Chương 32: Chapter 32
When Bellatrix and Lily reached the stadium, they were primed and prepared for a variety of instances. Whether it be to see their companions engaged with Grindelwald in a bitter battle for survival, or to see them being demolished by the Dark Lord one by one—their bodies littering the Quidditch pitch.
Indeed, so vivid was their imagination that they had hastened to their destination in record speed…well, at least for two middle-aged ladies who couldn't run very far whilst carrying two massive burdens upon their chests.
Thus they reached the quidditch grounds huffing and puffing, only to lay witness to the scene of a cloaked man drowning an ugly skeletal child inside a large cauldron of boiling liquid.
"Voldemort..." Lily breathed out, before quickly hiding the duo under the cover of Disillusionment Charm. "Come. We're late."
They had sensed a concentrated array of magic as soon as they'd placed their feet upon the Quidditch pitch, and it took them barely a moment to notice the group awaiting them at the outskirts of the field.
There were twelve of them, Bella counted, all huddling behind one of the shaded technical areas. If not for having perfected her ability to sense magic, she'd have missed them, hidden as they were under multiple sets of disillusionment and Quietening charms, ensuring they'd be invisible and inaudible to their enemies—who were all rather busy witnessing the ritual in front of them with fascination, thus making her job all the more easier.
Hailed as the greatest Dueler of her generation as she was, it wasn't a challenge for her magical senses to distinguish between their allies' magic and locate the one who'd summoned them.
"So," Bella whispered as she came to kneel beside her superior—who was too engrossed in observing the scene ahead to take notice of her magic. "Thought of any instant Dark Lord-killing plan yet, Minister?"
She made no efforts to suppress her smirk as she felt all the invisible figures give a startled jerk.
"For god's sake, Bella." The Minister grouched. "Must you always be such a pain?"
"Indeed, Ms. Black." Scrimgeour suddenly cut in, venom coloring his tone. "As always, your childish attempts at humor do not amuse anyone here. Perhaps you should consider stopping?"
"Ah, Scrimgeour, old chap! Is that you!?" Bella exclaimed in mock surprise. "I thought you were dead! Crushed under the crowd's heels, in fact."
"That was Robards." Scrimgeour replied after a moment of hesitation, wary.
"Ah, that's a shame. It's quite easy to confuse you two, you know? Though I am very disappointed at his death. I'd rather it were you."
The head of Auror sputtered indignantly and Bella counted that as another win in her book.
"Enough you two!" Minister Bones snapped. "We are about to engage in the most important battle of this decade, and if your petty rivalry messes things up, your punishment will make some stint in Azkaban seem like heaven by the time I'm finished with you."
Accepting the reprimand for what it was, they all put on their battle-faces, growing grim and weary as they readied themselves to face the coming tribulation.
"Plans, Minister?" Lily asked, unconcerned with the drama as she moved to kneel beside her husband.
"Working on it."
Ahead, the man who'd dropped the baby in the cauldron held out his hand above the bubbling cauldron, before cutting it off in one smooth motion.
The group winced as the man howled in agony, while continuing to chant something inaudible through gritted teeth.
But Lily recognized that voice. That scream….it may be more rugged and harsh, but the voice was the same.
"Sirius." She whispered out, her face twisting in rage.
"We'll get him, I promise." James assured her, squeezing her arm. "Are the children safe?"
"Alice is guiding them out of here." Lily answered, anger quickly forgotten as worry clawed at her heart upon the reminder of her green-eyed son.
"And Harry?"
Lily had no answer for him. Thankfully she was saved from giving it as the Minister moved to the front, her invisible figure pushing past others, demanding attention.
"It seems Shacklebolt and Longbottom won't be joining us anytime soon." She announced to thin air. "So here's the plan. Mr. Akingbade, you and your associates engage the Alliance and Death Eaters, while I and my wizards take on Grindelwald. Can you create a barrier to separate them away? I don't think the Dark Lord would stop interfering in your fights, even should we asked nicely. And I'm afraid to say I doubt we can do much to stop him for long."
"That will be no problem, Minister Bones." Akingbade's voice came from further to the left. "But if I may ask, what is the point of this if you cannot stop Grindelwald?"
"Voldemort. Whatever we do, we can't let another Dark Lord roam this world with all his restored might. Not right now. So our main objective will be to either knock over that cauldron, kill the skeleton baby entirely, or do something to interfere with the ritual."
"I see. And will the Supreme Mugwump not join us? I believe this can all be resolved much easily with him here."
There was a moment of hesitant silence before the Minister replied, "….No, we can't wait for him. I've already sent a patronus to let him know what's happening, but it will take more time for the news to reach him than we can afford to give."
"Very well then. Let us begin."
Their plan, while hasty, was clean and simple. The Minister was to lead her group to surround the dark wizards from the left, while Akingbade and his wizards covered the right side. Once in position, they would burst out at once, hoping to take down a full group of dark wizards simultaneously, utilizing the element of surprise.
If all went well, Grindelwald will be left alone with a few straggling supporters that Akingbade would deal with, while the English wizards would engage the Dark Lord. Eventually Grindelwald would be left to fend off twelve Auror level opponents—seven of whom were an entire level above average Aurors—on his lonesome, giving them a decent chance to stop the ritual.
If all had gone according to the plan, Grindelwald would've been dealt a serious blow while Voldemort would be forever imprisoned in his skeletal form, until they thought of a way to permanently dispatch him.
Of course, everything did not go as planned.
In fact, the plan failed before it even began, for as the English wizards started to make their way around the stadium—quite nimbly in their opinion—Grindelwald suddenly turned around and pinned them under his gaze.
"Ah, Minister Bones!" The Dark Lord exclaimed. "I was beginning to wonder if you'll ever move from that place."
Dumbfounded, the wizards didn't move an inch from their spot, almost hoping that Grindelwald would move on if they perfected the art of lying incredibly still. Hearts beating rapidly, still under the effects of disillusionment, they looked at their Minister for command.
Unfortunately, she was facing quite the same predicament.
"Come now," Grindelwald drawled out, amused and mocking. "No need for such... Shoddy deceptions."
Hesitantly, Bones signaled her group to stand down and revealed herself, letting the charm dissipate.
"Grindelwald..." She started, making sure her voice was as commanding as ever. "You have no business here. As the Minister of magical Britain, I ask you to leave."
Surprised, the Grindelwald's brows shot up. "Ho ho! You would parley with a Dark Lord, Minister? What will your people say?"
"No. I shall parley with the monarch of South America, and my people shall be grateful for it. Leave, you have no business here."
"An interesting offer." The Dark Lord hummed, rubbing his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Truly, it is. And at normal times I may have accepted it even. But you've made a mistake in your assumption...See, I do certainly have business here. And I have no intention to leave. "
Then, with a contemptuous air, he turned again—unconcerned at showing his back to the enemies. "Though I must thank you for your patience, dear Minister. My parcel arrives."
Just then, two brooms broke through the clouds, soaring through the skies as they dived down for the stadium. And perched upon one of the brooms, hanging limp and stunned, was the body of one, Jacob Potter.
"Excellent!" Grindelwald exclaimed, waving his wand to send shots of fire around the stadium, lighting up the wooden torches that had been hanging in midair for this very moment.
And as the glimmer of fire fell upon the face of Jacob Potter, the wizards gathered below could finally make out his face.
"No…" James breathed out, stumbling to his feet, a horrible realization growing in his chest.
"James, don't!" Lily tried to drag him back but he was already moving forward, his Disillusionment Charm wearing off.
"Ah, Potter Senior." Grindelwald chuckled. "Yes, your sons were always our true targets, you see? Though I must admit, I'm terribly impressed by your other son. Three of my best are after him, and they are yet to return."
Now it was Lily's turn to stumble on her feet. "Harry…"
With a sudden roar, James tore towards the Dark Lord, his wand shooting spells at all directions.
As if it were a signal they'd all been waiting for, Akingbade and his team fell upon the dark wizards as well.
"Now, now, can't let that happen." Grindelwald smirked, waving his wand offhandedly at James—whose feet suddenly sank down as the ground turned to mush, clamping upon his entire lower body—before turning to his right, his wand ready to deal with the African wizards.
Before he could help out his followers however, a large wall of stone emerged from the ground, dividing the Dark Lord from his followers as it cut straight down the middle, creating two separate battlefields.
A little distance away from him, James finally managed to revert the transfiguration and drag himself out.
Annoyed, Grindelwald turned back to the Minister. "Really? What makes you think I'm the one being trapped here? Or do you truly think you can hold me?"
"I don't think anything, Mr. Grindelwald." Minister Bones stated solemnly, as the rest of the level 6 Duelists revealed themselves. "I know we can."
And thus started the battle to decide the future of the world.
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"So, Grindelwald." Harry began, breaking the brittle silence. "Why is he here?"
His group was briskly making their way for the stadium, their steps quick but cautious—having just set foot in the level 7 campsite. In the lower levels, the scene they'd left behind—quite hurriedly—was of a roaring crowd still busy beating the snot out of the captured Death Eaters.
Unlike Stella, Harry had no delusions about their survival, something he was glad about. As the thought of going back and finishing them off—before they could become a bigger nuisance—had visited his mind briefly, until the decision was taken out of his hands by the crowd.
'At least they're good at something. Still would've preferred them not breaking the damned brooms.' Had they been able to fly, they could've reached their destination long ago. But in their fury and newly birthed rebellion, the stupid crowd had used the brooms like a stick to beat upon the Death Eaters muggle-style.
"I….truly don't know." Stella answered, grimacing. "Neither did Mathew and Krafft, for that matter. We were told the Dark Lord will be busy in Argentina, and not to expect his aid."
She stopped for a moment, her wand whipping towards a sudden movement on her left—which turned out to be a piece of debris sliding down from a destroyed tent.
Sighing, she continued. "Of course, even had we known of his arrival, it would've been highly unlikely for us to be informed of his true purpose. Only the most trusted of his followers know the entire plan whenever missions like this take place."
Up ahead, the crowd had thinned out quite a bit. The combined foray of Death Eaters upon the lands made this place a taboo ground for the public, something they did their best to avoid, even now when the masked enemies lay defeated.
But that ended up pushing the rest of the crowd even further south, towards the Ministry campsite that was heavily warded and barricaded; both physically and magically.
Harry could see some of the crowd breaking off and rallying an attack upon its defenses, most likely hoping to make use of the Fireplaces inside to escape. Their attempts gained more and more traction slowly, and the group attacking the ministry grounds soon ranged in thousands.
'What a bunch of useless sheeple.'
Frowning, Harry turned back to Stella. "Wasn't Krafft one of the oldest members of your group? Why didn't he earn Grindelwald's trust?"
Their feet took them alongside the burning tents now, and Harry could see the Potter tent's golden pillars glittering with flames.
It would've looked beautiful had the rest of the tent not been blackened and charred.
"Grindelwald doesn't like it when people ruin his mighty image." Stella snorted, and Harry could almost taste the bitterness in her words. "Krafft was old, powerful, and completely loyal. But there were…rumours about him. Rumours that the Dark Lord did not like. So he never really made it to the main list of his asslickers."
"Your Aurors…" Apolline, who'd been quiet the whole march, pointed down at the foot of the central stadium entrance. "A most cruel way to die."
There, lying in a crushed pulp, was a dead body whose only recognizable trait were its Auror robes.
Similar bodies littered the ground, though none as pulverized as the one Apolline had pointed.
Harry stared at the corpse grim-faced, wondering if it was someone he'd known. He hoped not, for it truly was a cruel way to die.
Beside him, an involuntary retch escaped Fleur and she quickly closed her eyes. But with her attention no longer on the road, her foot slipped upon a smooth stone, resulting in a loss of balance. Harry almost saw it happen in slow motion, her hands flailing on thin air—her natural balance as a dueler useless upon the debris-filled path—and he simply moved.
He reached her in a burst of speed, fast enough to catch her by the waist; one hand behind her back, the other clutching onto her arm, his own wand gripped between two fingers.
Only later would he wonder why he never simply levitated her mid-air. All it would've taken was a simple wave of his wand.
As it was, he found himself a little lost in those exquisite blue eyes that blinked up at him, scrunched up and squinting past some tears. It was a sight much better than what they'd just witnessed, and Harry couldn't be blamed in quickly forgetting that grimness to focus upon the ethereal beauty in his arms.
His heart beat a little faster and he found himself hating Bill just a little. It truly was a shame how quickly she found her legs again, standing back up straight, eyes averted away from him.
"T-thank you." She said, before clearing her throat. "I'm fine now. Really."
Only then did he realize his hand was still holding onto her waist.
"Well…." Harry smirked, not letting go yet. "I could carry you if you need me to."
"N-non, thank you..." She breathed out, though didn't remove his arms, her neck a shade of deep red. "I'm perfectly fine now."
"If you're sure." He let go slowly, finally moving away from her.
She breathed out a sigh, though he couldn't decide if it was of relief or regret.
Up ahead Apolline was giving him…not quite a glare, but an appraising look that seemed to judge him. Still, they soon found themselves moving on, though this time taking care not to look at any more of the mangled corpses.
When they finally reached the central entrance—cautious and a little hurried—stench of death and blood filled up their noses, along with the uproar and clashing of a battlefield.
"We should help them, no?" Fleur's words captured their attention and they turned to face the left side of the stadium, where a bunch of Aurors were barely holding their own against an enraged crowd.
Honestly? Harry didn't want to. His mission now was to quickly find Bella and Lily, and leave this wretched place behind.
Grindelwald could go fuck himself. Harry wasn't powerful enough to be more than an annoyance to him right now. And until that time arrived, what he could do was see to the safety of his loved ones.
'But why the fuck am I assuming they'll be in the stadium?'
He paused, suddenly conflicted.
What if Bella was here, amongst these Aurors? She was the head of DMLE wasn't she?
'No, she's one of the most powerful duelers of this country. Surely she'd be inside, fighting Grindelwald and his bunch of thugs?'
But the slightest of possibilities that she may be amongst those struggling Aurors, and he may be letting her die, was too much to dismiss.
"Damnit." He cursed, whirling around. "Alright, let's be quick about this. Rescue the Aurors and fall back immediately."
The Aurors—two in total—were standing away from them, large shields blocking the stream of enraged people howling for their blood. The reason for the crowd's anger was a mystery to Harry, and a mystery he didn't care enough to solve.
What he did care about was the injured bodies the Aurors were trying their best to safeguard; also the reason why they couldn't retaliate back or simply escape.
'Merlin, I hope Bella or Lily aren't one of them.' Harry grimaced when his eyes took in the bodies, surging forward with a renewed determination.
"Blast them away without getting lethal." Harry commanded his group, and they moved to follow.
The next second a shower of spells railed upon the crowd; powerful Depulsos, Stunners, and Disarming chams, all with the purpose of pushing the crowd back.
Harry had expected a long and bitter struggle against the crowd that would eventually end with them barely managing to pull back the Aurors and the bodies.
Instead, the moment the first few rows of people were blasted back, the rebelling crowd broke instantly, scattering away in panic and fear.
"Fucking rats." Harry shook his head, moving over to the Aurors—both on their knee to catch some breath.
They saw them coming and raised their hands in thanks, their wands pointing away in a show of trust.
'Shacklebolt and Longbottom.' Harry identified them at once.
Shacklebolt was one of the few competent Aurors that Harry personally knew back in his previous life. The man had even held on against Voldemort for a minute or two before finally succumbing. But the fact that Voldemort had deigned to personally pay him a visit spoke highly of his prowess.
The two men seemed to recognize him as well, finally relaxing completely.
"My thanks, Mr. Potter." Shacklebolt huffed, taking deep breaths.
But Harry's attention had already moved to the injured bodies, some of whom had just died of blood loss. A quick appraisal later, Harry found that he recognized none of them.
'I can't decide if I should be happy or worried.'
While he was glad that Lily or Bella weren't between the clearly dying lot, the urgency in his chest grew sharply as he realized that the stadium was the only remaining place where they could be.
…Unless they were all chilling in the Ministry camp without having escaped already for some reason.
"Come, we need to—"
It happened instantly. One second he was turning to the Aurors, the next Longbottom was on his feet—wand aimed at Stella— shooting off a lightning quick Bone-breaker at the unaware woman.
With inhuman speed and dexterity, Harry leaped between them—twisting in mid-air—and accurately struck the sickly red flash back to its owner.
Longbottom stumbled away with a shocked yell—barely dodging the spell—and Harry landed in a crouch, his wand ready to tear the Aurors apart.
"Hold!" Shacklebolt bellowed, as the two groups stood barely a second away from fighting.
Harry was pleased to know how quickly his group had mobilized in a fighting position, with Apolline and Fleur spreading out to box the Aurors in.
"This is a misunderstanding!" Shacklebolt yelled again, before glancing back. "Frank, you better have an explanation mate."
But Longbottom ignored him, his stunned eyes appraising Harry before he shook his head in dismissal and glared at Stella with a barely suppressed snarl. "Mr. Potter, what are you doing!? She's a traitor! Look at her Kingsley, she's one of those Brazilian bastards! Stella, I think her name was. Most likely fake."
A single look at the woman and Shacklebolt nodded. "Indeed she is, but I think we should give Mr. Potter here the benefit of the doubt before thinking the worst. Mr. Potter? An explanation would be wonderful now."
"You should've asked that before you decided to attack." Harry snorted. "As for the explanation...all you need to know for now is that she has given me her oath. She's on our side completely, you may rest assured."
Then his eyes shifted to Longbottom, grim and promising. "And none of that foolishness again, or I'll be forced to put you out of commission."
Their eyes were hesitant and conflicted now but Harry didn't wait for their answer, riding over them as he let his wand hand drop slowly. "Now, would you fine gentlemen care to accompany us? We're going into the stadium to face Grindelwald and rescue our people."
The Aurors glanced at each other before nodding and backing down slowly.
"Of course Mr. Potter, that aligns perfectly with our orders." Shacklebolt took the lead. "But I hope you know what you're talking about. The Brazilians—though I doubt the validity of that—are all supporters of Grindelwald; cunning and cruel. Even suspecting something fishy, they managed to take us off-guard. I would consider the possibility of the girl finding some loophole in your oath."
"Let me worry about that." Harry turned around, his heart growing more and more impatient—and a little nervous—by the second. "For now, all you need to focus on is Grindelwald."
"Come. We have some work to do."
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AN: And we are at the finale! What did you thought of the chapters? Hopefully you enjoyed!
So, Voldy is a step away from coming back, Grindelwald is standing guard to make sure that happens, and everyone is now at the stadium. Next chapter will start directly with action. And you'll also be getting a view at Elemental magic!
Now, I'd like to address some reviews that are annoyed at the pacing; the pacing WILL NOT CHANGE. I'm warning you ahead of time. I've just posted chapter 19 on Pat reon (which will be Ch. 37, 38 on WN) and we're still dealing with the aftermath and changes. So the next three chapters (6 wn) will barely cover a week or so...but there are a lot of stuff happening in this week or so.
Things are about to blow completely from the next chapter, and there's just too much for me to cover in a single one without feeling it rushed.
Though I can promise that the next chapter is the last action you'll see for a long while. Those who're annoyed by too much action, cheers. Also, the constant POV shifts will be restricted to his partners and family after the next chapter, but they will be present. Though the focus is going to be back on Harry mostly.
Things might speed up after the first week or so of Hogwarts, maybe I'll do a timeskip directly to Tri-wizard tournament, but only if there's nothing more remaining for me to cover.
Oh, the last thing! if you're one of those who feels like I'm just being a stubborn asshole for not changing things for some dissatisfied reviews (yeah, there were actually a few reviews like these lol), or I'm killing the story with this pace or whatever, and you no longer find this interesting, you are free to move on. Maybe you'll find my other two stories better, where the focus is mostly on the MC instead of World & character building.
But for this story, I'm going to proceed with the current style. This one is supposed to be a different type of fic than my other two (honestly if it were the same, I would've probably dropped this by now). I expect the story to cross 300k at the very least, so buckle down and be a teensy bit patient. It'll pay off in the next chap...maybe.
Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed this chapter.
That was all for today, see you all later! Till then, stay safe, have fun, and peace!
My discord: discord .gg/9wpfysDGsz to discuss fics and chill.
My Pat reon: www. Pat reon com/ Robs511 (No spaces and a dot before com) for anyone who wants to read upto the next three chaps of all my fics.
P.S: THE SCHEDULE FOR MY FICS HAVE CHANGED! I WILL NOW BE POSTING 1 CHAPTER PER 4 DAYS! Though the length will be much bigger, with atleast 8k words per chapter. So the next update for SOW will be on 10th of May.
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