Innovator; Chapter 15: A Battle of Wills (Patreon)

Author’s Note: Hello my dear patron family. Here’s chapter fifteenth of Innovator. Hope you like it! Do tell how it was in the comments. Also, Chapters 1-12 are on my fanfiction and ao3 profile.

Author Out!

“I am Talking.”

‘I am Thinking’

Spells

§Parseltongue§

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Willpower is like a muscle, The more you challenge it, the stronger it becomes.

~Martin Ginis

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INNOVATOR

-Dev Sagittarius Black

~~Chapter 15: A Battle of Wills~~
.

~~Flashback~~

“All will come to realize it soon,” He muttered to himself, “Everyone will soon learn that I am not someone who they should have made fun of.”

Alandale Potter moved towards the Gryffindor tower, he tried to ignore the whispers that followed him. The eyes that watched his every move. They were worse than the dragon’s horned tail or its sharp claws. He tried to ignore them all. He knew that they were fickle, and, even though he hadn’t done anything to deserve it, he was sure that the public didn’t seem to share his views regarding the tournament or its participation.

Still, the whispers were annoying and were soon going to his mind. 

“...Why is he here now? Wasn’t he satisfied with one shame?...”

“...What does this loser want now?...”

“...Did you hear, they say that he scored zero? That’s worse than any participant in the tournament’s history…”

Alandale’s eyebrow twitched at that and he glared at the sixth year who had said it, unfortunately, his glare didn’t have any effect because the Hufflepuff glared back. Alandale reverted his eyes back to the ground as he kept on moving.

“...What a disgrace to Hogwarts..”

“...Wouldn’t it be better if he simply died in the first task?...It’s a shame to be in the same house..”

Alan clenched his fist, his breathing hardened as it turned more forceful and he increased his pace. He needed to reach the Gryffindor tower soon, this was getting harder as the time passed.

The whispers followed the Boy-Who-Lived, they were as relentless and as brutal as the people who were whispering them. Alan felt a bit heavy in the head, his speed was just a few notches short of full-on sprint. 

“...only his brother had been the fourth-champion…”

Alan skidded to a halt, his head felt even more heavier when he heard that and he turned to glare at the three boys that were huddled near one of the alcoves. 

“I know right!” The Ravenclaw one exclaimed, “Harry would have been a much better option, hell I am sure that he would have won more than any other champion, it would have been a matter of pride for us instead of what the Gryffindor Potter did.” 

Alandale’s vision saw red at that. His brother was not only stealing his credit, but he had the gall to steal his leftover reputation too? He won’t allow that, not at all!

His mind filled with insidious thoughts of torture, he wanted to hear the cries of the three boys, he wanted to watch them beg for his forgiveness. He wanted to cause them unimaginable pain..? What? No! This wasn’t him, he wasn’t some filthy Slytherin who tortured their fellow students. He was a Gryffindor, he was the Boy-Who-Lived for that matter. 

‘I need to work it out, my priorities are all messed up..I don’t even know where to begin in the first place,’ Alandale thought as he resumed his pace towards the Gryffindor tower, ‘Maybe I should take some rest first, that bed in the hospital wing was really bad…maybe after that I could have some actual food and then my head would be clearer. Yes…sounds good’

But when Alan reached the portrait of the fat lady, the first thing he noticed was the pitiful eyes that the woman was throwing his way, he ignored them. It was possible that the woman had already learned of his defeat and was pitying him for that. 

Well, he didn’t need that. He was going to win the next task, and then he would show everyone that, even though it was an accident, he was no slouch and that he could easily pass the tasks too.

If only he had actually bothered to ask the guardian of the doorway as to why she looked at him that way, he would have learned to not step in the House of the Brave. The Gryffindors were brave, yes, but they were equally fickle too. 

The entire house stood against him, the only person who stood with him was his friend Ron Weasley. And he had been silenced by everyone else who had accused him, then they broke the news of how they had destroyed all of his belongings. They had done the same in his second year too, but for some reason, this time it hurt him more.

The house as one had thrown him out of the tower with his trunk, which only contained his books and a few clothes along with a small album of his parents. They had said that they were Gryffindors, and it was called House of the Brave. Something that he wasn’t and, therefore, there was no place for him among them.

This time he knew why it hurt him more. In second year, his ability had made him a house pariah, but this time, his action had made him a house-less individual at Hogwarts.

Alandale had taken his trunk and left the tower. That night he had taken residence in one of the empty rooms, he knew it was going to be a long night because sleep was the last thing on his mind.

~~Flashback Ends~~

Ever since that night, Alan’s dreams had been plagued with visions of torture and pain. He wanted to torture every single one of the Gryffindors that had dared to kick him out of the tower. McGonagall’s speech of ‘Your house is your Family’ seemed like a mockery of what had happened with him. 

There were only three aims for him now, and they were etched in his mind crystal-clear: Triwizard Tournament, retribution from House Gryffindor, surpassing the Titan which was Harry Potter. 

And Alandale Potter was willing to go to any length to see that all of his goals were achieved. 

Not much later than his expulsion from the tower, the voice in his mind had started to whisper all sorts of methods as to what he should do to achieve those. There were copious amounts of torture mixed with some well thought out advices. In fact, there were times when he thought that his thoughts were not his own. 

But that was ridiculous, right? Obviously it was. Granted that his mind, as well as his dreams, were sometimes filled with visions of unbound cruelty, but that was what the Gryffindor bastards and all those who had wronged him deserved anyways. So, he never gave it much thought. 

It was on one such instance when his mind had offered him the suggestion that the safest place for him in the entirety of Hogwarts was the one place that no one else could reach except him. Not even his brother. 

The Chamber of Secrets. 

Things had changed a lot after that. It was a shock to discover the secret room that was in the mouth of Salazar Slytherin, there was also one that led out into the forbidden forest, a perk that he abused extensively. 

There were times when he would go to bed completely drenched in sweat due to exercises and magic and would wake–up even more tired as if he had run a marathon while he was sleeping. He would attend all his important classes and used the perk of being a champion to drop out of the useless classes. Using that time to train himself in the chamber instead. 

Surprisingly enough, McGonagall hadn’t bothered him at all. She hadn’t asked him anything about his current dwelling and hadn’t treated him any better or worse than the usual students who attended Hogwarts. He suspected that none of the Gryffindors had told her what they had done to him and she was blissfully unaware of what had happened in her house.

Well, it wasn’t like Alandale was going to complain. He was learning more and at a much faster rate than how he had learned magic for the last three years at Hogwart. The only drawback was that he was almost always tired and out of energy. And there was that damn headache and haziness that gnawed at his mind all the time.

It was the same thing everyday and he was just going to follow his daily routine when he had been forced to dodge the stunner that his brother shot at him. The last thing that the boy-who-lived saw when he turned to look at his brother was the dark haired teen’s shocked face before. 

After that, his vision had turned red and he had been pushed into slumber as his mind submitted to the other being that had gained control of the boy’s body and magic.

“Hello, Harry Potter…” 

Harry looked at his brother, or what would have been his brother, if it wasn’t for that ugly smirk and the glowing red eyes that glared at him with malice. He didn’t know exactly what had happened to the protections and he didn't know how,  or how long Voldemort had been free. 

But if the Dark Lord was able to gain control over Alandale’s mind in such a short span, then he was sure that the control exceeds far more than it should have in the small amount of time….

Harry’s eyes widened as slowly everything started to click in its place. 

The Dark Lord had recently been reincarnated which meant increase in his magic, exactly when Alan had suffered defeat and probably weakening of his magic during the first task, his removal from Gryffindor tower, his haggard appearance, his skipping classes and staying in the Chamber of all places…everything made much more sense now. 

“Voldemort,” Harry looked at the man who was inhabiting his brother’s body. 

“It has been quite some time, has it not?” The dark lord said, “Stil, I pride myself in knowing that you haven’t forgotten about Lord Voldemort in your own little journey to power.” 

Harry frowned, “My journey to power?” 

Voldemort laughed, even his laughter sounded cruel in Alan’s voice, “Why yes, these days you are known as ‘The Innovator’, are you not?” He smiled, “It’s one of your many powerful and strong titles, including the latest one, ‘The Dragon Slayer’.”

Harry grimaced at that, he didn’t like that title at all, he didn’t like others either, but that one irked him the most for some reason. The boy also knew that Voldemort was wrong, but it wasn’t like Harry was going to correct the Dark Lord regarding his goals now, was it?

“How long have you been able to possess his body?” 

Voldemort’s smile decreased, “I would tell that to you but I am more curious as to why you aren’t shocked by this unforeseen development? Did you already know about me…” His red eyes glinted in the dim light of the chamber, “...or maybe you already knew what exactly your brother was and still didn’t do anything?” 

Harry flinched at that, he knew what his brother was. All thanks to the headmaster, but it wasn’t like he didn’t do anything. In fact, he had been working on this thing since Dumbledore gave him the task at the end of last year. 

Since then, Harry had stopped all his work and had been working on creating a method to kill the Horcrux and not the container. He had succeeded in making it half-way through. It was a dual eviction process, the potion that would provide defense to the body was ready but the ritual that would evict the body’s curse wasn’t ready yet.

Harry didn’t say anything, and Voldemort took this as the innovator’s agreement to his educated deduction. The Dark Lord inhaled deeply as he closed his eyes, it was as if the Dark Lord was preparing himself for something. 

Harry felt, more than saw, the Chamber endure a sudden wave of magical aura as his brother’s magic saturated the air around himself. Lord Voldemort opened his eyes and flicked his wand into existence as he looked at the young innovator with a cruel smile on his face.

“I already know what you want,” He told him, “And that’s something that I cannot provide. Not after all the work and the years I have put into it,” He saw his opponent get ready, “Therefore, it’s time to settle this once and for all.”

Harry clenched his teeth, it was one thing to fight a dragon or any other beast, it was another thing to fight a Dark Lord, and it was a thing on a completely different level to fight a Dark Lord who was occupying the body of the person Harry was supposed to protect.

“Apovoli Organon!”

“Crucio!!”

.

“My Lord, everyone is here. They are waiting for you,”

Red eyes looked up from the tome that they were previously focused on. Their master trained them on the newest arrival in the chamber, Bellatrix LeStrange.

“Did everyone answer the call, Bella?” 

Bellatrix looked down in shame and shook her head, “No, My Lord, half of them didn’t answer us. They are cowards, Master, cowards who are hiding behind their-”

Voldemort raised his finger to silence the deranged woman, he had already assumed that there wouldn’t be many who would answer his call, not until he showed himself or they somehow learned that he was back again.

“Send them in, Bella,” The Dark Lord said, “I would like to meet our less than loyal friends here tonight,” He leaned back in his throne as Bellatrix bowed and left the room. Even though he was disgusted with what happened and those who had renounced his name, he knew that he still needed them. 

Well, it was indeed time to strengthen his ranks once more. He would need to work on the weak again, punish the cowards and the betrayers, and secure allegiance from the filthy creatures that had helped him in the last war. 

His true followers who stood by him were now recuperating from their feeble health status in Malfoy Manor’s health room. Some of them were still unconscious and the Dark Lord assumed that it was possible some might not be able to survive the forced treatment, and would probably give away their lives before it was their time to stand by his side once more.

Slowly, one-by-one, men and women alike started to pour in through the door, their expressions changed the moment their eyes met his. Cowards. Voldemort didn’t say anything, preferring to be patient until all of them were in the chamber. 

One of them was bold enough to take a few steps in his direction, probably to greet him. But Voldemort immediately sent a silent stunner to the ground in front of him. The man stopped and looked at the Dark Lord with shock and no small amount of fear, the message was clear.

Forgiveness will have to be earned. 

Once everyone was inside, Bellatrix stepped inside and closed the door, she then came and stood on his right, nursing Nagrrish who was looking at everything with awestruck eyes. Voldemort had kept the small snake with him in the memory of his long-time companion Nagini who gave up her life to strengthen his soul. 

“Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years it’s been, and yet, here you stand as if it were only yesterday,” The Dark Lord stood from his throne, “I confess myself…disappointed. Not one of you tried to find me…” 

His followers flinched at that and Voldemort glared at each of their cowering faces, he had specifically told Bellatrix to not allow any one wear the masks. He wanted to see the pain and fear that they have. 

“If not for Bellatrix, and Wormtail, who sacrificed his life for our cause. I am quite certain that none of you would be here, you would be enjoying your lives, spending galleons on your frivolous activities,” He sneered.

“N-No my lord, I-” 

“SILENCE!” Voldemort thundered, causing everyone to flinch, as he released his magic, saturating the air and suffocating his followers, “No one will speak unless spoken to,” He pulled back his magic and saw a few of them gasp in relief.

Their weakness made his skin crawl with disgust. This was not the Death Eater army he had built all those years ago. These were pampered lords, too busy throwing Galleons to even think about their goal. 

“A few of our own choose to follow me and stand proudly for our cause, rather than renounce my name and hide,” He sneered as he stepped down and started moving among his followers, “They will be rewarded. Never let it be said that Lord Voldemort didn't reward loyalty.”

Bellatrix bowed her head, “My Lord is too benevolent.”

Voldemort hummed, his face didn’t show any expression, before he looked back at the assembled beings, “But if I reward loyalty, I must also ensure that the betrayers are punished," He turned to look at one of the slightly crookedly standing follower and smiled, "Even Lucius here, has learned the price of betrayal, I am sure you want to join our friend in the lesson?"

They turned to look at Lucius Malfoy and winced, the Malfoy Lord wasn't faring well. It seemed like there were silent tremors still raking through his admittedly crooked form. The thought didn't sit well with the rest of Voldemort's followers.

"What do you say, Amycus? What should I do?”

Amycus Carrow, who was standing in the second row, flinched as his master’s face came close. He knew that the punishment was already decided, and that their Lord was just doing this to make it seem as if they had a choice. Still, he knew that not answering would not be tolerated either.

“You are correct, Amycus, not answering won’t be tolerated,” Voldemort hissed as he pointed his wand towards Carrow, “So, do tell me, what do you think I should do with the ones who renounced my name? The ones who believed that Lord Voldemot was dead? Do tell, how we should punish them.” 

“I-I never,” Amycus began, “I never left your side My lord, if only I had heard even a single-”

“CRUCIO!!” 

Amycus Carrow’s guttural scream reverberated through the walls of Malfoy Manor, and everyone knew that they would either have to offer something or they, too, would have to be on the receiving end of the curse.  

One thing was clear to all of them…Forgiveness will have to be earned.

.

Harry Potter glared at the possessed form of his brother, the same one who was glaring back at him with equal ferociousness. 

The chamber had been destroyed, the devastating spells that had been traded between the two wizards had seen to it. Both Voldemort and Harry were panting, their robes were soiled, and they sported a few cuts here and there where their opponent's spell had managed to nick them. Still, they were relentless and thinking of ways to gain the upper hand in the battle. 

Harry had assumed that Voldemort’s possession wasn’t absolute. It was proved correct when, at times, the red hue in his brother’s eyes decreased so much that the chocolate browns came back. Unfortunately, instances like these were momentary as Voldemort would regain control and the fight would resume. 

Voldemort, on the other hand, had learned that Harry would not use extremely dangerous curses on his brother’s body. The Potter heir had been fighting quite well. In fact, Voldemort had to admit it, Harry Potter was even gaining the upper hand in this fight. Though, it was mostly because the body was not under complete possession and, surprisingly enough, his host had started to actively fight him now. 

The Dark Lord knew that it was only a matter of a few minutes before there would be another episode of struggle for the body, and he was sure that his opponent would immediately use this in his favor. However, he couldn’t afford that, not after all the work he had done on this body to ensure his return to power. 

He still wondered what his original soul was doing or where it was, there was not even a single rumor about it. The last time he had seen the original was three years ago in the third floor corridor, when he had come after the Philosopher’s stone. He had tried to remove himself from the Potter boy’s scar and join the original, but the bindings were tight and he had not been able to break them.

“You think you are winning this, Harry?” Voldemort taunted him, “You can’t even use any other spell other than the good ones Dumbledore taught you. Just one miss on your end and you’ll be dead.” 

“Well yes, but then we both know it would be hard not to miss considering your aiming has been atrocious.” It wasn’t really, Voldemort’s aim had been quite accurate. But, every now and then, Harry had noticed a certain internal struggle over the body and that had resulted in the Dark Lord’s curse missing the aim. 

Voldemort glared at that and shot a Eye-ball gouging curse that Harry dodged and returned with a Temporary deafness of his one.

Harry knew that the Dark Lord was struggling to maintain his hold over Alan’s body. He just needed to wait for the right opportunity and the battle would end in his favor. Well, he could always make the result fall in his favor.

“Fumos, Miasmaticus*”

Thick smoke of dark green and black in color flew from the tip of his wand and started clouding the atmosphere around the two. 

“You really think this will work out for you, Potter?” Voldemort sneered in his direction and easily sidestepped the incoming stunner, “Ventus” 

The smokescreen was dispersed and Voldemort’s eyes widened when he saw that Harry had taken the time to conjure a few creatures with steel around their maws and claws. 

“Serpensortia!” Voldemort conjured four mature venomous snakes, §Destroy those animals§

The snakes took the command and slithered furiously towards Harry’s creations who ran towards the snakes with equal ferocity.

“Calcitrare, Diffindo!” 

“Protego”

The punching and slicing hex slammed on Tom’s hastily conjured shield forcing the Dark Lord on a backstep, he immediately followed by three silent rope conjurations behind Harry. 

Harry dodged the first two ropes that attacked him and tore the Chamber’s stone ground in the third one’s path to stop it. 

“Bombarda Maxima!” Voldemort cried out, he felt a certain constriction in his chest but ignored it in favor of destroying Harry.

The innovator summoned one of the many snake statues in the chamber in the curse’s path, “Ventus.” The debris from the impact was blown towards Voldemort who conjured a thick wall of granite to take the impact. 

‘I have to win this, I can’t let a mere teenager defeat me’ Voldemort thought, “Confringo-Confundo-Draco Ignem!” He screamed the spell chain and coughed a bit of blood as the Draconian fire leapt from his wand towards the innovator who erected a fire shield.

Harry saw the fire splash on his golden shield, “Petrificus Totalus” The boy then dodged the Confundus and Blasting hexes sent at him.

Voldemort swatted the hex and frowned when his lungs constricted and he coughed more blood, he saw Harry busy dodging the hexes and immediately took the chance, “Avada Kedavra!” 

“Expelliarmus!” Harry cried out and saw the two mystical forces collide head-on, there was a huge ball of golden light that formed where the two spells had collided. Harry grit his teeth and forced more and more of his will power and magic in the spell.

Voldemort was surprised when instead of attacking, a small golden sphere formed at the collision of the spells, but he smiled in glee when he saw the golden sphere of magic move towards Harry. He was sure that the boy would lose now and die. But that’s when his chest constricted once more and he looked to see that his hands were turning blue. 

What was happening? WHAT WAS POTTER DOING?!

The Dark Lord’s eyes widened when he noticed that the momentary lapse in concentration had cost him heavily as the sphere was pushed more towards his side, he tried to force more magic in it but his body wasn’t responding. It was slowly going lax and it pained to move. 

He felt the control over his body slip again, ‘No…no..not now, not after all this time, not again…noooooo’, He tried his absolute best to regain control, but Alan’s mind had regained consciousness and was fighting him now, the body wasn’t responding either as the bluish discolouration spread more towards his upper arms and he felt the pain in his abdominal muscles.

Voldemort gasped for breath but he couldn’t do anything as the golden sphere blasted out, throwing him towards one of the snake statues that got demolished on contact with Alandale’s body. 

Harry too fell back on the ground due to the shockwave that thrummed throughout the chamber. He shook his head to rid himself off of the dizziness before standing up and pointing his wand toward the dusty clouds that rose from Alandale’s impact on the snake statues. 

There was no noise from Alandale’s direction and Harry started walking towards it, his wand ready to counter any curse that the Dark Lord might throw at him. If only he had activated even one of his Rune of Potentia, the battle would have ended much sooner, still, he didn’t do that because tomorrow was an important day and the Enlightened One had asked him to not use any of his runes until he was back in the guild. 

The dust settled and Harry sighed in relief when he noticed that Alandale’s eyes were closed, the boy’s wand a meter away from him, floating in the dirty pool of water. He still bound the boy in tight ropes and petrified him before checking the boy’s pulse. 

It was there. It was quite feeble, but the pulse was still there, which meant Voldemort was defeated, not destroyed. Harry cursed himself for not having his main project ritual ready yet. The potion was ready but it wouldn’t do much except stall the Dark Lord, if only he had the ritual ready, he would have been able to kill the horcrux without killing the youngest Potter.

.

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he filled in another paper on ICW’s request of monitoring dangerous potions, and the items required to brew them. His work as the Supreme Mugwump was a tiring one. 

At first, he had been all too happy to take several of the positions, they offered him quite the position and the work wasn’t that tedious either. Dare he say, he quite enjoyed the perks he received with his positions. But now, his concentration was needed elsewhere, and his body wasn’t supporting him as it did when he had the Deathstick’s allegiance. 

Thinking of the wand, Dumbledore opened the drawer to his right and looked at the cursed stone that was slowly rotting his desk. Tomorrow was the day. Harry would be leaving for the Guild tomorrow, and he would be taking both the wand and the stone with him. 

Dumbledore prayed to Merlin to keep the boy safe, he didn’t know what ritual it was that the Guildmaster had planned for Harry, but it was quite clear, with the ingredients involved that it was going to be something big. 

The wards in Dumbledore’s office flared to life, and the headmaster gripped his original Ebony wand which he had started using after losing the Elder wand. The wards told him that two male wizards were dashing towards his office door. That never meant a good thing, especially not when it was nearly midnight. 

The door slammed open and Dumbledore was shocked when he saw that it was none other than Harry who came inside. The boy’s condition was even more shocking, he was sweating profusely, there were cuts on his body that were bleeding, and his robes were soiled and disheveled. 

“Harry? What is this? What happened?” Another part of his mind noted that the wards had alerted him to two males and only Harry had entered his office, where was the other one?

Harry shook his head rapidly, “Not now headmaster, I will tell you everything but you’ll have to wait at least five more minutes.” 

Dumbledore was shocked at the amount of panic in the boy’s voice. He had never seen the boy in this condition. The boy had always had a cool head, always calculating and observing everything, therefore it was quite a disbelieving sight to have the boy in this state of mind.

“Professor, do I have permission to call my personal house-elf in your office?”

Dumbledore nodded.

“Dobby.” There was a soft ‘pop’ and the diminutive elf stood in the headmaster’s office, his eyes widened at the state his master was in. But before he could have said anything, Harry gave his orders. 

“Dobby, go to my work lab, there will be a small trunk in a small alcove behind the portrait of Shri Shri Srinivasa Ramanujan. Open the fourth compartment, it has potions under stasis. Bring the potion that is Pale Lilac in colour, now.” 

Dobby immediately popped away to bring the aforementioned potion. Dumbledore on the other hand was even more shocked, as, after Dobby left, Harry finally removed the Invisibility cloak and revealed the bound, petrified, and floating form of Alandale Potter. 

“Harry? What is this?” Dumbledore asked the boy, “What happened to Alandale? He looks worse than you.” 

“I will tell you everything, Headmaster, but time is of the essence. I need to perform the task before I could explain it to-Ah, thanks Dobby.” Harry took the potion from the elf who had just popped back in the office.

The innovator then opened Alandales mouth and poured half of the potion down the boy’s throat before putting the stopper on the vial, he then pointed his wand at the youngest Potter, “Ennervate” 

Chocolate brown eyes snapped open, and their owner looked at the boy who stood in front of him. The boy’s features weren’t clear as everything looked hazy, his body suffering from excruciating pain. Still, for some reason, he knew who the boy was.

“Ha-Harry…?” Alan croaked out, his mind felt drowsy as his eyes felt heavy.

“Sleep Alan,” Harry told him, and even though Alandale wanted to fight back, his body just didn’t want to cooperate. Slowly, his eyes closed again and let the inky blackness envelope his vision. 

“Harry, was that..?” Dumbledore frowned when Harry raised his finger to stop him, the gesture wasn’t nice but the headmaster understood that some drastic event had happened, and,  therefore, he gave the young innovator some leeway.

Harry snapped his fingers and there was another small ‘pop’ sound, this time coming from within his nose. The innovator then gave a relieved sigh as he took in fresh air once more. He had used a modified version of the bubblehead charm, and had covered the insides of his nostrils instead of half of his face. 

That was done when he had cast the Miasma Curse in the chamber, the curse was meant to release harmful smoke and foul air that clogged the air, slowly affecting the person who inhaled it, causing them to suffer from lung infection. 

It was a slow acting curse and was temporary in nature. It could be prevented easily by the use of bubblehead charm, just like Harry had protected himself. 

Unfortunately, Voldemort had seen the Fumos spell and had assumed that Harry had only released it to create a smokescreen. Therefore, instead of protecting himself, he had dissipated the Miasma curse in the air, something which Harry had subtly refuted with his Wind spell when he threw the debris at Voldemort. 

And to prevent suspicion, Harry had modified the bubblehead charm to only be around the inside of his nostrils and not half of his face which would have easily given his plan away.

“Dobby, take this Draught of living death and put it back from where you picked it, also close the portrait,” Harry told the elf who popped out again. 

“You have some explaining to do, Harry.” Dumbledore told the boy who nodded, he then levitated Alan on one of the spare couches in the office and removed the boy’s binding.

“Voldemort had managed to possess Alan. I just fought the madman and knocked him unconscious. I was lucky that the possession wasn’t complete, and that this was one of the small, broken pieces of his soul instead of the entire Dark Lord.”

Dumbledore took in the information and was stumped for a few seconds before he shook his head, “Tell me everything.” 

.

A small cyclone formed in the black sand at the front gates of the Black granite castle, and out of the cyclone stepped Harry Potter in his Guild attire. The medals on his chest proudly showing off his commander rank as the third highest member in the guild. 

He clutched the black scroll in his right hand and the brown leather bag in his left. The bag contained the horcrux that he had acquired with Dumbledore’s help from the shack near Little Hangleton. 

Today was the day, December Twentieth, the day of the ritual that the Enlightened One had told him about. He didn’t know the details. The only thing he knew was that it would be one of the strongest rituals in the last seven-hundred years. 

The result of this ritual was unimaginable powers, something that, if the person failed to conquer, would immediately kill him and bind his soul in the Land of Death. This ritual was supposed to literally bring the multiversal entity and the Guild’s patron god on earth. 

Harry saw the pedestal rise from the ground in front of him and he placed the black scroll that had been used to summon him. He saw the scroll get absorbed in the pedestal before he placed his hand on the pedestal to confirm his identity. 

Bowing to his ethereal guardian spirit, who confirmed his identity and bowed back, the duo made their way toward the Grim Reaper guard statues. The feline gave a loud roar before he glared at the main doors, commanding them to open for his partner. 

“Welcome to the Necromancer’s Guild, commander Anubis. Master of the first and third Hallow of Death.” A booming voice came from the statue of the Reaper that was floating in the entrance hall welcoming him as he entered the hallowed halls of the guild. 

Harry’s guardian spirit walked beside him as he traversed towards the deeper sections of the castle, it was time to finally undergo the ritual. 

It was time to conquer the power that he knows not.

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Ending note: There you have it fellas, chapter Fifteenth of Innovator, hope you liked it.

Liked it? Loved it? Needs some changes? Please, do tell.

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Name: Dev Black's Empire

Thank you for reading and comments.

With regards,
Dev Black

Note: The Priori Incantetem effect is not shown here, the golden sphere that formed was similar to the one that formed when Voldemort battled Harry during the battle of Hogwarts. Since the wands didn’t have the same core and still managed to create the golden sphere of magic, I used the same thing here and created the golden sphere.