Chapter 76.5- Doom Days

“Nothing more onerous than what you do already, I promise. You just need to turn a blind eye to one or two things, and to sign one or two laws when they come up. We will handle things in the wizengamot to give you as easy a job as possible. Cornelius, working with us will feel like nothing has changed, because little will have” Lucius said, and wasn’t that the truth. It was not a thought he could have in his Lord’s presence but he knew that his work in the last decade had done more to advance their cause than a hundred dead mudbloods.

His Lord’s first mistake had been attempting to gain victory by working from without the ministry and gaining power through force. While force has its place in a cause like that, Lucius could see now that his approach, taking things slowly and steadily, subverting the ministry to their cause rather than attempting to conquer it outright was a more effective approach. And the perfect approach could only come from combining both. His Lord’s proclivity for violence and Lucius’ political skill.

“O-Okay. And I’ll be safe?”

“The Dark Lord will see to it that you are the most untouchable man in wizarding Britain” he said with a smile as he watched Fudge form a smile of his own and stretch out a hand. Lucius took it, pleased to have things going according to plan.

XXXXXX- TWO MONTHS LATER: HARRY POTTER

I skated along the sand, propelling myself with my magic backwards as two massive dragons made of sand chased me across it. I slashed my wand across my body, forming runes with only my intent and without the bother of drawing them— one of the skills Nicholas had in his arsenal that he had not found much use in but I found as useful as breathing at times— and then I cast the spell. Positive and negative charges clashed, and several bolts of lightning shot from my runes, tearing the sky asunder as they passed, and destroying the dragons in one swoop.

I kept skating, avoiding the worst of it as some shards of glass fell down from the heat. The beach between the two of us had been turned into an armaggedon. With all the training we’d been doing, it had quickly become too dangerous for us to duel going at full blast anymore so we implemented limitations. Sometimes we dueled with only transfiguration or with only charms, but today was different.

My limitation was that I could use only runic magic, and as we had quickly found out, that tended to favor massive displays over power over more subtle means….to put it lightly.

“Tired yet, Harry?” He said from across the wasteland the beach had become.

“Just getting warmed up” I lied through my teeth even as my heavy breathing betrayed me.