DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. The Oz series was originally created by L. Frank Baum and is now owned by the International Wizard of Oz Club and Walt Disney Pictures Inc. while the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz was produced by Metro Golden Meyer though recently re-released by Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N This fic is almost finished. I just need to really convince myself to sit in front of my word processor and start typing. Now, I just have to remind myself to finish this fic before the 27th. Otherwise, I won't be able to finish it till July.
Chapter 13: The Shrine and the Deception
When Hermione came to, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on purple grass. That in it self might have been alarming for most people but ever since Hermione had learned she was a witch, she had learned to expect the unusual.
Hermione groggily sat up, trying to ignore her pounding head. She noticed that all the plant life were different shades of purple and violet. That meant that they were in the Gillikan Country, the North region of Oz. She also noticed that Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Draco were also nearby still unconscious. Shaking her head a little, Hermione stood up and made her way over to the others.
"Ron, Ron, get up," she said while shaking him. Ron merely groaned and brushed her hand away. "Get up Ron," said Hermione, a little sternly.
"Ugh, five more minutes Mum," groaned Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly.
"Ron, there's a spider on your face," she said. That did the trick.
Ron leapt to his feet screaming, "AH! SPIDER! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" He started jumping around trying to brush the spider off as Hermione began chuckling. Ron's antics had woken the others up.
"You know, having spiders on your face is a sign that you have good fertility," said Luna as she sat up. "Lucky me."
"Ugh, that's too much information for me," said Ginny as she stretched.
"There isn't really a spider on his face," said Hermione. "I just told him that to get him to wake up."
Ron's temper quickly flared. "Hermione, I can't believe you..."
"Let it rest Ron," said Hermione. "We have a job to do right now."
"What job?" said both Ron and Ginny.
"There's only one reason why Harry sent us to the Gillikin country," said Hermione. "We're here to either take over or destroy the shrine."
"What shrine?" asked Ron.
"Weren't you listening to a single thing Ozma was saying?" snapped Hermione. "There's a shrine here in the North. Its what controls all the protections of Oz and we have to either take control of it or destroy it."
"Well OK then," exclaimed Ginny. "What are we waiting around for lets get moving!' She made her way over to Draco whom was looking around dazedly. "Move Draco!"
"Wow, look at all that purple," said Draco dreamily.
* * *
Back at the Emerald City, Voldemort had led Harry and Ozma to the throne room, placing them under the guard of two Nomes. Both Harry and Ozma's hands were bound and Voldemort had Harry's wand hidden within his robes. "It is such a shame we had to run into each other again under such circumstances," said the Dark Lord.
"What do you plan on doing to us Dark One?" demanded Ozma, her tone defiant.
"Why princess, I thought the answer to that was quite obvious," said Voldemort as he leaned on the back of the throne, a smug grin on his face.
Ozma glared at Voldemort. "You wish to claim the power of the High Fairies for yourself," she said.
"Well done Princess! Wonderfully deduced!" Voldemort exclaimed mockingly, flinging his hands into the air. "Long ago, your mother Lurline enchanted the whole land of Oz, transforming it into a fairy kingdom. The vast amount of magic Lurline churned into the very bonds of this land to hold it together are far superior to the powers of even the greatest wizards and witches from Hogwarts. If I can claim it for my own, nothing, not Dumbledore, not Potter here, nothing can stop my ascension to ultimate power." He pulled out his wand and pointed it back and forth between Harry and Ozma.
"Unfortunately, shortly after I captured the Emerald City and you Ozma, Glinda managed to summon my old enemy, Harry Potter to Oz. Potter has thwarted me in the past; I couldn't just allow this potential threat to run around unchecked. So before I made the claim for Oz's powers, I lured Harry into a trap." Voldemort smirked at Harry who merely glared back at him. "But, now that Potter is safely back in my care I can go back to claiming the power of Oz for myself."
Something glinted in Harry's eye. He caught Ozma's eye before turning to Voldemort and saying, "And just how do you plan on going about this?"
Voldemort looked thoughtful. "Hmm, well I figured using the Cruciatus on Ozma until she tells me how to gain the powers of the High Fairies would be a good enough plan."
"Oh but you won't need to do that," said Harry with a shrug.
Voldemort stared at Harry as if he were mad. "And why won't I be needing to do that?" he asked.
To the Dark Lord's surprise, Harry smirked. "Because," he said, "I already know how to access the powers of Oz."
Voldemort's face twisted into confusion. He looked at Ozma who merely said nothing while looking passive. He turned back to Harry and spat, "And you would tell me this, why?"
"Well, now that I really think about it," said Harry, still smirking, "where has living all these years as a goody-two-shoes led me to? A dead Godfather and cursed muggle relatives who think of me as nothing more than the scum of the world. For years, I've been nothing more than a pawn in Dumbledore's game of cat and mouse. I'm sick of this. I want to take up that offer you gave me 5 years ago. I'd like to join you by your side."
Voldemort looked thoughtful. "And what's in it for me?" he demanded.
"Well I'm the only one with 'the power to vanquish the Dark Lord' aren't I?" said Harry, quoting from the bit of the prophecy Voldemort knew. "Wouldn't it be much more to your advantage if the only one who could vanquish you were on your side?"
Voldemort still looked skeptical. "And I suppose you'd like me to make you my second in command, eh?"
"Ah yes," said Harry looking delighted. "Actually that was one of three conditions I had."
"Three?"
"Well my other condition would be that you spare a certain Hermione Granger. I'd like to have her in my care."
"The mudblood you befriended," said the Dark Lord. "A personal play thing for yourself?"
"You've read my mind," said Harry. "The third one is a bit more optional but I would rather not have the Dark Mark. As your second in command I want to be recognized as above your Death Eater minions. So what do you say? Master?"
Voldemort looked toward Ozma who merely glared back at him, seemingly not having heard anything that was said. He turned to Harry and said, "We have an agreement." He waved his hands and the ropes binding Harry's hands dissolved away.
Harry smirked and bowed. "Excellent. You will not regret this my lord."
"And now, the powers of Oz?" asked Voldemort.
"Oh its actually quite simple," said Harry. "Lurline had set the magic of this land up so that they will be accessed by one of her fairies sitting on the throne of Oz. To gain the powers of Oz, you simply have to sit Ozma on the throne."
* * *
"There it is," said Ginny. She and the Hogwarts students had located the so-called shrine that held the protections of Oz in place. It was a large violet colored rock about 20 feet high and shaped like an egg. Four Nomes and three Death Eater guarded the shrine. The Hogwarts students were hidden behind a ledge.
"What's the analysis?" asked Ron.
"Four Nomes and three Death Eaters," said Hermione. "And you're not going to believe this, but one of these Death Eaters happens to be none other than our favorite, Bellatrix Black Lestrange."
"Oh perfect," groaned Ron.
"That shrine, looks like a pinolem," said Luna.
"I'm not even asking," said Ron.
"Well I think it is a pinolem," said Luna, "so if we hit it right dead on in the center it'll crack in half."
"You think that will work with this thing?" asked Ginny.
"We won't know until we try," said Hermione. "Lets take this one step at a time. First we take care of the Nomes and the Death Eaters and then we decide what to do with the shrine." She looked around and said, "There doesn't look like too many places for cover. We'll have to take them out fast." She turned to the others and started laying out her plan. "Ginny, Luna, I want you two to stun the Nomes. Transfigure something into eggs if you can't stun them. Ron and I will stun or at least disarm the Death Eaters. Draco... you stay here."
"Stay here?" asked Draco dreamily. "Where are you all going?"
"We're going to take care of that mad aunt of yours," snapped Ron.
"I have an aunt?" asked Draco.
"Now is not the time for that," said Hermione. "Everybody, its time to show what we learned all last year in Dumbledore's Army. Good luck and be careful."
Silently, the Hogwarts students pulled out their wands. Then, without saying anything, they charged the Death Eaters and Nomes, taking them by surprise.
* * *
Back at the throne room Ozma was now seated on the throne. She was in a semi-comatose state as the magic of Oz slowly started gathering around her head, little by little rippling in power. Voldemort was standing in front of the throne eagerly anticipating the release of magic. Harry was idly standing by the window, starring at the sky.
"Well, I must hand it to you Harry," said Voldemort. "I always knew that underneath that shell, a deceptive wizard was waiting to be released.
"Well it just shows that you can't tell a book by its cover," said Harry. "I guess I really am a deceptive wizard afterall. Accio!"
In a surprising bout of wandless magic, Harry's wand flew out of Voldemort's robes and into his hand. Before Voldemort could react Harry had stunned the two Nomes and turned his wand on the Dark Lord.
The confused look on the Dark Lord's face quickly turned to a malicious grin. "'Deceptive', I see." Within seconds, the throne room was filled with the lights and bangs of a wizard's duel.
A/N I am almost finished with this fic: just two more chapters to go in fact. Everybody, remind me to finish this fic before the 27th. And just trust me to get this done.