Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The trio looked at each-other, stunned in silence because of what had just happened.

Ron was the first to come to and break the silence, “Hermione, you’ve heard of Zargothrax?”

Hermione nodded, “Yes, legends tell of a mighty and evil sorcerer, buried in a tomb of liquid ice. If I had more time to prepare, then I might’ve connected the fortress beneath Crail to Zargothrax, and maybe all the people of Crail would still be alive…”

The trio began to walk into the Ministry proper, Harry suggested that they search the archives to find any more information on Zargothrax. After hours of searching they found very little, other than the fact he was once a simple peasant who enjoyed weaving baskets in a field, until Dundax founded the Kingdom of Dundee and destroyed his field. Ever since his name was mentioned every once in a while alongside another familiar name, Angus McFife.

Harry quickly got up from his chair and began rushing towards to main entrance hall once more. “We have to get to Dundee before Zargothrax does!” he shouted behind him as Hermione and Ron quickly got up from their chairs and followed.

The trio disapperated in the town of Dundee. They quickly moved from the alley they were in to a more open are, where a large shadow began to be cast over the city. The trio whirled around to notice that large fortress they were pushed from now floating outside the city.

A voice boomed through the trio’s heads, “Rise, Mighty Death Knights o' Crail! Lang in the distant future, ye were forces o' light. Now rise, slaughter these peasants, and bring aboot an eternal night! Grand Master Proletius! Dispatch yer mighty warriors!”

A swarm of flying knights with leathery infernal wings erupted for the fortress, they dove into the city as over the mountains, and across the river Tay, an army of undead unicorns were riding into the fray. Fireballs and lightning started raining from the sky.

Ron said, stunned, “Blimey, he’s already here!”

The trio rushed into action. They fought their way through the piles of corpses that littered the streets of Dundee. The streets ran red with the blood of the muggles, and in the ensuing chaos, the trio got separated. Harry Potter fended off four unicorns who were busy slaughtering a family of four. He shouted curses and jinxes to incinerate the unicorns before they could complete their evil task, however, even though the undead abominations were cut down, a viscous blade of pure hate and evil tore through the mother, slicing her in twain.

The once-shining beacon of good and justice that was the armor of the towering Death Knight is now blackened and reforged in the fires of malevolence and despair. The once noble and heroic helmet now deformed and twisted in a visage of evil and hatred. The two soulless depressions behind the visor glowed crimson with the pure evil coursing through its veins. Its great power sword of doom was once its great shield of redemption, but now has been forged into a massive sword, coated in the blood of the innocent with a child’s skull as its pommel. Its movement is unnatural and ghostly, it swiftly slashes its sword horizontally decapitating the father, leaving only the children.

“Expelliarmus!” a shout came from behind Harry, a shout in a familiar smooth, sneering voice. The voice of Draco Malfoy. The power sword flew out of the Death Knight’s hand only for it to pause mid-air and rush back to its evil owner.

Another shout of a spell sounded, this time in a woman’s voice, “Bombarda!” Harry looked over and saw Ginny blasting the Death Knight, but the spell had little effect. It shrugged off the powerful explosion and charged towards Harry. It was too fast for him, he tried to roll out of the way of the great evil slash, he resorted to silently and swiftly casting a shield charm which only barely slowed the power sword of doom, as it slashed through, but provided enough time for Harry to get out of the way.

The Death knight realized that the wizards aren’t easy enough as it turned its attention back to the paralyzed children. It rushed forwards before an immensely powerful barrier raised between it and the children, then more barriers were conjured boxing it in, and they closed back on the death knight, compressing it to a cube of pure evil meat.

Harry looked around searching for the source of the barrier, he found an oddly dressed man. The hermit before them wore a tattered blue and red cloak, but under it was a military uniform denoting this man as a Naval Commander. Though he had no name tag, he was adorned with medals.

The hermit spoke, “We must leave, without Angus, it is hopeless to fight against Zargothrax’s Might!”

Harry, defiantly, said, “No! We can’t just let these people all die!”

The hermit, with more authority in his voice, spoke once more, “If we do not leave now, then we’ll all die!” As he spoke, another Dark Knight appeared behind Ginny, she tried to pull up a shield charm, but even though the blade was slowed, she didn’t dodge in time. The Power Sword of Doom ripped her in half, from head to toe. He guts exploded outwards splattering Harry with her blood. Ralathor sent up another barrier cube, crushing the Knight, and then sent a blast of cold at a rampaging unicorn zombie that was about to slaughter the stunned Harry Potter.

The Hermit, once more, spoke, “We must leave! Gather your allies, so we may gather mine!”

Tears welled up in Harry’s eyes, and he couldn't hold them back any longer. He wept for the loss of the woman he loved. The knight, now vanquished by his friends, seemed insignificant in that moment, for the battle had already claimed its cruelest price.
But Harry knew that Ginny's death would not be in vain. Her memory would fuel his resolve to defeat the forces of darkness that had taken her from him. With a heavy heart, he rose to his feet, wiped his tears away, and swore to honor her memory by continuing the fight. Grief had given way to a burning determination, and he knew he would carry the memory of Ginny Weasley with him as he faced the challenges that lay ahead.

Draco called out, “I’ll find the other Weasley.” He dashed off in one direction as Harry dashed off in the other alongside the strange hermit. Together they found Hermione, who was slinging spells constantly keeping off a horde of undead unicorns. Realtor and Harry both sent out a devastating attack of magic that decimated the Unicorns.

She noticed the duo, “Harry! We're vastly outnumbered in this city; it's becoming increasingly difficult to maintain our position! And who is that with you?”

The hermit spoke up, “I'm Ralathor, Sub Commander of the DSS Hootsforce! We've got to get out of here, or we're doomed for sure!”

Hermione nodded as they ran off in search of Ron, which ended up being easier than they thought. Two red flares of magic flew up in the air, the three heroes quickly dashed to where the flares rose, and above them they saw why they were sent. A heavily armored and cloaked wizard floated above the ground sending fireballs and lightning bolts at Draco and Ron.

Realtor yelled out, “Zargothrax! So you’ve returned!”

The heavily armored wizard looked down upon the group, “Returned? Ah've never left. The prime, he was the frozen yin. Ah am his clone! Double the wizards, double the destruction!” He held out his hands and hurled a fireball at Draco, unfortunately for him, Zargothrax’s aim was true. Draco Malfoy violently exploded into chunks of viscera and limbs which were hurled in every direction.

Realtor spoke once more, “Gather round lest you end up like that poor fellow or the red headed woman!”

In a rush, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all gather around Ralathor. They each grabbed onto his arms and the trio suddenly vanished. They were in a small, dark room made entirely of metal with dim read lights flashing.

Chapter Text

The trio was shaken by the events that had just transpired, Harry found a spot to sit along the wall on the floor, and Ron seemed to be worryingly contemplating something.

Hermione looked up at the hermit who had just saved them from total obliteration. She asked, “Excuse me, sir. Thank you for saving us, but might I ask, who are you, and where are we?”

Ralathor said, “I am sub commander Ralathor, of the DSS Hootsforce.”

Hermione asked once more, “Aren’t you going to say why you chose to save us?”

Ralathor said, “No.”

“Is there anything else about you that you’ll tell me?” Hermione asked.

Ralathor pondered for a moment and then replied, “No, but I can tell you where we are headed.”

“Hold on a minute!” Ron, “Are we just going to ignore what just happened! Draco got exploded into chunks! And this weirdo mentioned a red haired girl getting diced! Did Ginny show up? Is she… Is she ok?”

Tears welled up in both Ron’s and Harry’s eyes. Harry spoke up, “Ron, she was killed defending a muggle family. Eviscerated by one of Zargothrax’s Death Knights of Crail.” Harry did slightly deceive Ron at that moment, she didn’t die heroically. Her death was entirely based on his reluctance to retreat from an unwinnable fight; if they had left only a few moments earlier, she may still have been alive right now.

Ralathor, seeming to want to get back to business, spoke up with authority, “If we don’t get ourselves together, then even more may die. Zargothrax wishes to destroy all of what was once the Kingdom of Fife, unfortunately for us, that is all of Great Britain, I would know, I was there. We must gather allies, powerful beings who have persisted across space and time.”

Hermione composed herself and asked, “Allies? Such as?”

Ralathor looked at her and answered, “I don’t know where Angus is, but I know when we can find him, but we also can’t get to him, we need a powerful Cyborg. One with a Neutron Star built into his heart.”

Hermione’s interest seemed to have piqued, “A cyborg?”

Ralathor responded with his own question, “Yes, have you heard of the Kingdom of California?”

“Oh, I learned about it in school, before I knew I was a witch.”

“Good, do you know who currently leads the Kingdom of California?”
“Yes, I do believe it's King Hootsman XIII.”

“Now there is a slight flaw in that answer, as I’ve said, I’ve been around a long time, though that is due to magic, but the Hootsman? He was the Barbarian King of Unst, until he went in search of distant lands to claim his destiny. The land of Unst was not enough, he had to conquer more. He quested into the west, to American shores. He fought his way across America with his mighty battleaxe, slaying every monster in sight until all of California called their new Hero King. Soon after, he was struck with a mortal wound, but was turned into an immortal cyborg. The Hootsman you know as their current King, was also their first.”

“But wait, once we find him, how do we find Angus?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We use the neutron star that powers the Hootsman to overcharge the time drives on my nuclear submarine to time travel back one thousand years to find AngusMcFife, or his son Angus McFife II. We may also have to find another ally, hopefully before Zargothrax can corrupt him.”

Ralathor walks over to a control panel and begins pressing buttons. He looks back to the trio, “We are in a submarine, beneath Loch a' Chroisg, a loch near Achnasheen, we have cloaking technology and we won’t be detected as now the time has come to rise. We will ascend into the skies and make our way to California.”

The great submarine, the D.S.S. Hoostforce, rises from the loch near the quiet town of Achnasheen and sets off at nuclear velocity towards California. The journey takes mere hours due to the nuclear time drive installed by Ralathor. In those hours the trio steel themselves in preparation for the oncoming trials.

The submarine soared over the Kingdom of California, the mighty sights of Los Angeles. They saw many great American sights, like the stadium where the Italians lost to Brazil in football, the Hollywood signs, and the grand castle of movie studios rising high above Hollywood, the home of the Hollywood Hootsman. The D.S.S. Hootsforce uncloaked and docked at the Airship port on the top floor of the Castle.

The trio and Ralathor disembark from the submarine as a hulking figure walks out of the castle doors to the port. A man wearing armor made from wolf approaches, he carries a mighty battleaxe and sports long blond hair.

This barbarian looks at Ralaothor and says, “Hey, dude! It's like, Ralathor, my bro from way back, man! How's the stoke? It's been, like, a gnarly amount of time, brah. What's the dealio, and what's bringing you to my totally rad castle, man?”

Ralathor smiled at his old friend and said, “Ah, Hootsman, it has been ages. I wish my visit was to relish in the tales of old, but,” he motioned towards the trio, all covered in blood, “unfortunately we need you to help us fight an old foe.”
The Hootsman let concern wipe over his face, “No way, old foe? You don't, like, seriously mean…”

Ralother nods, “Yes, Zargothrax has returned. He has already wiped out the city of Crail. There were no survivors. Any who survived in Dundee were most likely enslaved into his army of chaos.”

Despite the news of tragedy, the Hootsman looked pumped up and ready to go. He said, “No way, dude! We've gotta, like, totally stop that gnarly dude! Lemme take a wild guess, you're lookin' for my epic battleaxe again, right on!”

Ralathor nods in agreement, “Of course! We also need your Neutron Star Heart.”

The Hootsman was ready to leave, before a realization hit him, “Oh, bummer, dude! I totally wish I could, like, cruise with you, but there's a gnarly Hungarian Horntail, like, wreaking havoc. If I split now, California's toast, man! I can't just chill while a dragon torches my kingdom and messes with my peeps!”

As he spoke, a dragon flew by the tower expelling out blasts of pure infernal heat from its mouth.

Harry Potter yelled out in recognition, “That’s a Hungarian Horntail! I’ve faced one before!”

But unfortunately for the heroes, a portal opened in the sky, the dark magic that created it foretold the coming of the double wizard. Zargothrax Clone Beta descended upon the lands. He reached out with his pure evil magic of hatred grabbing the dragon out of the sky and strapping a device to it, a nuclear bomb.

Ralathor quickly created a magical barrier cube around the heroes and his submarine. The nuke detonated and Zargothrax's clone returned through the portal. The devastation blast of total destruction was unlike anything Harry had ever seen before, everything around he was blown away in the detonation leaving only what was contained in the cube.

The dragon that bore the brunt of the explosion was seemingly unharmed, until they got a better look at it. Its eyes were glowing a radiant green. The heroes looked beneath them as Ralathor was slowly lowering them to safety, but around the ruins of the city, snow began to fall and small green creatures began erupting from the ground. Goblins, but not any goblins Harry had seen before, these ones were different, they radiated evil and chaos and hatred and were green.

The Hootsman looked to the rest of the heroes and spoke, “We gotta, like, totally shred that dragon, bro, before it, like, spills its evil toxic vibes all over the rest of America, man!”

Chapter Text

Jumping over a ruined building are five motorbikes, each gleaming white and covered in heavy weaponry. They cruise down the highway, powered by hoots running over any goblins who stand in their path. They ride over ice and snow, casting spells at or eviscerate goblins with weapons. A bloody path is carved all the way to Santa Barbara.

Harry turned towards the Hootsman and asked, “Blimey, this trek is long, where did the dragon get to?”

The Hootsman looked down, “Well, little dude, the word on the street is that the Horntail's vibe is, like, rumored to be hangin' in the ancient city of San Francisco, right on Alcatraz Island, bro!”

Ralathor looked a bit annoyed, “We could’ve been there if we just took the Hootsforce. And we’d have missiles and sky torpedoes of ultimate Justice.

The Hootsman responded, “Nah, dude, my motorbikes are, like, way more fun, and, you know, what's the point of takin' down a dragon if you're not doing it, like, barehanded, man?”

Only after an hour did the heroes reach the former city of Santa Barbara, it was covered full in snow and rubble, unfortunately, the ground beneath their nuclear motorbikes suddenly erupted in fire. The shout of the trio casting Arresto Momentum on the group could be heard as they were flung helplessly into the air. Due to the magic, they landed safely, or so it seemed as a group of nuclear goblins, all wielding swords rushed out at them.

The Hootsman retrieved his saxophone and battleaxe from the motorcycle wreck. He then took a big breath in and shouted in his deepest and angriest voice, “Alright, all you radioactive goblins! Listen up! The name's the Hootsman, and this post-apocalyptic playground is my turf, brah. Now, I'm gonna be super chill and give you until the count of three to, like, bail out of here with your worthless goblonic asses. Or you're gonna feel the full force of the HOOTS!

Many goblins did retreat, but one stood and rallied the rest. A black Knight wielding a massive laser sword. He yelled out in the goblin tongue, “Nak’ragor daxgarum’dok! Gul’koshar! Nak’grom!”

The goblins charged the heroes who responded with incredible violence. The trio slung spells with ferocity, shouts of curses and jinxes rode across the air as blasts of powerful and deadly magic stuck down goblin after goblin. A pair of goblins got the jump on Harry, driving their blades into his legs, he repulsed them with a spell as Ralathor ran over to heal his wounds, Ron and Hermione were working together in an incredible display of magical combat, one slinging goblins into the air and the other slamming them into the ground or blasting them with deadly fire.

Ralathor was up to his old tricks crushing swarms of goblins into cubes, meanwhile the Sword Lord of the Goblin Horde challenged the Hootsman to one on one combat, His laser sword was powerful, and perhaps if the Hootsman was a normal human, he’d be overwhelmed by the sheer power of this goblin, but he was no normal human, he gathered his strength and swung his mighty battleaxe into the arm of the goblin, slicing through its armor and sending it flying off. He brought down a second strike, vertical, cutting it perfectly in half and spilling its innards all over the ground. The goblin assault seemed to slow after this blow, though the ones already above ground had no intention of letting up.

They charged the group as the trio worked in unison to slay as many goblins as they could, burning and freezing anything that got too close as Ralathor sent fireballs into the group decimating over forty eight goblins with each blast and stuck out with lightning bolts that fried one hundred goblins each.

The goblin hoard routed. The hootsman chased down the survivors and swung his battleaxe cutting down great swathes of goblins.

Harry looked at his friends and said, “I’ve never seen goblins that look like that.”

Hermione said, “I know goblins can be vicious warriors, but these ones seemed almost rabid.”

Ralathor walked over and said, “Aye, these are ancient goblins. Very different from the ones known to the wizarding world. They live in dwarven caves, and all follow their sword lord, which the Hootsman here managed to kill. Not to mention they seem to be twisted by the radiation of the nuclear bomb.”

The Hootsman grabbed his battleaxe and saxophone and got back on his motorbike, which was completely unharmed. He said, “No more stalling, bros! It's time to, like, totally ride the waves and wipe that nuclear dragon off the face of the earth, man!”

The other motorbikes were also unharmed and the heroes all got on. It was only another hour slaying goblins at super speed on the path to San Francisco. They tore down the ruined streets and then drove over the waters of the bay to reach the mighty citadel of Alcatraz.

Harry looked at the Hootsman and asked, “Well, now that we’re here, how do we find the dragon?”

The Hootsman let a devious smile across his face, “Dude, that's, like, the simplest part ever!” he shouted and then even louder, “Yo, check it out, you lame-o nuclear dragon! My axe is, like, totally booked for a face-to-face meeting with your mug! You won't be spreading your bad vibes in this wasteland any more, man! I'm the Hootsman, and it's time for you to, like, catch a wave to oblivion!”

A grand and horrifying roar emanates from the sky. Harry, in pure desperation shouts his summoning charm out for his broom in the hopes that it arrives, and flying in at the speed of light, his trusty seeker’s broom appears next to him with a sonic boom. He mounts it and soars out of sight as the irradiated Hungarian Horntail rises into the sky. Cracks of irradiated green flow behind the scales turned an onyx black. Its eyes radiate nuclear power and when it opens its mouth to roar, green flames erupt.

Ron looks surprised and looks at the Hootsman, “That was your plan! Just yell at it!”

The Hootsman smile still remained, “Well, you know, that and, like, giving it a solid whack in the kisser with my axe, bro!”

Ron facepalmed and said, “Well, at least Harry can get it close enough then.”

Harry swoops down on his broom blasting the dragon in the eyes with a lightning spell and zooms away. The dragon moves unnaturally fast as it follows after him. They circle Alcatraz island many times before diverting into the city. Dodging between buildings, the Dragon keeps up with Harry and blasts many toxic flames of radiation at him. Harry spins out of the way of these assaults. He then pulls up, turning completely the other direction and flies back to Alcatraz. He takes the low route, riding the water with his feet barely centimeters from the icy doom.

At last he pulls up as he flies past his friends with the dragon following close by. Ron, Hermione, and Ralathor had prepared a trap for the dragon, which was waiting to be triggered when the time was right. The dragon was flying too fast, and was flying too high for a ground assault, but they didn’t need that, once Harry crossed over them they sprung into action, all three casting spells of propulsion on the Hootsman sending him flying high into the sky. The dragon was no longer the strongest thing in the sky as the Hootsman took his axe in both hands and with the cosmic power of a thousand suns brought it down into the dragon splitting in half. The Hollywood Hootsman was now the king of the skies. His legend will never die.

Ralathor looked at the bloodied Hootsman and asked, “Now that that's done, can we get on with why we came here?”

The Hootsman wiped the blood from his face and said, “Totally, dude! Let's, like, ride the stoke back to the Hootsforce, man!”

The heroes got back on their motorbikes and made the 5 hour journey back to Hollywood where the Hootsforce remained where it was left, under a pile of snow that had fallen. The heroes board the submarine. It took to the skies where the Hootsman held out his hand as a cosmic power surged forwards into the time drive, the Hootsforce took off into the skies, into space increasing speed until it hit the speed of light before bursting into a blast of cosmic light as the time drive kicked into overdrive and sent them back one thousand years…

Chapter Text

Harry Potter didn’t get to see the lands where they were just transported to before stepping out of the Hootsforce as military submarines don't usually have portholes to view from. He stepped out to see a land of magic and fantasy. The Hootsforce was still in flight, but since they were in the atmosphere, Ralathor had allowed Harry, Ron, and Hermione to wander on the top of the Hootsforce.

Hermione was leaning on the railing. She said, “I’ve heard legends of the Kingdom of Fife, I never thought I’d ever see it in person. Everyone here looks happy.”

Ron, who was standing next to her, said, “Yeah, I mean, I haven’t heard legends of Fife, but everyone here does seem pretty happy.”

Hermione said, “I think everyone here has lived for generations without a tragedy. It's crazy, there even seem to be wizards out in public.”

Ron asked, “Say, did Ralathor ever tell you where we were going?”

Hermione shook her head and said, “No, he just said we were going to pick someone up first before Angus.”

She stood up straight to match Ron. At that moment Ralathor walked out of the submarine onto the deck. “We are headed to Crail.”

Hermione looked a bit shocked, “Crail? Isn’t that where Zargothrax is!”

Ralathor nodded, “Indeed, when Angus I, the Hootsman, and I defeated him we sent him to be kept in the Fortress of Crail, of course, it wasn’t just us three, the fourth member of our heroic troupe is who we are headed for. You may have heard him back in Dundee, though he was corrupted by Zargothrax’s Knife of Evil.”

Hermione and Ron seemed confused at this, Ron asked, “Crail? Like those Death Knights we fought?”

Ralathor once more nodded, “At one point in the past, people sang Hail to Crail! They were the mightiest warriors in the land. Once, in the siege of Dunkeld, defeat of the town was nigh, but then came the knights, the warriors of Crail! And all of their foes did die. They were led by the indomitable paladin, Ser Proletius. He helped us defeat Zargothrax in the past.”

Hermione asked, “What kinds of powers does Proletius..”

“Ser Proletius.” Ralathor interrupted.

“Right, what powers does Ser Proletius have?” Hermione finished.

Ralathor looked into the distance before pointing his hand out. “That.” he said pointing to an approaching giant eagle with a knight riding on its back. The eagles soared high above the Hootsforce before spinning upside down as the knight dropped onto the deck. He was clad in gleaming silvery armor.

The knight looks led at Ralathor, “Hail, Subcommander. I heard that you were too busy today at the wizard academy? What brings you to Crail?”

Ralathor walked over and shook the hand of the Knight, “I’m here to seek Ser Proletius for a great quest, as well as Angus II. It is of utmost importance.”

The knight nodded before whistling and jumping off the Subaru e and back into his eagle. He said, “I’ll send word ahead, Ser Proletius will meet you at the docks.”

The eagle flew away with the Hootsforce flying behind. They swooped over the ocean and into the port. The grand fortress that was buried beneath the ground now towered above the city. The grand citadel of Crail was a beacon of hope shining down on the people.

The heroes didn’t need to depart the submarine, instead they stood atop its deck, where a man with gleaming armor and a red and blue tabard, wearing a hood and a goatee stood welcoming. Ralathor and the Hootsman walked over and shook his hand.

Proletius said, “Hail, Ralathor! 'Tis a joyous sight to behold thee once more. Greetings also to thee, Hootsman, though my thoughts envisioned thee sailing the distant seas. Ralathor, thou didst convey that thy noble duty to educate young minds held thee back from joining me in the pursuit of goblin adversaries.”

Ralathor said, “Ah, yes I did forget to spend enough time with you, my friend. But I’m kind of but not really the Ralathor you know. I’m from one thousand years into the future. As is this Hootsman. And these three other wizards.”

Proletius nodded and looked a bit concerned, “Ah, I hath neglected to recall that thou art an ancient wizard, dear Ralathor. Pray, thou art not in the company of a scion of McFife, nor of mine own lineage, unless these three noble souls be such?”

Ralathor looked nervous, he said, “No, Ser Proletius, you are still alive in the future, but there isn’t a scion of McFife to my knowledge. Zargothrax has returned with a clone and is invading the future.”

Proletius looked more concerned, “Should I yet draw breath, why doth mine own presence not grace this noble company of valiant warriors?”

Ralathor looked Proletius in the eyes and said, “Unfortunately you were bested by Zargothrax, he struck you with his Knife of Evil. You and the Knights of Crail now serve him.”
Proletius nodded sadly, “Cursed be that wizard! I shall strive to withstand his machinations in the days to come. Pray, doth our path lead us to Ser McFife?”

Ralathor said, “Well, you seemed to accept that fate better than I accepted, but yes, we do need to find Angus…”

An explosion sounds, rocking the very fortress of Crail. A giant winged demon with the head of a bull carrying a flaming whip and a sword made of lightning. A hooded woman is floating above a gathered army of small green creatures with large black eyes.

Her voice booms over the city, “Witness, Knights of Crail! I, Calamity, descend upon thee with a malevolence surpassing even the failures of Zargothrax! Thy lives are but tokens of forfeiture, for I, in my wicked glory, shall unleash the full weight of my namesake upon your pitiable existence!”

Proletius grabbed his sword and yelled to the sky, the booming of his voice rivaling that of the sorcerer, “Knights of Crail! To Battle!” He turned to the trio, “Ye three, wizards of arcane prowess, heed the call! Join us on the battlefield, and unveil the might of thy magical powers to enlighten us knights with the wonders that sorcery can bestow!”

The Hootsman, Ralathor, and Proletius lept into combat alongside the Knights of Crail. The trio were slower than that, as they ran Harry spoke, “Blimey, no matter where we go, it seems like we can't escape a bit of a skirmish, can we?”

Ron said, “Can you believe it? Thought we'd had our fill of excitement back at Hogwarts, but turns out, being an Auror is a real thrill.”

Hermione said, “If we're to rescue the Muggles and thwart Zargothrax, it's imperative that we enlist the assistance of these individuals. It appears their expertise in combat surpasses our own.”

They arrived at the edge of a full melee. The green creatures were being cut down in swathes by the Knights, and the Hootsman and Proletius had engaged the giant one.

Ron asked, “Hermione, do you know what any of these are?”

Hermione nodded, “The green entities are Quasits, and the larger one is a Balor. They fall under the category of demons.”

At that moment, a group of quasits left the fray to attack the Trio. They lurched with their claws, Harry and Ron dodged the first few, but one slashed Hermione across her face, its wicked claws left four bloody cuts across her cheek. Hermione levitated it before slamming it into the ground, which snapped its neck.

Ron said, “Hermione! Are you alright!”

Hermione nodded, “Yes, some dittany should heal it. Ron! Duck!”

Another quasit lept at Ron's head, but he ducked just in time as Hermione struck it with a powerful severing curse, slicing it in half spilling its demonic ichor over Ron’s back. Hermione and Ron use their spells to cut down as many quasits as they could as they moved towards the wizard, but Harry, a well known master of spells for fighting dark creatures, was fighting with the efficiency of three people combined. The elegance of how he casted his spells was breathtaking, especially for those who were on the receiving end of a lethal blow.

Harry looked at his friends and said, “We should bring down the wizard! Descendo!”

Ron and Hermione followed as the three spells combined in flight striking the sorcerer Calamity in her back. She descended at a speed much faster than falling, the impact left a visible dent in the ground, but she someone used a spell to protect herself.

Calamity looked towards the trio and yelled, “Bah! Ye foolish magebloods and your feeble incantations, brace yourselves to savor the essence of true magic!”

She retaliated with blasts of her own magic, the trio all put up spells of protection.

Harry looked at her and asked, “Mageblood? The bloody hell are you talking about!” He ducked under another spell and sent out two more explosive blasts of fire.

Calamity dodged, “Ye wretched magebloods! Born with enchantments coursing through thy veins, while some of us were compelled to labor in the pursuit of mastery! Thy conjurations are but a paltry deviation; true magic, the arcane art, demands skill and erudition to wield!” Sixteen darts of pure magical force erupted from her hands, shouts of “Protego!” could be heard as the trio blocked her spells.

Ralathor had already left the wizard to join the Hootsman and Proletius in battling the Balor leaving the trio to battle Calamity. The fight was even until Hermione subtly slipped a spell of Levioso, levitation, onto Calamity, taken by surprise, Ron summoned her closer, Hermione slammed her to the ground, breaking her arms, then repulsed her towards Harry, who had his most powerful severing charm at the ready, removing her wicked head from her body.

The trio sliced and diced the quasits between them and the Balor, who was still standing. Wands held high, they unleashed a barrage of damaging spells at the Balor, who recoiled. The Hootsman and Porletus took this as an opportunity, Ralathor grabbed them both with magic and flung them into the sky. The duo brought their weapons of pure cosmic justice down on the beast, the demon was now sliced in half. It exploded in a blast of pure demonic hatred sending the heroes recoiling. The Knight of Crail were just about finished slaying quasits as well, there were no casualties from the Knights, meanwhile the entire enemy force was decimated.

The Knights began chanting Hail to Crail! Mightiest warriors in the land! Hail to Crail! Ready to fight with a sword in hand!”

The Heroes headed back to the Hootsforce, with Ser Proletius and his Knights of Crail ready to join them in epic battle against the dark forces of Zargothrax’s evil army. The Hootsforce once more took to the skies, headed for the grandest city in the land, Dundee.

Chapter Text

Dundee was perhaps the grandest city to ever grace the Earth. Colossal towers surrounded the towering city wall, a gigantic bridge spanned between the two mountains where the Castle stood. The castle consisted of many towers each more grand than the last. The city spiraled out from there with many wealthy houses made for both humans and dwarves. There was a bustling marketplace below the castle bridge. In the distance, an even larger tower stood, with magic exploding out of its sides in celebration. The Hootsforce dicked at the airship port on the castle. The group departed from the submarine and moved to the entrance hall. They were greeted by Knights of Crail who opened the door upon seeing Ser Proletius and Ralathor.

Through the two massive wooden doors was a throne room consisting of two layers, the first layer was the main floor with a red carpet and wooden walls, while above it on a balcony that ran along the inside walls sat a man with long brown hair and black and green armor, on a throne made of gold. 

He stood up and walked to the railing, “Ralathor? I thought you were training students in your academy? And Hootsman, weren’t you across the ocean?”

Ralathor shook his head, “No, dear Angus. I’m simply Ralathor from the future, a future that is in dire need of your assistance, I believe these three can explain adequately.” He motioned to Harry and friends.

Angus nodded, “Alright, you three, what’s happening in your future?”

Harry walked forwards a bit and said, “Well, King McFife, in our time, there is no more Kingdom of Fife, or an Angus to defend it, and someone may have accidentally reawakened Zargothrax. He is currently destroying all of Scotland. He's already destroyed Crail, and he must’ve taken over Dundee by now. We need your help.” 

Angus hopped down from the second level and walked over to Harry, he stuck out hand to shake. 

Angus said, “So you shall have my hammer, what's your name, mighty warrior!”

“Harry Potter.”

“Hermione Granger.”

“Ron Weasley.”

Angus shook each of their hands and then held his hand out as a large hammer descended from the ceiling and directly into Angus’ hands. He slung it over his shoulder and followed the other heroes out of the castle. They boarded the submarine and attempted to time travel to shortly before the Unicorn invasion of Dundee. They rose into the sky, flanked by the Eagle Riders of Crail. They soared through time and space, however alarms began to go off. The lights turned off leaving only the spinning red alarm lights, the hootsforce was unable to exit the time travel in time, it skipped forwards only one year crashing out into a familiar castle in the Scottish Highlands. Hogwarts. However things were different. The once blue skies raged a bloody red, snow fell from the sky, trees were dead, but the time machine stated it was in the middle of Summer. There was another magical barrier, like the one put up during the battle of Hogwarts. The Hootsforce was blasted out of the sky, landing in the Hogwarts yard outside of Hagrid’s Hut. It smashed a submarine shaped hole through the shield, as the  Eagles Riders flew down and landed safely. Those knights of Crail that rode in the submarine, along with the heroes departed the submarine.

Some people ran out of the castle and yelled, “Identify yourselves!” They cast a spell to repair the barrier. Harry stood up, hands raised behind his head.

He said, “It’s me, Harry!” He got a closer look at the wizard pointing their wand at the group. He saw that it was a man, but he couldn’t tell who. He was wearing a heavy cloak that covered most of her head.

He said, “Harry Potter? I thought you died in Dundee!”

Harry said, “No, we time traveled to the past to get reinforcements, but we missed our mark on the return!”

The man looked at Harry like he was insane, he eventually sighed and said, “Fine, I guess that explains the eagles, and the submarine. You know you hit a very rare plant on your way down, it’ll take ages for me to grow another one.” He placed his wand back in his cloak and pulled down the hood. Behind it was Neville Longbottom.

Angus looked at Harry, “You know this man?”

Neville said, “Yeah, I’m Neville Longbottom. I used to teach here at Hogwarts before everything went to crap.”

Hermione asked, “What happened, Neville?”

Neville moved forwards and said, “After Dundee fell, Zargothrax used some sort of magic, it destroyed everything in a massive explosion. It killed everything. Now his robots and mutated goblins roam the wastes. It brought an eternal winter.”

Proletius spoke this time, “It must’ve been one of Zargothrax’s cosmic infernal nuclear bombs.”

The heroes approached the entrance to Hogwarts, Neville motioned them to follow him. As they walked he spoke, “Ever since then, the few people who survived took refuge here in Hogwarts. I know that Hannah died to a laser robot, Pansy was overrun by goblins and sliced to bits, the Patils tried to face Zargothrax and were blown to bits. I’m sorry Ron, but Bill and Percy both got killed by robots as well.”

An expression of incredible sadness spread over Ron’s face as now he had lost two more siblings. Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder. They walked to the Great Hall where the other surviving wizards were. They saw Luna Lovegoog among them. As the heroes walked over to approach and talk to Luna, a loud explosion sounded. The wall to the great hall exploded inwards.

Chapter Text

Harry could barely stand, his head was ringing, All he could see was darkness… Wait, he just hadn’t opened his eyes. He now saw, the entire back wall was destroyed, and some of the survivors of the first attacks were crushed under the rubble. Soaring high above Hogwarts was a flock of eagles… Wait, no… Undead eagles, ridden by Death Knights of Crail, each armed with their swords of black fire. They swarmed into the Great Hall, they were met with many spells, Harry could see Luna, Neville, Hermione, Ron, and even McGonagall still alive, sending a cacophony of spells at the horde, Harry joined in, casting explosive spells like bombarda, and confringo throwing Death Knights off of their undead eagles. Leading the charge was the mightiest scion of evil, with the most anti-telharsic power got his eagle shot from beneath him. The Grandmaster of Death and Decay recovered in the air and slammed into the ground.

The leader of the Death Knights, Proletius, Charged toward the nearest group of cowering wizards, He swung sideways with all his might, but his blade didn’t find his mark, intercepted by Ser Proletius. 

Ser Porletius shouted, “Foul corruption! You shall meet your end!”

The dual Proletiuses dueled. Sword against Sword, clashing eternally. Neither able to gain the upper hand. Harry, Hermione, and Ron ran towards the hole in the wall, casting banishing charms on every single Death Knight. Once they reached the outside another sight awed the trio. The undead Death Knights and their zombie eagles were assaulted by a force. The Knights of Crail soared down from the sky. Those who followed the Hootsforce into the time vortex now emerged, flying proudly upon their eagles riding in the sky. Their first attack wave decimated the Death Knights. They weren’t alone however, the undead army of unicorns rode into the fray Angus, the Hootsman, and Ralathor all were busy with the Death Knights, and it was like watching Ser Proletius fight a mirror, every single move was matched nearly identically.

Harry looked at his friends, “Blimey, it's up to us to take these down then.”

Ron nodded, “I think you’re right, Harry. Bombarda!”

A unicorn zombie exploded into chunks of undead flesh, with black ichor spilling all over the ground. Hermione and Harry followed up with their bombardments of unstoppable curses and jinxes. Unicorn after unicorn fell to the onslaught of spells. Though, they were focused on the horde, but not on the Death Knights. A sword of black of fire tore into Ron and Hermione, two arms flew into the air, Hermone’s left and Ron’s Right. Harry turned to face the Death Knight that did it.

It raised its sword slowly, none of Harry’s spells affected it, both Ron and Hermione were bleeding out on the ground. A hammer obliterated the head of the Death Knight, there stood brave King Angus. Covered in the blood of hundreds of Death Knights of Crail. Luna and Neville rushed up and began casting spells to heal Ron and Hermione. Growing a limb was tough and painful. It took a long time, but they proposed another idea.

Luna said, “In the years you’ve been gone, new things began happening. They might be doomed unless we seek the robot prince of mighty Auchtertool.” 

Another Death Knight ran into battle only to be sliced into bits by the Hootsman, “I totally caught wind of the blonde, bro. Time to cruise back to the Hootsforce—I got some sick motorbikes there. I bet the Death Knights won't just let us breeze outta here in the sky, so, like, let's roll, man!”

Harry nodded as the Hootsman threw both injured wizards over his shoulders. Angus saluted as the Trio and the Hootsman ran back to the Hootsforce. When they arrived, they got on two motorbikes, and drove out at incredible speeds towards Auchtertool. 

The heroes charged with vengeance, as the unicorns pursued, until they reached the boundary the the great kingdom of Auchtertool, A mighty blast of lasers obliterated the following Unicorns as flying in the sky, a robot forged from powersteel, eyes set ablaze of crimson fire, and boronic wings. This is the heir of the Mecha-King. The Robot Prince of Auchtertool.

Harry got to his feet and then knelt in respect. The Hootsman slung the injured wizards over his shoulder and walked up, then the Robot prince landed. 

The robot prince turned it’s head towards the Hootsman and said, “*BEEP* *BEEP* BOOP* BEEP*

Harry looked confused at this.

The Hootsman gave a reassuring nod to Harry and then said, “Beep beep boop boop beep. Boop boop beep beep boop.” He then turned to Harry, “He's like, talking robot language, and, being a cyborg, I'm, you know, totally fluent in robot vibes, man.”

“*BEEP*”

Harry asked, “What did you ask? And what did he say?”

The Hootsman said, “Dude, so, like, I asked, ‘These bros totally lost their arms, you know? Can you, like, hook them up?’ And that last beep from him was basically, like, saying, ‘Of course, man! I'm the mighty Prince of Auchtertool, destined to reign over this land forever, and I'm gonna deck those two poor souls with the finest cybernetics ever. Made from Space Dwarven Powersteel, these arms are gonna be way better than their originals, bro. Now, follow me, we gotta ride to the castle, dude!’”

“Oh… Yeah, let's go.”

The heroes quested to the Castle of Auchtertool, which was around five meters away, inside many robo-dwarves stood in the forges, already in the process of making cybernetic arms. The Robot Prince grabbed the pair of arms and stuck them to Hermione and Ron’s stumps. He then held out his wrist laser and attached the arms. He pulled out another device and stuck it to the backs of the unconscious wizards and zapped them. They both jumped back awake. 

Hermione said, “Oh, my head… What happened…” She looked down at her arm and screamed, “Why is my arm made of metal!”

Ron’s reaction however was the complete opposite. He was admiring the metal arm as if it was the most interesting thing he's seen in his life, “Wicked. I can’t wait to punch a Death Knight with this.”

Then, a booming voice rang out over the Castle, “Robot Prince o' Auchtertool! Ah've heard sae much aboot ye! Ma clone and Ah are here tae make sure ye never stand in oor path again!”

“*BOOP*”

The Robot prince soared into the sky, Harry, Ron and the Hootsman followed, each getting on a motorbike, ready to chase after or flee. Up in the sky was Zargothrax, who was blocking every single attack that the Robot Prince was throwing at him with his Knife of Evil. The Robot Prince wasn’t ready though as the Clone blasted him in the back with the mighty Vorpal Laserblaster of Pittenweem. The Brave Prince of the Robots spiraled to the ground, his great boronic wings destroyed. They floated down to the ground as the Hootsman and Harry began to flee, as with the power of the Vorpal Laserblaster and the Knife of Evil the Wizards were too powerful. Unfortunately the Knife of Evil was too great, the Prince of the robots meets his fate. Auchtertool no longer fights, killed by the wizard lords this night.