Chapter Twenty One – "We're going on a lake hunt!"
"And on the left are the ancient ruins of Tintagel castle, supposedly the site of the fabled Camelot, home of King Arthur or Artur as he was known in those days and Merlin. We will be stopping here for two hours for you to explore..." The tour guide continued in her irritatingly happy voice explaining to the tourists the history of the place and where the bus would be parked.
"Remind me why we had to do it this way love?" Harry asked Hermione. They had all been sat on the coach for three hours as it made its tour of the sites of North Cornwall. Hermione had insisted that they join the party that consisted mainly of American and Australian tourists. Luna was sat behind them, a silly grin plastered on her face as she sat on the Muggle coach, her nose plastered to the glass window. They had already been' forced 'to visit a number of sites along the way, but now had arrived at their destination
"Because I didn't know where Tintagel is and this was the quickest way to find it. Come on we need to get off here."
They had drove from London the day before in a car that Harry had found in the garage of the cottage. It was an old 1960's Aston Martin DB5 that Hermione had said looked a lot like the car James Bond drove. Neither Luna nor Harry had any idea who James Bond was but Harry enjoyed driving the car. He had briefly wondered where the knowledge on how to drive had come from, but somehow that knowledge was in his head. They had arrived in the area late in the morning the day before and quickly drove to Dozmary Pool to check it out, but quickly dismissed it as a contender for the Lake. Harry could feel nothing through the Staff to suggest that it was the correct location and even with their immense magical skill they could find no sign of any island in the centre of the lake. They had also driven to the Loe and dismissed it also for the same reasons. Slightly defeated they stayed the night in a local hotel to discuss what to do next. It was here that Hermione had come up with the idea of visiting Tintagel to see if any clues could be found regarding the correct lake and had also suggested joining an organised tour.
"But why didn't we just drive here in the car?" Harry whined.
Hermione looked a little embarrassed as she confessed to him. "I'm a bit rubbish at map-reading and I figured that this was a quicker way. I didn't realise that we would be stopping at every site along the way." Harry smiled at her admission. In fact he had been a little surprised at the narrow lanes and road that the coach had taken and silently admitted to himself that he would have possibly got very lost.
Hermione nodded her thanks at his silent thought and she turned to the grinning Vampire. "Enjoying yourself Luna?" she asked.
Luna looked up at the couple and smiled. "Yeah, this is great fun." She said her sunglasses firmly in place on her head, despite the lateness of the year and the cold weather. The sunglasses were more to cover up her Vampire eyes so not as to frighten the Muggles, but Luna had insisted in an expensive pair of Ray-Bans. She said it was because they cover her eyes the best, but really it was because she thought she looked cool in them. Truth was she didn't look cool, she looked stunning. Her new Vampire physique and her new confidence gave her a look that many a woman would pay millions for; she was pretty, blonde and had a figure to die for, but she was still the Luna that they had known for years. With a grin she stood from the seat and grabbed her bag and followed the pair out of the coach.
As they stood in the car park they all looked around at the remains of the castle. Tintagel castle mainly stood on a large rocky outcrop away from the main-land. Only two court-yards and the visitor centre stood on the mainland and a thin stone walk-way connected the two sections. Most of the castle was in ruins with very little left stood above the ground. The tour-guide was trying to arrange her group, but Harry, Hermione and Luna walked away from the main party, opting to explore on their own. The tour-guide glared at them as they walked away before shrugging and turning to the group.
Hermione led the way to the ticket office to buy the three tickets and a small map and guide book. They walked the short walk to the lower courtyard and found a bench to open the map on.
"Look, Merlin's cave!" Luna said, pointing out the feature that was on the beach. "Do you think that Merlin ever really came here?" she asked.
"Well it's worth a look, but before that let's have a wander. We can find a tour-guide and ask about the location of the Lake." Harry said.
They all stood and walked around the site towards the island. They asked a few of the wandering tour-guides but not of them could answer any of their questions about the correct location for the lake mentioned in the legends. One lady was sure that it was The Loe but since they had already been there they knew this was not correct. As they entered the Island courtyard, they noticed something odd. Towards one of the walls stood a nearly complete building, it looked like a small keep, but everyone seemed to be ignoring it, walking by as if it didn't exist.
"Look, I think that area has anti-muggle wards around it, everyone seems to be ignoring it." Harry whispered. They all walked towards the building and as they got closer they could feel the tingle of the magic surrounding the building. Looking around to see if anyone was watching them and finding no one, they entered the building. Inside they found the remains of a Wizarding tour centre, recently abandoned. There were pamphlets showing the castle as it looked in the times of Camelot as well as the remains of moving posters on the walls. All the signs were there to suggest that it had only been recently abandoned and in a hurry as well.
They had a good look around but could find no clue as to the location of the sword.
"Well it obvious that the Wizarding world thought that this was possible the remains of Camelot, but that doesn't help us with the location of the sword. If one of the two lakes nearby was the original location for the Lady, then either she has moved or someone else has moved the sword. Either that or the lake wasn't as close to Camelot as the legend suggests. I guess that when Arthur visited the lake, Merlin could of apparated him there so the lake could be anywhere." Hermione said in a frustrated voice.
"So what now?" Harry asked her.
"What about Merlin's Cave?" Luna said with a smile.
Harry looked around the castle and shrugged his shoulder. "Might as well look there, I can sense no magic other than the building we found, although I can sense something nearby, just not sure where. How do we get down to the cave?" he asked. Luna looked at the guide they had bought and her face fell. "Oh, it says here that the cave and beach are closed due to the steps been washed away in a recent storm. That is the only way down to the beach that accesses the cave."
Harry smiled and took Hermione's hand and all three walked to the wall of the Courtyard. Peering over the top they spotted the white stony beach far below the cliffs. All three looked around and Luna cast a subtle 'notice me not' spell and they all apparated to the beach below.
The beach was small and secluded with only a short strip of sand before the sea. The cliffs were overhanging and it created a very eerie feel to the area. It was obvious that the cave was only accessible during low tide as the entire mouth of it was covered in wet sand and seaweed. The cave itself was a large opening in the rock face that seemed to reach back into the rocks. The floor was covered in a mixture of sand and shingle and the only source of light was the entrance itself. As they entered the cave they all shivered in the cold air. Following the cave in, they saw that walls were covered in a green moss that seemed to glow slightly in the dim light.
"Harry, there's nothing here. This was a complete waste of time." Hermione groaned.
Harry however was feeling drawn to the back wall of the cave; something was calling to him, some sense of the familiar. "Wait Mione, something..." He moved his hand across the back wall in a sweeping motion before he smiled to himself.
"Lumos!" he said, holding out his hand, the ball of light appeared and they all blinked at the sudden illumination. "Look here!" he called out, as the two girls made their way to him. He was pointing to an indentation in the rock.
"This is the same shape as my staff pommel." As he spoke he called his staff to his other hand, and showed them both the staff and the shaped hole in the rock.
"I think your right love, try putting it in there." Hermione told him causing Luna to giggle. Hermione glared at her but blushed anyway. Harry transferred the ball of light in his hand to Hermione, causing Luna to raise an eyebrow at the casual way in which the pair played with advanced magic. He then held the staff in the middle and pointed the pommel at the hole. Pushing it forward it slid effortlessly into the hole and the wall in front of them shimmered and faded away, leaving an old stone doorway in its place.
"Wow!" Luna said as Harry pulled the staff back. Walking to the door, it opened silently as he drew close and they all peered into the doorway. Beyond was another cave, this was however was illuminated by thousands of glowing crystals that seemed to grow from the floor and walls. As they entered the cave they could feel the immense amount of raw magic in the air, it made them tingle as it coursed through them. Harry turned to say something to Hermione when he stopped and burst out laughing.
"What?" Hermione asked. "Why are you laughing? Stop that Harry! Harry!" she said and she even stamped her foot on the floor, causing Harry to laugh even more. Luna looked at Harry and then at Hermione and suddenly the reason for his hilarity was plain to see. The magic in the air, not only was causing their skin to tingle but it was also having an effect on Hermione's hair. It was so bushed up and had static crackling along it's lengths. Over the years Hermione had managed to tame her wild mane, but now she just looked like she did all those years ago. Luna let out a snort that attracted Hermione's attention from glaring at her giggling husband and she turned to the blonde vampire. Despite herself she also laughed at the blonde whose hair was also stood on end. Luna's however resembled a Medusa, her hair stood upright around her pale face.
"Luna! You're hair!" Hermione burst out, conjuring a mirror so the Vampire could see. Luna's eyes boggled and she laughed even harder.
"L-l-l-look at yours." She managed to say. Hermione turned the mirror around and looked at her reflection. Her eyes widened and she snorted out a laugh. "Wow, talk about a bad hair day!" she muttered before laughing. Luna was laughing before a thought struck her. With a wave of her head, her hair suddenly curled down and all of a sudden she looked stunning.
"Hey no fair!" Hermione pouted.
"Well been a Vampire has got to be good for something" she replied. By now Harry was leaning against the wall for support as he laughed at the two girls. Hermione glared at him and turned the mirror towards him, showing his thick mop of hair.
"Laugh it up Fuzzball!" she muttered, quoting one of her favourite lines from one of her favourite films.
Harry stared at her before glancing at the mirror. "I can't tell any difference!" he said, prompting the girls to laugh even harder. By now magic was also crackling through their hair and it was making them all feel very odd, almost intoxicated.
"Come on let's see where this goes." Harry said and they followed the thin pathway through the crystals.
"It's very beautiful here, magical." Luna said as they walked. "What sort of crystals are these, I've never seen them before?" she continued.
"No idea Luna, but I agree they are magical. They seem to radiate raw magic. I'm guessing even a muggle after been in here for a while could do a little magic for a while."
They followed the little path through the cave as it wound its way upwards. Finally they got to a small wooden doorway. There was no handle or lock on the door, but a small stone panel inlayed with a gold design on it. The panel was heavily polished and almost shone in the light of the crystals. The design was of a sword and a staff crossed.
"Merlin's sign." Hermione breathed. "Go on touch it Harry." She told him.
"Why not you, you are descended from his as well love." Harry replied.
Luna looked at the pair and a question formed on her lips. "Hey won't that mean you are related?" she asked.
"Sorta, the same way almost everyone is related. We looked it up, we are cousins many times removed. If you look at anyone in the magical world they are somewhat related. Harry and you are related, your cousins seven times removed. Don't worry about us though, the relation is so distant. We share a common ancestor that's all." As she spoke she placed her hand on the panel causing it to glow a deep golden glow. The door melted away and revealed a stone spiral staircase that wound its way up. The stair case was illuminated by candles that suddenly burst into life when the door vanished.
"Coming?" Hermione asked as she started on the stairs.
Harry was thinking about the Merlin relationship. None of them had really spoken about it too much although Harry had spoken to Fawkes one afternoon about it due to something that was bothering him.
# Begin Flashback #
Harry was sat in the den of the cottage nursing a cup of tea. Hermione was dozing on the sofa and everyone else was somewhere in the house busy. He was bothered by something, something that he had been told and he needed answers. Almost as if he knew he would be needed Fawkes burst into flames in front of him and stood on the table looking at Harry, his head cocked to one side.
"Okay spill it meat-bag, what's bothering you?" the Phoenix asked.
"Sod off bird-brain!" Harry retorted.
The Phoenix sighed and looked over at his charge. "Sorry Harry, may I ask what is bothering you?" he asked in a much kinder tone.
Harry looked at the beautiful bird and ran his hand through his hair. "It's about Merlin and the entity that we spoke to, your past master, he's not human right?"
"Not even close young one" Fawkes replied.
"That's what I thought, so does that mean because he is our ultimate grandfather that Mione and I aren't human?"
"Ah, I see what this is about. Okay, the entity is not human, not even close but Merlin and Dumbledore and all the others were human."
"Eh?"
"When you met the entity he was non-human using his powers to look like a previous version of himself. When he was those versions, he took human form. He looked human, he had the body of a human. He had to breathe; he slept, cried, ate, loved and ultimately 'died' as a human."
"But he was so powerful, his essence wasn't human." Harry cried.
"Okay, let's try a different approach. Are you human?"
"Yes off course, well I think so or rather I did before all of this began."
"Ok put that to one side for the moment and answer me this; is Hermione human?"
Harry nodded.
"But you are magical; you both are the most powerful magical beings on the planet. You are bloody immortal for goodness sake. Is that human?"
Harry looked dumbly at the Phoenix, but Fawkes ploughed on.
"When you have kids, will they be human?"
"Off course they bloody well be." Harry replied angrily.
"But how, I mean you two are so far removed from the human norm, so your kids they cannot possible be human...can they?"
"Fuck you!" Harry replied.
"Ha! How very...Human. Do you see what I'm getting at? You were born human, and even if you have a little extra in you now, you are still human. Being human is more than the powers you have, it's more than how long you will live, it's more than what you were before. Being human is what you ARE, not what you can do. Merlin was born human, he loved as a human and he had two beautiful children as a human, and they were human as much as you are, even if their mother wasn't completely...but that's a different story."
No matter how much Harry asked the bird, Fawkes would not explain his last statement, but eventually Harry got the message that both he and Hermione were human...well human plus, but that was good enough for Harry.
# End Flashback #
"Harry? HARRY!"
"Whaa?" Harry replied stupidly
"Smooth Lord Potter, very smooth." Luna giggled.
"Harry, are you coming or not?" Hermione asked exasperated with him.
"What? Oh yes coming." He replied, following the girls up the stairs. As they walked up the stairs the light levels rose until they candles were burning brightly. By now they had arrived at the top of the stairs and were on a small landing. There was another of the doors with the panel set into the stonework. Harry opened this one and they all found themselves in an entrance hall to a set of rooms. As they explored they found kitchens, bedrooms and a lounge area. The furniture was ancient but perfectly preserved. The walls were covered with old tapestries depicting Camelot and the world of King Arthur. In one of the room they found a small chapel with a large marble built tomb set in the middle. The top of the tomb held a stone effigy of a figure. He was tall with strong features. On his head was a crown and clasped in his stone hands was a stone sword. On the foot of the tomb was an inscription. Hermione read it out loud.
"Hércyme éastrice Artur. Angelcyning sylfum se Britas"
"What does that mean?" Harry asked.
"It's old English Harry. I studied this is History before I went to Hogwarts. Give me a second... 'Here lies Artur. King of the Britons' I think. Bloody hell, this is King Arthur's tomb." Hermione said in a reverential voice. Behind the tomb of the wall was a colour tapestry of Arthur in life. He was a tall and broad powerful looking figure but the most striking characteristic was his dark black hair and his emerald green eyes.
"Harry look..." Hermione said pointing to the image. "...he looks a lot like.."
"I know Mione." Harry replied, not wanting to think about the consequences of such a fact. As he contemplated the image, he gently brushed his hand against the pale marble of the tomb. As soon as his skin came into contact with the stone effigy he gasped as he felt a prick of pain in his hand. Removing it he noticed that he had left a smear of red blood on the stone figure that slowly was absorbed by the marble. Looking at his palm he could see two pin-pricks on the skin that were still bleeding. He could also see Luna looking at him with an odd look in her eye. Holding out his hand for Luna to lick off the blood his concentration was on the effigy that was now glowing. Suddenly a shimmering figure rose from the tomb and floated a few feet above the stone figure. The figure looked like that of the tapestry and if you took away the armour and some of the age, the figure was Harry's double.
The figure started to speak but for Hermione and Luna the language was unknown. It sounded like a mixture of Latin and French, and Hermione quickly realised that the figure was speaking in old English, an language she could translate when written but since no one had really heard it spoken for centuries she could not understand it, although certain words she could understand. It was clear to her that Harry was having no trouble understanding the figure and he was using his mental link with her to pass along the figures words.
"Welcome Heir, you are most welcome to this place. I was Artur Pendragon, last true king of the Britons. I have laid here for centuries awaiting my Heir to visit my final resting place. Fear not, I am not a true ghost but a memory echo placed here by my good friend and teacher Emrys."
"How come I can understand you Sire, you are not speaking English yet I know what you are saying?" Harry asked when the figure paused.
"When you touched the tomb, my young Heir, it sampled your blood to test your inheritance. Part of the test also allowed you to speak to me in my native tongue. May I ask thee a boon young Heir?"
Harry nodded, unsure of what to say.
"What is the year?" the figure asked.
"It's January 1998 sire" Harry told the figure.
Artur raised an eyebrow at the news, "So very long... Thank you young Heir, may I ask your name?"
"It's Harry Sire, Harry Potter." Harry stuttered back
"Come now young Harry, I'm sure you have more names than that do you not?"
Harry sighed and looked embarrassed. "My title is Lord Harry James Hufflepuff-Griffindor-Ravenclaw -Slytherin-Emrys-Potter."
"Emrys you say, you are related to my old friend?" the shade asked him.
"Yes Sire, I am descended from his daughter."
"His daughter, he never told me he had children that sly old dog." The shade laughed. He turned and noticed the two women for the first time. "Would you please introduce us Harry?"
"Sorry Sire, this is Luna Lovegood, a good friend of ours. And this is my wife, the Lady Hermione." As he spoke he placed his arm around Hermione and pulled her to him. "They cannot understand what we are saying though, although I am translating for Mione, we have a mental link that I can use."
"Have them place their hands on the tomb Harry." Harry told them to do so and Hermione felt the quick pain in her hand, before the blood was absorbed into the tomb. Luna however felt nothing. She was looking slightly bemused by the events so far. Artur looked at the young blonde in surprise. He floated over to her and peered at the blonde.
"Harry, are you aware that this lady is not human? She is some sort of hybrid?" he asked.
"Yes Sire, she is unique, she is a Vampire with a Soul. She is a good person despite her condition."
"A soulful Vampire eh, never have I seen such a thing. Well in that case the magic of the tomb will not work for her. But we cannot have this lovely young lady not understanding us. Alas I have no magic of my own, been of non magical birth."
"Sire, if I may suggest something?" Hermione ventured.
"Yes Lady Potter?" the shade asked with a smile.
"Luna, look at me for a second please." She told the Vampiress. "Without your sunglasses Luna!"
Luna giggled and removed her shades. Hermione looked deep into her eyes for a second and waved her hand over the Vampires face. Her hand glowed purple for a second and suddenly Luna gasped.
"What did you do Hermione?" she asked the witch.
"I allowed you to use some of my Ravenclaw powers for a few hours. You can now understand anything that I can, including King Artur of there."
Everyone looked over at the shade once more.
"Good, that's it better. Now young Heir..."
"Sire, why do you keep calling me that?" Harry asked, dreading the answer.
"Simple young Harry. You can add another title and surname to your full name. That is Royal Highness and Pendragon. You are my only living heir and as such you are entitled to the throne of these lands."
"What! Bugger! No no no! What the country needs is not another King, but a good decent Government!" Harry said hurriedly.
After an explanation about what a Government was, Artur looked at the young man with even more respect. To be told that you were descended from Royalty but to then reject it for the good of the country was noble, very noble.
"Young Harry, after what you have said, I am pleased with you. I did say that you are 'entitled' to the throne. I didn't say you had to accept it. If what I can sense is true, that is for the best, you and your lovely Queen will live a long time yes? Even the best of people can be corrupted by that sort of power. You will always be a Pendragon, you are the only one who can draw my Sword, but I believe that this Government of yours will best serve my people. For hence forth you will be given the rank of Duke and your lady a Duchess. You may bear the name Pendragon and all of its treasures that I believe my friend Emrys opened a vault for in your lovely bank. "
After a long pause, Harry thanked the shade. "If I may sire, we need to find your sword. That is why we are here. You see and evil wizard has used your sword to create a Horcrux, and Evil magic that corrupts the soul and we need to destroy the Horcrux in order to rid the world of him. Problem is, your sword seems to have gone missing."
"Young Harry, I am sorry but I cannot help you. I do not know the resting place of the sword, only Emrys know of this."
Harry looked at Hermione in frustration. All this for naught, they were back at square one. He was just beginning to thank the shade when with a 'Pop' Dobby arrived.
"Harry, Harry! You must come quickly. Your Miss Ginny and your Master Neville have found something about the sword. They have asked for you to come quickly." He told them speaking very quickly and bouncing from foot to foot as he spoke in excitement.
"Dobby, calm down please. Tell me again slowly."
"Sorry Mast...sorry Harry. I have been asked by Miss Ginny and Master Neville to find you. They have discovered something about the location of the lake." He said much more slowly.
"Go young Harry, my work here is done. I will be allowed to rest now for eternity in the arms of my beloved and my Queen." The shade said as it faded away.
"Wow!" Luna said in amazement.
"Yeah...come on then we ought to go!" Harry said.
"Yes my Liege!" Luna said with a smile.
"Luna...don't!" Harry said with a grimace. "As if I need any more strangeness in my life. We can come back when all this is over and explore more, but for now we need to go."
"What about our stuff at the hotel and the car?" Hermione asked.
"Dobby will get your belongings from your Hotel, Mistress." Dobby said.
"And the car?" Luna asked; she had liked the car.
Harry looked a little sheepish and pulled out a miniature version of the car from his pocket. "Er, I shrunk it kept it in my pocket."
"Do you mean to tell me that we could have got off that bloody bus at any time and driven?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, but the bus was YOUR idea love!" Harry replied.
"Well I know, but...well...that bloody women did go on something terrible." She spluttered.
"I liked it!" Luna said.
"You like everything Luna!" Hermione told her.
"Well, what can I say, I am happy sort of Vamp don't ya know." She said flashing her fangs at the older woman.
The three took each other's hands and Harry took them to Hogwarts main entrance, scaring a couple of third year Hufflepuff's as they appeared.
Dobby smiled to himself and with a gentle 'pop' he vanished. The room was silent for a long few minutes before Fawkes flamed in and sat on the Tomb. He stood looking at the empty room for a while before turning his head to the effigy on the tomb and then around the room.
"They're gone, you can come out now!" he said.
Without a flourish a figure emerged from the wall and looked at the phoenix with a grin. "Well that was interesting for them don't ya think?" he asked the bird.
"Certainly, I'd forgotten that he was related to Arthur? Was that really him?"
"Yes, well sorta. It was a spell I cast on him at his request before he died. He knew that one day his Heir would come and he wanted to meet him."
"What is the relationship?"
"Well as you know Harry is related to me through my daughter, but one of her granddaughters married Arthurs and Guinevere's grandson, and thus the line was connected."
"Ha, I remember that your daughter's line only ever seemed to produce daughters, but I suppose when you consider what she inherited from her mother..."
"Hush now, it's complicated all these lines. These Humans do like to make it difficult. All I'm bothered about is that Harry is related to both me and Arthur, as well as the founders."
"Yeah he's a good man, potty mouth but a good man."
"Oh yes, of that I'm sure. I am proud of the way he handled everything though. He is turning into a powerful man. He and Hermione will be fantastic in the millennia to come. Pity though, I miss Arthur, or Artur as he called himself, he was a good friend and a good ruler."
"Don't get maudlin on me now you old rogue. Do you think they are on the right track?"
"Well if the little red-head is as bright as I think so then yes, but they are in so much danger. I just hope that they will prevail."
"Don't you know if they will?" Fawkes asked.
"Hey! Not even we Eternals know everything." The figure said as it morphed back into its usual form before vanishing.
Fawkes laughed and after a little while he also vanished.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
In the office of Ragnok there was suddenly a commotion. The elderly Goblin sighed and peered over at the two Goblins stood by his desk looking agitated.
"What is the matter Griphook?" he asked his son.
"Sorry for the disturbance but well... Vault #2 just re-activated my Liege."
"What?! That's impossible, no one has had access to that vault since..well since forever. Who is the beneficiary?"
"My lord, its Lord and Lady Potter, but it says here that he is now a Duke and heir apparent to the Pendragon throne. It also says abdicated but still active."
Ragnok laughed and took the notice from his son.
"Well well, Harry what have you been up to now? With this vault, you own nearly all the Wizarding worlds wealth, as well as a lot of the Muggle world." He muttered to himself.
"Activate the ledgers and put out the word that I would like to see Duke Potter when he is free."
"Yes father!" Griphook said.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Serverus Snape sighed happily to himself as he laid on the sun-lounger. He was holding a drink in his hand as he laid back and grinned to himself. The sun was strong and he had a little problem with the muggle sun-lotion, but everything was looking good. Tomorrow he would find the Wizarding community and begin his life as a new dark lord. Yes everything was looking good. He smiled and finished his drink.
Unknown to Snape, his presence was not going unnoticed. The Fates were plotting against him and events were not going to go his way. A man looked at the pale greasy haired one and grimaced to himself. He needed to send a message and he needed to do it soon. Oliver Wood, professional Quidditch player with Puddlemere United, currently on holiday quickly left to make a call.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Tom Riddle was a lot 'happier' than he was a few days ago. Sure his forces we a little depleted, but with the arrival of a few more from the training camps that situation was now rectified. But the major reason for his increased good mood was that one of his operatives had found the Mudblood whores's parents. It was a chance encounter that had provided the information to him. One of his Deatheaters scattered around the world had visited the cafe that the two muggles ran and had recognised the pair. They were calling themselves something different, and their minds were closed to the wizard but he had a copy of a photo of them that had been raided from the house in England and they were a match.
Now all Tom had to do was to come up with a suitable way of killing them that would draw out there daughter and allow him to crush Potter's morale into the ground.
Chapter Twenty Two – Dark Deeds.
Dan and Emma Granger locked up the cafe for the night and made their way to the car to drive the short distance to their home. It had been a good day, with plenty of customers dropping in; a good mixture of tourists and locals. The fact that locals came to visit was a source of pride for both the ex-pats as it showed that the local community had accepted the Brits into their fold. Both adults were tired but happy as they walked to the car. They had kept the name Wilkins, but they both now knew that they were Grangers, and they were aware of their beloved daughter Hermione. That's not to say that they were both a little pissed at her for removing their memories and shipping them off to Australia, but they were also very worried about both her and her husband Harry. When both teens had left to go back to England, they had all hugged and Hermione had left her parents an emergency portkey that would take them to the Australian ministry in case of emergency. It looked like a small round tennis ball that they had to hold and say the word 'rescue'. They kept it with them where ever they went, and they kept an eye out for any unusual looking characters.
"Busy day love, can't wait to get a drink and a dip in the pool." Dan said as they climbed into the car.
"Mmm, yes a nice glass of white and then I'll treat you to dinner out later." Emma said with a happy smile on her face. The sun was still warm and it sure as hell beat cold wintery England. Dan turned the key in the ignition and the car burst into life. He moved from the parking area and turned onto the main road and headed home. They had only gone a few hundred yards before Emma swore.
"Shit!"
"What? What's matter love?" Dan asked.
"I left the coffee machine on. Bugger! Oh what the hell, let's leave it, its fine."
"No, that's our electricity it's using. It will take me no time at all to switch it off." And with that he turned the large four wheel drive around and headed back to the cafe. He pulled up in front of the building, not parking properly and jumped out, leaving the engine running.
"Keys?" he asked his wife, and she fished them out of her handbag and handed them to him with an apologetic smile.
"Won't be long!" he muttered and left to open the cafe door.
Emma sat in the car fiddling with the radio, looking for the station she liked when she heard a massive bang from the cafe and a scream. Before she had time to do anything, Dan's body came flying out of the large glass window and impacted nosily of the windscreen of the car. His eyes were wide open and his face bloody as it hit the screen, almost shattering it completely. It was clear to Emma from her husband's position that Dan was dead, his neck snapped as his head lolled to one side. Emma screamed, frozen in terror as she saw two dark clothed figures exit the shop. She noticed they both had silver masks on and had wands drawn. The two Deatheaters were a little disorientated from the four stage portkey that there master had furnished them with and therefore the curse they had used was a little overpowered. They had not intended to kill the male muggle but at least they still had the woman. Hopefully Voldemort would not be too upset with them.
"You are coming with us!" one of them shouted in a rough voice, "Come out of the vehicle or we will come and get you. Our orders are to bring you alive, but nothing was said about in how many pieces, we may have some fun with you first though." He said with an evil laugh. Emma looked at the two and then back into the dead eyes of her husband. She seemed to hear his voice in her head.
"Run! Run my beloved!"
Galvanised into action, she slipped the still running car into drive and leant across to the pedals. Keeping her head down she pushed the accelerator hard and the Toyota leapt forward directly into one of the wizards. She heard and felt him impact into the bonnet of the car and then the crash as she ploughed into the cafe.
"SHIT!" she heard from outside. "Dolohov? You okay?" but there was no answer from the wizards, as he was currently resting under the wheels of the car. He would be resting for a long time...he was dead. Emma had coincidently killed the murderer of her husband as well as the man who had nearly killed her daughter. She poked her head above the dash-board and reached her hand around to grasp her dead lovers arm. With the other hand she had pulled out the portkey.
"Rescue!" she yelled and the two were whisked away, leaving the sole Deatheater to survey the damage.
"Oh crap, I am so dead!" he muttered to himself before activating the first stage of the return portkey.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Emma landed on a smooth marbled floor with a bump and immediately hugged the body of Dan close to her. Somewhere in her mind she could hear a strange keening noise and it took a little while for the rational part of her mind to realise that the noise was coming from her as she hugged the body of her life-partner to herself, rocking backwards and forwards with the tears rolling down her face. Most of her mind had shut down and so she just sat there rocking her husband to her. By now she had drawn a small crowd of concerned onlookers, none of them sure of how to help this grieving woman. Someone had the presence of mind to call the Aurors and small group were approaching. Auror Brendan Reed was in charge of the small team and he looked at the sad sight in front of him. The woman judging by her dress was a muggle as was the man. He could see what looked like a tennis ball in her hand and after casting a spell he could tell that it had been used as a portkey. Casting another spell on the man he tried to assess his medical condition and he was not surprised to see that the man was dead, but also he had been killed by magical means. Bending slowly down to the woman, he could tell that she was in deep shock.
"Ma'am, you have to let him go. Ma'am he's gone but we need to help you." He gently said to her, but she just looked blankly at him, the tears still rolling down her face and still making the strange keening noise as she grieved. Very gently he picked up a fallen wallet that was on the floor and found the man's ID. Spotting the wedding ring on her finger he tried to speak to her again.
"Mrs Wilkins, I don't know how you got here, but you need to see a medic. Please let your husband go so we can help you. We will look after him, you can be assured." Again there was no sign that she had heard him.
"Mrs Wilkins..." the woman looked at him and shook her head. She was opening and closing her mouth as if she was trying to speak, but no words were coming out. Finally she managed to utter a few words that chilled Auror Reed to the bone.
"N-n-n-not Wilkins, Granger...Emma... Daughter Hermione Grange...Potter. She's married to Harry...We're hiding out here to be safe. H-H-H-Hermione gave portkey."
Even in Australia, they had heard of Harry Potter, and as Brendan put together the woman's words he swore quietly to himself.
"Fuck! You mean your Harry Potter's mother-in-law? And this is his Father-in-law?" Emma nodded quickly, rocking once more. Brendan rocked back on his feet as he took in the information. Finally coming to a conclusion he turned back to the grieving woman.
"Mrs Granger...Emma will you let me have him?" he gently asked her. She looked at him with empty eyes and eventually slowly nodded and relaxed her hold on the man. Auror Reed signalled to the other two Aurors and they gently levitated the body, coving it with a hastily conjured blanket. Brendan looked around to see the eyes of his partner looking back at him with concern in her blue eyes.
"Alice, I'm going to take her to medical. Can you ask the boss to meet us there? The shit going to hit the fan for this and we need to be prepared." Alice Nguyen nodded and stood to leave and to find their boss, Senior Auror Davies. Brendan motioned to two of the other Aurors and gave them Dan's ID. "Go to this address as see what's there. Be careful there may be still around." Brendan then turned his attention to the near catatonic woman who was watching her husband been taken away.
"Emma...Emma! Look at me. You are in shock, do you understand?" the woman nodded slowly. "I need you to come with me." He gently pulled her to her feet and they slowly made their way the short walk to the medical unit. Here they were met by one of the Healers.
"Brendan, what do you have?" the healer asked.
"This is Emma Granger, Harry Potter's mother-in-law." he said with a grimace, the healer raised her eyebrows and looked concerned. "Somehow she and her husband portkey-ed into our building. They seem to have been attacked but I have yet to find out the details. I think she's in shock."
"The Husband?" the healer asked in a quiet voice. Brendan just shook his head. The Healer closed her eyes briefly and nodded before turning to Emma.
"Mrs Granger, please come with me, I am Healer Brown." She told the woman and led her to one of the free rooms.
Brendan stood for a little while and was about to find a coffee when his boss and partner walked in.
"Auror Reed, report." Ryan Davies, senior Auror asked.
"Well, it seems that Mr and Mrs Granger, in-laws to Harry Potter were attacked by persons unknown. Mr Granger was killed, and my tests have shown magic was used. Mrs Granger was able to activate an emergency portkey and her and her husband's body were taken here. Mrs Granger is in shock and is been treated as we speak."
"Bugger! What were they doing here?" he asked aware of the political implications of the situation.
"Well from what I can gather, their daughter Hermione brought them here to be safe. She gave them a new name and the portkey...sir. I have sent Roberts and White to their address to check the place out."
"Okay...we need to get hold of her daughter and Mr Potter ASAP. Problem is the magical government in the UK is in the hands of Voldemort. How are we going to get hold of them?" he mused to himself.
Alice suddenly looked up. "The Goblins sir, ask at Gringotts here is Melbourne to contact the bank in London. I read about Mr Potter and I know he is very rich, they Goblins will know how to contact him."
"Good plan Nguyen. Take a team and make the call." He told the young Auror. As he was talking, Healer Brown came out of the room.
"Ah Ryan good you are here." She said to her friend.
"Kelly how is she?" he asked her.
"As well as can be expected. She was in severe shock and stress, and of course is very upset by the loss of her husband. I have given her a calming draft, but would rather have her asleep. However I knew you would want to talk to her. Please be gentle and quick."
Ryan nodded and walked over to the room. Brendan followed him and they looked inside. Emma was lying on the bed, crying gently. As they entered she looked up, alarmed for a second before relaxing.
"Mrs Granger, may we come in please?" Ryan asked in a gently voice. Emma nodded her agreement.
"Mrs Granger, I am Senior Auror Ryan Davies; can you tell me what happened to you please?"
Emma looked lost for a second before, in a halting voice, began to speak.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Augusta Longbottom, grandmother to the next Lord Longbottom and matriarch of the family was sat resting in her favourite armchair. She had a cup of tea next to her and she was doing the crossword in the Muggle newspaper, The Times. Unlike many purebloods, Augusta did not ignore the muggle world or treat it with disdain. She embraced all it had to offer and enjoyed the few muggle friends she had. But her one love was the crossword in the Times. Not the easy quick version but the proper cryptic one, the really hard one. She would time herself every day, and normally would beat the thirty minute marker, but today she was stuck on nineteen down.
"English learnt unhappily is lasting...seven letters begins with 'E'..." she muttered to herself as she nibbled the end of the ball point pen she had been given. As she sat she heard a loud noise outside.
"What the hell is that?" she asked herself. "Pipin! Pipin!" she yelled as a small house elf popped into the room.
"We is under attack Lady Longbottom, the evil one is outside." The elf cried.
"What!? Voldemort here? Well bugger that!" she said, standing and pulling out her wand. "This old battleaxe is not for turning!" she yelled and strode towards the door. Pulling open the outer door she strode out onto the front porch and into the garden.
"Tom Bloody Riddle, show yourself you mangy coward!" she yelled.
"Hello Augusta." Came a smooth reply, whirling around to the side she came face to face with the red eyes of Voldemort. He had obviously breached the manors wards and she knew that her time was close. "Good evening to you, on your last night alive. Soon when the world learns of your death the whole world will tremble at my name."
"Yadda, yadda! You never were good at speech's Tom, even at school." She taunted, aware that now that he had breached the wards how limited her time was. As she spoke she was waving her wand behind her sealing off the lower levels of the house where all the books and valuables were kept. She then sent Pipin to Neville with the letter she had wrote just in case this eventuality came to pass.
"How dare you, you and your no good squib of a grandson will pay the ultimate price for your betrayal to the purebloods. Aveda is too good for you. SECTUMSEMPRA!" he yelled and slashed his wand in her direction. Her abdomen burst open, spilling blood and entrails onto the floor. Augusta fell to the ground and felt her life ebbing away. With the last of her strength she spat at the feet of the man...monster that had killed her. She heard him laugh and cast a Fiendfyre at the house before apparating away. As she breathed her last, the answer to the clue came to her dying mind.
"Of course...Eternal!" and with a shudder she died.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Ryan Davies and Brendan Reed left the hospital wing and made their way to Ryan's office. Ryan reached into the desk drawer and pulled out two glasses. Pouring from a old bottle he filled them both up with fire whisky and passed one to his subordinate.
"Get that down ya, it's going to be a long night."
After they had drunk the shot, Brendan put his glass down. "Shit!" he whispered.
"Yeah! Tell me about it!" there was a knock on the door and Ryan yelled "Come in!" the door opened and Alice entered followed by Auror Alan Roberts.
"Roberts, you first, report!" Ryan asked in a pained voice.
"Sir, we went to the home address and all was quiet, we asked around and learnt that the Grangers had a cafe in the town. We went there and well... It's a mess sir. There was police all around, but from what we could find out, two Deatheaters appeared in the cafe. For some reason Mr Granger went back to the property..."
"They'd left the coffee machine on." Brendan told his friend. Alan nodded and carried on.
"...well it seems that after they killed Mr Granger, Mrs Granger drove their car at them, killing one of them. He was still under the wheels, well most of him was. As there was no obvious sign of magic, we let the authorities take the body away. We did get his wand and remove all his Deatheater garb beforehand though." He said handing over the wand.
"Do we know his identity?" Ryan asked.
"We will shortly, his wand was tested for an ID and we will know soon sir."
"And the other Deatheater?" Ryan asked.
"No sign sir must of portkey-ed away sir." Roberts said.
"Thank you Roberts go get a cuppa; Alice, report."
"Sir, I have contacted the Goblins, they are going to speak to their counterparts in London and pass on the message. There were a little pissed that this has happened, it seems that the Potters are now known as Goblin Friends." Alice told her boss.
"WHAT? Goblin Friends? That's not happened since, well since forever. Shit, Shit! We need to help Mrs Potter as much as we can."
"How is Mrs Granger sir?" Alice asked.
"Asleep with a dreamless Sleep potion. She's in shock but other than that she will be fine physically. Mentally, well she is broken hearted; I just hope that seeing her daughter will help them both heal."
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Vernon Dursley was bored and angry. If he was honest with himself, he was also a little frightened. They had been staying at this odd house in the country for a few months now and Vernon was pissed with it all. The house was all wrong, no electricity so no TV, and no proper lights, only bloody candles. The rest was okay he thought, at least the food was good but it was the company and the boredom that was really getting to him. The woman, Jones or Hestia as she insisted that he called her, was reasonably nice and quite pretty to look at, but it was the old man Diggle that really got his goat. He was just so...so freak-like but despite that the man scared him. He wasn't an underage freak like Potter, one that he could bully and keep in line. No Diggle was a fully grown wizard, capable of who knows what, but despite all that and despite all the insults that Vernon threw at the man, he was so bloody cheerful and polite.
"Petunia, if we don't get out of here soon, I'm going to go mad. All these bloody freaks around us and for what? So Potter thinks we are okay. I mean what are we really doing here? This so called Voldemort, where is he is he is so powerful. I need to go back to work and Dudley needs to go back to school." He ranted for the millionth time. Petunia sighed to herself. These last few months had been an eye-opener for her. She had seen what a pig and a bully her husband could be sometimes.
"Where is Dudley?" Vernon asked suddenly.
"He's outside with some of the kids that are also staying here." Petunia replied. They were all staying in a house in the country, and as well as themselves there were a few other families hiding here. Some of them had kids and Dudley had amazingly made friends with them. Dudley had changed recently, he seemed to be a more gentle boy and more accepting of the Wizarding ways he was been exposed to. Petunias had spoken to him about it a few days ago and it seemed that his encounter with the Dementors a few years ago had made him look at his life and he wasn't happy with what he saw; so he vowed to change. All of this had annoyed Vernon even more, especially when he had seen his son holding hands with a rather pretty young witch.
"He better not be with that freaky slut again!" Vernon growled.
"VERNON! She is not a slut, she is very nice and she is good for our Duddykins." She said to her husband.
"Bah! She a freak! A no good freak!" Vernon spat back. He was about to say more when they both heard a scream from outside. Rushing to their feet they went out into the courtyard to see what was happening. What they saw froze their blood. Diggle was stood with his wand out firing curses at people. He was stood in the centre of the yard and he was wobbling slightly on his feet. Petunia caught a look of his eyes and saw that they were an odd silver colour, and he seemed to be in a daze as he fired curse after curse. He had been out all morning looking for food and supplies and had just returned. One of the doors flew open and Hestia ran out.
"Dedalus? What are you doing? No pleas..." she was cut off as Diggle fired a green curse at her and she fell down with a thud, her eyes still open but unseeing. Diggle turned and saw the Dursleys and smiled. Once more his wand spat green fire and both elder Dursleys fell down dead, the look of surprise still etched on Vernon's face. Diggle looked around for Dudley but unbeknown to him Dudley was half a mile away kissing his pretty witch in a hay barn they had found. Seeing that Dudley wasn't around, Diggle obeyed the last of his instructions and placed his own wand at his head and fired the killing curse.
I.Y. I.Y. I.Y.
Xeno Lovegood silently apparated to his house with a small smile on his face as he looked at the odd shaped building. He knew that most people thought the house odd, damm he knew that most people thought that he was odd. However he liked the house that he and his departed wife Celeste had built all those years ago. They had raised their daughter here and the house held many happy memories. It also held tragic ones; it was here that he lost his beloved in an accident all those years ago. Xeno still missed Celeste, but he had his Luna and he had his paper. It was the paper that had brought him back to the house. He needed to find the magical press that he used to make the paper. He knew he was taking a risk coming here, but he would be quick and back at the Potter cottage within minutes. It had taken all of his powers of persuasion to convince Dobby to let him leave, and even more persuasion to persuade Dobby to provide him with the location of the cottage so he could return; but he had smiled and gently nagged the house elf until he had what he needed.
He entered the building and looked around the room with a grimace. The evidence of the battle that both he and his daughter had fought was still in evidence, but it also seemed that the house had remained untouched since that night.
Unbeknown to Xeno when he crossed the threshold of the house he accidently tripped a spell that sent a message to a small group of Deatheaters that had been tasked with watching the house. Goyle senior was in charge, and he was looking forward to killing anyone who was connected to Potter. It was Potter that was responsible for the death of his son and Damien Goyle was not a man to cross. He and two of his party silently apparated to the Lovegood's house and Goyle silently entered leaving the other two on guard. He crept up to the back of the Blood traitor and raised his wand. Xeno whipped around hearing the intruder for the first time and tried to raise his wand. He wasn't fast enough however as he felt the cutting curse slash across his chest and down to his abdomen. With a cry he fell to his knees, the blood pooling around him. Goyle then cast another curse on the man lying in front of him with a cruel smile on his face,
"Thus all who cross our great Lord Voldemort will pay." Goyle ranted. He smiled at the man as he crushed his wand with his foot. "I will leave you now; the killing curse is far too quick and painless for the likes of you. You will slowly bleed to death, and even if you are found nothing will be able to heal your wounds." He laughed. As he left he raised his wand and cast the Dark Mark above the house before apparating away with his two flunkies.
Xeno gasped in pain as he tried to stand, but he fell back down causing him to momentarily black out. When he came too he whispered to himself. "Luna, I'm sorry." He was silent for a moment before an idea struck him "Dobby!" he cried out.
There was a quite 'pop'.