Harry Potter And The Prince Of Darkness

******************************************

AN: Happy New Year Everyone! I hope you had a great holiday and I am glad to be back to writing. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

******************************************

The prophecy. The word tasted like bile on Lily Potter's tongue. She had never been a big believer in the field of Divination. As one of her most beloved professor's opinion on the subject was that it "was a wooly field at best". Of course, she knew about the existence of Seers and True Seers. Her insatiable curiosity guided her to learn about them despite being certain that she did not have the Sight. It was fascinating coming from a Muggle background as mythology had been rife with seers and soothsayers. As a literary buff, she had read about plenty from the numerous works of Shakespeare and other classical literature.

When confronted with the idea that magic allowed a select few men and women to view the future, it blew her mind. However, upon meeting Hogwart's new Divination professor Sybil Patricia Trelawney, she had numerous reservations. The fact that Trelawney had shown up completely sozzled to their meeting didn't give her any confidence. When Albus had come to her and James with the prophecy, she had been really worried. She thought back to their meeting in his office and shuddered.

The day had started like any other day, replete with morning sickness and overall hormonal chaos. James had been such a loving and caring husband from the moment they had found out she was pregnant. Whenever she had a craving at any random time, James had voluntarily gone out to get whatever it was she wanted. She honestly felt bad sometimes for putting such a burden on him after he had come home from his Auror duties. He had taken it in stride and told her not to worry. He had to take the responsibility to start caring for the future Potter inside her. Merlin knows that his father would throw a fit if he complained.

From the moment they had told Charlus and Dorea, they were ecstatic to meet their grandchild. Charlus had sat James down and told him if he couldn't care for his pregnant wife, he had no business taking care of a child. He had been informed that from the moment his wife had confirmed her pregnancy, he was already a father and would act as such. It was a lesson James had taken to heart. No matter how stressful his day was, he would always make time for Lily and her needs. She was holding the future of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter within her. It was his duty as the Heir Potter to make sure that his child was born healthy and happy.

The difficulty of this task mainly stemmed from his job. Ever since he was a young boy, he had grown up with stories of his father, the great Lord Charlus Henry Potter. He had been one of the top students of his graduating year at Hogwarts and one of the most magically powerful individuals in his generation. His father, Henry Potter had been a kind but strict man that always expected Charlus to exceed expectations. His father had been a political powerhouse that had drawn the attention of an aspiring Dark Lord named Gellert Grindelwald. Grindelwald had come to try and convince Henry to side with him but had met staunch refusal. The House of Potter had a long and storied history of not bowing to the whims of tyrants. As a man with little honor, Grindelwald had cursed Henry Potter while his back was turned and effectively killed him with an incurable dark curse.

Incensed by the cowardly actions of Grindelwald, Charlus Potter had dropped out of his final year at Hogwarts to fight on the front lines against Grindelwald's forces. To that end, he had responded to a recruitment pamphlet from the ICW asking for Hit-Wizards. The Ministries in other European nations had pleaded with Britain to send help. All they had gotten in return was refusal along with the best wishes of the British Ministry of Magic. With Grindelwald's followers chipping away at the Statute of Secrecy, the ICW had decided to intervene. What they hadn't expected were the sheer lengths that Grindelwald had went to succeed in his plot. The initial contingent of Hit-Wizards had arrived only to be mowed down by Muggle Nazi soldiers working alongside Grindelwald's followers.

Grindelwald had taken up a position as Hitler's main advisor in matters of the occult. The man's obsession with legends of Olde and Teutonic myth had sent his men on numerous wild goose chases. Hitler believed in the power held in ancient artifacts and Grindelwald had helped him increase his magical knowledge every step of the way. He had slowly exposed the various Magical communities around Europe and the rest of the world. Having learned of these ancient communities of magical people, Hitler wanted nothing more than to see if they could be used to empower his Reich. If he could coopt their magic and give it to his people, then no country would be able to stop his empire.

With such a grave threat to the Statute, the ICW had decided that it had to bring out the big guns. They liaised with the Mage Association to obtain reinforcements and attempted to secure the assistance of one of the five Marshals. The Mage Association was headed by the Archmage Council, the five strongest magical beings in the world. They each had two advisors who were high-ranked magi. These were the 15 strongest magical beings in the world. Under them, were the 5 Marshals. While the Archmagi and the Magi acted as administrators and helped guide the magical world, the Marshals were purely warriors. They were known as the strongest, most feared Warmages in the world. Their sole purpose was to police their assigned sectors and occasionally coordinate with the ICW to hunt and kill Dark Lords and their followers who threatened to break the Statute. Each Marshal was given charge of a cardinal direction with the strongest being the Central Marshal.

While the British Muggle government had declared war on Germany following Hitler's invasion of Poland, the British Ministry of Magic had refused to get involved. They had ironically chosen to hide behind the Statute of Secrecy and assert their neutrality in "Muggle matters". They had maintained their vaunted neutrality up until The Blitz occurred. Hundreds of witches and wizards were killed in the gruesome bombing campaign. The deaths had weighed heavily upon the community and the hatred fomented into numerous protests that nearly evolved into riots. The British Ministry finally gave in and decided to listen to the will of the people. They ramped up Auror and Hit-Wizard recruitment and started sending reinforcements to fight on the continent.

By the time the British Minister had gotten his head out of his a.s.s, wizards and witches were swarming the recruitment centers. Even retired Aurors and Hit-Wizards came out of retirement to help train and lead fighters. Newly minted Hogwarts graduates were passionately signing up to serve in droves. While this was happening, Charlus Potter had already succeeded his father as Lord Potter and with his emancipation, he signed up with the ICW as a Hit-Wizard. During his training, he was flagged as a potential candidate for the War-Wizards. A War-Wizard was a fundamentally different role than a Hit-Wizard. They were the strongest and most devastating fighters in the ICW. During emergencies, they were often assigned under a Marshal to act as representatives of the ICW.

Charlus had been pulled aside by the instructor after training one day and had been informed of the opportunity. He initially hesitated in his decision, as War-Wizards were most often seen as cruel butchers that got the job done at any cost. The ends justify the means attitude that a majority of them seemed to have didn't appeal to him in the least. As a Potter, he was brought up with the concept of honor in battle and he was proud of his heritage. A part of him was nervous that by accepting the offer, he would be turning his back on the Potter family's heritage. It took him some time to work up the courage to let his instructor know about his concerns but ultimately helped him make his choice.

The instructor had gotten a representative of the War-Wizard regiment to come and inform Charlus about the job and philosophy. The talk had cleared up a lot of misconceptions and biases that Charlus had against the War-Wizards. Contrary to their reputation, the War-Wizards valued honor and sought to get the job done with the least casualties possible. They valued life and did their utmost to respect the sanctity of all beings, magical or not. The outside perception was a carefully crafted facade that the ICW was responsible for. It was something that they felt necessary to discourage Dark Lords from breaking the Statute. That wasn't to say that their reputation hadn't been well-earned. They were by far some of the most accomplished fighters in the entire magical world and only accepted the best into their ranks. They were known for being the elite forces of the ICW and kept that position through their extreme selectiveness of candidates.

Having his doubts cleared, later that evening, after taking a decent swig of firewhiskey, Charlus had entered his instructor's office and accepted the training offered with the War-Wizards. Upon his acceptance, the ICW transferred him to the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) for training. One of the things that all War-Wizards were trained in was warfare and Muggles were the premier experts in the field. Having fought so many wars for so long against each other, many had developed proven tactics to engage enemy forces. Muggles had fought frequently enough to perfect their art of warfare, and the rise of special operations forces was the pinnacle of their combat knowledge being taught to a select few candidates. Their training and selectiveness mirrored that of the War-Wizards and many had adopted some of the strategies and training styles of their special forces counterparts.

Most importantly, they stressed physical fitness as one of the main criteria for success. Their training was the most brutal crucible that any man would go through. Most wizards didn't bother training their physical fitness. This was something that most often needed to be corrected. Warfare was not about who could cast the flashiest or deadliest spells, but how quickly one could destroy the enemy. The training that candidates went through forged their willpower and gave them the mentality to ignore their discomfort to finish the mission. This was the kind of mentality that all War-Wizards needed to develop and that's why all potential candidates had to pass training with Muggle special operations forces.

Charlus had taken to the training like a fish took to water. His hatred for Grindelwald and his thirst for revenge drove him to work harder than ever before. His initiative to excel was greatly appreciated by his instructors and he graduated at the top of his class. His affable nature had endeared him to his colleagues and many looked forward to serving with him. He breezed through the courses on tactics and weapons handling. He found himself enjoying basic parachute training along with the boat infiltration training. He learned about how to breach and clear buildings, camouflage techniques to blend into his surroundings and how to interrogate and resist interrogation. His favorite part of the training was going through the SERE course. Surviving in the unforgiving wilderness the Muggle way had been enlightening for Charlus. All his life, magic had made his life easy and convenient and now he wasn't allowed to use it. It was a humbling experience for him as he survived and escaped from his pursuers. He had graduated at the top of his class and had been drafted into the Special Projects Team, which was the ICW designated unit within the SAS.

After improving his spell repertoire, they taught him the basics of warding and enchanting. His apparition was practiced until it was nearly silent and he learned to erase his apparition trails. Along with improving his magic, he was taught small-unit tactics, edged weapon fighting and hand-to-hand combat. It mimicked the SAS's training but had been adapted to suit the inclusion of wands and spellcasting. After that, the mind arts were the main focus, to supplement the SAS's Resistance to Interrogation training. The last thing that Charlus learned was basic wandless magic that was purely utilitarian. Summoning, Banishing, Levitation, and Disarming were the only spells he perfected to cast wandlessly.

After his training, Charlus was assigned to a War-Wizard squadron awaiting deployment. His status had changed when the Western Marshal, Edward Barrett had intervened in the war. Despite his aloof nature, Barrett had not been happy at the bombing of his homeland and had offered the ICW aid on the Western Front. They had gladly accepted and Charlus' squad had been assigned to work under Jonathan Ashcroft, one of Barrett's lieutenants. That assignment had signaled the start of Charlus' legendary military career. He was first sent to the Middle East to assist the British military in Iraq, Syria, and Persia. Charlus' squad fought ruthlessly and occasionally assisted the Muggle military when they could. He and his squad worked alongside the army in helping take the countries that were showing favor to Grindelwald's ideology. The rulers of the countries were being compelled and Imperiused to act against ICW forces, hence they needed to be deposed and replaced. Charlus' squad had played a pivotal role in the deposition of the shah of Persia when it was discovered that Grindelwald's lieutenants had persuaded the Magical leader to their side. His squad had coordinated with Ashcroft's forces in storming the Persian Ministry and occupying it until a new leader could be selected.

After the harsh campaign in Africa, Charlus had saved the lives of most of his squadmates at least once. His squad leader was reassigned and had chosen him as his replacement. He had earned the respect of his squad and he inspired many to follow him into battle. His exceptional performance in Africa had attracted a lot from the higher-ups in the War-Wizard regiment. The way that he was able to blend in with the Muggle military and the efficiency of his squad gave them an idea. They assigned a couple of fresh trainees with specialized magical training, so each member would hold a specialization, be it enchanting, healing or curse-breaking. Charlus' new orders were to then cooperate with Muggle armed forces and operate as a ghost unit, assisting them against any magical intervention.

The war had caused the magical ministries of many ICW countries to pick sides. They tended to follow their Muggle government's orders and assisted the Muggle armies in their operations. Save for Japan, whose magical community remained staunchly neutral, every other Axis power turned against the ICW. With magical assistance, they became even more aggressive in their actions and caused unnecessary magical blood to be spilled. Charlus' unit was now assigned to be the magical assistance to Allied forces. His unit was given the codename "The Phantoms" and was dispatched to help the British invasion of Sicily. Within weeks, they helped the British gain a foothold and protected them from magical offensives as they advanced further into Italy. Their secretive actions saved the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers and they became well known among the ICW Combat Forces. Their brutal optempo and astounding success rate made them the go-to unit for when something needed to be done.

However, things did not always go their way. The battles had worn down a lot of the men and the deployment was causing a lot of tension amongst them. This had led to some fatal mistakes. They had lost almost half their squad to enemy ambushes and potent dark wards. After losing his primary Dark Arts specialist, Charlus had requested another one from headquarters. They had sent in the man who would go on to become one of Charlus' best friends and brother-in-law, Arcturus Black. Along with him, they had sent one of the most promising combat healers that had ever graduated War-Wizard training, Edgar Bones. With new blood, the squad started performing better and was sent on some of the most critical and classified missions. The camaraderie between them grew and eventually, Charlus requested a formal alliance with their families. Edgar was all for it as both their families were well known Light-Grey families. Arcturus had been loath to agree as the Black family was typically a Pureblood traditionalist family as Dark as their name. After much persuasion, he agreed to a temporary alliance between the families for the duration of the war. They fought viciously with the Italian wizards to help the Allies successfully push towards Rome. At this point, Charlus had been fighting continuously for nearly 3 years and desperately needed a break. War-Wizard High Command had approved their request and gave them some much needed time for rest and relaxation. They had been given a break for almost 2 months as Allied Forces slowly pushed the German forces back towards Rome.

After their break, the unit was immediately asked to coordinate with Jonathan Ashcroft for a second time and spearhead the Allied invasion of France. With Nazi Germany and Grindelwald's forces being pushed back, the Phantoms were retired as a unit and rebranded as "The Reapers". Their status changed from a covert magical support unit to a hunter-killer squad that targeted the worst of Grindelwald's followers. They were responsible for tracking and killing Gunnar Grimmson, Krafft, Macduff, and Carrowm, the darkest wizards to follow the Dark Lord Grindelwald. Charlus and his unit found themselves working with MACUSA and French Aurors and Hit-Wizards who had joined the Resistance. They were pivotal in the push to liberate Paris from enemy control and it was on the streets of the Place Cachee where one of the most famous battles of the Global Wizarding war was fought. It was the site of Charlus and Arcturus' duel with Gellert Grindelwald.

With his forces being pushed back to his homeland, Grindelwald had involved himself more in the recruitment of French wizards and witches to his cause. He needed to buy time for his forces to rally together and fight the ICW. He hadn't expected to run into the infamous Reapers when he had been recruiting on Rue de Magie. The fighting had broken out and soon spread to all the surrounding buildings. Dark and lethal curses were flying all around. His main opponents were the infamous Potter-Black duo that had been responsible for killing some of his most loyal acolytes. Angered by their loss, he had engaged the duo with some of the darkest curses he knew. Unsurprisingly, they both gave as good as they received, especially Arcturus Black. He threw some of the most potent and deadly obscure curses from the Black family grimoire. Despite being outclassed in terms of power and skill, they both managed to put up one hell of a fight. With the rest of the squad engaging Grindelwald's followers, both of them were free to let loose without worrying about sneak attacks.

It was a fierce duel that lasted almost an hour in length as the three of them focused solely on each other and lost track of their surroundings. It seemed near the end that Grindelwald couldn't hold against their onslaught much longer when Arcturus made a fatal mistake. He had glanced Grindelwald with a Dark Cutting Curse when he chose to push towards him to end the fight. In his elation, he had ended up slipping on a puddle of blood that made the pave stones slick. He tumbled and tried to roll to keep moving forward. Unfortunately, his momentary error gave Grindelwald enough time to fire a curse that caught him directly in the c.h.e.s.t before Charlus could shield him. Charlus had yelled in rage as he fired several Dark spells at Grindelwald rapidly. Grindelwald smirked and mocked Charlus, telling him to choose between capturing him and saving Arcturus. It was the hardest decision Charlus had to make, but ultimately his honor and love for his brother in arms won. He allowed Grindelwald and his remaining acolytes to escape while he helped Arcturus. Despite cursing his name and family for choosing him, Arcturus chose to acknowledge the Life Debt that Charlus' actions invoked. They Floo'd to a Black property where he met Dorea and saved Arcturus' life.

Charlus had gotten the nastiest dressing down of his life from Ashcroft as he gave his report on the Reapers' failure in Paris. He had been put on suspension and had been demoted for "conduct unbecoming of an officer". The Reapers had been up in a tizzy about the latter punishment, but War-Wizard High Command was fuming and nothing would change their minds. His demotion got the Reapers a break as the ICW finally started to send the bulk of the newly trained reinforcements to push the Germans out of France. The break was well-received and allowed the squad to recuperate and mourn the loss of two brave wizards. They had lost 2 men in the fight in Paris and all of them were injured to some degree. Charlus began owling Dorea with increasing frequency as they found themselves interested in one another. They occasionally met up for tea and talked about the war. Their conversation topics started to meander as they found out more about each other. Charlus had been smitten with Dorea as he found her a charming, intelligent, beautiful and passionate woman. Arcturus was a bit put out by their "rendezvous", as he called them, but wasn't about to argue with the man that had saved his life. Besides, his sister seemed to like him well enough. It helped that he was a strong and honorable Pureblood wizard from a Most Ancient and Noble House.

They had been on suspension for 4 months before orders from High Command called them back into the fight. It had come time for the final push into Germany. They had gotten word that the Mage Association had drafted the famous Transfiguration Master Albus Dumbledore to deal with the Dark Lord Grindelwald. Alongside Dumbledore, the Eastern Marshal Asmodeus Vladimir Drakul was leading the charge of the Russian battlemages marching on the Eastern Front. The vampire and his lieutenants were scything their way through the enemy ranks and were headed straight towards Berlin. They were proving to be without any mercy as they committed many atrocities along the way, oftentimes accompanying their Muggle counterparts. The only reason the ICW wasn't up in arms against their actions was due to the victims being Muggles. This was one of the downsides of working with a Marshal. While they never personally engaged in such lawlessness, they regularly failed to dissuade their troops from doing so. They were rarely ever disciplined unless the crime was committed against witches or wizards. Muggles were fair game, which didn't sit well with the ICW, but they were unable to punish them for it.

Charlus had not been pleased when the reports had come out and hoped to Merlin that he never encountered the louts. He didn't think himself able to hold back should he see anyone committing such heinous acts. His squad had thankfully been assigned to the Southern region where their job was to stop any reinforcements from arriving. Dumbledore had expressed his wishes to deal with Grindelwald and ICW had been happy to hand him control of the operation. The Reapers had apparated into Berlin and concealed themselves across the southern side of the city. They waited for nightfall and counted down the hours until the operation began.

At 2 AM, Dumbledore had drawn the attention of Grindelwald by pulsing his magic. The pressure had made Charlus feel like he was underwater. The magical power of Albus Dumbledore wasn't something that he could describe. It was warm and inviting, yet had a hidden layer of icy steel just beneath the surface. Grindelwald, ever so histrionic had confronted Dumbledore in the middle of the street and welcomed him to Berlin. He tried to persuade Dumbledore to join his crusade against Muggles and take up his rightful place at Grindelwald's side. Dumbledore had a sad look on his face as he told his once best friend to repent and give up as to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. With neither willing to surrender, they started to duel. That duel would go down in history as one of the longest and greatest duels ever to be witnessed in modern history. The Reapers were amazed by the display of magic from the two men and fought hard to cover Dumbledore. Grindelwald's acolytes were trying their level best to come to his aid, but none of them were able to get through the net formed by Charlus' squad.

As the duel progressed, the surrounding fighting slowly dwindled as Grindelwald's followers either surrendered or died. Charlus had butchered several witches and wizards who had tried to fight them. He had stopped holding back once news of the camps had arrived at Headquarters. That his fellow magicals would allow such sins against Magic and Life to be committed was tantamount to giving up their humanity. He felt nothing as he cut them down one by one. These were not people, they were animals masquerading as humans. Any magical who would join that monster's cause would receive no mercy from him.

Four hours into the fight, both Dumbledore and Grindelwald were at the end of their tether. Their duel was decided in five seconds as Dumbledore surreptitiously transfigured the ground behind Grindelwald and sent a spike directly through the man's leg. Overcome with pain, Grindelwald stumbled back and received Dumbledore's spell chain directly. He was disarmed, stunned and bound in thick chains as his body fell to the ground. Dumbledore caught his opponent's wand and stared at his former best friend's body in the middle of the street. He knew that he should take the opportunity to end him, but he simply couldn't. So he declared the end of the war and told any remaining followers of Grindelwald to surrender. Many complied, while some chose to fight until the end. Those who chose the latter option found themselves overwhelmed and killed quickly and brutally. This persuaded many of those who were undecided to surrender themselves. After years of fighting, the Global Wizarding War had come to an end.

The entire Wizarding World had celebrated the day the war ended. Charlus and his fellow Reapers were given a hero's welcome back at Headquarters and all of them were commended for their bravery. Their actions both overt and covert had been crucial to winning the war and the ICW did their best to recognize them. Charlus and Arcturus were awarded Orders of Merlin, Second Class while their fellow squadmates were given Orders of Merlin, Third Class. Their Muggle military files were updated with their classified ICW missions and Charlus' name was promptly in the running for the Victoria Cross. Upon their return to England, Charlus, Arcturus, and Edgar were heaped with accolades. The members of the British Wizarding World were proud of the war heroes and held many balls and galas in their honor. They were trotted out frequently by the Minister as an example of the best Britain had to offer.

Charlus hated the fame that came with his homecoming and sought to just unwind from the war. Having been fighting for nearly a quarter of his life, he was tired of it all and withdrew into himself. He found refuge at the bottom of a bottle, mourning the loss of his brothers. He spent months perpetually drunk in taverns. His heroic actions allowed him unlimited access to alcohol as no barkeep would charge a hero of the war. It was Dorea who had found him one day, drowning his sorrows with firewhiskey. She gave him the tongue-lashing of a lifetime and told him how much she loved him. It was her love that had caused Charlus to pick himself up by the bootstraps and get to work. He quit drinking completely and dedicated his time to training himself again. He joined the Aurors and graduated at the top of his class at the Auror Academy. He rose quickly through the ranks as he brought in criminals and dedicated himself to helping others. Dorea's career as a healer took off and she found herself apprenticed at St. Mungo's as a specialist in Dark Curses.

Life was going well for Charlus and it became even better when he was presented with the prestigious Victoria Cross. Alongside the award, he was nominated and awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. He henceforth became Sir Charlus Henry Potter and his accomplishments in the war became well-known to the British public. After achieving knighthood, he courted Dorea Black and they officially started dating. Within a year, Charlus proposed and Dorea accepted. They were married in full pomp and style following Pureblood tradition. Their long and happy marriage was the envy of many. Their love and dedication to each other was something that James had seen many times.

Growing up, listening to stories of his father's life had inculcated a sense of pride in James. He felt pride in the Potter name and wanted to do his future children proud. He wanted them to feel the same wonder, awe, and pride that he felt towards his father. He wanted nothing more than to honor the history of the Potters and fight against tyranny. It was why he had reacted so badly to his father telling him to hide. He understood why, but he simply couldn't abide by it. The legendary Charlus Potter that dueled with Gellert Grindelwald wouldn't back down from a fight against some upstart Dark Lord.

His wife Lily had been supportive and encouraged him to follow his heart. She understood the consequences of what the Death Eaters' campaign would bring. They had loathed her at Hogwarts and with how bigoted they were, she had no doubt they would see her dead. She was not going to bring her child into a world where they were looked down upon because of her ancestry. If no one else was brave enough to pick up their wands and fight, she would. It was her innate courage and willingness to stand up for the downtrodden that saw her sorted into Gryffindor. She would be damned if she didn't fight to save her child.

It spurred her to join Albus Dumbledore's vigilante group, The Order of the Pheonix. She was mainly relegated to a support role but had fought against the Death Eater's many times in defense of innocents. She and James had also faced the Dark Lord Voldemort himself three times in combat. They mostly stalled for time, waiting for Dumbledore to arrive, but they nevertheless confronted him in battle. She couldn't believe that her bravery and conviction had satisfied the requirements for some inane prophecy spouted by a perpetual drunk. Now word had gone out that Voldemort was hunting them down to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled. If she wasn't constantly frightened for the child inside her, she would laugh hysterically at the irony of her situation.