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Chapter Thirty Seven: Mobilization:

Voldemort looked at the empty tomb, unmistakable rage etched in his eyes. To say Voldemort was furious would be grossly understating the situation. Enraged beyond believe, Voldemort magically levitated the tomb, before he blasted it back towards his Death Eaters. They had the presence of mind to scatter out of the way, as the tomb smashed to bits. All of them remained silent, the Dark Lord had always kept control of his emotions for the most part. There were isolated incidents where he had punished them for their failure, but right now, the Dark Lord appeared to be losing his mind right before their view eyes. Voldemort turned towards them, the Death Eaters taking several steps backward, as the Dark Lord glared at them.

“You are to all return to the castle, do nothing, I need to verify the location of a couple more items before we act,” responded Voldemort crisply, and the Death Eaters nodded, before they moved back to their castle. Voldemort walked down the pathway, in a very bad mood, the fact that Potter had eluded his final fate eating away at him. That tomb was fool proof, there was no way the Boy-Who-Lived could have escaped, yet he did. If it was not for the fact that Potter knew about all of his Horcruxes, Voldemort might have been slightly impressed by his enemy’s escape from certain doom. However, being impressed was far from the mind of Voldemort, as he walked towards Hogsmeade. K’rose had lost one of his Horcruxes, two had vanished from his sight. Voldemort highly suspected that it was highly probable that Potter had found a way to get those as well, one was secured in Voldemort’s office, and the other two were still out there, at least that’s what the Dark Lord had assumed.

At this moment, the Dark Lord would not be tripped up my mere assumptions, he would need to ensure that the other Horcruxes were still safe and perhaps move them to a location closer to him. The Dark Lord wished he had buried the Horcruxes in the center of the Earth, but it was too late now. So he disapparated from Hogsmeade and the Gaunt Shack, as a raven sitting perched on a tree sat, watching Voldemort as he departed. The raven flew off, behind a building where no one watching could see him.

Back in the Potter Residence, Ginny sat on the edge of the couch and once again, the mirror right beside her side began to blink. Looking at in intently, Ginny read the code coming from the mirror, before she turned to relay it to Lily, who remained by the fire.

“Voldemort knows,” said Ginny and Lily nodded. “He’s pieced together that Harry’s after the Horcruxes, and is checking on the status of the others, it won’t be long now before Voldemort takes the next step.”

“So far so good,” muttered Lily before she turned to the fireplace. “Alexandra, Voldemort knows, Harry said he’s going to check on the other sevenths. Voldemort will know soon enough.”

“We’re ready,” confirmed Alexandra. “Of course, we can’t really do anything, because of the law until…”

“I know,” responded Lily. “Harry’s adamant that it will be exactly Voldemort will do, but he does remind you that you might have some fires to put out of the public finds out you deliberate tricked Voldemort.”

“If it finishes him off for good, then it’s more than worth it,” said Alexandra. “The Aurors are waiting, please keep us informed.”

“I will when Harry has more information,” responded Lily as she pulled herself away from the fire, as she turned to Ginny. “It’s interesting that Harry’s managing to keep a close eye on Voldemort, without him knowing.”

“I have a pretty good idea how he’s doing it and it is perfectly logical if you think of it,” said Ginny and Lily nodded in sudden realization, it was so simple. Harry kept that talent of his a relatively low profile and that served him rather well, as it would be a useful weapon to keep an eye on Voldemort has his plan played out.

Voldemort dropped down in front of the Gaunt Shack, his robes billowing behind him. Voldemort’s eyes widened, when he saw that his shack was reduced to nothing but a pile of rubble. Nothing remained standing, the stone laid on the ground. Only one way this could have happened was that someone had managed to bypass all of the defenses around the shack and steal the ring. Voldemort stood backwards, angrily shifting through the rubble, to verify that the magic simply had not failed when he was cast out of his body on that fateful Halloween at Godric’s Hallow. Eventually, Voldemort had found what he was looking forward, the crushed pedestal that the ring would have been on. A simple charm had told Voldemort all he needed to know, that the ring had been removed. Voldemort levitated the pedestal into the air, before casually flinging it out of the way. The Dark Lord had found all he needed to know, two Horcruxes were certainly in the hands of Harry Potter and there was a potential to be as many as four in the hands. Voldemort did not sweat, but a small bit of anxiousness was spreading throughout his normally cool mood. Potter had survived certain death twice and now he was trying to get his hands on all of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. A part of Voldemort wondered if Potter had figured out that the Horcruxes could not simply be destroyed to erase their existence, but rather the soul needed to be reconnected to return Voldemort’s morality. Yet the two books on the subject had been disposed of. The Dark Lord had made sure of that, and he trusted both Eskara and Severus beyond many of his other followers.

Voldemort turned, robes billowing behind him as he walked. He needed to check the cliff overlooking his former Orphanage next. The locket should still have been in place, he was the only one who knew how to circumvent the protections around it, Potter could not have figured it out. Certainly, Regulus Black was nosing around, but Voldemort had him dealt with before the truth could be found and there would be no way Black could remove the locket, before making it out alive. Voldemort disapparated with a soft pop, as the raven from the tree watched the Dark Lord go, looking down at him with emerald green eyes, before the raven swooped down, into a heavily wooded area where it could not be seen.

Once again, Ginny found an incoming transmission on the mirror. It was blinking at a rather quick rate, it seemed that Voldemort was working fast, his patience was getting less by the second. Ginny paused a few seconds, before she made sure she got every bit of Harry’s message. She sprung up, the fact that Harry continued to predict everything that Voldemort did was a bit unnerving but worked rather well into their places.

“Voldemort just visited the shack, he’s discovered the ring is missing, he’s off to look for the locket, Harry’s said that Voldemort’s broadcasting his thoughts, whatever that means,” responded Ginny with a frown.

“I think it means that Voldemort is letting his Occlumency falter slightly, due to the horror of finding out about his Horcruxes and thus Harry’s picking up what he’s thinking at the time,” suggested Lily. “Was that all?”

“Yes, it was,” confirmed Ginny and with that Lily turned her attention back to the fireplace.

“Alexandra, he’s discovered that the ring is gone, it won’t be too much longer right now,” reported Lily. “He’s on his way to check the locket, only one more stop after that and Voldemort will know exactly what we know.”

“Right, Lily,” said Alexandra, before Lily’s head disappeared from the fire. Voldemort continued to get closer to the breaking point and the Dark Lord would not let this matter rest for much longer. All they had to do is wait.

The water parted around Voldemort, as the boat he was on sped towards the cliff. The Dark Lord had hoped that he would never come near this wretched place, after he had killed everyone in the Orphanage and then stashed his Horcrux in the basin in the rocks. Voldemort continued his movement forward, several slimy hands poked their way out of the water, but relaxed once they realized that their master was the one approaching the treasure they had guarded. Staring ahead, Voldemort reached the edge of the cliff. Voldemort stepped off the boat, letting it drift, he could disapparate back once he had reached the top of the cliff. Step by step, Voldemort made his way up the side of the cliff. The rocks crumbled slightly, but a quick spell stabilized them. Carefully, Voldemort reached a large opening at the top of the cliff.

Stepping forward through the cave, Voldemort reached a worn basin. He waved his wand towards it, discovering that it had been tampered with. However, that meant little, he suspected that many may have come close to discovering his secrets but had perished due to the defenses. Voldemort tapped his wand three times to the side of the basin and a drain effect occurred, emptying the poison from the basin. Had anyone but Voldemort tried that tactic, the basin would begin to overflow, until the individual who had tried it would be swept out over the cliff into the waiting arms of the Inferi.

The poison was completely drained out and Voldemort’s eyes widened to glee, as he saw a small golden locket at the bottom of the basin. A step forward had indicated that Voldemort had been premature in his glory, as the locket was a bit smaller than the Slytherin locket that had stored a seventh of his soul. Voldemort picked the locket up, he could feel nothing, except a small rattle of paper inside. No doubt it was a taunting message and it was obvious that Black had gotten to the locket first. If that was the case, then it was highly probable that Potter had somehow gotten the locket as well. Until he could rip the truth from Potter’s mind, Voldemort felt he would be best served to assume that Potter did in fact have five of his Horcruxes.

Voldemort tossed the locket over the edge of the cliff, it was of no use. He watched it splash into the water below where a slimy hand came from the water and pulled it underneath. Voldemort turned on his back, to depart to Canada to check one final item. While Severus could no longer tell him anything due to his murder at the hands of Lily Potter, the guardian of the other book that detailed the truth about Horcruxes could tell him much. Voldemort disapparated once again with a pop, as the raven watched in the distance from high above, before it flew down

The mirror began to blink, flashing several times. Ginny turned to Lily to open her mouth but Alexandra’s head was already in the fireplace.

“A detection ward has been set off in Canada, it’s not strong enough because it’s far North and not in our country, but it’s still going off in the building, it’s detecting a large quantity of dark magic,” reported Alexandra quickly but she saw that Lily did not seem too surprised. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

“Yes it is,” cut in Ginny from the end. “He’s going to check, the book that Lily stole all those years ago, he’s going to find out that the vampires no longer in position of the book. Oh and Harry wants us to report to the American Wizarding Government headquarters, so we can get into position for when it happens.”

Lily nodded, before she and Ginny walked out of the room. They would take the portable transmat to the American Wizarding Government headquarters which would also serve to assist in transporting a huge group of individuals through any defenses that Voldemort would have had put around the border of Britain. It was certain that Voldemort would have outside Portkeys and Apparation heavily guarded, broomsticks would take too long, but in his arrogance, Voldemort would not think of Muggle means. Especially if said means were created from the closely guarded secrets of an alien race.

Voldemort swooped down on the ice ground in the Northern part of Canada. A building was nearby, Voldemort struggled through the cold winds. Even the warming charm on his robes could not shield him from the bitter cold that the vampires needed to survive. Coupled with the darkness, it was not the friendliest environments to even someone like Voldemort, who thrived in the darkness. Voldemort pushed forth, he would not let mere cold weather stop him and certainly enough, had seen an old, warn building, that some of the vampires that resided in Canada were known to live. Without bothering to knock, Voldemort blasted open the doors, walking into the dark dismal building.

Quickly, Voldemort conjured a candle and lit it, giving him light. A pale figure with blond hair and skin, dressed in red robes stepped forward, to confront Voldemort.

“Who dares enter?” demanded the vampire, his fangs bared, no doubt as an intimidation tactic but Voldemort was not impressed. He would rot out the dark creature’s teeth if he had tried anything, making him unfit to suck any blood and thus he would wither and die.

“It is the Dark Lord,” said Voldemort softly and the vampire’s eyes widened, before he bowed down to the feet of the Dark Lord. Voldemort awaited for the vampire to readjust himself, before Voldemort stood face to face with the vampire.

“My lord, begging your pardon, but it may be of use to know that the American Wizarding Government has this area of Canada heavily monitored, after a certain incident a couple of years previous,” said the vampire, but Voldemort just shrugged his shoulders with cold indifference.

“I care little about that, I am here to see Eskara, she should still be in possession of a book of mine,” responded Voldemort softly and the vampire looked rather grave, causing Voldemort to take several steps forward. “Tell me where she is.”

“She exists no longer, my Lord,” said the vampire. “The incident we talked about, she attempted to freeze New York City to use it as a breeding ground for her army of vampires. The mutant Turtle creatures, Harry Potter, and his sibling had stopped them. She was reduced to nothing but ash, her followers crumbled to dust as well. It is said that this was to be retribution for the theft of a book, but I don’t…”

Voldemort took a breath, eyes widening. He did not need any further information, he knew what book was stolen and he knew who stole it. Lifting his wand, he sent a orange blast of light right at the vampire. The vampire shrieked, as he began to burst into flames, before he reduced to nothing but dust. Voldemort stood, before he turned, walking off slowly. His best laid plans, they were overturned by Harry Potter, completely and utterly destroyed, wrecked. Voldemort stepped outside, back into the cold weather, before he disapparated back to Britain, to the Ministry. Potter would not survive what should have killed him a third time and this time, Voldemort would finish off Harry Potter.

The raven remained unmoving, perched, watching Voldemort leave. Voldemort’s anger was growing more and more, he was pushed right into what Harry had predicted. The raven flew away, it was deathly cold in this wretched country, only fit for vampires and no other human life.

Pius Thicknesse looked up. While being Minister of Magic in name only, the government had ran much smoother since the Dark Lord had taken his proper control of Britain. Acts were pushed through much faster, everyone in the Wizengamot was on the same page. The Aurors were also much better trained, in a wide variety of spells to keep Muggles from stumbling upon their closely guarded secrets. The fact that he was even the figurehead Minister in the Ministry’s greatest, most efficient period, pleased Thicknesse.

The doors burst open and Voldemort stepped forward, to face off Thicknesse, who put his quill down. It was rare that the Dark Lord graced him with his presence, normally he had relayed his instructions through someone like Lucius Malfoy.

“My lord, what a pleasant surprise,” gushed Thicknesse. “Do pull up a seat…”

“Not now Thicknesse, take me to the broadcast room, I must send a message over the Wireless,” responded Voldemort swiftly and Thicknesse looked at his master with a frown. Technically, only the Minister of Magic and the Head of the Auror office were authorized to use that frequency, but considering it was the Dark Lord, he could not exactly deny his request.

“Of course, right this way, my Lord,” said Thicknesse quickly, as he pushed open the door of his office, leading Voldemort right to that area. Several people in the hallway quickened their steps, out of fear of the wrath of Voldemort. Thicknesse opened the door and a second later, Voldemort burst through, in a rather foul mood, before he sat down in front of the magical microphone. A Rune carved on the underside of a table had caused the channel to play randomly selected music when it was not in use from the Ministry. Using his wand, Voldemort deactivated that Rune and activated a second one underneath the table. This action had opened the channel.

“Everyone who listens to this will be best to remain silent, as this is Lord Voldemort and I have a message that is directed to the entire Wizarding World, especially the American Wizarding Government,” said Voldemort coldly as his voice echoed throughout the frequency. “You have all defied Lord Voldemort, by keeping the status of a dangerous threat to Wizarding Britain silent. Yes, Harry Potter is in fact alive and I am not pleased by your deception against me.”

Voldemort sat silently, no doubt many who had tuned into the Wireless would be shocked and he waited an amount of time to allow the words he spoke to fully sink in, before he continued his address to the Wizarding World.

“Potter, I do hope you’re listening to this and if anyone who is in contact with Mr. Potter is listening, you better find him to relay the following message,” continued Voldemort. “The Ministry of Magic will be declaring war on the American Wizarding Government in one hour, unless Harry Potter comes to face me and returns what he is stolen. If he does, all will be forgiven. If Potter should refuse to return my property to me, then I will not hesitate to wipe every American witch and wizard off of the planet. Do not test me Potter, I do not know how you managed to escape the last time, but I will find out. Bring them to me right now or your adopted country will suffer at my wand. You have exactly one hour Harry and should you delay one second later, my forces will storm New York City. I will await your decision in the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts. The password is overlord. And Potter, bring all five of them or else.”

Voldemort deactivated the channel, before he rose to his feet and left the Ministry of Magic, where Thicknesse looked at Voldemort a bit frantic, as he had heard the message.

“My lord, declaring war on the American Wizarding Government?” demanded Thicknesse. “Our Aurors couldn’t fight theirs, they don’t have the laws we do, they won’t hesitate to take any means necessary to defeat us. We can’t win, as Minister, I simply cannot allow this.”

“Then, you’re fired,” responded Voldemort, as he pointed his wand at Thicknesse, who braced himself for what came next. “Imperio”

A blank look appeared in the eyes of Thicknesse, he had been placed under the control of Voldemort.

“While you are no longer in charge of the Ministry, I require as many wands against Potter and his followers should it come to a battle,” said Voldemort. “You will fight until you drop dead, Thicknesse. Report to Hogwarts within the hour, with as many Aurors as you can find.”

“Yes, my Lord,” slurred Thicknesse, a dreamy expression on his face, all of his cares in the world washed away in the haze he was put under. Thicknesse walked off, as Voldemort turned, to make his way back to Hogwarts. He had certain preparations to make if Potter did not come with him and turn over all five of his Horcruxes.

In the American Wizarding Government headquarters, Alexandra paced back and forth, before she turned to her Aurors. They had all heard Voldemort’s ultimatum on the Wireless. While Harry Potter still living was a shock to many, some suspected that Potter had somehow survived his encounter with Voldemort. Still, there was no time to dwell on that, the Ministry of Magic or in reality, Voldemort, had threatened the stability of the American magical public by declaring war on them. They stood, prepared to defend their homes.

“Voldemort has declared war on us, but we’re going to bring the fight to him,” said Alexandra firmly. “In fifty minutes, we will begin to depart and land outside of Hogsmeade. Be ready to fight the second we touch the ground. Death Eaters are all over Hogsmeade, and there may be giants as well. We have prepared for this, remember your training and we should be seen through. It’s important that we hold off the Death Eaters, so Voldemort’s defeat goes off without a hitch.”

The Aurors nodded, they knew whose path needed to be kept clean and clear, before Voldemort could be defeated. They moved over towards the next room, to join the exiles from Britain, along with the Turtles and Splinter, as they prepared for action. There would be just enough time to go over the plan of attack before they made their move. Basically, it was do or die.

Voldemort walked through the Hogwarts gates. The gates swung open on their own accord, as Voldemort stormed towards Hogwarts, the robes billowing behind his back. Explanations of how Potter managed to find this out were running through his mind, but nothing was adding up. Five of the six had been stolen and only one lifeline towards his immortality remained safe in the Dark Lord’s hands. At least he had the presence of mind to keep one of his Horcruxes on hand, barely leaving his sight. Now more than ever, Voldemort had to keep Nagini secure, because if Potter got his hands on her, he could use the book and reunite his soul, allowing him to be kill. Not that Potter had the power, but Voldemort did not leave anything to chance. He had been wrong to think Potter had been killed, he could not risk being wrong for a second time.

Voldemort walked through the passageway, taking a short cut off to the Headmaster’s office. He walked up the stairs, before he turned to the gargoyle.

“Overlord,” hissed Voldemort, as the gargoyle swung open and Voldemort was allowed entrance to the office. On the floor, he saw Nagini still on the floor of the office, slithering around. Voldemort bent down to face his familiar, conjuring a cage, the door swinging open. “Nagini, into the cage, now, you must be protected with all costs.”

Nagini obeyed, with the snake slithering into the cage without any hesitation. The cage swung shut and Voldemort lifted the cage up, before he shrunk it to the side of a matchbox with his snake inside. Voldemort stepped forward, putting the shrunken cage in his pocket. The snake could perish but it mattered little as the Horcrux would live in its corpse.

The raven flew right by the window, having watched the entire process of Voldemort hiding his sixth Horcrux, before it flew towards Hogsmeade, without Voldemort being any of the wiser. It was time to implement the next step of the plan, the clock was running down until the end of Voldemort’s ultimatum

A pair of Death Eaters that were outside the gate watched intently. Their master had been in a towering temper, so they kept near the gate, ensuring that no one would pass them. The Death Eaters watched, staring forward, they could not even blink until their shift was relieved. Having been recruited in the past year, they were ambitious in wanting to prove themselves to their extremely powerful magic. One looked from side to side and at the second, a jagged piece of metal whizzed past his eyes, sticking in the side of the gate, causing him to jump, before they looked around. Turning around, the Death Eaters examined it closely.

“I’ll go investigate,” said one of the Death Eaters and his partner nodded, as he stepped forward, wand in the air, as he moved towards the direction of the disturbance. The Death Eater looked around, as he saw a flicker of movement entering the door through an abandoned house of Hogsmeade. He moved forward, to investigate the source. The door swung open and the Death Eater looked around. “Who’s there? Come out, you’re defying the power of the Dark Lord, so you better come out…”

A creaking sound was heard as the Death Eater turned around, before he walked towards a half open door. His wand was raised, he would have the intruder now, the Dark Lord would reward him. It was no doubt someone who was going to cause rebellion with the Dark Lord’s plans. These were the last thoughts that the Death Eater had before someone’s fist connected to the back of his head and he thumped to the ground, knocked completely unconscious by the force.

The Death Eater watching the gate looked up as his partner stepped forward. Leaning forward, the Death Eater opened his mouth, but his partner had cut him off.

“The intruder slipped away,” said the Death Eater. “I am going to inform the Dark Lord that someone was causing trouble in the village.”

The second Death Eater opened his mouth to protest that the Dark Lord did not want to be bothered, but that thought had passed him, as he returned to watching the gate, as his partner moved forward, walking towards the castle. Most of the others were inside the castle already, only those who had been given the task of patrolling Hogsmeade and guarding the gates remained outside.

Voldemort turned towards his Inner Circle or what remained of it after the two male Lestranges and Snape had perished. Dolohov, Bellatrix, Wormtail, and Lucius all stood back, as they could feel dark magical energy radiating off of their master, as he stood to face them, an ugly expression on his face.

“I am very displeased, Harry Potter still lives,” hissed Voldemort, his snake like face contorting into anger, staring at his Inner Circle. “This presents us with an opportunity, an excuse to storm the United States of America and take control of that country. I had intended to wait another couple of years before we took that step, but they arrogantly denied my rule by keeping the status of Harry Potter a secret. Unless Potter returns with my property in the next half hour, they will pay, starting with Potter’s friends and family in New York, especially those mutants. All who get in my way will be flattened.”

“My lord, respectively speaking, we do not have the resources to stage a full scale invasion of the United States,” said Lucius and Voldemort just slowly turned to Lucius, he seemed to regret his words, but Voldemort decided to elaborate for Lucius.

“I am well aware of it, but our hand has been forced,” responded Voldemort in a deadly, soft voice, as Lucius nodded. “Now, I have given the matter much thought and Salazar Tower was well equipped to allow us to take control of Hogwarts. However, it is not well equipped to let us roll over an entire country. That matter will be rectified as I am having my entire stock of power crystals moved to Hogwarts. I will use the school’s magic, to propel in through the country and over the ocean, before I land it in New York City. Many will perish, but they will be mere collateral. As for the students in this school, I am aware that many of them still show signs of resistance, even though they have made an attempt to do what we instruct. All students will be required to fight until the death. So put them under the Imperius Curse right now. You have your instructions, now go forth and round them all up.”

Wormtail, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Dolohov wasted no time in departing. Privately, they wondered if Potter’s return had unhinged their master, as he had been making grandiose plans on a short notice, when he had previously preferred a slow but steady approach in gaining power. Naturally, these concerns remained rather private; the Dark Lord’s temper was not an element that would be tested. They just departed, to begin the process of rounding up all the students who had not taken to the dark arts training.

“Patience Wormtail,” muttered the voice in Wormtail’s ear. “Once Potter arrives, I am counting on you to get the Dark Lord to call the Dementors.”

“What makes you think Potter will come and why the Dementors?” thought Wormtail, but the voice in his head remained quiet.

“He always comes, he will not disappoint us this time and as for your second question, I will allow you to find out soon enough, Wormtail,” responded the voice. “Remember, when you succeed, you will get what you desire above all else. That much is for certain.”

Wormtail nodded. He greedily anticipated the gift he had been promised. It would be a great day for Wormtail when Voldemort and the rest of the world were bowing down before him.

Voldemort consulted the time, Potter had five minutes until he was to come to him. He received a message from Bellatrix that all the students had been put under the Imperius, with simple orders to fight to the death for the Dark Lord. He watched as the crystals were in his office, all that needed to occur was to activate them. At that moment, the door of Voldemort’s office slid open and Voldemort stood up, expecting Potter, but was disappointed when it was only one of his many Death Eaters.

“This had better be important,” prompted Voldemort.

“Harry Potter is here, he’s inside the school!” yelled the Death Eater frantically and Voldemort walked forward, facing his Death Eater, holding his wand.

“Where, tell me?” demanded Voldemort and the robed wizard stepped back in what Voldemort interpreted as fear, but it could be further from the truth, as Voldemort was caught off guard, blasted right into the book shelf in the office, the portraits of the past Headmasters looking forward. Voldemort angrily pulled himself to his feet and the Death Eater that was before he had dropped the robes and mask, to replaced by the one and only Harry Potter.

“Right in front of your face, Riddle,” responded Harry, as Voldemort swooped forward and the two powerful wizards proceeded to duel.