As many of you will no doubt know, this story was begun By Padfootjr24 but has since asked me to continue it, so here is chapter one.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is a crossover soIf you have not read the series of books, The Belgariad, by David Eddings, this story may be hard for you to follow. I will try my best to explain all the important aspects of the story so that even if you haven't read it you will still be able to follow along but as of yet I don't know how successful I will be.
TO END ALL WARS
By
Padfootjr24
PART I: Belhaldar the Sorcerer
Chapter One: A World To Call Your Own
Nearly completely exhausted and barely standing, Harry looked around at the destruction engulfing all of Privet Drive around him with a detached sense of morbid curiosity. Everywhere he looked, bodies littered the streets and the perfectly manicured lawns and gardens as well as their respective houses went up in crimson flame while the Dark Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters scurried about this way and that. Allowing himself a brief glimpse at the remains of number four before shaking his head as he fought off a short burst of amusement. Even with so much life already taken and his own life still in great peril, Harry couldn't help chuckling slightly at the irony of the situation. This was where Professor Dumbledore had brought him all those years ago, this was where he was supposed to be safe.
"What do you find so amusing, Mr. Potter?" The young man in question turned slowly towards his lifelong enemy with his wand held loosely in his slightly damaged right hand.
"I was just thinking of the fact that the very wards that were supposed to protect me are now being used to block Dumbledore from even knowing that there was an attack. Despite the situation, I have to admit that I absolutely love the irony. Wouldn't you agree?" Harry replied in a mock conversational tone.
"Indeed." Voldemort acknowledged with a slight nod. Despite their casual manner both wizards were incredibly weary after nearly an hour of dueling, though Harry was more so due to his lack of experience and knowledge. For a man of almost seventy years of age the Dark Lord was quite agile and very quick to recover. The only thing that had thus far kept him from triumphing was Harry's willpower and determination. That was something Voldemort could not break no matter how hopeless that battle seemed to be and he was growing increasingly frustrated with it.
"You have shown a great deal of strength for one so young, Harry. But it is the same with animals really, they're at their most ferocious when they're overcome with fear." At the sudden look of confusion on Harry's face Voldemort smirked and elaborated. "Surprisingly, I have found it increasingly difficult to enter your mind since I took over your body at the Ministry of Magic, but standing here, looking into your eyes, your every emotion is revealed to me." He chuckled in amusement while his Death Eaters laughed. Everything about Harry, his stance, body language but especially his eyes, instantly grew a lot colder and the laughter around him ceased almost instantly.
"If you could read what was in my eyes, you would crawl underneath a rock and cry."
/Flashback/
Harry had returned from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry almost a month ago after completing his fifth year and taking his 'Ordinary Wizard Level' exams, or O.W.Ls. Surprisingly, he didn't find the tests all that difficult when compared to the horror stories the older students hoisted upon them to make them nervous for their own amusement. Unfortunately that simple refreshing fact was certainly not enough to pull his mind into focus after the events that played out in the Department of Mysteries. While it was true, they had stopped Voldemort once again, it had come at a heavy price.
While it was true that he had not known Sirius for that long a time and even then they were not in frequent contact with each other but the man had symbolized a slight hope for Harry that promised a better future, with a real family. Now, however, that was gone. All because he did not stop to think through the situation. While others, such as Snape and even Dumbledore, could certainly be blamed in part, he shouldered the majority of that responsibility for himself. The knowledge of the prophecy surely didn't help matters any either.
For the entirety of his summer thus far, he had kept his distance from his friends and those that he considered family. Not because he thought that they blamed him for Sirius' death or the injuries they had suffered at the hands of the Death Eaters or even because he had the misguided belief that they would be safer without him. No, what made him keep his distance was the fact that he really didn't have anything to say or if he did he simply didn't know how to express it. So for the first month of his summer vacation, Harry ignored the correspondence sent to him and had done little more than wander aimlessly around Little Winging as he sorted through his thoughts while trying to come to grips with all that had happened to lead him to this moment in time.
This rather stale and boring routine was brought to an abrupt halt on the eve of July twelfth. Harry was lying in his small bed staring blankly at the ceiling when the house around him jerked violently and a soft hum seemed to echo through the hallways followed by an intense pain piercing through his scar. It didn't take long for him to figure out that something was definitely wrong so without worrying about the consequences he drew his wand before shrinking his school trunk and picking up his broom, planning for a quick getaway. Thankfully, in Harry's opinion anyway, the Dursleys were out for the evening so he didn't need to worry about them should they be captured.
After switching off the light he moved over to the window where his fears were confirmed for down on the street was no less than seventy Death Eaters. He couldn't really see very well at the moment but he was pretty sure that Voldemort himself was present as well. Motioning for Hedwig to remain silent he eased his window open until there was enough room for the beautiful owl to fly out, which she promptly did. By some stroke of luck no one seemed to notice her departure so Harry opened the window to its full extent before mounting his broom and taking off like a bat out of hell. Unfortunately, his luck did not hold as well as Hedwig's. Before he had fully cleared the window spells were flying at him in a seemingly endless barrage that no one, no matter how good a flyer they were, could avoid. A well aimed severing charm sliced straight through his broom handle, sending him crashing into his Aunt's flower bed as numerous Death Eaters converged on him as the others spread out to have their fun with his neighbors.
/End Flashback/
"So Mr. Potter, shall we continue or would you like to rethink my offer?" Voldemort sneered after taking a moment to shake off the boy's previous statement. Most of the Death Eaters that had returned from their 'pillaging' and were now watching their Master defeat the 'Boy-Who-Lived' were shocked by his words. No one had ever been given a second chance to join his ranks after they had first refused. It was unheard of. Breathing heavily, Harry sucked himself up and spat a significant amount of blood at the Dark Lord's feet as his emerald green eyes blazed with hatred. Voldemort looked down at the pavement in front of him before raising his cold stare once more.
"So be it!" He hissed as he snapped his wand back up. "Haevel Cryqua Um Topi Volo". Harry had no idea what spell Slytherin's heir had used but the way he enunciated the words it certainly didn't sound friendly and the brown tinted light that shot out from his wand did nothing to sooth those feelings. As he prepared to dive out of the way, Harry was shocked into stupidity when two Death Eaters burst through the ring of Voldemort's followers and began firing curse after curse at their Master. It was not the action itself that had shocked the boy but rather the voices. Voices he knew all too well.
Severus Snape's roll as a spy among Voldemort's ranks was no secret to him although he had his reservations about the man and his true loyalties. His position made him extremely valuable to the Order as an information resource so it was only natural for Harry to wonder why the man effectively blew his cover in a futile attempt to save him. After all, there was certainly no love lost between the two of them.
As surprised as he was to find Snape coming to his rescue, the second Death Eater was a shock on the scale of a nuclear disaster. That was a voice he would never forget for as long as he lived, however long that may be. He had heard it every day and every night since school let out and he didn't imagine it would get better any time soon. Harry just had time to gasp in shock before the brown light of Voldemort's curse overwhelmed him and darkness took hold. That voice belonged to none other than one Bellatrix Black Lestrange.
MMM
Severus Snape was panting hard and clutching his side as he burst into the kitchen at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. The room was nearly packed with members of the Order of the Phoenix as they held one of their weekly meetings. By the look of things nothing much had been discussed as they were waiting for him to return after he was summoned by his 'Master' earlier that afternoon.
Most within the kitchen jumped as he slammed through the doors but never got a chance to relax when they noticed the shape he was in and the look on his face. Molly Weasley instantly stood up and rushed over to him, intent on checking over any wounds he had suffered but he just pushed right passed her.
"Severus, wha…"
"QUIET!" Snape immediately cut Albus Dumbledore off as the aged wizard stood looking at him in concern. "The Dark Lord has attacked Privet Drive." He gasped out but continued when Dumbledore paled before he started issuing orders. "No, there is nothing you can do, they are already gone. We must alert the Ministry so that they can clean the area up as best they can, perhaps send Shacklebolt ahead so that we will know immediately if they find anything." Dumbledore nodded solemnly before sending Kingsley and Tonks to Privet Drive and having Moody inform the Ministry.
Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Molly began sobbing and demanding to know what had happened and whether or not Harry was still alive but he said nothing as he sank into a nearby chair. Bill, wide eyed and pale, led his mother back over to her seat where he held her close. Looking around the room, the potions master could see clearly that many of the people around him were in almost the same state as the Weasley matriarch. Even the Headmaster looked to be on the verge of tears as he turned to him.
"What happened, Severus?" He asked quietly. Snape shifted in his chair, wincing slightly as pain shot through his side.
"The Dark Lord felt that this afternoon's meeting was vital enough that he summoned ALL of his Death Eaters to attend."
"All of them?" Mundungus Fletcher asked stupidly. "Has he ever done that before?"
"No, he hasn't. Since his first bid for power he has always been careful to keep any of his followers from knowing just how many of them there were and who they were so that if they were captured or turned on him they couldn't give away all of his loyal followers. So you could imagine our surprise when everyone was gathered but the reason was quickly revealed. The Dark Lord explained that he had worked through the wards surrounding Potter's home and he wanted all of us to participate in the attack since it was Potter that had dealt serious blows to our cause over the years. As a precaution, the meeting room was sealed until the attack began so that he would be certain that any spies within his ranks couldn't get off a message to warn the Ministry or the Order. He went on to say that no one was to harm Potter, that he had something special planned for him."
"So Harry may still be alive?" Remus choked out hopefully as he looked at the head of Slytherin with pleading eyes. Snape, shockingly enough, looked remorseful.
"From what I know, the boy is alive, but you will not be able to reach him. The Dark Lord claimed that death was too good for Potter, personally, I think he was frightened of killing him."
"Frightened, why would he? He has been trying to kill him for years." Arthur nearly shouted in frustration at not knowing where the boy he looked at as one of his own sons was or what shape he was in.
"Look at their history. The first time he tried to kill him he was cast out of his body. When he regained his body he should have been able to kill the boy without a second's thought but some freak occurrence allowed him to escape. You, Albus, led Potter to believe that the Priori Incantatum that essentially saved his life was a very common occurrence when two brother wands face each other but we both know, as does the Dark Lord, that even then the chance of that happening is one in a million. Then, just last month, he had the boy's mind and soul in his grasp and it should have taken some of the strongest exorcism spells known to man to cast him out yet Potter managed to do it on his own. That shouldn't be possible. With these three acts in mind, I repeat my belief that the Dark Lord is now afraid or paranoid about trying to kill him again. He's worried about what could happen but he couldn't let him continue getting in the way of his plans so he managed to come up with another solution.
"The attack was rather simple. The Dark Lord led the first group and the second, which I was a part of, portkeyed in forty five minutes later so that if the Ministry or the Order detected the attack we could take them by surprise and support the forces already present. From what I understand, Potter was captured just after they arrived and he apparently dueled the Dark Lord for a great deal of time before he was just too exhausted to continue. At that point Who-Know-Who used a spell he had apparently been waiting to use for a great deal of time. I'm not sure where he found the spell but he claimed that it would send Potter to another world altogether, so that he could live with the knowledge that everyone and everything he cared about would soon be destroyed." Absolute silence greeted his words as everyone looked at him in varying states of shock, confusion and horror as they realized what must have happened to the Boy-Who-Lived. Almost immediately Molly was on her feet again shouting at Snape for not preventing it and it was clear that many others shared her ire. Most in the room winced and covered their ears as she screamed but Snape was quickly growing absolutely furious.
"SILENCE!" He bellowed as he jumped back to his feet, taking no notice of his injuries. "I forcefully broke through dozens of Death Eaters and attacked the bloody Dark Lord himself trying to prevent this. How many of you would have done the same? When the spell hit and the boy vanished we portkeyed out to safety like any reasonable person would. I risk my life every day gathering information and making contacts while the rest of you sit around sipping tea and having meetings, pretending to be doing something important, so who the hell are you to criticize me and how I do my work?"
"We?" Dumbledore asked quickly, partly because he was curious about the reference but mostly because he wanted to steer the topic of conversation to a 'safer' topic. Snape's standing in the Order has always been called into question due to his poor attitude towards others as well as the belief of some that he never really left Voldemort's service.
"Excuse me?" Snape asked as he looked at the old man as if he were crazy, and rightfully so. After all, who would interrupt an argument like that with a simple one word question that didn't seem to make any sense.
"You said 'when the spell hit and the boy vanished WE portkeyed out to safety'. I was just wondering who the other person was or was it more than one?" The Headmaster asked with a very slight twinkle in his eye that did not go unnoticed by the younger man he was questioning. Feeling quite smug about the shock he was about to see on his mentor's face he didn't hesitate a second before answering.
"It was Bellatrix." If it wasn't for his pride Snape would be dancing around the room right now at the historical reaction he received from his employer and friend. Dumbledore simply looked thunderstruck, there was no other word for it. He regarded the younger man with wide eyes and an open mouth with his shattered tea cup laying in pieces on the floor beside him. And the rest of the room wasn't much better. Seeing this as an opportunity, as well as amusing, Snape decided to explain while everyone was still speechless so that he would have to fight through all the arguments before they actually got to the point.
As he had suspected, the possibility that Snape was a traitor was well known within Voldemort's inner circle so after the meeting that afternoon and after the Dark Lord had left to begin the attack, Bellatrix had decided to take a chance and confront him. Apparently spending what should have been the prime of her life in Azkaban had changed her thinking around a bit but yet it wasn't enough to push her away from the pureblood ideals she had been raised with enough to get her to risk her life by turning on Voldemort. That happened during the attack in the Department of Mysteries, when she killed Sirius. She claimed it was an accident, that she never meant for him to fall through the veil and Snape believed her. After all, the man is a master of Legilimency, he would know the moment someone was trying to deceive him.
"How do you know she isn't lying, trying to gain your confidence so that she could gain information?" Amos Diggory snapped loudly.
"Besides the fact that I would know if she was lying? Well you can question her yourself." He began with a sneer before finishing in an offhand manner.
"Excuse me?"
"She's waiting outside for Albus to let her in. She's surrendering herself to the Order. She will answer any questions you have before she is sent back to Azkaban. Her only condition is that she be placed in the low security wing where they receive much better food and conditions and there is far less exposure to the Dementors. Added surveillance of the area is expected of course due to the risks she could pose if she were to change her mind."
MMM
Harry groaned to himself and gripped the sides of his head as he began to come around. If the soreness of his body was anything to go by, it would seem that he had somehow cheated death once again. But whether or not he was still within the madman's grasp was another question all together. As soon as he opened his eyes he could clearly see that he wasn't anywhere near Privet Drive any longer as he saw the wide expanse of a clear night's sky stretching as far as the eye could see. The glow and warmth of a small fire flickered over the small area and the slight sound of movement clearly told him that he was not alone. His body stiffened slightly as he tried to figure out what to do. While it was possible that he was in no immediate danger, there was an even greater chance that he was. As good as Snape might be, he had no chance rescuing him from Voldemort and the dozens of Death Eaters that were surrounding him. At this thought he suddenly remembered the second voice that he had heard and gasped quietly to himself. He tried to cut the sound off almost as soon as it had escaped him but apparently he didn't do to good a job.
"Its about time you woke up, boy. If it had taken any longer I probably would have left you here to find your own way, as the rest of us had to." The voice was old but clearly powerful if not slightly slurred. Coming to the conclusion that he had no other alternative, Harry winced as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Due to the bright glow of the fire in front of him he couldn't see much of anything more than ten feet away but he got the impression that he was in the middle of some vast plain.
Focusing on the only other person present who was sitting off to his right Harry thought for a brief moment that the man was Dumbledore before the finer details registered and that idea was cast aside with force. While the two men shared a great deal of physical similarities, white hair and beards aside, the differences were immense. The biggest difference was their sense of bearing. While Dumbledore constantly looked as though he were sitting in a meeting with the Queen, dressed in the finest robes, of an odd assortment of colors but fine nonetheless, this man lounged back against a log casually as he drank from some sort of old fashioned wineskin while wearing a patched and stained tunic and hose combination, making him look like some drunken fourteenth century peasant.
Although the Headmaster was incredibly old, even for a wizard, he always projected an aura of unmatched power. However, this man just, felt, to be much older than Dumbledore and although at the moment he seemed to be little more than an old drunk, Harry had no doubt that he could give Dumbledore a good match if not beat him entirely.
"Where are we and why are we here?" Harry asked carefully since he had no idea who this man was or who his loyalties belonged to. The old man looked at him for a brief moment before belching and sighing in contentment.
"We are in what is now southern Algaria, just north of the Vale. And I am here because my Master instructed me to come here and collect you. Imagine my surprise when you just appeared out of thin air. As to why you are here, I have no idea, I was hoping you could tell me." Harry immediately became very suspicious of the man when he mentioned his 'Master' since that he knew of only Voldemort demanded his followers refer to him as such but yet this man just didn't seem the type to be a Death Eater.
"Well who are you and who is your Master?" The man looked momentarily surprised at Harry's narrowed eyes and the suspicion in his voice.
"Aldur is my Master. I am his first disciple, Belgarath." Even through his surprise and confusion at the man's answer he could still see that he was hoping for some form of reaction from one of, if not both, of the names. But to his confusion he was met by more confusion.
"Right." Harry responded slowly.
TBC
I will be posting a chapter every day or two until all seven completed chapters are up while I work on finishing off what Padfootjr gave me of chapter eight, so, I hope this has caught your interest and it becomes one of your favorites.