Mark_Ward
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Chapter 113: Riddle Manor
🕑 Added 2021-01-12 03:34:16 +0000 UTC"Come on," the old man said, "let's get out of here and end Voldermort once and for all!"
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Coming out of Barty Jr.'s mind, Harry snapped his eyes wide open and nearly fell as he got assaulted by a wave of vertigo. He felt like bending over and vomiting everything in his stomach as the world spun before him. His body was still getting used to the strange shift that happened on a mental level.
Removing his hand from off of Barty jr.'s head, Harry saw the state the death eater was in. Drool fell from the corner of his lip as he sat stock still in his seat, and his eyes had a vacant cast over them as all the hate and fury was gone from them replaced by nothing but glassy emptiness.
He was truly and utterly mind dead. Harry could see his chest rising and falling as he still breathed in and he looked perfectly normal in his seat, but Harry knew that he was long gone. His mind was completely shattered and was unrecoverable.
For the rest of his days, he would send his time as a drilling mess that can not do or say anything for himself.
It was a fitting end to a man who caused so much pain and suffering upon others, to now be left at their mercy and compassion.
Shaking his head in disgust, Harry figured the death eater should never have left his faith into his heartless and cruel master. The imprint that Voldermort left in his servant's mind showed no mercy at all in destroying his follower's mind when he saw that his secrets were at risk of being revealed.
All Voldermort really cared about was number one, himself. He had no love or compassion for anything or anyone else and if they thought he did, they would be sorely mistaken.
Some might see that as a strength, but Harry only saw it as a weakness.
You can drop his allies like flies and he wouldn't care at all, only reminiscing at the lost of a valuable tool or such. In the end, he will be left with no one and Harry would gladly make sure to see that happened as he finally delivers the final death blow on to him.
"What a sad loss," Dumbledore shook his head as he stared at the brain dead criminal.
Abruptly, they heard loud voices from outside the doors as it sounded like people screaming at each other in loud voices. Then suddenly, the door to the office spun open, and people begin to file in.
Snape who looked a bit ruffled and piqued, uttered, "I tried to stop them Headmaster, but they just wouldn't take a no!"
Looking at the people who filed into the room, Harry spotted plenty of Auror in their long military-grade trench coat, and amount them he spotted a very familiar pink hair, Tonks.
Of note among the crowd were two people he knew very well, Amelia Bones Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Kingsley Shacklebolt Head of the British Auror Office. He saw that they were each battle ready with enchanted trench coats on and their wands firmly held in their hands.
"It is alright, Severus," Dumbledore smiled at the Potion Professor. "Amelia, Kingsley it is so good of you to visit me!"
"Cut the bullshit, Dumbledore," Amelia said with a snort. "Minerva told us you apprehended the wanted criminal Bartemius Crouch Jr, a well known Death Eater. We are here to bring him in and see that he faces justice!"
Clearing his throat, Kingsley Shacklebolt spoke up, "Ahhh, Amelia I think you should look over there," he said as he pointed to the drooling mess which was Barty Jr.
Finally taking notice of the man seated on the chair behind them, Harry could understand why she didn't spot him any sooner. They were effectively blocking him off with their bodies and covering up what they had done.
"You..." the older witch tried to say as her anger seem to tongue twist her up. "You had no right!" she growled menacingly as she pointed her wand at the old man.
"He was under our preview, and we were to question him. Now what are we supposed to do with... with this!" she said as she looked at the Death Eater like a sad waste.
"Time was of the essence, Amelia," the old man tried to dissuade her. "And he wasn't going to tell you or me anything no matter what. So this was the only option left," he declared with a sad shake of his head as if he was all broken up about it. To which Harry really doubted he did.
"So," Kingsley asked in a somber, "Did you get anything out of him of use, or were you not successful?"
"On that front, I have good news," the old smile. "I know where Voldermort is hiding out in!"
The silence that greeted his declaration was deafening in the fact that no one even dared to breathe or speak up for that matter. Total silence greeted the room as the Aurors exchanged awkward glances disbelieving at what they just heard while Amelia and Kingsley and even Snape were stock still.
"So he is alive after all this time..." Kingsley asked, eyes hooded by his fez cap.
"Yes," the old man nodded his head, "though I am not sure if I would call the state he is in alive or for that matter even dead."
"It doesn't matter," Amelia said, "alive or dead, we will still hunt him to the ends of the earth and put a stop to him and all the evil he has wrought!"
"We should strike out right now," Harry spoke up, "Voldermort will soon know that something is wrong and might flee from where he is hold up."
Stepping up was Tonks, who he couldn't help noticing how fabulous she looked in her Auror outfit. "Don't you think we need a much much larger force to face the Dark Lord himself?" she asked as she emphasized the word much many times over.
Harry didn't miss the Aurors nodding their head to themselves, they might be fearless enforcers of justice willing to die in the line of duty to see order preserved. However, that didn't mean they were suicidal warriors willing to sign their death warrant.
"It is not about getting back up," Kingsley shook his head, "it is about not getting bogged down by political matters. If word got out we going after he-who-must-not-be-named there will be so many investigations opened up to investigate the validity and there will be those that will try to stop us.
"Besides," he said with a sad shake of his head, "I do not trust the whole Auror force, those who loyalties lay elsewhere will quickly attack us and we will be having a civil war within our ranks. Lord Potter is right, we need to move fast and decisively and handle this problem right now!"
"Also you don't have to worry," Dumbledore spoke up, "I will handle Voldermort myself! All you have to worry about is anyone hold up in the place we are about to go to."
"And where exactly is this place that most reviled man in recent history is hiding out in?" Amelia only curious to know, not trying to be antagonistic to the old man.
"The Riddle Manor, is his Paternal home of his muggle father!" the old man simply answered.
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Harry couldn't believe what his ears heard and he still couldn't as they headed out, leaving the castle grounds.
This revelation had inconceivable consequences, Harry didn't know if the old man realized what he just told them, but this was game changing.
There were plenty of leaders out there that didn't believe a single thing about what they stood for. What comes out of their mouth and what is in their hearts of hearts is totally different. And Harry could understand it, power is power no matter how it is achieved.
However that wasn't the case with Voldermort it would seem, the man didn't believe in what he doctorated. No, no, no he was what he was fighting against what he was, a half-blood, just like him and so many other wizards and witches he persecuted during the war.
Harry would have found it hilarious if he didn't also find it sickening. To persecute and fight against your own kinds, even a beast wouldn't stoop that low.
Still he couldn't help himself form thinking about the expressions on the Death Eaters who followed him thinking he was the purest of them all. What would their expressions look like if they knew that their leader was a half-blood, someone who they saw as lesser than them and an insult to what a wizard should be.
He was pretty sure it wouldn't be pleasant at all.
People like them, who think that the world revolves around them wouldn't take it well having their world view shattered right before their ever eyes.
Though Harry didn't give two fucks about that existential crisis they would be facing, to be honest, he was going to be the first one laughing in their faces and he would love nothing more than delivering this Sword of Damocles down upon them. Once this operation is over and they finally have Voldermort in their hands, he would have Rita Skeeter assess the validity of this new claim and report it!
As they left the school premises with Fawkes swooping ahead, people begin to stick out their heads out of windows, rooms, and pipeholes; looking at them go by and leave out the front gates of the castle.
"Stick close to me," the old man pronounced as they came to the edge of the school wards that prevented apparating. Looking over at him, Dumbledore held out his hand, "Why don't you grab my hand!" he said, of course thinking he couldn't teleport great distances since his grade had yet to learn apparating.
Humoring him, Harry did as he asked of him while he took in a deep breath, and with that, they were gone, each disappearing with an audible loud pop.
Appearing outside at the edge of a little quaint village, the place was nestled between two steep hills, its church and graveyard clearly visible from all around as they stuck out like sore thumbs as was the house Voldermort was hiding in.
The village was called Little Hangleton a small muggle community in rural England. The village was approximately six miles away from the larger community of Great Hangleton and is about 200 miles away from Little Whinging where he grew up in.
It was already dark out and the lights had gone out in the homes as people must have gone to bed already.
It was quiet, so quiet in fact that they could hear audible popping noises as they apparated in.
Thanks to the cover of the night no one could really see the numerous souls that all of the sudden appeared from right out of thin air.
"Amelia," the old man called out, "secure the village and have some of the Auror lead the civilians out of here. Things might get a bit devastating!" he said in a low tone. Even though Amelia hated his guts and didn't hide her dislike for him she still followed through with his order, shouting at the Aurors to form up.
This operation solely depended on the old goat, he was the one who was going head to head with Voldermort and was going to bring him in if he could to face trial. So everyone counted on him!
"Moving in," Kingsley shouted as the Aurors headed into the village in five men squads. They started breaking into the home, dragging people out of their homes and waking them up from their slumbers.
Some put up fights and others resisted, but with magic on their side, it was easy to handle them all. Harry saw, they were more like chickens or children being manhandled by grown-ups more than anything.
One of the muggle men he saw was taking this at all as he brought out his shotgun from his house, and fire it at the Aurors in self-defense. All the bullets did were bounce off the shield harmlessly that the witch had in place, and then when he tried to fire again his gun jammed for no reason, but knew it was only the magic at work and in them wizards and witches.
The muggle man was quickly apprehended as he could only stare dumbly as the Aurors closed in nad put him with the rest of the people. After that little scuffle, none of the village folks put up any more fights as they kept their heads down.
Harry could feel the fear coming off of them in waves as they stared at the Aurors in dread.
Never before did Harry gain a deeper understanding on why wizards and witches saw themselves as superior to their none magical brethren. As he watched everything unfold, he saw how all too easy it was for wizards to subjugate a whole village of muggle up to a couple hundred if not a thousand, with only a fraction of that.
Every way you looked at it on an individual level muggles are lesser to wizards on average, with wizards always coming out on top.
"Don't worry," Amelia called out as she looked down at the huddled muggles, "you will be back in your homes before you know it." Then holding her wand out along side with Kingsley and a few Aurors including Tonks as assistances, she cast a mass Memory Charm on them as she shouted on the top of her lung, "Obliviate!"
With a loud bang and a massive flash of light, the muggles were left looking around with vacant looks in their eyes. They stared at the Aurors and Amelia as if this was the first time they have seen her.
"Kingsley, if you could do the honors of taking them to safety," Amelia spoked to the dark skinned man. "Make sure you keep them placid with calming charms. Don't want them losing their shit and running back to the sight of the battle."
"Can't do, Amelia," the wizard shook his head. "You know I have to see this through," he said with an unreadable expression.
Staring long and hard at him, the older witch finally spoke up, "You know you just resisted your direct superiors in the line of battle right."
"Yes," the man simply nodded his head.
"You know the punishment for that?" she asked in a stern voice.
"Yes, and I really don't care," he shrugged his shoulder. "No matter what, I have to see this done for the both of them."
Sighing, Amelia just shook her head and called out to another random Auror had him lead the Muggles away. "we will talk about this later," she promised the wizard.
"Are all the muggles to safety?" Dumbledore called out. With a nod from Amelia, the old man begin to prepare as his magic rouse up, raising his wand skyward, he began to mutter words in Latin.
Harry watched as the old powerful wizard shout, "Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum." Then a wisps of light darted out of his wand and high up into the air, before his eyes he watched as that light spread across the sky like roots, and slowly a powerful shield was formed that enveloped the whole village.
"Let's move in," the old man said.
Walking through the streets of the abandoned village, they were aiming for the manor on top of the hill. It sat there overlooking the village with the crescent moon hanging near it, some of its windows boarded, tiles missing from its roof, and ivy spreading unchecked over its face. It seem to be once a fine-looking manor, and easily the largest and grandest building for miles around, but now the place was now damp, derelict, and unoccupied.
Or at least that was what it used to be as now it was home to the most evil wizard in modern history.
As if taking notice of their arrival the skies above the village begin to darken as dark clouds started to roll in. They filled the atmosphere with dread and emptiness as everyone knew the work they were about to undertake.
Coming up the hill, lighting started to quake the sky overhead and deep rumbling filled their ears and souls.
Finally they stood before the Riddle Manor, and it stood facing them with its dark foreboding feeling.
Comments
Romavictrix
I like the story so far and am enjoying the interactions between Harry and Daphne
Thanks for the chapter on a good story
she isn't lady potter, that will go to someone else. She only promised three for Slytherin, Greengrass, and a spare.
Just a thought but now that Daphne will be 'Daphne Slytherin' will that change her 3 children rule? Like 1 for Potter, 1 for Slytherin, 1 for Greengrass and 2 spares for any?
