Hadrianpotterpeverell
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HERE WE GO AGAIN
🕑 Added 2022-12-23 16:50:07 +0000 UTCHey guys.... First, I would like to wish you guys a merry Christmas. I hope you have the best of holidays. This chapter is a small one, but a very important one and so, I stopped where I did. Enjoy.....
Chapter 9- The Third Wheel
“We have work to do Travers. Would you stop drinking and get up? He will not be pleased if we do not get back in time.” The man urged as the portly one chugged another glass of fire whiskey. He sighed as the man ignored his words. Travers, for some reason, was drinking more than necessary today.
“The filth can wait. They are not running anywhere today. I am in the mood for some drinking and need some of it.” Macnair shook his head in disgust at the man. He should not be here. He should be out with the rest of his group and working on the task that the Dark Lord assigned. Instead, here he was, in this tavern and he was watching his partner for the night drink his heads off.
“Pathetic.” The man sneered as the other man continued to drink. “Get your arse off, man. I have no interest in being cursed within an inch of my life. We have to be back by midnight and it is ten thirty.” Travers grumbled as he stood up. He dropped a few coins on the table before walking out with the rest of his group. There were ten of them and he led them out of the dingy bar.
“Very well. Time to cut some muggles.” He cackled as he aimed at the nearest individual he could see. He was about to cast a spell when his wand was ripped out of his hand. He turned around looking for the one who snatched his wand, and he stood face to face with a man who had a mask?
“What do you think you are doing?” Travers questioned heatedly, slurring his words as he stared at the man. The man gave a hearty chuckle. “I am not one of your men, Travers. I stopped you from attacking somebody.”
“He is not one of us, Travers,” Macnair whispered as he looked around, his wand trained on the man to avoid surprises. The rest of the Death Eaters followed suit staring at the strangely masked wizard.
“Do you know who you are messing with?” Travers questioned, still high from his drinking. “You better give me my wand back and run.” The strange man hummed softly.
“Or else?”
“Kill him.” Travers roared, his anger rising at the ignorance on display by the strange man. The Death Eaters followed the man’s orders and started firing spells at the man. The stranger took it in stride, jumping out of the way of their attacks and shielding himself when necessary. Not one spell hit the man. He was fast. Macnair was no slouch with a wand but he couldn’t land a single spell on the target.
The stranger, who had not cast a spell till now, kept batting the ones sent towards him effortlessly. When the death eaters began using the killing curse as a last resort, he brought up physical items to shield himself from them. They were up against a well-trained opponent. He nullified the fact that there were ten of them as he fought back, still not casting a spell. He was calm as he could be. Any duelist would be jealous of how the man moved. Graceful and agile. This man was dangerous.
“Are you done?” He heard the man question above the noise around him. To the growing frustration of Travers, the man had not fired a single spell back at the group. He was dodging and dodging and dodging. “You know what? I think that is enough.”
And he fought back. A negligent wave of his wand and a sickly purple bolt shot toward the Death Eaters. They brought up shields, but the spells sliced through their shields and slammed into them. He knew they were dead.
He raised his wand towards the dark sky. “Morsmordre.” He nodded in satisfaction as the glowing skull with a serpent protruding out of its mouth took to the sky, floating ominously.
“A job well done.” A gentle pop filled the night sky as the alleyway stood empty except for the ten oddly masked men lying in the pool of their blood.
—--&&&------
Dumbledore took one look at the mark above the alleyway and his mind instantly put two and two together. He had received a call from Alastor Moody regarding an emergency. Dumbledore observed the scene with a frown. He was missing something.
“Is that Travers and Macnair?” Dumbledore questioned in surprise, recognizing the two of them easily.
Alastor nodded his agreement. Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully. Whatever he was expecting when he witnessed the Dark Mark, this was not something he had in mind.
Was he missing something? Last he had heard, Travers was an ally. He would not go on killing his allies when he is yet to establish himself. These men must have messed up badly if Tom used them as a statement. Or, Tom was never involved in this mess at all. Somebody else might be responsible for this. He sighed at the beginning of a new headache.
“Did anybody witness anything out of the ordinary, Alastor?” Dumbledore questioned, hoping that he could gain some clue if possible.
“The muggles noticed the mark. The good thing was that there was only a handful of them and we managed to obliviate them in time.” The man grumbled. “Apart from that, I see no way in which we can help you, Albus. I called you here because of the mark. I wanted you to see it.”
“Thank you, old friend.” Dumbledore greeted the man after a long pause and bid him goodbye. He had a lot of information to find out. Were his doubts true? Was there another player? Somebody who wants Tom’s downfall before he has even revealed himself to the world.
—--&&&-----
The dream of a weird baby, now that they identified as Lord Voldemort was disturbing. Not because of what he did. They were used to seeing death by now. It was because of his presence in the body of a small infant. They shuddered, thinking about what he would have done with the poor thing.
Sirius was the only source that Harry could write to and ask for help. Ron was useless to speak to and Hermione had one answer to his question. ‘Go to Dumbledore.’ That was not what he wanted to hear. The summer before his fourth year was just marred by these weird dreams. Other than that, Harry had a decent summer. The Dursleys had stopped bothering him and he kept himself away from their sight. He cooked and did the chores, but by now, Harry was used to it and he didn’t bother protesting about it.
His return to the Wizarding World was through the Quidditch World cup that he had attended with his friend Ron. He expected everything to be fine; apparently, that was too much to expect.
Death Eaters attacked the World Cup and they had to escape in the nick of time from the direct line of fire. f fire. When the Dark Mark, as explained by Daphne decorated the night, alarm bells rang in their heads. Just like his other years, this one would go awry very quickly.
Their predictions went on to be true. The announcement of the Tri-Wizard tournament came as a surprise to the Potters. Every pureblood would know of the Tri-Wizard tournament.
“They brought back that death fair!?” Euphemia questioned, her voice raised in anger.
“My father was not pleased with that as well. He came home from the Ministry and he was not pleased with the news, that he had received from his sources. He knew that nothing good could come out of the competition and it would certainly not limit itself to bringing international cooperation between the other schools that were supposed to participate.” Daphne said.
Harry’s name came out of the Goblet just as they had expected. Although they knew that, it didn't make it any easier.
Once again, Harry was ostracized by the other students. Even the professors began giving him the cold shoulder. Harry would not have minded much if not for Ron blaming him entirely. His friend whom he could always rely on had turned against him. His first friend. That was a major hit on his mind.
“Weasley was a loyal friend. Harry always told me that. He was his first friend and he and his family stood by Harry all the time. They took upon his problems as theirs. He stayed loyal to their family until the end. He lost contact with the Weasleys just because of their differing opinions. As he learned his place in society, he had to take stances and decisions that they could not agree with. His association with Narcissa is one. From then, they never were the same.” She explained.
“He had his share of bad moments and this was one of them.”
The Granger girl stood by his side. She became his much-needed companion when none stood beside him. She helped him prepare for the first task and that was something Harry was grateful for.
Learning about the first task was not easy. A fourteen-year-old boy would be facing a dragon. A fully grown fire-breathing dragon.
“Who in their right mind would even agree to this?” Charlus questioned, his voice filled with anger. “Decisions like these would not be approved without the support of the Ministry of all the schools. It is beyond me how someone would ever agree to that.”
The other three shared the sentiment. Having to face down a dragon is no small matter. It is not something that many would comprehend.
“Oh my god. He used a broom. A flammable broom against a fire-breathing dragon?” Dorea exclaimed, her hands clutching her husband's hand tightly.
“If anybody has any doubts regarding why he went to Gryffindor, we have an answer.” Daphne joked. The memory of his flying was exhilarating, as much as it was frightening. It just prompted the women to forbid James from flying. How men liked this, they never understood.
"Moody is one crazy bastard," Charlus grumbled. The idea came from Moody and Charlus couldn't help but declare his mental status in his view.
The others agreed wholeheartedly. Moody was the top auror to come out of the Auror corps and he was just that good. The man was notoriously well-known for his vigilance. He was a nutter, but Charlus respected the man very much.
Harry looking for dates to the ball was hilarious. He didn't try and when he wanted to try, he could not work up the courage to ask the girl he wanted to. When he did manage to ask her out, she politely refused to say that she had already been asked.
"Some Gryffindor. Couldn't ask a girl out." Charlus snorted, only to be chastised by his wife.
"Is that so? I still remember you asking me out for the first time, Charlus Potter. Don't you go and act all high and mighty now."
Daphne was amused to see the older man redden slightly. From Harry's point of view, she understood what was going through his head now. These things. He had no idea what these things meant. He never had somebody to tell him about these things. Nobody told him what being a family entails. These small banters, teasing, fighting, and many more. All these are what make a family. She knew that. It's time that he knows it as well.
"I did fine. Didn't I get you to agree?" Charlus shot back, his ears still slightly red. Dorea hummed, her eyes gaining a faraway look.
"You did. And I don't regret that decision for a single day." The older man's face was smug.
Harry finally managed to secure a date with a fellow Gryffindor witch. Much to the Potter ladies' dismay, it was a flop. They were not pleased with his abysmal date. He barely interacted with the girl who was looking to enjoy herself.
Harry then had to go and fish out his best friend out of the Black lake for the second task and had to foolishly fight a bunch of merfolk because he took the words of the golden egg seriously.
This was not the first bout of foolishness that they witnessed. Rush in first and think later, that was Harry’s motto.
The third task was not simple, but for a young man fighting against three adult wizards, Harry did remarkably well with the limited resources that he had at his disposal. When he asked Diggory to take the trophy with him, they were impressed with what he did.
Tragedy struck once more. The boy was killed immediately and James and Lily’s betrayer went about conducting a ritual that required Harry’s blood and his flesh. Lord Voldemort emerged from the cauldron.
The Potters took their first look at the man who had killed James and terrorized Magical Britain for years. He then went about recalling his followers and then he asked Harry who was battered and injured to take up his wand and fight him. The man toyed with the young man. Harry was no match for the Dark Lord and he barely held his own.
It was then that they witnessed something spectacular. The priori incantatem effect that Charlus explained was not something that they had expected. The wand of the Dark Lord began projecting the people that he had last killed. The caretaker of Haggleton. Bertha Jorkins and finally, Lily and James. Harry’s eyes became tearful as he regarded his mother and father.
He listened to them and escaped from the graveyard taking the body of the dead boy with him and getting back to Hogwarts. Moody was then revealed to be a long thought slow Death Eater. Barty Crouch Jr under polyjuice.
“So that was what happened. The man suddenly disappeared from the castle and was nowhere to be seen. Many thought that he had disappeared after finishing the year.” Daphne mused.
“I don’t understand what Dumbledore is even doing as the headmaster?” Charlus said, his lips drawn into a thin line. “How can he risk all his students by allowing such things to happen around him? A troll. A basilisk. Dementors. And now, a madman and an escaped criminal.”
“As I pointed out, you will not like the next defense professor.” Daphne managed to hide her grimace. She could only imagine what their reaction would be to Umbridge.
—-&&&-----
“Was it you?” Arcturus questioned immediately as soon as Harry had stepped into his office.
“What?” Asked Harry, taken aback by the question posed to him.
“I hope that you are not joking, Harry. I will be most displeased if you are playing around.”
“Would you please come to the point, Arcturus? What are you talking about?” Harry questioned. It was unlikely that he would see the man being so impatient. From what he knew of the older man, he was a hothead, but his words held weight and power.
“This.” Arcturus snapped, throwing the sheet of newspaper onto the table. Harry picked up the newspaper and his eyes widened slightly.
“Whatever that was, it certainly was not me,” Harry argued, placing the newspaper on the table.
“I had plans, but I needed some time before I began my work,” Harry assured.
Arcturus studied the young man intensely. His shoulders sagged slightly.
“Well, who is this then?” Harry seemed to hesitate for a while. He seemed to be pondering something. “I don’t know. The man himself, maybe.” Arcturus hummed lightly.
“He did do things like this. His men who betrayed him had no chance of coming back alive. He would not take kindly to any form of betrayal.”
“But that is after he has solidified his position in our world. After he has complete support from the required families. Manpower is essential to these things and I don’t think he has the liberty to kill any number of his followers. And from what I have heard from the whispers, they were neck deep in his idea.” He nodded at the newspaper.
Arcturus had a point. There was no way Tom would kill these men. Travers and Macnair fought for Tom back in his time too. What was happening here?
“I don’t know. Maybe you are right.” Arcturus pacified the young man sensing his mind racing in thought. “Maybe they did try betraying him and he did this just to send out a message. We need not think much of it for now.”
Harry nodded. “Good riddance.” He agreed, taking a seat against the older man.
"What do you know about Horcruxes, Arcturus?" Harry questioned after a few minutes of silence. The man’s face went stoic. “Why do you ask?” Arcturus questioned, his voice not betraying any emotions.
“What will your reaction be, when you learn that we have to hunt six potential Horcruxes of one Lord Voldemort?”
“Come off it.” Arcturus snorted. “Creating one Horcrux is dangerous enough and you are telling me that he has six of them?”
Arcturus Black prided himself on being highly knowledgeable in the Dark Arts. His family can boast of that fact and the library of the Blacks was a major source of that. The Black family’s knowledge of the Dark Arts was second to none. Horcruxes was a vile piece of magic, but not something too unpleasant for the Blacks. They have seen and done things worse than that.
But Arcturus knew the boundaries of magic better. Creating a Horcrux does not ensure immortality. Nothing in the world was immortal. Everything has an end. Horcrux has the power to lure you into madness, assuring you of the fact that you are immortal. You just fall deeper into its depth and will lose any form of humanity remaining.
His eyes widened beyond anything that one can comprehend when Harry didn’t refute his point. In all his years, he had never imagined something like this.
“How did he remain sane?” He questioned in disbelief. “Who said he was sane?” Harry shot back. “He was never sane. He was always a monster. That just helped him become fearless. With immortality in his bag, he stepped up in his efforts. It took Dumbledore years to come up with this theory and if not for Lucius Malfoy’s foolishness, we would have never found out how he kept himself alive.”
“Now, that is my advantage. I have access to knowledge that I am guessing none of the others have. Tom does not know that there is somebody who knows his secrets even if is yet to complete making them. Dumbledore has no idea that Tom is dwelling in magics so foul. Although from what I know, he would probably destroy them himself if he managed to find what they are.” Harry explained.
“If I fight, I am taking him out once and for all. Until then, I have no interest in fighting him. Because although I might match him in a fight, it would be of no use until I know for certain that he would be dead. There is more harm than good in that.”
The two men glanced at the fallen bodies of the dead men in the newspaper. Harry wondered when the man would finally make an appearance. His name was well known in the world, but none had an idea about how the man looked. After what has happened, he was sure that the man would begin his game. This time, he would be ready too.
TBC—----
Comments
Brandon Buie
Interesting...a new player has entered the game. That or Harry is lying to Artucus for some reason.
