into their titan forms and launch an attack right next to the fortress. The Armored and Female Titan will be the most effective here, using their strength and agility to destroy the walls while also evading the anti-titan artillery. And once the walls are down, the Cart and Jaw Titans can use their speed and strength to take out as many enemy soldiers as possible. If we do this right, we'll have the fortress and city by nightfall,"
"And what about the rest of us?" questioned Zeke.
"I will be supporting the rest of the Warriors in battle using my powers, taking out as many anti-titan artillery cannons as I possibly can. Bertholdt and Porco will join me on the ground, using their weapon training to take out enemy soldiers. As for you, Zeke, you'll have a very important task. The distraction,"
"Always need a distraction," mumbled Magath.
"They're important to any tactical strategy," defended Harry. "But the point is, I've already taken steps to ensure this succeeds, dumping massive loads of your spinal fluid into the water system. By nightfall, hundreds if not thousands of people will have ingested your spinal fluid,"
"Ah, you want me to create an army of titans with my scream," Zeke concluded.
"Exactly. With an army of titans on one side and the Warriors on another, the Hizuru will be too confused to act against one specific target. By the time their leader decides, it will be too late. The walls will be gone along with their artillery, and the fortress will be ours," Harry explained. "Once we have the fortress, the Hizuru Empire will be ours, leaving only the Middle-Eastern Alliance in our path,"
"And what of the Hizuru high officials who have already fled behind the Middle-Eastern borders?" asked Magath.
"We'll deal with them with the time comes," Harry replied.
"Good. Good. We'll relay this information to the rest of the army. Inform the other Warriors and get to work on making it happen," Harry smiled, offering a salute to his commander before jumping off of the platform. He landed on the trench floor, his feet carrying him to the Warriors cabin. It had been dug into the trench immediately after its construction, being the only enclave completely built with wooden walls and amenities like a bathroom, working lights, and decent beds. When he entered, the others were waiting for him.
Reiner and Bertholdt were seated on Reiner's bed, talking over something that Harry couldn't hear. Reiner had grown a lot in the past few years, gaining a lot of extra height and muscle weight that made him a formidable opponent in hand-to-hand combat. And Bertholdt had gotten much taller than he had already been before, shooting past everyone to an impressive 5' 10". They both had become two of the most valuable Warriors, with Reiner becoming the best Armored Titan in years while Bertholdt had become a master of destructive power.
Marcel and Porco were seated on the other side of the room on Marcel's bed, discussing the previous battle. The two had grown considerably as well. Marcel's Jaw Titan had become an excellent fighter within the Warrior unit, using his enhanced strength and agility to kill hundreds of enemies in battle. The power of the Jaw had been the most used of all, using its claws and jaw to cut down anything that crossed Marley's path.
As for the other two, Annie was sitting in her bed staring at the wall, her eyes staring into space. And Pieck was lying down on her bed, something she did a lot now that she had use of her Cart Titan. Her muscles had gotten so used to standing on four legs that it had begun to hurt her to stand up on two legs, forcing her to use a crutch to walk normally. The two of them were the first to spot Harry enter, seeing as they weren't deep in conversation. After Annie got to her feet, the others seemed to spot him as well. Everything went silent as Harry spoke. "We've come up with a plan,"
Bertholdt looked on with a hint of fear. "Are they sending me in?"
"No. We're not sending you in. Using the Colossal Titan is too dangerous in such proximity. No, our plan is much more complex," Harry replied. He stepped further into the room, taking a seat on his bed as he faced them. Annie took a seat once more, informing him to continue. "The plan is this. I will pull off something similar to what we did in the Battle of Izu, turning myself in as a prisoner to be captured. They'll be forced to escort me back to the fortress, where we will launch our attack,"
"You're going in alone?" asked Pieck from her position on her bed.
"No. The rest of you will be going with me, but you'll be concealed by several concealment charms. They won't be able to see you, so when we reach the wall, you all will transform into your titans, launching an attack directly against the fortress," Harry explained. When Porco moved to interject, Harry raised a hand, silencing him. "Zeke will use his scream to turn hundreds of citizens who have drunk his spinal fluid into titans, creating an army of titans that will also attack the fortress. In their hurry to capture me, there's a chance they will make several mistakes, including the mistake of redirecting their anti-titan artillery to the east wall to fight off the army, leaving their western wall exposed to us,"
"Once Reiner's taken out the wall, the rest of us will enter and attack the interior. Myself, Porco, and Bertholdt will launch a ground attack, killing enemy soldiers from the ground while the rest of you take down the anti-titan artillery on the walls. Zeke will offer support from afar, launching rocks at the walls in an attempt to cripple their artillery. If everything works like it's supposed to, the Hizuru Empire will be ours by nightfall,"
"It's a good plan," said Annie from her bunk, still staring into space with her apathetic expression.
Harry smiled, turning to the others for their input. Everyone seemed to agree with Annie's conclusion, even Porco, and so it was decided. They would launch their attack six hours before nightfall, ensuring they had more than enough time to capture the fortress as well as any personnel within. Harry decided that now he needed to explain what would happen next. "Magath wanted me to tell you one more thing," Harry spoke, gaining their attention once more. "This will be our last battle for a while, and because of that, they're sending us back. To Liberio,"
For the first time in six years, the group would be returning to their home town Liberio where they would see their family and friends. The atmosphere in the room shifted drastically. Instead of hushed conversations, the Warriors burst into loud celebration. They were going home! Even Annie managed to break out of her shelf for a moment, smiling gratefully as she watched them. Reiner spoke of his family. His friends from the internment zone. Even his cousin, Gabi, would be turning two in less than a week. Marcel and Porco spoke of their family, the Galliards, and how they hoped they had made them proud of their sons. Even Pieck spoke of her mother and father, that latter of whom she had left behind to get him the medication necessary to save him from a terrible illness.
"What about you, Harry?" asked Bertholdt, referring to what Harry hoped to find or experience when returning to Liberio. Harry stilled. From the letters he had received from his parents, it seemed they had moved back to Liberio just two years after he had left, finding the new city too large to live comfortably. And just four years after he had left, they had given birth to a girl. His younger sister. He had been right all those years ago when he first joined the Warriors program. Four years was a long time, and at that time they had been so lonely without a child of their own that they had chosen to have another. This time a girl. He had only told Annie when he had received the news. But now, it was too much to keep a secret.
"My parents gave birth to my sister just two years ago. I want to meet her," Harry replied.
"You have a sister? Why didn't you say anything?" Marcel questioned.
"I..." Harry sighed, lowering his head in shame. "I don't want her to be like me. I don't want her to want to be like me. She wouldn't like this life. She wouldn't like being like me,"
"Oh, yes. I'm sure she would hate being one of the most famous Honorary Marleyans in the entirety of Marley and one of the most important military assets in Marley's history," said Porco.
"That's my point. I'm an asset. Only to be used when I'm useful. I don't want that for her. I want her to grow old in Liberio or anywhere else she wants to live. I want her to be free to make her own choices, not to be ruled by the military that I've served under for half of my life," Harry explained. Everyone was silent at this. No one - even Annie - had known about Harry's opinion of the military. They had known for a long time that he wasn't the happiest in their situation, but they had assumed up until this moment that he was content. But to find out that he was far from content and happy was a surprise to them all. It shattered their confidence in their situations. Harry immediately regretted speaking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood," He got to his feet, stiffly walking to the door.
"Harry -" Annie spoke, attempting to get his attention. But Harry didn't stick around to hear what she had to say. He left the cabin, moving down the trench within his thoughts. Why had he spoken up about his true feelings? It had been a truly foolish thing to do, because none of them would understand. Sure, perhaps Annie and Pieck would, and maybe even Marcel. But the others? Reiner and Porco were knee-deep in the Pro-Marley propaganda being fed to them by Commander Magath and Zeke. And Bertholdt - bless his soul - was too timid to go against anything they said. Marcel was too young to understand anything Harry said, and Annie and Pieck were too sympathetic for Harry to be comfortable telling them too much. And so for the longest time, he had remained silent about his true thoughts. His deepest desires. But now they had seen a small fraction of what he had hidden, and Harry could already feel the seeds of doubt in his leadership planting in their souls.
Harry hated himself.
As one of the smartest people in the entire Marley Armed Forces, Harry found himself doing some of the dumbest things anyone could imagine. He couldn't trust his judgment sometimes, resulting in several casualties in most of his battle plans. But the higher-ups didn't seem to care. They saw the low number of casualties and the huge successes and deemed him a tactical genius, not caring that if he had been a tad bit smarter in some aspects, the people who had died might not have needed to at all.
So it was on those nights following some of the worst battles that he lay alone in his bunk, crying so softly that no one could see or hear him move. He would cry alone until he heard movement, and then he would jerk ever so slightly, becoming completely still while his eyes dried out. He couldn't afford to let the other Warriors see him as weak for crying. Harry needed their full support, and for that to happen they needed to see him as a leader. Someone who could be relied on in any situations in the future. He could not cry. He would not cry. Not in front of them. Not where they could see or hear.
"Potter," It was Zeke. The man had followed Harry down the trench. For how long, Harry wasn't sure. He didn't care. "Have you informed the others about your plan?"
"Yes, sir. They've been informed,"
"And Liberio?"
"I informed them of that, yes,"
"Good. Good. I wanted to make sure. I heard a commotion from inside the cabin and saw you walking away looking dejected. Is everything alright?" Harry stilled. He kept his face neutral, his eyes searching Zeke's for only a moment before he came to a conclusion. Zeke Jaeger could not be trusted. This man had turned his parents over to the Marleyan government at the age of six, entering the Warrior unit after that to become the Beast Titan. If that didn't gain some questioning looks from most people, then Harry wasn't sure what would.
"Everything is fine, sir," Harry replied.
Zeke frowned, before bursting into laughter. "You are a horrible liar, Potter. But if you don't want to tell me, then, by all means, that's alright. I just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong within the unit. In-fighting could be disastrous out in the field of battle,"
"I'm aware, sir. And trust me, there's nothing wrong within the group," said Harry.
"Very well. We have only a few hours before we carry out your plan, so I would get ready,"
"Yes sir!" Harry exclaimed, offering Zeke a salute before stepping past the man. He moved towards the equipment room, stepping inside to find the equipment manager. At his appearance, she stiffened slightly, her hand reaching up to her brow in a salute. Harry didn't smile. He returned the salute out of respect, before stepping forward. "My weapon and uniform, please,"
"Right away, sir!" she exclaimed, rushing into the back of the enclave to where the Warrior's uniforms and weapons were located. Within seconds she had returned with Harry's uniform along with a large wooden staff. She placed both on the counter before saluting once more. Harry sighed, grabbing hold of his things before leaving the room. He changed in one of the meeting enclaves, tossing his old uniform aside. Gripping his staff, Harry examined it with interest. They had made a few small changes. The wood of the staff had been painted white to match his uniform, and the small gemstone at the top at been surrounded by a round, transparent, white ball. Gripping it tighter than before, Harry stepped up to the command platform. He needed to work out some of the details with Magath.
Four Hours Later
Roughly six hours before sunset, Harry Potter took another step towards the large Hizuru fortress set in front of him. He was halfway between the trenches and the fortress. Though no one could see, the other Warriors were walking behind him, doing their best not to be noticed. Because despite the concealment charms placed on them, any kind of large movement or commotion could draw attention from the sharpest of eyes, ears, or noses. And so they slowly walked towards the fortress over an hour, navigating through the war-torn city until they were only ten blocks away.
It was at that moment that the distraction occurred. A scream could be heard for miles, followed by thousands of yellow flashes. The titans had been created. And it seemed Zeke had been prepared, ordering them all towards the fortress' east wall. With the western wall exposed, Harry and the others took a right, moving through the streets away from the mass army of titans drawing closer. Gripping his staff, Harry stepped up to one of the many Hizuru patrol parties surveying the area. They spotted him instantly. In Hizuru, they shouted. "Stop right there!"
Harry stopped, raising his hands in the air. But with the single twirl of his staff, the entire squad was cut down into halves, their bodies dropping to the ground. The squad behind them jumped into action immediately, opening fire on Harry. With his reflexes perfect, he threw up a shield just as the first bullet struck. In the instant the bullets collided, Harry formed an illusion visible to those outside of his shield bubble, one that showed him diving out of the way of bullets. He purposely had one bullet strike his right hand, forcing his staff to fall to the ground several feet away. His illusion disarmed and injured, Harry casually watched.
"Detain him!" Shouted one of the Hizuru soldiers, tossing one of the privates a set of handcuffs that they slapped on the illusion-Harry's wrists. They dragged the illusion off the ground before picking up his staff, both of which felt real to the touch. With the illusions in captivity, the real Harry and the rest of the Warriors were free to tag along hidden from sight.
"Damn, I can never get used to seeing that," whispered Marcel, who looked impressed by the illusion. Annie and Pieck nodded in agreement, though the others stayed neutral on the matter. Harry believed it had to do with what he had said earlier, but he didn't much care. They needed to stay focused on the mission. After tonight, they would be going home. Harry would be able to see his sister. Reiner could see his cousin. Everyone would see their families again. It would be the best few months of their lives in the military.
After almost another hour of walking, the group made it to the west wall entrance, which was quickly opened to allow the Hizuru squad inside. Harry and the other Warriors followed, smiling as the doors closed behind them. They had made it. Just like the Battle of Izu six years before, the group had successfully fooled the enemy into letting them inside their walls. A trojan horse. Harry stepped forward, examining the situation from within while also focusing on his illusion. The soldiers shoved illusion-Harry to his knees, aiming a rifle at his head while the Hizuru general stepped forward. "Harry Potter. Vice Chief of the Warrior unit. Why would you foolishly engage my soldiers in combat without the help of your friends?"
"Another Trojan Horse maneuver, sir?" One commander asked, aiming his rifle worriedly into the sky.
"No. Without his staff, Mr. Potter here is useless,"
Harry grinned. The staff worked as a way to channel his magic, yes, but he was more than powerful without it. After all, he had started using his magic years before wandlessly. It was only when he had started participating in a battle that he began to use different items to channel his magic. At first, it had been a magic wand fashioned from wood, and then a sword, a mace, a gun, and then a staff. From that point forward he had been known solely for his staff, something that set him apart from the other Warriors. The enemy believed that without it he was nothing. That it was the source of his magic. Good. The more the enemy underestimated him, the easier it was to kill them.
The real Harry had counted the enemy forces and their armaments within the fortress. From what he could see, nearly a thousand soldiers shoved into the fortress walls, all armed with one rifle and one pistol. There were fifty-two anti-titan artillery cannons on each wall, with a single submachine gun shoved in between each cannon. This worried Harry. There were thousands of titans, sure, but if the Hizuru were capable of using those artillery cannons to even half of their potential, then the Warriors would have to work fast in taking down that wall.
"So what do we do with him, sir?"
"We kill him, of course. We can't let him escape. If he does, he'll return to their line and report his findings, coming up with a master plan to take us down. No. We kill him and focus on our defense against the new titans," The General decided. He removed a pistol from his waistband and without hesitation shot the illusion-Harry. Harry - who had done enough planning now - didn't bother with the illusion of him dying. He merely ended it and jumped into action. With a single thought the General collapse underneath his own weight, the atmospheric pressure around him increasing tenfold until he was only a mound of flesh, blood, and organs on the ground.
The Hizuru soldiers around to witness his death suddenly froze from pure shock, unsure of what had just happened. But then they turned towards the source of the curse and spotted Harry and the others standing there. "NOW!" Harry shouted. And then it happened all at once. Reiner, Annie, Pieck, and Marcel all bit their hands, transforming into the Armored, Female, Cart, and Jaw Titans. Porco and Bertholdt readied their rifles, opening fire on the shocked men while Harry began firing spells and curses at any soldier he could find.
Eventually, the Hizuru soldiers got out of their daze enough to turn their cannons on the north and south walls inward. But by that time Reiner and Annie had done their work, slamming through the right and left sides of the west wall. It crumbled to the ground, crushing dozens of soldiers trapped below. Pieck climbed up the north wall, batting away any soldier that crossed her path while crushing cannons along the way. Marcel did the same on the south wall. On the ground, hundreds of Hizuru soldiers had survived and were surrounding Harry, Porco, and Bertholdt. They were surrounded, and Harry's shields were beginning to loosen. If he let even a stray bullet in, Bertholdt or Porco could be hurt. And then it happened.
The shield broke. Porco and Bertholdt - who had both seen Harry struggle to keep it up - dropped to the ground instantly, taking cover behind the rubble as bullets flew around them. A scream of pain ran through the air as Harry was struck twice. Once in the knee, the second in the upper arm. His arm fell to his side as he fell onto his good knee. His scream of pain was amplified tenfold as it echoed through the city. All eyes turned to the source. But instead of spotting a young boy carrying a staff, they saw death. Harry's hair had grown again, with his eyes glowing bright green as he began to vibrate. His entire body moved in a blur before he began to levitate, flying into the air above them.
The Hizuru soldiers concentrated their fire solely on him, but nothing happened. Instead, it only seemed to fuel his rage. Soon, the soldiers saw nothing but the elements. Fire was swirling around the three Warriors in a ring of blue flames. Water had jumped over the rubble of the north wall, drowning soldiers as it swirled around. Dirt and rocks were being flung around at high speeds, hitting soldiers left and right causing catastrophic damage. And the wind had picked up considerably, knocking down structures while blowing men off of the remaining pieces of walls. Harry himself was surrounded in a ball made up of each element, his green eyes peircing through the veil of colors.
The whole thing was a disaster. The Warriors who had turned into titans were quick to take cover from Harry's wrath, hiding behind Reiner's Armored Titan while Pure Titans invaded the interior. In the center of it all was Harry, who slowly lowered back toward the ground as he stared blankly at the carnage ahead of him. There was nothing on his face. No pain. No anger. No emotion whatsoever. His mind was somewhere else. Somewhere better. A haven for his mind that had not been unlocked before. And he wanted to stay there. He wanted to stay in this haven forever.
But someone else had other plans. It was Annie. She had jumped from her Female Titan right into the center of the maelstrom of his mind. In the span of a second, she pulled him by his feet back to the ground and was hugging him from behind, burying her head into his shoulder. Harry was still lost. His mind was elsewhere. "Harry! We need to get back to the Tard-" The brunette woman speaking to him faded from view, being taken over by a man Harry did not recognize. A man wearing white robes. His hair was long and white with a white beard to match. His eyes were green like Harrys, only he had a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead. The man smiled. "My son. Hadriel. My hand. It is time for you to wake up. It is time for you to complete the cyc-"
Then he felt them. Drawing him back to the present. He felt Annie's tears on his neck. He felt Bertholdt's hand holding onto his. And he felt Porco's hand resting on the back of his broken leg. Harry felt the three of them at the same time, their presence breaking into the visions he had experienced. Then another one pulled him into a hug. It was Pieck. Her voice pierced through his mind in a sharp slash. "Harry. Come back to us," she whispered to his right. His eyes dimmed slightly as the people and voices in his mind faded. The wind around them calmed and the fire slowed to a stop.
The water flooding the fortress retreated towards the ocean hundreds of miles away, and the rocks flying around them dropped to the ground. It was over. The battle was over. Harry was back, but the pain proved too much. He cried out once more, falling forward into Pieck's embrace while Annie clung to him even tighter. He was crying now. Both from the pain and from the sheer carnage he was witnessing in front of him. The Pure Titans created by Zeke had entered the fortress and were ripping apart any survivors, tearing them in half before gulping down the blood.
Reiner had been torn to shreds by Harry's rock storm, his armor having been pummeled repeatedly by giant rocks. His titan was on its knees, its neck open to reveal Reiner's exhausted body. Marcel had been hit several times and had been flung off behind the debris from the west wall. Pieck's Cart Titan was several feet away, burnt to a crisp from Harry's whirlpool of blazing fire. And Annie's Female Titan had taken the brunt of it, seeing as she had stepped up next to Harry and the others, making it easier for her to jump down next to Harry. Her titan form had lost everything from its knees down and had also been burnt to a crisp alongside Pieck's titan. It was terrible. He was terrible.
"It's alright. It's alright," whispered Annie.
Harry was done sobbing into Pieck's shoulder, the sudden pain being gone and replaced by more constant pain. His leg cramped slightly, forcing him to fall over away from them. His eyes burned with tears as he peered down at his wounds. A scattershot had sent four bullets through his left knee, and a pistol round had been shot into his left arm. The bullets were still inside. Through gritted teeth, he reached down with his right hand. Without much precision at all, he ripped the bullets out of his knee, causing him to scream in pain once more. But it had worked. The pain was less now, and that was good. He did the same to his arm.
"Here," Pieck reached down, ripping a large section of her coat before tying it around the wound on his knee. Annie did the same to her coat, tying that around the wound on his arm.
With the pain alleviated slightly, Harry whispered through gritted teeth. "Marcel...Reiner...go see...if...they're...ok," Annie and Pieck didn't move, but Bertholdt and Porco both shot to their feet, running towards Reiner and Marcel respectively. Harry hoped his friends were alright. He hoped he hadn't hurt them. And if he had, he hoped they weren't suffering from as much pain as he was right now.
"Potter!" Harry turned his head enough to see Zeke Jaeger running through the war-torn fortress. The Pure Titans that had been running through the fortress had all been killed with a single command from Zeke, and everything was now still. There were no survivors. No screams of pain. No war cries. No gunfire. Nothing. Absolute silence. All that filled the air were Harry's muffled cries of pain. When Zeke arrived he fell to his knees, examining Harry with worry. "Can your magic fix this? Can you undo the damage?"
"I don't...I don't know," Harry ground out, struggling to think. The images and voices were still buried deep in his mind, and he was still seeing them. A name came to his lips. "Hermione would know..." He wasn't sure exactly who Hermione was, but the name sounded familiar, and he knew that she would indeed know what to do. But besides those two things, he didn't know why he would say such a thing. "I...can't...think,"
"It's ok. It's ok. Sleep. Rest," hushed Annie. She looked the most concerned of all, with sweat building at her brow as she examined him for any other wounds. Pieck was deep in thought about something.
Zeke had something to say. "Who's Hermione?"
"My...best...friend," And with that, Harry fell over onto the ground, his mind spinning as he fell unconscious. The last thing he saw was the looks of shock spread across Annie, Pieck, and Zeke's faces. But they weren't looking at him or his eyes. Only slightly above. His hair? His head? Had he hit it before? Harry didn't care. He merely faded into darkness as the world around him fell into a soft quiet.