230Chapter 2: A New Job
November 19, 1995, Location Unknown
A young man dressed in a plain black robe burst through the door. He strode over to a couch in a fairly large apartment, where he took off his robes to reveal a mop of messy black hair and a pair of smouldering green eyes. He ran his hand through his hair to reveal a wicked-looking scar in the shape of a lightening bolt. Underneath his robes he wore a vest made of the finest dragon hide vest available that matched his dragon hide boots. He also had on a pair of black silk pants that was the same color as his hair. Following that, he reached his hand up to his covered face and removed a special mask was silver in color, and the shape was that of a smiling Joker whose grin looked plain evil. One might say that it was the face of the devil's.
After removing his mask, he unstrapped a plethora of things that were concealed on his body. Off came a pair of black short swords, several throwing knives, two black daggers with curved blades, several potions that were strapped to a belt around his waist, and a deck of cards that all had his symbol on it: a Joker. Even the cards were considered weapons by his friends, many of whom were in the same job profession as he.
When he graduated from his school, a mentor gave him a deck of charmed cards that could be used like a throwing knife; that is, the cards could be thrown and could cut through flesh like a knife through butter. He himself had charmed the cards to look the way they currently did, and he was quite proud of his work.
The Joker had come back to his unplottable home after another successful job. His bank account had also "suddenly" increased by several million US dollars. He was very satisfied with his job. After all, it's not every day that one worked as an assassin for governments around the world and for private rich people. His latest job was to "erase" the newest drug kingpin to arise in Cuba, and the US government were more than happy to provide him with some luxuries to keep his silence when he finished.
As he finished undressing, he stepped into the bath that a house elf had prepared for him and relaxed. This was the only time that he was ever without his weapons. Not even when he slept did he let go of his things, as they had saved his life many times.
Several hours later, he got up out of the bath and dried himself off with a large fluffy towel. When he was totally dry, he slowly put on his clothes. First it was the dragon hide vest; then came a slightly loose black t-shirt; after that came his black silk pants; after the pants came his boots; after the boots came the elaborate set up of weapons that he normally had on him; and finally, after the weapons, came a thick black cloak that concealed all his weapons and covered his face. This cloak happened to be very special to him, since it came from a mentor and had the magical ability to conceal his face so that whoever looked in would not see a thing. The cloak was also spelled to be resistant to the weather, all minor curses, and to Accio charms.
Just as he finished dressing himself, a ring sounded through the apartment.
"Alright, alright, damn phone. Who the hell is calling me now?" He picked up the cellphone that was lying on the table in the kitchen and pressed the green button which would allow who ever was calling to talk to him.
"Hey Joker, I got another job for you. Some old lady wants you to take someone out."
"Yeah, John, I got it. How much am I getting paid for this one, who am I offing, is there a time frame, and do you have any information about where I could find the target?" the Joker asked. John was one of the Joker's informants, and also was a friend who went to the same school as he did. Although the Joker specialized in assassinations, stealth, and recovery missions, John prided himself as the best when it came to reconnaissance, spying, and information gathering missions.
"Your client is offering 600,000 galleons, you're offing Bellatrix Lestrange, the old lady said as soon as possible, and I have no idea where to find your target," John replied, slightly amused, as he even, a Muggle, knew who Bellatrix Lestrange was. Although he knew about the world of Magic, as did all their classmates, he misunderstood about how feared Lestrange actually was.
Joker's eyes widened when he heard that his new client was offering galleons. This meant that the person was a witch, and he didn't get too many job offers from the magical folk (too arrogant to hire others to do their dirty work, Joker claimed). And to think, his target was Bellatrix Lestrange. THE Bellatrix Lestrange! The crazy right hand woman of the Dark Lord Voldemort! This made finding her so much easier. He just had to wait for news of a raid and he would (more than likely) be able to find her. His spy network was so large that if a raid happened anywhere in England, he'd know about it instantly.
Now all he could do was sit back and relax, until his informants gave him any new information.
A little more than a week went by before Joker heard about a raid in Hogsmeade, the only Wizarding town in all of England. When his informant told him about it, he immediately put his book away, delicately placed his creepy-looking mask on his face, and stored his weapons deep within the folds of his cloak. He left the comforting confines of his quaint apartment and apparated to the Shrieking Shack, a sinister and hopeful grin on his face.
November 28, 1995, Hogwarts
The school was in an uproar. The students of Hogwarts had their first Hogsmeade weekend in two months, and it was understandable that the students were excited. Many were discussing about their dates, quidditch, or even homework.
Three lone students, however, were not.
"But Headmaster, are you sure about this?" Hermione Granger asked.
"Yes, I'm quite sure, Ms. Granger. The kids need to get out and relieve their stress. The Order will be there, and I've convinced Madam Bones to send several Aurors to patrol the town."
"But what happens if Death Eaters attack? It's dangerous and the students could be hurt!"
"Yeah," an arrogant Michael Potter added. "But I can help, Hermione. After all, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived!"
Sighing, Hermione nodded her head in resignation. "Alright then..."
The Golden Trio, as Michael Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were known as, quickly left Professor Dumbledore's office to rejoin their classmates in line to leave the school.
When they got outside, the trio first headed to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where Hermione purchased three new quills. After that, Ron and Michael dragged Hermione to Honeydukes and spent close to twenty gallons on candy (well, at least Michael did). Zonko's was next, and once again, Hermione had to be dragged there. She protested the entire way, complaining about "immature pranks". She refused to go in, and instead waited outside for the two boys. Twenty minutes later, and the boys still had not left Zonko's. Hermione finally had enough, and barged in. She dragged the two infantile boys and strode towards the Three Broomsticks, where they had promised to meet the rest of their friends for lunch.
As soon as they entered, they were stopped by Madam Rosmerta. "Ooh, Mr. Potter, I've saved a seat for you and your friends, my dear," she flirted. Michael blushed, as did many boys in hearing range when they head the low, sultry voice of the barmaid.
The trio headed towards the table and sat down. Madam Rosmerta was immediately there, three butterbeers in hand. "Here you go," she said with that same sultry voice. As she walked back to the bar, she shook her hips a little, causing the pants of all nearby boys to suddenly tighten.
"I hope the Chudley Cannons do better this year," Ron suddenly announced.
Michael replied, "The Cannons suck, Ron! The Holyhead Harpies are sooooo much better! And the players are hot! I bet Angelina is gonna join their team in a few years. We should probably go ask for her autograph before she becomes a professional..."
Hermione rolled her eyes as the two boys continued to bicker about which Quidditch team was better. She was about to tell the boys to knock it off when an explosion sounded outside. The trio immediately pulled out their wands, while the rest of the patrons in the bar screamed and ducked under their tables. They rushed outside, only to see total pandemonium. A group of Death Eaters were standing down the road, with their wands drawn and aimed at the townsfolk. The lead Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, stood without her mask in the front. She cackled her insane laugh while shooting random killing curses at whoever happened to be standing nearby. Five people were dead within fifteen seconds.
"Ickle baby Potter, where are you?" she sang out as she continued to fire the Unforgivables. The rest of the Death Eaters slowly advanced like a pack of panthers hunting its prey. People would later reflect that the manner in which they did so was nearly professional, and the trio would laugh whenever they heard Death Eaters being referred to as "professional". As the black-clad men stalked forward, the townsfolk began to run the other way, screaming their heads off. Not a single person was level-headed enough to fire-call the Aurors. Michael, in a typically arrogant manner, strode forwards.
"I'm here! Why don't you go back to the holes you came from before I decide to single-handedly beat you up?" he declared flippantly.
Lestrange, in response, laughed again, her shrill laughter causing Michael to wince.
"So baby Potter thinks he can play with the grown ups eh?" she yells back. "Crucio!" Bellatrix snapped her wand forward and yelled out the unforgivable, which struck Michael in the chest. The unfortunate Michael fell immediately and succumbed to its painful effects. "Music to my ears," Bellatrix sighed out as Michael continued to scream.
The other Death Eaters ignored Bellatrix's fun time with Michael and continue to stalk forwards ever so slowly, gaining ground foot by foot. Eventually they reached the edge of Hogsmeade, but they did not stop there. They continued to prowl forwards, and as they passed each building, several Reducto's and Bombarda's would strike out and demolish the stores. Finally, the group reached the center of Hogsmeade, and a lot of pops sounded the air.
The Order of the Pheonix has arrived.
The ragtag group of fighters shot out a barrage of Stupefy's. The enemy Death Eaters that were hit paused for a second before they continued to advance. All attacks against the buildings and civilians stopped. Their wands were instead aimed at the vigilantes, who increased the attack. Stray bolts of red light lit up the sky. The Death Eaters continued to march, and they had not open fired on the Order yet. One Order member chose that time to fire a more damaging curse than the stunning curse
"Bombarda!" the man yelled. The curse streaked right towards one of the Death Eaters, and it smashed into his head. His companions were showered in a rain of blood and brains, but they continued to move onwards as if a curse hadn't just blown up their comrade's head. The Order members balked at this ruthlessness, but then something even more surprising (and scary) happened. The headless Death Eater's body picked itself up and brandished its wand at the Order, continuing to advance forward with his fellow soldiers.
The Order members stared in shock at the moving corpse. "They're zombies!" the same man yelled out in fear, as he took a step back in fear. Zombies and inferi are quite different from each other. Inferi were used as moving shields back in the Middle Ages when Necromancy was quite popular. Resurrecting dead corpses to just stumble around was the work of a normal amateur necromancer. Zombies were considered to be a more advanced form of Necromancy, and were considered to be the work of master necromancers. The zombies had no mind of its own, but it could take more complex orders than the inferi. If the corpse used to make the zombie was a wizard, the zombie would then also be able to use magic, which is what made zombies so much more dangerous. Another big difference between zombies and inferi is that decapitation and fire works wonders on inferi. On the other hand, zombies needed to be bludgeoned to pieces or melted down.
Dumbledore, shocked at how Voldemort managed to procure the services of a master necromancer (as they were quite rare and hard to find; it was rumored that master necromancers never offered their services for anyone, since they preferred to stay in the shadows), snapped back to attention. "Kingsley, Nymphadora, find the necromancer controlling these undead and do whatever is necessary to stop him! The rest of you, use bludgeoning and fire curses only!" he yelled, all semblance of an elderly man gone. Dumbledore himself jabbed his elegant wand forward and with a nonverbal command, a spew of fire was unleashed upon the front lines of the moving undead. The ones that were hit by the scorching fire burned to a pile of bones and sludge on the ground.
A flurry of Incendio's, Reducto's, and Bombarda's slammed into the enemy forces, and while many were defeated, the rest continued on mindlessly, still not firing any curses. The Order members were slowly being pushed back, and they all took small steps towards the gates of Hogwarts.
By now, all the villagers and students (except for the Golden Trio of course) were evacuated. Soon, the attacking forces were forced to retreat into Hogwarts. The gate slammed and shut, and the advancing Death Eaters suddenly stood at attention.
On one side of the Hogwarts gates stood the Order of the Pheonix and any capable students, who had rushed out moments ago. On the other side, stood the insane Bellatrix Lestrange and a legion of undead zombies dressed in Death Eater garb.
The two sides stared each other down. After a minute of this, the zombie Death Eaters pulled their wands back in unison to begin the wand movements of the killing curse. "Avada-"
Boom!
The rear flank of the Death Eaters was suddenly torn apart from the blast. All present turned to look at the source that caused the explosion. Everyone was shocked when a lone figure emerged from the smoke. It seemed that a third side has joined the war.
Author's Note: No matter what I tried, I couldn't get myself to explain how I wanted the Joker mask to look like. So here's a picture: the fifth one down on the left side, and it's called comedy paper mache mask. The color is similar to what I imagined it to be, but the holes that make up the eyes aren't "evil-looking" enough for me. But just picture that mask when you think of the Joker's mask.