Wild Magic - Chapter 35

Harry leaned back in the seat. The Ministry had sent a car since the floo wasn't an option. It was mundane to avoid the possibility of him accidentally stripping any enchantments. Unfortunately, it meant that the trip took a lot longer than usual. They had sent a carriage for Harry to get to Hogsmeade, then a Jeep that looked like it was made somewhere around World War Two, and finally a town car once they reached an actual road.

He didn't realize how much pressure he had been under until he was away from the magical area. Literal pressure. Magic itself was pushing in on him. It eased the farther they got from Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. After an hour he felt relaxed enough to take off his rings. He could still feel magic being drawn to him, but it had eased to a stream rather than rapids. Three more hours later the car pulled to a stop in front of a tavern. There were still another four hours to go before they reached the city. The place didn't look to be anything special or magical.

"What are we doing here?" Harry asked the driver.

"They got tired of waiting," the driver replied. "This place is out of the way enough for them to feel comfortable."

Two Aurors approached the car and waited for him to get out. They didn't even bother to try looking muggle. The two still wore their red robes and had their wands out. Harry stepped out of the car, noting how the Aurors kept their eyes on the surrounding area rather than him.

Another trio of Aurors waited inside. He didn't recognize any of them. It wasn't that odd, he told himself. The only Aurors he really knew by name were Tonks and Moody. There may have been more in the Order, but he had been busy during that stretch of time.

The place was empty aside from the Aurors and the staff. They didn't seem to mind the strange customers. Either they had been charmed, were magical themselves, or simply didn't care. Harry wasn't going to fault anyone in the service industry for ignoring strange things. They probably dealt with annoying people all the time.

"Another for the private room?" An older waitress asked.

She was dressed in casual clothing. The only thing that distinguished her as a member of the staff was her apron. She didn't even have a nametag. This place wasn't one of those chain restaurants with fake memorabilia on the walls and vests full of 'flare' to add character.

"Yes, thank you," Harry replied.

The woman led him to a side room that was guarded with another couple of Aurors guarding the door. There was something about the group of Aurors that tickled the back of his mind. He couldn't put a finger on it, but they put him on edge. It didn't help that the magical pressure increased whenever he got close to one of them. Their robes looked normal, they didn't give off any sort of magical aura. Wands hadn't bothered him, so it wasn't that. Still, there was a bit of magic energy hovering around them that rushed for him to absorb. They were jumpy too. Sneaking looks at him when they thought he wasn't looking. Each one had their wands in hand.

Harry paused as he stepped into the room. Amelia wasn't alone. Minister Fudge, some random ministry employees, and Lucius Malfoy of all people waited for him. Not one among them looked happy to be here. Of course, Lucius only ever appeared to be annoyed or disgusted.

"Mister Potter," Fudge was sweating for some reason. "Take a seat."

Harry did.

"I thought this was a meeting with Lady Bones," Harry said after a moment.

"The DMLE works for me," Fudge said a little too fast. "I want to be kept aware of important investigations. Your information saved the life of my dear friend Lucius. His safety is something that I have personally guaranteed."

Harry had to hand it to the man. Fudge knew Lucius couldn't pay him if Malfoy was dead. Not that the Death Eater was in any real danger. Judging by how annoyed Amelia looked, he bet Fudge picked out the Aurors himself. That fact would explain the weird feeling he was getting from them. Anyone loyal to Malfoy was likely a Death Eater.

A slow dread creeped up along his spine. He knew he could trust Amelia, but he didn't know any of the other Aurors and they were in the middle of nowhere. He was always a big target. Adding Amelia to the mix just made it all the more appealing. Having Fudge here would only sweeten the deal. All they needed was to have Dumbledore pop in for a visit to take out the main opposition.

This was the perfect place for an ambush. His eyes drifted along the group until he was looking at Lucius. The self-important smirk on Malfoy's face told him everything he needed to know. Definitely an ambush. He shifted his gaze to the most important person in the room. Amelia was a professional, she wouldn't miss the clues if he was able to put it together. Now he just needed to figure out how to tell her he knew without giving everything away. The last thing he wanted was her to think she needed to protect him.

"Madam Bones," Harry said with a polite smile. "Please be careful."

She raised an eyebrow at that. The little twitch of the corner of her mouth told him she was pretty much telling him the same thing. He felt the change in the air when a set of wards activated. The flow of magical power into his core increased. Thankfully, wards were akin to a constant low-level hum. The twitch of her eyebrow told him she felt it too.

He shifted his attention back to Malfoy.

"Lucy," he shook his head to show his disappointment. "This is heavy-handed even for you."

The smug smirk twisted in a glare.

"Mister Potter," Fudge smacked his hand on the table. "I will not have you speak to my guest in such a disrespectful manner."

Another, much closer, bit of magic made the world beyond the private room completely silent. The spell started to fade with Harry close to the door. Each bit of magic eagerly flowed into him since there was so little in the area. Soon enough, screams and spell-fire could be heard clearly through the doors. Harry could feel the spells of varied power flying around in the area around them. He inadvertently syphoned off some of the energy to the ones that were closer to him. Either there were more loyal Aurors among the group, or Amelia had brought her own squad.

Fudge went white while Lucius sat beside him with that smug glare. Amelia pushed out her chair, got to her feet, and positioned herself at an angle to the door. She used a tidy bit of transfiguration to shift the floor into a barrier. Lucius jumped to his feet, ready to blast it to pieces.

Harry held out his hand and focused. Whatever spell was about to leave Lucius' wand fizzled as the magic flowed into Harry. Malfoy scrunched his forehead in consternation before trying again only to get the same result. He changed his aim from Amelia to Harry thinking he'd have more success. The next spell was certainly a nasty one and it packed quite a punch. Harry could feel a heavy weight press in on him as he absorbed the magic fueling it.

"Not bad, Lucy," Harry nodded. "Mind if I give it a shot?"

Lucius increased his speed. Spell after spell rushed at Harry in a nearly constant stream. He held up his hand, Lucius' wand jumped out of his hand and sailed over to Harry. He caught it, snapped it, and dropped the pieces on the floor. Lucius' usual pale face turned an unhealthy red.

"I guess you didn't hear about all this?" Harry flicked his wrist; his wand appeared in his grip.

The Ministry had many, many chances to take Malfoy down over the years. That wasn't even counting the obviously fake Imperious Defense from the first war. It was time to fix that. Harry sliced his wand in a diagonal motion. A near neon yellow swirl of magic flew across the room at blinding speed. Harry didn't know if it was an actual spell. He simply visualized the effect he wanted and directed his magic to follow his intent.

Lucius tried to dodge but he may as well have been moving in slow motion. The spell struck him in the center in the chest. He got out just a squeak of a scream before his arms, legs, and head twisted in a couple of full rotations. The sound of bones shattering combined into one big CRACK. Lucius fell dead to the ground. Fudge hadn't moved yet, frozen in his seat. Even the Ministry workers had the good sense to get under the table.

"Now," Harry turned toward the doors. "Let's see who came to greet us."

The doors opened to reveal a battleground. He couldn't see the waitress, but there was a discarded, partially melted double-barrel shotgun next to the body of a Death Eater. Harry did wonder how a firearm would work in a fight with a wizard. The fist-sized hole in the Death Eaters chest was rather informative.

There was one Auror on the floor with a vacant stare. Another one was pinned down behind some improvised cover. Three Death Eaters and a couple of Aurors were slowly working through the physical layers of protection. The front door had been explosively removed, the windows were shattered, and there was some smoke drifting from the outside.

"Excuse me," Harry spoke up.

The Death Eaters and the remaining Auror turned to look at him.

"Could you keep it down? We're trying to have a meeting here," Harry said casually.

The Death Eaters turned their wands on him. A flash of spells rushed toward him, only to fizzle out before they got half-way across the room. Harry gave them a feral smile. He didn't bother using his wand, he held up his hand and snapped.

A long string of pops was followed by screams of agony as the Death Eaters wands broke into little pieces. The spell continued on, cracking the bones of their fingers and along their arms. It only stopped when it reached their necks.

"Put too much power behind that," Harry muttered.

The surviving Auror slowly stood up. He stared from Harry to the now dead Death Eaters.

"Head inside," Harry motioned to the Auror. "I would appreciate it if you provided Madam Bones with some support if she needs it."

A powerful rush of magic rocked Harry back on his feet. The magic he was using kept the pressure at an even level, but this was something special. He could practically see the miasma of darkness that filled the air. There was only one person who could possibly have that sort of impact.

Harry strolled outside to see Voldemort flanked by three masked Death Eaters on either side. They were well dressed, but Wormtail wasn't among the number, so it didn't matter.

"Potter," Voldemort growled.

"Tom," Harry waved. "Fancy seeing you here. I've heard the Shepard's Pie is good."

"Your humor does little to hide your fear," Voldemort snarled.

"Your minions are dead," Harry dropped the fake smile. "Your ambush has failed. Surrender and you'll  get a quick death."

Voldemort let out a genuine laugh. The Death Eaters beside the Dark Lord were visibly uncomfortable. Harry had to admit that it did make his skin crawl.

"This confidence, Harry," Voldemort said after a moment. "I am tempted to keep you as a pet just to break your spirit. It would be a nice treat to see the hope leave Dumbledore's eyes."

"Is this going to be you and me, or do you need your minions for support?" Harry asked. "Pardon my manners, I had to spend a few hours on a car ride."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the statement. There were rumors around Potter having spikes in accidental magic. The meeting in the middle of nowhere was obviously more about staying out of sight rather than some whatever gossip the cattle were on about. His gnarled wand moved in an elegant blur. He didn't give the young wizard a chance to say anything more.

Harry felt a flood of magic. He could feel the spells make it through the vortex that was his magical core. The sudden influx made the pressure return with a vengeance. Harry could feel the air around him ripple from the overflow.

The ground in front of him rose in a solid sheet of stone to block the incoming spells. He felt another powerful cluster splash against the barrier. Somehow Voldemort managed to cast a chain of Killing Curses back-to-back faster without losing speed. Harry wasn't going to test his luck that far.

He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself. The magical overflow was pulled into his core, forcing it to move even faster. Hogwarts, in the shape of Rowena Ravenclaw, told him that he needed to find a way to increase the rate he absorbed magic. She had said that he needed to push himself to magical exhaustion, but he had inadvertently stumbled upon another method. The 'drain' from his magical basin to his core was being forced to expand and the pressure around him faded as his core managed to the take in the energy at an increased rate. It was moving so fast that there wasn't enough time for any Wild Magic to gather.

Another barrage brought down the stone wall. Harry stumbled and fell flat on his back. He closed his eyes to stop the world from spinning out of control. The flood of magic practically drunk on the rush. His breath was short and ragged. Whatever pressure had accumulated around him vanished. It felt like his body was being pulled in on itself similar to the initial part of Apparition.

Voldemort stopped casting as he finally saw Harry. A cruel, mocking laugh floated through the air as the Dark Lord approached the fallen wizard. The pale figure stopped when he saw the small movements of Harry's chest. It would be so simple to kill the boy here, but he wanted to send a message. Metal chains wrapped around Harry, binding his arms and legs tightly. Voldemort motioned for his followers to grab the boy. He picked up the dropped wand and paused went he felt a familiar harmony. It wasn't perfect, but it was quite close to his own. Voldemort tucked the wand away.

He turned to see his minions still here. They were holding onto the boy. One of his minions was breathing hard.

"Why are you still here?" Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the group.

"We can't apparate, my lord," one of them said.

A wave of his wand brought down the wards that blocked travel. His minions tried again, only for another to start breathing heavy as well. Voldemort stomped forward, he grabbed Harry by the upper-arm, and apparated away. They vanished in a thunderous crack and appeared with an even louder one. The ride had been rougher than usual, but Voldemort arrived intact with his prisoner in hand.

This mansion didn't have the comforts of Malfoy Manor, but it was decent. In fact, it was more of a big house than an actual mansion. The previous owners didn't even have a house elf. His minions had claimed it from some half-bloods that didn't need it anymore.

"Take him to the basement," Voldemort let go of Harry, who dropped heavily to the floor. "I will be down shortly. No one is to touch him until I give the order."

~
NOTE:
This story is going to finish up in the next couple of chapters. Three at the most.