197 CHAPTER {285-287}

****AN-ILL-FATED-ATTACK (V)****

Voldemort snarled in fury as he whirled his Wand over his head, creating an invisible wall around him to stop the flames from reaching his followers. The flames were no Fiendfyre, so it was pretty easy for Voldemort to stop them. He could have stopped the flames with a simple barrier around him, but then his followers would have been burned to death.

"All of you, retreat!" Voldemort snarled as he stepped aside to dodge a Spell. He didn't want to end the night like this, but what other choice did he have? He needed to fight Grindelwald without holding anything back, but if he did that then men would simply get caught in the crossfire.

To be honest, Voldemort wanted to cause a lot more damage, but he never expected the Aurors or Potter's group to show up so soon. Voldemort realized that he might need to check his ranks after returning…

Even though Voldemort was busy keeping the shield from breaking, it was pretty easy for him to dodge the Spells Grindelwald was casting at him and when he felt that his Death Eaters were gone, he started to chuckle maliciously as he dropped the shield. Everything around him was set alight with flames, but the flames didn't seem to bother him.

Voldemort started to cackle as he jabbed his Wand toward Grindelwald, putting out the flames in an instant. "It seems all the tales I have heard about you are a lie" Voldemort sneered mockingly.

"Is that so?" Gellert asked in a mocking tone as he started casting Spells for real without messing around. Voldemort also started to fight back without holding anything back. The ground beneath them was left charred and gouged as their Spells clashed. The buildings around them started to get blown away due to the shockwaves.

Voldemort flicked his Wand up in the air in a smooth motion along with his other hand and the rubble around him started to rise up in the air behind him, creating a massive wall of concrete, stone, and steel. Any lesser Wixen would have given up at the sight of such might, but Gellert wasn't a regular Wixen.

Voldemort brought down his Wand and his hand, and the floating wall of concrete, stone and steel started to collapse on Gellert. The blond man whirled his Wand over his head, releasing a growing tornado toward the incoming wall that would have turned him into a swiss cheese. The growing tornado easily assimilated the incoming wall of doom and became even more dangerous as the debris started to fly around at insane speed.

For the first time since the start of the fight, Voldemort looked alarmed as a small piece of steel wheezed past his head, cutting his cheek… Voldemort knew that unlike the flames, he needed to deal with the tornado or his body would be shredded into nothingness. Voldemort screamed as he jabbed his Wand toward the ground, erecting an earth dome around him to protect himself.

By the time the dome was fully erect, Voldemort was sporting cuts all over his body… The tornado was way more dangerous than he had imagined and it has managed to do so much damage to him within the span of a few seconds… Voldemort was bubbling in fury but he knew that he was no longer in a position to fight someone like Grindelwald. He realized that he shouldn't have underestimated the man, to begin with… Now, he would have to retreat without inflicting any damage to Grindelwald.

Tonight he lost Nagini, he lost the Vampires, he was forced to call retreat and now he was put into such a shameful situation… "Grrrr Aaaahhhh!" Voldemort screamed in rage before disappearing from the spot with a loud crack. He was angry, but he knew that staying to face Grindelwald was not an option for him. Fortunately, Voldemort managed to leave just in time as moments after he left, the earth dome he was hiding under was cracked open…

"Pity… He managed to run away" Gellert said, looking disappointed before a thoughtful look appeared on his face. 'Maybe not…' Gellert trailed off internally as he knew that Harry wanted to kill the man, but Gellert thought that Harry would have cared if he had managed to destroy Voldemort's body.

After all, Voldemort still had his little trinkets to depend upon…

"I hope you are not planning anything stupid!" Gellert called out as he slowly turned around to face the group of Aurors and the interim Minister approaching him. They were wary of him and he didn't blame them… However, their wariness increased several fold when the members of Lost Garden also started to show up. However, the Aurors decided to hold their horses.

"We are not planning to fight you… I believe we have done enough damage tonight" Amelia spoke up first, trying to dissolve the situation. After watching both Voldemort and Grindelwald dish it out, she wanted to avoid any escalation and Rufus was also thinking along the same lines. Amelia was right… Grindelwald and Voldemort were in a league of their own and he wasn't confident that they could take him down.

"Yes" Gellert looked around before shaking his head. "Yes, I believe we have done enough damage tonight" Gellert agreed, however, he didn't look guilty in the slightest. It was simply collateral damage and considering he was facing a titan, the damage was still pretty minimal… He remembered the damage they had caused when Dumbledore defeated him during the so-called duel of centuries.

"So, we don't need to fight, do we?" Rufus asked carefully, not wanting to trigger the man.

"No, we don't. We are leaving, but if you want my help to clean up, I would be glad to help as long as we can come to a truce" Gellert spoke casually as he glanced toward his men. Gellert never cared about relief work during his crusade, which led to the formation of resistance cells all over his occupied territories. Doing some relief work would go a long way to winning the hearts of people… It was a lesson he learned after it was too late.

Amelia glanced toward Rufus, who after some consideration simply shrugged. Their help would be welcome, but he decided to leave the decision to Amelia… "Alright. I think we can come to an agreement" Amelia said as she turned toward Gellert.

"Fantastic!" Gellert clapped his hands as he turned toward his men and gave them the look.

"If you don't mind me asking, where is Potter?" Amelia asked, wondering why Harry didn't bother to show up. From what she knew, he wouldn't have given up on an opportunity to humiliate the Dark Lord.

"...I believe he is on a date" Gellert revealed with a soft smile, surprising everyone… 'Ah… Young love' Gellert mused happily…

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****INTERNATIONAL-INCIDENT? (I)****

Voldemort stumbled and grabbed his throne to steady himself. He was bleeding profusely from all over his body and even though his wounds were healing at a visible rate, Voldemort could feel the weakness creeping up to him… He hated feeling weak like this, he hated it… Then he glanced toward the place where Nagini was usually coiled up and started to froth in anger.

It was Potter… It must have been Potter…

Voldemort snarled in rage and the windows exploded… He slammed his hand down on his throne, cracking it. He was so angry that he started to punch the throne and continued to do so without caring about the fact that his hands were bleeding and he was smashing his own throne. Voldemort was lost in his anger when someone nervously knocked on the door.

Voldemort growled but before answering the door, he decided to fix his robes. He didn't want to be seen by his followers in his current state. He didn't want his followers to know that he lost the fight and was forced to retreat. However, it was impossible for him to heal his wounds without a Healer, so he decided to leave them be.

Voldemort turned toward his throne and grimaced… His throne was in a sorry state, but it would do. He didn't have the patience nor was he in the mood to fix it right now…

"WHAT?!!" Voldemort snarled loudly, already planning to punish whoever dared to disturb him, no matter the reason.

Crabbe Sr entered the room, looking really nervous. It was pretty obvious that he didn't come here willingly. He was forced to come here by the others. Usually, Voldemort would have enjoyed the way the man was squirming around, but right now, he simply wanted to get this over with. He was frustrated with how everything was turning out.

"My Lord-" Crabbe stuttered out and Voldemort growled lightly as he started to lose his patience. Crabber paled and started to speak hurriedly. "-Mulciber has returned with the Dementors and he says that the attack was a success" Crabbe revealed and Voldemort seemed to perk up at the report.

"Then why isn't Mulciber here?" Voldemort asked, sounding mildly curious.

Crabbe seemed to whimper at the question, but he still managed to soldier on… "My Lord, he was injured during the mission. The Healer says it is nothing serious" Crabbe explained quickly, hoping to avoid any sort of punishment, but even though he was a fool, he knew that it was nothing but wishful thinking.

"And how was he injured?" Voldemort asked with a dangerous edge in his voice.

Crabbe Sr lowered his gaze, not daring to stare at his Master. "He said that the Unspeakables and an unknown group were already there to stop the Dementors, but he swears that the Dementors managed to kill hundreds of Muggles before they could even react" Crabbe hurriedly finished while trembling in fear.

'The Unspeakables?' Voldemort questioned himself, trying to look indifferent, but he was somewhat bothered by the revelation. 'The Unspeakables were completely neutral the last time, so why were they getting involved now?' Voldemort questioned himself. While he never considered the Unspeakables to be a serious threat to his person, they could be an annoyance to him. However, they could definitely be a serious threat to his forces.

'Maybe, it is for Rockwood?' Voldemort mused internally. 'I cannot be sure… However, what's done is done' Voldemort internally shook his head. After all, Amelia Bones was already working with Potter, so there was a chance that the Unspeakables were already working for him.

"Is that so?" Voldemort asked in an amused tone. Even though Mulciber and the Dementors were forced to retreat, he still managed to kill hundreds if the report was true, which meant that the mission was mildly successful. He would have loved it if all the Muggles in the celebration were killed, but he wasn't expecting such a result in the first place.

However, why were the Unspeakables loitering in Muggle London in the first place? Even if they were working for Potter, they shouldn't have known about the attack, or was there really a spy amongst his ranks?

"Yes, My Lord, or at least that's what Mulciber reported" Crabbe confirmed while trembling. He knew he was going to be punished… That was exactly why he didn't want to come to deliver the news, but Nott promised to forgive one of his debts, so here he was.

"I see…" Voldemort mumbled as he started to tap his armrest with his fingertips. "You may leave, Crabbe. You have given me a lot to think about" Voldemort said in a casual tone and Crabbe literally perked up in joy, realizing that he wasn't going to be punished by his Master. Crabbe immediately stood and respectfully bowed his head.

"Thank you, My Lord" His gratitude was obvious and after getting a nod from his Master, he finally turned around and started to leave, planning to boast how he managed to avoid punishment to his peers. Nott was going to be furious since he decided to forgive a debt for apparently no reason.

"Oh, and Crabbe…" The Dark Lord called out. Crabbe stopped and turned around, still pleased with how everything turned out. "-Crucio!" Voldemort snarled and after all, all Crabbe knew was pain…

~~London~~ (A couple of hours ago)

Saul stared down at the streets with a blank look on his face. The streets were completely filled with people, completely ignorant of the horror that was about to befall them. Voldemort was planning to use Dementors and while he was confident that they would be able to fend them off eventually, he wasn't sure if they would be quick enough to do so.

"Ah… You must be the Royal Mages?" Saul spoke out loudly apparently to no one, but moments later, cloaked figures started to appear behind him as they started to dispel the Disillusionment Charms.

"So, he told you about us…" A feminine figure spoke up as she stepped forward and took off her hood. There was no reason to hide her identity anymore since they already knew about her secret Organization. "I never expected the Greycloaks to submit to a Dark Lord" The woman continued to speak as she walked up to stand beside Saul.

Saul chuckled a bit at that… "At first, we weren't planning to, but I realized that we wanted to survive, it was better to bend the knee before it was too late" Saul explained.

"Hmm…" The woman simply hummed at that before she signaled her men to take positions for the eventual attack…

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****INTERNATIONAL-INCIDENT? (II)****

"Do you have a timeline for the attack?" Rachel asked as she started to grow impatient. They knew that the attack was coming and watching so many people down there frolicking on the streets was starting to make her really nervous. If the damage were too much then it would become impossible for them to cover up the attack.

"No" Saul answered simply. He was also starting to feel nervous. With how fast the Muggles were progressing with their technology, the Statute was bound to collapse eventually, but he didn't want Dementors to be the first contact with the Muggles… That would be really bad. "However, I believe the attack is going to be sometime around midnight" Saul added.

After thinking for a bit, Rachel nodded her head in understanding. She was also thinking along the same lines… At midnight, the people will be the most vulnerable as their guard would be down, expecting a celebration or something like that…

"What do you think about Potter?" Rachel asked in a careful tone. If she considered his reason for joining Potter, then it sounded like they were also forced to join. That was bound to create some resentment… If she could use that then she could turn the Greycloaks into their hidden allies.

Rachel wasn't delusional enough to believe that they could beat Potter head-on… He would rip them apart before scattering their remains into the wind while setting the world ablaze without any hesitation, but what if they bade their time and stabbed him in the back when the time was right?

Potter was incomprehensibly strong, which was bound to earn him enemies just on sheer principle and then there was his arrogance… From their interaction, she had managed to learn that Potter was incredibly arrogant, rightfully so, but arrogance always led to hubris. Many like Potter had fallen due to their hubris and the same could happen for Potter too.

Slipping a poisoned knife between his ribs at the most opportune moment would kill him just like any other man…

Saul turned his head toward the woman and narrowed his eyes… "He is strong" Saul gave her a bland answer. He wasn't sure what she was getting at, but to be honest, he didn't want to.

"I know that" Rachel scoffed. She had already seen just how strong he was… Rachel started to wonder if he wasn't getting what she was talking about or if he was simply playing stupid, so she decided to stop beating around the bush. However, she didn't want to be too direct just in case he was loyal to Potter for whatever reason.

"Are you happy working under him?" Rachel asked and this time Saul dangerously narrowed his eyes even though she couldn't see him.

"You don't know what you are talking about" Saul said with a dangerous edge in his voice and Rachel stiffened at his words, starting to believe Saul might be loyal to Potter. "That is a dangerous line of thought and if you want to survive along with your buddies, then stop thinking along those lines" Saul growled out.

"You truly have no idea just how dangerous he is" Saul pointed out with a scowl. "Just believe me on this" Saul added with a sigh before he returned his gaze toward the crowd. While he didn't know Rachel or any of her buddies, he didn't want them to die. He wasn't feeling compassionate or anything, but their existence was necessary if they wanted to maintain order.

If the Royal Mages were gone, he had no idea what the Queen might end up doing and if she tried to push them back, then Harry would not only push back in return, he would do something worse…

Rachel didn't know what to say, but Saul had made it clear that he wouldn't be joining her… So, instead of saying anything else, she simply decided to drop the topic and stare at the crowd below on the streets… For the next couple of minutes, nothing happened. Everything was going fine, and the countdown for the new year finally started.

"10!!!"

"9!!!"

"8!!!"

"7!!!"

"6!!!"

"5!!!"

Then all of a sudden both Saul and Rachel stiffened as both of them felt a spike in the chill. Moments later, a thick mist started to descend from the sky. However, the Muggles down the streets were completely oblivious to the danger that was about to befall them…

"4!!!"

"3!!!"

"Fuck they are here!" Saul cursed loudly. "Signal your men!" Saul screamed when he noticed hundreds of Dementors descending from the sky. They were so fast that it felt like Dementors were raining from the sky. Saul quickly pulled out his Wand and Rachel wasn't too far behind him, but by the time the two of them managed to pull out their Wands, the Dementors were already on top of the Muggles.

The Muggles finally realized that something was wrong, especially with the sudden thick mist and the unnatural chill, but the confusion didn't last long as the screams finally broke out…

"Expecto Patronum!" Saul cast the Patronus Charm and he wasn't alone.

"Expecto Patronum" Rachel cast from beside him. Just moments later, a lot more Patronus Charms were cast from all around the building. Soon, the sky was filled with various ethereal animals. Even though at least a few dozen silvery animals were galloping around, the Dementors were simply too many to handle in an instant.

The Dementors finally started to howl as the ethereal creatures continued to bother them for a few seconds and the ethereal creatures finally started to push back the Dementors, but by the time the Patronus Charms managed to push back the Dementors, hundreds of Muggles were already desouled.

Screams could still be heard from down the streets, but they were dying down… However, none of the Wixen dared to relax as the Dementors were still lurking around, hoping for another opening so that they could continue their feast. By the time the Dementors retreated, Saul and other Wixen were completely exhausted.

The Patronus Charm was not easy in the first place and they were forced to expend a lot of Magic so that they could keep pushing the Dementors back…

A few cracks rang around behind Saul and Rachel as some of the Greycloaks arrived, moments later a few more cracks rang out as some Mages arrived at the roof. "Ma'am, we saw a Death Eater, but before we could kill him or apprehend him, he managed to activate a Portkey and escape" A Mage reported.

Rachel rubbed her head in frustration… "That's a pity. However, all of you, good work. Now, go down the streets and do damage control" Rachel ordered and the Mages started to leave.

"How are you going to handle this situation?" Saul asked, curious to know how they were going to cover-up this incident.

"Leave that to me. I already have an idea" Rachel answered before she too disappeared with a loud crack, leaving the Greycloaks on the roof.

Since Rachel didn't ask for their help, Saul simply decided to call it a day and leave. "Good job, guys. We are leaving" Saul ordered and moments later, they also disappeared with a loud crack… It was an horrible incident, Saul wasn't going to lie, but it could have been a lot worse if Harry hadn't warned them…

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