Final Preparations. Fight with the Tailhorn.

Warring this chapter was not translated so is from the Russian site.

Preparations for the operation to remove Crouch from his post are nearing completion. What do I want to get? Crouch's removal from office, and it should look as if Dumbledore staged an armed coup, and I rushed to help my servant. This will allow me to discredit my opponents, contribute to the growth of chaos and allow me to legally get all my servants out of Azkaban, who are sitting there on Crouch's personal orders, but without direct evidence. And I will personally expose myself and prove that I am cooler than "Elena". After all, I need to "show myself" in public from time to time... What to do with Crouch Sr.? Riddle's memory said - kill everyone. But it would be good to take him prisoner. I am just thinking about the ingredients for the ritual "Flesh, bone, blood." The blood of the enemy... It would be good to use Dumbledore or Moody, but these are dreams... But Crouch Sr. is quite realistic to get and a worthy enemy out of him. Mr. Crouch's wife... Honestly, I don't know what kind of wizard she is, but she'll come in handy.

I'll try to win her over. She could be married to someone. The Greengrasses or the Bullstrodes might think about changing their neutrality. As a last resort, I'll get her a job as a teacher at Hogwarts after the victory, let her teach the children something. McGonagall will have an accident anyway. I'm not an idiot, leaving Dumbledore's team over Dumbledore's contingent could lead to a rebellion. The Death Eaters are good, they can handle their own children more or less, but I wouldn't trust them with strangers, especially with questionable blood status. It would be easy to persuade her: in exchange for Elena's life, I saved you. And the inconsolable son became a Death Eater to avenge his father's death.

The main thing is to present everything correctly. No join or die. Your husband was destroyed by Dumbledore, I saved you according to an old agreement, and your son has already sworn allegiance to my teaching... Or was your entire family for me, they just kept you away from battles... Are you against me? Well, then cut your son's throat, and then go surrender to Azkaban - you smell more Dark Magic than the Living Bomb. For this, I even prepared for her healing in two places. If suddenly Albus does not want to fight Crouch, the Dark Ritual under the house will provoke them. The means to achieve the goal are also quite sufficient. The fighters are ready, as are the golems.

The acromantulas will come as an extra. Nessie turned out to be very angry, perhaps the resettlement had a bad effect on her. I barely managed to calm my snake and convince her to settle in the pond. She expressed a desire to kill someone.

She is too aggressive... Although maybe her instincts are just pulling her to hunt? Therefore, she will also be part of the assault team. I think that during the battle she will pass for the "Beast of Slytherin". We just need to think about how to protect her stone and eyes... Project "Ariana" ended in partial success: although the rebellious snake controlling the body of Dumbledore's sister cannot cast spells, she can transform into a cloud of Darkness and destroy the specified targets. Of course,No tactical sophistication or variety of spells, just a huge club that would make a hole in the enemy's defense.

Rookwood and I managed to rewrite all the parameters of the cloud - like the intensity of the magical field, the rotor of the mana flow, the dispersion gradient ... Perhaps one day it will be possible to make a similar spell. But I was most worried about the issue of neutralizing Albus. A separate detachment under the command of Macnair will deal with his phoenix.

While my army will crush the Order and Crouch's fighters, I should deal with the old man. Plan "A" looked like this: a mental duel. I will show him nightmares and press on how similar we are. I do not expect to win, but at least I will drag out time. It would be good to get his brother, Aberforth, he probably has something to remember. The main thing is that the old man does not get to my secrets. But this is unlikely. As training with the Mirror of Erised according to Snape's method showed, I could already change some details.

I think I can localize the failure (if there is one) and shift the emphasis so that the meaning of the memory will change to the opposite. But there is also a plan "B": I fight Dumbledore with all available magic, playing defensively. Of course, he could notice the weakened Dark Magic, but this will not happen. Everything will not be like in Diagon Alley: I know the place, I know the time ... With the help of Dark Rituals, you can strengthen yourself for a short time.

Especially if you know what, where and when you need it. Gather great power and splash it out at the right moment. Of course, the question of price arises ... But who said that you always have to pay yourself? Some of the sacrifices will go to the temporary strengthening itself, and some - to neutralize and minimize rollbacks. Of course, this is not always possible, but I will choose exactly those rituals where this can be done. For some time, the additional power will be dormant, and then I will be able to call on it for a few minutes.

I think that under all these rituals my Dark magic will be no worse than the Magic of the original Lord. And I even found myself an assistant - Rosier. He already walks on his own and even does a little magic, his left hand is in place and functions, although the burn on his right hand remained forever. He got off easy.

He is not yet able to participate in fights, but he can help me conduct Dark Rituals and prepare victims under my control. If Rosier was able to sneak into a duel under several Dark Rituals, then he will be able to carry out enhancements on me without hiding. By the way, I'll get myself more artifacts ... And potions, only this time I will not interfere with everything before the fight.

With the help of a little pain, I managed to convince Ollivander to make a false case for my wand with Nagini scales. Now it resembles a human tibia. This will be enough for one fight. Now no one will understand that I have the same wand that "Elena" had during the fight in Diagon Alley, not even Moody with his artifact eye. And let Albus think that I'm looking for a more powerful wand...

But there's something I have to do myself:for an additional short-term increase in my survivability, I need to bathe in the blood of a dragon. It is desirable that the dragon be killed by me in a fair fight... A large bribe to the director of the Romanian Dragonarium convinced him that they had never had one of the Hungarian Horntail specimens. He offered to wrap it in gift ribbon and send it wherever needed along with an extra package, but I was adamant: I needed a one-on-one fight with a dragon right in Romania.

Having decided that for such money we could do whatever we wanted with the dragon, but having honestly warned that he would not bear any responsibility for the wounds that we would undoubtedly receive, we were given the place and time for a meeting with the dragon.

I and half a dozen Death Eaters of the Inner Circle were transported to Romania by portal. The escort showed us the place from afar and quickly left. It was time. The Death Eaters dispersed and began to cast Concealment Charms.

They would not participate in the fight, their task was to make sure that no one interfered with me. No, I did not have chivalry fever. It was just that the best protective effect would be provided by dragon blood obtained in fair combat.

A fight seven on one is unfair, but one on one is fair. And I need the protective properties of blood during the fight with Albus... Between a fair fight with Horntail or Dumbledore, I chose Horntail without a second thought.

I left the Death Eaters behind. The Dome of Concealment glowed dimly in my magical vision. Of course, the director literally swore that this area would become as useless as possible, but you never know...

On a rock, on a nest that was a hole two meters in diameter, sat the Hungarian Horntail. Big money - a big dragon. Outwardly, it looked like a lizard with black scales, yellow eyes, reddish-brown horns and spikes of the same color on the tail. Only about twenty meters without a tail and wings... Capable of spewing fire quite far. If the creature puts its energy into the fire, the flame will be enchanted.

It differed from an ordinary dragon in its tail strewn with spikes. The most dangerous and largest of the European dragons. Aggressive. Feeds on all the meat it can get and, if such an opportunity arises, people. If someone had told me two months ago that I would deliberately go against the dragon, I would have only laughed to myself. I see many options for conducting a fight.

Unfortunately, Avada, Crucio and Imperio won't help here. They work on people and those who are at least a little similar to them in energy. It would work on a very small dragon, but not on an adult. Transfiguration. I'm not Albus and this is not my profile, but transfiguring yourself into something to become faster is easy. It is impossible to transfigure a dragon. More precisely, it is possible, but it would take a lot of Merlins.

It would work with a hippogriff, but the dragon is too magical and big. Unfortunately, self-transfiguration is out of the question - it is not a fair fight. Like all potions. After thinking about it, I decided to limit myself to just a wand and charms that I can cast on myself without changing my body. So I came closer and cast Acceleration, Increased Reaction, etc. on myself. What should I do next? Options - something of increased power and lethality, like Hellfire, Twilight Flame, Source of Darkness... And pour more energy into it, to be sure...

I think three quarters of my reserve in one spell per dragon will be enough. But I will be left without a trophy - there will be little left of the dragon's body. What's the point in climbing then? The next option - despite their power, dragons are vulnerable to several types of sleeping spells. A simultaneous attack by five or six dragonologists is enough for the animal to go to rest. If you invest well,then I have enough strength to replace five or six dragonologists, and I know the spells. And then the patient will not wake up from the anesthesia...

The problem is that killing a sleeping one is unlikely to be counted as a fair fight... How I would act: camouflage, Conjunctivitis (a dragon's weak point is its senses), flight, clipping the dragon's wings with Dark Blades or damaging it with Hellfire. And then just circle out of its reach, using my advantage in speed of movement and the range of my weapons - wand spells from afar against its claws, thorns and fire. When the creature loses its mobility and strength completely - a few Spears of the Dragon Slayer or similar spells, and victory over the dragon is in your pocket. Without any risk, no more dangerous than shooting an unarmed and tied up one.

Only this is not a fair fight... I will have to come close to him and fight off the flames and blows with my tail... Of course, I have protective charms, but the dragon is a strong magical animal, each of his blows will destroy the protection. Plus there is some chance that his attack will pass through one of the defenses (poor Professor Kettleburn). So all the defenses are duplicated several times, and I am not going to relax. I got a female dragon: they are larger, which means there will be more blood.

I was standing about a hundred meters from the nest. The dragon was in no hurry to attack - she was watching the eggs in the nest. I think the eggs will come in handy, just as I wanted to hatch experimental chimeras with McNair. Hagrid would appreciate it... And if I steal the eggs, the creature will get angry and try to kill me. Let's consider this a challenge to a duel. For all its strength, the dragon is just an animal, albeit a magical one. Yes, she covers the nest. From above.

I wave my wand. The Alluring Charm does not work on the dragon eggs. But they are lying on a completely ordinary stone. A tunnel appears in the ground from me to the Horntail clutch. The eggs instantly fall into it. The earth envelops the eggs like a second shell, and I summon this with the Alluring Charm.

Five eggs in a new shell obediently fly to me through the underground tunnel and disappear into a container with an expansion of space. Be proud, mother: your children will serve the Dark Lord. But I will not claim that they will be the same species as you after everything we do to them before they are born. The dragoness roared. Spreading her wings, she rushed at me.

Since we were fighting fair, I decided to let her strike first: I simply stood in place, casting the most powerful defensive spells I knew. The multi-ton carcass covered a hundred meters in an instant. And crashed into my barrier. The barrier held, although it sparked pitifully. The dragon, two meters away from me, began to blow out flames.

She spent an immeasurable amount of energy - if this was inferior to Hellfire, then very little. But my protective spells were coping so far. It was time to attack, because she herself had exposed herself: the scales inside her mouth are not so strong. And she was standing with her mouth open... Having invested well,I cast two Dragonslayer Spears in a row with my wand and launched them into her mouth.

And I showed my best - the spells didn't fly in a straight line (what's the point in a hole behind the throat), but in an arc. One went up, pierced the top of the palate, hit part of the brain and pierced the skull and head from the inside.

The second Dragonslayer Spear went lower and pierced the upper cervical vertebrae - the place where the skull is attached to the spine. Moreover, I cast a Twilight Flame spell without a wand and a clot of special flame appeared above the hole in the skull, which entered the cranium and instantly burned out the brain.

Just a moment, and I'm already down to a third of my reserves: casting Twilight Flame without a wand is an incredible feat. And if you consider that I'm also throwing Dragonslayer Spears and holding a defense against dragon flame...

Of course, I'd really like the dragon to die. But dragons are ideal politicians: they don't really need a brain. Even having lost it completely, they can still fight quite effectively. What's the secret? The anatomy of dragons. They have two brains: a concentrated head and a distributed spinal one. Moreover, the loss of either one is not critical.

And the signals to blow out fire will go along ordinary nerve fibers. Yes, dragons are very tenacious. Even if you cut off its head, it won't immediately realize that it's dead. Almost like a cockroach. The creature wheezed and jumped back. Moreover, it wheezed with its mouth closed.

Even after losing her cerebral cortex (and all of her hemispheres), she decided that opening her mouth was a bad idea. She lunged at me again. They tried to grab me with both paws from both sides. Of course, I should have evaded the attack with banal levitation. But we were fighting fair... I strengthened my defenses again and found myself squeezed in a mighty vice. Her magical claws damaged several of my shield spells. The magic was rapidly leaking out, I felt like I was in a Spanish boot, although it didn't touch me.

I remember the moment when I was pinned down by the ground during the assault on the Eagle Eye base. This was worse. I struck back: a Ramming Spell flew into the dragon's chest. Most likely, it would have had no effect, but I conjured ice under all of the dragon's paws. The dragon released me from its clutches and spun like a top on the ground. I conjured a Spell of Blades of Darkness.

The black rectangles hit the dragon's wings, and they hung limply like rags. It would be good, of course, to cut off his head, but it is unlikely: the scales there are much harder and there are bones. Of course, the dragon's scales are processed and cut.

The scales of a dead dragon. Separated from the body. Pre-treated with rituals or potions based on goat's blood. I would like the animal to thrash around in pain shock. But trying to get up, it managed to hit me with its spiked tail. A number of external shields dissipated, and I flew off like a ball.

Using shock-absorbing charms, I sank to the ground. I wanted to soar into the air and calmly finish off the dragon, but I need to give it the opportunity to attack me. To provoke the creature, I use the universal attacking Dark Spell "Spear of Darkness" and "Blades of Darkness", trying to cut off the creature's head.

The Darkness Spear entered the body by ten centimeters and dissolved. Blood appeared, which immediately coagulated. The Darkness Blades hit the neck, but left only a couple of scratches on the scales. The only definitely fatal damage for this creature is the heart.

The problem is that the heart is deep in the body and is covered by a bone shield on almost all sides, and even my Dragon Slayer Spear (it is specially optimized to kill a dragon) will not pierce it.The only gap in the heart shield for arterial and venous blood to pass through, but to get to it, you need to break through several meters of dragon flesh...

Perhaps you should hit with something even more powerful. Like Hellfire or a spell of mass destruction.

But I came here for a trophy, and I do not want to lose it. I can knock out his senses. But, firstly, is this a fair fight? And secondly, dragons sense magic, and no one knows how.

So while the individual is alive, it senses me. You can pump out the air around it, but a dragon will live a long time even without air. Blood Magic is powerful, but I do not like the process of obtaining the main ingredient and the fact that pain cannot be blocked. But apparently it's time... Having made a cut on my left hand, I put out the Blood Shield in front of me, one of the strongest defensive spells I know, and very effective against those who attack head-on.

Horntail rushed at me again. She decided to repeat the blow with her spiked tail. Too bad, I was hoping she would headbutt me or try to devour me... A blood-red wall covered in many spikes appeared in front of the dragon, and it happened exactly at the moment when the dragon's tail touched my defense. I hoped that after the collision, Horntail would suffer the same fate as the cars in crash tests, but no such luck.

She really did fly her tail into the Blood Shield barrier at full speed, and the wall withstood it, but that was it. The spikes did not cause her any damage, and the blow seemed to have even set her brains straight a little. Probably her back. After a second of stunning, she remembered that she could also use magic, or whatever dragons use.

She used dragon fire against me again, and if I wasn't imagining it, and unfortunately, it really wasn't, this flame was even stronger and was eating away not only the stones under my feet, but my defenses as well... Hitting the roof of the mouth is pointless.

Even if the creature loses its head, it will strike with its claws. Breaking the spine is hardly realistic. But if I suddenly succeed, it will be mockery of a paralyzed person, not a fair fight. It would be good if she attacked to the last... But there is always a way out. It is universal: a blow from the inside.

The creature has wounds, and even if they instantly closed, you can still get to its blood through them. Of course, I cannot control dragon blood, but by adding my blood to its bloodstream, you can do a lot... Tom Riddle has tamed his own and other people's Hellfire many times.

With difficulty, I managed to redirect the dragon's flame to the side. Now I attacked: with multiple small Drops of Darkness I stirred up the wounds on its head and chest. A modified Blood Rain spell pressed a couple of glasses of my blood into her wounds. And then it was easy, because blood is magic and you can control your blood, even in the body of a dragon. At least if you are the Dark Lord.

My blood rushed through her veins at a furious speed. Dragons, despite all the magic, are living creatures, which means,their life must be provided according to the laws of nature, like human life. For a person to live, many internal organs need to work, and if they are damaged...

There is enough of my blood in her bloodstream, I can turn her insides into a mess, but I need trophies... Paradoxically, a dragon's brain is not considered a valuable ingredient, unlike the rest, for example, the liver. I did not break everything, but did it more simply - my blood moved through the vessels and cut them from the inside.

This is such an internal bleeding. Simultaneously along all the vessels. Of course, a dragon's wounds heal quickly. External ones. But when in two seconds all your blood vessels burst and all your blood ends up in the body cavity, the heart drives the emptiness, and the internal organs suffocate without supplies... Yes, you are still an armored tank. But without shells, fuel and a crew...

First the flame died down. Then the smoke stopped pouring out of its nostrils. Then the creature rushed at my Blood Shield like an antelope at a corral. But very soon it began to weaken. The look in its eyes changed and the animal fell to the side. The glow from the Horntail in my magical vision began to fade...

And the best thing is that all the blood is still in the dragon's body - it lost very little from its wounds. Having made sure that the animal was dead, I gave the agreed code signal.

My Devourers appeared in front of me. "Your art is very great, my Lord," Amycus Carrow said helpfully. "If you allow, we will show the recording of this fight in the pool of memory to our fresh recruits. I am sure that your authority will soar. Yes, killing a dragon one on one is very powerful.

Especially not just killing, but exposing yourself to his blows. It would be good to cut out the part where he sent me flying with his tail. Although you can make an advertisement for Dark Magic: as soon as the Lord used blood magic, the dragon fell at his feet. It's not the Lord, but the blood magic.

You can do it too. Join our organization! - Later, - I answered. - Selwyn, unpack the golems. Get busy cutting up the carcass. There should be about three hundred liters of blood in it, and you need two or three liters per person at a time.

I think there will soon be stories that the Lord's Inner Circle is unkillable... I don't want to lose my fighters: there are few of them. So I'll share. Dumbledore is in for a big surprise. They'll handle the cutting up without me.

They'll drag it to England in parts. Absolutely everything about a dragon is valuable. Apart from the blood, I'm interested in the skeleton. I don't want to fight myself, it will be good if I can someday field an undead dragon. True, even an undead hippogriff does not have its own magical properties during its lifetime. But I won't rush. At worst, I will wait until I have the memories of a competent consultant - Grindelwald.

While my servants began to do the cutting, I went back to the Lestranges. I was again sitting in the office with papers. The latest newspaper said:

The mysterious murder of the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

On January 27th this year, Benedict Foreman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, passed away. The cause of death has not been established, but the working version is an unknown curse. On the last day of his life, he was dogged by a streak of bad luck. First, a parcel with experimental fireworks arrived in his office at the Ministry through the fireplace. As a result of the explosion, he received a number of burns, gave himself first aid, but remained at work. An employee who was helping him cope with the fire doused Benedict with water.

Only for some reason, with boiling water. Benedict was taken to St. Mungo's and quickly got back on his feet. He expressed a desire to return to work, but a brick from the fireplace fell on his head. He was given first aid again. Mr. Foreman went to hear the case of a Quidditch team that grossly violated the Statute of Secrecy. On the way to the courtroom, he tripped and broke his leg. His fracture was set and he went home under heavy guard.

He passed away soon after. Our condolences to his family. Ludo Bagman has been appointed as the new head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. In his acceptance speech, he stated that...

Excellent, simply excellent. Ludo has the brains of a Bludger, he will eat out of the hands of his father's friend - Rookwood. And most importantly, any test will say that Ludo is not a Death Eater. It is so tempting to use people in the dark. Of course, the Department of Magical Games and Sports is not the Auror Office, but these are international contacts, mass events, promising acquaintances ... Benedict Foreman ran from death for a long time. But everything turned out to be unexpectedly simple. All he had to do was slip him Felix Felicis.

He defended himself well, but the luck potion passed through his system for detecting harmful impurities. Of course, it could not kill him: he killed himself. Benedict was a man without prejudices about the purity of blood and a good worker. But he had a passion: he was a gambler and played in the betting for high stakes.

They did not advertise this, and he did not play with other people's money. But when big money is involved in betting, they check for Felix Felicis. Usually you just swear an oath that you are not on a lucky potion. After work, he went to the goblins to place bets. And died.

Probably from breaking his oath. The beauty is that we sent the Aurors on the wrong track: they are looking for a new, sophisticated curse. A mistaken message, an explosion in the office? Death Eaters did it. An employee scalded him with boiling water? A Death Eater.

A brick hit his head? Death Eaters built a trap, check all the fireplaces. Broke his leg on the stairs? Bloody stairs, check everything.

But in reality, Felix Felicis was just trying to save him, to make sure he didn't go place bets today. And tomorrow the potion will wear off - go wherever you want.

But Benedict was too stubborn... Now I put the papers aside. Severus entered the office. I strengthened the cloaking charm. — It's time for you to go to Dumbledore.

Do you remember what you have to tell him? — Yes, my Lord. — Perhaps you want to ask me something? — My Lord... Lately... "Elena" has changed. She has become better at certain types of magic.

I barely held her Sectumsepra. At the same time, things that used to be easy, like returning a flower to its freshness, are now completely impossible. Moreover, she spends all her free time in the Lestrange library and searches for something, muttering under her breath "this is not it".

Moreover, some of these books... Contain very dangerous knowledge. And Edward looks at her strangely. And he asked Rabastan about his attitude towards blondes. Also, Lucius Malfoy asked me to give a letter to Elena.

Here it is. I have not opened it and do not know what is in it. Very interesting. Are the Lestranges looking for a woman to join the family?

With all the advantages of Elena's image, it is unlikely that anyone would take into their family someone whose loyalty lies with the Lord. But the Lestranges can, for them it is a plus.

The elder or the younger? Edward or Rabastan? In principle, a woman with great potential suits both, it is not surprising that Snape got nervous. And the Lestranges need an heir...

- I am not going to marry her off to anyone.Let her decide her own personal life. I didn't feel anything, but Snape must have calmed down. I hate that Legilimency is useless against him... I hope he doesn't know about it. And Dumbledore won't be able to read it either...

I started checking Lucius' letter. Clean. I open it so that Snape can't see the contents and read. If I throw out the water, let's meet and discuss the details of business cooperation. Some vague hints about work. Knowing Lucius, I can assume that this is really about business, and not a veiled date.