Oliver was standing over his dining room table, in Postbridge Manor. The fresh smell of coffee filled his nostrils. He could feel the caffeine rich air fill his lungs and surge through his veins, it heightened his awareness. With days of travelling, miles of apparation from the south of France to Devon, mixed with the late hour of the day, resulted in exhaustion setting in. He now had to employ everything he could think of to remain alert. Every bit of his body begged for more sleep, but now was not the time for dreaming. With Dumbledore's passing, he knew only nightmares lay ahead. He packed his bag, which rested on the table, with everything he would need for his quest, for his hiding. He knew it would not be long before Death Eaters would come to his home.
A part of him had expected to have a Death Eater waiting at his home when he returned. After checking all his protection and detection charms, Oliver was confident that his house had not been breached. As the three dogs raced around the ground floor, he was getting frustrated with them as he had to be conscious with every footstep, trying not to fall over one of them.
The fiery phoenix within his enchanted cuckoo clock shouted out.
'Visitors.'
Oliver turned his attention away from the clock and stared into blank space. The snitch that contained the charmed glass eye, whizzed around the outside of the house, flying high. He willed the snitch to gently settle down near the entrance gate, so he could see who was at his door. It was Henry Rashmore, Oliver's former Auror colleague, accompanied by his new partner, Marcus Mancel.
A slight suspicious feeling cautioned his motion, though he was confident that any challenge presented was not a significant risk, but potentially an opportunity. He made his way through his hallway, out of his front door and on to the porch, where he could see down upon the two wizards.
'It's a bit late for a house call.' Shouted Oliver.
'Yes, sorry for that. We've just been sent to follow up on some urgent Ministry business. It shouldn't take long, old friend.' Said Henry. Something in the words or the tone had enhanced Oliver's sense of apprehension.
'Come on in guys.' Said Oliver, as he waved a wand to momentarily lower his homes protective shield.
The two Aurors walked up the path and into the large house. Oliver led the way, through the hallway and into the dining room. He placed his wand on to the table and started towards the kitchen.
'Do you two want coffee? I have just prepared a fresh brew in the percolator.'
'Yes, that would be lovely.' Said Henry as the two entered the dining room.
Inside the kitchen, Oliver looked over into the utility room, as the three dogs were now all curled up together inside a large dog bed. He smiled at how cute they all looked.
'So, both with milk and sugar?'
'Please.' Henry replied as his gaze fell upon Oliver's wand on the table.
The two Aurors were sat at the dining room table, Marcus close to and facing towards the kitchen door.
'Yes, no sugar.' Marcus replied.
'So, Dolohov all locked up? I bet his face was a picture when he saw Azkaban.' Shouted Oliver from the kitchen.
Marcus looked over his shoulder towards Henry, who gave a confused expression. Marcus turned back to the kitchen.
'What?' Said Marcus.
Oliver barely heard the reply as he pulled out the jar that contained the sugar and then moved to his fridge to obtain the milk. He was just about to ask what was said, when he heard it, that is when his heart froze.
'Avada Kedavra.'
The shout of the curse came from the dining room, but it was said with such determination and malice, he could not place the voice to an owner. Upon hearing the shout, all three dogs instantly woke from their soft slumber. A second late, a large thud rung out, as Oliver rushed to the dining room. As he entered, he could see two lifeless feet of someone now sprawled out on the floor. As he neared, he could see the whole body, and to his surprise he recognised the face of that belonging to Marcus Mancel. Sat in a chair at the head of the table, Henry Rashmore held out his wand in his right hand, which was pointed towards Oliver. In his other hand he was placing Oliver's wand back on to the table.
'Take a seat Oliver.' Ordered Henry.
'You killed him?' Asked Oliver, as he took a single step forward.
'Take a seat!' Said Henry again, though sterner. As he spoke, a chair next to Oliver moved out from the table.
Sitting down on the chair that had just moved, Oliver's eyes fixed on the murderer he had just invited into his home. The three beagles had now left the utility room and made their way through the kitchen. To stop them entering the dining room, Henry flicked his wand and shut the door, trapping the dogs inside.
Oliver looked over as the door slammed. He could hear the dogs clawing and the door. He was thankful that they were not in the same room.
'Was it necessary to kill him?'
'It was. After nearly two years of working side by side. I know he's not one for turning. And besides, you killed him.' Said Henry, as he gently tapped Oliver's wand.
'You used my wand. In some circles, such behaviour is regarded as rude and uncivilised. Some would go so far to say it is the shameful act of a coward.' Retorted Oliver, bold and unafraid.
'Don't be rude now Tori. Let's not forget which one of us is holding the wand!'
Not flinching his gaze for a moment, Oliver focussed on the expression on the Auror's face, a hint of malevolence glistened in his eyes.
'I could you kill you right now. But I have been ordered to give you one final chance. The Dark Lord commands you to submit and follow.'
'So, you're Death Eater now?'
'Listen to me Oliver. I don't want to kill you. But you need to understand. Since Dumbledore died, people are switching allegiances by the day. The Ministry won't last more than a couple of months. It's over. Soon the Dark Lord will be ruler of this nation. I implore you to see that the choice before you, is not between darkness and light, but between obedience and death.' Said Henry, with true unyielding conviction.
'I understand the offer you came here tonight to pose. But why murder him. Why kill Marcus?'
'I thought that would be obvious to you. Tonight, you will pledge allegiance or you will die. If you choose defiance, I will report to the Ministry, that we came here asking questions, you attacked us. I suspected you were a Death Eater. You murdered Marcus, which on examination of your wand will show to be true. I then bested you and was forced to kill you.'
Oliver smirked, and with a confident and disrespectful tone retorted, 'No one will believe you bested me.'
'Crucio!' Roared Henry.
Oliver instantly screamed on hearing the shout. He roared with pain and keeled over. Henry released the curse. 'I told you not to be rude.'
Oliver straightened himself up and took a large deep breath in.
'Not so much rudeness. Just trying to help you fine tune your lie.'
Henry stood up, tempted to use the again. But held off.
'You don't have a lot of time left to make your decision Oliver. The Dark Lord has guaranteed that all your past transgressions will be forgiven. Just pledge allegiance and provide him with the knowledge of wear the Bracelet of Domantas is. He will take you into his most inner circle. He has been impressed with your exploits. He even remarked that your death would be a waste of pure blood talent.'
'That's kind of him. I take it Dolohov escaped then?' Asked Oliver.
'That he did. And he has reported on everything.'
Oliver wondered how much more information he could passively get Henry to freely offer.
'So, the Dark Lord knows that the Tear of Ra is not just a myth?'
'No. He would be here himself tonight if he was able. But he had somewhere more pressing to be. He has ordered me, however, to use any means possible to get you to reveal its location. I take it you suspected that. Hence the packing.' Said Henry as he glanced at the bag and the assortment of things on the table.
'It had crossed my mind.'
'Well, the choice is at hand. The final offer; pledge allegiance to the Dark Lord.'
'I have given a lot of thought. And, although I appreciate the offer. You can get fucked.'
Henry enraged stood up, his face screwed up. His hand shook with rage.
'Crusio!' He barked again.
Oliver sounded out a loud scream, again he coiled forward, his hands shaking and clutched his chest.
Henry moved towards Oliver, sustaining the curse as he watched him fall to the floor.
'Now, you tell me where the Tear of Ra is, or I will torture you to madness.'
Henry moved towards Oliver and was a couple feet away, towering over Oliver and twisting the curse, forcing all his malice to inflict as much pain as possible.
Oliver glanced up to examine the angle of Henry's ward, his feet position, his stance. He was confident that he was not going to elicit anymore details this way, and now was the time to make his move. His secondary wand, instantly dropped from beneath his left sleeve and into his left hand. Henry's eyes widened in shock at the wand. He focussed his concentration on the spell and uttered the curse again.
'Crucio.' Bellowed Henry.
But to no visible effect. Oliver was already moving his body upwards and within seconds an Expelliarmus spell raced through the air slamming Henrys wand holding hand hard. Henry glanced in absolute horror as his wand was forced out of his hand flying through the air. Before he could do anything else, another spell slammed forcefully into his chest. A bright blue light, coiled around his body, interlocking between his arms. Forcing the arms around his back and looping tight around his chest, he felt trapped. Oliver rose to his feet, his wand in hand tilted upwards, controlling the entrapment spell he was casting. He stood tall and directed the tip of his wand up as Henry floated in the air. His arms held tightly around his back, with a blue light wrapped around his entire torso.
'I told you. No one would believe you bested me.' Said Oliver, extremely confidently.
'How.' Henry asked. Contemplating how Oliver had overcome his Cruciatus Curse. Then it hit him, as he whispered. 'You enchanted the Tear of Ra.'
Oliver ignored the statement. He picked up his other wand from the table and slipped his left-handed wand back under his sleeve. With the remaining right-handed wand, he flicked it towards the door and released his faithful companions. The three dogs raced out, all barking at the floating and entangled Henry.
'Guys. I'm okay. Settle down.' Oliver moved towards his dogs and to stand in front of Henry again.
'Right, thanks for providing some information on the Dark Lord. I'm going to ask you some questions now.'
'You will have to torture me. You got that in you Oliver?' Asked Henry.
'I've done worse.' Replied a remorseful wizard.
'Well, you best get started. And know this, if you make me talk you might as well kill me, because the Dark Lord will kill me for failing.'
'You chose your bed Henry. You betrayed your oath.' Replied Oliver, a flash of light came from outside his front door. It filtered in through the windows, down the hallway and into the dining room. It got the attention of both men.
'Ha-ha.' Roared Henry. 'No time to interrogate old friend. You didn't think I would be the only one to come and complete the Dark Lords orders did you?'
Turning and making his way to his hallway Oliver stood tall and defiant.
'You're dead. Ha. You should have...' Before Henry could finish his sentence, Oliver sent a Stupefy squarely at his face.
'Obliviate.' Said Oliver from the doorway. His spell was cast with the intention to wipe his memories of the last five minutes.
'Auror!' A loud shout came from outside. It was followed by another. 'Auror get out here.' Another taunt that he heard was, 'Oi, Muggle lover. Come and die.' None of the taunts frightened him or changed his resolve. He boldly continued to walk down the hallway and to his front door. Closely followed by all three faithful companions.
'Muggle loving scum.' The shout roared out as he opened his front door and stepped out on to his porch.
He gazed down, a momentarily pang of fear filled him, made his heart race, made him truly alert. Stood just outside the grounds of his home, were between twenty and thirty Death Eaters. All hooded, all with wands out. All baying for blood.
'Hey guys. I think you all have the wrong address. So, if you all kindly do one, I'm sure we can avoid a whole lot of hassle. For all of us.' Shouted Oliver, over the chanting.
The crowd of Death Eaters all roared with laughter. As Oliver looked out, he could make out the faces, but none of them seemed familiar. A wand and pitchfork mob of nobodies he thought. A group of fearful wannabes, who have allowed themselves to be manipulated by hate.
'We have come for you Oliver. You're a disgrace to your name, your family, to all true witches and wizards.' The wizard at the centre spoke. Oliver strained to see his face, but again, it belonged to a wizard unknown to him. 'We're going to break you traitor. You're dead.'
Oliver stood up straight as his three beagles sat in a line behind him. He gazed out to the mob, cleared his mind, and prepared himself for the battle of his life.
'Come out Oliver, drop your shield and face us. You're alone now. No one is coming to save you.'
As the mob continued to jeer, a few of them started to throw hexes and spells at the shield. Bright green and red flashes peppered the field and illuminated the night sky.
Oliver dropped his second wand under his left sleeve into his hand. He stood tall with his two wands on full display. He directed his right-handed wand, the one with the dragon heartstring, at his protective shield. He flicked his wrist and the entire field that circulated his house, burst into a blinding white light. With a second flick the field convalesced directly in front of him, into an even brighter white light. Death Eater before it squinted and raised the hand to cover their eyes. Then a large thud rang out as the field exploded, directing its entire force at the mob. It sent all off them hurtling back. Some were hit with such force it knocked them out completely. A couple fell so awkwardly that they were fatally wounded. Most, however, were only temporally debilitated. Standing tall, Oliver watched as a couple Death Eaters glanced up towards him and tried to get back up onto their feet. Not wasting another second, Oliver waved both his wands, his left over the top of Galahad, his right, over Gawain and Gaheris. Instantly the transfiguration charm lifted on all three creatures.
Galahad's fur instantly shed, and his skin turned a crimson red. Spikes began to produce from his flesh, shiny golden. As he changed in appearance he also grew in size. He was a male Chinese Fireball dragon, and still within his adolescence, just shy of eleven years old. He was as tall as the house and broad and intimidating. He let out a roar of both anger and joy, the joy of being free to stretch his wings. The roar was followed by bold of fire, it mushroomed into the air. Most of the Death Eaters trembled with freight and what they witnessed.
As Galahad returned to his dragon appearance, Gawain turned into a magnificent and beautiful Phoenix. Similar in size and shape to Dumbledore's Fawkes, but her feathers were jade and her tail was silver. She shook off the transfiguration spell and outstretched her wings. Gaheris too transformed from his beagle appearance. He stood next to Gawain but towered over her. His feathers were dark brown, his size was that of baby elephant; he was a giant Storm Petrel, and like Galahad, he vocalised his anger by sending out a shriek that was so ear piercing, it even hurt that dragon's ears.
Oliver now stood side by side his faithful companions, in their true, untransfigured form. The large Fireball Dragon to his left, and the Phoenix and the Giant Strom Petrel to his right. The majority of Death Eaters were now up on their feet, all staring in amazement, all clueless at how such a magical feat was achieved.
In an instant Oliver sent a large, all-encompassing hex to the group of Death Eaters on the left of the mob. Five of them were instantly frozen, fixed and unable to move. Oliver jumped and when he landed, he rolled forward, evading a couple of hexes that smashed into the steps to his house. Returning to his feet, he quickly sent a spell to his right side, it was aimed for the floor. As the spell hit the ground the earth exploded, sending soil high into the air, which then formed a small, solid steep hill, blocking several Death Eaters advance and aim. At that moment all three creatures took flight.
Two Death Eaters crossed his grounds' boundaries and were stood directly in front of Oliver. They both fired curses at him, which he easily blocked with his left-handed wand. With his right, he sent two extremely powerful and fierce spells that smashed into the pair, incapacitating them instantly.
Another Death Eater charged at him. Oliver smirked at the stupid undertaking. With a quick flick of his wand the ex-Auror sent a spell that hit the oncoming attacker in the chest with such force it lifted him off his feet, flying backwards and crashing into a small wooden shed. Moments later Oliver had to quickly dodge two green hexes that whizzed directly at him. He could make out about eight wizards just near the border to his house, about five meters from his exact spot. They all raised their wands and were just about to send a barrage of curses at him, before they were all instantly consumed by a huge ball of fire, as Galahad doused them in flames as he soared above them.
Oliver than apparated. He moved himself from his garden to the field outside, just behind the Death Eaters line. As he appeared, he saw a couple of them with their backs to him, not waiting to give them a chance, he sent stunning curses from both his wands, crashing them to the ground.
A few more Death Eaters turned to see Oliver. Curses and protection spells were instant. Oliver was able to hold off the attacks using both his wands in quick succession, creating powerful shields and incredible offensive spells. As the duel took place, Galahad was sending fire bolts all over the ground. A few hexes hit him, but nothing powerful enough to do any real damage. They merely angered the dragon. As Gaheris swopped in, tearing at Death Eaters with his talons and beak. He was swift, with incredibly sharp reflexes, he easily evaded all the curses sent at him. Gawain too flew between the Death Eaters, violently colliding with some sending them momentarily to the ground.
Duels continued as Oliver overcame his two attackers only to see five more race towards him. He changed tact. His spells up until that point, were slightly restrained; he now deliberately and consciously went out to kill. Both of his wands sent out long twisting streams of Fiendfyre. As they arced and spiralled in different directions, the Death Eaters found it hard to protect against them. Some flows of the Fiendfyre, snaked around protective shields hitting their targets in the chest, boring fiery holes through them. Others smashed into protective shields consuming the field, as another bolt would quickly follow and hit a Death Eater, and fatally wound.
The night was filled with incredible magic and what seemed like insurmountable odds, to anyone who had not seen Oliver duel before; had quickly turned to an almost blood bath. Oliver knew it would not have gone well without his three loyal and powerful comrades. He did not judge too much but was slightly shocked to see Galahad snatch a couple of Death Eaters during flight, who were attempting to flee, and gobbled them down.
The air was filled with a smouldering ash smell as the grounds around his home, and even his house was on fire. Oliver bested the final Death Eater with a fast combination of spells. As his opponent fell to the ground, stunned, Oliver took a long, mournful look around. Death Eaters were sprawled everywhere, some dead, some unconscious. He shouted at Galahad to stop eating them, which the smart dragon respected. He looked over to see Gawain dropping a tear on to the wing of Gaheris who had been caught by a curse that had slashed into his flesh. It was not fatal and the Tear would be more than enough to remedy the infliction.
'A single Tear.' Whispered Oliver. Everything that had happened over the past year, had all come down to a Tear. As he watched the healing, he was compelled to understand how powerful the magic of Tears could be. A power and knowledge that is so often overlooked or not understood in the magical world.
Entering his house and putting out the fires, he quickly collected the last of his things. He sent the three creatures flying to the destination in France. He didn't have the resources or the power to complete the re-transfiguration spells. The three took flight into the night sky, knowing exactly where they were heading.
Oliver watched after them as he threw his bag on his back. He would meet them in the north of France, in a house that no one in the magical world would now about. But first, he had one last thing to do in the United Kingdom. And with the thought, he disapparated.
*
To apparate from Devon to Scotland was no mean feat. Particularly after duelling so many Death Eaters. As he arrived on the top of the hill that overlooked Hogwarts, his head pounded with pain. He slowly made his way down towards the great castle. He was grateful that he had not splinched.
It was the height of summer now, and fortunately the night air was warm. It was gone midnight, and anyone that was left in the castle outside of term-time was surely fast asleep. The protective barrier was still up, and Aurors still patrolled the grounds, although in far fewer numbers than before. It didn't matter to Oliver, he didn't need access to the castle itself, his destination was closer to the water's edge. It was on the school grounds but in a part that was far less protected and would be easy enough for him to access in the dead of night.
As he got near to the loch, he could make out the white stone from nearly a hundred yards away. It looked grand; it was exactly how it was described in the obituary he read in the Daily Prophet.
Taking the final steps Oliver marvelled and the pristine white marble stone. It took him a few moments, simply starring. It was an awful feeling seeing the final resting place of Albus Dumbledore. He bowed his head and in silent contemplation paid respect.
'I'm sorry I failed you. I am sorry I wasn't there that night.' He whispered.
He wondered on the stories he had been told. His thoughts dwelled on the rumour that Harry himself had seen Dumbledore's end, and that it had come from Professor Snape. Something about that did not feel right to him. He could see Dumbledore's dishevelled hand in his mind's eye and knew, that there must be more to it. He remembered on what Albus had said to him the last time they met. That he had many secrets. Was all this just another, he thought. Was Dumbledore truly just a great man, with so many secrets?
He pushed all those thoughts to one side and was left with only one thing on his mind.
'I will fulfil my oath Dumbledore. I promise, I shall find a way and I shall destroy the Tear of Ra.'
A cool wind swept in harshly of the loch and sent a strange shiver down his spine. Oliver shook it off and continued.
'I swear I'll destroy it. I will uphold my vow as well. I'll protect Harry on his mission. I will be ready for when the Dark Lord is made mortal once more.'