Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 131: The Island
June 25 – Lundy Island, England
The sun was just starting to rise, piercing a thick layer of clouds on the horizon.
Harry stood at the edge of a cliff on the mainland, staring out at the sea.
Somewhere beyond those waves, hidden by mist and magic, was Lundy Island.
Morgan stood beside him, her staff strapped to her back, her black cloak pulling against the wind. Her amber eyes were sharp and focused.
"Are you ready for this?" she asked.
Harry looked down at Excalibur for a moment before strapping the sword on his back and adjusting his cloak. "Who knows… but that has not stopped me before."
Two broomsticks lay on the grass behind them. They were not ordinary school brooms. Morgan had enchanted them herself, reinforcing the frames and adding shields that could withstand a few shots from those rifles used by the Organization. They were going to need every advantage they could get.
Harry mounted his broom, and Morgan did the same.
"Let's stay close to each other," Morgan suggested. "The barrier surrounding the island is definitely very ancient and powerful. It may do more than just try to keep us away. It could confuse our senses and make us see or hear things that are not truly there."
Harry nodded. "Let me handle the barrier. You keep an eye out for other defenses."
Morgan's lips twitched… and they kicked off.
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The flight across the sea only took around twenty minutes. The wind was brutal, and the restless sea was constantly whipping salty water into their faces. However, they had to fly close to the water to minimize the chances of being detected before arriving at the island.
Once they got close to the island, the mist began to thicken.
Harry felt it approaching before he saw it. There was something applying pressure to his magical senses.
"This mist is not natural." He had to guess this was also part of their protections.
"I can see something," Morgan called out. Her amber eyes could pierce through the mist like no human could. "About two hundred meters ahead, there is a semi-translucent dome covering the entire island."
They stopped right before touching the barrier, their brooms hovering a few feet above the water.
Harry closed his eyes and used his other senses to reach the island.
"Mmm… let me try something." His staff appeared in his hand, and Harry lowered its tip until the crystal touched the seawater.
He searched for something beyond the barrier, beneath the waves, and beneath the earth itself.
Then, he called to all the spirits of nature inhabiting this sea. To the ancient beings that had existed before humans even knew how to walk.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the sea responded.
The waves below them began to swirl, forming a whirlpool that stretched across the surface.
From the depths, tendrils of green light emerged… they were made of pure, primal magic. The spirits of the sea had heard him and were responding to his call.
"Harry…" Morgan's voice was tense.
"I know what I'm doing," he said.
The green tendrils shot upward, wrapping around the invisible dome of the barrier. Where they touched, the barrier began to crack.
And in less than a minute, the dome shattered like glass, fragments of light raining down into the sea.
Harry opened his eyes. Lundy Island lay before him, no longer hidden by mist or barriers.
"Okay, now we can—" Harry was suddenly interrupted when a dozen anti-air cannons opened fire at the same time.
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The bullets were far from ordinary. They glowed with a sickly purple light. Enchanted rounds designed to destroy any magical defenses.
"Dodge them!" he shouted, throwing his broom into a sharp dive.
Morgan followed, her broom cutting through the air like a razor blade. The cannons tracked them, filling the sky with a net of purple fire.
Bullets screamed past Harry's ears, close enough that he felt the heat they were emanating.
One struck his broom's shield. The enchantment held, but barely. The shield flickered, cracked, and reformed.
"We can't take many more of those!" Morgan yelled. She had devised those magical barriers to stop a few bullets from the average Argent Flame rifle, not these massive cannons.
Harry looked down at the island. The cannons were mounted on the cliffs, their gunners visible now… soldiers in black uniforms, feeding ammunition into the machines with mechanical efficiency.
"I'll take the left side," Harry said. "You take the right. We need to disable them before we land."
Morgan didn't argue. She veered off, her staff already glowing with silver light.
Harry aimed his broom toward the nearest cannon. He raised Excalibur and swung.
The golden wave of force shot from the blade, cutting through the air toward the cliff. It struck the cannon dead-on, shearing through the metal and sending the gunner flying. The cannon exploded in a ball of fire.
Harry didn't stop. He swung again and again, destroying cannon after cannon. Each swing drained his magic, but he pushed through. Morgan was doing the same on the other side, her staff sending bolts of silver lightning into the remaining guns.
Within minutes, all twelve cannons were silent.
Harry landed on the rocky shore of Lundy Island, his broom skidding to a stop. Morgan landed beside him a moment later.
They had made it.
But the welcome committee was already waiting.
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The beach was flat and wide, leading up to a grassy slope. And blocking that slope was an army.
At least fifty soldiers in black uniforms, their rifles raised, their green goggles gleaming.
Behind them, three massive tanks sat on the grass, their cannons aimed directly at Harry and Morgan. Between the tanks were smaller vehicles...armored transports, anti-aircraft guns on wheels, and something that looked like a mobile missile launcher.
Harry let out a slow breath. "They really don't want us here…"
Morgan grinned with a cold, predatory smile. "Good. I don't want them here either."
The soldiers opened fire.
Harry raised his staff with his left hand. "Magna Obice!"
A massive golden shield erupted in front of them, covering both Harry and Morgan. The bullets struck the shield and ricocheted, some flying back toward the soldiers, eliminating a few of them.
But the tanks fired next.
The shells were enormous, glowing with the same purple light as the anti-air rounds. They struck Harry's shield and shattered it. Harry stumbled back, his ears ringing.
Morgan didn't hesitate. She leaped forward, her staff blazing. "Ventus Noctis!"
A hurricane wind erupted from the moonstone, carrying shards of ice mixed with dark magic. It swept across the beach, slamming into the soldiers. Some were thrown backward. Others were cut down by the ice.
But it was not enough to make the tanks budge.
"Harry!" Morgan shouted. "The tanks! Use Excalibur against them!"
Harry gritted his teeth. He raised the sacred blade and poured his magic into it. The runes blazed golden-white.
He swung.
The wave of force shot toward the nearest tank. It struck the armor...and stopped. The tank's hull glowed purple for a moment, absorbing the impact.
"Enchanted plates," Harry muttered. "Of course."
Morgan landed beside him, breathing hard. "We need to get closer. The enchantments are weaker up close."
Harry looked at the remaining soldiers, the three tanks, and the vehicles. Fifty enemies. Maybe more.
"Then let's get closer," he said.
They both moved as fast as they could.
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The battle on the beach was chaos.
Harry moved around the battlefield, Excalibur cutting through soldiers and vehicles alike. He ducked under rifle fire, parried attacks, and drove the sacred sword through chests and engines.
Morgan fought beside him, her staff becoming a blur of silver and black. She was faster than any human, stronger than any soldier. She broke rifles with her bare hands, crushed helmets with her staff, and sent waves of dark magic that turned the sand to glass.
The tanks were the hardest.
Harry had to get close… close enough to touch the hull. He dodged between the treads of the first tank, leaped onto its side, and drove Excalibur into the engine block. The blade pierced the enchanted armor like butter. The tank exploded behind him.
The second tank tried to run him over. Harry jumped onto its cannon, ran along the barrel, and drove his staff into the gunner's slit, producing a massive ball of fire that burned everyone inside.
The third tank fired at Morgan. She avoided the projectile, got close enough to touch the cannon barrel, and conjured some kind of sickly yellow liquid that seeped into the tank. It did not move again.
When the smoke cleared, the beach was silent.
Harry stood among the wreckage, his robes torn, his face covered in soot and blood… most of it not his own. Excalibur's runes pulsed gently, as if the blade were breathing.
Morgan walked toward him, stepping over a destroyed vehicle. Her left sleeve was gone, revealing a pale arm covered in scratches. But she was smiling.
"That was almost fun," she said.
Harry let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah… almost."
He looked up the grassy slope. At the top, a set of metal doors led into the earth...the underground base. The heart of the Argent Flame.
Harry tightened his grip on Excalibur.
"Let's finish this."