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Chapter Thirty Eight: Year’s End:

The 1995-1996 school year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had been rather strange and for Hogwarts, that was rather something. However, this was a year that many students felt a bit apprehensive, rather than excited that the end of the school year had arrived. The Ministry had officially declared that Lord Voldemort had returned, even through Harry Potter had told them a year previous. The Daily Prophet only had scattered, vague details of a handful of attacks and it looked as if the Ministry was in for a rough time in the upcoming months and years. Many students at Hogwarts had lost family to Voldemort during his first reign of terror, so they did have the measure of what the Dark Lord was capable.

“It has just begun,” remarked Harry in a tired voice, the day before they were to get on the Hogwarts Express, as Harry, Hailey, Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione sat in an unused classroom. “Voldemort hasn’t kicked his reign of terror into high gear. A few scattered attacks here and there, yes, but just small time stuff.”

“When you do think he’ll step up on his attacks?” asked Hermione.

“Sooner then I would like,” replied Harry darkly. “I still think Lucius passed him confidential information when he was Minister, but the thing is, I’m not sure what it could be. I can make guesses, assumptions, theories, yes, but nothing more and nothing less.”

“If you could have found out what exactly was on those scrolls that Voldemort stole from the library, you might have a better idea, Harry,” said Ginny, lazily leaning her head on Harry’s shoulder.

“Maybe I would, if would recognize it,” said Harry.

“It’d have to be some kind of ancient and essentially lost dark magic,” contributed Theodore. “Voldemort had to have been after them for years.”

“In the library at Hogwarts, through?” asked Daphne skeptically. “After all we knew about Dumbledore, if those scrolls gave anyone, any power, he would have horded them to himself.”

“Unless he let Voldemort steal the scrolls on purpose,” said Hermione thoughtfully which earned her confused looks from the other five. “No, listen, Dumbledore had to have guessed Voldemort was after the scrolls, but Voldemort might not know exactly what he is getting himself into. Any rituals on the scrolls could have deadly consequences if they are not precisely correct.”

“So does Horcrux creation but Voldemort managed to do that, six times in fact,” said Harry darkly. “So, I think it would highly probable that whatever was on these scrolls could be something Voldemort would be able to manage. I doubt he’ll play his full hand right away. As I’ve told the Ministry of Magic, he’s just tossing a few pieces of a larger puzzle that doesn’t make any sense at all.”

“I agree because what Voldemort is doing doesn’t make sense when you put it all together,” added Ginny. “There is something missing, he hasn’t played his full hand yet.”

“I just hope I can piece it together before it is too late,” muttered Harry to himself more to anyone else. Every day Voldemort remained alive meant more death and destruction. He needed to find all of the Horcruxes but he only knew the exact location of one and a possible location of a second Horcrux. While he already had the locket in his possession, that left three unaccounted for, one of which Harry had no earthly idea what it was. The foreseeable future was going to be a rocky road, as Harry had to not only contend with what he knew, but also the unknown when going up against Voldemort and his minions. Harry would not be alone against the Death Eaters, but he was one of three people who could hold their own against Voldemort in a duel.

However, the fact did remain that Harry was the only one who had managed to defeat Voldemort three separate times while fighting him to a stalemate a fourth time. It was going to be down to Voldemort and Harry by the end at the end, a duel to the death with the fate of the entire magical world hanging in the balance.

Deep in the Dungeons of Hogwarts, Severus Snape sat, analyzing a small fragment of a crystal that Dumbledore had found during a trip to the Orient. This double life was putting an insane amount of strain on Snape, as both Voldemort and Dumbledore demanded an insane amount of work. Snape wished he had just went to Azkaban and taken his chances with the Dementors, but he had in a rare moment of weakness taken the coward’s way out and suggested to Dumbledore that he should spy for his side. Dumbledore had accepted his offer, but on the condition that Snape would make an Unbreakable Vow with Dumbledore, that forced Snape to follow Dumbledore’s orders no matter what. A few months later, The Dark Lord had fell and Dumbledore only required Snape to take on the position of Potions Professor, something Snape had been doing temporarily anyway, on the orders of the Dark Lord, when Slughorn retired.

Snape’s life had become a little more difficult since Harry Potter had arrived at Hogwarts. He had feared a mini-James Potter and was shocked when the boy had managed to find his way into the Slytherin house. Throughout the last five years, Snape was pleasantly surprised to see Potter actually give the Slytherin house a decent name, an image that had been tarnished over the years thanks mostly to Dumbledore. Dumbledore had an unhealthy dislike towards anything Slytherin, but he had told Snape not to press the issue once he had asked. The Headmaster also ordered Snape to spy on several of his students, in particular Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Yet, the two most unlikely Slytherins in quite some time, perhaps in history, had managed to keep most of their private activities behind closed doors. Snape went back to Dumbledore with little insignificant things that he found out, but nothing too damaging. Other Slytherins who had family members that were Death Eaters were not as cunning, which was ironic as the two Slytherins who managed to keep most of what they were up to a secret came from families that were in Gryffindor for several generations.

Nevertheless, Snape examined the crystal fragment closely, supervised by Albus Dumbledore. While he had never seen anything like this before, he did have to admit that this fragment had potential to have great power.

“Fascinating, Headmaster,” said Snape, breaking the silence. “This crystal fragment seems to have the potential to create a portal in the fabric of time and space. Granted, this fragment would only create a portal for a few scant seconds and the size of said portal would be microscopic, but with a larger piece or perhaps multiple crystals, there is a potential for much more.”

“Thank you, Severus,” answered Dumbledore. “This fragment confirms my theory that such power exists. Interesting.”

“Interesting, in what matter?” asked Snape calmly.

“Voldemort had interest in interdimensional travel before and it would be foolish to assume that he wouldn’t pick up on that interest once again,” replied Dumbledore crisply. “There are other realms out there Severus, that have creatures that would be frightening minions to Voldemort, should he somehow manage to persuade them. That’s all you need know Severus and I order you not to make any further inquiries.”

Snape nodded calmly but Dumbledore was not finished.

“I also need you to inform Voldemort of the possible existence of these high powered crystals, Severus,” added Dumbledore which caused Snape to do a double take. “Severus, I know exactly what I’m doing, Voldemort did steal the scrolls that I planted in the library and the next logical move would be for him to obtain something powerful enough to be able to channel the amount of magic in the rituals detailed on the scrolls.”

Snape nodded in understanding, Dumbledore obviously had something diabolic up his sleeve and the fact that he was casually attempting to use the Dark Lord as a pawn, unnerved the Potions Professor greatly.

“Inform me of anything else you learn about the properties of that crystal, Severus,” added Dumbledore as he walked from the Dungeons. “The Order will be meeting in an hour and I need to prepare.”

Snape nodded, analyzing the fragment from every angle he could think of but other than the potential for time travel, Snape couldn’t see anything else off hand that was different from any other crystal fragment or any other magical gem for that matter.

Rufus Scrimgeour walked towards his home early in the morning, looking rather worn down. The Ministry had to cover up two attacks on Muggle villages by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named over the past day. The war had barely begun and the only employees at the Ministry who seemed to be holding up well enough was those who had survived the first war against the Death Eaters. Those who began working at the Ministry after Halloween Nineteen Eighty One did not have a clue at all. Scrimgeour remembered completing his Auror training under the legendary Mad Eye Moody just a few years prior to You-Know-Who’s fall from power the first time around and the Ministry barely managed to contain everything from the Muggles. Now, it was beginning to happen all over again.

Scrimgeour stopped, with a cold feeling of dread outside his front door, as there was pieces of broken glass scattered in the front lawn. He had several Anti-Apparation Wards around his home but they weren’t the only solution. If Death Eaters wanted someone dead badly enough, they would find a way in, no matter what it took.

Scrimgeour reached forward touching his front door, which swung open at the slightest touch. The Veteran Auror raised his wand, stepping into his sitting room slowly. There was no Dark Mark hovering over the house eaters, which meant the Death Eaters were still on his property. He snuck around the house, quietly and he stopped, nearly tripping over a small figure on the floor. Scrimgeour looked down in spite of himself and wished that he didn’t.

His youngest daughter, Elizabeth, only five years old, was laid on the ground, motionless with her face soaked in blood, and her throat severely slashed with her clothes ripped nearly to shreds. She also looked as if she suffered severe head trauma before she was murdered heartlessly by the Death Eaters.

A screaming sound from upstairs caused Scrimgeour to bolt up the steps in a frantic pace. The sounds came from the upstairs bedroom. Scrimgeour blasted the door open, seeing a green flash of light. He was too late and he saw about twelve Death Eaters standing in his bedroom, over the dead and battered body of his wife, laughing with sickening merriment.

“Scrimgeour, you’re home, too bad you were a bit late to see us have some fun with your wife!” yelled the triumphant voice of one of the Death Eaters but Scrimgeour whipped out his wand and used a powerful banishing charm to send the Death Eater flying into the wall.

Two other Death Eaters sent slicing curses towards Scrimgeour but he managed to counter them with a fury that he had never seen. He had a strong suspicion that his seven year old daughter and his nine year old son had also been executed by these foul bastards.

Scrimgeour used a stunner at one of the Death Eaters, knocking him to the floor.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!” yelled one of the Death Eaters but Scrimgeour managed to barely avoid the deadly green light and send a bone crushing hex at the Death Eater in question, while mentally cursing the Ministry of Magic restrictions on what spells he could legally cast as an Auror. They seemed good enough on paper but it battle, they were going swimming with a cinderblock shackled to each leg.

Unfortunately, as the Head Auror, Scrimgeour had to do things by the book, as to set an example for the rest of his Department.

Scrimgeour found himself knocked backwards, his wand sliding out of reach. The Auror clutched his chest in pain, his flesh sizzling and a sickening smell reaching his nostrils. It was apparent that one of the Death Eaters had used a flesh rotting hex on him

“So, this is the fool that the Ministry has put in charge of the Aurors, the supposed elite,” said one of the Death Eaters in a snide voice, bending down to taunt the winded Scrimgeour. “The Dark Lord could roll over the Ministry in a matter of hours, no…”

This arrogant Death Eater never finished his sentence as Scrimgeour managed to reach up and grab the unsuspecting Death Eater’s head. He used all the strength that he could muster, before twisting the Death Eater’s head. The Death Eater gave a pained yell as Scrimgeour snapped his neck and seconds later, the Death Eater fell to the ground. Scrimgeour rolled over, using the distraction caused by snapping this Death Eater’s neck to grab his wand and fire a couple more hexes at his adversaries. One of the Death Eaters was immobilized by the full body bind but the others decided to flee out the open door. Scrimgeour fired a couple more choice curses, tripping one of the Death Eaters up but the others bolted through the doorway and safely down the stairs.

Scrimgeour reached into his pocket and pulled an object that looked like a Muggle ballpoint pain. He pressed the tip, before placing it close to his mouth.

“Scrimgeour to Auror command!” yelled Scrimgeour in a booming voice that shook slightly, despite his best efforts to remain calm under the circumstances, into the pen like device. “Death Eaters are at my residence, any available Aurors report here immediately.”

Scrimgeour rushed down the stairs to command his Aurors in the fight and several loud pops outside the Anti-Apparition Wards, indicated the arrival. The sounds of prompt combat indicated, that the Death Eaters did not make it outside of his wards to Apparate away in time.

“Block the Aurors, so we can get out of here!” yelled one of the Death Eaters. “We only need to get out this gate and across the street.”

Scrimgeour walked outside to see two of the Death Eaters bound with ropes around them, with one of the Aurors down on the ground already, with a nasty gash on the side of his head.

A loud bang echoed throughout the night sky, blasting the gate leading through the front pathway towards Scrimgeour’s house.

“Secure the gate!” barked Scrimgeour as he sent a silent stunner towards one of the Death Eaters, who managed to avoid the spell by putting up a shield charm and fire an organ explosion spell right at the Head Auror, who managed to avoid to the spell.

The Death Eaters looked panicked as the Aurors barricaded the gate, so they ducked around to the side, barely managing to avoid a barrage of spells.

“SPICULIUM!” yelled a trio of the Death Eaters, shooting three dozen razor sharp arrows towards the Aurors. The Aurors put up a barrier to block the arrows but it diverted their attention from the gate, allowing the Death Eaters to create a further path for their escape by blasting half of the stone wall out and then they sliced their fellow Death Eaters free before scurrying in different directions.

Scrimgeour and the rest of the Aurors fired a few spells but since the Death Eaters moved in all different directions, it had become rather difficult to secure them and unfortunately, the Death Eaters managed to get to the outside of the Anti-Apparation Wards around Scrimgeour’s house, before disapparating into thin air.

“I managed to immobilize three of the Death Eaters upstairs, so haul them into the Ministry for questioning, one of the Death Eaters are dead, and…be prepared to be greeted by a horrific scene,” said Scrimgeour in a slightly defeated voice, but he was mostly in shock. He never expected Death Eaters to attack his home so soon and his youngest child and his wife were dead and if the Death Eaters got to his other two children, he shuddered precisely what to think.

A few moments later, his Aurors exited his house, with the three Death Eaters immobilized. The mask of one of the Death Eaters slid off, revealing a young man, no older than eighteen, maybe nineteen. The Aurors had their wands pointed at the Death Eaters, who were shooting dirty looks at the Aurors.

“Rufus, I’m sorry,” said the Auror Dawlish somberly. “I don’t think you want to see the state of your children right now, the Death Eaters…well they…”

“Massacred them, I already saw my youngest,” said Scrimgeour curtly before turning to the Death Eaters. “Who knows what other crimes these pieces of filth have committed?”

“We’re new recruits,” said one of the Death Eaters, a female, quickly. “The Dark Lord had ordered us to massacre the family of one of the highest ranked Ministry officials as a loyalty test and your family just happened to be unfortunate…”

“No, it’s unfortunate that you allowed You-Know-Who to lead you astray with false promises, I can assure you that the Ministry of Magic will not put up with such filth much longer,” spat Scrimgeour angrily. “The Wizengamot is working on drafting harsher legislation on punishing followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and believe me, I will make sure that it goes through.”

“The Dark Lord can stamp the Ministry out in no time flat,” said the Death Eater whose mask snapped off. “It will only be a matter of time before you are reunited with your family, Scrimgeour!”

Scrimgeour just turned his back on the captured Death Eaters dismissively, as the Aurors roughly dragged the Death Eaters away, not caring if they got injured at all.

The news of the attack on the Scrimgeour family hadn’t reached the Daily Prophet, yet but Harry had known thanks to his spies inside Auror Command. All of the Death Eaters involved in that brutal attack were new recruits, something that unnerved Harry to no end. This new attack just confirmed his theories that Voldemort was sending his newest Death Eaters out to commit atrocities, to keep the atmosphere of terror that Voldemort enjoyed but also, it served a duel purpose of keeping his more experienced Death Eaters out of Azkaban. The Hogwarts attack had landed more than a few of Voldemort’s minions in the magical prison and even without the Dementors, Azkaban was still a fearsome place and the added Auror guard made it a difficult endeavor to break into once again.

“Voldemort may have broken into Azkaban, with the help of the Shredder and his Foot, but now the Ministry will be on their guard,” remarked Harry on the train, when Hermione had wondered what was stopping Voldemort from breaking into the prison. “Voldemort might be able to breach the security at Azkaban once again but maybe he just doesn’t feel it is something that is worth his time to do.”

“Or he wants to let the Death Eaters who got themselves captured, rot,” said Hailey.

“Yes, I wouldn’t be surprise,” answered Harry calmly, before turning to address Ginny, Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione. “If I could, I would allow you to all come home with me, as the American Wizarding Government has reinforced the anti-Dark Mark wards, along with other assorted security measures. Also, I doubt Voldemort would waste any time conquering the United States, as he doesn’t have the manpower and he would spread himself too thin.”

Harry sighed.

“I would ask you, but I have a feeling your parents wouldn’t be too happy about not seeing you, especially during these troubled times,” added Harry.

Daphne, Ginny, and Hermione nodded in agreement and Theodore paused for a second, wondering whether or not it would be a good idea to inform Harry of his father’s plans for him when he became of age but decided against it in the end. He would figure out a way to get out of being forced to take the dark mark on his own. After all, Harry had enough to worry about in his own right so Theodore also nodded in agreement.

“Still, you are coming to visit for your birthday, right Harry,” said Ginny.

“Of course Ginny, you can tell your parents to expect Hailey, Mum, and I, around the twenty eighth or twenty ninth of July,” answered Harry before looking at all of his friends seriously. “However, this is a warning to all of you. There is a pretty good chance that Death Eaters might attack you over the holidays. Just be prepared to fight for your life but at the same time, don’t stick around if you have a chance to escape. And don’t be afraid to contact me, if things get overwhelming.”

“Harry, really, we don’t want to intrude on your holiday…” started Hermione but Harry raised his hand.

“If you think I’m just going to take a leisurely vacation while Voldemort and his Death Eaters are causing havoc, you are sorely mistaken,” said Harry calmly. “Have your mirrors on you at all times and do not hesitate in contacting me, any time, day or night.”

Harry’s tone left no room for argument but still Ginny felt she had to speak up.

“We’ll do that Harry, but please don’t overdo any of your training,” said Ginny, in a reasonable voice.

“I know, I have limits, Mum’s only told me that about three hundred times,” said Harry in a dull voice as he saw the Hogwarts Express arriving at King’s Cross. “Anyway, I really hope you all have a nice, quiet, Voldemort free summer and all be speaking to you all soon I suspect.”

The group of friends said their goodbyes as Daphne, Theodore, Hermione, and Ginny headed their separate directions to find their families on the platform, leaving Hailey and Harry alone on the train. Harry waved his wand, using a complex bit of charm work to shrink the trunks and all of the objects within down to the size of a deck of playing cards so they would be able to carry them easily. The two Potter children pocked their trunks quickly.

“C’mon, Hailey,” said Harry, pulling out his Portus-Amulet, as his sister grabbed onto his arm, allowing Harry to assist her. With a tap of his wand, the Amulet pulled the two Potter siblings from King’s Cross Train Station to the front sidewalk of the Potter residence in New York City.

Hailey began to walk towards the house but she saw Harry staring up deep in thought.

“Coming, Harry?” asked Hailey, quietly.

“Tell Mum I’ll be back in a few hours, I’m going down to the sewers to visit my brothers and Master Splinter,” said Harry calmly.

“Try and stay out of trouble, Harry,” said Hailey with a bit of a smirk. “You’ve only been back about two minutes, plenty of time to get into trouble over the next two months”

“I’ll try, you know how much I try and avoid trouble,” remarked Harry sarcastically.

“About as much as I pay attention to Snape in Potions,” answered Hailey but Harry was already on his way to the warehouse, walking towards the sewers. It was early but he hoped Master Splinter was awake, Harry needed to ask for his sensei’s advice on some pressing issues.

Harry walked around the streets, which while they were better off than the previous summer, they were still scattered with debris from the Triceraton invasion of last summer, including a few Triceraton air cars that were submerged in the craters in the street that was sealed off from the general public. Double checking that there was no one following him, Harry slipped into the warehouse before making his way to the elevator, pressing the combination of buttons to open it. Harry swung inside, before pressing a button to close the elevator and another button to cause the elevator to travel down into the sewers.

The door swung open and Harry stepped out into the lair. The scene around the lair was quiet and Harry wondered if he had missed his brothers and Master Splinter leaving to go somewhere. Harry took a few cautious steps towards Master Splinter’s bedroom and raised his hand to knock.

“Enter, Harry” said the voice of Master Splinter before Harry could even begin to knock. Harry slid the door open and stepped inside Master Splinter’s room, an area of the lair that contained a variety of martial arts weapons, practice dummies, a rug that Splinter sat on to meditate, and a shelf containing framed pictures of Harry, Raph, Leo, Don, and Mikey, along with the orb containing a virtual reality projection of Splinter’s Master Yoshi that the Utroms gave him during their previous meeting. Splinter was sitting on the rug, with his ever present walking stick “Do sit down, my son.”

Harry did as he was asked, sitting right across from his sensei.

“You look troubled, my son,” prompted Splinter, breaking the silence that lasted nearly a minute.

“Now that the Ministry of Magic has finally acknowledged that Voldemort has come back, he is showing no hesitation in sending his Death Eaters to kill people,” said Harry calmly. “Getting together resistance and training students to defend themselves was easy enough, but quite frankly, there wasn’t too much to do. He was laying low but now, I’m worried that no matter what I do, it won’t be enough.”

Master Splinter regarded his son for a few seconds. Harry was doing the best anyone could expect, giving the resources he had available but the perfectionist tendencies that he exhibited from time to time in ninjitsu training was showing through in his efforts to fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry’s subconscious drive to be the best was a good thing in some cases, but it caused him to get frustrated and in some cases rather sloppy due to his frustrations. These instances were getting few and far between, especially as Harry got older but they still cropped up at times.

“Harry, your efforts to fight this battle against Voldemort are rather commendable, both your own efforts to prepare yourself and others,” said Master Splinter. “You can only do so much, you are only one person and do in fact have your limits.”

“Yes, I know that but it’s just so hard to sit back and think about what I could be doing better,” said Harry in a frustrated voice. “Even as I speak, there is a good chance that Voldemort would be sending his Death Eaters after someone innocent people. The resistance is good in theory as is the preparation, but what good is either when I don’t have the slightest clue what Voldemort will do next or where he’ll strike.”

“Patience, my son,” said Master Splinter. “All tyrants are successful for some time, and the people who oppose them find themselves frustrated at every turn and run into a series of dead ends.”

“Dead ends is something that I can’t afford, Voldemort came so close to winning last time, and a fluke, a one in a million fluke I might add, knocked him out of his body,” said Harry. “Mum even said that she wouldn’t be able to replicate the exact circumstances no matter how she tried and I have to figure out an alternate way to destroy Voldemort, and that’s if I manage to find all of his Horcruxes, before it’s too late.”

“Time may seem to be slipping away,” said Splinter in a slow, patient voice. “However, once Voldemort is made mortal when his soul fragments from the Horcruxes are rejoined with his soul, there is hope that his reign of terror will be stopped or at the very least neutralized greatly. The situation may seem bleak right now, but steady traveling down the right path will lead to an acceptable solution.”

Harry nodded, Master Splinter did make some sense but it wasn’t like his sensei completely put his frustrations to rest. In his mind, Harry wouldn’t be completely satisfied until he managed to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

“Your frustrations are understandable, and it shows that you are giving a good amount attention to the problem,” continued Master Splinter in a wise voice. “Remain determined Harry and eventually your determination will pay off. The water from the stream that remains on the same path, eventually will wear down the resistance of the hardest boulder, reducing it to nothing.”

Harry remembered his mother telling him pretty much the exact same thing when he voiced his concerns to her, although not quite using the terminology that Master Splinter had chosen to use.

“Yes, you may be right, Master Splinter, thank you for your advice,” said Harry graciously. “Still, I can’t say that I’m not feeling the slightest bit about the next time I fought Voldemort. I honestly believe he wished he killed me when he had the chance last time, when I was tying to the tombstone in the graveyard, but I don’t think he’ll make the same mistake twice.”

“I have faith in your abilities, Harry and while from all stories Tom Marvolo Riddle, Lord Voldemort, is one of the most gifted and perhaps most powerful duelists in the magical world, your own abilities are getting extremely close to matching his,” said Splinter. “Many of the same skills you picked up in our training are influencing your concentration. I am extremely confident that in the end, you will triumph over Voldemort. There will be some setbacks along the way but history rarely judges anything but the final outcome.”

“Thank you, sensei,” said Harry before addressing a question he had. “Where are the others anyway?”

“Out on an unsupervised training exercise, I cautioned them not to get into any trouble, but I would be an old fool to not assume the chances of them doing such are rather high,” said Splinter. “They should be coming back soon.”

“You’re letting them out on an unsupervised training exercise, that’s something new,” remarked Harry, not able to help himself.

“You all are getting to the point where I feel I don’t have to supervise you on everything,” said Splinter. “Some of the more dangerous and advanced areas of ninjitsu do require supervision, but there really isn’t much that I can teach you. My knowledge only extended from what I observed from Master Yoshi and the Shredder killed him before he could get too much further than you five are right now.”

“I’m going to stick around to catch up with the others, because I had Hailey tell Mum that I wouldn’t be back for a few hours,” remarked Harry, as he moved towards the sitting room area of the lair to meet Leo, Don, Raph, and Mikey.