FicWad

Lords of the Dark Trilogy, Book II: Shadows Rising
By: Random Shinobi

Summary: Lord Voldemort's grip on wizarding Britain tightens. Even Hogwarts is no longer safe as Death Eaters turn it into a battlefield. [Sequel to “The Path Chosen.”]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Rating: R

Author’s Notes: There will be graphic violence and character deaths. And this time there won't be a happy ending. Like the earlier part, this a story for those who like magic mixed with martial arts and machine guns.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then it might well belong to J.K.R or to some of her affiliates. Or to some random people out there. I only claim my OCs and plot.

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Chapter Four: Auror Superiority


The brilliance of the Light versus the darkness of the Night,
An eternal struggle between wrong and right.
Although the true power might lay in the Light,
It's not that the Darkness is without its own might.




Nymphadora Tonks appeared in an empty street accompanied by the distinct crack of displaced air that signalled Apparation. All around her, more red-robed Aurors came out of thin air with similar cracks, and were now standing in the otherwise vacant alley. Four three-man squads to be exact.


She observed her surroundings, looking into every direction, seeking for any signs of ambush or other threats. Surprisingly enough, everything seemed pretty normal. There was no screaming civilians, no blazing Dark Mark lighting the sky with its sinister glow, no destroyed buildings, no white-masked Death Eaters... Actually, she couldn't see anyone at all. Soft, cold wind gently billowed her shoulder-length purple hair, and she shivered slightly. The whole dark lane was shrouded in deathly silence and somehow it was far more unnerving than burning buildings, roaring explosions and blood-curling screams. As an Auror she had gotten far more that her share of those, but this eerie silence was another thing altogether.


According to London’s Magiradar someone had brought up powerful wards around the building in front of her just a minute previously. And just before the Auror squads had left the Ministry Headquarters, several Dark sorcerers had started performing shit-loads of Dark magic, and in all probability, were still in the process of using even more of the forbidden arts.


On the old and rusty plaque hanging over the sturdy door of the shady building where the magic had been performed read 'Night’s Embrace' in spidery silver letters. She – like every other field Auror – knew this place well; it was a large, but not particularly infamous vampire bar. Some vampire has bitten off more than he can chew, Tonks though sagely. Even if vampires got most of the blood they needed to fuel their vile un-lives from ascore of willing donors, who seriously overused the Blood Replenishing Potion, it was a daily occurrence for MLE to find wizards, witches and even few Muggles from dark alleyways, delirious from the lack of blood. Finding a vampire mauled by his or her would-be-a-victim was much rarer, but it still happened occasionally.


Suddenly– without any warning – a large disk made of black fire flew through the wall of the building front of her, somehow leaving the wall completely unharmed. Tonks had seen that Dark curse cast on humans once – Harry had used it to kill two Death Eaters by turning their innards into a bloody mess. Neither she or the other Aurors were in any danger, however, as the deadly curse was cast on the third floor.


The disk made of spinning, black flames zoomed many yards over the law-enforcers heads, fortunately going over the opposing two-story building as well. It would be extremely unfortunate if some unlucky person got killed by some random stray Dark curse by just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This war had had all too may casualties as it was.


"Wizards fighting against wizards in a vampire bar?" Kingsley Shacklebolt mused quietly as he gazed after the quickly departing Dark curse. "They have really chosen the best place for their duel." It took Tonks a second to realize the logic behind her captain's words. The earlier spell harmed only living things and so it wouldn't be cast on a vampire... Unless, of course, the caster was a total idiot... What he or her probably was to be fighting in a vampire bar in the first place.


"The building has anti-Apparation and anti-portkey wards, but nothing else," yelled some Auror ten yards from her. While Tonks didn't recognise him, the small black emblem on his left shoulder told that he was a curse-breaker specialist. The man was looking at the vampire bar through a curious looking, small hand-held device. It was metallic, around eight-inch sphere with many arrows protruding out of it in all directions. The orb-shaped device also had many differently coloured lenses. Tonks knew it was an apparatus used to analyse wards, but that was pretty much the extend of her knowledge as she had never received any training in its use.


"Falkhorn, your and your squad's task is to find and destroy the hidden ward-stones placed around the building," ordered the current Auror Commander, Rufus Scrimegour, his hard voice echoing around the otherwise silent street. "They are probably somewhere near the corners, undoubtedly covered in illusions and perhaps in some traps. Once you have done that, raise our own wards to stop people from escaping."


Then Scrimegour turned towards her team. "Shacklebolt, take your squad and go inside wands blazing. Savage, you do the same, but through roof. Move!"


"You heard the Commander. Follow me," Shacklebolt said with a hint of repressed anticipation in his deep voice, and begun sprinting towards the front door. Nymphadora Tonks and Hendrik Donner quickly followed after their captain.


A front door assault, Tonks thought with a mental frown. It was areal pity that Aurors usually couldn't just sneak around, covered with Disillusionment Charms, and blast all the bad guys before they had even a chance to lift their wands. It would have been much more sensible practice than this. But nooo... It was all because of some legal nonsense – that every law enforcer should wear the uniform robes and have the Ministry symbol clearly visible when on duty.


With a single wave of Shacklebolt's wand the door vanished in afaint flash of blue light. Casting their shields, the three Aurors rushed inside in an arrowhead formation.


Their safety measures turned out to be unnecessary as the bar was empty discounting an old man standing behind the counter, cleaning glasses with a spotty, white rag.


"They are upstairs," the barman said calmly, displaying no emotion other than a mild annoyance. "Just go and make them stop destroying my establishment. They have already blown up something. The whole building shook like it was about to crumble."


"Go outside and give your story to the Aurors there," Shacklebolt ordered the old man. "Tonks, Donner, lets go."


The three Aurors continued their mission, going deeper into the building, checking every room they came across.


She never saw anyone. Room after room turned out be empty. The only thing that told that the building wasn't abandoned was the small explosions that echoed through the structure. It was nerve cracking, somewhere in the building were wizards in the process of killing each other and anytime some random Dark spell might tear through the walls and kill her on the spot. To avoid that kind of pathetic fate, she kept ashield around herself all the time. Whether it would really help if the worst happened was another thing altogether, as every strong shield required the caster to remain nearly immobile. Her weak mobile shield could hardly keep a first-year student from harming her, and it most certainly wouldn't block any advanced black magic backed by the full power of an adult Dark sorcerer.


She kept turning her head, trying to see everywhere at once. Every room she looked into turned out to be empty and there was no sight of an enemy. Still, Tonks could feel her heart pummelling wildly against her ribcage and her breathing had quickened considerably even though she wasn't physically straining herself. The eerie situation was really starting to get to her nerves. Her fingers tightened almost painfully around her maple wand, and a few beads of cold sweat glistered on her forehead.


She kicked a heavy, oaken door open with a loud crack, her wand levelled to cast spells at whatever that might reside in the room behind, anasty curse ready on her lips. She charged into the room, hardly noticing the faint battle-cry escaping her lips.


There was no-one in the room and thus she felt a little anti-climatic after her flamboyant actions. Expensive fourteenth century furniture were scattered randomly around the large room. Most of the red and black pieces of furnishing were broken beyond repair. Their fabrics were ripped apart in many places, which had caused the stuffing layering the dusty, wooden floor. Many of the table and chair legs were broken, perhaps even a quarter of them. Simple Reparo Charm wasn't going to help any, that was for sure. Someone is not going to be ahappy bunny about this...


Large parts of walls and the ceiling were missing and Nymphadora could see multicoloured flashes of light coming from upstairs. The female Auror could also hear the tell-tale explosions, cracks and whooshing sounds of fierce magical battle. It seemed that she had managed to locate her targets, but Tonks didn't know whether to be relieved or distressed by the fact.


And then someone screamed loudly. It was the blood-curling scream she had been expecting for the whole time, although Tonks still wasn't exactly happy to hear it. She took a step towards the hole on the ceiling and jumped upwards, her hands reaching up. Her fingertips managed to get hold of the upper floor and she lifted herself upwards, so that she could see what was happening in the room above.


A young, red-headed wizard was standing in the middle of a hallway turned into a battlefield. Surprisingly he seemed to be alone. To where has the other warlock vanished? The wizards combat-robes were ripped and burned on many places and the once pitch-black fabric wasn't so black anymore now as it was covered in dust and blood. In his right hand the wizard held a golden, curved sword and in his left he had a short black wand. The floor, walls and ceiling were all partially ripped apart by stray curses. She could see small fires flickering everywhere and the air was heavy of smoke and dust. Then the sharp stench of ozone reached his nose and she felt a sudden urge to sneeze. Somebody had evidently used some high-powered spell dealing with electricity, but that most certainly wasn't the worst spell used here. The overpowering residues of pernicious Dark magic permeating the corridor made her feel more than a little nauseous. On the floor, about two feet from her, lied a severed hand, scarlet blood slowly leaking out of it and pooling onto the polished wooden floor.


The young Dark wizard seem oblivious to all this. He was simply standing in the middle of the destruction, apparently in a deep thought. Then he turned and she could see his face. Tonks recognised him almost instantly even if he had illusioned himself. Faces were notoriously hard to cover with illusions so that they still seemed natural and convincing, and thus most wizards and witches were restricted to very minor changes in facial shape, without going into Human Transfiguration. Generally speaking people were only able to change the colours, and thus it was no wonder that she had excelled in Stealth and Shadowingduring the Auror Academy because of her Metamorphmagus abilities even if she was bit on the clumsy side. She had received the rare Talent from her mother's side. Although her mother, Andromeda Tonks née Black, didn't have it, her grandfather had had it - It was a Talent that flowed in the blood of the Blacks. The young witch found it deliciously ironic that she who was not recognised by the family due the fact that her mother had married a muggleborn wizard and thus gotten herself disinherited by her blood-purist parents, was the only one who had its prized Talent. She was perhaps the only Metamorphmagus in Britain, at least she had never met another of her kind.


Harry, what the hell are you doing? Tonks thought frantically as his eyes scanned the wizard. Just yesterday you vanished from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry alongside with nine other students, leaving three mutilated corpses behind, and now you are here cutting people's hands off. But before she could open her mouth and ask the question, Harry had already Disapparated with a loud crack. Asmall gust of wind billowed her hair as the air rushed to fill the void left by the vanished wizard.


Tonks cursed inwardly. She had just lost her chance and so she let herself fall downwards, landing softly on the floor a few feet below. Before she had straightened herself, a wand tip was pressed gently against the back of her neck. She froze, not literally though.


"Well, well, well. It must be my lucky day," someone whispered hoarsely into Tonks' ear, while harshly grasping her ass, causing the young Auror to emit a small yelp. It was a male voice and Tonks had no doubt about the wizard's intentions. Thus it was no wonder that for a short moment she felt absolute terror twisting her insides into a knot. She found it surprisingly hard to breath and her heart was hammering against her ribcage as she feared that...it...was about to happen again. She couldn't let it happen again! Her hands tightened into fists, her long, fuchsia pink nails digging into her palms. One time had been far more than enough, even though she didn't really remember any of it... Of which she was eternally grateful.


Suddenly she blinked as a certain realization dawned on her. The overwhelming panic quickly subsided and her mouth begun slowly curving upwards."Drop your wand," the man commanded. His wand remained on its threatening position, but the free hand was now roaming across her body. The man was indeed a total bastard.


The female Auror obliged without any struggle or hesitation, immediately letting her wand fall from her fingers, causing it to clatter to the floor. She appeared to be meekly submitting to her fate, but if the Death Eater could have been able to see her face, the wicked smile on her lips would have seriously perplexed him. Tonks knew something that the Death Eater obviously didn't. She had just seen Harry Disapparate and it meant that the anti-Apparation wards were down.


She closed her eyes in concentration and, a second later, vanished with asoft pop only to reappear a yard behind the surprised Death Eater. In a split second her hand reached her secondary wand hidden in her sleeve, and around three heartbeats later a brilliant red jet of magic propelled the white-masked man towards the wall, which he hit with a resounding smack, the unconscious body slumping onto the floor in a heap.


"Bloody idiot," Tonks stated to no one in particular as she casually flicked her wand, summoning her primary wand and the Death Eater's wand in one go, easily catching them with her left hand.


She looked at the knocked out man with an expression of unmistakable disgust etched on her otherwise pretty features. Tonks seriously wished that she could do some police brutality... Since the Prison Incident she had been longing to kick some major Death Eater arse, but as it would look very bad on her record, she restrained herself; merely casting another Stunner on the bastard Death Eater to ensure that he wasn't just playing opossum. It was a standard procedure amongst Aurors to Stun every opponent they knocked down. It might not be exactly healthy for the target, but neither was it healthy to leave even a barely functional enemy behind your back. Besides, nobody really cared if some unlucky Death Eater happened to die from cardiac arrest because of one Stunner too many. Fighting against the Dark Lord might not be good for your life-expectancy, but neither was fighting for him. Hell, even just staying in the Britain was detrimental to health.


"Tonks, where are you!" someone yelled, his voice dimmed and made unrecognisable by the thick wooden walls. "I'm here!" she yelled back and pointed her wand firmly towards the door.


Couple seconds later the door opened and Kingsley stepped in followed closely by Hendrik. She exhaled loudly and lowered her wand, which was constantly spurting out fiery sparks due her agitated state.


Her captain scrutinized the unmoving body laying on the floor for amoment and then kicked it. Hard. "Is the bastard alive or do you need help in destroying all evidence?"


Tonks blinked and looked at Shacklebolt to see whether he was serious or not. The only emotion she could see on the man's face was anger and that told her that he was deadly serious. Her captain, like every other Auror, had lost friends during the High Security Prison Incident, but somehow he had taken it worse than others. Perhaps he blamed himself because he never was there due certain circumstances...


"No, he's alive, I think."


After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Captain Shacklebolt nodded. She got the impression that he had been contemplating a murder. "Very well then. Hendrik, take our honoured guest outside," Shacklebolt said. His voice was unusually hard and held barely not asmall amounts of barely contained anger. "Tonks and I will finish searching this floor."


*


Around fifteen minutes later Tonks was sitting in the briefing room with around two dozen other Aurors. They had had to leave the vampire pub in hurry, but now as they were here, nothing seemed to be happening. She had no idea why she was even in this room and so she was quickly growing impatient, drumming her fingers softly against the wooden table as she waited the meeting to begin.


As if from a cue, Director Bones walked into the room filled with Aurors, and behind her came Commander Scrimegour. Both Director and Commander looked very pleased about something, but Tonks was unsure whether it was good news for her.


"Welcome," Mrs. Bones said to the Aurors gathered in the room. "We have recently gotten an anonymous tip of an Death Eater base located in Germany. Our German brethren have already confirmed that there indeed is a non-registered building hidden by extensive Invisibility Charms and guarded by strong multi-layered wards. It's clear that it's a major base and thus German and British Ministries will be making ajoint attack to the location. All of you have been chosen for this mission. Magisch Staatpolizei have already begun dismantling the wards and putting their own anti-Apparation and anti-portkey wards. We will leave in ten minutes."


The next few minutes went in haze as everyone hurried to gather their equipment. She donned the scarlet dragonhide vest that had arrived only couple days previously over her standard, Auror combat-robes. The Ministry had finally bought better equipment for Auror Corps. There had been years long debate about whether or not Aurors should get dragonhide armours or not. Those in the opposition had claimed that the money had better uses and that dragonhide armours won't protect from the Killing Curse anyway, and so in the worst scenario the armours would just increase Auror casualties by slowing them down. The debate finally ended around three weeks previously when Minister Crouch had finally been able to push the appeal through due the fact that an entire Auror squad had lost a fight against a single teenager wearing a dragonhide vest. She smirked. At least some good had come from her team’s humiliating defeat at the hands of Harry Potter. She should sometime thank him...and then ask for arematch.


She attached a stun-baton to her utility belt, and the magic in the black belt caused the gleaming black rod to stick onto it without any visible mechanism. Only she would be able to remove the baton from her belt, anyone else trying to take it would merely get a couple hundred volts surging through their bodies. After double checking that both of her wands and the concealed dagger were on their proper holsters, she hurried back to the briefing room.


Her fellow Aurors and Auror Hit-Wizards were gathering into small groups around portkeys. The female Auror could see than some of then carried various sorts of Muggle and magical equipment. She caught a few glimpses of people carrying stun-globes, and to her surprise, several wizards even had some Muggle grenades. Goblin-brought steel glittered everywhere around the packed room and one Hit-Witch went so far as to carry a SMG on her utility belt. Tonks supposed the Muggle gun was against monsters which were both magic resistant and incapable of casting even the simplest of shields, like giants, trolls, dragons and some breeds of vampires even though those creatures were fairly resistant to metal projectiles too. But then again, they were pretty resistant to anything...


"Tonks, here!" Shacklebolt yelled from the other side of the room. She sprinted across the packed room and squeezed herself into the circle of five wizards and took hold of the portkey. It was an old sock. She stared at the dirty and pretty stinky sock with blatant disgust. It gazes - except a basilisk's - could kill, the sock would have immediately burst into flames.


Less than a minute later the portkeys activated and she felt the familiar tuck on her stomach.


*


"Harry, you didn't lead them here, did you?"


The said Dark wizard lifted his head from the stone table and turned his emerald eyes towards the blonde witch, meeting her accusing gaze."It's not my fault!" Harry said indignantly. "There is no chance of them following me here... I think."


"Err... What exactly is happening?" Sirius asked.


"Someone has just broken the outer wards protecting this building," Harry explained tiredly, his head nearly hitting the table again. "And If they are able to do that, they might be already inside."


"I suggest we leave," said the small house-elf standing on the large round table. "Even if we could beat them, the security of this place has already been compromised."


"But there is stuff I cannot leave behind and–," Amaterasu started but was cut off by Harry.


"I know, Ama. Take Sirius, gather your stuff and then leave," the young wizard said. "Iason, you take care of the library."


"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked, eyeing his godson worriedly.


Harry smirked resignedly at the older wizard. "I'm going to buy you some time..." With those words he stood up and left the large table. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a second, trying to Apparate, but nothing happened. Opening his eyes, he turned back to his companions. "They have already warded the place. Undoubtedly they have also breached the other outer defences and entered the Manor itself. You should hurry."


Ama nodded grimly and took a hold of Sirius' shoulder. A second later they both vanished into a ball of swirling flames. The flames lingered only for an instant before dissipating, leaving only a smell of something burning.


"Good luck, Master Potter," the elder elf said solemnly. Harry’s gaze followed the elf's hand as the small creature reached out and snatched the dead hamster on the large circular table and pocketed it. Harry blinked, he had nearly forgotten Mr. Roskild. Anyway, it would do to leave any evidence like that laying on the tables. Besides the man might carry some documents with information of the Malfoy Manor on his person. Harry knew the time was running out. He would have to get the hostages released soon. "I wont need more than couple minutes and I doubt Miss Solis needs any more than that. So, don't do anything too heroic. I have already buried too many Masters." With those words the elf disappeared and the sharp pop echoed in the circular room.


Harry stared the empty spot the elf had just vacated for a few seconds before he sighed and took a few steps so that he was standing next to the wall made of solid stone. Then the young sorcerer placed his palms firmly against the stonewall, and the grey stone instantly melted away, revealing a brightly lit hallway behind the newly formed doorway.


He walked out of the conference room and discarded his black robe, dropping it on the stone floor, and took his pitch-black Cabal-mask from his belt and placed it onto his face. Then he felt the slight tickling sensation as the special Sticking Charm cast on the mask attached it securely to its proper place. The black mask wasn't uncomfortable, no. It felt like cool satin against his skin.


The intricate spell-work placed on the mask made it nearly weightless, highly spell resistant and completely self-cleaning. On the contrary to what many would think, the last one definitely was a real boon. People tended to sweat profoundly during magical combat, and so amask without cleaning spells would soon stink so bad that no-one could wear it without throwing up. The magic also quarantined that the mask didn't impair his sight, hearing or ability to speak in any way. All those were very important factors in magical duels and so wearing a non-charmed mask in combat just to hide one's identity would be plain stupid. Harry assumed that Death Eaters' masks were similarly charmed. If they weren't... Well, all the better.


Harry strode forwards the corridor, his heels clicking softly against the stone floor. The young wizard once again called on the charms laid on his eyeballs causing his eyes lit up behind the black mask, glowing so faintly that it couldn't be seen in the artificial daylight that filled the Northwind Manor. His irises lost their brilliant green colour, instead turning blood-red and his pupils narrowed into snake-like slits. It felt like someone had just pierced his eyes with burning sticks and a single tear of blood fell to his cheek. Sinking into his Occlumency, he brushed the searing pain aside. The pain was passing and therefore inconsequential. He could not let it interference with his purpose.


Suddenly his walk changed into cat-like gait and his steps become completely silent. Fluidly drawing his currently best wand out of its concealed holster, casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself, reducing his form into a mere blur; he was hardly visible at all. If he stayed motionless even magical owls would have difficulties in spotting him. Harry moved through the corridor like a predatory shadow.


The wand he used nowadays was nine inches of holly with a basilisk heartstring core - a very interesting combination of wand materials. It had originally belonged to Kheiron's mother Vanessa Lestrange née Gaunt. She hadn't been a very nice woman by any stretch of imagination, Harry knew that much from the few conversations he had had with her portrait. His mentor had never really spoken about his mother, but Harry had heard that Kheiron had nearly gotten disinherited because he hadn't really supported the pureblood dogma, instead opting for more broad vision of wizarding community. Vanessa had also disliked her only son because he hadn't inherited her gift of Parseltongue. Looking at the wand in his hand, Harry briefly wondered what had happened to his original one which he had lost during the prison incident. Some filthy Death Eater probably has it...


Then he saw someone peeking around the corner. Harry wasn't sure if the intruder had seen him, but decided to act nevertheless. Attack was the best defence, after all, and pre-emptive measures were just that – Pre-emptive.


A Tunnelling Charm left his wand in an instant; the grey spear of magic travelled across the half dozen yards in a split second and burrowed through the solid stone wall without any apparent resistance. Part of the corner was ripped off by the powerful spell and the air was filled with grey stone dust, but it didn't matter as his enchanted mask filtered all impurities from his breathing air. Harry could see no cloud of crimson mist, nor did he hear any pained screams, indicating that the intruder had either dodged or blocked the deadly spell. He honestly hadn't expected that from lowly Death Eaters. But then, the civil ward had lasted for many years now, and even the stupidest people were bound to learn something.


Something small and metallic was thrown from the other side of the corner, hitting the wall into his right, ricocheting from there and landing less than a yard in front of him. Harry’s eyes widened as he realised what the small metal-cylinder truly was; it was a fucking Muggle grenade. At least he couldn’t see any traces of magic in it, meaning that it wasn't charmed. Not that it helped too much... It was still a very lethal device even without any magical upgrades; more than capable of tearing people to shreds. His armour might be enough to prevent him from getting seriously injured, but he wasn't willing to risk it.


Without any wand movements or spoken incantation, magic poured out of his wand tip and formed an invisible protective screen around him. It had happened nearly by pure instinct, but anything less simply wouldn't have been fast enough. A heartbeat later the grenade detonated, but there was no searing fire or a deadly shower of sharp metal fragments like Harry had expected, instead there was only a blinding flash of light and an earth-shaking bang.


Harry's ears were ringing and he wasn't able to see anything but the purple after-images of the bright explosion. He instinctively dived into his left, barely avoiding a barrage of curses shot by the charging enemies he couldn't have seen or heard. Before he hit the floor, an advanced Transfiguration spell left his wand, causing part of the floor to liquefy.


He fell straight through the floor, splattering drops of liquid stone everywhere. A second later the floor re-solidified above him, but Harry continued his fall. He slammed onto the floor three yards below with a bone-cracking speed. If it weren't for the Cushioning Charms woven in the dark fabric of his clothes, he could have seriously hurt himself in the crash. His acromantula-silk clothes held all the charms that standard duelling-robes had and more. It really paid to be filthy rich and have all the criminal connections... Although he might not be that rich anymore as Kheiron was gone and he still hadn't access to the Main Potter Vault, especially if the intruders were to capture this manor, which now belonged to him. His mentor had left everything to him, but unfortunately most Kheiron's legacy was in this very building.


He lifted his gaze from the grey floor, blinking furiously to clear his vision. What he saw wasn't reassuring, not by a long shot. Asquad consisting of three red-robed Aurors - two witches and a wizard- had their wands pointed at him. Apparently his escape hadn't been so successful after all. Besides, if there were Aurors here, and that meant that earlier ones had also been Aurors, which meant that the DMLE was currently storming the Manor with the full force... Which was very, very bad news. How in Merlin's name could they find the Manor in the first place?


The young wizard was forced to do some quick rolling on the floor to avoid getting hit by the multitude of hexes, curses and jinxes the law enforcers kept sending at him. As he rose back to his feet, asweep of his wand creating a shimmering purple shield that easily absorbed the next barrage of incoming curses.


Taking a few fast steps towards the group Aurors, Harry jumped over aBlasting Curse, somersaulting high in the air while simultaneously unclipping his stun-baton from his belt. He landed softly in front of an astounded female Auror, the two feet long rod igniting in his left hand, burning with bright red light. The young wizard smiled behind his black mask, and for a briefest of moments his eyes met the witch's. There was something akin to recognition in her cerulean eyes... And surprisingly, not a small amount of fear.


Then, in a blink of eye, Harry slammed his stun-baton onto the Auror's face, breaking her nose in the process and splattering tiny drops of blood and saliva around. Then he imprinted his boot on the second nearest Auror's stomach, blasting the wind off him and causing the wizard to stagger nearly a yard backwards. A split second later the third Auror took a ruby-red Stunner into her chest and was propelled yards backwards, hitting the floor ass-first, but remained conscious due the protection of the scarlet dragonhide vest she wore over her combat-robes.


Harry didn't start wondering why Aurors suddenly wore dragonhide, instead he swayed left to avoid an overcharged Paralysing Curse cast by the man whom he had just tried to Stun, and lifted his two feet long blazing rod to block the remaining female Auror's stun-baton that was quickly descending towards his head. The two nearly identical glowing batons were slammed together, releasing a shower of fiery red sparks of magic on the contact.


Suddenly the ceiling was vaporized, raining dust and small stone fragments upon Harry and the Aurors, and three men wearing robes of red, black and gold were slowly levitating downwards, their wands trained at the young wizard. Harry instantly recognised their uniforms. So, I fought against German Magisch Staatpolizei. At least that explained the flashbang. The Germany's equivalents for Aurors had extensively studied the methods of their Muggle counterparts during the war against Dark Lord Grindelwald. They had definitely needed every advantage they could get during those chaotic times as the Dark Lord hadn't been shy about using his Muggle puppets against his enemies, and Muggles had proved to be very deadly. This was mostly because witches and wizards hadn't really thought Muggles as apossible threat, and thus were not prepared.


While even a score of ordinary Muggles armed with those unsophisticated firearms weren't a true threat for a competent wizard, snipers and air-strikes most definitely were, especially when the Muggles had wizards to tell the locations of their hidden dwellings. Bests shields or wards wouldn't help any if you didn't have time to set them up, and catching a bullet with your head or taking ahigh-explosive through your roof proved to be as lethal as jumping in front of the dreaded Killing Curse, and much dirtier.


Grindelwald had brought a much larger and more vicious war than Voldemort had ever managed. Dark Lord Erebus Grindelwald had drawn the whole world, both Muggle and magical, into a bloody war - into the bloodiest war in the whole recorded history. Of course, most of the warring had been done by stupid Muggles who hadn't even really known why they were fighting. Grindelwald had ignited the war simply because he wanted to kill Muggles into extinction, so that the magical people could claim the whole world for themselves. So that they wouldn't have to hide any longer; so that they wouldn't have fear any longer. Many wizards and witches had thought that as an admirable goal and so Grindelwald had quickly gathered a massive, worldwide following. If it weren't for a certain totally random incident involving a large herd of sheep, drunken Dumbledore brothers, one rather irate female Veela and him, Grindelwald would have probably succeeded with his murderous plans.


The three Magisch Staatpolizei, and the Auror whom he had earlier blasted in the other side of the room begun raining barely legal spells at him. Harry made the last sweep with his stun-baton, which was promptly blocked by the targeted wizard, before making a tactical retreat. Well, that was how he spelled it in his own mind. In reality it was more like a panicked flight. Anyway, fighting against six fully armed and armoured elite law enforcers alone would be nothing more than an elaborate form of suicide. He doubted that even Voldemort or Dumbledore could do it, at least not without suffering serious damage, and both of them were extraordinary strong, immensely knowledgeable, very experienced and slightly insane sorcerers, albeit if very different persons.


A single sweep of his wand was enough to blast the heavy door from its hinges. Harry stepped through the doorway into a brightly lit corridor. He run madly forwards, swaying left and right in order to avoid the brilliant streaks of magic the law enforcers kept pouring at him. None of the spells managed to hit him, which was probably because of the Disillusionment Charm that made his shape into abarely visible blur. Thus the multicoloured hexes and curses hammered against the walls all around him instead of his back, detonating with loud bangs and filling the air with stone dust and fiery sparks of magic.


Suddenly his Disillusionment Charm begun wavering, vanishing completely in the span of a few seconds. Apparently one of his tails had come into the conclusion that it was damn hard to hit a target you can hardly see.


Running through the empty corridors, Harry hoped that he wouldn't run into yet another team of intruders. He could hear the heels of his pursuers clacking against the floor turns behind him. He smirked behind his black mask. This might not have been the way he had thought to buy time for his friends, but it would probably work anyway. At least if they were after him, they couldn't be after his friends, right?


*


Iason had just finished the last of the twenty-seven Activation-Runes and was in the process of pocketing his wand, when the large oaken door of the library was slammed wide open, and three Magisch Staatpolizei stepped into the huge room in an arrowhead formation, their wands ready.


"Good evening, gentlemen, lady," the old house-elf said in perfect Germany, bowing slightly to the law enforcers. His softly spoken words and the bow were far from sincere, but the magical police had no way to know that. "May I suggest you vacate this room immediately."


"Silence, elf," the only witch in the group said coldly, pointing her long wand at the small creature. Her face was a mask of disgust. Iason mentally classified her as a pitiful blood-supremacist. "You are hereby under arrest of the German Ministry of Magic! Resist and we are allowed to use lethal force."


Iason smiled innocently. "Oh no! I'm not going to do any resisting at all," he said, spreading his arms to his sides in aplacating gesture. "I was merely pointing out that the most curious charms woven on this room are about to activate, destroying everything and anything inside."


"What?" the female Staatpolizei uttered in confusion.


The elf lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. Weren't law enforcers supposed to be perceptive? "You don't see it yet?"


"See what?" the witch said impatiently, a few angry red sparks bursting out of her wand tip. "Make some sense, elf. Or else..." Her free hand made a quick cutting motion over her throat.


Iason nearly sighed. The stupid human female apparently wasn't feeling very articulate, bright or polite today. "Well, look," he said slowly, pointing at his feet where the intricate web of falu red runes was starting to grow, quickly expanding to on the floor. In couple heartbeats it covered the whole floor, then the walls...


When the first sigils emerged on the ceiling, the witch yelled, "Everybody, get out now!"


Iason watched in amusement as the German equivalents for Aurors rushed out of the room in a panicked manner. Most humans seemed to be gullible morons. Well, in all fairness, Iason had to admit that most of his kind were even more gullible morons... And if anything was sad, then that was.


A few seconds after the German law enforcers had exited the library, the teleportation runes activated, all three-thousand-six-hundred-forty-two sigils emitting a flash of bluish light for the shortest of moments as they released the magic stored inside, instantly transporting everything within the room into one of the Cabal safe-houses in Britain.


*


Amaterasu was furiously throwing stuff into two padded metal briefcases laying on her bed. Although she rarely slept here, she did have a room of her own in the Manor. At the moment it was nothing but adisadvantage, though. There was far too much evidence scattered around the room.


She had lots of stuff she just couldn’t leave behind. The rest she would simply have to blow up. Ama smirked. As a Pyromagus she was very good at destroying things. She possessed probably the most destructive Talent known to magical people.


Actually, Pyromagi were all too good in blowing thing up; They had nearly managed to kill themselves into extinction. Their Talent to create fire didn’t give an ability to resist fire or even truly control it, and so it was very dangerous to be (or be near to) a Pyromagus who hadn't yet mastered his or her budding powers. Statistically, despite the strong Dousing Charms cast on every child with the fire Talent, one sixth of Pyromagi died before their tenth birthday. The most dangerous time for a Pyromagus was the emotional roller coaster of puberty, during which they could easily set themselves and everything around them aflame. Therefore it was no wonder that nowadays most people born with the Talent got it 'burned'out by their parents while they were still infants to protect them and everyone else. It required strong spells, but it was the only truly safe way. The Solis family, however, had always declined to abandon their heritage despite all the risks involved.


"Okay, I think I have everything I need," Amaterasu said to the black-haired man standing near the door as she looked around the room to see if she had missed anything important. "Now, I’ll have to destroy rest."


She closed the briefcases, took them and walked out of the room, gently ushering Sirius out too using on of the briefcases.


Putting down the two cases, the young witch turned so that she could see into the room she had just vacated. Ama closed her eyes and pictured the room full of flames in her mind. Calling for her powers, she instantly felt the familiar burning sensation as her magic changed within her and burst out in wild torrents, visible only as a faint disruption of the air. The tentacles of invisible magic filled the room in front of her.


She snapped her fingers and her vision become reality. The snapping part wasn't really needed, but she thought it looked cool, and thusly she usually did so. Amaterasu had to avert her gaze because of the sudden flash of light and the violent blast of scorching air. Swirling flames had filled the room, reducing everything burning into cinders in mere seconds. The stony walls, floor and ceiling were all charred, and the windows cracked due the heat and expanding air, exploding outwards and raining partially molten glass shards into the garden below. Thick black smoke flooded out of the room, filling the corridor with its sulphuric stench.


Suddenly the door at the end of the corridor was blasted open as a group of red robed Aurors charged in, their wands levelled at Ama and Sirius. For a briefest of moments they just stared at each other, then the Aurors acted. Red bolts of magic zoomed through the air, reaching targets in a split second.


Sirius managed to dodge the Stunner aimed at him by swaying madly into his left, but the blonde witch wasn't fast enough and two scarlet bolts slammed into her chest. Her muscles tightened for a second, before her body went completely limp and she fell backwards towards the floor.


Before she hit the stone flooring Sirius moved, catching her in his arms and then diving into the charred room, barely avoiding the second volley of curses. The dense smoke in the room was enough to bring tears into his eyes. It was hard to breathe and the air was still very warm; not enough to give burns, but still more than just uncomfortably hot. The plastic of his Muggle shoes was starting to melt and smoke where it touched the hot stone floor.


Sirius drew his wand from inside his new robes, pointing it at the unconscious girl on his arms. He grinned slightly in a private joke. It was the first time in a long time he held a girl in his arms. He had dated a few chicks during the years after he escaped Azkaban, but none of the relationships had lasted more than a few months. After all, a fugitive wizard wasn't really something that a girl could bring home or show to her friends.


"Ennervate," he managed to intone clearly, despite the suffocating smoke permeating the air around them. The jolt of stirring magic surged through the young blonde witch and her greyish-blue eyes snapped wide open and she took a deep breath, causing her to cough furiously. Amaterasu blinked repeatedly, trying to remember what the hell had just happened.


"Girl, get up and get us away from here now!"


Sirius' anxious words brought her memories back. Aurors! They are already here. Harry, you fucked up again! Despite that she was inwardly ranting, she knew that would have to act quickly. With a simple mental command, the wand holster located under her wrist shot her wand out directly into her waiting hand. "Accio!"


The two briefcases rose from the floor and begun zooming towards her until they suddenly stopped mid-air. The Aurors apparently didn't want to let her have her stuff back. Damn it!


"We must go!"


Ama grimaced. She didn't want to leave her stuff and all the evidence the Aurors would ever need, behind. But Black was right; getting caught would be far worse. She closed her eyes and concentrated.


As her eyes were firmly shut in deliberation, she didn’t see the small red ball that suddenly rolled into the room.


Sirius, however, did see it and his dark eyes widened in recognition. This was a situation in which he would have missed his mother if she had been such a stuck up bitch. The device was a stun-globe, which was aridiculously powerful Stunning device. Due the excessive amounts of magic loaded into it, its blast would penetrate most shields with absurd ease, and it was capable of Stunning adult dragons. During Voldemort's first rise, Aurors had successfully used them to pacify rampaging giants. The dog-Animagus had thought that Aurors were not allowed to use it against wizards and witches due the fact that they could easily prove lethal when used against human-sized creatures. He guessed that Crouch must have been more efficient and persistent in his lobbing than he had previously thought.


Sirius' mind raced to find a way for them to survive this, but he couldn't think of any solution. If he tried to banish, vanish or otherwise tinker with the globe, it would merely blow up, which was exactly what he was trying to avoid here.. Conjuring some sort of cocoon around it wouldn't work either as the blast passed through anything physical as well as magical.


As he couldn't think of anything at all, the fugitive wizard simply closed his eyes and hoped it wouldn't hurt too much...which was probably far too much to wish for.


A split second before the room was engulfed in bright ruby-red light of setting off stun-globe, Amaterasu and Sirius vanished into a large ball of swirling flames.


*


Harry stopped to a large white door. His fingers danced over a small numpad sunk on the door as he quickly inserted the ten digit code and the metal door slid silently into the wall.


He stepped into the small storage room behind. Kheiron had stored here something that Harry just couldn't leave behind. Something which could grant easily grant him an easy access into or out of the Malfoy Manor or any warded place what-so-ever. Of course there was aminor drawback that it would also blow up around half of the target... But in the case of the Malfoy Manor; that was just an unintended bonus. Perhaps he would just blow up their manor when he exited it just to spite them. In any case, it was a good backup plan in the instance if everything continued to go as badly as they were going now. For some unexplainable reason Harry was sure that things would continue going only for the worse.


He opened the large wooden cabinet in the otherwise empty room and gazed in. The shelves were mostly empty, but there were few things he could use. The first item he pocketed was a dark, fist-sized glass sphere; the soul-trap he had attuned yesterday. Then he took three unmarked vials of coloured liquids among dozens of similar ones. One was bright yellow, one blood-red and the last; deep ultramarine. Lastly he pocketed a small white pebble; one of the few remaining Globe of Thanathos.


He walked to the door from he had entered and pressed a button, causing the door to slide away again. He stepped back into the corridor, casually throwing one of the vials over his shoulder. The door closed behind him approximately at the same time the vial shattered against the hard stone, spreading its sticky innards onto the floor, where the yellow liquid started smoking and sending a multitude of fiery sparks. After three seconds, the building shook faintly and thick smoke started to rise from the thin gap between the door and the floor. Powerful spells laid on the room and the door had neatly contained the magical explosion, but anything within the room had been totally incinerated. Not even ashes remained.


By now, his friends should have already left the building and so he would have to worry only about getting out of here himself. But how? The place was swarmed with Aurors, and warded to prevent Disapparation. He doubted that portkeys would work either, but it would be stupid not to try.


He quickly turned one of his daggers into a portkey, and activated it. As expected, the dagger flashed with bluish light but nothing else happened.


A door on the other end of the ten yards long corridor opened with an audible creak, and a red-robed Auror stepped in. Harry reacted in asplit second; his hand made a sharp jabbing movement, sending five ounces of steel spinning through the air with lethal precision.


The male Auror dodged the dagger instead of blocking it, which was asensible practice. One could never tell beforehand whether the blade was enchanted to break shields or not. Of course there were spells that could stop even the most powerful of enchanted weapons. It was simply because contained magic could never be as strong as freely flowing one. But these spells generally fell under categories of either rune-aided magic or blood magic, both of which were extremely slow to cast; far too slow for a fast paced combat, without prior preparations, and they drained magic like a hell. On the other hand, simpler spells could never guarantee that they would really stop all magical blades. While a simple Proteus Charm could block afair portion of enchanted things thrown at you, it was still a stupid gamble to actually use it to do so. Like it was possible to block spell penetrating spell with an ordinary Shield Charm it was also possible to stop a weapon bearing shield breaking enchantments. However, chances were that it wouldn't work...


As the Auror focused on avoiding the non-enchanted blade, Harry flourished his wand, sending a Paralysis Curse at the man. The toxic-green bolt of magic hit true and the Auror fell on the floor with a soft thud, his body quivering lightly due the spell. The ability to see which things were enchanted and with what spells, had been one of the major reasons for him to get the enchantments into his eyes. If the Auror had had eyes like his or had wore magic-seeing specks like Dumbledore, he could have seen that the blade was non-magical an thus incapable of penetrating even the weakest of shields, and so he wouldn't be laying defeated on the cold floor.


Two more Aurors rushed through the open door, non-verbally firing abarrage of imaginative curses at him. Harry responded in kind; starting with two very fast pyroprojectiles and continuing with aclassical Blasting Curse and a very nasty Flame Cutter Hex. While Harry usually avoided of using potentially lethal spells against any other targets than Death Eaters, he knew better than to limit his options in a fight with as high stakes as this. If he lost, he would most likely spend the rest of his life in a damp and dark prison cell and that was totally unacceptable. He wouldn't go into prison for killing a few bloody Death Eaters, who deserved to die. Besides, it was not like the Aurors were pulling their punches either. It really looked like they were aiming to cause some serious damage, and so things were starting to look like that someone was his way to an extended visit to St. Mungo's after this fight.


The deadly streaks of light travelling across the hallway had a nearly artistic quality as the two wizards and the witch exchanged curses, hexes, jinxes and charms with speed and precision transcending the abilities of nearly ninety-nine percent of all magical population. Harry was sure that the light-show would have enthralled an average Muggle. Most wizards and witches would have probably done the sensible thing and run away as fast as their feet could carry.


Harry casually sidestepped a pulsating red jet of light aimed at him, before rebounding a brownish-yellow Hallucination Hex back to its caster with a simple Protego, and quickly sending a vibrant blue Exploding Curse after it as an interest.




The spells detonated with loud bangs against the Auror's olive green shield, exploding into multicoloured sparks of leftover magic. Harry raised his eyebrow; he had never seen shield with such a colour before. The charm seemed to work by not absorbing or deflecting the hostile magic as most shields did, but by breaking the offending spell's structure, causing them to explode at contact. It was an interesting approach to an old problem, but the young wizard didn't have the time to contemplate it any further as he was forced to dodge into his right, a purple Severing Ribbon zooming past him, less than an inch from nicking his triceps.


The Auror not hiding behind the shield was in the process of casting ahighly complicated and very powerful magic binding spell. Harry couldn't let that happen and so he, without any wand motions or spoken words, shot a simple Stunner towards the law enforcer, intending to interrupt the lengthy casting process.


Harry's plan failed as the other Auror, the one behind the green shield casually flicked her wand, causing the shield to expand to her left, completely quickly covering the other law enforcer. A split second after Harry's curse detonated against the olive-green shield, the Auror finished the spell and a cloud bluish mist burst out of his wand.


Harry knew that if he would let that curse to even graze him, he would be completely unable to use his magic for a few minutes, rendering him nearly defenceless against the Aurors. The young Dark wizard made adesperate lunge and almost miraculously managed to entirely avoid the harmful fog. Harry's problems didn't end there, however, as the other Auror dropped her shield and cast a quick Coma Curse at him. Due his compromised position, he had no chance to dodge the spell, nor did he have enough time to cast a shield.


Harry cursed in his mind. These two Aurors were working perfectly together; they covered for each other and attacked in seamless synchrony, using every opportunity they got with implacable precision. It was clear that the pair had spend innumerable hours to hone their teamwork. If the situation was any differed, the young wizard would have applauded them for such dedication. They were true professionals, but then again, so was he. And he was not about to lose...


He batted off the swiftly approaching curse with the back his left hand, deflecting the sky-blue bolt towards the ceiling. The raw magic pumped into the spell, however, burned a hole through the armoured fingerless glove and disrupted the complex Illusionary Charm woven around the artificial hand, causing the spell to unravel, revealing the spellsilver prosthesis for everyone to see.


The Auror had expected him to cast a shield to block the spell and so she was in the middle of casting another offensive spell, completely unprepared for the Banishing Charm that hit her squarely to the chest, blasting her into the wall, from where she crumbled onto the floor. Undoubtedly she would be back on her feet in seconds as the Auror robes did have strong Cushioning Charms that should stop them from getting injured in most crashes. They could probably be hit by aMuggle truck and suffer only a few minor bruises instead of being reduced to a bloody splatter.


To make things even worse, the door at the other end of the corridor was slammed open, revealing three Magisch Staatpolizei. The young wizard was now surrounded, but luckily they couldn't just start blasting random curses from both sides as they would be hitting each other as much as him, if not more. Still, the situation looked very dire.


"Everybody, cast your anti-magic charms," one of three German wizards said in broken English. "Lets do this in the old-fashioned way."


The law enforcers surrounding him intoned the identical incantation,"Magus Subsisto," and their wands lit up with an identical, pure white light. A sudden wave unnatural coldness permeated the corridor and Harry shivered slightly. The air that had been nearly supercharged with magic because of the fight, brimming with static electricity and shining faintly with every colour in arainbow to his magic-sensitive eyes, was drained of its power in an instant.


With the five active magic devouring charms cast by relatively strong wizards and witches in the same room, Harry doubted that even the Killing Curse could travel more that a few feet before dissipating entirely. However, these spell hardly affected magic contained within items...or within persons. Around him, the magical policemen took out their stun-batons. The magical rods activated with faint hissing sounds, lighting the room in their red hue.


Harry smirked behind his mask. While this tactic would undoubtedly work against common Death Eaters, who were completely dependent on their magic in fights, it was a very bad move against someone who had been extensively trained in swordsmanship. The young wizard seriously doubted that any of the law enforcers had practised it beyond the basic training. Unknowingly they had just given him a better chance of victory. Moving the wand from his right hand to his left, Harry clasped his own stun-baton, which instantly ignited in his hand, glowing slightly brighter than the other magical bats. He shifted his balance slightly, assuming the standard defensive stance, the glowing baton lifted to the shoulder level.


Then the law enforcers were upon him, and Harry exploded into motion, using his baton with speed and precision. For the second time in his life he was thankful for the endless hours of sword practice Damien had forced him to do. He was on a completely different skill level than his assailants. But unlike them, he was alone. No matter the massive gap in skills, five to one was never good odds. Doubly so because one touch of the scarlet batons was enough to Stun even the most sturdy of wizards; even the hulking trolls required only a few good swats.


And so, despite the fact that their attacks were both clumsy and uncoordinated compared to Harry’s refined and fluid movements, the young wizard was instantly forced on defensive due the sheer amount of his opponents. Using his superior speed and dexterity to the fullest extend, he gracefully moved amongst the group of magical policemen, keeping it so that only a couple of them could attack him simultaneously, so that they couldn't press their advantage.


This dance continued for nearly a half minute, neither side gaining any clear advantage, before one of the assailants made a crucial mistake. He tried to thrust his glowing baton into the younger wizard’s stomach, without anyone else backing up the attack. Harry simply swayed to his side, neatly avoiding the overtly eager lunge, and brought his own stun-baton down with all force he could muster, shattering the Staatpolizei's wrist with a loud snapping sound, and sending a paralysing jolt of magic surging through the man's body.


Before the unconscious wizard hit the floor, Harry quickly pressed his wand tip against the German wizard's chest and yelled, "Reducto!" Even when his wand was touching the target, the magic draining spells took off the edge of the Blasting Curse, and so the spell could hardly even mark the black dragonhide armour the wizard wore. However, even the feeble spell was far more than enough to propel the unfortunate officer backwards...directly into two other law enforcers. The young wizard snorted as three of his opponents collapsed into a heap onto the polished wooden floor.


Harry used this as an opportunity to flee, and quickly dashed for an exit. The two law enforcers left standing - The female Auror and a German wizard - quickly cancelled their Anti-Magic Charms, and shot nasty spells aimed at Harry's retreating back.


It was too late, however, as Harry had already exited the corridor, gleefully slamming the door shut behind him. The two curses impacted onto the sturdy door and exploded into small balls of spell-fire, spraying a few bits of burning wood shrapnel around.


He was once again running away from a bunch of law enforcers. Last time he had managed to lose his pursuers, and he was confident he could do so again. Especially when he had no longer any other goals but to escape.


Opening the door in his left he stepped into Kheiron's old room. With asimple wave of his holly wand, the large window opposite him exploded outwards. Harry took the last few steps and jumped through the broken window.


He fell down nearly four yards before he hit the ground, landing into acrouching position, accompanied by the equally beautiful and deadly cascade of razor-sharp glass shards. If it weren't for his charmed clothes and the magical armour, he would have gotten nasty and possibly even lethal cuts all over his body.


Nearly faster than eyes could follow, Harry's wand moved deftly, unleashing a Pain Curse towards a red-robed shape standing less than ten yards from him. His new opponent was ready and the dark-blue jet of light was rebounded towards the skies by the courtesy of an ordinary Protego.


"No need to curse me," the pink-haired Auror said with an unreadable expression on her pretty, heart-shaped face as she lowered her wand. "Just go."


"Thanks, Tonks," Harry said and quickly saluted the female Auror, before running away from the manor as fast as he could. The battle was lost and Ama, Sirius and Iason must have already abandoned the building. It was a shame to leave the manor to Aurors, but it was not like he could stop them from taking it anyway. A few seconds later he heard Nymphadora Tonks shouting the alarm. Then she begun pouring curses at his back.


Harry noticed, with a small smile behind his black mask, that every curse she send missed him by yards even though he was running a straight path. She could have easily hit him, but she didn't. It was nice to see that corruption sometimes worked into the other direction too.


Other Aurors begun joining the fun, casting all manner of spells at him. Most of the curses, hexes and jinxes thrown at him hit the trees around him, exploding into spectacular fireworks or ricocheting madly. He could already see the end of the wards; A faintly glowing wall composed of threads of pink light visible only to his heavily enchanted sight was less than twenty yards front of him.


A few seconds later he crossed the boundary and it took him less than two seconds to Disapparate.