Avery Manor, Hampshire, 5/28/1992, 21:39
Voldemort sat behind the desk in his study feeling quite pleased with what he'd accomplished. According to the arithmancy that he had checked three times, the corruption ritual would be successful.
He had a month to collect the ingredients he needed for the submersion potion but they were by no means rare and could be easily acquired in Knockturn Alley.
Voldemort was pulled from his musings as Thomas stepped into the room and gently shut the door behind him.
"Thomas, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Voldemort questioned as he turned toward the sound of the door closing
"I am sorry to disturb you, my lord. I am preparing to leave for Bulgaria to meet with Antonin," Thomas answered as he took a seat in the chair Voldemort gestured to.
"Exellent, when you find suitable candidates have Antonin take them to Meadow Lake, then you may do as you wish while you're abroad," Voldemort said graciously.
"You do not wish me to return with them, my lord?" Thomas asked in surprise.
"No, I want you to take Miss Snyde with you to Bulgaria. She can escort them here from the ship," Voldemort instructed.
"May I ask why?" Avery questioned.
"I believe it is time to advance our plans with the Bulgarian ministry so I will need you there to start our plans in motion," Voldemort explained.
"Of course, I already have quite a few contacts in their ministry," Avery agreed looking quite pleased with this assignment.
"At present, we have a better chance of taking that country than we do our own," Voldemort said sounding troubled at the admission.
"You wish to start there and work our way west," Avery said in realization.
"As fun as that would be, it is not practical. Our forces are not large enough to occupy such a large swath of land effectively. No, I wish to gain the assistance of their ministry to entertain our own auror corp while we take this country for our own," Voldemort elaborated.
"I shall begin working on this as soon as I assess our latest recruits," Avery promised.
"Good, I foresee it taking years for this plan to bear fruit but it could very well gain us magical Britain with minimal effort," Voldemort said before taking a sip of his brandy.
"Perhaps less," Avery agreed.
"Perhaps, have you heard word from Daciana of late?" Voldemort questioned.
"She has begun gathering her coven at the old Carfax Abbey property. The elder vampires have left the cities so now the recently turned are on their own," Avery answered.
"Excellent," Voldemort said feeling quite pleased with this news.
"I have also heard from one of my contacts in the Americas. Someone fitting the Reaper's description was sighted in Peru very recently," Thomas said.
"Oh?" Voldemort asked gesturing for him to go on.
"One of the major potion companies had an illegal basilisk in one of their warehouses. According to my contact, the Reaper stole it and escaped from a team of Peruvian aurors," Avery elaborated.
"That makes it almost certain that Peverell is this Reaper fellow. Parseltongue is not a very common gift," Voldemort mused.
"I intimated that to my associate. Peverell will have a very bad go of things if he ever returns to South America," Avery smirked.
"I doubt they will be able to capture him but we can always hope," Voldemort chuckled.
"There is one more thing," Avery said looking much more nervous.
"Go on," Voldemort said already knowing whatever Avery had to say would anger him.
"When he escaped the potion warehouse, he used a spell that transformed him into a smoke-like entity... the aurors tried to pursue him but he portkeyed away before they could move in. From what my friend described, he was using... your spell, my lord," Avery said looking fearful the longer he spoke.
"I see," Voldemort said his voice coming out in a silky hiss.
Not for the first time since this Reaper appeared, Voldemort wondered if he should have tried to form an alliance with this man. That attack on the Peverells' home had spawned the attacks on his people over the last few years. Peverell would have made a great death eater, possibly one of the best but he had become an enemy that was quickly rivalling Albus Dumbledore himself.
"Bellatrix has been sharing my secrets with her husband," Voldemort mused.
"I may have a solution to the Reaper problem or at the very least, a way to return the favour," Avery offered.
"Now you definitely have my interest, Thomas," Voldemort said looking at his number one expectantly.
"Well as you know most of Peverell's family live in heavily warded homes behind ancient family wards. There is one exception, Bellatrix's sister Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda married a mudblood and lives in a muggle suburb in Reading. From what I have learned, her home is only protected by very basic wards," Avery explained.
"I like the way you think, perhaps I shall send a few of my best to pay her a visit," Voldemort mused.
"It should be quite fun for them, Andromeda is quite the looker," Avery smirked.
"And it may lift their morale a bit. Very well, inform Amycus to look into the Tonks family," Voldemort instructed.
"Of course, my lord" Avery answered at once.
"Make sure that they leave a message to the Reaper so that he knows our intent behind the attack," Voldemort continued.
"It will be done," Avery assured him.
"Excellent, I believe that will be all, Thomas, you may leave," Voldemort said before taking a drink of his brandy.
"Yes my lord," Avery said as he rose to his feet and swept from the room leaving Voldemort to ponder this new information.
Peverell was using his own magic against him! First Peverell had bastardized his mark and now he was using his flight spell! That particular spell was incredibly complex and had taken him nearly twenty years to perfect and now it was being used by his enemy! Peverell would suffer for this disrespect one way or the other!
Voldemort had neglected to ask if Avery knew where the basilisk had been taken though Voldemort was certain that he already knew the answer. There was a XXXXX reserve somewhere in the Mediterranean that was home to some of the deadliest creatures on earth and more than likely where Peverell had taken the basilisk.
Voldemort had been searching for those islands but their whereabouts were a very well-kept secret. The reserve was unplottable so the only way to get there was to be taken by someone who had already been there. Even then one had to have a specialized portkey created by the Greek ministry to cross the protections over the reserve. He had no doubt he could find and enter the reserve if he put his mind to iyitbut he had never had the time to devote to the task.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, Voldemort went back to the notes on his ritual and began scribbling out a list of ingredients he would send his servants to retrieve for him.
"Hopefully the imbeciles can't mess this task up," Voldemort muttered to himself as he summoned Alecto through their connection to pass along his orders.
Peverell Beach House, Cornwall, 5/28/1992, 17:39
Harry stepped into the dining room to find his family plus Sirius seated around the table.
"Sirius, Glad you made it. Where is Edgar?" Harry asked as he took a seat beside Bellatrix.
"With Cissa, she took him to the opera," Sirius smirked.
"Poor bloke," Ignotus muttered causing his sister to giggle.
"Cissa said she wanted him to experience some muggle culture," Sirius shrugged.
"We should really do that with the children as well," Bella said looking thoughtful.
"Mum!?" Ignotus exclaimed looking horrified.
"Cissa was trying to drag me along but I already had plans to come over here for dinner," Sirius smirked.
"Dad, please don't let her take me to the opera," Iggy cut in giving Harry an imploring look.
"You never know, you might like it, son" Harry pointed out.
"I doubt it, I saw the outfit Edgar had to wear tonight," Iggy exclaimed.
"A little culture might do you some good even if it is... Muggle," Bellatrix said saying the last part as though it displeased her.
"I suppose that it will be up to your aunt whether you go to the opera or not, son," Harry shrugged.
"So why did you want me over?" Sirius asked curiously before Iggy could reply.
"We're going out of town this weekend and wondered if you wanted to join us," Harry said giving Sirius a pointed look.
"Where are we going, Daddy?" Carina asked curiously.
"Well you and your brother are spending the weekend with your Aunt Cissa," Bellatrix replied as food appeared on the table courtesy of Jangles.
"Oh no," Iggy muttered looking horrified.
"I will make arrangements, I definitely want to go with you," Sirius answered at once.
"Good, we just might need you," Harry said as a plate with a French dip sandwich and crisps appeared in front of him.
"So how was school?" Bella asked while dipping her sandwich into a small cup of au jus sauce that had appeared beside her plate.
"All of my classes except my fifth years and the two seventh years are done for the year," Harry answered before taking a bite of his own sandwich.
"So what are you having them do in class?" Sirius asked curiously.
"I've had my third years viewing pensieve memories of hippogriffs for the experience. I've already covered the third-year curriculum so I figured I'd show them some things that aren't on the curriculum. All but two of them passed the class with flying colours so I didn't see any point in reviewing the third-year material," Harry shrugged.
"And the two that didn't?" Sirius asked after taking a large drink of butterbeer.
"The Weasley twins pulled a prank during the practical exam so I gave them a zero, they still passed the class but just barely," Harry shrugged.
"What did they do?" Carina asked with undisguised interest.
"One of them fed their fire salamander a wet-start firework," Harry scowled.
"That's gold," Sirius guffawed.
"I have to disagree, the poor thing was shaking for three days," Harry sighed.
"It's just a lizard, mate," Sirius exclaimed.
"How is Amelia, I haven't seen her in months?" Harry asked deciding a change in topic was in order.
"Working herself to death," Sirius said after swallowing a large mouthful of his sandwich.
"I'm not surprised. From what I've heard, the ministry has quite a mess on their hands," Harry muttered.
"Amelia got stuck running the DMLE while Scrimgeour is the acting minister," Sirius said sounding quite proud of his wife.
"It was only a matter of time before she took that position on," Harry smirked.
Harry knew that Amelia was promoted to that position during the summer of ninety-three in his timeline so this information did not surprise him very much.
"Yes, once things calm down it will be a pretty cushy gig but at present, she is needed there around the clock," Sirius agreed.
"I'm not surprised," Bella said before popping a crisp in her mouth.
"Are you talking about the vampires?" Carina asked curiously.
"Where did you hear about them?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Astoria overheard her father telling her mother that there were vampires in Britain," Carina answered her green eyes locked onto his.
"Figures," Harry sighed.
"So there really are vampires in Britain?" Iggy asked in surprise.
"Yes son, there really are vampires scattered all over Northern England," Harry answered knowing it was pointless to lie at this point.
"Are there any around here?" Carina asked looking alarmed.
"Not that we know of, they seem to be moving north," Harry assured her.
"Even if there were, they could not cross our property wards," Bellatrix added.
"That's right, our wards would destroy any dark creature who tried to cross them," Harry said giving Carina a comforting smile.
"So we're safe?" Ignotus asked looking more subdued than usual.
"We are," Harry agreed.
"What about Aunt Cissa?" Carina asked worriedly.
"Yes, Princess, Narcissa's home is warded quite well, and no vampires have been sighted that far south," Harry assured her.
"Alright enough about vampires, let's talk about something fun. How do you think the Harpies are doing this season?" Sirius asked as he looked over at Iggy.
The rest of dinner passed with light conversation about quidditch and what trouble Edgar had gotten himself into this week. After the kids had finished eating, Bella sent them to go do their homework while the three adults stayed at the table and talked.
"So where are we going?" Sirius asked as soon as the kids had stepped out of the dining room.
"Bulgaria," Harry answered as the empty plates disappeared with a soft 'pop'.
"That will be tricky with the ban on international travel," Sirius pointed out.
"It's as simple as getting on a plane," Harry smirked.
"I will have to point that loophole out to Amy after we return," Sirius chuckled.
"I don't know why the ministry is bothering with the ban. From what I've learned, Voldemort is using the Durmstrang shop to bring vampires into Britain anyway," Harry said as a cup of coffee appeared in front of him.
"I know, Dumbledore is trying to have them place wards around Britain to keep the ship from crossing our borders but it would be a massive undertaking," Sirius admitted.
"Well, never mind that now. Have you heard any word about the vampires?" Harry asked.
"They are still a huge problem in Leeds but the ones in London have been eradicated. On the downside, three aurors were bitten during the last raid," Sirius answered.
"Bugger," Harry muttered as cups of steaming coffee appeared in front of them.
"They are on the potion and have been a boon in locating vampires since. Now they can literally sniff them out," Sirius said looking almost amused.
There was a potion that could prevent a witch or wizard from becoming a vampire as long as a person took it before the change was complete. The potion put the vampire transformation into a kind of stasis while it slowly destroyed the virus. As long as the person took the potion once a week for a year, they would not become a vampire.
As a side-effect of being bitten, most people developed a heightened sense of smell, improvements in their vision and a slight boost in strength. This was especially true during the first few months after being bitten when the virus was strongest in their body. Over time the person would return to normal as the potion worked on destroying the virus until the person was cured. In the early stages of treatment, many people developed the traits of a vampire which could be useful in searching out vampire dens.
"Bet you're glad they pulled you from the field now," Harry smirked.
"Kind of, I have never tangled with a vampire and I'm not sure I want to," Sirius confessed.
"Same here," Harry agreed.
"I don't know what you're worried about, Bella would love to play with vampires," Bellatrix giggled.
"Of course you would," Sirius scoffed.
"Bella likes a challenge," Bellatrix smirked.
"We may have to give the ministry a hand with bloodsuckers in the end. The new vampires aren't much of a threat but the ones Voldemort brought in from Romania are a different story," Harry said after sipping his coffee.
"The ministry hasn't found any of them yet just the newly turned," Sirius said.
"I doubt they will, their purpose was to spread the virus and leave," Bellatrix shrugged.
"So how dangerous will this trip to Bulgaria be?" Sirius asked looking like he wanted to get off of the topic of vampires.
"Very, we are going to the Avery summer property. Avery is travelling there to recruit Durmstrang graduates so there will undoubtedly be others beside him there," Harry answered.
"Excellent, I haven't been in a fight since the last war," Sirius exclaimed.
"Don't do anything stupid and get yourself killed," Harry warned giving his godfather a pointed look.
"I won't," Sirius promised.
The rest of the evening was spent going over the details of their trip. Sirius was very excited about the prospect of going on a dangerous mission and was in good spirits when he left to go pick Edgar up from Malfoy Manor at ten o 'clock.
After Sirius left, Bella put the children to bed before she and Harry made their way to their bedroom and got ready for bed themselves.
They didn't talk much as they got undressed, Harry's mind was going over the plan they had made with Sirius. He was also questioning his decision to bring his godfather along. True Sirius was a very able wizard but Harry had seen firsthand that the man was reckless. Sirius' recklessness had gotten him killed in Harry's timeline making him leery of putting the man in such a dangerous situation again.
Harry got dressed and brushed his teeth on auto-pilot while his wife watched him curiously but let him be.
"Do you think we should bring Sirius along?" Harry asked after he had finished brushing his teeth.
"It was your idea to bring him," Bella smirked before she began brushing her own teeth.
Bringing Sirous had been his idea and at the time it had seemed like a great idea. Three fighters were better than two and Voldemort was starting to take precautions against attack so bringing another fighter only made sense. Now that he was really thinking about Sirius coming along he wasn't so sure that it was such a good idea. the whole point of these attacks was to take out Voldemort before he could do as much damage as he had done in Harry's original timeline. Sirius getting himself killed was top of the list of things he wanted to prevent from happening.
Harry crawled under the covers and shut his eyes as he heard Bella shut off the tap. A minute later he felt the bed dip as Bella crawled under the covers and draped her leg over his. Harry felt her head resting on his shoulder and she ran her hand on his bare stomach.
"Want to tell Bella what you're thinking so hard about?" Bellatrix asked, her warm breath tickling his cheek.
"I am having second thoughts about bringing Sirius," Harry admitted shivering pleasurably as he felt her fingertips moving down his stomach.
"Sirius knows what he's doing," Bella said soothingly.
"I know he does but I haven't forgotten how reckless he was in my timeline," Harry admitted as his wife placed a kiss on his jawline.
"I will keep an eye on him," Bella promised before she placed another kiss on his neck.
"I would appreciate that," Harry gasped as Bella slipped her hand inside of his boxers catching him by surprise.
"Of course, I'll want compensation," Bella smirked as she shifted around so that she was on top of him.
"If I must," Harry whispered before he pulled her head down to his and captured her lips in a searing kiss.
Their talking ceased after this as things devolved into more physical activities. Harry's nervousness over the coming mission was pushed to the back of his mind as he and Bellatrix found a creative way to distract themselves from thinking about their trip to Bulgaria.
Hogwarts Grounds, 5/28/1992, 15:38
Harry had just finished his Transfiguration exam which consisted of going over all of the spells they had covered this year. He had to turn a matchstick into a needle, turn three beetles into coat buttons and then the hardest of all, transfigure a mouse into a snuff. Points were added on the last transfiguration if the student added some type of decoration to their snuff box. As long as the snuff box didn't still have whiskers, Professor McGonagall assured the class they would pass the exam.
Harry thought he had done fairly well, his snuff box was decorated with a griffin pattern on the lid. more importantly, it did not have any lingering features of the white mouse he had transfigured it from.
Professor McGonagall had also informed them that for the last two weeks of term, they would be learning a second-year spell that would be the theme for their essay over the summer.
He and Susan were currently stepping outside with most of the other first years Gryffindors who had just completed their exams.
Next week the O.W.Ls were starting for the fifth years but all of the lower years were just about finished their schooling for this term.
"Our exams are almost done," Susan beamed as the two of them crossed the lawns.
"Yeah just astronomy and potions left," Harry agreed as he ducked his head to avoid getting hit with a fanged frisbee.
"I hate both of those classes," Susan sighed.
"I don't know, I kind of like astronomy," Harry chuckled.
"I don't. It makes potions miserable the next morning," Susan argued.
Harry would have to agree with her there, astronomy was held at eleven o 'clock meaning they didn't get to bed until half-past one and had potions first thing the next morning.
"I heard that Oliver Wood is planning on replacing their seeker next year," Harry said as he spotted the Gryffindor team captain and seeker flying over the quidditch pitch.
"I heard that too. Are you going to try out for the spot?" Susan asked giving him a curious look.
"I was thinking about it," Harry admitted as he heard Oliver Wood yelling something unintelligible at his seeker as he gestured wildly with his hands.
"You can't be worse than that ape McClaggen," Susan sniggered as she pointed at the seeker dodging a quaffle that Oliver Wood had just thrown at his head.
"Thanks," Harry said as they sat down on the cool sand near the edge of the water.
This had become one of Harry's favourite places on the grounds. The shore formed a flat sandy beach-like area that was shaded by the branches of a large beech tree. Harry had spent many a day this spring out here by the lake watching the squid swim by or completing his schoolwork.
"So what's the deal with you and Abbott?" Susan asked as they both leaned back against the trunk of the beech tree and looked out over the water.
"We go flying together," Harry shrugged.
"Lavender is convinced you two are an item," Susan smirked.
"What?!" Harry exclaimed, his face colouring at her words.
"That's the rumour going around," Susan beamed.
"We're just friends," Harry protested.
"Don't get so defensive, it's just a silly rumour. Did you know people thought that you and I were betrothed when school started," Susan sniggered.
"You have got to be joking, you're like my sister or something," Harry shuddered.
"Agreed, plus we're only eleven," Susan added.
"I'm almost twelve," Harry pointed out.
"So you and Hannah don't have some secret romance going on, then?" Susan asked innocently.
"No, we're just friends. She is the only one I know besides Draco that likes to fly as much as I do," Harry assured her, his face feeling very warm all of a sudden.
"Well better her than me," Susan said as she spotted Hermione and Daphne approaching.
"Looks like the claws are finished," Harry said.
"It looks like Hermione and Daffy are arguing again," Susan giggled.
"They argue a lot, Hermione seems to annoy her as much as she does Draco," Harry chortled.
"She does seem to drive those two nuts," Susan said looking thoughtful.
"Damn, it looks like they spotted us," Harry muttered as the two girls made a beeline for them.
"Bones, Potter please tell Granger that the wand motions of a spell are more important than the incantation," Daphne demanded by way of greeting.
"You're both wrong, intent is the most important part of any spell," Harry smirked.
"He's right. Until I read my course books, I didn't even know incantations were a thing," Susan admitted.
"How could you not know that?" Hermione asked sounding incredulous.
"Because none of the adults we know ever use them," Harry answered.
"It's true, my mum doesn't even use wand motions. She just points her wand and a spell happens," Susan explained.
"Same with Sirius and Auntie Bella," Harry added.
"Auntie Bella," Daphne giggled.
"That's what she wants me to call her," Harry blushed.
"Who is Auntie Bella?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Professor Peverell's wife, Bellatrix Peverell," Daphne explained.
"Oh, I met her at your birthday party," Hermione nodded.
"And Harry has a big crush on her," Susan chortled.
"I do not," Harry protested, his face turning red as a tomato.
"Oh look he's blushing," Daphne giggled.
"I uh... just stop it," Harry exclaimed as all three girls started giggling.
"Oi, what's going on here?" Draco asked.
"Nothing, how was your exam?" Harry asked happy for the change in topic.
"Dreadful, it was history of magic. Everything about that class is bloody dreadful," Draco scoffed.
"Fair point," Harry conceded as he composed himself from the girls' earlier teasing.
"So I heard that the Slytherin Seeker isn't planning on playing next year," Draco beamed.
"I heard the Gryffindor seeker is getting the sack next year as well," Harry smirked.
"If Wood has any sense at all he will oust that imbecile. Because of McClaggen, they're at the bottom of the points standings," Draco exclaimed.
"He would be a bit better at seeking if he focused on the game and stopped trying to give everyone else pointers," Harry agreed.
"We were actually just talking about Harry's crush on your Aunt Bellatrix," Daphne smirked.
"I do not have a crush on anyone," Harry exclaimed feeling his face heat up again.
"Then why are you blushing?" Susan smirked.
"Shut it Bones or I'll tell that Diggory bloke about how pretty you think his eyes are," Harry shot back making Susan's eyes nearly bug out of her head and her face turn cherry red.
"YOU... READ... MY...DIARY," Susan hissed angrily.
"I found it by accident," Harry defended a victorious smile breaking out across his face.
"If you tell anyone anything you read, I will make you suffer," Susan warned her blue eyes as cold as ice as she glared at him.
"Then lay off me," Harry said feeling unfazed by her glare.
"Did you mean Cedric Diggory?" Daphne asked with interest.
"The very same," Harry beamed glad that Susan was the one under the microscope for a change.
"Well, she isn't wrong, he does have beautiful eyes," Daphne giggled.
"I wonder how Wood managed to book the pitch on a Thursday afternoon," Dtaco said in a pointed attempt to change the subject.
"He didn't, it's just wood and the seeker up there practicing seeker drills," a voice said from his right Harry making him jump.
"Abbott, that was not cool," Harry said as he looked over to see her standing almost directly over him.
"Sorry," Hannah said not looking the least bit apologetic as she sat down beside him on the sand.
Harry was forced to scoot over when she nudged him a bit so she could lean against the beech tree beside him.
"So the Gryffindors don't have control of the pitch?" Draco asked with interest.
"I don't think so," Hannah shrugged.
"He would probably tumble off of his broom if he saw a Slytherin on the pitch," Harry grinned.
"Want to go mess with McClaggen?" Draco asked a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
"Kind of, if I snatched the snitch right out from under his nose it would help my chances of making the team next year," Harry mused.
"Ah but you're forgetting one little detail," Draco smirked as he got to his feet.
"Yeah, what's that?" Harry said as he got up.
"You still have to beat me to the snitch and I don't think you have the skill," Draco taunted.
"Oh goodie a wand measuring contest," Hannah giggled.
"Don't be so crass, Abbott," Daphne admonished.
"Oh lighten up, Daphne," Hannah said rolling her eyes at the other girl.
"You coming, Abbott?" Harry asked as he looked down at Hannah.
"No, I am not very good at seeking," Hannah said.
"Alright, later girls," Draco said before he and Harry made their way across the lawn towards the quidditch pitch.
"That bloke is not very nimble," Harry whispered to Draco.
"No, he can't dive worth a damn either," Draco added.
"I know, did you see the Hufflepuff game, it was a miracle he didn't splatter himself on the stands," Harry said as the two of them crossed the pitch.
Harry and Draco made their way over to the school broom shed and grabbed themselves a broomstick.
"If you catch the snitch before me, I'll give you a Play Wizard I swiped from Sirius," Harry offered as he mounted his broom and prepared to kick off.
"What if you catch the snitch first?". Draco asked as he mounted his own broom.
"Then you have to be nice to Hermione for the rest of term," Harry smirked.
"Alright, last question. What if McClaggen catches the snitch first?" Draco asked though he looked doubtful that would happen.
"Then we'll trade our broomsticks in for flying pigs," Harry beamed before he kicked off leaving Draco staring at where he'd just been standing.
For the test of the afternoon, Harry and Draco took turns snatching the practice snitch out of the air, sometimes from right out from under McClaggen much to the Gryffindor captain's annoyance.
Harry had the privilege of catching it first meaning his wet-and-wild veela issue was safe and Draco had to be nice to Hermione for the next two weeks. Harry couldn't think of a better outcome as their bickering got quite grating after a while.
As Harry touched down a few hours later he couldn't help but feel pleased with himself. Wood had been watching him and Draco closely as they continued to beat his starting seeker to the snitch. Harry had a feeling that this may help his chances of getting on the team next year though McClaggen looked ready to throttle them both.
'One way or the other I am going to be the Gryffindor seeker next year,' Harry thought to himself as he placed his broom back in the rack and waited on Draco to do the same so they could go back to the castle to dinner.
As the two boys walked side by side to the castle both of their minds were still back on the quidditch pitch and their dreams of being their respective house team's seeker.
Avery Property, Bulgaria, 5/31/1992, 12:27
Harry and Sirius watched over the Avery summer home while Bella worked on the wards. She was trying to assess what protections were in place before she began creating a hole they could enter through without setting off the alert wards.
For the last two days, the three of them had been watching the house from the forest that surrounded the two-story home.
The house had a large lawn with a gigantic duck pond towards the wardline. The house itself was constructed of flat grey stone with wood shingles on the roof. The home looked very old but it and the grounds around it were very well kept making Harry think there was a full-time house elf there.
The home was near the Rhodope Mountains giving them a perfect vantage of the property from the conifer forest that came up to the edge of the lawns on the east side.
"How much longer, Bella?" Sirius demanded as he looked through his omnioculars.
"I am almost done, we can go through any time we want but I want to make sure they cannot flee," Bella said distractedly.
"Well they're having some type of gathering, there must be more than a dozen of them in there," Sirius exclaimed.
"I just have to rearrange this dark mark ward so it will keep them in instead of keeping us out," Bella said as she began chanting a strange incantation in parseltongue.
"We may need to put one up for house elves as well," Harry suggested.
Bellatrix touched the stone on Lady Slytherin's ring so that her speech reverted to English before she looked over at Harry.
"I'll try but it'll have to wait until we're closer to the house to put them up. I am almost finished with this ward so we can go inside any minute now," Bella said not pausing in her work as she spoke.
"Take your time, Luv," Harry smiled as he raised his own omnioculars to his eyes.
Harry began looking through the first-floor windows until he spotted the large gathering Sirius was talking about.
"Don't take too long, though," Sirius added not removing his eyes from his omnioculars.
Sirius had been in a rush all day, the man had no patience whatsoever. Harry could tell that he was starting to get on Bella's nerves but she seemed to be restraining herself... for now.
"Sirius shut it and let her work," Harry sighed as he spotted Avery through his optics.
Harry pressed the zoom button and scanned across the dining room through the large bay window overlooking the grounds. Avery was sitting at the head of the table talking to a pretty teen girl.
Seated around the table were more teenagers though all of them were solidly built boys. The teens seemed to be celebrating something... Most likely their graduation. Harry watched the group of boys talking and gesturing wildly as they passed around a bottle of fire whiskey. Though he couldn't hear them, Harry was almost certain that they were being quite obnoxious if the look of annoyance on Avery's face was anything to go by.
"I've got it, anyone with a mark will not be able to leave the property," Bellatrix cackled as she rose from where she was seated cross-legged on the ground.
"What about transportation wards?" Sirius asked as he lowered his omnioculars and slipped them into the pocket of his borrowed unspeakable robes.
"I will handle them but I need to get to the northern ward stone to set them up," Harry said as he got to his feet and flipped up the cowl of his unspeakable robes.
"Then let's get going," Sirius beamed as he stood up.
"Hood up," Harry said when Sirius made to cross the wardline.
"Oh, right," Sirius nodded as he pulled the hood up on the grey robes he was wearing.
"Just follow our lead and try not to get yourself killed," Harry said before he stepped across the wardline line.
Bella pulled her mask on and flipped up her hood before following him.
"How come her outfit looks so much cooler than ours," Sirius demanded as he followed after her.
"Because I chose my outfit and yours was chosen for you, Grim," Bellatrix smirked.
Harry began making his way around the lawn and cast the point-me spell and used the spell to lead them to the northernmost point on the property.
It didn't take him long after they were on the north side of the property to find the northern wardstone set on top of a small hill that overlooked the entire property.
"Here we are", Harry whispered when he spotted the stone in the grass.
Harry covered the short distance to the stone and knelt beside it, looking it over the many runic arrays with interest.
The top of the ward stone was flush with the ground and sort of resembled a giant grave marker that was two feet wide and at least six feet in length. Though instead of having the name and date of some deceased person inscribed on the stone, this stone had many intricate runic arrays in concentric ring patterns that covered almost every inch of the stone. The stone itself was made from a white rock that looked like polished alabaster making it easy to read the runes in the moonlight. Harry knew that this stone was the size of a boulder and went deep into the earth but this one side was all that was exposed.
"When I do this, they are going to know we're here. It won't do them much good as the property will be on lockdown but they will be on their guard," Harry said as he removed a small six-inch disk of black obsidian stone from his robe pocket.
"What is that?" Sirius asked as he watched Harry orient the runes etched onto the stone disc so that they lined up with the runes etched onto the wardstone.
"This is what we call a parasitic wardstone. It forces its way into the array for the property's transportation wards and alters them to suit its creator's needs," Harry explained as he carefully placed the disk over the runic array for the property's transportation wards.
"So what does it do?" Sirius repeated as Harry set the tiny black stone on top of the white ward stone.
All three of them watched as the black stone seemed to sink into the white stone as though it were made of liquid. This was accompanied by a sizzling sound before a semitransparent blue dome materialized over the house and then became invisible again a split second later.
Harry took off running towards the house so he could be ready when his alterations to the wards inevitably triggered the alert wards. He came to a stop about fifty feet from the front of the house and waited for the other two to catch up.
"What was that?" Sirius asked as he looked towards the house.
"I changed their transportation wards so they will not let anyone enter or exit the property by means of floo, apparition, portkey, or broom travel," Harry explained as he looked at Chimera expectantly.
"Is this close enough to set up elf wards?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Yes, I'll set them up but they won't be very strong," Bella warned.
"Do what you can, Chimera," Harry said as a loud 'GONG' like sound reverberated over the grounds.
"Alright, I'll do my best," Bella nodded as she touched her Slytherin ring and began chanting in parseltongue.
Harry couldn't really hear what she was chanting because the front doors of the house burst open and half a dozen teens in Durnstrang robes ran outside. Harry watched the teens running towards them. They were casting spells as they ran but the green jets of light weren't coming anywhere near him, Sirius, or Bella. As the boys got closer, their spells also got closer to hitting their mark though they were still missing by several feet.
Harry waited until the teens were about twenty feet away before he cast his first spell.
"Try not to kill them, mate. We're only here for Avery," Harry whispered before flicking his wand at one of the wannabe death eaters.
His spell caused a giant fist made of earth and grass to burst from the ground and punch the lead fighters square in the chest sending him hurling through the air before he collapsed into a broken heap twenty feet away.
"Gotcha," Sirius replied as he began sending spells at blinding speed taking out two of them out with stunners in just as many seconds.
"The wards are up," Bellatrix exclaimed as she waved her wand at the three remaining fighters.
Harry watched in amusement as thick vines burst from the ground and wrapped around all three teens before binding them together. With another flick of her wand, they were disarmed and the squirming mass toppled onto the ground.
"Pathetic," Bella muttered sounding almost disappointed.
"They're still children, Chimera," Harry chuckled as he disarmed and bound the other three teens sprawled out on the lawn.
"Let's go round the rest of them up," Harry said before he began running towards the house.
Harry was unsurprised when red and green spells began flying at him from the dining room window. He came to a stop when a killing curse came a bit too close for comfort at raised his wand deciding it was time to put a stop to this.
"EXPLUSO MAXIMA!"Harry bellowed pointing his hand at the front side of the house.
'BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!'
Harry felt the concussion in his chest from the bast as the dining room wall was blown inward sending the occupants flying.
Harry began approaching the gaping hole at a more sedate pace as he tried to see through the dust the blast had created.
The lawn in front of the house was now littered with chunks of stone, shards of broken glass and a severed arm in red robes.
Looking inside the dimly lit room as the dust started to clear, Harry saw bloodied bodies strewn across the floor. Most of them were alive and groaning piteously in various states of distress but a couple were almost certainly dead. He realized he may have overpowered the spell, he wanted to avoid killing the Durmstrang students but they were trying to kill so he wasn't that upset with the outcome.
"Grim, go around back and make sure no one tries to slip away," Harry instructed when he came to a stop at the side of the house.
"Ye-yeah... Alright," Sirius stammered out before he began running along the side of the house.
"Let's go find him, Chimera," Harry said before he stepped through the gaping hole he had created and looked around the decimated dining room
They had barely taken a few steps into what used to be a dining room when a jet of green light flew at them from over the table that was flipped onto its side.
"Is that you, Avery?" Harry chuckled as he flicked his wand causing the table to explode into splinters.
Harry watched as two bodies were flung through the air before they slammed into the wall hard enough to cave in the plaster.
"Fuck you," Avery bellowed as he scrambled to his feet and attempted to cast another killing curse only to freeze in place as he was struck by a body-bind from Bella.
"Go ahead and tear into his mind, Chimera, I'll deal with the girl," chuckled as he lazily parried a spell from the girl that had been hiding with Avery.
"Who are you?!" The girl demanded as she attempted to send a piercing curse at his head.
"Reaper," Harry answered as he redirected her curse into the ceiling causing bits of plaster to rain from the ceiling.
"AHHHHHHHRGGGGGG!"
The girl jumped slightly when Avery let out an agonized scream as Bellatrix forced her way into his mind. The girl froze for a second and turned to look over at Avery giving Harry a perfect opening. Harry used his opponent's second of distraction to bind her in ropes and disarm her, sending the girl crashing to the floor.
Harry walked over to the girl who was squirming against her bindings and stared down at her for a moment, she looked very familiar to him but he could not place her. She had short-cut brown hair and violet eyes, her skin was pale and she had a thin face.
"I am very unhappy to see one so young falling in with these morons," Harry sighed as she glared back up at him.
"Who are you?!" The girl demanded.
"I already told you who I am but I am much more curious as to who you are," Harry replied in a curious tone though his voice sounded positively creepy due to the voice alteration charms on his hood.
"Merula Snyde, now release me at once," The girl shrieked.
Now Harry remembered, this girl graduated with Tonks last year. From what he'd heard she was a bit of a brat but had been a very good student, top of her year in Slytherin if he remembered correctly.
"I am very disappointed to learn what you have done with your future, Miss Snyde," Harry sighed as he directed his wand at her head.
"What are you do-
"Legilimens," Harry hissed and directed his wand at the girl's head. cutting Merula off before she could finish her question.
Harry felt his consciousness dive into the black depths of Merula's pupils and watched as she was trained by Voldemort in the dark arts. He watched as she and her teammates appeared at the Carrow property on Valentine's Day. He saw her trip to the vampire covens, he saw her get orders for tonight, she was supposed to escort the recruits back to Britain when Dolohov...
Harry forced his way out of her mind leaving the girl groaning and gasping for breath on the floor.
"When is Antonin arriving?" Harry asked as he processed what he had learned.
Before she could answer, Sirius burst into the room looking frantic.
"There is something going on in the pond," Sirius panted as he took in the state of the dining room.
"What a sick little piggy," Bellatrix scowled as she pulled out of Avery's mind leaving the death eater groaning at the floor at her feet.
"What did you find out, Chimera?" Harry asked as he watched Avery closely.
"Everything you can think of, he's done it. Rape, murder, extortion, coercion, torture yelling in a public library, and bribing ministry officials. There is a lot more but according to his memories, Dolohov is on his way here," Bellatrix said as she moved away from Avery and looked out the hole in the wall.
"I think he is already here," Harry admitted as he pointed his wand at Avery who was trying to get to his feet.
"Avada Kedavra," Harry intoned dispassionately watching as the green light engulfed Avery before the man went limp and flopped back onto the floor.
"What about her?" Bellatrix asked as she pointed to Merula.
"Leave her, she may be of use to us later," Harry said before stunning the bound girl.
"Bloody hell, that's a ship!" Sirius exclaimed as he watched the Durmstrang ship burst from the water.
Harry looked where Sirius was pointing and saw the ship gliding towards the shore of the pond.
"We had better get ready, there are more recruits on board," Harry warned as he stepped through the hole noting that a few of the students groaned weakly as he passed.
"Try not to kill them, eh," Sirius snorted as he walked beside Harry with Bellatrix bringing up the rear.
"I overpowered the spell a bit," Harry shrugged as he looked towards the pond.
Harry could see movement in the lit portholes on the side of the ship as the occupants walked passed by them.
It didn't take long before someone on the main deck spotted them and began to cast spells in their direction.
Harry began returning fire with exploding hexes taking aim at the hull of the ship as he side-stepped incoming spells. Soon over a dozen people began returning fire sending jet after jet of green light at the three people on the ground.
"Got one," Sirius beamed as his bludgeoning hex impacted one of their attackers in the face.
Harry wasn't surprised that his spells were having little effect on the ship since the hull was so heavily reinforced with magic.
"Damn, I think they're casting off," Sirius muttered as the ship began to turn and move towards the centre of the pond again.
"Try and hit the ship," Harry instructed as he began firing darker hexes at the ship hoping to prevent it from leaving.
The men on the upper deck disappeared as the ship seemed to drop lower into the water allowing the three of them to attack it without interruption
"Interitusous morsidium!" Sirius bellowed sending a black beam of light that struck the ship's hull seconds before the vessel disappeared under the water's surface and a whirlpool appeared in the centre of the lake.
"Where did you learn that spell?" Bellatrix asked incredulously as the water stilled.
"Black family grimoire, I am Lord Black," Sirius smirked as he looked over at his cousin.
Before Bella could respond there was an earth-shaking 'CRASH' as the wards over the property collapsed.
"What the hell was that?" Sirius asked in alarm.
"The downside of using a parasitic ward stone is they destroy the wards their placed on," Harry shrugged.
"The ministry will have detected the wards collapsing," Bellayrix warned.
"Right, I think it's time to leave. The Bulgarian aurors will be here soon," Harry muttered.
"Morsmordre falce!" Bellatrix exclaimed as she directed her wand over the demolished home.
"Come on, Grim. We can take the portkey straight from here," Harry said as he removed the portkey that would take them to Black Villa from his robe pocket.