Chapter 18
Mayhem at the Menagerie
Harry lurched forward as someone bumped into him from behind.
"Sorry, Harry, I couldn't see anything back there –" Ron inhaled sharply. "Well, this was worth the hike." Hermione followed closely behind and said nothing, but her wide-eyed gaze matched Harry's.
"Hah!" The Minister barked when he entered. "I always love the look on their faces when they first see it. And there are those who doubt that Olympus is truly the Mountain of the Gods! I - "
He cut off as a strange sound filled the air. It was beautiful, ethereal, and seemed to be coming from everywhere at once - maybe even from within Harry himself. Phoenix song.
A large bird swooped straight down from the sky, as if the entire mountain were hollow and it came from the peak itself. It made a long banking turn, it's red-gold feathers glittering in the magical sunlight. It approached the entrance in a graceful swoop and circled the group of wizards, slowly coming lower.
Finally, when it was so close Harry thought he might be able to reach out and touch it, the phoenix pulled away. It cried out with its musical voice, corkscrewed in midair, and then vanished in a flash of flame.
The sudden silence made Harry feel like he came out of trance - and a pleasant one at that. No one spoke for a long moment.
"You just received a very rare treat", the Minister whispered. "Floga almost never allows herself to be seen, unless my son is around of course." He shook his head. "You'll soon see that we have some of the most dangerous creatures in the world in residence here, but they've yet to invent a spell that can contain a phoenix."
"Hah!" Harry jumped as the Minister regained his usual volume. "An excellent start to an excellent day. Come, Floga may not be the most fascinating creature you see this day!"
The Minister led an impressed looking Ron and a downright delighted Hermione deeper into the Mountain. Harry frowned and followed behind. The Minister spoke at length about the magical properties of the Olympic Menagerie, Hermione rapt with attention. Harry didn't hear a word. For the first time he could remember, seeing a phoenix hadn't made him happy. The Minister's son had been found dead next to the most phoenix blood Harry (or maybe anyone) had ever seen. And apparently the victim was friendly with a wild phoenix. Dumbledore's portrait stressed just how rare phoenixes were. Was it possible this phoenix let the Minister's son draw its blood? Perhaps a little at a time, over a long period. Then the killer could have stolen it after he killed the victim…
"Wow, Harry are you seeing this?"
Harry left his thoughts behind and joined Ron in front of the first animal display. Another marble archway led into a wide-open paddock. At the center were two horses, an adult and a foal. Harry thought they were unicorns, but then the adult reared onto its back legs and spread ten-foot wings. A Pegasus. The adult was pure white, just like the unicorns Harry had seen, but its mane and tail were a shocking, electric blue. The foal's coat, mane, and wings were all a pure, shimmering silver, like it was coated in liquid metal.
"She's beautiful ", Hermione whispered. Harry agreed.
"That she is", the Minister said, "but I wouldn't get too close. The foal is only a few weeks old and his mother is very protective. I'd fistfight a troll before coming between a Pegasus foal and its mother." The mother trotted away from the onlookers and Harry noticed a thin, pink string wrapped around her neck and tied to a pole in the middle of the paddock.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Charon walked up beside Harry. "Something as thin as a string holding such a powerful creature in place, truly exceptional magic."
"Why do you have it restrained at all?"
"It would be very dangerous to let any of the creatures here loose. It's for their own safety." Charon looked at Harry seriously. "And it would be most unwise to act against the Minister's will."
The next display was a massive dog, even bigger than the Pegasus. It had a snake's tail, six feet long and scaly. It also had two heads.
"Orthrus! There's my boy!" The huge dog barked excitedly at the Minister. "Who's a good boy? Are you a good boy?" Orthrus' reptilian tail thrashed in the affirmative.
"Well this is bringing back nightmares", Ron whispered.
Two of the Minister's retinue came forward carrying a huge tray between them laden with what looked like dragon steaks. The Minister seized a steak the size of a suitcase with his bare hands and dangled it. First in front of one head, then the other.
"Who's hungry? Who's hungry?" Both heads let out a booming bark in unison that sent shivers down Harry's spine. The Minister heaved the steak at them and the left head caught it.
"Isn't he beautiful?" The Minister asked.
"Yeah", Ron said watching the two heads fight each other for their dinner. "Exactly the word I was thinking…"
"Orthrus has been here since I was a boy. I must confess, he is my favorite. I always asked to throw a saddle on and ride him but my father would never let me", he chuckled. The Minister must have confused Harry's look of fear for admiration, for he continued. "If you're impressed by Orthrus here, you should've seen his brother. Even bigger, if you can believe that. And he had three heads! But my idiot uncle smuggled him out of Greece, oh, about twenty years ago and no one had seen him since. I wonder what happened to him…"
Harry, Ron and Hermione all shared a look then quickly looked away.
The Minister showed them several more creatures and, Harry had to admit, they were fascinating. There was a den of sirens - hideous bird-like creatures that had beautiful, human voices. Their song could put a man into a trance or lure him to their lair. The Minister's retinue provided earmuffs to all the men before they were allowed to approach the display. Unlike the open paddock of the Pegasus, the sirens were in a semi-aquatic chamber: a small body of water leading into a cave.
"You wouldn't believe the number of spells and enchantments we placed on these", the Minister said slapping the low wall of black marble that surrounded the sirens' lair. "Tell them, Charon."
"Immensely complicated series of enchantments ", Charon agreed. "It took a special team from our Ministry the better part of five years to perfect the spells themselves and the order in which they must be cast. But they were, as you can see, successful. The enchanted marble creates a magical barrier. So long as it remains unbroken, nothing within it can escape the perimeter."
Harry found it interesting that he'd used the word "escape". Harry didn't fancy seeing a siren in the wild, but these creatures were being treated like prisoners. If this is how they treated animals, Harry shuddered to think what their version of Azkaban was like.
"But don't go asking for our secrets!" The Minister said with a wag of his finger. "Wars have been started for less." Harry took a second look at the black marble wall. It reminded him of the Department of Mysteries and its black marble antechamber. The Greeks used it in a different way, but Harry thought the two must be similar. Harry was certain the Unspeakables could create the Greek version of this magical black marble if Harry told them it's properties…but Harry didn't think he wanted to.
The tour continued. Next they saw a manticore, it's black marble fence more than twice as thick as the sirens'. It had the tail of a scorpion, the body and mane of lion, and a face that looked disturbingly human. It reminded Harry of drawings he'd seen of Neanderthals…if they'd also had fangs. According to Hermione, the venom in the manticore's stinger was nearly as deadly as a basilisk's and its hide was magically resistant, similar to a dragon ("so why would they keep one in a zoo?" Ron asked). Harry privately agreed - Its scorpion tail was longer than its body. According to Charon, manticores' preferred food source was humans. This particular manticore had wiped out an entire Muggle village before a team of twenty wizards managed to subdue it.
A chimera followed the manticore. Another hybrid creature: this had the head of a lion, the body of goat, and the tail of a dragon ("who comes up with this stuff?", Ron muttered). Harry watched the beast's tail closely. It reminded him of a Hungarian Horntail. The manticore's chest suddenly glowed orange-red and its lion's mouth opened as if to roar but, to Harry's shock, it unleashed a jet of flame.
"It can breathe fire!?" Ron yelped.
"Yes, indeed, Mr. Weasley. Dragons get all the publicity, but I'd face one of them over a chimera any day", Charon said with a chuckle.
The next few creatures may have been spectacular under other circumstances, but they paled in comparison to the man-killing beasts they had just seen. Kappas and grindylows, pixies and firecrabs (which bore a passing resemblance to Hagrid's blast-ended skrewts), and last was a kelpie, an aquatic horse that was half mermaid.
The Olympic Menagerie really was amazing, and they were only halfway through it, but they were wasting time. They'd come all the way back near the manticore enclosure but the Minister was suggesting a tour of the smaller creatures they hadn't gotten a chance to see yet.
"Minister Sophocles", Harry said. "The Olympic Menagerie truly is wonderful. But we really should get on with our investigation. These things are time sensitive and your assistance can help us save lives."
The Minister's eyes narrowed. "Why are you so obsessed with this, Potter?"
"Obsessed? Why don't you care at all? Your son is dead! If this happened to my son, do you think I'd be spending time at a damn zoo? I'd be doing everything in my power to bring his killer to justice, especially helping the people actually investigating his murder!"
Harry was breathing heavily. The Minister looked furious but Harry didn't care.
"I don't like your tone, Potter."
"We'll I don't like you. This whole time I couldn't decide whether you were a callous asshole or a bumbling idiot. I'm leaning towards idiot, but I'm still not certain."
The Minister looked Harry up and down, then said "I don't believe you, Potter. I don't believe that my son is dead."
"So my instincts were right, you are an idiot." The guards behind the Ministers grabbed their wands as Ron and Hermione did the same.
"Even if he is dead", the Minister snarled, "I know your Ministry did it! You kidnapped him to get the Wand of Zeus! Thought you could set up one of your own as Greece's ruler if he held the Wand!"
"Interesting theory", Harry said tapping his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Except for the fact that we just GAVE THE WAND BACK TO YOU! How does that fit into your theory?"
"Am I to understand the mind of whatever half-wit came up with your scheme?"
"I don't know, but I've been trying to understand the mind of a half-wit all day."
"Enough! Charon, escort them out of here and back to the Floo grate. Under guard! Charon?" The Minister looked around but Charon was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the Minister's two dozen retainers had been reduced to roughly ten. The ever-present circle of wizards was now a half circle, the area behind the Minister was nothing but empty grass. "Where did everyone go?"
"NOW" someone shouted and then several things happened at once. Shield charms erupted around Harry just in time to deflect several curses; the entire cavern went dark, as if someone had flipped off a light switch; and a deafening crash sounded from the entrance of the Menagerie.
Harry had his wand out in an instant, adding his own Shield Charm to Ron and Hermione's. The darkness was a problem - he had no idea where the attackers were nor where the exit was. No sooner had he thought this than he heard a harsh voice to his left mutter a spell in Greek.
Three orbs of pure-white light sprung into the air. The huge cavern was still dim, but it was better than nothing. Harry had a brief second to register three guards on the ground and another four guards shove the Minister into a crouch before a variety of spells came rushing at him. The spells crashed into the Shield Charms and exploded off them like fireworks.
They were exposed under the light and Harry still couldn't see the enemy. He crouched low and turned to tell Ron and Hermione to tell them to disappear under Disillusionment Charms - but they were already gone. In one motion, Harry threw himself into a diving roll and pulled his Invisibility Cloak out and on.
He stayed low, keeping his Shield Charm up as he moved away from the main group. He still couldn't see the assailants. Presumably they were also under Disillusionment Charms - it's what he would do in an ambush. Fortunately, Disillusionment Charms weren't perfect. They could be disrupted by extreme heat or direct light.
Harry aimed in the general direction from where the unfriendly spells were coming from and cast a spell with a long, sweeping motion.
"Flagrante!"
A column of flame erupted from his wand, making his skin feel burning hot then instantly freezing cold as it passed. The fire was blindingly bright in the darkness, but it illuminated the entrance to the Menagerie, the marble archway stark white. The fire crashed into an invisible barrier. Shield Charms could block the fire itself but not the heat. Harry heard a muffled cry of pain and saw an oddly distorted (but clearly visible) figure drop a wand and grab his wrist.
Spells came firing at Harry in response, but he had already moved. Unlike the Disillusionment Charms, his Cloak was, as ever, perfect and the unfriendly spells passed by a dozen feet to his right.
Ron was no longer an auror, but he remembered the training on pincer formations. Two columns of flame crashed into the enemies shields from the opposite direction. The good news was that the added heat completely dissolved the attackers' Disillusionment Charms (looking like they'd emerged from a melting mirror).The bad news was that there were a lot of them. Maybe thirty. And they were all dressed the same. Black robes. Black hoods. White masks.
Harry froze. The masks were identical to one he saw eight years ago, worn by the Death Eater leader in the Forbidden Forest. The one leading the search for the Resurrection Stone. The one who got away.
A purple curse passed so close to Harry that it ruffled his hair. He snapped out of his reverie. He may be invisible, but he wasn't safe. The attackers (the Death Eaters?) were sending fire back at Ron and Hermione. Soon Harry would be the only invisible one left. Thirty enemies stood between Harry and the only exit. Time to change that.
Harry closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. Then with a motion like a tennis serve, he cried "forzare!"
He sent out pure kinetic force, concentrated into a needle thin area. Not deadly, but excellent for piercing shields. He spell was met with a cry of pain and a man dropped, grabbing his leg. Harry had run to his left the instant he cast the spell and again the counterattacks missed their mark.
The enemy had the numbers, but they had been put on the defensive. Hermione and Ron attacked from their left, the Minister and his remaining guards fired spells from the front, and Harry attacked from all angles. He repeated his shield breaking spell again and again and again. They were unable to keep shields up against the more dangerous spells cast by Harry's allies and black-clad enemies started to fall.
"Hold ranks!", a female voice bellowed. "No one escapes!"
Harry grinned. Whoever these attackers were, they weren't disciplined. Their attacks weren't coordinated and their shields left gaps exposed. The Minister may have been an idiot, but his guards were well trained: they'd established a place of cover and all their spell work was in synch. They were a single cohesive unit rather than a group of separate individuals. Hermione had conjured a wall of solid rock with a few small murder holes through which she and Ron could fire spells.
Harry wasn't sure if their goal had been to assassinate the Minister or himself (or both), but they missed their initial attack and now weren't certain what to do.
"No one leaves", the female voice said again. But this time she turned her back on Harry and his allies and faced the entrance archway. She cast a spell with a violent diagonal slash and the archway was rent, as if slashed by a giant sword. The marble tumbled to the ground. There was nothing behind it but the rock wall of the mountain.
Harry's heart thundered in his chest. Was there another way out?
"NO, NO DON'T!" Hermione screamed.
Harry thought she was a bit slow on the uptake but then realized that she wasn't looking at the entrance archway but back behind the Minister. One of the white-masked attackers was kneeling at the manticore enclosure, his hands on the black marble wall. He was chanting something in Greek.
Harry realized what he was doing a split second before it happened. The black marble vanished. The manticore roared and leapt over the white-masked man and out into the open.
The manticore took two huge bounds and it was on the Minister's guards. Its great scorpion tail was so quick it was a blur - it plunged through the back of the nearest guard and came out through his stomach. The next guard made to point his wand at the beast but the manticore snatched his whole arm in its jaws and, with an almighty wrench, ripped it clean off at the shoulder.
The manticore spit and the guard was hit in the face with his own dismembered arm. A purple spell cast from the attackers struck the manticore. It let out a deafening roar, blood dripping down its hideous, semi-human face. Then it charged towards the ruined entrance.
All that happened in a span of about ten seconds. Another shriek from Hermione and Harry snapped his eyes away from the manticore. The white-masked man was now at the chimera enclosure, again chanting in Greek.
"No…" Harry whispered.
The black marble wall vanished. The chimera was free.
There was no way out.