Chapter 50
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
"Horcruxes!" Albus lamented in a way he never had before, as he found himself in his old friend's home. The Dark Magic that made Tom immortal was old and ancient, and even Albus knew little about it.
It was the kind of magic that had been deliberately erased from their world to bring a semblance of order to an ever-growing world, but now it had reared its head once more, and he was left with no choice but to rely on perhaps the only wizard alive who could help him in this regard.
"Horcruxes," and it had taken him weeks to get into contact with the only other wizard in the world who shared Voldemort's immortality, though his own came through a different means and at a different cost.
Nicolas Flamel was the oldest wizard alive, and was set to celebrate his six hundred and fiftieth birthday this year, a miracle which was made possible because of the miraculous Philosopher's stone.
"It has been years since I have heard of such magic," and though they were friends, the Flamel's preferred a quiet and secret life, and though he was immortal, his body aged still, and the ancient wizard was forced to rely on secrecy and traps to protect himself and his treasure.
"But you have heard of it," Albus repeated in desperation, and he had scoured the Hogwarts libraries himself and had found little on the subject. His own personal libraries gave him some more information, but with the threat of Voldemort growing larger by the day he knew that he had act soon.
"Yes. Yes, of course I have," Nicolas answered, as he sipped his tea, as they sat in his study, surrounded on all sides by various trinkets and inventions.
"At my age, there are few things that one has not heard of. But I am surprised to hear of it again," he added, as those beady eyes met his own, and the ancient wizard had a gaunty look, and seemed so frail that one wondered if he just might break away any second.
But Albus knew of the brilliant mind behind those frail bones and bead eyes, and wondered if their world would ever see such brilliance ever again.
"But I am surprised to hear of it again. It is dark magic. Dark and evil, and I thought we had wiped away all traces of it from the world years ago," and he shook his head.
"I am afraid some of them were left behind," and Nicolas nodded, taking another sip of the wine, and the years had given him the gift of patience and time, and Dumbledore much lacked those things.
"I am afraid I have come here to seek your aid. This ancient magic you speak of has resurfaced once more, and I must know how to defeat it so that I can protect our world," and Nicolas nodded.
"I would be glad, but I doubt a man of your reach has found the way to deal with it. I have known you to perform far more intricate magics," and he knew how to deal with them.
"I know how to destroy a Horcrux," and he could do it rather easily, and Nicolas.
"Then what do you need from me, old friend?" he questioned with a smile.
"I wish to know if I could use one Horcrux to locate the rest," and now he had Nicolas's attention as those grey eyes widened, and the china clacked as he put down the cup hastily.
"Multiple horcruxes! You mean to say that this person has split his soul more than once," and he nodded, and he saw Nicolas's mind spinning as the ancient wizard rubbed his chin.
"Interesting! Evil but interesting nonetheless," and he was out of his chair, and Albus smiled as he saw him scanning his shelf as he plucked out one book after another and threw them back one after another.
"I have never heard of such a thing. To split a soul even once is damning enough but to do so multiple times. I doubt if it has ever been done before," and then finally he found the book.
"Ah, yes. Here it is," and it was a thick leather diary that he sifted through until he found what he was looking for, and Albus saw him scour through the texts, and one thing that made Nicolas what he was, was his voracious curiosity, and it was one full display.
"I was right. Even Herpo, the one who created this spell, did not split his soul more than once and was condemned by the Gods for it," and now he looked up at him once more.
"And you are saying that this person has split his soul more than once," and Albus nodded.
"Yes, as far as we know, he has created at least four horcruxes that we know of," and Nicolas's eyes lit up.
"Intriguing. Very intriguing. I should have known that you wouldn't contact me over something as trivial as a Horcrux. But to think that a soul could be split so many ways," and he was rubbing his hands, as Albus took out the box and placed it on the table.
"Is this one of them?" he asked, and Albus nodded.
"Yes," and now Nicolas frowned.
"Why haven't you destroyed it then?" he questioned with some disapproval.
"I wanted to get your opinion on whether this could be used to locate the other Horcruxes," but that was just one reason. The other reason why he had not yet destroyed it was because of what it was.
"Souls are complex things. Even after six hundred years, I understand very little about them, but I shall see what I can do," Nicolas agreed.
"Apart from that, to my knowledge, destroying a Horcrux often destroyed whatever thing or object was used to store it. I had hoped that you would be able to help me preserve the artefact in this box," and now Nicolas was interested.
"You wish to preserve the original object," and Albus nodded.
"Why?" and Albus slowly opened the box, and immediately an evil and ominous presence filled the room, but it was not that which made him gasp, as even Nicolas's eyes widened.
"Is that..." and Albus nodded, as the man slowly walked upto the table and tried to reach for the object in question, but pulled away his hand, at the last second.
"It is indeed Rowena Ravenclaw's treasure, her diadem...."
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ALDER EVANS
He had waited for this opportunity for months now. This was the very reason he had joined the Ministry in the first place. He had not joined the Ministry out of any sense of duty.
No.
He had joined the Ministry for one purpose and one purpose only.
Revenge.
He had trained for weeks and pushed himself way past his limits, all so he could exact his revenge on the men who had robbed him of the love of his life. And tonight would be the moment his crusade would begin.
Alder had known about the moles hidden in the Ministry. He knew that they would try to attack him, and he had been prepared for that. In the end, they took the bait, and with that, he was able to turn the tables both on Bagnold and Voldemort.
Because of the attack, he was able to guilt-trip the Minister into allowing him the use of rituals to strengthen himself so he could face Voldemort as an equal, while a deep interrogation of his attackers revealed to him information about quite a few hideouts, with one of them belonging to none other than Malfoy.
It was a great boon, and now he was set to take advantage of it.
"I am still not sold on the idea," added Edgar, and he was leading this operation. Bagnold had taken his advice and had given her consent to the creation of a small and selective team to carry out this operation to remove any and all possibilities of a leak.
Convincing her of that had not been as difficult, given all the information they were able to obtain from Rookwood and his friend. The Ministry had been seeking a win for a long time, and tonight he had promised her just that.
A victory.
"We have to take the chance," Alder added, as their group of four hid in the woods surrounding the Malfoy Manor.
"We will not get an opportunity like this again," Alder added, and through some rather complex memory charms and machinations, they were able to make Rookwood and his allies believe that they had succeeded in injuring him in their attack, but the magic would not hold out for long.
Bagnold had kept them busy at the Ministry, making it so that they would not come face to face with the Dark Lord, for they both knew that their magic would not be able to hold against the piercing gaze of Voldemort. He would be able to see through their charms in a second, and so this was their best and only opportunity to strike back.
"We can ambush the manor all at once," and he shook his head.
"That would alert them, and if Voldemort and the Death Eaters are alerted, our entire plan falls apart," for Malfoy Manor was only the first of their targets for the night.
"But sending you in alone is not safe either," Amelia cut in, and she was part of the group as well, for good reason. The blonde was a master at wards and protective charms and had analysed the wards around the castle for them, and found a rather interesting weakness in them.
"But that is the only way this works. You said so yourself that these wards are vulnerable to my Animagus form," and there was a reason that the Animagus transformation was so regulated.
It was far more complex than simple transfiguration magic and allowed one to bypass most wards and protective charms, and thankfully, the Malfoy hideout had failed to account for it as well.
"I am the only one who can do this," and it was better this way, for he did not wish them to see what he intended to do with Lucius at all.
"What if there are other people inside as well?" Shacklebolt was the last person on the team, and the man was as sturdy and solid a wizard could be. He was young, and for what it was worth, could be trusted to do the right thing.
"Then I will take care of them as well," he answered confidently.
"That was why I was brought in, wasn't it?" he said, turning towards Edgar, who sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
"Go, but if you see more than four people, then you retreat, and we think of a different plan," he ordered, and Alder nodded as he turned towards the manor and closed his eyes.
"Don't worry, I will handle this." With that, he closed his eyes, let his body transform into his raven form, and soon enough, he was in the air, circling the manor as his enhanced visual prowess allowed him to scout the place.
In the end, the gods were on his side as well as he spotted no one except the two Malfoys sitting in the kitchen, and decided that it was time move. He watched Lucius leave the kitchen, and so he closed in on the manor and felt the wards wash over him as he aimed for the window and let himself in without any sound at all.
He flew straight towards the back of Abraxus Malfoy and transformed into his human form in a blink. As the old wizard turned to look at him, Alder had already cast his spell as blood spurted out of the old man's neck, as Alder put a hand over his face to make it so that he could not utter a scream.
"Shhh," he whispered, as the man struggled in his arms, and yet even as he felt his life slip away in his arms, Alder felt little remorse for his death as he looked down into his eyes and answered.
"It pains me to give you such a quick death," he whispered, and the man clawed at his hands, he bit at his palms, and yet Alder did not budge as he felt the hands grow powerless, and the bites grow weaker.
"But don't worry," and he saw those eyes become dull and tearful as he realised his fate.
"I will make sure to make your son suffer for both of you," and with that, his eyes widened, as he gave one last-ditch effort to push him back, but to no avail.
In the end, he saw the light vanish from those eyes as his arms fell limp by his side, and only when he was certain that all life had left him did Alder remove his hands, as Abaraxus Malfoy's body fell to the floor, into a dark red pool of his own blood.
"Father," Lucius's voice came from the other side of the manor as Alder used a scourgify on his palm and slowly and quietly walked towards the door and hid himself at its side, as he waited for Lucius.
"Father," he called out once more, and this time the voice was much louder, and Alder could hear the floorboards creaking, and he could feel the moment Lucius saw his father, as his steps hurried, and the second he walked into the room, his eyes caught a glimpse of him.
"Ava..." but it was too late by then, as Alder's wand moved slightly as a slash roared forth and cut down his wand arm.
"AGHH!" he screamed, as his arm fell to the ground with a thud, but before he could do anything else, he hit the wall like a brick, and with a simple twist of Alder's wand, wood tore itself off the wall and began to wind itself around his limbs.
"AGHHHH!" he screamed off in agony, as his eyes finally landed on him.
"YOU! YOU!" he recognised him, and now Alder had him bound to the wall, as he finally lowered his wand.
"Hello there, old friend," Alder whispered, as Lucius began to huff.
"You are supposed to be at St.Mungo's," and so the ploy had worked.
"Surprise," Alder said, as Alder's face paled in realization of what was to come.
"You can't do this to me! You can't! The Dark Lord! He will kill you! He will kill your entire family!" Alder chuckled.
"He already has," and now Lucius chuckled.
"Oh, he hasn't done anything yet! That whore! She was no..." but Alder's wand moved again.
"Crucio!" and Lucius's screams filled the air, as he writhed in his bindings. His rage fuelled the spell, and it took a conscious effort to break it, as Lucius huffed.
"You speak of Narcissa again, and I will make your death a spectacle," he warned, and Lucius knew that it was over.
"Let me go," he pleaded, as tears fell down Lucius's face.
"I will leave the city, the country!" he offered, and Alder shook his head.
"I am afraid that is no longer an option," and he had thought that Lucius's screams would dull his pain. That they would bring him some catharsis, and yet he had felt nothing. The pain had remained the same.
And he feared that it would remain so for years to come.
"Then take me to the Ministry. Put me in a prison," he begged.
"It's over, Lucius," he whispered, and he pocketed his wand, took out the last thing his father had given him, and pointed it towards Lucius.
"You are going to hell," Alder lowered the gun and aimed it at his knee.
BANG!
"AGHHHH!" and then he moved it again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!"
"AHHHHHH!" Lucius screamed his lungs out, as the bullets crushed his knees and his shoulders, as Alder aimed it at his forehead.
"But don't worry. Your friends and your lord will be joining you soon enough...."
BANG!
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