Chapter 48: Return to England
Anand smiled as he watched Harry trying to board his plane; there were many people around him thanking him, and some were acting like religious fanatics. He knew the young wizard was nervous about the whole deal and wanted to get out of the country quickly.
"Hahahaha!" Anand couldn't help but laugh at what was happening. Being treated like a hero was one thing, but as the incarnation of a god? That was fun. Well, for Anand at least, Harry wasn't having fun at all.
"Mr. Potter! Wouldn't you like to marry my daughter?"
Anand made a strange strangled noise with his nose at that, as did Harry near the entrance to his flight.
"Ali, you bastard, your daughter is eleven!" Anand yelled in annoyance.
"What?!" Harry yelled in alarm at the Minister of Magic's shout.
"Don't worry..." Ali smiled softly as she rubbed her hands together. "She'll grow..."
"I'm off!" Harry shouted and gently pushed everyone away using his wind. He ran inside the plane and found his seat before sitting down. When he did, he sighed in relief. But, while he basked in the relief of not having those people around, a part of his mind wanted to tear Dumbledore apart for saying unnecessary things.
"However... Maheshvara, eh?" Harry muttered, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed or pleased. On the one hand, he never sought out a name like that, but he felt a little proud of himself. But on the other hand, being called Maheshvara embarrassed him a little. If someone were to comment on what he did, he'd simply smile, but if someone told him about his title, he'd probably hide his neck at the name.
. . .
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Dumbledore sat in his office reading a book while holding a Lemon Drop, savoring the rich lemon flavor. Unfortunately, his good time was cut short when a huge shiver spread throughout his body as he trembled slightly.
"Perhaps Tom is about to make a move?" he wondered, but shook his head a few seconds later: "No, he's not that dull; he's probably waiting for the best moment to attack with the greatest possible power."
. . .
Several hours later...
Walking through England, Harry shook his head slightly. It was nighttime, and he hadn't expected that just moments after arriving, they would be waiting in ambush for him. It seemed that Voldemort's information network was larger than he thought.
The most powerful Dark Lord in history was looking at Harry Potter with a disgusting smile on his face. Beside him were several men and women wearing dark masks and cloaks. Harry was completely surrounded, but there wasn't even a hint of fear in his eyes. In fact, he looked happier than anything.
"Honestly, it seems that ritual failed to restore your full intelligence. Did you learn nothing from our last encounter?" Harry spoke slowly and asked, his face expressionless. His hand had slowly moved to his wand, holding it in his left hand. His right hand held the Taurus Horn tightly.
"You certainly impressed me then, Harry," Voldemort was still smiling as he slowly extended his hand forward, revealing Nagini in all her glory; at the same time several werewolves leaped forward from the shadows of the surrounding buildings.
"But I'm not an idiot, Harry. Even if I saw your power level then, you're not invincible. And, as long as I get rid of you first, I don't think there's anyone who can stop me from destroying and conquering Britain."
Harry shook his head slightly, denying Voldemort's words. "No, even if there wasn't, someone would have risen up to defeat you. And even if there wasn't, do you really think the muggle government would just sit back and do nothing? Magic might be an advantage in many things, but you shouldn't underestimate them for not having it; they possess weapons that could easily destroy a city without much trouble."
"Or have you forgotten about World War II? The war Grindelwald got involved in? Muggles didn't have magic, but there were still millions of deaths, experiments that would scare even you were done, two cities were torn apart by a single attack with bombs that are truly terrifying."
"Voldemort... No, Tom Riddle; you're forgetting humanity's power of survival and evolution. Likewise, you're forgetting what happened in the past," Harry narrowed his eyes as he pointed at Voldemort with a finger that wasn't fully extended.
"You're afraid... That's why you don't want to remember those things; you're afraid of failing and dying without the chance to fulfill your goals."
"Shut up!" Voldemort roared before shouting his orders to attack Harry.
A loud sigh left Harry's mouth. His eyes stared ahead, intently watching two things: Nagini and Peter Pettigrew. Both were necessary for Harry. The first was the last Horcrux he needed to destroy. The others were already destroyed before his trip to Italy. And, as for Peter, he was necessary so that his godfather could have his well-deserved freedom.
Those two existences were the reason for Harry's joy when he saw the ambush they had prepared for him. He didn't even have to try too hard to defeat them; all his training, all his battles on his missions and trips to other worlds had granted him enough power to kill Voldemort and his followers twenty times over and still be fresh.
The pressure of the Supreme King's Haki spread in the blink of an eye, wreaking havoc on the ground of the street; the windows of businesses and houses exploded due to the pressure and the Death Eaters and Werewolves felt the pressure causing pain in their bodies before falling unconscious.
Voldemort had his eyes wide open as he watched this happen. He didn't understand what had happened, that pressure was nonexistent for him; Harry had simply ignored it as he moved at high speeds, destroying Nagini and taking Peter by the neck. Harry wanted to create confusion and fear in the Dark Lord's mind, which was why he didn't direct his Haki towards him and leave him without feeling his pressure.
Voldemort's already disordered mind was now even more so. He could only stay still as Harry passed by him with Peter now held on his shoulder.
"You can't defeat me... you never will...", those were the words Harry left before he disappeared through Apparition, leaving the Dark Lord sweating all over. When he felt that Harry was nowhere to be found, he gritted his teeth and dark lines formed on his face; he couldn't accept this.
However, when he saw Nagini torn to pieces a few meters in front of him, he couldn't help but feel fear. Only now did he realize that one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed. He had to hurry and get all the others! Voldemort wasn't naive enough to think that now they would all be safe.
Unfortunately for him, it was too late.
. . .
Inside the Ministry of Magic in London, Harry walked ignoring the looks everyone was giving him for having a ragged man on his shoulders. He simply headed towards Madame Bones' office and informed the secretary that she had a desk outside of it to call her boss.
Seeing a man who could very well be a Death Eater perched on Harry Potter's shoulders, the woman stopped at nothing and ran straight to Amelia Bones's office.
"Mr. Potter... Is that who I think it is?" Madam Bones asked when she appeared, frowning as she looked at Peter.
"Peter Pettigrew, ma'am. When I arrived in London, Voldemort was waiting to ambush me; it seems his information network is larger than we thought. However, I was able to destroy his last Horcrux and take Peter," Harry immediately reported.
Amelia Bones already knew about the Horcruxes. With Fudge out of her position, she now had much more power and freedom of movement. Dumbledore and Harry decided it was best to share the information about said objects with her. This was done with the goal of destroying Hufflepuff's cup.
Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Amelia Bones had made a trip to Gringotts to make a deal with the Goblins. The three knew they wouldn't let the Horcrux be destroyed easily. So, with the permission of Ogden, the new Minister, they made a move: as long as Gringotts allowed access to Bellatrix's Vault and the destruction of the cursed object, the bank would keep 50% of the wealth inside the vault, and the other half would go to the Ministry.
By doing this, Gringotts would benefit and aid in the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort, while the Ministry would have the profits for improvements to its most important magical departments, such as the DMLE.
Now that all the Horcruxes had been destroyed, the profits would be shared equally, so it was important to inform Amelia about this and also hand Peter over to her so Sirius could be freed.
This kind of thing would be impossible for existing members of such an ancient wizarding family. But currently, there were only three Lestranges left alive; all of them fugitives from the law and publicly known Death Eaters. All three were currently in Azkaban, waiting to die or be saved by Voldemort. But even if they escaped for some reason, there were only two options, both with the same end result: death. If they escaped and were caught, all three would be thrown through the Veil of Death, or simply killed in the struggle while they were being captured. Either way, it would end in their deaths, and the Lestrange family would be finished. Only these things made the deal with Gringotts and the Ministry possible.
In the end, when Peter was led away to be thrown through the Veil of Death, Amelia let out a long sigh.
"I never expected my job to be so exhausting up to this point," she remarked.
Harry gave her a sympathetic look; he knew she wasn't referring to all the paperwork or orders she had to give. No, this was about the deaths that would be dictated by her orders. Even if they were highly dangerous criminals, with torture, rape, death, and more in their lives, she was still the one who had to give the order to kill each Death Eater.
"It's a weight you'll have to carry until your final day, ma'am," Harry said softly.
Amelia looked at him for a few seconds, realizing in that moment the enormous weight Harry Potter held in Wizarding Britain. He might not be the richest, or the one with the most political clout. But, until recently, the vast majority took it for granted that he would save them or die trying.
Currently, Harry Potter was powerful, no one doubted that. He was also perhaps the smartest wizarding human, or the most successful with his research into magic and werewolves, but he was still just one person, someone who had limits to what he could do.
And yet, at such a young age, he had already stained his hands with blood.
"I heard what happened in India," Amelia commented. "How? How are you able to be so calm after taking a life?"
"Calm?" Harry laughed; it wasn't an amused laugh, in fact, it was filled with a sound of self-loathing.
"As I've said many times, I'm by no means a hero. I may have saved many lives, but how many did I take? While I may be a hero to those I saved, I became a villain to the families of those I killed. Just as light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa, a hero cannot exist without a villain. There will always be another side to the coin, Mrs. Bones."
"The fact that someone out there is scorning and insulting me relieves me a little. The weight on my shoulders caused by those I've killed will always be on my shoulders; it will never go away."
"The only thing that lightens it a little is knowing that the people I saved weren't evil and were truly worth saving." Harry gave Amelia a slightly sad look when he finished. They looked at each other for a few seconds before shaking their heads. Harry said goodbye shortly after and left the office and then the Ministry.
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