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HP - Chapter 416: Hogwarts Defenses
🕑 Added 2024-12-13 07:39:42 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 416: Hogwarts Defenses
“How curious. Are those living statues?” A curious voice asked.
Two more figures descended from the skeletal dragon and stood beside Voldemort.
One was a beautiful black-haired girl wearing a dark dress and holding an ornate umbrella.
This was Enkara, the Vampire Lord whom Harry had met recently.
The one who spoke was next to her. He was an elegant-looking middle-aged man with blonde hair and a well-groomed mustache. Like Enkara, he was also a Vampire Lord, though far less ancient.
“Something like that, Lord Sebastian,” Voldemort replied carefully. Those two were the only ones he had to treat with tact. “They are created by combining several branches of magic. There are many ways to make them.”
Voldemort had not requested the presence of these two today, but Sebastian had insisted on watching the 'Grand Event' and he could not refuse a request from them.
Also, Lady Enkara was the one whom he had promised the Hogwarts castle after it was conquered, so is not like it didn't make sense for them to be here.
It still made him uneasy and was very much looking forward to the day when he would not have to interact with them again.
“Ah yes, I’ve seen you create those flesh golems using corpses,” Sebastian noted with a nod.
“Yes… the Inferi,” Voldemort clarified.
“Aren’t they fascinating, Lady Enkara?” Sebastian asked his companion. "The things that these wizards can makeshift to compensate for their physical shortcomings." There was a not-so-hidden mockery towards wizardkind in his tone.
“No.” She replied curtly, then proceeded to ignore him entirely.
“Ohoh! In a bad mood today, are we? I thought acquiring a new castle might make you smile at least,” Sebastian teased with a chuckle.
Voldemort did not like having these two ancient vampires so close to him. But their presence was a necessary evil. Without their support, he wouldn’t have achieved what he had so far.
It was Lord Sebastian who had created most of the vampires in Voldemort’s service and turned several of his most loyal followers into undead.
Lady Enkara, while less involved, held enough influence that her approval had been essential for rallying the vampires to Voldemort’s side.
Sacrificing the castle of Hogwarts as payment had been a bitter pill to swallow since it was an important place for him. But in the end, it would all be worth it. Once he ruled over all of Magical Britain, he could construct a dozen castles more magnificent than Hogwarts.
“Hmm… it seems your troops are struggling over there,” Sebastian remarked.
Voldemort returned his attention to the conflict that had just started. As Sebastian had pointed out, the golems were crushing his skeleton soldiers and overpowering even the trolls.
This was no time to appear weak...he was trying to leave a lasting impression on the magical community and that would not happen if his magnificent army was having so much trouble against some stone constructs.
“Would you like me to take care of those magical toys for you?” Sebastian offered with a smile.
Though the suggestion seemed sincere, Voldemort could tell he was being mocked for his displayed weakness.
“There is no need for your involvement, Lord Sebastian. I will handle this inconvenience myself.” No matter what his true intentions were, he could not handle being more indebted to these dangerous individuals.
All eyes were on the undead lich as he moved toward the battlefield, where his army clashed with the golems.
Before Voldemort could reach them, the ground around him trembled, and more golems emerged from below.
Counting the ones already engaged in battle, Voldemort estimated there were over fifty constructs and it seemed like more were still emerging from the ground.
Several ones had just appeared next to him and the moment they surfaced, they moved all to attack him.
“Humph…” The Dark Lord huffed with annoyance. The first golem to take a step closer to him, was obliterated by a powerful blasting charm.
Voldemort found it irritating that his specialty...death magic, was going to be useless against these constructs. As they weren’t living beings, they were unaffected by it.
But it wasn't as if he didn't have other weapons at his disposal. A few more blasting charms were enough to reduce the remaining golems to rubble.
"It was easier than I thought..." Just as Voldemort prepared to advance, he sensed movement behind him.
Something tried to grab him. He sidestepped just in time as a white stone hand passed by, brushing against his robes.
“What is…” Voldemort turned to see the upper torso of one of the shattered golems crawling toward him.
He was certain he had reduced all of them to rubble...there shouldn’t have been anything left.
Then it happened again. Another broken golem reassembled itself and attempted to attack him.
“They regenerate…” Voldemort realized.
Now he could see it clearly... the fragments of broken golems reassembling themselves, as though they were under the effect of a massive Reparo charm.
A self-repairing golem wasn’t entirely unheard of, but these constructs regenerated far faster than anything Voldemort had ever encountered. He also noted that they had some magical resistance on top of that. Otherwise, his blasting spells would have reduced them to dust, instead of big chunks of rock.
“Did the old man always have these hidden away somewhere?” Voldemort wondered aloud with some wariness.
An army of such golems could have decimated him and his followers in the previous war. Back then, he only had a handful of Death Eaters with him, and his magic was much weaker.
The only plausible conclusion was that either Dumbledore hadn’t possessed them...or they could only operate within the grounds of Hogwarts.
“I see… so this was your last obstacle left behind for me, you old fool.” Voldemort’s crimson eyes narrowed. “I’ll show you…”
The undead dragon shifted from its position, taking flight.
“How pointless this is!” Voldemort bellowed as the dragon descended upon the golems, crushing most of them beneath its bony claws.
Their remains were drenched in a viscous, acidic liquid conjured by Voldemort, causing the constructs to dissolve rapidly.
Once the golems were neutralized, Voldemort resumed his march.
“This is nothing but a mild inconvenience to me. Today…I'll destroy the rest of your legacy and take this castle!.”
