CHAPTER {324-326}

****A-PROPHECY-FULFILLED? (I)****

Once again, Britain was in uproar as soon as the news of the Gringotts takeover broke out, but things started to calm down as soon as the people realized that nothing was going to change for them. The banking services were still available to them, which was why everyone calmed down pretty soon.

However, a significant part of the population was really glad that the Ministry took over Gringotts since they were having a really hard time paying back the loans they took from the Ministry thanks to ridiculous interest rates… Appealing to Goblins for some compromise was nothing more than a waste of time, but they hoped that they would have better luck with the Ministry in charge of Gringotts.

"How is the public handling the takeover?" Amelia asked her secretary.

"There was some fuss and some unrest in the beginning when the news finally broke out, but when they realized that nothing is going to change for them and the banking services might improve after our takeover, the people are taking it in stride" Her secretary answered with a smile. "It is a good thing that nobody liked the Goblins to begin with" The secretary added.

Amelia nodded her head in satisfaction. "You have also earned yourself a massive boost in reputation with this move. Many people are praising you, especially the ones who made the mistake of taking a loan from the Goblins" The secretary continued to speak with a smile on her face. "Even though the reaction is mostly positive, I suggest that you should arrange a press conference" The secretary suggested firmly.

"Is a press conference really necessary?" Amelia asked as she groaned in irritation.

"Yes, the people need to hear from you. Whatever they know, they know it from the Prophet or some other third party. They need to hear everything from you" The secretary insisted. Amelia rubbed her temple in frustration but decided to accept the inevitable. The life of a Minister was really hard… Why did she agree with this to begin with? Yeah… Harry never gave her much of a choice.

"Alright. Arrange the conference" Amelia finally relented.

Her secretary simply beamed at her with a bright smile on her face. "There is something else…" Her secretary began to speak as she lost her smile. "What are you going to do with Pettigrew?" She asked. In her humble opinion, they should have revealed the body to the public for some positive reputation, but for whatever reason, Amelia decided to put the body in status and stash it away.

"We keep the body for now" Amelia repeated firmly. "Revealing him right now would be a waste. Voldemort's last attack was not without casualties or damage, but the public still believes that we won and the people are finally starting to calm down and forget about him. If we reveal his death right now then it would just be an afterthought, it won't be front-page news" Amelia explained.

If she was still the Head of the DMLE then she would have been pushing for the publication of the news just like her Secretary was, but now she was the interim Minister of Magic and possibly the next Minister of Magic, so she needed to think differently. Amelia knew that she was not a politician, and she hated to act like one, but sometimes some sacrifices needed to be made.

Her secretary seemed to think for a bit before she finally nodded her head in understanding. Amelia was right… Right now, Britain was buzzing with the news of the Gringotts' takeover and now the Diagon Alley attack was old news even though it had been only a week since then. The people were no longer afraid of Voldemort as they used to and they could use Pettigrew as a pseudo-victory in case Voldemort tried something again.

For now, it was better to keep their cards close…

"Alright…" Her secretary finally relented. "That's it for now. I will be arranging the press conference and in the meantime, if Arthur reaches out to me, I will send you a message" The young woman inspected her file and delivered the speech with a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, you see to that" Amelia said without any excitement in her voice before she dismissed the young girl… As soon as the girl was gone, Amelia started to wonder about the upcoming press conference. The public reaction was positive, which meant she needed to make them think that it was all a part of her plan. It made her feel lousy, but it had to be done.

She was finally starting to realize that the job of the Minister was not as easy as she thought…

~~Nott Manor~~

Voldemort was furious, which was not something new… He was always furious these days. His men were dying… They were being picked up one by one, but there was nothing he could do about it. It felt like Potter was mocking him and it was probably the truth. It made him want to murder the boy in a way that would give him nightmares for years, but once again, it was impossible.

Just after one confrontation, he knew that he couldn't beat Potter… At least, not by any conventional means, but all was not lost. He was certain that with given time, he could surely find a way to beat the boy, after all, he had all the time in the world, but he knew that the boy wasn't going to leave him be for that long. Potter was going to come for him, eventually and Potter wasn't the only enemy.

Grindelwald was there too… His blood boiled in rage whenever he thought about the washed-up Dark Lord, but his defeat at the hands of the said washed-up Dark Lord simply infuriated him even more…

He knew that he needed something new… The Death Eaters would be simply useless against someone like Potter and Grindelwald. The Dementors would have been a lot more useful if they didn't have two glaring weaknesses… The Patronus Charm and Fiendfyre. He wasn't sure if Potter and Grindelwald could cast the Patronus Charm, but he was certain that they could cast Fiendfyre.

Now only if he could create something like the Dementors or summon demons to do his bidding… He had read about demon summoning and demon summoning Rituals in the texts left behind by Herpo the Foul, but they were just mentions. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't find any details on such Rituals. They were simply gone… It felt like someone had intentionally removed them from the world.

It was just so frustrating… If he had any hair then he would have pulled them out by now in frustration…

However, there was something he managed to find in the texts of Herpo the Foul… It was a Ritual called Omnes Pro Uno, which meant All For One in modern English. Through the Ritual, he would be able to absorb the strength and the Magic of Wixen and Magical Creatures around him. However, there was a hitch… The Wixen or the creatures would need to willingly participate in the Ritual.

That was the reason why Herpo the Foul wasn't able to perform the Ritual on some wide scale and why Voldemort was hesitating… Otherwise, Voldemort would have Apparated in the middle of Diagon Alley and performed the Ritual. Now, he could manipulate his Death Eaters into agreeing, but then he would lose all of his followers… 

Voldemort decided that he needed to think more before finally making a choice and in the meantime, maybe he could acquire one of these magic-resistant armors the Goblins were seen to be using and reach out to Fenrir… He had given them enough time he believed…

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****THE-MAN-MOST-UNFORTUNATE (IV)****

"Hello, Severus… How are you feeling?" Harry asked as he stepped inside Snape's cell. The man looked gaunt and haunted, but there was still a venomous glint in his eyes. It was true that Harry never really tried to break him in earnest, but his will was still impressive, Harry decided.

"Came here to gloat, Potter?!" Snape snarled as he glared at Harry. He knew that he couldn't win against the boy, but that didn't mean he was going to beg for his life.

"Yes" Harry admitted with a smile on his face. "I have been quite busy for the last couple of days so I wasn't able to visit you and now I am finally planning to send you off, I decided that you deserved another visit" Harry revealed with a smile as he approached the man.

"Did you finally get tired?" Severus asked in a mocking tone. He knew that he was not in the position to mock anyone, especially Harry, but he simply couldn't stop himself. "Or your stomach can't handle it anymore?" He asked again with a wider grin on his face, but instead of getting angry, Harry simply smiled.

"None of that really…" Harry waved his hand dismissively. "I would have loved to break you more, but I have realized that I need to move on. The world is pretty big and I can't have some demons from my past holding me back" Harry explained with a soft smile on his face.

Severus simply stared at the boy in front of him with no idea what to say…

"You know, my Mom really cared for you" Harry revealed in a solemn tone, surprising Snape who wasn't expecting such a revelation.

|Hadrian, why are you telling him that?!| Lily asked in surprise. 

|Wait and see| Harry answered in a gleeful tone and Lily decided to do just that. Once upon a time, she genuinely cared for him, but she wasn't happy that her son was bringing up an episode of her shameful past, especially in front of someone like Snape. It was a really embarrassing part of her life.

"That is why she always defended you, tried to protect you, but you-" Harry growled. "You spat on all of her efforts" Harry added as he continued to glare at Snape.

For the first time since Harry imprisoned him here, Severus looked down, unable to come up with anything witty. He didn't know what to say since what Harry was saying was the truth. Lily was his true friend and he pushed her away in his recklessness… He wanted to join the Death Eaters, he wanted to prove himself to the world.

In his foolish pursuit, he pushed away his only friend… Most of his life was filled with regrets, but what he did that day still haunted him in his dreams…

"Did you know my mother did not die that night?" Harry said and it took Severus a few seconds to realize what Harry just said. 

"What the hell-" Severus snarled in outrage, but he stopped when his mouth snapped close. He started to struggle, but it was fruitless. It took him a few seconds, but he finally started to calm down. He had no idea what the boy was playing at, but he couldn't believe that Potter was using the death of his own mother to hurt him.

"Severus, what I am about to tell you is my biggest secret" Harry said with a grin. "You see, after a lot of research, my mother finally managed to find a way to protect me from the Dark Lord, but it was a powerful Spell, which required a steep price" Harry continued to explain.

"The willing Sacrifice of a blood relative" Harry finished as he backed away from Snape. Snape felt the grin around his jaw disappear, but he didn't say anything as he was paying rapt attention to whatever Harry was saying. "That wasn't all though. My mother needed to fulfill some very specific conditions to invoke the Spell" He added.

"For example, my mother needed to be unarmed and she needed to beg for my life in exchange for hers three times. My mother wasn't sure if the Spell was going to work, but it was her only choice… Surprisingly, the Spell worked, but it didn't work like it was supposed to" Harry finished while shaking his head.

"She is dead…" Snape finally mumbled. "I saw her body that night. I held her within my arms" Snape continued to mumble under his breath.

"I agree" Harry admitted, once again surprising Snape. "You see the Spell somehow connected the Soul of my mother to my scar" Harry traced the scar on his forehead. "So, when the Killing Curse struck her, her Soul got ejected out of her body and got trapped in here" Harry tapped his scar with a grin on his face.

"Do you know? She can hear and see everything through me" Harry revealed with a maniacal grin on his face. "She would have puked when you said that you were holding her body in your arms. She is still telling me to torch her grave… That should tell you exactly how much she hates you" Harry added with a vicious grin on his face.

"No… No… That can't be" Snape desperately started to shake his head, not willing to believe whatever Harry was saying.

"Yes. Yes. That is how it is" Harry nodded his head gleefully. "I wanted to send you off, but no before telling you how much my mother hates you" Harry finished with a cackle and Snape simply stared at the ground, his mind filled with despair. 

"...You should have died that night instead of her" Snape mumbled after some time, and looked up, expecting a Curse from Harry, but Harry simply nodded his head.

"Maybe" Harry nodded his head. Harry knew that he was not a good person and he wouldn't have complained if he had died that night in place of his mother, but now that he was here, at this point in time, he wasn't willing to give up on his life. He wanted to live with his mother. 

"However, that is not going to happen now" Harry shook his head and stepped forward. "I can bring her back to life and I am going to bring her back. I want to live with her. I want to feel her warmth. How can I give up on my life now?" Harry asked and used his Magic to pry open Snape's mouth.

"I have a request-" Harry paused and smiled softly. "Please take my request to your grave" Harry said and pulled out Snape's tongue. The man screamed and thrashed in his chair, but once again, his struggle was fruitless. Harry stopped the bleeding and released his mouth.

"Enjoy the rest of your time" Harry said and walked out of the cell before closing the metal door behind him, leaving Snape to wallow in despair…

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****A-HORRIBLE-BLIGHT (I)****

~~Near Calais, France~~ (January 10th, 1995)

"Fenfir, there will be no going back after this" Sveta announced as she walked up to the Alpha of her pack. It was still daylight, but it was a couple of hours past noon so the port was basically empty. They were planning to steal a couple of Muggle boats and make their way to Dover. With Magic, it would be easy for them to hide the boats from any sort of Muggle interference.

"Do we really have any other choice?" Fenrir asked as he bared his teeth in anger. It wasn't like he was angry with Sveta or anything, but he was angry about the whole situation. It was an immensely annoying situation for him and his pack…

"What about Antigen?" Sveta asked. She knew that Fenrir had finally reached out to them after they arrived in France, but Fenrir never told her how the meeting went.

Fenrir simply huffed in annoyance and started to explain. "Apparently, they have managed to develop a drug that could help us transform without the full moon. Completely useless if you ask me" Fenrir huffed, but Sveta's eyes grew wide at the revelation. Fenrir could already transform any time he wanted and Sveta could too, just like some of their other hunters, but it was still a big deal for the rest.

"What did they want?" Sevta asked warily. If they were offering a drug like that then they must want something in return.

"Apparently, they just wanted to share the drugs with my pack out of goodwill. What hogwash!" Fenrir snarled in rage. He was a lot of things, but he was not stupid by any means. The people he met were not someone who would do something out of goodwill. Fenrir guessed that they simply wanted to use his pack to test the drug and improve it. That was not something Fenrir was willing to do.

Sveta also bared her teeth in displeasure, however, a few moments later, a smirk appeared on her face. "Do you have the drugs?" Sveta asked and Fenrir turned to look at her as he bared his teeth in displeasure.

"Why?" Fenrir asked simply, but there was an undertone of danger in his voice.

"I think we should at least see what the drug is capable of" Sveta explained, but Fenrir immediately shot up to his feet and glared at his Beta. Sveta stared straight into his eyes for a second, before she finally lowered her gaze and Fenrir smiled at that. His Beta still knew her place, which was good.

"I will not be using that drug on anyone in my pack!" Fenrir declared angrily, leaving no room for arguments. "I met them. I could feel that they were like me… Their wolves were also free, but it felt… unnatural" Fenrir explained with a growl as he looked away from his Beta.

"Fenrir, you are misunderstanding. We are going to arrive in Britain soon… We could turn someone, just to test the drugs on them. We should at least see what they are capable of" Sveta explained again when Fenrir finally stopped talking.

Fenrir seemed to ponder for a moment before finally nodding his head. "That could work, however, you will be no part of this. You already know what you have to do" Fenrir said as he gave her a meaningful look, one to receive a grim nod from Sveta.

"Do you really think it is going to work? What if Potter refuses to negotiate?" Sveta asked, looking nervous. They might be keeping their distance from the Magical world, but that did not mean that they were unaware of its happenings… The Dark Lord was not the only one they needed to be worried about. The Dark Lord talked big, but he was completely powerless against someone like Grindelwald and Potter.

They have read about the Dark Lord's defeat at the hands of both Potter and Grindelwald… It didn't take them long to realize that if they completely went together with the Dark Lord then the destruction of their pack was inevitable…

"Then the deal is off" Fenrir answered simply. If Potter refused to negotiate then there was not much they could do. They couldn't even defeat the Dark Lord, so there was no way that they could defeat both Grindelwald and Potter. Fenrir could have tried to run and hide, but that was not someone who he was… Fenrir was someone who wanted to prove that Werewolves were by no means inferior to Wixen.

He also wanted the Wixen to fear his kind… 

However, with the return of the Dark Lord, he knew that he was not for long in this world. He was wanted dead or alive by all Magical Communities and that was the reason why he was he was living in Latvia with his pack. If he had tried to defy the Dark Lord when the man came to him then the Dark Lord would have killed him and he would have kept killing his pack until he joined the man.

There was a chance that the man would win and his pack would thrive in the world the Dark Lord was going to build, but that was until the Dark Lord was thrashed by both Potter and Grindelwald… The Dark Lord was bound to lose and if Potter wasn't going to kill him then the Ministry would… There was no way he was going to live past the War, but he wanted his pack to survive.

That was why he wanted Sveta to reach out to Potter after arriving in Britain… That was the only way the rest of his pack would be able to survive. After all, the only reason the ICW stayed clear of his pack was because they were afraid of him, but after he died, there would be nothing stopping them. With nothing to be afraid of, the ICW would go after the rest of his pack and they were going to hunt his pack to extinction.

However, if Potter refused to negotiate then they were going to attack and turn as many as they could before the Ministry or the ICW could take them down. If they were going to be killed either way, then they weren't going to go out silently…

"Fenrir! Fenrir!" Fenrir was broken out of his thoughts when one of his members came screaming at him. "The Dark Lord… The Dark Lord is here to meet you" The man revealed while breathing heavily much to the displeasure of both Fenrir and Sveta…

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