Mark_Ward
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Chapter 118: Aftermath
🕑 Added 2021-01-21 16:41:26 +0000 UTCTaking another swig of his drink, Harry sighed and sat back in his chair. His mind was in turmoil with what went down tonight. A whole town filled with so much life and vitality gone just like that.
Shaking his head, Harry knew he couldn't dwell on this forever and stay miserable for something he couldn't stop or have any control over.
Still what was unacceptable and made matters worse was that Voldermort escaped, there was no sign of him even after they searched and searched. The bastard must have high tailed it out there after he dropped his calamitous spell, not turning back to look at the damage he wrought.
All they came up with from this operation was just a naked woman and a rat.
At that thought, Harry took out the wooden figurine of the rat he still had in his pocket and set it on his desk.
"Well Peter, anything you have to say for yourself?" Harry asked as he peered at the figurine.
Suddenly cracks started to run along the wooden figurine as it quickly begin to flack off and a living breathing rat came into view. Watching as the wooden shaving fell to the table, Harry was a bit saddened at the lost of the magic item.
It was an item he withdrew from his family vault, and it was basically a voodoo doll that African wizards and witches generally use or more like it was based off of one as the history of the item connotated.
He said it was based off voodoo dolls because the item traps a person inside, capturing them for you. He used the magical item to trap Peter and thanks to that he was able to save his life so he didn't become a total ruinous mess like everyone thought he did.
And he didn't do it from the kindness of his earth feeling bad for using him like that as bait. No, no, no, he wasn't that kind hearted to his enemies, far from it really you could say he was the complete opposite.
As the rat was freed, it did the first thing he expected it to do, it fled with its tail between it's — or maybe not since the traitor did lose it in the endless barrage of spellfire.
"Aa, ah, ahh," Harry said with a shake of his hand as he stunned the traitor right in his tracks with one paw ready to take another step.
"Already fleeing, huh?" Harry asked in a sad, disappointed tone as he telepathically spun the rat around to face him. "What happened to my thank you for rescuing you? You didn't want to go with these big scary Aurors, did you? They would have done so many unspeakable things to you," Harry shivered, messing with turncoat.
"Now," Harry said as he pushed the rat on the chair reserve for guests and pointed him wand at him. In a flash, Peter was back in to his form, Harry saw that he was littered with wounds as nasty whelps and weeping gashes covered his body, it seem like he didn't fully escape from the salvo of spells unscathed.
Smiling and playing it cool, Harry lean forward in his seat and tented his fingers together and uttered, "Why don't you return the favor by telling me everything that happened after our fated meeting during 3rd year?!"
Looking every where except him, the traitor muttered a few words under his breath which barely carried at all.
Eye narrowing and losing that false show of cordiality, Harry slammed a fist down on the table causing the coward to jump in fear and he shouted in a barely concealed tone of hate and fury, "SPEAK UP!"
He had no tie for this traitor's nonsense, and nor did he want to stand it. Just having the rat traitor in his presence sickened him and filled him with so much hate he barely kept it in from blasting the betrayer in his twisted face still under lingering attributes of his animagus rat form.
"How did you rejoin Voldermort?" Harry snapped. He needed answer and he needed them right now, if he wanted to make up for his mistake for letting that monstrous bastard get away then he needed connections to track him down.
"I didn't want to rejoin him," the man begin to weep.
"Answer my question," Harry simply said in a low growl.
"I... I found him hiding deep with in forests of Albania, m-my dar mark drew me to him," he squaked. "And he made me provide him with a rudimentary body, I swear I did not want to do it," he shuddered at the end.
"Stop with the crocodile tears," Harry said with a shake of his head. "Tell me where you found my anyone, discovered at all."
"N-...n...n," he tried to say, but Harry caught him on the hesitation and growled. "Don't you dare try to lie to me, because if you do I will know. And you will make me employee method I wouldn't like to!"
"Yes we did," the ratman admitted when he saw how serious he was being. "Bertha Jorkins, a British Ministry worker who was on holiday. She reginized me and.. and I had no choice..."
"Contiue," Harry said as he folded his arms with a unreablde expression on his face.
"I brought h-her to the Dark Lord since I didn't know what to do, and.... and then he k-killed her. And that wasn't all," he snobbed, "he also did some weird ritual with the snake he captured and cannibalized her."
Just hearing about it made Harry feel sick, but he knew what the sick motherfucker was up to, creating another horcrux. Thankfully that was taken care of and his hunt for the rest all the more easier.
"Where do you think your dark master is hiding now?" Harry asked, stricking while the iron was hot and trying to get the key piece of information he wanted.
Seeing his hesitation again, the traitor quickly tried to hide it but Harry already saw it. "I d-don't know where he could be. H-he did not tell me much as the Dark Lord did not trust me much and thought little of me."
"Your lying," Harry simply uttered. "Why are you lying, Peter," Harry asked as he looked the rat man right in the face. "Do you want to do this the hard way, because I won't hesitant like you."
"I can't say," he finally broke into full on sobbing, but Harry didn't budge an inch nor did his heart. There was no pity in his heart for this turncoat and nor could he ever find it in his head.
Still he did listen as he gave his excuses, "You know h-he will do so many unspeakable things to me if I dare to betray him."
"And so would I if you don't give me the answers i sekek" Harry replied with a shrug.
Just then the door to his office swung open and in walked in Sirius who shouted, "Harry I recieve word you wanted to se-...."
Coming to a complete, jarring halt when he saw the other occupant in the room, the Black family head was shocked in silence and stillness.
"Ahhh, Sirius," Harry said as he got up from his seat, "so good of you to come. There is someone I would like you to meet," he said with a ruthless and cold smile. "Sirius, Peter. Peter, Sirius!"
"How..." the man simply said as he watched the colluder out right shake like a leaf as a wet spread on his pants.
"Long story, will tell you another time, but I imagined you would love to meet him!" Harry said.
"You have no idea," the wizard muttered under his breath.
"Why don't I leave you two to get acquainted with each other," Harry said.
"Please, Harry-sob- child you can't do this," the man exclaimed as he got on to the ground and grabbed his ankle. "Your father would never...."
Kicking him away in disgust, Siruis spoke up, "That is where you do not know James. Oh the pain you would visit upon you for betraying and selling out his family....." Sirisu shook his head as he paused.
Then looking down at the coward, he easily picked him by the scruff of the neck and whispered, "but now I am here, so you do not have to worry."
Heading to the door, Harry called out, "Sirius could you make him spill all his secrets and especially where all his master's hiding spots are."
"It would be my pleasure," the wizard answer as his eyes glowed an unholy light.
Leaving him to it, it wasn't really long before he heard some screams coming from his office. And oh how agonizing they sounded.
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The next morning Harry was back in school as if things were all just normal. You could barely even guess the night he had. From where he help uncover a Death Eater impersonating as a teacher, then rescue renown Auror, followed by participating in the most deadly operation of the decade! Where he went to face the most evil dark wizard in the country, captured a traitor, fought a giant beast, destroy soul fragment, and maybe let dark wizard get away.
No siree! You could not tell that at all as he conversed with his friends.
"So what happened yesterday?" Lavender brown asked as she spread some butter on her toast.
"Yeah," Parvati Patil said, "everyone is talking about how there is now a gaping hole on the side of the castle and the office that was there is now a ruined mess."
"Last night I heard Professor Moody was admitted into the Hospital ward, and was quickly transported to the St Mungo's!" Tracey whispered in a low tone what she heard.
"Did you see all those Aurors coming in here with force?" Neville asked everyone seated near at hand.
"Yeah, my aunt was among them," Susan sighed.
"Well, we heard that some of the foreign students and some Hogwarts students as well broke into a big old brawl on who is the best," George uttered as it was the holier than thou truth.
"Mhm," Fred said, "even the Headmasters and mistresses joined in on the action.
"That is not true!" Harry shook his head as he forked some eggs. "Are you guys just making this as you go along?" he asked the twins.
"You would be more correct to say that they are the ones spreading those rumors," Angelina Johnson answered as glared at the two red heads.
"So what really happened, Harry?" Hermione asked as she turned to face him.
"What are you guys, gossip mongrels," Harry joked as he had everyone's eyes on him. "And why are you asking me?" he asked.
"Well it is a fact now that you were found at the scene," Daphne said.
"And you basically just admitted when you said Fred and George's theory was wrong that you know more than you are letting on," Hermione pointed out.
"And you are Harry Potter," Ginny added.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Harry asked.
"Just that you are always in the thick of it," Luna uttered in her dreamy voice.
"Well," Harry said, he really didn't want to get into everything that happened yesterday, he was still processing some stuff, but he really did get caught in a ditch and would have no choice but to dig his way out by explaining.
However as he looked up into the air as owls flew in, carrying the latest newspaper on their talons for those who were still old fashion. Alerts also went off on Mirror Phones as people who subscribed to news letters got their daily dose of news.
"WHAT!!!" Blaise exclaimed in surprise as he looked at his Mirror phone scrolling quickly down.
"I can't believe it," Lavender whispered.
"Professor Moody was a fake all along," Neville shook his head. "T-the Death Eater Barty Jr. took over his post," he read on as his face blanched.
"It says here you are the one who uncovered him and helped in taking him down," Angelina pointed out.
"Yea," Harry nodded his head as he looked at the article written by Rita Skeeter. She worked really fast, he only gave her word of what happened within the castle walls leaving out the operation to hunt down Voldermort.
Since they didn't have Voldermort in hand he did not want to start panicking the public and more than that he wanted his enemies to be still out of the loop that their master was around.
"Wow," Colin Creevey uttered as he could see the pure worship so many held for him come to life in his eyes. Of course, he was thinking that he was just Harry Potter and this was just normal for him.
Looking over the article, Harry saw that Rita credited him for uncovering Barty Jr. not just for the first time but the second time in a row. She also basically all but gave him credit for taking down Barty Jr. before he could harm any students and rescuing Alastor moody who the Death Eater was impersonating.
She also was right on track with his agenda as she blamed Dumbledore for this grievous error as he was the one who hired him and didn't even look through it.
From the corner of his eye, he could see the schoolmaster discussing this with Dumbledore as he heard some shouts go up of 'Not Safe' or 'Irresponsible!' He could see the old man trying to disway them as he gave them simmering smiles and countless gestures of calm.
And lastly he saw Rita once again promising to deliver more shocking news on Harry's school life, a signal for him as she still wanted to know about what went down during his previous years at Hogwarts. To finally get the gossips on the streets from the mouth of the man who experienced it all.
"So that is what happened yesterday?" Hermione asked as she drew him from his thoughts.
"Basically," Harry nodded his head, "but I won't go as far as to say I single handily took down Barty Jr. like this article is implying."
"So nothing else went down yesterday?" Daphne asked him with sharp eyes.
"Yes," Harry nodded his head again, as he put on a reassuring smile for her. "Nothing at all!"
"But what about my aunt and the Aurors she came in with?" Susan asked hesitantly.
"She just came into arrest the Death Eater," he set her mind at ease. "Nothing else, I promise!"
Harry did not know why he lied to them all, but he just really did not want to talk about Great Hangleton and the things that would never leave his mind. He was glad that wizarding kind didn't really pay attention to the events that go on the muggle world.
And anyways he did not want to burden them with the responsibility he has, it should never be anyone's burden to have to deal with the most evil wizard in recent history. That was his and his alone, and he would love nothing more than for his friends to care on with their carefree life.
"Well, the Goblet of Fire is about to decide the School Champions tonight!" Blaise voiced.
"Really?" Harry asked, that totally slipped his mind after his night yesterday. However now that Zabini pointed it out, he could see more than the gossips going taking its round through the school's wall that there was an atmosphere of anticipation every was.
Tonight was the day that Champions were choicen by the artifact that laid in the center of the Great Hall.
There was no denying even though Harry really didn't care about the whole thing that he was curious to know who would be the 11 Champions that are chosen.
Comments
Thanks for the chapter on a good story
Tradition it probably started with three schools and later more were added
KristofferXxXxX
The moment where Harry is forced to enter the Triwizard Tournament (why the hell is it called the Triwizard Tournament when there are not three but eleven/twelve champions to be chosen?!) and be forced to reveal his status as Lord Gryffindor of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Gryffindor is upon us. The moment draws near.
