บท 179: CHAPTER {233-235}
****THE-FATED-MEETING (III)****
~~Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London~~ (A couple of hours ago)
"This is the place?" Himera asked as she stared at the average-sized two-storey house. It was quite a rich neighborhood, that much was evident from the atmosphere around them. "I hope she is going to be worth all the effort" Himera added with a grimace as she continued to inspect the surroundings. They needed to be lowkey for this mission.
"Don't worry, she will be worth all the effort if we can get her on board. I can assure you of that" Daphne stated coolly.
"Well, you are yet to prove yourself" Himera pointed out before she flicked out her Wand.
"I beat your arse into the ground" Daphne reminded the older woman in a mocking tone, but she didn't manage to rile up the older woman. It irked her so much.
"Simple delusions. I am completely unharmed" Himera stated primly, making Daphne fume. Only if Himera wasn't a Mutant… It didn't take long for Daphne to realize that Himera was not an ordinary Witch.
"If you say so" Daphne muttered, not wanting to humor Himera any more. She wasn't even sure why the woman was here in the first place. After all, she was here to recruit a 14 year old and deal with a couple of Muggles. She was sure that she could have accomplished the task on her own, but for whatever incomprehensible reason Harry wanted Himera to accompany her.
Was Harry keeping an eye on her? But with the brand on her arm, it was completely unnecessary… Her initial inspection of the Mark had revealed that it was very similar to the Dark Mark and Daphne was almost certain that the Dark Mark and the Sigil of the Lost were created using the same Spell… The Sigil of the Lost was simply much better than the Dark Mark, but it lacked one of the primary functions of the Dark Mark.
Harry couldn't use the Sigil of the Lost to draw power from his followers, but considering the extreme amounts of raw power he possessed, he would never need to borrow Magic from anyone… Daphne looked down at her arm and the Sigil of the Lost appeared for a moment before it disappeared again… If Himera saw her staring at her Mark then she didn't bother to make any comments on it.
"So, how well do you know this girl?" Himera asked as she stared at the 8th number house on the street, ignoring the fact that Daphne was staring at her Mark. She could understand what the younger girl was feeling, after all, she hadn't joined Lost Garden willingly and she herself had stared at her own Mark even though she had joined Lost Garden willingly.
"We are not friends or acquaintances if you are asking that… We are basically yearmates, but I have a habit of learning about them as much as I can" Daphne answered, making Himera stare at her with a bewildered look on her face.
"Then I hope you have a silver tongue or are you planning to force her to join?" Himera asked. In the recluse of her mind, she would admit that Daphne was really strong for someone of her age, but she lacked the sheer presence Grindelwald and Harry possessed. After all, power wasn't everything, you needed to have charisma too.
"Don't know, I know exactly what she wants… You just need to be there and act scary from time to time" Daphne stated with a smile on her face. She knew exactly what made Granger tick and she wanted to get back at the girl for quite some time due to how the girl acted in her own timeline, but this girl was not the same girl who vexed her so much.
"I can do that" Himera gave her a deep nod before Daphne and Himera finally started toward the house in front of them. After the two of them arrived in front of the door, Daphne raised her hand and pressed the doorbell without wasting any time. A few seconds later, a woman in her mid-thirties opened the door, but she didn't open the door completely. Daphne stared at the woman, the similarities between the woman and her daughter were simply uncanny.
"Hello, Mrs Granger, I am Daphne Greengrass, your daughter's classmate, may I come in?" Daphne stated with a polite smile on her face and the woman seemed to tremble a bit at her words before she warily glanced at Himera. Then she once again turned toward Daphne… The younger girl looked high-class and proper while the older girl looked like a thug.
"I am not sure…" Emma Granger began to say but she froze when both Daphne and Himera revealed their Wands. The woman gulped before she finally removed the door chain and opened the door. "Please, come in" Emma invited the duo inside the house and now that she saw Daphne in a better light, she could see that the girl was of her daughter's age, but the older thug-looking girl was making her really nervous.
"Who is it, Mom?" Someone asked loudly as footsteps came down the stairs, and the girl froze when she noticed the guests. "Greengrass, what are you doing here?" The girl asked, sounding completely surprised, and Emma breathed out a sigh of relief as Daphne was really her daughter's classmate…
~~Bones Manor~~ (Present Time)
"Looks like Voldemort is taking no chances… He really really wants you six feet under" Harry pointed out as he used his finger to move the window curtain a bit to stare outside the manor. He could see at least twenty Death Eaters, dressed in the full Death Eater regalia standing right outside the Wardline and that was just on one side of the manor. He didn't need to be a genius to know that the manor was surrounded from all sides.
"Ain't I a lucky woman…" Amelia deadpanned sarcastically as she started to set up her defending position in the middle of the staircase. The sarcasm in her voice was so thick that Harry was going to need a diamond cutter to cut through it, but he was glad that Amelia was still in the mood to joke. "Can you help me set up the barricade?" Amelia requested as she wanted to save her energy for the fight.
"Sure" Harry immediately agreed and started to help her levitate the objects to the stairs. Harry had to admit, it was a really good position to defend.
"Why aren't they attacking yet?" Amelia asked with a frown. After erecting Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey Wards around the house, they stopped doing anything. The Floo had also stopped working, but Harry was certain that the Death Eaters didn't block it from this side, which meant, it was cut from the other side. "Their plan would fail if the Aurors showed up" Amelia muttered, looking confused.
"They are waiting for their Master, I believe and even if you somehow managed to alert the DMLE, I don't believe anyone is going to come…" Harry stated after thinking for a bit. "By the way, when Voldemort attacked during the last War, did the Floo stop working at that time too?" Harry asked curiously.
"...I am not sure, but it must have been or the victims could have escaped through Floo even if they couldn't use Apparition or Portkey to escape" Amelia answered with a thoughtful look on her face, trying to remember the reports. She was only a Junior Auror during the last time, so nobody showed her the investigation reports if she wasn't present there at the site. "Why?" Amelia asked when she realized that he must be on to something.
"...I believe there is a rat in the Floo Department" Harry answered thoughtfully.
"Some of the Senior Aurors suspected that too, so they inspected the Floo Department during the last War, but nothing came out of it" Amelia stated after pondering for a bit. "The Grey Cloaks said that the Death Eaters were probably using some sort of Spell to disrupt the Floo network…" Amelia added as she remembered the fact.
"There are Spells to disrupt the Floo network, but that's Blood Magic and I didn't sense any Blood Magic… I highly doubt any of these schmucks know any Blood Magic beyond the Blood Boiling Curse" Harry scoffed. "There is definitely someone shutting down the Floo connection from their side" Harry added with a deep nod of his head and Amelia decided to believe him until proven otherwise.
"Ohh… Look Live, he is finally here" Harry softly smiled as he felt a strong Magical presence appear at the edge of his senses. Amelia immediately grimaced and started to do some last-moment checks before all hell broke loose… She looked around the manor with a longing look on her face… She was going to miss this place. Moments later, a loud crash was heard from the outside followed by similar type of noises.
The Death Eaters have finally started to assault the Wards while Voldemort was simply standing at the back and enjoying the show. Without wasting any more time, Amelia climbed over the barricade and decided to bunk down. Only a minute later, the Wards around the Bones Manor finally collapsed and some cheers were heard from the outside before once again, everything became silent.
Harry could have strengthened the Wards, but that would have been counterproductive… "Don't die" Harry said to Amelia before he pulled out his Invisibility Cloak and put it on. It wouldn't do if the Death Eaters noticed him… That might scare off Voldemort and he couldn't have that. Amelia gripped her Wand tightly and then the entrance of her manor was blasted open with a loud bang…
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****THE-FATED-MEETING (IV)****
~~Heathgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London~~ (A couple of hours ago)
"Okay, so let me get this straight! You want Hermione to join your group and work for you in the future and in return, you will give us protection while Hermione will get all the opportunities she desires?" Daniel Granger asked with a growl as he glared at the calm-looking girl sitting on the opposite side of the table.
"It sounds so wrong when you put it like that, Mr Granger. After all, I am not asking your daughter to work for free, she is going to be paid aptly" Daphne finished with a meaningful look on her face.
The man snorted at her words. "You are talking like our daughter won't be able to achieve anything on her own" Daniel stated with a hint of anger in his voice and Emma worriedly placed her arm on his shoulder. The thug-looking woman who introduced herself as Himera was starting to really scare her and she didn't want her husband to offend anyone.
"I never said that" Daphne smoothly denied. "Granger has seen how our world works, Purebloods are given more importance than children with non-Magical parents. After she graduates from Hogwarts, she will definitely get some opportunities, but she will never achieve anything she truly deserves" Daphne finished.
Daniel frowned at her words, but before he could say anything, Hermione, who was sitting beside him, spoke up. "Why are you telling me all this? You are a Pureblood too…" Hermione asked, sounding confused. She couldn't understand why everyone out of Daphne Greengrass was trying to help her.
After studying at Hogwarts for three and a half years, she knew exactly how the Wizarding World worked. Purebloods were given the most importance in the world and no matter how much the Professors at Hogwarts would like to say that there is no discrimination within the school, it wasn't the truth… Draco Malfoy was the biggest example, but he was never punished for always calling her a Mudblood.
He even called her a Mudblood right in front of Professor Snape, but he didn't do anything. He didn't even chastise him or deduct any points from him… He simply acted like it was the completely normal thing to do… The Purebloods even in her own House never forgot to remind her that she was nobody special. She wouldn't say that all of them were bad, but most of them were…
It took her some time, but she finally understood why nobody liked her even in her own House… It was really hard to come to terms with the fact that it was her who was responsible for alienating herself, but the others also carried some of the blame…
"Yes, I am, but unlike the others, I am not afraid of you…" Daphne stated softly. "Do you know why most of the Purebloods hate you?" Daphne asked and Hermione shook her head in denial, Daphne decided to continue. "Because they know that you are better than them. They knew about Magic way before you did… They were being taught Magic by their parents way before they came to Hogwarts, but you proved that you were better than them" Daphne explained.
"Nobody likes to be proven inferior" Daphne smiled at her own words. "Then there is another reason why they hate you… You represent change and change is something the old families don't like. They like the power and influence they possess, but your modern thinking is a danger to that" Daphne finished with a shrug, leaving the three Grangers completely speechless.
"... Your family is also a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, isn't it? Then shouldn't you hate me too?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Daphne. Her life at Hogwarts had made her really pragmatic.
"Not really… I might be proud of my heritage, but my interests lie elsewhere than politics" Daphne finished smoothly with a smile on her face. "So, what do you say?" Daphne asked.
Hermione was unsure, but she was also quite interested in the offer… If this was not an elaborate scheme or a prank then this was really good. Hermione knew that she couldn't return to the Muggle World as they would ask difficult questions regarding her seven-year absence from the Muggle Education system, so she didn't have many options to begin with, in the first place.
"Can I think about it?" Hermione asked and Daphne simply smiled at that.
"Sure, take your time, but don't take too long" After saying that, Daphne stood up and everyone knew that the conversation was over. To be honest, Daniel was not happy that his daughter was considering the offer in the first place, but he knew that Hermione was smart, so there must be a reason for her choice… The Granger family was surely going to have a serious family conversation after Daphne and her bodyguard were finally gone…
~~Bones Manor~~ (Present time)
The Death Eaters rushed in as soon as the door was blasted open and as soon as the Death Eater at the front stepped at a very specific spot, the ground exploded and the man was turned into a bloody mist with some of the parts being flung around. The other Death Eaters immediately froze and a couple of Death Eaters even started to empty their stomachs at the gory sight.
"Be careful, this place is booby-trapped!" Someone exclaimed loudly, but nobody wanted to take another step, afraid of setting off another trap, but they knew that they couldn't just stand around or the Dark Lord might kill them himself. So, after some grumblings, the Death Eaters started to move again, but very carefully, but when nothing happened, some of the worry disappeared from their minds, but that didn't last for long.
One of the Death Eaters opened one of the cabinet doors. It set off a trap and the whole floor of the room collapsed and all the Death Eaters in the room fell inside a pit filled with spears… None of the Death Eaters who fell inside the pit survived. Harry had to admit, Amelia was a vicious bitch. It was a good thing that he didn't go rummaging through her cabinets when he arrived.
The surviving Death Eaters came rushing when the screams were heard and they froze at the horrific sight in front of them. All of them simply refused to move, but the deadlock didn't last for long…
"Incompetent fools!" Voldemort hissed in anger as he stepped inside the manor and the Death Eaters felt chills chase each other up their spines. If Harry was being honest, he was a bit disappointed. He wanted a few more Death Eaters to kick the bucket before Voldemort finally decided to join in, but he was already here. Alas, there was no crying over spilled milk so he started to wonder what he was going to say, now that he was going to finally meet his nemesis…
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****THE-FATED-MEETING (V)****
The traps might have posed a real danger to the Death Eaters, but to someone like Voldemort, they were nothing but child's play, and it didn't take Harry long to realize that Voldemort also had Danger Sense just like him. Even Avery, the Death Eater he attacked during the Quidditch World Cup Final had that too.
Voldemort was annoyed at the incompetence of his followers and a part of him wanted to leave them to their fate so that a few more of the morons would get themselves killed, but right now, he was running low on expendable followers. He didn't even get the time to consolidate his powers and forces before Potter revealed his existence to the world.
It wouldn't have mattered much if the boy was a weakling, but the boy was exceptionally strong. It irked him to no end that some of his followers were scared of the boy and he really needed a win to assure them that the boy wasn't a threat to him. After all, he was the Dark Lord Voldemort, he was going to reign supreme.
Voldemort lazily flicked his Wand in the air, disarming all the mines under the floor and the Death Eaters silently followed behind him, not wanting to anger the Dark Lord again. Then all of a sudden. Voldemort stopped before batting away a Spell with a tip of his Wand.
"Ah… Madame Bones, such a nice welcome" Voldemort turned casually toward the stairs where Amelia was bunkered up. He didn't even look worried in the slightest.
"I don't go with that title any more" Amelia snarled back bitterly before launching a flurry of Spells toward Voldemort, who simply raised a silverish barrier with a simple flick of his empty hand, and the Spells harmlessly splashed against the shield.
"I apologize for my hand in that" Voldemort apologized mockingly as he casually strolled forward. Harry realized that Voldemort must have used his followers to put the idea of shoving all the blame onto Amelia into the late Minister's head. Well, he was only able to manipulate her so easily because Voldemort wanted to get rid of her.
Harry decided to thank Voldemort later for such a gift…
"Hmph!" Amelia snorted and cast a Shield Breaker, but the Shield Breaker only managed to put a small crack in the shield.
"Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" Voldemort clicked his tongue while wagging his finger at Amelia mockingly. "When will all of you understand, opposing me is futile" Voldemort added with a sigh before he finally started to climb the stairs. Deciding to ignore Voldemort, Amelia continued to attack the shield, which finally broke.
Amelia pressed on, opting to attack Voldemort relentlessly with all kinds of Spells she could think of, but Voldemort easily batted away those Spells. He didn't even seem to be trying and that seemed to irk Amelia even more… Though, Harry wasn't surprised to see how outmatched Amelia really was.
Meanwhile, the Death Eaters were watching their Master dominate the fight in complete awe and reverence. Voldemort was almost in front of Amelia with a mocking grin tugging his lips and by that time, the woman was sweating profusely. "Avada Kedavra!" Then all of a sudden, Amelia snarled in rage.
Voldemort's eyes grew wide in shock as a green beam came out of her Wand, but he still somehow managed to twist his body to the side to dodge the green beam. The beam struck a Death Eater at the front, who was watching the Dark Lord in awe, slumped down on the floor completely lifeless.
Harry was certain that the man wasn't expecting Amelia to use the Killing Curse. Even he was surprised that Amelia decided to use one of the Unforgivables Curses. Amelia internally clicked her tongue as she jumped out of the way of the Cruciatus Curse… To be honest, she knew she was no match for Voldemort.
It might have been a bitter pill to swallow, but she needed to be realistic if she wanted to survive through the night, so she was waiting for him to get close before casting the Killing Curse at him. Voldemort was close to Harry when the Killing Curse was reflected back at him, so she decided to give it a try, just in case it worked.
Unfortunately for her, it didn't and ended up angering Voldemort even more… With no other option in her hand, she started to run upstairs and Voldemort snarled in fury before he blew apart the barricade she made with a jab of his Wand. Meanwhile, Amelia, after reaching the 1st floor, jumped out the closest window.
After all, she didn't want to get cornered with an enraged Voldemort hot on her tail… She landed on the ground with an oomph and she was pretty sure that she was going to have a lot of bruises from the fall… Thankfully, she didn't break anything. Alas, her relief didn't last for long as a flame whip tore through the 1st floor of her house.
Voldemort jumped down and landed on his feet without any issues… He has used a lot of Rituals to enhance his physique as he wanted to be better than the rabble, which apparently meant everyone besides himself. "I am going to make your death very painful…" Voldemort said slowly as he made up his mind to let his men have their way with her until she broke before killing her.
Instead of retorting, Amelia attacked him… She knew she couldn't run away as she could see Death Eaters standing at some distance. Deciding that he had amused her long enough, for the first time, Voldemort started to attack her earnestly and moments later, Amelia hissed in pain when a Spell grazed her right shoulder…
The wound started to hiss and burn and Amelia screamed in pain, which gave Voldemort enough time to subdue her with a Binding Spell, but the Spell wasn't normal… The Spell would start to sting hard enough to draw blood if she struggled. Amelia screamed when she struggled in the bindings. She felt like knives were digging into her skin.
She started to wonder when Harry was going to intervene… Wasn't she humiliated enough?
Then the next moment, her bindings disappeared, making her sigh in relief… "Hello, Tom" Harry greeted as he materialized beside Amelia, surprising Voldemort and his Death Eaters…
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