Chapter 27 - Alliances and Tidings of War Part 2

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Scorpion Lair November 20 Early Morning

Xiana was sitting in the lair at the main conference table typing on the computer. She picked up her mug and took a sip of her chamomile tea. She loved chamomile and it helped settle her stomach. The twins must have been playing a game of Quidditch, she thought. Her stomach always felt that way when Harry was away. Sometimes she thought that the twins knew their father wasn't home, and weren't too happy about it. She had arrived early, because she simply couldn't sleep. She decided to floo to the Lair and work on some files instead. She looked around the lair and noticed that it was very active early this morning.

She knew that Harry and gang would be back early this morning and they were all here to get their marching orders. She went back to her computer and finished inserting the final bit of information they had on their new appointees to the Wizengamot Upper House. They now controlled over seventy percent of the upper house and close to sixty percent of the lower house. When the time came, they would have enough power to dissolve the government. She then proceeded to go over the accounts to make sure there were enough funds allocated to their research and development branch. She would send the accounts to the board for final approval later that afternoon.

Having spoken to the potions master, they were now within weeks of achieving key breakthroughs on several of their initiatives. They needed rare potion ingredients that were quite difficult to obtain. In other words, they weren't cheap. The body restoration potion was one of their most valuable research projects. That one had the potential to replace lost limbs, damaged organs, and even re-grow a brand new nervous system. She felt that due to the war, many of their people would need the potion. The mechanics were simple enough. It would require any of the person's own body part, a hair, bone, or tissue and just like polyjuice dissolve it in the potion and drink it. Voila, restored body.

The idea had come from merging the polyjuice potion, skele-grow, and Voldemort's body restoring ritual. One of Malfoy's ancient dark scrolls had provided a breakthrough. It appears that Hydra's have incredible regenerative properties. Through experimentation they found that Hydra blood and spleen mixed with dragon marrow and infused with mild proteomic silver provided unheard of regenerative capacity. It caused instantaneous mutation of the current DNA and RNA cells in the body back to its earliest embryonic form. The potion was then combined with growth steroid and aging draughts. This caused the regenerated body parts to age to a chronological age somewhere in their mid twenty's. It was analogous to resetting a timer to zero, and then moving the hands to the desired time. She was busy transferring money into different accounts oblivious to all the commotion happening in the lair.

She was tapping away when she noticed that everything had suddenly become quiet. She looked up to see Harry climb out of the trunk. He had his hood on, and she could see his eyes glowing AK green. He was holding a staff. The first thing she did was gasp at the beautiful creation. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. It was about six feet high and two inches in diameter. The bottom was capped with a six inch Rhenium tip. The main shaft was pure Naquadria with magical animals carved on its surface. She could see scorpions, snakes, dragons and other creatures she could only guess.

The eyes of each creature were inlaid with a set of precious gems. Emerald for scorpions, ruby for dragons, and sapphires for snakes. Above every carved creature was a two-inch ring etched with runes inlaid with emeralds. Four feet from the bottom of the main shaft were two eight inch perforated Rhenium sleeve set four inches apart. Like their wands, the Rhenium sleeves were perforated with holes inlaid with black diamonds. The black diamonds provided a path for magical energy to reach the center of the main shaft.

The top of the staff had an eight-tip crown set forty-five degrees apart. Sitting at the base of the crown was a perfectly rounded four-inch light bender stone. Sitting on top of the light bender stone was a six-inch scorpion made of Naquadria. The scorpion's eight legs merged seamlessly with the crown tips. The scorpion's stinger and pincers were made of perfectly shaped emeralds. Looking at the staff one could actually see the air shimmer around it. Harry holding his staff looked absolutely lethal. She was pretty sure that everyone in the room had the same thought.

Standing beside Harry was Octavius Ollivander. The bizarre man seemed extremely giddy for some reason. She saw the twins, Luna, Remus, Tonks and a few other carrying scrolls, parchments, boxes and weird looking plants.

Harry walked towards Xiana and kissed her. He whispered, "I've missed you love." He then turned towards everyone and said, "Hi everyone, it's good to be back. We don't have time right now to go over everything, but next week we'll be holding a full gathering to talk about our discoveries and how to incorporate them in our fighting techniques. I'm putting everyone on notice, two weeks from now we'll be having a full-scale battle exercise. You are all responsible for speeding up your training. I'll be sending all of you with Moody for the next week in flux time. I want everyone to be done with Necron's books. I'll be sending a list of new curses and shields with Akima, Michael, Tiberius and Yadislav. "

He paused to gather his thoughts, and surveyed the crowd who was waiting for his next words. "Since our numbers are growing, in order to fight more efficiently, improve communication, administration and mission execution the council and I have decided to adopt the muggle military structure of ranks and special units. That is why the military exercise is necessary. You will all be assessed on many subjects at various levels and scenarios. We'll be building your physiological profiles to determine what rank you should be. Make no mistake, there will be no favoritism here, the rank structure will be based strictly on you abilities, I'll swear my magic on this. We already have a good start on the uniforms, but we need some ideas on what the ranks and special unit badges should look like. Of course keep in mind that we are Witches and Wizards and should make sure that there is an element of magic involved in any ideas generated. The council is not the only one with good ideas and we would like you to bring forth any ideas you may have. That is all for now. I'll talk to all of you soon enough."

Harry looked at Remus and they both nodded at each other. Harry looked at his closest advisors and said, "Xiana, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Fred, George, Ginny, Bill, Blaise, Theo and Brianna please follow me to the inner chamber. We have much to discuss."

With that Harry made his way to the inner chamber. Once he was in, he went to the corner where he had once hidden those pieces he had found in the snake statues and waived his staff and whispered a spell. A black obsidian box appeared for everyone to see. Harry remembered the basilisk egg, the necklace and a goblet with a badger and the dark aura that so resembled Voldemort. (Chap 12). At the time he was building the Scorpion Lair, Harry had no idea what objects he had found in the statues. These last months of study had finally showed him how Voldemort had cheated death. The bloody bastard had turned towards the evilest of the black arts to torn asunder his very soul. He'd managed this when he was only seventeen. Harry had realized that Tom's diary was in fact a Horcrux that he has destroyed back in his second year. The scrolls that he had read had warned of dangers of splitting one's soul. Not only did it make the Wizard unstable, but it also removed the ability of the wizard to cast soul magic. One needed a complete soul to cast soul magic also known as necromancy.

Flash Back Training Trunk

Harry was sitting in his favorite chair by the fire and had crossed out another book that had yielded zero knowledge on Horcruxes. He looked down towards the pile and was about to pick another book when Remus came barging in waving a positively ancient scroll and screaming that he had found the answer. The scroll had been from Dumbledore's safe. The scrolls weren't the only useful information coming from the safe. The diary had explained how to create and use the Philosopher's Stone. The diary had also revealed much about Dumbledore's motives and what had driven the man to become dark and manipulative. The man wanted to recreate new bodies for his dead wife and himself and reconnect his wife's soul held in a Horcrux with her new body. Harry smirked knowing that Dumbledore only had half the answers. What Dumbledore lacked was a means of recreating a stable body. The elixir of life was one of the main ingredients only.

Harry turned back to the scroll and began reading. The scroll was about Varanasi, the ancient, the place of atonement for man and god, the cleanser of spirits... the path to the other side. Varanasi is older than history, older than legend, older even than myth. The power existed even before the first altars were built by sons of Manu, it existed even before Lord Shiva himself came to atone for his sin of Brahmahatya epochs ago.

Very few places in this world still function as doorways to the higher and nether plains. Only these spots still have residues of the magi of those ancient ages; the ages where gods and demons walked the Earth. Varanasi was a veritable mother lode for all those interested and steeped into the philosophic and the esoteric. The temple of Varnasavinamita had been the gathering place of demons and Jinns now long gone from our plane of existence. In those ancient days, the demons had built temples all over the world. They had also left their knowledge inscribed in murals and on the temple pillars. In the very center of the temple were a pit and a veil. The pit was described as a portal to the nether world. Harry had recognized it as another veil much like the one at the department of mysteries. The other temples must have such veils also, he had surmised.

On one of the murals, contained writing in runes long ago forgotten. These runes had been discovered and deciphered over three thousand years ago by an Egyptian wizard priest of the order of Osiris. He had gone on a quest on orders from his order to scour the earth for ancient magic. He eventually traveled to what is known today as the valley of Balaghat near Kenha national park in India. He had stumbled on the ancient temple of Varnasavinamita and had barely made it out alive.

The temple was hidden by a plethora of dark charms and curses. The writings spoke of a Horcrux as a vessel. Into this vessel, a wizard who wished to escape the human fact of mortality could place a bit of his or her soul into an object. The soul bit is torn from the whole by the act of murder. After committing a murder, a wizard could and, evidently, usually did live with a torn soul. The soul could actually mend by virtue of repentance, forgiveness or time but must undergo unimaginable pain to atone for the sin.

The wizard who wished to make use of that tear in his soul could invoke an evil, highly secret and very difficult spell that placed the torn bit of soul into a vessel of his choice. This ensured some level of survival, even if the body was killed. The vessel must have powerful stasis charms cast upon it to ensure that the soul piece cannot escape. It is highly advisable to put many curses and enchantments to safeguard the soul piece. If the protection of the Horcrux is somehow defeated, the simple act of destroying the vessel would release the soul piece and destroy it forever. The Horcrux acted as a tether to the plane of the living. It prevented a Wizard or Witch left over soul from passing into the netherworld. Using the spell Avada Kedavra is necessary to help split the wizard's soul. The three runes known as Raido (spiritual and physical renewal), Nauthiz (to accomplish the impossible) and Sowulo (spiritual protection) are carved on the chest and head. Raido is carved above the heart, Sowulo is carved on the forehead and Nauthiz is carved on the right side of the chest.

The third step consisted of transferring the soul to the receptacle using the following spell Tewet-Ka-Kheperu-Maat-Heru-Khuti-Mââ-Xerou. Upon completing the spell the wizard will be surrounded by a deep burgundy mist, the mist will shrink into a small ball and turn light blue. The small ball, which is the torn soul, will then gravitate towards its new home. The protection enchantments must be initiated immediately. Know that this ritual is excruciatingly painful. Many wizards and witches have lost their sanity using this ritual. As a final warning, know that the price of immortality is not without severe consequences. One cannot alter the balance of the universe without paying the price. I, demon Xoltor Ata Valteri keeper of the seventh gate of Alderan made an oath to never reveal the secrets of the demimonde under threat of complete destruction.

End Flash Back

"Harry?"

Harry heard Xiana and snapped out of his thoughts. He looked to his left and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking of what's in the box and how they helped Tom come back to the living."

Xiana frowned, "Come again, I don't understand how a box helped Tom come back to life?"

Harry looked at his wife and the group and decided to give them a short version of what they had found in Dumbledore's scrolls on Horcruxes and how to destroy them. He explained what they were, how they were made and how to destroy them. He explained the dire warnings of creating them and their effects on their living bodies. He saw all of them shuddering and explained that Lucius' diary had mentioned that the Dark Lord was truly great as he had managed to create several of them.

Harry looked at them and said, "The problem we have is that we don't know how many more he's created on top of what we already have. If making one Horcrux can make you unstable, then this certainly explains why he's a raving psychopath. I know that I destroyed one in my second year when I destroyed Tom's diary. I'm sure the locket, and the cups are one also. I can feel his aura on them. The basilisk egg I'm not sure about. What we need to find out is how many he made and where the others are located."

Xiana was pondering what Harry said and looked up at him with a frown and replied, "I don't know if this means anything but three days ago we watched Dumbledore in his office as he was putting memories in his Pensieve. He was muttering something about Voldemort and possibly seven Horcruxes. He also mentioned getting a memory from some Slughorn, whom ever he is. Maybe this Slughorn knows about Tom's Horcruxes?"

Remus and Bill looked at each other and Bill said, "I think it might be worthwhile to steal Dumbledore's memories. I know this is going to be difficult, but he may also know where the other Horcruxes are. It sure sounds like he knows what they are. It would seem that our esteemed headmaster might know a lot more than we think about Voldemort?"

Remus looked at them, "I agree with Bill. It will be risky but at this stage we must be absolutely sure that we have destroyed all of Tom's protections before getting rid of the bastard."

Harry thought about what they said, and came to the same conclusion. They needed to know how many Horcruxes there were and where the others were located. One thing for sure, they sure as hell had the upper hand. Unknowingly he had stumbled on possibly three of them that would have been impossible for Dumbledore to get at. Access to the Chamber of Secrets requires parseltongue ability. The fact that they were hidden in bloody statues was also brilliant. It was pure luck that he had found any of them. Harry hated to admit it, but it certainly had required guile and magical talent to achieve what Tom had done.

He looked at them and nodded his head, "I agree with both of you. We have to find this Slughorn and raid Dumbledore's pensieve. I suggest we get a plan going so that we're ready to execute when we come back from our meeting with the Camarilla. I don't know how much longer Dumbledore will stay at Hogwarts. When he leaves, so do all his possessions. In the meantime, let's destroy what we have. I suggest we go to the caves where Sirius stayed during my fourth year. It's far enough from Hogwarts that any magical backlash won't affect the castle. I have a feeling that the stasis spells have a great deal of energy stored in them. Remus and Bill will come with me to destroy these three abominations. Xiana, why don't you and Brianna, Theo and Blaise start planning how we're going to steal Dumbledore's memories? Tonks, Fred and George, see what you can come up with to find this Slughorn character."

"I'll get on it right now." Xiana went back out to gather the others.

Fred, George and Tonks went to the map of Britain on the wall and started planning their strategy. Harry took the box and apparated to the caves with Remus and Bill following shortly after. Harry transfigured a pedestal and put each item on top. He then waved his staff and erected powerful shields. He was astonished at the power of the staff. Bill whistled when he felt the power of the wards and shield being erected. Harry then cast several disillusion wards just outside the caves. He looked at his partners and said, "I suggest we cast our most powerful destructive hex. I'll cast on the cup, Remus go for the locket, Bill you go for the Basilisk."

They all took position and Harry said, "On the count of three. One, two, three!" Harry hissed Gu-Ul-Para, both Remus and Bill cast Lacertosus-Rumpere. Two deep purple almost black lances of light and one huge very dark green lightning bolt shot out of the staff and swiftly made their way towards it intended targets. The targets absorbed the spells, and instantaneously a cascade reaction occurred. Horcruxes are meant to be able to absorb damage and repair themselves. However, there is a point at which the damage is too great and the Horcrux cannot use the stasis and soul energy to repair itself.

The energy has nowhere else to go but to be released to the outside with devastating effects. A huge wall of white energy erupted and pressed down on the erected wards and shields. Harry was using his aura reading capability to gage the integrity of the wards and shields. What he saw made him react instinctively, he pushed Bill and Remus to the ground and jumped on both of them, with his staff held high he hissed, Nisi-šen-šen. A large emerald dome formed above them and absorbed the incoming energy from the collapsed shields and wards. A loud bang was heard and all felt a series of earth tremors. The energy influx was incredible. Harry concentrated on his shield and absorbing the energy and redirecting it to his surroundings. Had he not had his staff, they would have been overwhelmed and suffered life-threatening injuries. The energy flux along with the ground tremors stopped. Harry canceled the spell and stood up. The others followed suit. They all looked inside the cave and saw three greenish vapors hovering over the objects, and with a blood-curling scream they vanished. At that point they could all see pieces of the cave's roof coming down in great chucks. Harry Accioed the destroyed Horcruxes and put them back in his box.

He turned towards Bill and Remus and said, "Well, I think we learned something new. I believe that destroying three Horcruxes at once is a bad Idea. The next ones we find we do them one at a time. I didn't realize the amount of magical energy contained by the soul fragments would be that powerful. We won't make that mistake again. Are you guys all right?"

Bill just shook his head, "Well besides having to change my shorts, I'm all right." Bill turned towards Remus and said, "How about you?"

Remus wiped his brow with his sleeve and replied, "Same here, I think I may need to change my shorts."

They all looked at each other and burst out laughing. They all felt the ground trembling again and Harry said, "We better get out of here, the cave is collapsing and I think the ministry will be here real soon." They all made their way back to the Scorpion Lair.

Harry made his way to the inner chamber and dropped the box in a corner. He wanted to collect all the Horcruxes and put them in there. He had a feeling he was going to need them in his final encounter with Voldemort. Never under estimate the power of psychology in warfare.

Xiana came into the inner chamber and said, "How did it go?"

Harry turned around and smiled, "Mission accomplished. Although from what Bill and Remus told me, they are currently changing their shorts. "

Xiana burst out laughing while shaking her head. "Life is never dull with you around love. I figured it must have been one hell of light show. We felt some very weak tremors over here. Those caves are some fair distance from the lair."

"Well you're right about the light show. Let's just say I'll never under estimate the magical energy contained in a soul fragment. I'll say this much, I'm sure glad I had the staff with me. From here on end it's one Horcrux at a time. "

Xiana just stared at him with her mouth open. She was going to lay into him for taking unnecessary risks, but decided to keep her mouth shut. After all she didn't know either that a soul fragment contained that much magical energy. She just looked at him and squared her shoulders and said, "Well at least you were lucky and no one got hurt. I swear I'll have gray hairs before I reach forty."

Harry approached Xiana thanking his lucky stars that she hadn't ripped a strip off him. She could be real nasty when she wanted to. He grabbed her and tenderly kissed her. He looked into her eyes and said, "You're right. We were lucky today. As for gray hairs, they won't be coming from me. Black hair, gray hair, purple hair I don't care. I love you more and more as each day passes by. "With that he kissed her again looked at her swollen belly and smiled.

Xiana looked at her belly also and smiled. She looked at her watch and said, "You have to prepare for your meeting. Please be careful my love." She hugged him and left to go get Luna and Neville.

Neville and Luna came into the inner chamber and found Harry looking at his call phone. Neville looked at his watch and said, "Time to go Harry."

Harry turned around and looked at his close friends and replied, "I was just programming the portkey. I figured and made one last check to make sure we have everything we need. We'll need this alliance more than I would like to admit. Having the Camarilla, as our allies will set a precedent for every other magical race. All right here we go. Grab on the rope, it's activating in two minutes."

November 20, Romania in Negoiu mountains in the Southern Carpathian Region

Harry, Neville and Luna landed with a thud directly in Shauna's bedroom. Harry immediately cast a shield and dropped into a kata stand ready to strike. He looked around waiting for an attack but none came. The room was empty. He looked to his left and right and found Neville and Luna in similar stands. One could never be too careful, especially in a Vampire stronghold. Harry took a closer look at the room and liked what he saw. There was ancient tapestry from the Celtic, Macedonian and Roman eras. There was a warm blue magical fire in the large fireplace. The mantel was a large highly polished granite slab that held many gargoyle statues. On the right wall there was a large painting of a wolf pack in a snowy dark forest. Harry turned around facing north and noticed a window with the light illuminating the north wall of the bedroom. There was a huge queen size bed with large oak post. All the furniture looked antique and would sell for a pretty price on the auction markets. He noticed Roman, fourteenth and sixteenth century pieces. Harry could make out several magical creatures engraved on the furniture. All in all Harry felt very comfortable here. There was a comforting dark feel to the place.

Luna looked around until she found the bed. She examined every inch of the room and especially the bed. She really loved the room and had every intention of recreating the same setting in her bedroom. She loved how the light struck the north wall. Of course the wolf painting would have to be replaced with a crumpled horned snorcack. She looked at Neville with her typical dreamy 'the world couldn't possibly faze me' look and said, "I want our bedroom to be exactly like this. I can easily see myself having wild monkey sex and conceive in this setting."

Neville almost choked on his own spit, and Harry was finding the gargoyles particularly interesting. Harry cleared his throat and said, "Alright guys, let's get this show on the road." With that Harry used his staff and cast an olfactory disguise and a disillusionment spell on all of them. They could all feel the ice cube flowing down their spine feeling. Harry finally cast a sound proof charm on their feet and took his watch and rotated a full circle to get an idea of the layout of the castle. They all looked at the map that formed in front of them and how to navigate the castle.

They could see where the Vampires were congregating in the main hall. They left Shauna's bedroom and silently made their way to the reception hall. Along the way they passed hallways filled with ancient weaponry. They passed the hall where life size statues of Alexander the Great and his generals all dressed in their battle armor. There were actual wizarding portraits of his army in full battle. There was a large tome sitting on a pedestal. The tome appeared to be a full biography and description of his military campaigns and battle maneuvers. Harry couldn't imagine what muggles would pay for this supremely rare collection of one of the greatest military genii in human history. Harry felt a reverence for this man and his accomplishments.

Harry sent a silent blessing to the man who had died so very long ago. They made their way to the fourth floor of the castle and passed by another hallway where Harry stopped once again. This time his was looking at his onetime greatest military icon. Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca. Hannibal revered as one of history's greatest military strategists. He was a master of the battlefield. Harry noticed a book sitting on a pedestal. He approached it and found himself looking at a tome of Hannibal's memoirs. Harry nearly wet himself. He knew right there and then he had to have that book. With a gleam in his eyes that didn't go unnoticed by Neville and Luna, they slowly made their way towards the meeting hall.

Along the way they found some Vampire guards and had to stop and divert their attention with some powerful Confundus charm. Harry had every intention of showing up from a position of strength as equals. What better way to do this then to sneak in what is highly regarded as an impregnable fortress? Suddenly Luna stopped them and asked, "How do you plan to surprise them, and how to we stop them from attacking us?"

"I want to get close enough to the meeting hall so that I can get a mental picture of the place, then I will conjure some scorpions and apparate all of us in the meeting hall. Once there I'll silently cast some protective shields. This should protect us and get their attention."

"Just make sure that your shield can keep the Tellurian Aslope from getting to us. If they get you, they'll find a way to your sphincter and make you shit yourself."

Neville, recognizing how nervous Luna was and that this was her way of relieving stress played along and said, "Well that would ruin our day wouldn't' it? I don't think the Methuselah would appreciate us soiling ourselves in front of the princes. That might send the wrong message."

"Yah, I don't think shitting ourselves is the best way to start negotiations. I'll make sure our shields keep out the Tellurian Aslope." Harry replied.

They finally reached the end of the hallway and Harry peeked out to get a good look at the gathering and where they should make their entrance. Harry then conjured his two fifteen-foot scorpions and told Neville and Luna to grab a hold of him. He put one hand on one of the scorpions and touched his staff to the other and apparated to the main hall.

One Hour Prior to Meeting in the Main Hallway

Nicademus was busy putting the finishing touch ups on the alliance documents. He needed to get this right. Like all important treaties, it was a balance of give and take. He wanted to make the document fair and concise. He knew that the Princes had their own agenda, but the very existence of the Camarilla was at stake. They had to unite under one banner or not at all. Already two thirds of the Camarilla was represented. Shauna was running interference for him. Methuselah Vardana and Ignatius would be arriving soon. Today was the day that history would be made. If he was wrong he they would be destroyed. He hoped that the Scorpion Sorcerer would make it on time. Nicademus looked at the finished treaty and melted some blue wax and affixed the seal of the Camarilla on it. He made duplicates for all the Princes, Elders and Methuselah's.

He looked into his ledger to make sure he had properly recorded the ancient prophecy. He was about call one of the Neonates to prepare refreshments when he heard the voice of his daughter. He looked up to find a contingent following her. He put away his book and went to meet the delegation. He immediately recognized Methuselah Caligula, Vego and Zenobia even though she had her hood on. They weren't as old as him but close. He was very pleased to see that Zenobia had come. She was of the Inconnu, which made her neutral from all warring parties. She lived in the wastelands under the ancient vampire city Varniya. The closest human equivalent title would be that of most high priestess. For her to leave the wastelands, and come to the gathering then events to come must be dire indeed. Behind them were the seven elders. Following from the rear were the seven princes. All of the power of the Camarilla was concentrated in these individuals.

The first one to approach him was Vego. "Nicademus my old friend, you still look as sprite as in the old days. The millennia have been kind to you."

"Vego you Cimmerian old hound, you look as young as when you fought Sargon II at the battle of Unartu."

"That was a long time ago my friend." They both crossed their arms and caught each other's wrist and touched foreheads. The ancient greetings dating back to the time of Cain was used to signify peace and friendship.

Vego then turned around and said, "Look who I found on the road to Carpathia, my old friend Caligula. He still looks as young and demented as when he was emperor of Rome."

Nicademus simply smirked and said, "Of course he does, and I've heard that he still indulges in Roman style orgies and bloodletting."

"One has to have a favorite pass time. The centuries can get lonely," answered Caligula.

Nicademus repeated the same greeting as with Vego. He turned around towards Zenobia and bowed with his arms wide open and said, "Of course one cannot forget ancient Zenobia of the Inconnu, and descendent from the Queen of Sheba. Sired Childe of Amun Anoxia Caliga and keeper of the Antediluvian chronicles, Custodian of the Age of man, Vampire and Wizard history and legends. Welcome to this most important of meetings. Your knowledge of the true history will be most valuable as we enter a difficult time for our kind and the world of man."

Nicademus could hear the gasp from the assembled. They all knew what it meant to have the keeper of the chronicles. Every Vampire knew of the powers of the keepers of history. He then turned towards the Princes and Elders and greeted each one in return. He waited for everyone to be seated and looking around the large table he stood up and began his speech. "Brothers and sisters I welcome you. The reason I have called this meeting is to forge an alliance with the Scorpion Sorcerer. I know that many of you have heard of him and his battles in Britain. You may ask yourself why we should bother with the affairs of Wizards and Witches. I assure you that under normal circumstances we would have carried on as we have always done in regards to mortals and their affairs. However, these are not normal times. I'm sure you have all heard of the Dark Lord Voldemort. He came back from the dead two years ago using forbidden magic and is creating as we speak an alliance with the Sabbat."

Instantly the Princes were on their feet yelling and swearing. Prince Tarsus of the Broujah hissed, "What do you intend to do about this. How come we hear of this threat now? I Tarsus demand an explanation."

Within the blink of an eye, Caligula had Tarsus by the throat with his fangs an inch from his throat. He hissed, "Who do you think you're speaking to, little boy! You forget yourself, I'll drink your blood before you can utter your next words if you don't keep to protocols fool." Caligula threw Tarsus across the room, and turned around to the other Princes, and spat, "This is a formal gathering and the Cain protocols will be adhered to, or you will feel the wrath of the ancients."

Nicademus' eyes were burning lava red, and hissed, "As Methuselah Caligula said, meeting protocols will be adhered to. Now as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, Voldemort has an alliance with our sworn enemies, and I have no doubt that we will be facing his death eaters in combat before long. There is no use denying the fact that Wizards and Witches wield powerful magic that can easily harm our people. Most of you are not old enough to fight them as equals. In order to balance this, we need an equally powerful Wizard to side with us who can offer protection from their magic. In return we will offer the full power of a united Camarilla. Make no mistake - we will need this power to once and for all destroy the Sabbat."

He looked at the assembly and continued, "Shauna has been to Britannia and was rescued by the Scorpion Sorcerer. He's been waging war against the Dark Lord Voldemort with success. The Dark Lord has lost many of his closest advisers. I assure you it is no coincidence that after two thousand five hundred years of absence, the mark of the most feared magical priesthood in known history is once again in ascendancy. Shauna can attest to the power this Sorcerer wields. The signs are all there, we have consulted with our oracles and with the Centaurs, and they agree with us that a global conflict is coming. This cross road has been brewing for millennia. "

He looked around the table and could see the wheels turning in their heads. Here goes the final shock he thought, "You are all aware of my divination powers. What I'm about to say may shock many of you but I believe this to be the undeniable truth. It is my belief that this Scorpion Sorcerer is the long fabled Gehenna Black Raven, The long-prophesied Knight of the Apocalypse."

At that last statement the room exploded into chatter. The elders and Princes kept looking at him as if he had announced that Cain himself was coming back to them. He kept banging the granite ball on the table for to no avail. Finally there was a loud scream for silence. Nicademus and everyone else looked towards Zenobia who had screamed for silence.

"I too have read the prophecy that was foretold by Lilith herself. That particular vision was acquired through powerful blood magic. There is no reason to get excited until we know for sure. The vision foretold that he would bear the mark of the black raven on his left ankle. The blood of two Methuselah along with the seven princes will be mixed and smeared on his left ankle. The mark of the raven with blood red eyes will appear if he is Gehenna. If not, he will still be a powerful ally to have regardless of the outcome."

Nicademus inclined his head towards Zenobia and replied, "As always, wisdom of the ages speaks through you, my lady."

Zenobia looked at Nicademus and a smile crept on her face, she finally said, "Are you courting me Nicademus. My father always warned me about older men."

Nicademus along with the other Methuselah burst out laughing. Finally gaining control he replied, "Ah my dear Zenobia, a tongue as sharp as the reaper's scythe."

He turned towards the other Princes and said, "I suggest we all go over the treaty document as we still have time to make some last minute changes if warranted. I believe you'll find it equitable. I would like to remind you that this is no time to get greedy. Our very survival is at stake. "

With that they reviewed the treaty and Nicademus only had to make a few alterations. He looked at his watch and noticed that they had five minutes before they were to send for the Scorpion Sorcerer aka Harry Potter. The runner came back with a frown on his head and came to him and in a whisper told him that he had not shown up. Nicademus looked at Shauna and gave her a look that said, get your butt over.

Shauna understood all too well the look she was getting. Without being told she pulled out the cell phone to try and reach him, but the second she reached for her phone, there was a sudden apparition to the south side of the main hall. At once the elders and the princes moved to an attack formation. It was Shauna and Nicademus who immediately recognized the intruder.

Nicademus screamed, "Hold your position!"

Everyone froze. No one moved, but everyone got a good look at the sudden apparition. There were three people and two giant menacing scorpions behind them. They were all wearing what appeared to be Basilisk combat robes. The person on the left was a blond Witch, and the one on the right was a Wizard. They both held what appeared to be metallic wands. As interesting as they appeared to be, they were nothing compared to the person in the middle. He was holding a staff that quite frankly even impressed him in its looks. The staff screamed lethal. The man himself was an imposing figure. He was tall and athletic looking. His hood was on, and the only feature that could be seen was the emerald fires burning where his eyes should be. They held the same color as the Avada Kedavra spell. He looked at his fellow Methuselah and he could tell they were impressed. This Wizard screamed power.

The fact that he and his allies had apparated through their blood wards was clearly understood by all the Vampires present. Nicademus was sure that he had done this on purpose. It was clearly a show of strength that said 'Don't fuck with me. I'm here on serious business.' Nicademus cleared his throat and said, "Well if you wanted our attention, I would say you have achieved a resounding success."

Nicademus turned back towards the Camarilla and said, "Please everyone may I present the Scorpion Sorcerer. All of you get back to your seat. Let us get comfortable. We have a long night ahead of us."

With that Shauna went to greet Harry. She approached him in a non-threatening manner and bowed to him with her arms opened and said, "Welcome to the Camarilla. We have heard of your impressive accomplishments. With great respect towards you and your people we would like to talk about a possible alliance between your and my peoples. My father Methuselah Nicademus felt that only a total gathering of the Camarilla would be worthy enough for our meeting."

Harry answered back, "It is with great respect that I too seek an alliance with your peoples. It is my belief that it is high time that the magical peoples of this world unite. There are dark times ahead of us. We will need to pool all of our strengths to meet the challenges ahead of us. Please allow me to introduce two of my closest advisers. Standing to my left is a powerful Wizard of the most noble and ancient house of Longbottom. His given name is Neville. On my right is a powerful Witch of the noble and ancient house Lovegood. Her given name is Luna. My true name, you will only find out if we have a treaty and only through a blood oath to never reveal my true identity. I know that this seems strict and I apologize for it, however there are many lives in the balance and all precautions must be taken."

With that they were led to their seat and refreshments were brought in. Harry silently cast a detection spell on the drinks and food brought to them and found them to be free of poisons and mind-altering substances. It had already been agreed ahead of time that he would determine if it was safe to partake in food and drink. The signal that it was o.k. consisted of him drinking and eating. After refreshments, introductions were made. He was asked how he had managed to apparate directly to the main hall. He had informed them that he had used the muggle cell phone and the GPS function to read the coordinates within the castle. He told them that the first place they apparated to was Shauna's bedroom using a new form of apparition that he had invented that could beat any wards. From there they had silently made their way to the great hall. Harry had praised Nicademus on the incredible collection of ancient warriors and weaponry.

Nicademus was greatly amused at how they had gained access to the castle. It spoke volumes about the man's intelligence and cunning. They were traits that he himself greatly admired. Noticing the reverence the Sorcerer had when describing the ancient warriors, Nicademus asked, "Do you have a particular favorite?"

Harry looked at him and replied, "Well they are all great in their own rights. Alexander is a classic. For myself, I'm partial to Hannibal."

Caligula looked at him and hissed, "What could a mortal such as you know about that bloody Carthaginian?"

Harry looked Caligula directly in the eyes and using his Occlumency powers, called forth his folder on ancient military history and found the folder named Hannibal. Using his eidetic memory he began reciting all of what he knew about this great strategist.

"Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, (247 BC – ca. 183 BC, short form Hannibal) was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician, later also working in other professions, who is popularly credited as one of the finest commanders in history. He lived during a period of tension in the Mediterranean, when Rome (then the Roman Republic) established its supremacy over other great powers such as Carthage, Macedon, Syracuse, and the Seleucid empire. He's one of the best-known Carthaginian commanders. His most famous achievement was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army, which included war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy."

Seeing that he had the attention of the entire Camarilla he continued, "During his invasion of Italy, he defeated the Romans in a series of battles, including those at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae. After the Battle of Cannae, many Roman allies joined Hannibal, who promised them independence and self-governance. According to some historians Hannibal lacked the siege equipment necessary to attack the heavily defended city of Rome, but it was not a lack of siege equipment, that even Livy mentions, but the shortage of supplies and the political agenda. He maintained an army in Italy for more than a decade afterward, never losing a major engagement, but could not force the Romans to accept his terms for peace. A Roman counter-invasion of Africa forced him to return to Carthage, where he was defeated in the Battle of Zama. After the war he spent his time planting olive trees until running for the office of sufet. As such he enacted needed political and financial reforms to enable the payment of the war indemnity imposed by Rome. His reforms were unpopular with members of the upper class, who with the help of the Romans forced him into exile. During his exile, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as military advisor to Antiochus III in his war against Rome. Hannibal fled again, after Antiochus III lost the war with the Romans due to lack of supplies. He accepted their terms, making a stop in Armenia, where he worked as a townsplanner for the new capital. His flight ended in the court of Bithynia where he possibly achieved an outstanding naval victory by means of biological warfare and was afterwards betrayed to the Romans.

Hannibal is universally ranked as one of the greatest military commanders and tacticians in history. Military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge once famously called Hannibal the father of strategy because his greatest enemy, Rome, came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal. This praise has earned him a strong reputation in the modern world and he was regarded as a gifted strategist by men like Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington."

Harry finished his recital and looked back at Caligula who was wearing a smile on his face. Finally with something akin to respect on his face Caligula replied, "Well done Sorcerer. Your knowledge is for the most part complete. His memoirs contain a lot more details of those times however. Being a past Roman emperor, I personally loathed the bastard and the damage he inflicted on Rome. That being said, secretly I admired his guile and military genius. Had he been born Roman at the time, he would have made it to proconsul, maybe even Caesar." With that he inclined his head towards Harry and went back to reviewing the draft document.

It was now late in the evening and they were reviewing the military assistance clause when an elder of the Nosferatu clan by the name of Zuulda Thaal looked at him and spoke in a clipped tone, "We have been going over the military assistance clause and the weaponry that you say you have. I do not mean to show disrespect, but you will forgive me if I'm a little bit skeptical. None of us here have ever heard of such things. I know that your magic is powerful, but to move entire armies in trunks that seems a little farfetched."

Everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what the Sorcerer had to say. Harry looked at them all and said, "I urge you to not take my word for it but to see the evidence with your own eyes."

Harry looked at Neville and said, "Show them."

Neville looked Harry in the eyes and nodded. He got up and pulled out a shiny pocket book size wooden square and put the tip of his wand on the sapphire jewel. The wooden square quickly enlarged into a large trunk. Harry stood up and made his way to the trunk. He went to the large crystal on the front of the lid and put his hand on it. The trunk lid clicked open and he turned around to face the Camarilla and said, "Please follow me."

The Vampires all looked at each other and Nicademus looked at Zuulda Thaal and with a sneer said, "Well do you want your proof or not?"

Nicademus for himself was quite intrigued to see how such magic could possibly work. He followed Harry and his advisers down the deep set of stairs. He looked back and saw that he was being followed by his congregation. They all made their way down the steps and were led to a large set of metallic doors. The very fact that they had gone that deep inside a trunk was impressive to begin with. He couldn't wait to see what was on the other side. He made sure to bring up his full Vampiric abilities to bear. He hadn't lived to be over three thousand years old by being stupid. Who knew what lay on the other side?

Harry made sure that they were all at the entrance to the doors and waved his staff and hissed a password. He had disabled the blood wards in the eventuality that they would need to provide proof of their claims. They stepped through the doors and silently smirked when he heard the Vampires exclaim the impossibility of such magic. Harry gave them a tour of the trunk and explained its features. He told them about the portkey chamber and that there were many such trunks and that they were all connected with their own floo system. He showed them the utilities room and how it worked. He explained that each trunk could be put under a dark Fidelius and be hidden in plain sight, even in an enemy camp. The trunk could act as the perfect Trojan horses.

To say that Nicademus was impressed was an understatement. He couldn't believe that the Scorpion Sorcerer had created such magic. The sheer size of the dimensional space was staggering. He had of course seen multi- compartment trunks before, but nothing that could even come close to emulating this creation. The strategic significance of such a weapon became immediately obvious to him. They could move their large Vampiric armies over entire continents instantaneously. The trunks came fully equipped to house and care for the needs of a whole army. They could hide an entire army in plain view. The sheer strategic value of having your forces ready to crush the rear at a moment's notice was staggering.

Neville and Luna showed them the weapons chamber and explained what the large blue like beach balls were. During their four months in flux time, Neville and Luna had worked on a poison extract from the magical cousin of the castor bean. The castor bean is not a true bean but a seed. The potent toxin Ricin can be extracted from the seed. It causes severe pulmonary edema within hours of exposure to muggles. Neville had found an even more potent toxin that could affect magical beings. He explained where the plant came from and its properties. The magical cousin was called Ricinus Cavitatis. The plant was known to grow at the entrance of caves inhabited by dragons. The feces from dragons provide the magical energy that the plant converts into a supremely potent neurotoxin. The plant and its toxicity had been known for a very long time. However, no one had ever figured how to extract the toxin in large quantities until now. Luna used her wand and wrote the plant's data in the air.

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Plantae

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida Magica

Order: Malpighiales

Family: Euphorbiaceae Magicus

Subfamily: Acalyphoideae Echylodendron

Tribe: Acalypheae

Subtribe: Ricininae

Genus: Ricinus

Species: R. Cavitatis

Neville and Luna explained how they had extracted the toxin in a liquid form that could be released on the enemy. The balls were heavily pressurized and contained a special type of nozzle made by muggles that would create a dense fog. The toxic fog was much heavier than air and would linger at ground levels for up to three hours. They had also invented an antidote that could be taken in liquid form or capsules. The antidote was good for up to a week. During that period of time any contact with the fog would have no impact. The enemy however would suffer death within hours of inhaling the fog. The fog could kill anything magical and normal. No races were immune to its lethality unless they had the antidote.

Harry could see many of the Vampires looking nervous. He was proud of Neville and Luna, they had come through in spades. There were three trunk manors that had been especially built to function as giant green houses and grow whatever plants they needed for potions and bio weapons. Harry looked at Nicademus and gave him a nod.

Nicademus for his part turned around to face Zuulda Thaal and said, "What say you now Zuulda. Does this satisfy you insecurities? Or do you need any more demonstrations?"

Zuulda bowed his head in shame and replied, "No ancient one. I fear I let my paranoia get the better of me. I will gladly join this Scorpion Sorcerer whoever he is. He has great power."

Nicademus turned towards his group and said, "Now that everyone's curiosity has been satiated. Let us finish our negotiations. They all turned around taking their time to view the inside of the trunk manor. Harry turned towards Luna and said, "Your planning insights have saved our butts. Good show Luna."

"Well I'm not a Ravenclaw for nothing you know."

Harry looked at Neville and they both smiled and shook their heads. He hoped that Luna would never change. Her stoic approach to situations always left him feeling calm. She never got excited no matter how dire the situation was. Well time to finish off this treaty, he thought.

They had been back in the main hall for over an hour and had finally reached an agreement acceptable to all. It had taken Harry explaining why he was fighting and what he hoped to achieve in the end. He had described his plans in large brush strokes. He didn't go into every detail, but certainly enough for them to know that he had a plan after the war that would impose a new order. They were ready to sign the treaty in blood when Nicademus rose up and everyone stopped talking. Harry had an inkling of what was coming. He hoped that they would accept a bargain instead. He looked at Neville and Luna and they too knew what was coming.

Nicademus looked towards Harry Potter and said, "Before we sign the contract. Sorcerer it is a custom of our people to offer a bride as gift payment to seal important treaties. The older the bride the more important the cause. The older they are the more power they have. This is done to both protect you and us from treachery. In order to complete our arrangement, I offer my own daughter Shauna as bride prize to you. "

Here it goes, he thought. Harry looked at Nicademus and then Shauna and said, "Your daughter's beauty is second to none. The bride price is indeed worthy of this treaty. You must understand that were I not married I would accept Shauna as my wife to be. She has all of the qualities that I prize. However, I have sworn on my magic to never betray my wife who owns my soul and heart. I have read your peoples' history and laws, and I ask you if I offer you a gift equal in value to the bride price you have just offered. Would that be acceptable?"

Nicademus narrowed his eyes and replied, "Such things have been done before, but I assure you the gift would have to be of great value to replace my Shauna. Make sure that you do not insult us in your offer of gift."

Harry inclined his head. The warning didn't go unnoticed by Harry. He reached into his robe pocket, and dug out a beautiful mahogany box encrusted with precious stones. He opened it, and pulled out a ruby red stone and heard the Methuselah gasp.

Harry looked up at them and said, "From your reaction I gather some of you know what you are looking at. I'm offering your people as replacement of the bride price this Philosopher's stone. Now the stone is known to make the elixir of life or permanently transmute a small amount of Iron into gold. Being Vampires, you have no need of the elixir of life. Throughout the ages you have accumulated wealth beyond any man's imagination. In my research, I have found another use for the stone that I think you'll find quite useful. "

Harry used his staff and conjured an enormous multi-tiered crystal bowl and filled it with pure water, which cascaded from bowl to bowl like a water fall. He put the stone in the top bowl and conjured a Kama. He cut his palm and allowed his blood to drip directly on the stone. He then took his staff and touched the tip of the stone and allowed raw magical energy to flow into the stone. The effect was instantaneous, the water turned to blood. Not just any blood but wizard blood. Harry heard gasp from the Vampires. A water fall of blood cascaded from bowl to bowl. Harry took his staff and conjured crystal goblets for all of them. There was enough blood in the bowl to satiate hundreds of Vampires. He looked at the Vampires and said, "Drink up, I hear wizard blood is sweet and revitalizing to the taste."

Nicademus had a hard time believing that one stone could reproduce the life giving blood that all Vampires craved. However when it came to this Sorcerer, achieving the impossible didn't seem to faze him. Wizard blood was special. The magic in the blood enhanced a Vampire's strengths. The prominent gifts of each clan derived from Cain were amplified. To a Methuselah, having drunk the blood of other Vampires they ignited all of the gifts of the blood they had ingested in the past. If this stone could reproduce Wizard blood, it was truly the most prized gift that the Camarilla had ever been given. With trepidation, Nicademus looked at Vego who nodded and Caligula who smirked and shrugged his shoulders. The look on his face was one of intrigue. Nicademus slowly approached the crystal bowl and could clearly smell the sweet odor of blood. He picked up his crystal glass and dipped it in the bowl. He brought the glass to his lips and with the entire Camarilla congress looking at him he took a big gulp of his drink.

The effect was instantaneous. To him it was as if he were drinking the nectar of the Gods, he thought. The blood was oh so sweet and warm as if taken from a living host. The instant energy boost was unbelievable. It was similar to having a sugar rush without the nasty side effects. His eyes glowed red and his nails and fangs elongated. He felt a sharp pain in his back and a set of powerful bat like wings sprung up. Nicademus felt as if he could crush and defeat any enemy. Seeing the effect it had on Nicademus every Vampire rushed to the bowl to get a taste. The effects were repeated over and over with varying degree depending on their age. The Nosferatu looked positively bestial and brutish looking. They looked like demons from the underworld. The Toriador looked like Veelas. The Malkavian had a psychotic look to them. The Ventru prince looked like he could give old Salazar Slytherin a run for his money in cunning looks.

Nicademus wanted to know how he had achieved such a feat and asked, "How were you able to do this? How did you discover that you could replicate blood with the Philosophers stone?"

"Making the elixir of life for mortal men requires much more power and magical energy from the stone. Blood, either you are Vampire or mortal sustains life for all. Where blood is concerned, I simply duplicated the blood that was already given. The stone didn't have to recreate it from scratch. It already had a matrix to go by. In this case it simply transmuted the pure water into its new matrix. The elixir of life requires a special spell and depletes the stone's magical properties for over a month. Transmuting blood from water is a much easier process and depletes the stone for a period of two days only. This is blood magic and can easily be recreated by your peoples. "

Nicademus replied, "This is indeed a great gift. From the looks of things, we will never go hungry again. I believe this qualifies as an acceptable trade." He looked around and found the clans agreeing with him. He could tell that Shauna was a little disappointed, but he knew that she understood the significance of this gift. He looked towards Zenobia and nodded at her.

Zenobia turned towards Harry and said, "There is a prophecy dating back to Lilith, wife of Cain. She was a powerful Witch and through blood magic, looked forward through the sands of time and predicted that a bloody war encompassing the world of men and magical peoples would come to be. A conqueror would rise up who would fight for the Vampire race and all magical beings. To us he goes by the name of Gehenna Black Raven. Among our peoples he is also known as the Knight of the Apocalypse. There is no mention that he must be of Vampire blood. It does mention that he would be magical. With your permission, we would like to carry out a test to see if you are this person."

Every Vampire of the Camarilla was looking at him with an apprehensive look in their eyes. Harry looked towards Neville and Luna and they both nodded their heads at him. Harry could have cursed the seven gates of hell. Why did this shit always fucking happen to him he thought. If he ever got a chance to meet Fate he would ram a baseball bat up its ass. He knew he couldn't refuse as it would seriously affect protocols. It was getting late and he just wanted to go home. He inwardly groaned as he was afraid of the outcome. He looked at Methuselah Zenobia and gave her a nod.

She turned towards Nicademus and the Princes, "I hope you have all brought you Childe daggers with you? Nicademus we will need the Bowl of Creation, the sacred bowl from which Cain created the Childe."

Nicademus walked towards a tapestry and waived his hand. The tapestry rolled up to reveal a wall. He pulled out a dagger and cut his right palm. He smeared his blood on the wall and chanted in an ancient language. The wall glowed red and a door appeared. He opened the door and walked inside a secret chamber. He came back with a beautifully carved obsidian bowl. It had a set of runes that Harry did not recognize. Nicademus brought the bowl to the table. Each Methuselah and Prince came to the bowl, cut their right hand and dropped their blood in the bowl. When they had all taken their turn, Zenobia waved her hand and the blood in the bowl began to swirl. As the blood swirled she chanted the ancient tongue of the Antediluvian era. After what seemed an hour to Harry but was only a few minutes, she looked towards Harry and asked him to bear his left ankle and calf.

Harry felt like a complete idiot, but followed her instructions. He took off his boot and walked towards Zenobia. He brought his naked lower left leg on the chair and looked directly into her eyes. She dipped her hand into the blood and smeared his whole ankle and calf with it. At first nothing happened, and Harry felt silly that he had been afraid of partaking in the ritual. He could see some of the Vampires starting to look disappointed but suddenly he felt a searing pain on his lower calf muscle. If felt like he was being branded. He looked towards Neville and Luna who had a look of utter surprise on their faces. The sensation on his left calf suddenly shifted and it felt as if it had been plunged in liquid nitrogen it felt so cold. Before he knew it the sensation was gone. He was afraid to even look, but he managed to pluck enough Gryffindor courage and peeked at his lower calf. His eyes nearly bugged out of his face. There for everyone to see was a black raven with red tears coming out of its eyes. He briefly wondered if Tiamat had known about this. He figured she probably did. As if his life wasn't complicated enough, now he was the recipient of some God damn long lost Vampire legend. Fate is one sick twisted bitch he thought.

He suddenly heard Caligula hiss, "By Lilith sagging tits, I can't believe this fucking legend is true. If I could I'd shit on a Carthaginian head right now."

He heard a smack and found Zenobia glaring at Caligula.

"What?"

"Don't be so crude."

"I'm Roman what do you expect?"

She simply raised her eyebrows at him and turned back towards him and said, "It would appear Sorcerer that you have been chosen as our protector. Should you vanquish your enemies, a new era will ensure. If you fail we're all doomed."

Gee nothing like a little pressure he thought. Harry just looked towards the ceiling and sighed.

Zenobia turned towards the Princes and said, "His protection is all of our responsibility now. Let this news spread to all of our people, especially the Sabbat.

The Princes were now eager to sign the treaty and once they had all given a blood oath, Harry revealed to them who he really was. To say that some were shocked was an understatement. They took the news well, and after completing formalities they finally parted ways. Harry made sure to banish his scorpions before he left. As they about to leave, one of Nicademus' servants came back with a book.

He looked towards Harry and said, "I believe you will find these memoirs to be interesting readings. You will find a lot more tactics that he never got a chance to try on the battle field." With that Nicademus offered him Hannibal's memoirs.

Harry was speechless. He looked towards the ancient Vampire and bowed, "I thank you for this precious gift. I will cherish it above all other in my collection." Harry had Luna and Neville eld on to him and apparated. By the time they came back to the Scorpion Lair it was almost midnight.

What none of them could have guessed at the time were the consequences that the ritual would have.

Somewhere in the wasteland, North of the Saharan Desert

That night a slight tremor was felt in the deep desert. In a lavishly decorated crypt two large sarcophagi with large granite slab with grooves etched in an intricate runic pattern were suddenly bathed in light coming from magical torches. At the top of the granite slabs was a bowl that was gouged out of the slab. Above each bowl was a crystal ball filled with what looked like blood held in stasis. At the same time the mark appeared on Harry, there was a golden glow surrounding the crystal orbs. Suddenly the spell broke and the orbs fell in the bowl and broke.

The blood flowed from the bowl, and followed the intricate runic pattern. The blood finally reached the center of the slab where it met a small hole and drained off into the sarcophagus. The ground shook again and the granite slabs slid off the coffins. Two majestic looking beings crawled out of their ancient tombs. One was bald, with bat like ears and fangs could be seen peering from his lips. His eyes were pure lava red. His skin was pasty white and anyone looking at him would see an almost magnetic magical aura emanating from the being. He was an imposing figure. He was nearly six feet six inches and quite muscular. He was dressed in blood red robes. His lips and nails if one could call it that were as black as coal. His nails looked like they could cut through stone.

Standing beside him was a beautiful woman. A powerful magical aura also emanated from her. Her skin was mocha in color and her eyes glowed electric blue. She had long dark black hair and also had bat like ears. Her nails were also charcoal black. She was tall and had deep aristocratic features. She was wearing a midnight black dress with a spider web design laced throughout. Her lips were black and fangs could also be seen protruding from her lips.

The male took the lead and followed an old lava tube tunnel. The woman followed him. They didn't so much walk as glide. Magic was crackling from both of them. After nearly thirty minutes of walking, they reached a large circular obsidian door. The male looked at it and waved his hand. The door didn't move, it was literally crushed into powder. At the same time, the sand on the other side of the door was blown off as if a desert storm had blown it off.

Two beings emerged into the deep Saharan desert under a full moon. The man looked at the moon and a deep bestial sound no one had heard in four thousand years roared on the ancient sands. Cain and Lilith had awakened. The time of the apocalypse was at hand. They had to find Gehenna. But first they needed to feed and find out what time they had awakened to. How much had the world changed during their long slumber.

PS: All these chapters were done by Vorlon666.