Ekrizdis - The Lord of Azkaban! (I)

Hogwarts Express,

10 minutes to Hogsmeade Station

Harry, Ron, and Black had been having the best time of their lives.

A few minutes before, Ron had mentioned the Gringotts incident, telling the boys what he had heard from his father. However, the Daily Prophet hadn't published anything related to the exact details of what had actually occurred in the depths under the Wizarding Bank.

So, when Harry whispered how he and Hagrid had been at the center of it all, the moment became one of the most interesting times spent telling a tale.

It wasn't a heroic or adventurous tale, but that only made it even more special as the stakes involved were much crueler, higher, and truer in a sense.

For a few minutes, the boys had then brooded over what could be the object that the dark wizard had come to steal.

Ron, being Ron, jumped over to the topic of Quidditch when they couldn't think of anything.

Neither Harry nor Black had any experience with the wizarding sport. So, Ron kept going deeper and deeper, detailing everything about Quidditch, how it had 7 players on one side and 4 balls, the international teams, etc.

Ron was just taking them through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.

"Is it true?" the pale boy in the middle asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Harry and Black immediately shared a look.

"You are related to Darcie Malfoy?" Black asked.

Ron winced, finding this all very awkward. On one front, he was talking terms with Darcie, who had been visiting his home now and then with the Greengrass girl. Ginny, along with Astoria, had already become too attached to the two older girls.

On another front, Ron hated Darcie's brother. Never had gone one moment when Draco had failed to mention how superior the Malfoys were compared to the Weasleys.

So, even though both Draco and Ron recognized each other, they just ignored each other's existence.

Draco's lips twisted as he took his eyes off Harry's barely visible scar and looked at Black. "So you are the one I am hearing so much about…"

Black almost smiled, finding it amusing.

Draco spat before the smile surfaced on his lips, though. "You keep my sister's name out of your filthy mouth, Mudblood."

Ron stood up like a pole, his face going as red as his hair. "Say that again…"

Harry looked at Draco, who was smiling, then at Ron, who was blazing with anger, and then at Black, whose smiling face had gone blank. Years spent with the Dursleys at least made him conclude based on his experience that this Mudblood was some sort of great insult.

Draco turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared on his pale cheeks. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, that Hagrid, and Mudbloods, and it'll rub off on you."

This time both Harry and Black stood up, too.

"I think you should leave," Black said, smiling.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry, eying Crabbe and Goyle who were a lot bigger than him and Black. Still, three versus three were the best they could have hoped for. Somehow, after the little incident with the dark wizard, Harry didn't feel intimidated by these boys at all. A part of him seemed to have changed entirely when he fought the dark wizard and almost lost Hagrid.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leaped forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, the entire train jolted, making the boys fall on their knees and then roll over on top of each other.

Booommmmmm!

Standing still as the entire compartment rolled over, going off the rail tracks, Black's eyes widened, his Calm burying itself deep in his heart's abyss.

He looked up towards the sky and boundless anger boiled within him.

"Ekrizdis…" Black muttered, the scenery around him rolling, along with the boys' scream, "… you blithering, fucking fool!"

*

*

A few minutes before,

Nurmengard Castle

The Lord of Azkaban eyed the Merlin's Staff, refusing to believe his dead gaze.

He was Herpo the Foul's Horcrux, and thus he could innately tell if the Staff bobbing up and down on the witch's head was the real thing or not. His odd relationship with Merlin gave him such an ability, regardless of his deep hatred for the Grand Wizard.

So, as Ekrizdis kept looking at the Staff, prodding his magic in tandem with the original Herpo the Foul's magical imprint, his broken breath finally calmed down a bit. "Your bluff might have worked," he told Madam Villanelle, showing a deathly grin, "if it was any other wizard but me in front of you. Heh!"

The Six had never left the magical protection surrounding the Avalon, granted by the two Half-Old Ones' presence on the island. Neither the Timeline nor DEATH, the Deep One, tolerated their existence, despite their claims of protecting the world from the shadows.

That's why, every time they interfered directly with the world's events, they suffered a massive backlash, forcing themselves into hibernation.

By now, Ekrizdis already knew Merlin had suffered such a backlash and was hibernating in Avalon. So, the Staff couldn't be the real one.

Yet, the magical fluctuations the Inferi was picking up from it indeed belonged to Merlin.

What deplorable spell they have cooked up now, Ekrizdis thought, seeing the confident smile on the witch's face. Wait a minute! Can it…

The conclusion Lord Ekrizdis had reached must have sent a chill running down his dead spine for he shuddered as he hovered midair, surrounded by enemies.

As if his realization was an unseen and unheard clue, Madam Villanelle pointed her wand at the Inferi and commanded, "Attack!"

The Unspeakables fired bolts of multicolored bolts of lightning from the ground, with dozens of Stupefy Spells hidden within them.

Dumbledore, still flying like a white-blue mass of fog, waved his wand creating a giant water bubble around the Inferi. Grindelwald wanted to join his friend in the sky for the battle, but he was still too tired and out of practice. Instead of flying, he circled his wand and created a giant ring of purple fire, which rotated around Dumbledore's Water Bubble.

From the sky, the Peruvian Vipertooth spat out a pillar of copper-colored, poisonous fire.

Lord Ekrizdis growled under his breath. "You… dare…"

Then, he spun onto himself, his black robes twisting and collapsing as the space distorted around him.

Disapparation!

Crack!!

The Unspeakable's spells bombarded the space within the Water Bubble's prison.

Riding the dragon, and sitting under Merlin's Staff, Madam Villanelle let out a toothy smile. "You can't run away, Lord Ekrizdis," she said, facing left. "Not this time…"

Crack!!!

Over the castle, only a few dozen meters away from the Inferi's last position, another crack resounded.

Lord Ekrizdis got forced out, his most effective spell becoming useless for good.

There were ways to prevent Apparation and Disapparation Magic, known to many wizards. Anti-Disapparation Jinx was one of those methods, and the most effective one. However, it was worthless against the Inferi.

Lord Ekrizdis had experimented heavily on the House Elves during his time. As a result, he had also included a part of their ridiculous ability to Apparate and Disapparate from the Jinxed spaces whenever they wanted.

Ekrizdis still couldn't thoroughly replicate the House Elves magic, but his Apparation-Disapparation Magic had become so potent that normal Anti-Disapparation Jinx spells just didn't work on him anymore. That's how he had managed to keep himself off the Order's hands so far after being unsealed.

So, when the Inferi saw his spells failing, he finally confirmed his doubts.

Ekrizdis looked at the Staff and spat out word by word. "Bounded Field!"

This time, the Lord of Azkaban was truly trapped, surrounded by two of the greatest wizards known to the wizarding world and one of the Six's reincarnation in the face of Madam Villanelle with the assistance of Merlin's Bounding Magic.

The Inferi cocked his left and right as if listening to something. Then he smiled.

"You want to play with me, fools," Ekrizdis said, boundless, dark magical fluctuations exploding out of him. "Let me show you what it takes… to become a Lord."

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