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93.66% HP: A Magical Journey [Complete] / Chapter 413: Getting In Again

Chapter 413: Getting In Again

If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @

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The link is also in the synopsis.

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The mirror in Quinn's pocket flashed and vibrated, but his hands didn't go to it, despite knowing where and whom the call was coming from. His eyes were stuck on the surreal sight in front of him.

On a street junction, three wooden pillars stood erected, and tied up from them were three bodies with their heads bowed and arms nailed on horizontal wooden planks. They had been stripped of their clothes, leaving them with no dignity even in death. There were dried blood stains on the ground, seemingly having dripped down from their bodies. Quinn stepped out from the shadows and moved closer and saw the discolored skin color which had turned a grotesque black. . . he knew what that was a sign of. . . someone had overloaded their bodies with Crucio for an excessive amount of time. If they were alive, their skin would've recovered with time, but in death, it would stay this way until their bodies decomposed, returning to earth.

He didn't know who these men were or why they ended up like this, but he was sure they didn't deserve this fate and ending. Quinn clenched his fist and looked with self-disgust because he knew he couldn't get the dead bodies down from the pillars as doing so would alert the Death Eaters of an outside presence.

'Too late, huh,' Quinn squeezed his shut for a moment before disappearing into the wind.

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- (Scene Break) -

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"Albus, we have to do something," McGonagall impatiently entered the Headmaster's Office and began pacing around under Dumbledore's eyes. "The older students are gathering in the Great Hall, and I fear they will demand that the Potter family be given to the Dark Lord. We must stop it at once! We already have enough problems outside; I'm not equipped to handle them arising inside."

The younger students weren't old enough to completely comprehend the situation and believed Dumbledore's words of everything being alright. But the senior students had the capability to think for themselves, and at that age, it was an instinct to question and sometimes oppose the decision. Right now, those instincts were rearing their heads.

"If they ask for it," said Dumbledore, "I will face them, listen to their reasoning, talk to them— but I'm not going to shut them down without giving them a chance to speak their minds."

"What if they don't listen?"

"They will. . . they have to. What reason do they have other than Voldemort's word, which frankly saying isn't much. They haven't lived through wars, faced Dark Lords, or know what goes in their twisted minds— they haven't seen the dark side, the real side of things. . . and as long as they're in my care, it's my duty to protect them from it."

Dumbledore stood up from his chair and headed to the window. He stared out at the scenery with his hands behind his back; he could barely make out Hogsmeade in the distance because of the ward distorting the view. "Minerva. . . I would like to take care of Hogwarts in case something happens to me. I have already named you my successor. . . take care of the children," he said.

McGonagall froze in her tracks and jerkily turned to Dumbledore. "Albus, what are you. . ."

"I've already passed a hundred a decade ago—"

"That doesn't mean anything," interjected McGonagall; she didn't want this conversation to continue. "You're not old, Albus, if that's what you're trying to imply— you're not a Muggle." The magical kind had longer lifespans; for them, a hundred years wasn't the sunset of life.

". . . No, I'm not old; this isn't about that," Dumbledore still didn't turn towards her. "Frankly speaking, I was in my prime when I fought Grindelwald. I was young, passionate, and had the hunger suitable for that time— I was even learning under Nicholas back then. When the war ended and the peace arrived, I let my hair down and returned to teaching at Hogwarts. . . my efforts at magic took a step back. When I became the Headmaster, my duties increased, same with my other titles. . . another step back for magic. By the time Tom Riddle rose as Voldemort, I hadn't been as active with magic as I was when I fought Grindelwald. . . . I had become complacent. When Voldemort started to show as a threat, I dusted the cobwebs over my magic— even those efforts constantly clashed with my role at Wizengamot. . . but I trusted them to be enough," Dumbledore took out the Elder wand to gaze at it. "When Voldemort was vanquished, I thought I would double-down my efforts; however, leading the Light faction was a burden too time-consuming— and I had to figure out a way to defeat Voldemort once and for all. . ."

He turned to McGonagall and surprised her with a bitter smile. "I fear I'm not strong enough to come out alive from a life-and-death duel with Voldemort. He has always been hungry for power. The time he had spent suffering after Harry vanquished him has only strengthened that desire. He has utilized unspeakable dark rituals to bolster his power, learned the vilest of magic— he is mighty. . ."

The last words were already said before, and McGonagall could tell that Dumbledore chose not to tell them.

"You have to be alive," said McGonagall. "There can't be any other outcome. Hogwarts needs you, the children need you. . . Hogwarts won't be the same without you. You need to stay alive to see a time where you can retreat away from everything and just be the Headmaster and actually get to teach."

The light returned to Dumbledore's eyes as he chuckled. "Maybe you are right. I would love to teach again."

"You looked like you enjoyed it when you did it that year."

"Working with young children, introducing them to new things is the finest experience I have had in my life," Dumbledore smiled as he sighed. "I hope I will get to experience it again. . . I really hope so."

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- (Scene Break) -

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"Sir, we are ready to move in."

Sirius strapped his standard-issue Auror dragonhide heavy vest as he turned to his subordinate. "Good, tell everyone to strap up and take their position; we move in three."

"Yes, sir," the Junior Auror saluted before running away.

Sirius turned towards and walked towards a group dressed differently. All were dressed in matching tan combat gear, which, different from the Auror issue, was made from a select breed of dragons with a lighter and more magic-resistant hide. Every last one seemed in tip-top shape with a body language that spoke of their training.

"Warlunt," called Sirius.

Warlunt, his Hit Wizard counterpart, turned, and for a moment, Sirius thought how if Warlunt wasn't married, he would've been the perfect wingman. He was handsome in the rugged way that many ladies dug, and combined with his job as Hit Wizard, the man was a chick magnet.

"Ready?" said Warlunt.

"The wardbreakers are ready to break the ward at command," said Sirius, returning his focus to the job. "Are you going to lead the vanguard or rearguard?" There were three ground teams and one air unit. Out of the three ground teams, two were made up of Hit Wizards, and they were going to assume the role of the vanguard, and the second Hit Wizard team went from the backside of the resort. Sirius was going to lead the rearguard team of Aurors from the front. The second team of Aurors was going to take the sky on brooms and were going to proceed to enter from the sky and attack from above if needed.

"I'm leading the charge," said Warlunt, as if it was obvious.

"Good man," praised Sirius with respect before speaking with a severe tone. "Be careful; the target is a heavy-handed butcher. He will not hesitate to cut off limbs or blast off pieces of bodies. It's a rarity we get his victims in stable condition. Don't hold back; I have already told my men to cast to kill. I don't mind capturing him alive, but even for a moment, you find yourself in a shred of doubt that things could go awry, kill the bastard. . . . If you're hesitant to do so, go look at the kid's dead body at the entrance."

Warlunt shook his head. "I don't mind it. If you want him dead, I will deliver him to you dead."

"Not if I get to him first."

"We will see about that, little man," the towering Hit Wizard smirked. Sirius clicked his tongue and shoved Warlunt, who laughed in return.

After the five minutes passed, Sirus faced everyone who had been assembled for the current mission. Aurors, Hit Wizards, Medi-Healers for emergencies, external consultant wardbreakers. . . everyone was looking at him. "I don't have much to say, and neither am I interested in saying much, so I'll keep it short," he said. "Our peers stationed outside Hogwarts with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord holding the entire village hostages while our children are only separated by a ward. While here we are, facing a man whom I respected before he killed a child— now he's a worthless bastard that needs to go. I would rather be at Hogsmeade than here, making sure that the people I work with and care for are safer with me there, protecting their backs, and ensuring the children are not harmed."

Sirus got a murmur of agreement. He continued, "And make no mistakes, I'm going to be there. For that to happen, we need to sort out this mess. So, let's get in there, save the people, and put the bastard into his place. I don't want a single injury because I want all bodies at Hogsmeade after this. This is a detour to the main event, and you should treat this as a warm-up. . . . That's it, everyone gets into positions."

There was a wave of cheer for everyone to psych themselves up. Everyone had already been instructed on how to proceed and had been familiarized with the layout of the building.

The wardbreakers positioned themselves on either side of the door, behind the walls, so they couldn't be attacked while dismantling the ward. Warlunt and his team took the frontal position with Sirius' team behind. The air team rose up on their brooms, and the third ground team moved the backside to enter from there.

"Wards coming down in ten," announced one of the wardbreakers, and the countdown began. The ward started to flicker, and within ten seconds, the ward broke down. Sirius shot a detection spell, and the moment it cleared up, a Hit Wizard moved in and pulled the dead body out.

"Move in," Warlunt ordered, and everyone on the scene proceeded as instructed. Warlunt crossed the tunnel but dipped back in just in time to escape a green Killing Curse passing him by. "He's on the left. Cover for me."

The Hit Wizard behind Warlunt charmed outside the tunnel, and it rose to create a wall. Warlunt moved behind the wall, and the moment he felt an impact on the wall, he ducked out and was about to shoot a spell but immediately entered into protection again.

"What is it?" asked Sirius.

"That was not the Invisible Vigilante," said Warlunt, frowning.

"What?"

"A resort staff shot a Killing Curse at me."

"What?! Why?"

"How would I know—" Warlunt's eyes widened, and he groaned hard before saying, "they're under Imperius. God damn it! That fucker put the staff under Imperius! We aren't facing a single person anymore!"

"You mean," Sirus wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah. . . lethal force is now out of use."

Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

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Quinn West - MC - Gotta be sneaky.

Albus Dumbledore - Headmaster - I would love to teach and learn again.

Sirius Black - Senior Auror - The day keeps getting worse.

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If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.

The link is in the synopsis!


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Chapter 414: Vigilantes

If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @

[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]

The link is also in the synopsis.

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The break-in team at the resort stood in the front entrance tunnel. The Hit Wizards stepped back when a spell grazed the earthen wall and blew a small chunk out of it, sending dust into the tunnel.

"This is so troublesome," sighed Warlunt. "I didn't understand it before, but now I understand why this guy has gotten so much onto your nerve. How should we proceed with this."

Sirius stared at the spells that passed by, and they were indeed a complication that he hadn't thought he would see here. He had read about the materials prepared about the Invisible Vigilante in detail— everything from the choice of victims, the frequency and timing of appearance, his magic, his attire, to what little interaction people had with him. Not once in that profile did Invisible Vigilante work with others, especially not controlling people to do his bidding. But now, they could potentially be facing an entire resort of people, all ordered to attack them.

"How much of a problem is this for you," he asked.

Warlunt nonchalantly shrugged, with his team showing similar expressions. "They're civilians. . . not really an inconvenience. Yes, we will have to be a little careful about who we shoot at, but we are going to be in any danger. The only problem that may arise is that while we are being careful with our spell, the possibility of Invisibility Vigilante jumping in, and we might not nail him with the first spell." He looked to his team provocatively and smirked, "I won't be making that mistake, though. . . don't know about you guys."

"We will clear it all out before you even get to see any actions," scoffed one of the Hit Wizards.

Sirius clapped his hands and got everyone's attention. He didn't want this to turn into a muscle-brained competition. "Whatever you do, I don't want any hostage casualties. A little scuffing is fine, but nothing that will come bitting us in the back in tomorrow's newspaper." He turned to one of his Juniors, "Have you informed the other teams?" He got a nod in return. "Good, then let's move in."

Warlunt stepped behind the earthen wall that had been taking damage for a minute now but still hadn't crumbled due to the difference in skill between an untrained civilian and a masterful Hit Wizard. He took one breath before stepping out of the wall and calmly registered the attacker as a resort employee. He blocked a spell before drilling a red hot stunner into the Imperiused person.

His team moved past him and stationed themselves on both sides of a hallway entrance. Warlunt walked into the hallway with his subordinates, ready to give cover; he stopped at the head of the hallway and spotted four people— two guests and employees each— and with a single flick, a wave of magic radiated out, and the four people settled for the floor as their beds.

"Clear," he stated. "Split out, be in pairs. Marcon with me."

The Aurors and Hit Wizards spit up and start covering ground around the scenic and high-end resort. Very quickly, the Imperiused people began dropping by the coordinated and quick effort of trained professionals, and everything was going very well with excellent efficiency until the teams found the Invisible Vigilante.

Warlunt silently unlocked the door to the laundry room of the resort. He gave the signal to his pair, and both of them shuffled into the damp room with clothes being washed with magic.

"No one's here," said the Junior Hit Wizard with Warlunt as he cast a revealing spell in the room.

Warlunt pointed to a narrow sheet metal door in the room's back wall. The Junior pointed his wand at the door and was about to unlock it when the door burst open, and a black-clad masked figure burst out with a wand blaring. . . only to be hit by two Killing Curse in the chest.

"Well. . . that's that," Warlunt disarmed the dead body and cast binding spells just to be extra sure after two Killing Curses. The Invisible Vigilante was said to be unpredictable, and he had enough magic to spare.

"Let's unmask him; I want to see how he looks," said the Junior.

"Go for it," Warlunt also wanted to see.

The Junior walked to the body and flipped it on its back. He gave Warlunt one glance before snatching the mask off. ". . . What?" he sputtered in shock. "A woman?" Behind the mask wasn't a man as they expected; instead, they found themselves staring at a young woman with freckles that stared at them with half-open dead amber eyes. "Sir, I-I thought the Invisible Vigilante was supposed to be a man."

"I thought so myself; everyone did," Warlunt frowned with his arms crossed. "But it seems it was a woman all along. With that voice modulation, clothes that covered the entire body, the pronoun usage, and the behavior. . . everything directed towards it being a man rather than a woman." He sighed, "Let's bag her up and take her to the front; we can declare this Op over and head to Hogsmeade."

"Yes, sir," Junior took out a black patch and let it go; by the time it reached the ground, the patch had turned into a full-size body bag.

They navigated their way out by following the same path they had taken, pulling along all the unconscious people they had stunned. When they got near to the front, they heard a commotion. "It looks like everyone has returned," Warlunt smirked. "Let's go rub it in Black's face."

However, when they reached the resort entrance, they were stunned to see half a dozen more standard-issue body bags placed in a line. Warlunt's heart skipped a beat; his eyes shifted all around the place, counting the Aurors and Hit Wizard that had entered the resort. . . and no one was missing.

"Black," called Warlunt, with a bad bubbling inside him, "what is this? I don't see anyone missing."

Sirius rubbed his face with his hand. "You got a body bag with you, which means you took out the Invisible Vigilante, didn't you?" he sighed.

"Yeah, surprisingly, it was a woman."

"Yeah, that isn't the Invisible Vigilante," Sirus pointed at Warlunt's body bag and then the six others, "and neither are these guys."

". . . What?"

"We woke one of the resort employees and asked him to identify the people we shot down," Sirius pinched between his brows. "We ended up killing resort employees and guests."

The air was knocked out of Warlunt's lungs. He turned to the body bag behind him, which he carried the young woman's body. "Y-You mean. . ."

"We think that the real Invisible Vigilante escaped right after we saw him and left behind the Imperiused people— some of them were dressed in the Invisible Vigilante's outfit," Sirius groaned and seemed sick by the time he finished.

Warlunt himself had paled when he realized that he had killed an innocent person. He turned when he heard a despairing voice. ". . . W-What I have done?" The Junior Auror with him was staring at the body bag with a horrified look on his face. 'Ah, that's going to be a long time with a mind-healer,' he thought. 'Same for me,' and the thought of how awful it would be.

"We have to report this," said Sirius. "Scrimgeour is not going to like this at all."

"He won't. . . but his dislike for the Invisible Vigilante is stronger. I think we can get by and still get to be part of the Hogsmeade Op. With that scale, they will have to call us no matter how this turned out."

"But do you think it is wise to let these men participate at Hogsmeade," Sirius turned to look at the man; many of them had dark expressions on their faces. "All of them are physically fit, plenty of magic in their tanks. . . but their mental state, I'm worried about," Sirius' own face was paler than usual. "I don't know if it will be wise to send them to Hogsmeade. After all, it won't be as easy as this; there will be real Death Eaters— if they're not careful, they will be wiped out."

Warlunt scrunched up his nose in displeasure. Sirius had a point; as much as he wanted his trusted men beside him on the field, he couldn't put them at risk. "They won't like to be excluded from the Hogsmeade Op. . . so how about we put them in the command center. . . this way, they would be safe and won't feel like they're being excluded," he suggested.

". . . That seems to be the best option."

Warlunt and Sirius looked at their team members, who were proceeding with their work but at such a sluggish pace that, if not for the current circumstance, they would've been chewed out thrice over.

"I hate the Invisible Vigilate," said Sirius.

"If I see the real one, I'll use Cruciatus instead of the Killing Curse," responded Warlunt with an edge. He sighed, "Let's go for a drink when all this is over— with the teams, all of us."

Sirius hummed in agreement before asking, "Why do you think he did this? Even if we blame him, we still need to figure out the reasoning behind this? This doesn't match with his profile. Why aggravate us? Why use us?" The Invisible Vigilante never had a problem with doing the job himself, but today, he had done something so out of character.

"Maybe he didn't want to dirty his hands with children's blood and used us to do the job. As for the one he killed, that kid wasn't a saint even if he didn't have a record."

"Then why put employees in his attire? They weren't related to Death Eaters, we checked. Why put innocent people to death. I just can't make sense of the situation."

"To be honest with you," Warlunt pursed his lips into a line, "I don't care right now. I want to go to Hogsmeade and take care of that first. I'll volunteer my time to hunt his arse down."

"I'm already on the task force," said Sirius, "leading it, currently."

The rest of the affair was quiet as the body bags were secured and sent to the morgue while the unconscious people were woken up and sent to St. Mungos to recover from exposure to Imperius Curse. They sealed off the resort after a thorough check, and the scenery was vacated, leaving behind a couple of Junior Aurors who had never entered the scene.

In the distant sky, they didn't notice a black-clad masked figure on a broom that observed them for the entire time they were there.

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- (Scene Break) -

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Quinn frowned as he looked down at the town center. There was a building that could fit all the people inside, and right now, the town hall was being used as the hostage holding center. He could see it from the roof upon which he was that it was heavily guarded by Death Eaters. It wouldn't have been a problem if that was it, but he knew from sneaking into the mind of one of the Death Eaters just out of guard rotation that the Dark Lord was inside with the hostages.

He bit his lip. He couldn't do anything about it for that reason. He decided not to take any action, leaving it to the people whose job it was to rescue people. Instead, he began looking for his first genuine target of the day.

"Serpensortia," he whispered for a pit of snakes to emit out of his hand. He stared at snakes of different shapes and sizes, and after a moment, they slithered away.

The bait had been set.

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Quinn West - MC - Screentime, please.

Sirius Black - Senior Auror - Not having a good time.

Warlunt - Senior Hit Wizard - Push it aside and move on.

FictionOnlyReader - Author - Mid-terms next week, time to grind. See you guys in a bit.

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If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.

The link is in the synopsis!


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
FictionOnlyReader FictionOnlyReader

Just like always,

Review, comment, add to the library, and share this fic.

Thx

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