161 Chapter 161: A Good Man Goes to War

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.

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31 October 1993, Hogsmeade

The Shrieking Shack once rumoured to be the most haunted dwelling in Britain, stood shrouded in the gathering dusk, its windows like blind eyes watching over the chaos that had engulfed Hogsmeade. The aged wooden exterior, weather-beaten and warped, groaned mournfully as the wind whistled through its cracks and crevices, an ominous accompaniment to the dire situation at hand. Harry and his friends, their breaths forming ghostly plumes in the chill air, hesitated for only a moment before plunging into the Shack's dubious shelter.

 Once inside, they were greeted by the thick dust that danced lazily in the shafts of dim light piercing the boarded-up windows. The floorboards, uneven and rotten, creaked underfoot, a constant reminder of the decrepit nature of their hideout. The walls, peeling and discoloured, bore the scars of the countless stories and tragedies they had silently witnessed over the years. Shadows pooled in the corners of the room and draped the ceiling in darkness, while the scant furniture—a broken chair, a splintered table—looked like skeletal remains of a bygone era.

The air was musty, heavy with the scent of mould and decay, and every sound seemed amplified in the hollowness of the Shack. The whispers of movement, the rustle of fabric, the soft clink of the wand against wand as they prepared for what was to come. This place, once a refuge for Remus Lupin during his transformations, now stood as their temporary hideaway against Hogsmeade's attackers.

The petrification ward that Harry had crafted was a masterpiece of defensive magic. Targeted protection over a large settlement, especially a public one, wasn't something common nowadays. It was something that Death Eaters commonly used in their attacks. It was easier to mark an apparition ward to allow only certain people to apparate, imprisoning their hostages. Harry, expecting this, had turned it around on them, the rune also adding a general apparition ward, preventing even the attackers from apparating away in fear. And the best thing was that the moment the magic ran out, the roots that were used to shape the runes would dissolve, and with them the marking plants and the ones that released the darkness fog. No one would know who was responsible, only that the perpetrators would come.

If it was any other attack, he would have relaxed, but he still remembered the figure leading the fire and its aura. It was terrible but it was powerful, and he definitely didn't think that things would be this easy. He was hopeful, but he should prepare for the best.

Blaise was the first to speak up, "Are we safe here?"

"No, we need to get to the castle. The wards will protect us there and we can observe things better using our mirrors. Follow me, quickly."

"What's the hurry?" Tracy complained, "We already escaped, didn't we?"

Harry shook his head, "Something is wrong…"

He wasn't bluffing. There was something wrong. He could feel it in his soul. His Arcane Hearing was giving him mixed signals, something that was muffling the other melodies. It was coming closer. They needed to get out of here and quickly.

Tracy looked like she was about to protest but Harry was having none of it, "Look, I can understand you being a little rebellious and I more than indulged that today. But I swear to every fucking deity on the planet if you don't follow me out of the castle quickly, I will stun you and bring you there myself. I already told you that it was a bad idea for us to stay there with the possibility of an attack. So, for once on this cursed day, just shut up and listen to what I have to say!"

All three of them nodded, looking nervous. He took a deep breath, "Good! Now, follow me. We don't have much time."

They all walked down to a very dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were also barred shut. This must have been where Lupin came to transform.

Harry looked around and saw a small trap door underneath some of the dust. He cleared the dust with a flick of his wand and the door opened with a loud creak, "Get in here. There's a secret tunnel to the castle, specifically the Whomping Willow. If you poke the knot in the trunk the tree will be paralyzed, and you can go through."

"What about you," Daphne asked worriedly.

"I'll be right behind you."

A soft voice from the pack exclaimed, "No, you won't!"

Harry and his friends jumped at the voice and turned with their wands waved, only to stiffen the moment they saw him. The last Potter couldn't blame them. The intruder was wearing baggy torn robes that looked at least a decade old. They were also wearing a simple mask with a smiling face on it, painted in blood. He was also holding a very sharp knife that was definitely enchanted in some way and dripping blood ominously. But what terrified Harry wasn't his look, but what he could tell from his Arcane Hearing.

This particular skill allowed him to hear magic, at least interpret magic using his hearing. Every object had a melody, even if it was minuscule. Everything but the being in front of him. The intruder was a void in magic, muffling anything that came near him. It was wrong, no, it was monstrous. That was the only way to describe the thing's presence.

Tracy was shaking, "You're the smiling killer!"

"Ten points to Slytherin," the monster responded, "It's not a very intimidating name, is it? But I think I made it work. They could have called me the silent killer, or the mad killer. I would have been fine with them even calling me a ghost but isn't it curious that people chose to pick smiling as my defining feature? I think that confused them the most. The killer who leaves smiles on the faces of their victims. Well, carved smiles on the faces of their victims. I wonder what magnificent faces you're going to make…"

Harry's friends gulped in fear, yet raised their wands, ready to fight at a moment's notice. They were shaking though, as the Smiling Killer slowly walked closer, his knife glinting ominously in the dim light. The sound of his laughter was like a discordant melody, out of tune with the usual whispers of magic that Harry could see and hear. It didn't take long for them to come to the conclusion that they were in grave danger.

Blaise was the one who cast first, sending a volley of beams of light towards their opponents who dodged them with unnatural grace. Daphne tried to summon roots to stop it, only for him to jump through the small gaps that would allow them. Tracy wasn't making any difference with the curses that she was using. Harry, though, wasn't attacking, instead, he was working on a plan, while analyzing their opponent. He catalogued the enhanced speed and reflexes in the back of his mind, as he readied his spell.

The smiling killer leapt in the air, with his knife drawn towards Daphne, and Harry released the grip he had on his magic, expanding the space between them, making the monster in human skin miss. The killer stopped, definitely not expecting this move, allowing Harry time to plan. He waved towards the trap door, enlarging it and urged, "Go now! I'll handle this."

His voice was calm, but his mind was racing with plans and contingencies.

"No!" Daphne exclaimed, "We're not leaving you!"

"Then, I'm sorry for this," he retorted.

Before they could process his reply, Harry waved his wand, and his friends were pushed towards the enlarged trapdoor. They were yelling and gave him betrayed looks as they fell into the tunnel, and the trap door closed, melting into the floor.

He turned towards his attacker who was clapping slowly while tilting their head with a chilling imitation of curiosity. 

"Oh, you're a brace one, aren't you?" the monster mocked, "Brave like your father before you. Alas, bravery did not save him, and it won't save you either."

Harry circled the intruder warily, noting every detail. The man's clothes were at least a decade old, either his own or from an old victim of his. His mask, though simple, was unnerving, and the knife was unlike anything Harry had seen before, humming with an enchantment that sang of indestructibility. The metal was definitely adamantine, and there was a soft noise whenever it moved, as the knife cut the air. So, it was also unnaturally sharp.

The Smiling Killer advanced suddenly with an unnatural speed yet Harry expected this to happen somehow. He could tell the angle that the knife would come at, and instinctively dodged it before the monster even started.

He suppressed his surprise when the monster attacked exactly as he saw it and the dodge worked. The smiling killer froze in surprise at first, only to start attacking once more. Harry was sure that if the man's face wasn't hidden by a mask, he would have seen a feral grin underneath considering the enthusiasm the man was attacking with.

As they danced this macabre waltz, Harry's mind worked furiously. He made a very quick plan. He saw the killer attack and he planned it. 

Obscure his attacker's vision with a small flash of light, extend the space between them for the monster to be unbalanced and miss his thrust. Conjure ice spikes to pin his feet to the floor. Bludgeoning curse to the knees, aggravating the wound further. Conjure ice chains to restrain incoming strikes from the knife-wielding arm. Create a gravity magic circle to pin him down. Summon a bolt of lightning to end the fight.

Conclusion: spikes through his feet, tied hands, dislocated knees, body pinned to the ground with possible nerve damage.

It worked at first, the flash of light blinded him, allowing Harry to extend to space between them. He conjured ice spikes to pin him down and the monster's scream was disturbingly satisfying. He sent the bludgeoning curses at the knees and conjured the ice chains, only for the unthinkable to happen, the man's hand moved through the chains and the knife was coming disturbingly close towards Harry.

He did his best to dodge and lashed out with a conjured ice dagger. Then, by reflex expanded the space between them once more. Harry had never heard of any kind of magic that allowed people to move through them. He knew that it wasn't an illusion since he could hear the void using his Arcane Hearing. He felt some stinging in his cheek and he touched it to see that his finger was bloody.

"What are you?" he couldn't help but ask.

The smiling killer started to laugh, "I guess you could call me a ghost from the past."

"You can't use magic, can you?"

The monster stiffened, "You're a clever one, aren't you? But not clever enough."

Looking at his opponent, Harry realized that the monster did not come out unscathed either. Outside his injured feet, Harry seemed to have hit his shoulder with his desperate attack. Huh, so the phasing had to be done at will and was not a reflex. The monster obviously couldn't phase and hit him at the same time, a limitation that Harry would do his best to exploit.

"I won't let you pass," he stated, trying to buy some time.

"Oh, I'm not interested in passing," the killer retorted with a slimy voice. "You, Harry Potter, are my target. Always have been. You've been very gracious to come directly to me. I dread how many children I would have killed just to find you. In a way, you saved many lives by coming here. It's a shame, really. You're the most interesting fight I've had in a very long time. You could have been so entertaining, alas, fate has other ideas. It's nothing personal kid."

"How is killing me not personal?"

"Don't blame me. Blame your bitch of a mother. She's the one who cursed you with this. I have to say that I will enjoy watching your eyes, her eyes lose their light at my hand. I'm done playing. So, Goodbye, Harry Potter, may you find your peace in death."

The smiling killer leapt towards him; his knife drawn once more but with far more speed. Harry sent multiple icicles at him, but the killer phased through them as if they weren't even there. The knife was getting disturbingly closer to his face, only for the knife to, in turn, pass through Harry, who turned out to be an illusion.

Before the monster could process what happened, he was hit with a blasting curse to the head from the side. The killer must have had some kind of magical protection since their head was not blasted into pieces, even if their body was sent flying away.

One thing was missing though. When Harry peered towards his downed opponent, he froze as he recognized their unmasked face looking back at him.

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.