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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 65: Defenses
The four men were still throwing spells at the ward, without realizing what had happened to their companion.
"Why won't this thing come down?!" A short man adjusted the white mask that barely hid his unkempt beard. "How come those blood traitors have something this strong?!"
"I told you to stop throwing spells at random?!" The one who shouted now was Amycus Carrow. He put himself in front of the others. "My sister is checking the perimeter, trying to find a weak point. When she is done with that, we can make a hole in these wards with ease."
"Mulciber made a valid question, though. Why do the Weasleys have something like this?" Someone else asked. This man was staring at the pyramid-shaped wards with concern in his eyes. "We can't even see who is really in there."
"Use your head, Travers." The last one of them now moved next to Amycus, blocking them from throwing more random spells. "If the Boy Who Lived is truly in here, then who do you believe would set up a protection like this?"
"Dumbledore?" Travers responded with a bit of hesitation. "You think he is in there?"
"That would be a serious problem…" Mulciber was now starting to get worried. Not being able to see what was inside was very unsettling.
"There is no way Albus Dumbledore has so much time to spare," Amycus told them. "He bothered to set up these wards because he can't be here to protect the boy at all times. Isn't that right, Lord Nott?" He glanced at the man next to him.
Lord Nott adjusted his mask. This one covered his entire face, but not his cruel blue eyes. He looked at the others. As one of the highest-ranked members of the Inner Circle, he had been put in charge of this operation.
"Listen to me. Our Lord has given a mission of utmost importance. We are to go in there and capture the boy. Everyone else that we encounter… we kill. There is no room for mistakes. We will not fail this mission. Is that clear?!"
"Y-yes," Mulciber responded.
"Very clear," Travers added.
"This is strange…" Amycus Carrow muttered as he stared into the distance.
"What is it?" Lord Nott asked.
"My sister should have been back by now," Amycus answered. "This barrier is not that big." He had sent her because she was the best at that part of the job, expecting her to be back in a few minutes.
Mulciber and Travers exchanged a look, gripping their wands with force.
Lord Nott frowned. "I don't like this…" He pointed at the other men. "You two, go that way. Amycus and I will go the other way. We make a full scan around the wards, see if there is anyone else here."
"But what if there is… you know… someone else?" Mulciber asked.
"Then you kill them, you bloody moron!" Lord Nott screamed.
"Right, we can do that. Right?" Mulciber turned to his companion.
"Of course." Travers lifted his wand. "There is no one around who is quicker than me with the Cruciatus. I can take anyone down. Come on!"
"Idiots…" Lord Nott sighed after those two left.
"Lord Nott, we should hurry. I fear that something has happened to my sister," Amycus said.
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Harry was floating in the air above the pyramid-shaped ward, watching the four remaining Death Eaters separating into two groups and walking in different directions.
One group was moving to where the dead woman was, the other one was going to the large tree, close to where Harry and Ginny had been standing just minutes ago.
Harry willed his magic and flew towards the second group first, but not before enveloping himself in an invisibility charm.
He landed just a few feet away from them, then aimed his hand in their direction. "Depulso."
The two Death Eaters were caught by surprise and pushed towards the boundary of the ward.
Mulciber landed on his back and immediately began to scream as sparks of electricity ran over his body. "Ahhhhh!"
Travers was luckier and only touched it with his shoulder before falling back to the ground. "Urgg…" He saw Harry appearing in front of him, and his wand moved swiftly. "Crucio!"
The Unforgivable Curse hit its intended target.
However, it did not have the intended effect.
"Bloody hell!" Travers watched in shock at Harry, who didn't even flinch after being hit with the most painful curse he knew. "Why is it not working?"
"It is working. But I have felt worse than that. Much worse." A small ball of fire manifested in his hand. "Furor Ignis."
"Protego!" Travers hurried to place a shield in front of him when he saw that fire spell.
However, Harry didn't just send the fireball directly at him. Instead, he threw it up. This one flew over the shield and landed on his head.
"Ahhh!" Travers felt his cloak and mask catching fire and panicked. Without realizing it, he moved back and touched the wards with his back, which then proceeded to fry him, just as they did with Mulciber, mere moments ago.
"Nice wards. I don't think the Ministry would approve," V commented. "Deadly wards have been illegal for the past hundred years. Of course, some pureblood houses still use them."
Harry stopped to observe the light of the pyramidal structure. "It's getting weaker. I'd better hurry." Those tiny arkstones would only be able to maintain this level of protection for a couple more minutes at most.
He needed to finish the others before that happened.
Harry heard the sound of steps.
"They must have heard that," V decided to state the obvious, just in case.
"Better. Let them come." Harry recast the invisibility charm on himself and waited for them to arrive.
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