IngloriousMe
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Know-Thy-Enemy (III) [Chapter 140]
🕑 Added 2023-04-27 20:43:37 +0000 UTCHarry levitated the box with a wave of his hand and then opened it using Magic, revealing a gold ring with a large black stone set in the middle. His gaze lingered on the stone and his eyes grew wide in surprise when he recognized the mark inscribed on the stone. It was the Peverell coat of arms… In other words, the sign of Deathly Hallows.
To be honest, he couldn’t believe his luck… He was trying to look into Voldemort’s origin and then not only did he stumble over something important to Voldemort, but he also stumbled on a freaking Deathly Hallow!! Well, right now, he wasn’t sure if this was the real Resurrection Stone or not, but he was mostly certain that this was the real deal.
After some pondering, Harry realized that Voldemort didn’t even know that the Stone was The Resurrection Stone or he wouldn’t have squirreled away something like this in here. If Voldemort knew what he had in his possession, then he would have worn it proudly… That was the type of person Voldemort really was. So, he must have some other reason to hide the ring in a place like this…
Then all of a sudden, his hand snapped upward and grabbed Himera’s hand which was reaching out toward the ring. Harry slowly turned toward Himera, only to find that she was caught in the compulsion… Harry could feel the compulsion brush against his Occlumency barriers and he had to admit that Compulsion Charm was probably the strongest he had ever felt, so he couldn’t blame Himera for losing herself.
Harry raised his other hand and flicked her forehead, breaking her out of the trance… She blinked in confusion before she met Harry’s eyes… “...I was going to grab the ring, but I don’t know why… It seemed the right thing to do…” Himera mumbled, looking extremely confused as she rubbed her temples.
“Are you still feeling like that?” Harry asked while giving her an understanding look.
“...Yeah” Himera admitted after thinking for a bit. “Thanks for stopping me, by the way” Himera thanked Harry when she finally remembered that Harry had stopped her from grabbing the ring.
“You are most welcome… Even I am not going to touch the ring before I am completely sure that the ring is completely safe. Though I am certain that there is something nasty on that ring, especially with such a strong Compulsion Charm making you want to grab the ring” Harry said while he used his Magic to close the box, and the compulsion finally stopped.
“Let’s leave… There might be some other traps” Harry said as he grabbed the box with one hand and started to open a portal with another. He had some other things to do in Britain, but before that, he wanted to inspect the ring. There was something important about the ring except for the fact that it contained the Resurrection Stone. The portal stabilized and both Harry and Himera stepped through the portal without wasting any time.
After a couple of minutes they left, the Wards collapsed on itself, collapsing the shack…
~~Jacklyn’s Pad~~
After returning to Jacklyn’s house, Harry told Himera to take a break while he decided to meet Gellert as he had some things to discuss with the man. Harry arrived outside one of the biggest tents. He could sense Gellert inside this tent through the Sigil of the Lost. The flaps moved away on their own as Harry entered the tent and he immediately started to make his way toward the main hall.
Currently, they have been using the main hall as their meeting room, so Harry wasn’t surprised to find that Gellert wasn’t alone. He was discussing something with Katerina, who has taken the role of his right-hand woman. There were a few more people around the two of them including Jacklyn, and even though Harry knew all of their names, none of them were important to him.
“What’s up? Did you finally decide on a location?” Harry announced his arrival and everyone in the room turned toward him. He knew that Gellert and his followers were searching for a location for their permanent base, but they haven’t been able to find a suitable location until now, and with the world map still laid on the table, he knew that they were looking for a suitable location.
“Yes, we did, we are just discussing that, but you have the final say” Gellert answered as he gestured toward the map.
“Where is Himera? Is she okay?” Jacklyn decided to cut into their conversation.
“She is alright. I have told her to rest” Harry answered her before turning back toward Gellert. He finally arrived in front of the table. “Show me” Harry ordered and Katerina placed her finger on the map.
“This is Rubek. A small country near Svalbard, Norway. Rubek is a poor country, surrounded from all sides by the sea. Their only source of income is farming and fishing” Katerina explained and Harry was quite intrigued by what he heard.
(A/N: I decided to go with an AU country as I didn’t want to show a real country in low light or take over any real country even for a Fanfic. I know that there are a lot of OG countries in Marvel, like Genosha or Sokovia, but I will leave them for exploration at a later date).
“Magical presence?” Harry asked as he wanted to know if there was already an established Magical community in Rubek. Then they would need to take over that community before establishing any sort of communication with the Muggles. After all, he didn’t want anyone contacting the ICW as the ICW took the matter of Statute very seriously.
“Zero Magical presence” Katerina revealed with a grin as she could guess what Harry was thinking about. “We could simply establish our presence without any opposition” Katerina added and Harry hummed thoughtfully at her words.
“What about the Muggles? Are they going to be a problem for you guys?” Harry asked as he furrowed his brows. Harry didn’t have any problems with Muggles joining Lost Garden, but with Gellert and his followers being in Lost Garden, there might be a problem.
Katerina frowned at his question before turning toward Gellert, who realized that it was his cue to start speaking. “I don’t like Muggles, none of my followers do, but we have given up our cause long ago, so remember, I am no longer a Leader…” Gellert explained, somewhat bitterly. “Muggles might be useful as it would make your group more versatile” He added thoughtfully while ignoring the sour feeling.
“What about the rest of your followers?” Harry pressed as he knew that there might be some members who are going to be quite displeased with the whole situation.
“They will follow your orders if they know what is good for them” Gellert declared firmly.
“Okay” Harry nodded his head in understanding. He will deal with it if it becomes necessary. “So, what do you think? Is it possible to establish any sort of connection with them?” Harry asked as he looked around at everyone except for Jacklyn. Katerina seemed to ponder for a bit before turning toward one of the men standing on her right.
Harry recognized that man as Isek Hansen. The man gulped when he noticed that everyone was looking at him. “I am from Svalbard and I know that the people from Rubek are desperate for resources… They would accept help from practically anyone” The man explained, somewhat nervously.
“He only returned from Svalbard today and then he told me about Rubek” Katerina added helpfully, making Harry nod in understanding.
“I see…” Harry trailed off before his gaze focused on Katerina. “After you get your Wand, take some members with you to Rubek and check the place” Harry ordered and Katerina nodded her head in understanding.
There were two reasons why he decided to send Katerina and some of Gellert’s followers instead of going himself. First of all, he had too much on his plate and secondly, he wanted to see if they would play nice with the Muggles or not without any supervision from himself or Gellert. He wouldn’t be there with them, but if any of them tried to harm the Muggles, he would know.
“Gellert, please follow me… There is something I may need your help with” Harry declared as he turned toward Gellert. A portal started to open beside Harry, leading to Jacklyn’s front yard. Taking the cue, Jacklyn also stood up and she was the first one to enter the portal as soon as the portal stabilized and soon, Harry and Gellert also followed her example.
Harry knew that he could deduce the secrets of the ring on his own, but he still decided to ask for Gellert’s help as genuine wisdom was hard to come by. “Jacky, this is going to be dangerous, so can you give us some privacy?” Harry asked and even though Jacklyn started to pout, she excused herself. As soon as she was gone, Harry pulled out the golden box from his robes and held it in front of Gellert.
“There is a strong Compulsion Charm, so get ready” Harry declared and Gellert nodded his head before Harry finally opened the box, revealing the ring and the Resurrection Stone, and from the look on Gellert’s face, Harry was certain that he also recognized the Deathly Hallow set within the golden ring…
