CHAPTER {327-329}
****A-HORRIBLE-BLIGHT (II)****
"I wasn't expecting you" Fenrir said simply as he arrived in front of the Dark Lord. To be honest, he wasn't expecting the Dark Lord to visit him like this, especially when his whole pack was here. He didn't want the Dark Lord to learn about Sveta and the full size of his pack, especially when he wanted Sveta to reach out to Potter.
"Yes… I had no plans to visit, but you know… circumstances" The Dark Lord answered casually as he looked around the tent. "I thought I had given you enough time, so I decided to drop by" The Dark Lord added as his serpent-like gaze focused on Fenrir. "And color me surprised when I discovered that your pack is a lot bigger than I had realized" The Dark Lord revealed with a hint of amusement.
However, Fenrir was not amused… He was not amused at all…
"The size of my pack is none of your business" Fenrir retorted as he glared at the Dark Lord. He knew that he was treading on dangerous water, but he needed to make some lines, especially when the Dark Lord was not in a strong position. The Dark Lord felt his temper flare at the statement, but he decided to let it be for the time being. "By the way, how did you find my pack?" Fenrir asked, changing the topic.
His moment would come and he would punish the filthy beast for the disrespect… If he didn't need the beast then he would have killed him right here, but Fenrir was known for his reputation and just his name was enough to raise terror in the hearts of the common masses. To be honest, it was a risk to come here, especially with Potter being able to track him, but he needed to take some risks.
"Fenrir, no matter what you believe, your pack is not subtle. All of a sudden remote villages are attacked and people disappear? There is nothing subtle about that…" Voldemort shook his head, looking amused at the situation. "All Magical Communities know what to watch out for. They have no efforts to capture you, but that doesn't mean that they don't know where you are" Voldemort pointed out.
In other words, the Dark Lord had sources inside the French Ministry, which was not surprising, but Fenrir was disturbed by the fact that the French Ministry was actively tracking his pack…
"You need to be more careful next time" Voldemort pointed out with a chuckle, which seemed to displease Fenrir even more since both of them knew that there wasn't going to be a next time. "Report to me as soon as your pack gets settled in Britain. I have already planned something in advance" Voldemort added with a grin before he pulled out a slip of paper from his robes and handed it over to Fenrir.
The werewolf accepted the piece of paper and furrowed his brows as he read the content written on the paper. An address flashed inside his mind and the paper turned into ash… "Nott Manor?" Fenrir asked as he raised his brows. He used to know where the Nott Manor was, but he never noticed that he no longer remembered the address. Fenrir realized that it must have been some amazing piece of Magic.
"Yes, I hope to see you soon" Voldemort said as he turned around on his heel and disappeared with a loud crack. While it was usually impossible to travel across countries with Apparition, it was not completely impossible when the distance wasn't much between the borders and considering they were in Calais right now, Apparating straight into Britain was possible.
However, Fenrir and his pack couldn't do the same… His pack wasn't small. If so many people Apparated at the same time then the Ministry was bound to take notice, which would be counterproductive considering he wanted to slip inside Britain completely unnoticed by the Ministry.
After Voldemort left, Fenrir stood there in the empty room for the next few seconds and the look on his face started to distort. His features started to shift and grayish fur started to appear all over his body. He snarled in rage and kicked the table in front of him, shattering it from the middle. He picked up the shattered remains and slammed them down on the ground.
"Fenrir, are you alright?" Sveta asked carefully as she peeked inside the tent. As a werewolf, her senses were extremely sharp, so when the Dark Lord's scent disappeared, she could tell that the Dark Lord was gone.
"No! No! I am not alright!" Fenrir raged madly as he continued to stomp on the remains of the table. He started to tear through his clothes, but he didn't mind and Sveta smartly decided to stay out of his way… It was true that they weren't, but it was best to let Fenrir get the anger out of his system or he might take it out of her…
Sveta had been at the receiving end of his anger quite a few times and she was determined to avoid another repeat. Sveta gave him another look and decided to walk away…
~~Malfoy Manor~~
Meanwhile, Harry, who was finishing up all the preparations for the upcoming Ritual, stiffened before all of a sudden a smile bloomed on his face… "Did you remember something nice?" Tonks asked from the other side of the couch. She had been watching him carefully while he was working. It might be creepy to the others, but she liked watching him when he was concentrating. He looked really cute when he did that.
"Something nice happened" Harry answered as he looked at Tonks.
Tonks perked up, looking excited, but she started to pout when she realized that Harry wasn't going to elaborate. "Aren't you going to tell me?" Tonks asked sulkily.
"Soon Greyback is going to enter Britain along with his pack" Harry revealed and Tonks shot up to her feet, looking alarmed.
"Really? Then we need to inform Bonesy. She needs to know and maybe we can set up an ambush" Tonks gushed out impatiently, looking extremely alarmed.
"Calm down" Harry tried to get her to calm down, but that seemed to have the completely opposite reaction.
"How can I calm down? You already know how dangerous he is" Tonks snapped while looking alarmed.
"His pack is much bigger than we know. Setting up an ambush is a good idea, but with their numbers, it is not going to be an easy task. There are going to be a lot of casualties on our side too and I don't know where they would be arriving" Harry finally decided to explain his reasons. Thanks to Gellert and his men, Harry already knew that Greyback and his pack were in France, but their arrival was news to him.
If Voldemort didn't become impatient then they would have slipped inside the country with him completely unaware of their movements. Maybe, he should thank Voldemort the next time they meet…
Tonks seemed to calm down at his explanation, but she still looked alarmed. "Umm… Can't you do something?" Tonks asked in a desperate tone. "If they manage to slip in then they are going to eat…" Tonks stopped as her face turned green.
"I am sorry, Tonks" Harry apologized. "There is nothing I can do. I don't know where they are" Harry explained solemnly. It wasn't technically a lie… From what he managed to discover through Voldemort was that Greyback and his pack were in Calais right now and if Harry wanted, he could go there and simply decimate their forces, but Harry wasn't going to do that.
Right now, the ICW was scrutinizing their options and if he could get them to make a Contract with Lost Garden to deal with Greyback and his pack too, then it was going to be a huge boon for Lost Garden… Just the reputation they were going to gain from the job was going to be worth all the trouble, but Tonks didn't need to know that…
Harry felt bad for lying to her, but he decided that he was going to make it up to her somehow…
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****ENEMIES-IN-SHADOWS (III)****
"See! This is what I was afraid of!" Merlin screamed as he tossed the edition of Daily Prophet on the table for both Agatha and Alan to see. They already knew what was happening since the morning, but they wanted to see how the Ministry and the International Community were going to handle the incident. However, now it seemed that their fears were coming true.
"The hatred between Wixen and Goblins runs deep" Agatha pointed out as she picked up the paper. She wasn't born yesterday… She had seen how many times the Wixen and the Goblins had been at each other's throats throughout history for simply inane reasons and from the looks of it, it looked like it was going to happen again.
"A War with the Goblins seems completely unavoidable now" Alan muttered as he took a look at the newspaper. At first, they thought that Harry Potter was moving on his own, but apparently, he had accepted a Contract from the Ministry.
"The Goblins aren't going to take this lying down… They have already closed all of their branches and they are probably going to attempt to use that as leverage to get support from the ICW" Merlin explained while rubbing his temple. The situation was not looking good from their perspective.
"Now the question is if the ICW is going to support the Goblins or not" Alan asked thoughtfully while rubbing his chin. Even the ICW had no love for the Goblins, so there was a good chance that the ICW might use this chance to get back at the Goblins, but at the same time, Wixen loved their gold. A lot of Wixen would readily do anything to get the banks reopened.
"I think we should withdraw" Agatha suggested out of the blue, surprising both Alan and Merlin.
"What?! Why?!" Merlin asked, looking gobsmacked. He couldn't understand why Agatha was talking about withdrawing all of a sudden and just before a war.
"You know why!" Agatha snapped as she glared at him. "We promised. Remember? That we were never going to get involved in the matters of ICW, didn't we?" Agatha asked with a scowl. "This is now out of our hands and the 'balance'-" Agatha emphasized the word 'balance' with her fingers "-you were so worried about is already fucked up" Agatha growled.
"Yes! That's the point. It's just the Goblins now, but if we leave him be then he is going to ruin the delicate balance between the Wixen world and the Mundane world" Merlin screamed in retort. He couldn't understand why Agatha suddenly decided to give up.
"Alright. Let's presume you are right" Agatha said after taking a deep breath. "How do you plan to beat him?" Agatha asked mockingly before she started to chuckle mirthlessly. "We don't even know where he is staying. He already has the Minister in his pocket. Grindelwald and his followers are already working for him. What do we have?" Agatha asked mockingly.
When no answer came from either Alan or Merlin, Agatha decided to continue her rant. "For God's sake, we don't even know anything about him. What are his objectives? Is he planning to rule the country or what? Or is he planning to take over the World? Or is he planning to set the world on fire? Hm?" Agatha finished angrily.
And once again, neither Merlin nor Alan had any answer for her…
For the next few minutes, none of them said anything. "...Look guys, I am not saying that I don't agree with you. He is a danger to the world from what I have seen, but I don't think we can do much to him while hiding like this" Agatha waved her arms around, showing them the room they were staying in since they arrived in Britain.
"We could try to subjugate him since without him, his forces would collapse, but we don't even know where he is hiding. As long as we can't come up with a way to bypass the Fidelius Charm, he is going to be beyond our reach" Agatha finished before she looked down at her hands.
"...You are right as always, Agatha" Merlin agreed after a minute while looking down at his hands. "I might have jumped the gun too soon and we have been way too passive to make any meaningful progress" Merlin sighed.
"We could use masks" Alan suggested. Their identities were important and they didn't want the Magical World to discover their identities for obvious reasons, which was why they were planning to act from the shadows, but now it was obvious that their desire to act from the shadows was simply hindering them.
"I find it distasteful to dress like those Death Eaters, but it might be our only option now" Agatha relented even though she wasn't looking pleased.
"Agatha is right… We do need information. So, let's grab a couple of his followers and interrogate them" Merlin suggested and both Alan and Agatha seemed to agree with him. "It is obvious that we can't bring them here, so let's find some other place" Merlin suggested and once again the others agreed with him.
"That's at least a workable plan. So, let's find a disposable place?" Alan asked with a smile only to receive nods from the other two. It only took them a couple of minutes to get ready and after that, they were gone, looking excited. After weeks of wasted time, and toiling around, they finally had another plan…
~~Hel~~
"You are doing great, just a week at most and you will become a second-step Martial Artist" Hela cheered as he patted Harry on his shoulders while leaning on his back. As usual, she was completely naked and her bare breasts were completely smeared on his back, and Harry wouldn't mind admitting that he liked the feeling.
Harry knew what Hela was trying to do, but as always she would insist that it was all for training… So, Harry had stopped complaining altogether since he knew that she wasn't going to stop…
"It is ridiculous to hear from you. You started with me and you are already a second-step Martial Artist" Harry huffed sullenly and Hela simply laughed at his words. Harry was entranced at the sight of her laughing… Her laugh sounded so melodious and beautiful with a trace of bloodlust and madness mixed somewhere in there. It always managed to turn him on.
Maybe, he was just weird like that thanks to his weird upbringing…
"Husband, you may be powerful, but I had eons to master my own power… Raw power might be useful, but experience is what is most important" Hela explained softly as she stroked his cheek almost lovingly, but the gesture was simply awkward. "You might be stronger than that baldie, but her experience is simply unmatched" Hela pointed out.
"So, you shouldn't ever overlook experience" Hela chuckled before she stood up and walked away, leaving Harry to ponder her words for the time being…
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****A-PROPHECY-FULFILLED? (II)****
~~Nott Manor~~
Voldemort couldn't help but smile in satisfaction… Previously, he was in a dilemma, wondering if he should really visit Greyback or not, but ultimately it turned out to be a good thing. Greyback was trying to be smart by hiding a part of his pack. He was going to punish the werewolf for trying to undermine him, but that would come in future.
Right now, he needed Greyback and his pack… To be honest, Voldemort never liked those filthy beasts, they were simply a means to an end. People were afraid of werewolves, much to Greyback's credit, and he wanted to use that fear as a weapon of terror and chaos… Voldemort couldn't help but smirk at the idea of Werewolves attacking Waterloo.
It was going to be amazing!!
Then all of a sudden someone knocked on the door, alerting him. "Enter" Voldemort called out as he made himself comfortable on the throne. The door opened and Augustus Rockwood entered the room. The man standing in front of him was far from the man he saw before he went after the Potters.
"Ah, Augustus… I see you are healing alright?" Voldemort asked as he glanced at one of his more faithful followers. If it wasn't for Karkaroff then Rockwood wouldn't have been captured. However, he wasn't aware of the fact that Karkaroff technically saved him by blabbing because the Unspeakables were planning to kill him.
"It is all thanks to you, my Lord" Augustus respectfully bowed his head.
"There is no need to mention it… Those who are loyal to me must be rewarded" Voldemort retorted with a smile on his face. Augustus was still far from his peak and it would probably take at least a month more for him to reclaim even a fraction of his former glory, but Voldemort didn't have that much time to spare.
Voldemort knew that he was running out of time… "Augustus, what can you tell me about the Hall of Prophecies?" Voldemort asked as he pulled a chair from the side with a gesture of his hand for Augustus. It was a simple show of power and from the look on Augustus' face, his move worked like a charm.
Augustus simply gaped at the show of Wandless Magic, but he quickly regained his bearings and sat down, but not before giving the Dark Lord a grateful look. "There is not much I will be able to say since it wasn't under purview, but I have been there a few times. It is a large room filled with hundreds of thousands of Prophecies" Augustus started to explain.
"Hundreds of thousands?" Voldemort asked curiously, cutting off Augustus.
"Yes, my lord. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact number, but there must be hundreds of thousands of them. All the Prophecies are kept inside an enchanted glass orb and the orbs can be only picked up by the people the Prophecy is referring to" Augustus continued to explain after he answered the Dark Lord's question.
The Dark Lord seemed to frown as he furrowed his non-existent brows… "They can't be picked up by any third party? Not even by a former Unspeakable?" Voldemort asked, not looking pleased at all.
Augustus noticed the displeased look on the Dark Lord's face and gulped in fear. He knew that the Dark Lord was not going to like his answer, but it was going to be more painful for him if he lied to the Dark Lord. "No, not even by a former Unspeakable. I am not sure about the protocols, but I am certain that my credentials have been revoked at the least" Augustus answered solemnly.
"I would probably be captured as soon as I would step in their halls" Augustus chuckled mirthlessly, expecting to be Cursed, but the Curse never came.
"What if an Unspeakable tried to pick one of them?" Voldemort asked.
"They would go mad, at least from what I know. It is said that the orbs are enchanted and if anyone tries to grab one of the orbs they aren't supposed to, they would go mad… I have never seen it happen since no one was foolish enough to try" Augustus finished with a shrug and the Dark Lord simply hummed.
"What if we Imperius someone?" The Dark Lord asked. There was another reason why he went to visit Greyback… Yes, Greyback and his pack were important for his plans, but they were not indispensable. He wanted to check if Potter could really track him through his Soul or not… His sudden visit to France should have made him at least curious.
So, if Greyback arrived inside Britain with his pack, completely unharmed then it would mean that Potter could probably not track him all the time or Potter might need to cast some Spell to locate him. Voldemort would have dismissed the idea of the brand altogether if he couldn't feel it all the time.
"...I am not sure, my lord, but I believe such an attempt would fail" Augustus answered after thinking for a bit. "If you want we could capture an Unspeakable to check. I know where some of them live" Augustus suggested when he noticed the thoughtful look on the Dark Lord's face.
"No" Voldemort easily dismissed the idea. He didn't want to try something like that… Amelia was already in league with Potter so there was a chance that the Unspeakables were also in league with him. He couldn't take the chance to alert Potter that he was going after the Prophecy.
Until he found a way to match Potter in terms of Power, he wanted to avoid Potter as much as possible…
"Look into my eyes, Augustus" Voldemort ordered and Augustus internally grimaced. Knowing what was coming, he braced himself. The Dark Lord easily slipped into his Mind and started to look through his memories. Thankfully, Augustus was good with Occlumency and while his shields had been eroded due to the time he spent in Azkaban, he was starting to rebuild them.
Augustus helpfully guided the Dark Lord toward the memories the man was looking for, which probably saved him from a lot of pain since the Dark Lord was never careful while using Legilimency on his followers.
"You may leave, Augustus. I need to think" Voldemort dismissed his followers as soon as he got what he wanted… The Dark Lord knew that it needed to be him who had to grab the Prophecy, but not yet. He was desperate, but he could at least wait a couple of days. However, Voldemort knew that before making the next move, he needed the Prophecy.
The contents of the Prophecy were more important to him than ever…
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