Wow, I knew that the previous chapter would garner some attention, but the response in the positive was greatly beyond my expectations, many thanks for those that reviewed and enjoyed it. And for those that clearly and plainly stated their desire for Nobu'tan X Morgan... just eww... no. She's easily centuries older than him, and he's only 13, so gross. Cradle snatching wouldn't even begin to describe that relationship. Alas, you'll all have to keep guessing, as that is not going to happen. But I digress, on with the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Thirty Five

Horrors of the Deep

Alastor Moody was astounded when the frighteningly beautiful woman stepped out of the midst of the powerful shield that was clearly protecting the other magic users from the interference of the Auror forces battling the trolls and demons that infested the island fortress. They were already being forced back from the small measure of advancement they had achieved, and whomever this new contender was she radiated magic like none that Alastor had ever witnessed before.

Suddenly, the magical shield dropped, exploding outward over all their heads in a flash of power and color, revealing a half dozen figures behind the woman, five of the strange creatures that had supposedly kidnapped Potter, and the boy himself standing in the midst of them all, looking perfectly calm and collected, which confirmed all that Alastor and Albus thought. Potter was not a hostage, but in league with these creatures and whatever their designs were.

The trolls started to fall back, along with the other members of the strange creatures, even as Potter flicked a hand, opening a portal of his own for them to retreat through, while the demons advanced to block the Aurors from following. Alastor himself was too far to try and intercept them, but that didn't stop him from launching volleys of fire at the retreating forms, albeit failing to strike any of them before they fled.

Unfortunately, that still left them to deal with the woman and the demons. And even as they kept fighting against the terrifying creatures, the woman raised her hands, chanting in an archaic language, which sounded highly Gaelic in origin, but not something that the scarred Auror recognized immediately.

But there was no mistaken the immense torrent of power that washed from the woman as she sent every Auror nearby flying into the air, while the demons were consumed in flames and blown into particles like ash. "The servants of the Legion will tremble before me for their treachery, and the world will know my might once again!" she cackled, before lifting into the air, unsupported by broom or other devise that Alastor could identify, before she soared over the landscape and out of sight.

Even as the woman vanished, Amelia and Rufus apparated to Alastor's side, looks of horror on their faces, "Alastor, what in the world was all this just now?" Amelia demanded, her monocle dangling from its chain where it had fallen from her eye.

"I honestly wish I knew," Alastor replied truthfully, "but whatever it was, I highly doubt that it is good for us…"

Rufus looked as though he was going to add something, when there was another flash of light, and they all turned to see in the place where Potter and his allies had disappeared a figure appear, slumped slightly in exhaustion and stumbling. The three wizards leapt into action, wands up just in case, and Alastor apparated nearer, hoping for some answers from this new individual, who was wearing a slightly soiled brown robe and a bushy beard that had the strangest assortment of leaves stuck between the hairs. He was completely unfamiliar to Alastor, but like the woman, his magical eye registered that there was immense power inside the man, and even more contained in the simple-looking walking stick that he carried in one hand, clutched tightly as though it was the most important item in the world.

Somehow, he knew that despite what the law would require of him, Albus would be the expert to actually meet with this person, even if Alastor was convinced that this person's power greatly eclipsed even Albus' great reserves, the Arcane aside.

Against his better judgment, Alastor approached closer, within touching distance of the figure, despite his typical reservation for putting himself in such a potentially dangerous situation with an unknown of such power. And he paid for it, when the man suddenly moved like lightning, reaching up with his free hand and grasping Alastor's wrist.

The jarring sensation of side-along apparition was bad enough, but this was on an entirely different level. Stumbling away from the figure, who was now standing, albeit weakly and leaning heavily on his staff, Alastor leveled his wand on him and fired a simple stunner.

What was more astounding was that the man seemed totally unfazed by the crimson jet of light, and only casually waved his hand to disperse the spell before it even reached him. "There is no need for that, Alastor Moody. I am quite on your side of this little affair regarding the warlock that invaded Avalon in search of secrets best left alone."

The surprise that this unknown figure knew his name was dwarfed by the intense desire to know everything that he was referring to. Already it seemed that this unknown person had more information than he or Albus about the madness and secrets that surrounded Potter.

Taking a moment to gaze around them, Alastor was somehow unsurprised that they were on the grounds of Hogwarts. "I sensed that you wished for your allies to learn what I have learned regarding the warlock that released Morgan. It would be wisest for us all to meet so I can tell my story only once."

The fact that the mysterious man was so unconcerned about all that had transpired baffled Alastor, but he found himself simply drawn to follow as the man approached the castle and school, bypassing a smattering of students who had remained for the holidays as they went, who looked on in confusion and awe as even the most unskilled of wizards could detect the power wafting off the man in waves.

Without even needing to be told where to do, the mysterious man led the way up to the Headmaster's office, waving his hand to start the gargoyle moving aside and the staircase rotating its way up to the office proper.

Albus was caught off guard as they entered his office, which told Alastor that even his normal sensor charms hadn't triggered when this person made his appearance. Looking up in surprise as they entered, Alastor was struck with the revelation like a bombshell as Albus guessed the identity of the man who had brought them here.

"Merlin… how can this be?"

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Lucius was not certain that he would fully understand the strangeness that Lord Nobu'tan described in the realm of Avalon, but the likelihood that they would be capable of returning there at all was slim, so after a brief explanation of fighting Merlin himself, Lucius allowed the topic to slide.

The end of the matter was that the Torque was claimed, even of Morgan le Fay had been released from her prison, and was currently running wild and free across the country, but that was a problem for the Ministry, and would only work to their advantage in buying the Order of the Black Harvest more time to seek the final artifact: The legendary Elder Wand from the Tale of the Three Brothers.

In Lucius' mind there could be no other item that the demon had referred to, in terms of powerful artifacts that compared in strength to the others that they had collected. Lord Nobu'tan was already hard at work identifying what Morgan's Torque actually did, and how it would mesh together with the others toward their final goal.

In the process of researching for the final item, Lucius was forced to consider some rather outlandish things, and he had a fair idea as to a potential lead toward understanding what might have happened so long ago with the wand supposedly made by Death itself.

Every Pureblood was aware of the strange order of wizards that sought the three items from the legend, seeking after their bizarre quest to unite the three. But Lucius only cared about the wand, so he felt that it would be safe enough to ask questions of Britain's local quest seeker of the supposed 'Hallows,' Xenophilius Lovegood, editor of the Quibbler.

The man was a certifiable loon, accepted and understood by most families, but if anyone was familiar with old legends that may or may not be true, it would be him.

Lucius had apparated to the lonely tower-like house that the man owned, ironically near to the lopsided hovel of the Weasleys, and approached past the odd plants and undesirable smells that infested the gardens around the house.

Xenophilius was suitably surprised and suspicious when he learned that Lucius was at his door, but Pureblood graciousness won out in the end, and he was invited inside. Politely declining the man's horrible herb-based drink, Lucius got straight to the point. "In researching several powerful artifacts from our ancient history, I stumbled upon some records that indicated that the Wand of Destiny might in fact be a reality, and I was hoping that you could provide me with more information as to whether the wand could be real, and if so where it might be located now."

Lucius somewhat regretted his action just then, as the man started to waffle on about the speculative nature of the Hallows and their locations based on the story, but at least he learned great information that it indeed exsisted, under many different names and wielded by different Dark Lords, but alas the trail had gone cold decades previously.

Still, there was a certified path of hands that had wielded some wand that they claimed to be more powerful than any other, and it was certain from the tale that the wand passed based on killing or otherwise removing the possession of the wand from the previous owner. Lovegood may have been mad, but his information seemed sounder than most of his usual claims and findings. Therefore Lucius was willing to suspend his innate disbelief of the man in this matter.

Returning quickly to his manor, Lucius sought out Nobu'tan, who was set up in his personal guest room, waving both wand and free hand, dripping with arcane magic, over the Torque in attempts to understand its properties.

"I have some leads that may assist us in locating the Elder Wand," Lucius informed the boy warlock, and Nobu'tan turned, setting down his wand.

"I have also just discovered the power of this Torque, and it is rather ingenious little artifact. It's no wonder that Merlin did not want it to fall back into mortal hands." Nobu'tan replied, and Lucius waited eagerly for the full explanation. He was not disappointed, "Permanency; or that ability to make a spell or effect of one last significantly longer than usual," Nobu'tan explained.

Lucius saw the application immediately, "so it will keep a massive portal open indefinitely, to allow the Legion access to this world."

"Precisely Lucius," Nobu'tan replied. "The Grimoire of Merlin holds the key of how to form large portals out of the standing stones, while the Diadem boosts the stability of the wearer, allowing them to think of more efficient ways to apply magic in the midst of a ritual. I could only presume that the wand is needed for sheer power to make the tear in time and space large enough for the demon lords to enter."

Lucius then began to retell the story that he had learned from Xenophilious, barring any unnecessary information that the man had seen fit to slot in with his story. Nobu'tan listened closely, and although Lucius knew that all this information was foreign at best to the warlock, he was impressed with the conclusion that the boy came up with regardless.

"So it is likely, as Dark Lord after Dark Lord possessed this wand, or many wands that they all claimed to be this wand, that perhaps those predating Voldemort were also in possession of it?" he speculated.

Lucius thought on that. It was true that the Dark Lord Voldemort had had no such obsession or gloating regarding his wand, therefore it was unlikely that his was anything more than a standard Ollivander creation, which implied the greatness of his own magical strength, however… if Lucius recalled correctly, Didn't the Dark Lord of fifty years previous, Grindlewald, have some obsession with the Hallows. There was something that connected the two concepts, Lucius knew it, but couldn't place it at the exact moment.

"It is possible," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "And I have a few ideas where to look for the moment, but it will take time to confirm my speculation."

Nobu'tan nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Now all that's left for me to do I find Morgan again and see what her objectives are, and whether I need to stop her myself before she achieves them…"

Lucius had a bad feeling regarding anything to do with the ancient witch, but he already could tell from Nobu'tan's face that the young warlock would not be dissuaded from that course of action. "I urge caution," was all that he said therefore, "she is dangerous at the best of times, if any of the old stories are remotely true."

"On that point we most certainly agree…" Nobu'tan said, smirking slightly as he turned toward the open window, conjuring his scrying eyes to hopefully seek out the witch without risking himself by running around the countryside.

Lucius left him to it, knowing that there was plenty for them all to be doing before the Aurors or Dumbledore riddled out where the boy was hiding.

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Hermione was sitting in her room going over her History of Magic notes when she felt a tremendous surge of magic far to the south of the castle. From the magical signature, she was vaguely aware that Harry might have been involved in whatever that spike represented. It was strange that she could sense it even here however, as there was a drastic lack of any Ley Lines for her to manipulate to power the Arcane.

Perhaps her growing strength in the various methods was increasing her ability to draw upon lines from father away? It was an interesting theory that she could test later, but currently she wanted to send a message to the other mages and see if they too had felt the surge of magical activity. They had all been in constant communication, passing theories and possible techniques back and forth, especially from those who lived in large magical manors and could get away with practicing at home without the Ministry knowing anything.

Although they were all in agreement that due to the vastly different nature of Arcane magic, the Ministry was unlikely to be able to monitor it like they did wand-based magic.

Writing a quick missive, and copying it several times over, Hermione set the letters next to her window to await the next owl to arrive with news, before thinking about what she had felt, and what it might mean. If Harry was involved, it had to do with those creatures that kidnapped him, supposedly. Some of the others speculated that it could be that Harry was working with these creatures, and the kidnapping was staged to throw off where he was hidden, but it was a small portion that thought it might be possible.

Perhaps she ought to test their theory about Arcane magic and the Ministry and see if she could determine some specifics regarding the burst of magic. Planting the memory of the strange sensation at the forefront of her mind, Hermione muttered to herself, weaving the fingers of her left hand, as the right grasped her quill firmly over blank parchment. Thoughts and impressions soon started to feed into her mind, describing a location, or an event, she wasn't perfectly sure, which was why she was recording her findings in writing.

The powers of the Arcane flowed easily through her, and soon an orb formed in her left hand, twitching and swiveling as she contemplated the burst of magic she had felt. There was some sort of island involved, heavily saturated with magic and Hermione could tell that it was important for some reason, and a blinding flash that spilled out a torrent of raw, and rather warped, Arcane magic.

Then, as she passed into some sort of trancelike state from the buildup of arcane magic in her room, Hermione started to see far more clearly. The strange green creatures huddled within a magical shield, channeling their dark magic to drive a wedge-like conduit of power into some unknown tear in space and time.

From within the doorway, Hermione could feel a certain kind of wildness, some font of magic that was strangely alien to her altogether, even with the knowledge of the Arcane with her. From this portal emerged Harry, alongside a stunningly gorgeous woman dressed in some sort of ancient attire, with many bangles and other trinkets adorning her person that radiated magic all their own.

Harry had an item as well, some sort of necklace or a choker more accurately, and he held it up for the green creatures to see, while gloating that they had what they wanted, before proceeding to weave his own dark type of power to rend a hole through the universe, where in they all started to retreat, aside from the woman, who smirked as she turned to look directly at Hermione.

Panicking slightly, as she felt the immense wellspring of power that that one gaze contained, Hermione lost the connection, and the spell fizzled. Sitting back, Hermione was vaguely aware of her hand cramping from intensely writing what she had seen, but there was still too much to ponder. Harry used dark magic, or at best was being forced to use it, which was only marginally better.

Either the woman was in charge of these green-skinned creatures, or they were allying with her. It seemed like something was clearly out of place, or not adding up, and definitely something to pass on to another person who had the skill and ability to deal with it. Hermione would be writing a letter to Professor Dumbledore regarding this, unless he had already felt the blast of magic and was investigating it himself.

It was likely, but it would be highly irresponsible if Hermione said nothing and the Headmaster had not yet noticed this. So another missive joined the others in a pile waiting for the next owl to appear, and Hermione attempted to return to her notes, occasionally pausing to glance at her written observations while channeling her spell.

The temptation to put aside her homework and look at the far more interesting concepts of her latest research was mounting steadily. There were still so many questions, and even for Hermione, goblin wars and other old world events that were so backwards from modern thinking were not nearly as entertaining as her classmates thought she found them to be.

So it was no surprise that, less than a half hour later, she had pushed the History of Magic work aside and was pouring over her notes that she had acquired regarding the burst of magic and its unknown connect to Harry Potter.

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Albus stood in amazement as the greatest historical figure of their age literally walked into his office. Merlin Ambrosius, also known less commonly as the Guardian of Avalon, or he who stood between the earth and the Feywilds, was already deep into his explanation of how he had returned to their world, the connection to the strange creatures who wielded Nobu'tan's dark magic, and most disturbing of all, the release of Morgan le Faye and the threat of the demons of the Burning Legion.

Albus had had to steady himself at the literally tide of information, as many thousands of little questions started to click into place. It seemed that according to the great wizard's tale, that Harry had somehow, either intentionally or unwittingly, become engrossed with the powers of a demonic horde that sought nothing more or less than to burn every world that they came in contact with, and was being used as one of their pawns here on earth to do… something…

Merlin had said that the boy had sought some artifact that had been Morgan's, and by the time he had followed they were already gone from the isle of Avalon, but the remnants of their Fel magic remained. Their guess as to what artifact the young warlock, as Merlin called Nobu'tan, would be as good as Merlin's own speculation.

Time functioned differently in Avalon, and due to that, certain details grew less and less important, one prime example being that Merlin himself was completely unaware of the hour of his arrival, it being well past dinnertime, and nearing the normal hour that Albus himself retired. But the Headmaster of Hogwarts made no mention of this, as the opportunity to speak with the greatest wizard who ever lived was simply too great to pass up.

"I do not know what exactly the boy intends," Merlin said after some time, now sitting in one of Albus' office chairs, stroking his fine brown beard in thought, "but knowing what madness the Legion always has in store, I would suspect that he is being forced to find a way to usher them here with all due haste. So the artifact must be some piece of the puzzle that he needs."

Albus widened his eyes in realization, "Portals…" he muttered, attracting the attention of Alastor, who had been quite silent this entire time, as well as Merlin. "Nobu'tan has been obsessed with the creation of long distance portals since we found him two and a half years ago."

"Yes," Merlin said, nodding to himself, "A big and powerful enough portal to a demon world would allow them entry to here, but that works to our advantage, as there is only a handful of places strong enough on earth to support such grand magic. One of which is ironically this school itself."

"What makes a location powerful enough?" Alastor piped up, reminding the ancient wizard of his presence.

"The number of Lay Lines," Merlin answered "I would guess three or more in one location would be minimally required for whatever ritual the boy would be planning for. There would also need to be some powerful artifacts in play to channel enough energy to allow the generals and other high ranking demons entry to another world, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has gathered, or plans to gather, others with his strange allies."

"So we could easily track where Nobu'tan plans to do this ritual by locating each area in Britain with three or more Ley Lines attached to it, and work from there to prevent this ritual of occurring." Albus said, very pleased that at long last, answers were had in regards to the boy's mysterious powers.

"I wouldn't underestimate him," Merlin retorted, "I did so to my folly, a grave misjudgment of his willingness to succeed. It hadn't crossed my mind that he would simply free Morgan to get an artifact from her. This unfortunately leads to the greater issue at hand… Morgan le Faye. Her being free is more of a threat than the Legion could ever hope to be at the moment."

"How so? She's only one witch, albeit extremely powerful…" Alastor started, but Merlin shook his head sadly.

"Morgan is not without allies, which ironically enough oppose the Legion themselves, and are older than time. She has likely gone to seek her hidden vaults and try once more to usher in the madness of these Elder Gods and release them, as she had so long ago when I first imprisoned her in Avalon. These creatures will do much worse to our world than the Legion could ever hope to accomplish, as they will not merely destroy the planet, but corrupt it to be like they are, twisted and corrupt, and altogether insane."

"So you know where she most likely is heading?" Albus asked, eager to assist if they could.

"I could guess, but there are several places that had been forgotten by man that she could have secreted herself in. at the least we know that she will be no help to your young warlock, as her factions are dramatically opposed to the Legion for reasons even I have only begun to understand before taking up my long vigil in Avalon." Merlin replied, holding up a hand, "but there are ways we can quickly locate her, which will tell me quickly where she plans to go."

And to Albus' great surprise, Arcane magic flared to life in Merlin's hand, quickly dancing and shifting as he mutter a spell of location, trying to spy on his fated enemy and determine where she had gone.

"Come on, show yourself…" Merlin muttered, peering into the sphere of magic, before he smiled, "There you are Morgan, now just what is it you are up to…"

There was a brilliant flash, and the orb of power dispersed in waves, even as Merlin shook his head, "It is exactly as I feared, she has gone immediately to seek out and awaken one of the Forgotten Ones, the servants of the Old Gods, in hopes that they will assist her in reeking vengeance on the world for its cruelties in her long life… "

"If we do all in our power to help you stopping Morgan, will you assist us in stopping Nobu'tan from releasing the Legion?" Albus asked pointedly, and the ancient bearded wizard thought for a long moment.

"I suppose it cannot be helped…" Merlin said after some time, "I cannot hope to stop both Morgan and whatever evil she has unleashed thus far without assistance, and you both… along with one other in this castle I believe, have the power to assist me in stopping her."

Albus knew that the man meant the magic of the Arcane, and quickly he sent a Patronus to summon Severus. "Then we shall go with you immediately to stop her." He said, rising to his feet.

If anything, the wizard who dwarfed Albus in both age and appearance seemed to brighten all the more, even as he arose as well and turned toward the door to the rest of the castle.

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Nobu'tan knew that something about the mysterious Morgan le Faye was not right; possibly that there was no way in Azeroth or this place that she would ally with him or the Legion, but he still felt drawn to request some aid from her, even if it was just out of formality.

It took some doing, but the eyes of Kil'rogg sailing in every direction from Malfoy Manor eventually found her, their ability to traverse great distances rapidly aiding him in the search. But what he found the woman doing was another strange matter altogether; and something quite beyond the scope of what Nobu'tan had ever conceived in his mind.

Having therefore 'seen' the location through the eyes he had unleashed, Nobu'tan was easily able to open a portal to the location near to where Morgan had been found, a long stretch of deserted coastline on the western shores of Britain, overlooking the ocean and its thunderous waves.

"I had wondered if you would approach me again, little warlock," she said simply, all trace of humor removed from her regal voice as she gazed across the water, magic wafting off her in droves. It was similar to some of the magic Nobu'tan wielded, something out of the Void and part of shadows, but there wasn't a single trace of Fel magic in her spell, which already confused and worried the warlock.

"I came to learn if there was anything you would wish to impart upon me and my allies, in our quest that led to your freedom," Nobu'tan said, casually reminding her of the event should she be planning to turn hostile to him.

"No doubt of that, little one," she said again, but still did not turn toward him, "but there is nothing I can, or will, do to assist in the destruction of my masters upon this world by the Legion."

Nobu'tan was surprised, how did she already know so much. She laughed, raising her arms higher as her magic intensified, dimming the light of the sun around her to a far more shadowed hue. "Yes," she said, "I know of your masters, young one, but they pale in comparison to mine. You may command Fel, fire and some arts of shadow, but I am far beyond anything you could ever dream. Behold…" she added dramatically, and Nobu'tan looked out at the frothing water of the sea.

Was it his imagination, or were there things coming toward the beach just under the water? His suspicions were confirmed when, just down the coast from the pair of humans, a hideous creature erupted from the shallows, looking like some misshapen humanoid, only as a mound of flesh with tentacles sprouting from it on disgusting angles. One arm was nothing more than a writhing tendril itself, while the other sported a massive claw.

"The master sends his servants to me, to herald his arrival," Morgan cooed happily. "Soon, it will not matter what neither you nor the Legion wish to do here, as it will be too late. I will awaken the Ancient Ones, and they will grant me the power to turn this world to darkness."

It was only then that Nobu'tan understood the full depths of this woman's madness. While he himself would seek the end of this world, she would go a step beyond, and reshape it into the hideous image of the creature, and the many others like it that were already encroaching on the beach.

There was little else he could do. This madwoman had to be stopped at all costs, especially if he was to ever set foot on Azeroth again. Falling back to another position away from the now laughing witch, who clearly thought she had scared him away like a child, Nobu'tan hastily opened a new portal to the manor, before summoning Quzkol and sending him swiftly through to retrieve any prepared for battle.

It was critical that they stop this invasion before it could start. None would have this world but the demon lords of the Legion. Teg'Ramm and the ogres answered his call immediately, despite their lowered numbers, and for that Nobu'tan was greatly pleased. Those of the Order appeared as well, once again in the guise of the orc warlocks of old, although only those that had been channeling the portal into Avalon. Nobu'tan suspected the others had already departed to rest from the previous battle.

"Morgan le Faye has proved to be far too treacherous to be allowed to live," he said quickly, summoning his host of demonic minions. "She seeks to corrupt this world with ancient abominations from out of the sea, and we must stop her before whatever monstrosity she seeks is awoken."

Teg'Ramm was the first to voice his approval by shouting at the ogres, and the magi in particular, and they rushed toward the beachfront, their feet pounding divots into the sand as they charged to battle. Nobu'tan marveled at the stamina of the ogres, but followed as quickly as he could, the growing horde of demons from the warlocks around him increasing by the second.

The hideous abominations bellowed their challenges and surged up from the beach, swinging their tendrils like whips at the ogres, meeting their charge head on with a tremendous crash. Felhunters and Voidwalker flowed in around the massive creatures, harassing the monsters from the sea while swarms of imps fired volleys of fireballs from afar. Succubi appeared from behind the various creatures, dispelling their magical invisibility to lash whips around the flailing tendrils to incapacitate and limit their fighting ability for the clubs of the Ogres.

It was a beautiful symphony of death and destruction, and Nobu'tan observed the battle with a critical eye. There seemed to be no end to the waves of creatures from the ocean, and while the ogres were not limited, the hordes of demons that they could summon were indeed limitless as well. The perfect stalemate, unless something happened to come along to turn the tide one way or another.

Unfortunately, it seemed Morgan had the same idea, as the next wave of creatures contained a beast that towered over the others, with whip-like chords for some sort of hair and a pair of massive lobster claws. The thing was massive, and Nobu'tan knew that this fight would tax their strength, even with a limitless supply of fodder demons.

The cracks of apparition behind them seemed to just be icing on the cake. Nobu'tan turned, almost bored to see his favorite Headmaster gazing across the battlefield with dawning horror.

"Professor…" he drawled, "come to help us, or hinder us?"

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Severus hadn't the foggiest notion as to what was going on, first he was pulled from preparing for the second term of potions classes by the Headmaster's urgent summons, introduced to a man claiming to be the actual Merlin, and then quickly mass apparated to what seemed to be a battlefield between demons and some sea-born abominations, where Potter and his freaky attendants were maintaining a vigil and keeping a steady stream of their horrid magic pelting the creatures rising from the depths.

"Professor…" drawled Potter as he turned to glance at them, almost looking bored with their appearance, "here to help us, or hinder us?" he asked.

Severus took a moment to take in the strange garb that Potter had robed himself in. The black material was frayed at the sleeves and hem, whether through battle or intentionally was undetermined, but there seemed to be a distinct shimmer of enchanted thread running through the garment, which alluded to great magical potential.

The same could be said about the carved staff that the boy held, with runes in a language he couldn't read spiraling from base to top and gleaming with a delicate green energy. The tools and robes that his green-skinned guards wore were much of the same, albeit less adorned than their seeming leader.

"The monstrosities of Morgan's summon do take precedence over your demon lord's plans, warlock," Merlin answered, shocking all the green creatures, but not Potter himself.

"So it is an alliance of circumstance I suppose," the boy replied, turning back to the pitched battle, "Our current issue is that the tide is, literally, moving against us. Getting at Morgan will require us to push the line past that hulking beast."

"If you can punch a hole through their line, we can slip past and get at Morgan," Merlin said, taking charge. Severus glanced at Albus, who in turn was watching Potter closely, perhaps looking for any sign of possibly betrayal. Severus knew that the Headmaster was not going to trust a thing regarding the boy for a long time yet, as it was clear that his 'kidnapping' was a lie to throw off suspicion, but they lacked any time to try and pry answers from him or his allies.

"Understood," Potter stated, and his group of warlocks moved forward toward the battle, flames and dark magical curses flying out at the horrific monsters, pressing their way toward the hulking creature that was sending their demonic minions flying with its sweeping claws.

Meanwhile, the four mages maneuvered themselves to be as close to the line of creatures guarding whomever this Morgan person was as possible. Severus greatly wished that he had been included in the conversation of what was going on, but for what he saw, there was some extremely powerful-looking woman chanting and weaving magic to bring these beings from the depths of the sea, so that couldn't be good.

Then again, if they were supposed to be allied with Merlin himself, could they be saying that this woman was Morgan le Faye? Glancing at Albus for any hopes of confirmation of his suspicions, Severus was disappointed, as the old Headmaster seemed deep in thought himself.

A massive roar distracted Severus from his thoughts, and he turned to see a six foot tall humanoid demon flying through the air at the gargantuan beast, flames erupting from its darkened skin and slashing at the exposed area of the armored hide.

Many of the creatures turned to intervene and protect the massive beast, which was the same moment that Merlin signaled for them to push against Morgan. Merlin and Albus took point, firing barrages of arcane bolts at the remaining creatures that protected the presumed ancient witch, while Moody flanked along with Severus, the former hurling massive spheres of flame, while Severus himself pinpointed his bolts of ice and frost to the weak points and fleshy parts of the various abominations.

The first three fell quickly to the surprise attack, but the last one proved more agile, pulling shadowy magic of its own toward itself, before firing a deadly looking bolt of pure shadows, which arced high up and started to fall down upon them all.

"Scatter!" Merlin commanded, and they all dodged in several directions as the bolt impacted the ground, spewing sickly-looking purple and black ooze in a small pool where they had been gathered.

From the way the residue bubble and smoked Severus knew that if they had remained it would have been a grisly and most painful death by acidic burning. Conjuring a ball of icy magic, Severus took the initiative to hurl it toward the remaining creature that hindering their way to the woman.

Moody also joined in the surprise counterattack, streams of bright orange fire joining a few multicolored jets from his wand in striking the monstrosity in the strange, tentacle covered face, blasting it aside.

Morgan stopped her spell to turn toward them as Merlin and Albus approached. Severus kept one eye out for any more of the creatures trying to flank them, but otherwise watched the woman for any signs of aggression.

"Well, Merlin, you finally found your way out of Avalon and followed me…" the woman simpered sickeningly, almost aloof to their intentions.

"That's quite far enough Morgan," Merlin stated, brandishing his plain wooded staff at her, "you've threatened the safety of this world long enough, and it's back to Avalon that we must both go."

The woman laughed again, raising her arms as a wellspring of dark magic rose behind her, "You lack the power to stop me alone, my lord Merlin… And once the Great Dreamer awakens, I will be unstoppable."

Severus had no idea what the madwoman was referring to, but suddenly both Merlin and Albus attacked, launching arcane magic even as the woman leapt backwards toward the sea, vanishing behind a pillar of saltwater that rose up before her.

Out of the water surged another behemoth of tendrils and claws, intercepting the spells with its own body even as Morgan vanished in a whirl of robes and shadows.

For a moment it seemed as though Merlin was about to teleport himself after Morgan and leave Severus and the others there to fight on their own, but the creature seemed fixated on the ancient wizard solely, and the man had to leap back as the towering beast slammed its claws into the rocky outcropping where they had accosted Morgan.

At least Severus was indeed convinced that these ancient magic users were who they claimed, as Merlin conjured a jagged bolt of lightning, which zipped and zinged around the behemoth, causing it to roar in anger and pain. Severus readied his wand, and conjured a short spear of ice, preparing to fight this monster with everything he had, as it was a massive threat to the stability of their world.