FicWad

Ron Weasley was wondering about the event that everyone had gathered to watch.

He was curious about it, but his fathers enthusiasm was still showing.

With the Order in shambles, if it even still existed beyond the publicity in the Daily Prophet, only the leaders had been imprisoned and charged with high treason against the government and the crown. Those who were imprisoned were also rather well known, and only one was known to be dead.

Mad Eye had tried to resist arrest and had been gunned down by the white armored soldiers of Lord Dion.

The only ones not in leadership positions with heavy punishments were the Aurors that had joined, they had lost their jobs and had only recently been released after two months imprisonment split between Azkaban and the newer prison built on the confiscated property of the Malfoy family.

That had brought a smile to his face when the ferret had lost everything.

xXx

And then he paused as an announcement was declared that the race was almost ready to begin.
Walking slowly out to his personal box above the private boxes, Dion grinned behind his mask. Mara and Mareek were in escort along with Crimson with a quartet of ARC's, the guards given the temporary position as a reward for their extermination of the spider infestation of the forest over the previous days. Ge'tal and HK were also in accompaniment, letting the young girl watch as a reward for the training she was going through under the training of Mara Jade.

Ge'tal's excitement at the spectacle being orchestrated was something that made Harry feel good about himself. The girl seemed to have a similar enjoyment of high speeds and aerial acrobatics as he did.

Their arrival had drawn every eye in the crowd to him and remained locked on him until he had taken his seat.

The holodisplay in his chair lit up, displaying information about the race and various racers with the ability to watch the race itself.

One advantage to his mask was that legimency could not penetrate the lenses before his eyes, and he could still feel a few attempts to get through the physical barrier from the crowd, though with the throng the originators of the attempts were to indistinct to make out.

His eyes did notice some of those he had once viewed as friends, and while he held them no truly ill will, they were no longer among those he trusted enough to be called his friends.

xXx

The spectacle of the place bought a sense of awe to Hermione Granger as she waded through the crowd, heading for her designated seat.

She had seen Dions entrance in one of the exclusive boxes above the normal seating where several of the VIP's were allowed to sit. The choices for who got those boxes was somewhat off, and while some fit as the more powerful families of the Wizarding World, the rest were filled with the families of the racers.

The assigned tickets were also done without regard to connections, an almost haphazard arrangement that only linked families together.

Then there was the amazingly high tech look and feel to this new attraction while denoting the few things that seemed like a nasty upgrade to a more muggle security system.

The young girl with their new leader was interesting, it seemed to the bushy haired witch that she could be the daughter of Dion, or perhaps the red haired woman with him. The plainly visible silver shaft of their unique weapons on the leader of the wizarding portion of the nation and several of his guards was also worn, in an albeit smaller version, by the girl as well.

She had seen pictures of the blades blood-red light that could deflect and destroy spells used on the wielder. Only a few weapons had seemed to be able to withstand their flaming might in battle and those were protected by ancient alchemic processes or with short term charms that did not seem to last for long.

Her thoughts returned to the girl as, for a brief moment, her features seemed an almost exact match for a younger Ginny. The child's hair was a much darker red, and her skin tone was darker, more of a Mediterranean look from the features than the usual european look.

She was also wearing what seemed almost like a tunic with shoulder guards and a cape of an almost obsidian coloration with the smooth and reflective surface that flowed with the grace of water.

Hermione was broken out of her thoughts as one of the displays before her seat chimed and flashed on, revealing data on the racers with their broom riding careers as well as a map of the track.
Breaker smirked from his position atop the arena.

xXx

The new sniper rifle was a nice toy and the rebuilt squad was in position for an expected Death Eater attack. The alphas were equipped with them, all of them but Canderous who was inside watching the screens and scanners to give the fully ready members of the team any advanced warning they could get.

"Apparition signatures detected," came their still injured comrades tone, "Signature match confirmed, hostiles inbound."

Breaker was glad that the modified wards that came up when the event started could temporarily suspend apparition by a minute, allowing those watching the readouts to know someone was coming and attempt to match them to known magical signatures that Dion had copied from the Underage Magic Detectors.

Combining it with the temporary wards that prevented the spell to be used in the stadium or the track and its environs as well as the parts overlapped with the Hogwarts wards, it created a small area the team could cover with their weapons.

The materializing Death Eaters didn't stand a chance and were cut down almost as soon as they appeared.

"Like fish in a barrel," Taunt chuckled as he ended yet another of the dark wizards lives.
Harry watched Commander Hades signal him and grinned behind his mask.

xXx

The Death Eaters had tried to make an attack on the gathering, probably as a way to discredit his protection of the populace. However, by using the modified wards he had funneled them into one area rather than allowing them to simply pop up among the crowds.

However, it one thing was beginning to worry him.

As of late none of the higher ranking Death Eaters that were still on the run had participated in the attacks, only new recruits that seemed to be primarily made up of recent graduates with leaders that would have been outright rejected from more than the followers mere months earlier.

It seemed that Voldemort was getting desperate and that was something that had him worried.

A cornered animal was far more dangerous than one who was in the open.

And concerning animals, he had also signaled the go ahead for another strike he had planned to deal with other raiders.

xXx

Privet Drive had been evacuated as of late, the people having been told of a potential terrorist attack.

The truth was that the interrogation of a newly captured Death Eater in the morning gave the time for an all out attack on the place. Voldemort had apparently decided to study the remains of the Blood Wards on number four and wanted to rid the place of muggles first.

The place had a pair of V-Wings charmed invisible and a similarly cloaked LAAT, the creature transport variant.

The sensors locked onto the arriving dark wizards and a flick of a switch rose wards around the area. Ones designed to seal off the street as well as several surrounding blocks as they released their passenger and rose higher to watch the carnage caused by the Sith Dragon.

The first wizard barely managed to get a glance upwards before he was scooped up in the living leviathans jaws.

A blast of energy lit up a parked car like a roman candle as the black scales glistened in the flames while it smashed through the ruined vehicle to lunge and snag another of the masked wizards.

The gathered Death Eaters scattered in all directions, a few pausing to try to kill or slow down the dragon that had descended upon them.

The tail shredded a streetlight, sending shards of steel and glass mixed with sparks flying in all directions as it roared. A swipe with its claws left three dying and two dead in its wake before the sith dragon crashed through a house, raining debris over the block as it spread its wings.

Snapping up another before tossing this one high into the air before catching the wizard in its waiting gullet, the Dragon continued its attack.

Another small stream of condensed energy burst out, coring three houses and ten times that many death eaters as the beast continued its rampage through the streets.

Talons leaving deep grooves in the asphalt as the lumbering dragon moved through the warded area. It paused to sniff the air and turned to face another wizard and devoured him whole before leaping at others that had taken to hiding in another building.

Its leap was slowed for only the briefest moment as the last dregs of the blood wards around number four collapsed followed by an implosion when the energy imploded on what it was meant to protect.

The pillar of smoke and fire rose high above the earth while the sith dragon roared at its prey's defiance.

xXx

Three of his curse breakers had fallen to the defenses of the tomb, forcing Voldemort to proceed far more cautiously instead of turning back in defeat.

One had been skewered by hundreds of spikes coming from the walls, ceiling, and floor along an entire corridor. Another was disintegrated and the last seemingly skinned alive in a flash of amber light.

Of the others, only some quick thinking had kept one alive though now missing an arm from the shoulder down after acid sprayed over the wizards arm.

The near pitch black of the passages had the serpent lord on edge as well.

Then he saw two of the statues ahead of him begin to move.

"Battle golems?" he muttered to himself as he dove for cover.

xXx

While being an amusing distraction, the race's primary goal was to begin the technological advance of the wizarding world.

Harry had his own swoop built early on for some of the early raids he accompanied the ARC's on, something customized for his own advantages compared to the heavier duty BARC's they used. Theirs were built with heavier armor and greater lifting power to support the mounted weapons and their armored riders while his swoop was built with speed and agility far greater though it lacked the armor and firepower.

The bikes of the racers weren't up to that caliber and only had half the power, being designed for those used to the feel of brooms as compared to the advantages speeders held over them as a way to utilize their current talents in making the race interesting for the observers.

Dion paused when the half way mark was passed by the last racer, a flash of warning from the force.

"Jade, Stele," he ordered quickly, "Something is about to happen, protect Ge'tal."

Turning to the startled girl, "Stay with them."

"Crimson," he continued, "Take the guards and prepare for an area evacuation, I'll handle this myself."

"Sire?" the guardsman asked hastily, confused.

Nodding slowly as he slipped his lightsaber from his belt and tucking it into his sleeve while reaching out with the force to confirm his feelings.

"At the moment it is a group of assassins aiming to deal with me," the sith lord stated slowly, "They have underestimated me and are expecting to deal with a politician, not someone with my power."

A slight pause as a smile crossed his lips behind the mask, "My greatest concern is that this will be a setback to the rest of my plans or that the little one will be injured in this mess."

He turned his chair to the door, "And it will be good for the public to see me in action, to show that I am not content to just order action, but I will be a part of the action myself."

"Understood sire," Crimson stated slowly, "However I will be ready to aid you if necessary, and I will be watching."

"I would expect nothing less from you old friend," Harry answered, pleased by his trusted body guard.

Another pause as an interesting signature appeared in the force.

"And send a message of congratulations to Tann and Kogo for the one who is to come," he added with a slight chuckle, "New life is such an interesting thing."

Crimson paused as he slowly came to an understanding of his masters words, "May I add my own congrats to that message my lord?"

"Yes," came the response, "I believe that I can expect great things from the child."

And then the moment of lightheartedness ended, "But for now we have the current situation to deal with."

xXx

Voldemort winced as rubble crashed on top of him while the Golems morning star crushed one of the ornamental pillars lining the room.

Ten foot tall and cast out of nearly solid, cold iron, the Battle Golems were a relic from the wizarding wars with the Goblins and even then they were exceedingly rare for several reasons. Not the least was that the cost in materials and manpower was oppressive along with the rarity of those who could actually charm Cold Iron. In the end each of the Golems cost far more than any castle would have.

Magic wasn't the solution and so he drew his ancestors blade from its place at his waist. In the dim light of the tomb it burned jade in color as he rose from cover.

It was then that a slow grin crossed his lips as the pair of golems froze and then retreated to their positions guarding the doors to the inner chamber.

The snake king could not help but grin to himself as he saw the reaction to the relic of the greatest of his ancestors.

That grin vanished as he realized that of his team only he and Bellatrix were intact and only one other was among the living.

xXx

The half-dozen assassins entered the ministers box, forming a half-circle around the masked Sith Lord who had yet to turn to face them.

"So you believe that you will be enough to face me?" came the far to calm for comfort voice of the target as the chair slowly turned to face them.

"Six on one doesn't seem quite so fair," Dion commented as he slowly rose to his feet, armored boots clicking sharply on the tile floor of the booth, "Allow me to even the odds."

A brief pause and sapphire lightning leaped from his gauntleted hand, coursing over one who let out a shriek of pain while bones were briefly visible through the flesh. That pause ended quickly as the smoke curled slowly from the fried corpse of the unwary assassin while the others realized that their momentary pause had now cost them dearly.

He released his cloak to the ground, revealing the black tunic he wore underneath to give him mobility while the larger piece of clothing fluttered to the ground. His lightsaber seemed to materialize in his hand as he moved the crimson blade extending slowly with its distinctive snap-hiss.

"Shall we begin?"

xXx

"Keep together," Crimson ordered the four ARC's that had been guarding the booth as they noticed more assassins gathering at the base of the stairs.

"We have three between us and the armory," Reg stated calmly to the rest of his squad, "Should be quick, but watch your ammo, we don't have that much."

Jade and Stele had taken the girl out another passage while they aimed to ensure that Dion wasn't dealing with more than he could chew by taking out the reinforcements while having the security teams deal with the evacuation.

The assassins started to move towards the main entrance to the booth and Crimson motioned for the others to begin the attack.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Torch was the first of the group to open fire, his heavy blaster pistol's first shot hitting the throat of one of their enemies.

xXx

The assassins had frozen when their target reacted like a coiled serpent and had slain one of their number before the fight had even begun.

"Do you fools even understand what power truly is?" Harry asked rhetorically as h telekineticaly snatched another and slammed him first into the ceiling and then the floor before ramming the man into one of the walls hard enough to leave a dent and a spatter of gore while the body slid to the floor in a heap.

He paused then waiting for them to make the next move, lightsaber at the ready after a brief figure eight.

Dion did not have to wait long before they attacked with spells.

Another fell as a deflected spell seemed to dissolve the chest, leaving only three of the six assassins still alive when he moved again, a mere blur before bisecting another with the energy sword from shoulder to waist.

"Is this the best you have?" he asked casually.

The Sith settling into adding a few hints of Dun Moch to his attacks, an attempt to infuriate them. Drawing on their anger to feed on as he fought, insults and chiding as he toyed with them.

"Come fools," he hissed softly, drawing on the power the emanated.

Fear, anger, and hate flowing freely and intoxicatingly as he lashed out with his blade, severing the arm of one of the remaining pair before reaching out and snatching the remaining arm.

His hand shattered the wand while yanking the man up off the ground before twirling and throwing the man to slam into the wall while the uninjured one fled out the side door.

"Pathetic," Harry commented slowly as he walked up to the crippled assassin, casually inspecting his gauntlets while extinguishing his lightsaber and attaching it to his belt, "I expected more from such an 'elite' order of assassins."

"What is it you call yourself again?"

A brief pause as Dion faced his prey, "Ah, yes, the Shadow Blades."

Raising his hands slowly, "You know, these gloves are more than they appear, in looking through my teachers archives I uncovered the useful piece of technology."

"Their creators had outlawed them for being to brutal," he whispered in the mans ear while placing a hand on either side of his head, "They called them Crushgaunts."

"Why are you telling me this?" the crippled man asked in confusion.

"Well they can easily," a pause as the gauntlets enhansed strength let him shatter the mans skull, "Crush bone, and you won't be around to tell anyone anyway."

xXx

"Hades," the ARC Commander heard over the comlink in his helmet from Crimson, "Assassins going after Dion, Knights escorting Ge'tal, and the rest of us are holding off hostile reinforcements."

A pause as blaster fire and the harsh snarls of shouted spells.

"Close off the Ministers Box and send backup, we cannot let them escape."

"Understood," came the response a fraction of a second later.

He turned to the jet troopers, "Prepare for assault actions, we have hostiles making a run for it after trying to take out Lord Dion."

"Yes Sir," came the identical shouts of affirmation from all of the present troopers.

xXx

Crimson poured fire into the retreating assassins with a blaster rifle he had commandeered from the small arsenal placed for the arena guards.

These fools had no idea they were caught until the blasters started firing and the internal defenses had sealed them off from trying other avenues of escape when combined with the specific wards for the earlier ambush to deal with the Death Eaters.

And dealing with these fools had to have been hired by someone with a petty grudge as all of the major enemies of Lord Dion had ways to distinguish themselves and would be above contracting out or to proud to do so to begin with.

xXx

The last of the six Shadow Blades let out a snarl of annoyance and a muttered curse as he dashed through the side corridors.

A flash of light and pain tore into his leg, dropping him to the ground tumbling down a trio of stairs.

It burned, but he could still feel his feet.

Eyes rose to see the small girl that was the companion of their target standing there with one of the blades of fire that Dion bore and a second that ignited in her free hand, moving it to his throat.

"My master will be pleased," she stated slowly with a terrifying grin.