Magic, Curses and Gods Amongst Men || HP x JJK

Abernathy raised his eyebrows. "I didn't expect to see you here, Harry Potter."

"But I'm glad you are."

Abernathy's smile widened until he was grinning ear to ear, thrilled to see Harry Potter, the one who had humiliated him so badly the last time they met. Revenge had been foremost on his mind, and he would've confronted the boy earlier had Grindelwald not forbidden it. But now, with Harry here, it seemed he had no choice.

Harry found himself momentarily confused when he stepped through the Floo fireplace into the Delacour Chateau. Of course, that confusion quickly turned to anger as he realized who was present and what they were doing. He had decided to come to the Chateau on a whim; Louis had said he needed to rest, and Harry agreed on some level. He also wanted to see Yennefer and Ciri, to check if they were okay. He had never considered that Grindelwald himself would come to or even find the Chateau.

"Abernathy..." Harry said in an emotionless voice. He looked down at Fleur, bruised, beaten, and covered in blood, drifting in and out of consciousness. "I've been hoping to see you again as well," Harry said as he raised his head to face Abernathy.

Abernathy started laughing. "If you think this will go how it went last time, then you are mistaken. I won't underestimate you again. This time, I will go all out from the—"

BOOM

Harry launched himself at Abernathy mid-sentence, slamming his magic-enhanced fist into his chest and sending him crashing through multiple walls, out of the house, and into the garden. Harry then moved to Fleur, gently lifting her and sitting her up on one of the sofas.

"Fleur! Are you awake? Fleur!" he called, trying to get her attention. Her eyes fluttered open, and she focused on him for a moment.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked, dazed.

Harry lightly slapped her cheek. "You're not dreaming, Fleur! I need you to pay attention!" he said urgently. However, Fleur fell unconscious again.

Harry stood up, clasped his hands together, and summoned Taurus. "Take Fleur and the rest of the girls to the war room. Keep them safe," he instructed his summons.

"Boss... you should get who you can and leave. Someone bad is out there," Taurus advised, glancing out the window.

Harry grabbed some Floo powder off the shelf and threw it into the fireplace. "Belgium Ministry Atrium," he said. Instead of the fire igniting into a large brilliant flame, it fizzled out.

"It seems they've warded against outgoing travel but didn't bother to ward against incoming travel," Harry remarked, likely because they didn't expect anyone to show up.

"Take her and go," Harry said to Taurus, turning his gaze toward the wall where Abernathy had crashed through.

"You got it, boss," Taurus said as he lifted Fleur's small body onto his shoulder and left the room. A few moments later, Abernathy exploded back into the room, his fist cocked back. Harry caught the punch, causing a shockwave that shattered the windows.

"You humiliated me in front of Lord Grindelwald! For that, I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life!" Abernathy shouted as he drew back, throwing a punch aimed at Harry's liver. But Harry deflected the strike to the side, causing Abernathy to overextend. Harry took advantage and slammed his elbow into Abernathy's jaw, sending him crashing through the furniture.

Harry cracked his neck as he approached Abernathy. "Your strength lies in your physical abilities and hand-to-hand combat, both of which mean nothing now," Harry said as he dodged a kick from the acolyte and deflected a barrage of punches. "You wouldn't last a day in the Pit..." he added with a bored expression before stepping inside Abernathy's guard and slamming his fist into his stomach, making Abernathy sputter and grab his gut.

Abernathy roared and threw a right cross. Harry leaned back, kicked Abernathy's knee to the side, and made him stumble forward. Harry then grabbed Abernathy's head and slammed his knee into it. He turned and threw Abernathy across the room, following it up with a barrage of banishers that sent Abernathy through multiple walls.

Abernathy was thrown outside, slamming into a tree, cracking its trunk. He groaned as he stood up, the pain numbed by the rage boiling inside him. He let more magic flow through his body, his muscles bulging, making him stronger and faster. When Harry appeared outside, Abernathy rushed at him.

"You're weak, Abernathy. Much weaker than Krafft was," Harry said.

"RAAAHH!!" Abernathy screamed as he threw a powerful punch at Harry. The young wizard crossed his arms, blocking the strike, though the force made him skid back through the earth. Abernathy rushed forward again.

"I'm going to punch your left!" he shouted before doing so, his fist connecting with Harry, who blocked again. However, the punch was much more powerful this time, lifting Harry off his feet and sending him flying through the air. Abernathy pushed off his feet, following Harry. He leaped. "I'm going to kick your center!" he shouted, drawing his foot back and smashing it into Harry, sending him slamming into the ground.

Despite blocking the kick, the impact still made Harry's bones creak under the pressure. He also couldn't avoid the damage from being slammed into the ground.

"On your left!" Abernathy shouted, and a second later, he was there, slamming his foot into Harry, sending him skidding across the ground.

Harry dug his hand into the earth, slowing his momentum. Abernathy wasn't giving him any time to rest, though, throwing another punch. This time, however, Harry didn't block. He slipped past the punch, launching a back kick at the back of Abernathy's knee, forcing him down. Harry then spun, launching a roundhouse kick that connected with Abernathy's head, sending him flipping over multiple times.

Harry unsheathed his wand and conjured a lightning whip that wrapped around Abernathy's leg. With a powerful pull, he flung Abernathy through multiple trees, channeling electricity into his body, making the acolyte scream.

Eventually, Abernathy freed his wand and sent out a repelling wave, forcing Harry back and dispelling the lightning whip. As they stood, they both sent spells at each other, the clash sparking violently. Harry pushed more power through the duel, and after a few moments, Abernathy was launched back. Before he could smash into a tree, he cast a softening charm to break his momentum. Back on the ground, Abernathy blocked and deflected multiple spells from Harry, then rushed into the small forest within the Delacour estate. Harry chased after him, casting spells and shooting lightning bolts from his wand.

Abernathy dodged and blocked with shields as Harry animated the trees, making the branches whip out and try to grab him. Abernathy began to struggle, the stunners getting closer and closer. He roared, summoning a wave of fire with his wand, swirling it above him to burn the branches and obscure himself from sight.

But Harry wasn't fooled. He summoned a gust of wind to blow the flames out, only to find that Abernathy had vanished.

Abernathy leaped out from behind a group of trees, hoping to surprise Harry, but Harry ducked beneath the kick. "You think just because something's blocking my vision that I can't see you?" Harry mocked with a laugh.

Harry jumped up, slamming his knee into Abernathy's spine, then fired a blood-boiling spell at point-blank range. Abernathy was sent crashing through a tree, writhing on the ground in pain.

Abernathy aimed his wand at himself, muttering the countercurse. Harry found it amusing and was tempted to let him finish, but he wouldn't underestimate someone capable of opening a domain. Harry fired a bone-breaking curse at Abernathy's hand, shattering the bones and causing him to drop his wand.

Abernathy was a wizard's nightmare—someone who focused on physical power and combat rather than conventional spellwork. But it was a shame for Abernathy that he was facing Harry, someone trained by a martial arts master. Harry found himself disappointed by how easy the fight had been. In their first encounter, Harry had been pushed to new heights, even using a black flash for the first time, giving him a much deeper understanding of his magic.

"Abernathy... you're a disappointment," Harry said, looking down at Grindelwald's acolyte.

Abernathy, still shaking from the blood-boiling curse, scowled. "G-Grindelwald... w-will kill you!" he growled, blood pouring from his nose and ears.

"Maybe... maybe not," Harry said with a shrug. "You'll never know." He placed his foot on Abernathy's neck and began to press down. Abernathy struggled, grabbing Harry's foot and trying to lift it, but he couldn't. Harry continued to apply pressure. Abernathy's struggles weakened, his blows turning into weak slaps against Harry's leg. Harry stared down at him, then reached up and pulled off his blindfold. He wanted to watch Abernathy take his last breath with his own eyes. He wanted to see the light die in them.

Snap

Abernathy went limp. Harry watched as the spark in his eyes faded and glazed over. Harry removed his foot, then leaned down and grabbed Abernathy's wand, adding it to his collection.

He then touched Abernathy's body and apparated them both with a crack.

...

"AHHHHHHH!!!" Louis screamed as he was thrown to the ground. Flames of the deepest red crawled up his arms, sizzling his skin and burning away the dragon hide he wore. He lifted his wand, trying to fire a spell, but a disarming charm struck him, sending his wand flying into the hand of Grindelwald, who approached with his acolytes and Lyra.

Aurelius, Macduff, Carrow, and Zabini followed behind their lord, watching as he toyed with Louis Delacour like a child.

"You are a strong wizard, Monsieur Delacour, which is why it disappoints me so much that I must dispatch you," Grindelwald said as he stowed the man's wand.

On the ground next to Louis lay his wife, Apolline, desperately trying to extinguish the flames, but no water or ice could stop them.

"Please! Stop, I beg you!" Apolline screamed, summoning more water, though it was difficult for her to cast spells that ran counter to her Veela nature.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, mademoiselle. Your husband has caused too many setbacks," Grindelwald said. After speaking, the flames intensified, and Louis screamed louder. Even Apolline, with her high fire affinity, had to move back as the flames burned her skin. Louis continued to scream, his skin turning black. Through the pain, he turned to Apolline and mouthed the words:

'I love you.'

Apolline began to cry, helplessly watching the flames consume her husband.

"Do not cry for him. He died doing his duty. That is the best death a man can hope for," Grindelwald said.

Apolline turned to him, her eyes blazing with fury, and raised her wand. "Avada Kedavra!" she screamed, the sickly green spell shooting toward Grindelwald. However, Grindelwald simply conjured a flock of birds, catching the spell. One bird dropped dead before dissipating.

"Impressive, to harness the hate required to cast that spell. You must've loved your husband," Grindelwald said, disarming Apolline and conjuring bindings that tied her to the ground.

"I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand!" Apolline spat.

Grindelwald knelt in front of her, ignoring her thrashing. "As surprising as it may seem, I do understand the pain you're feeling. I know what it's like to have your love torn away from you... I am sorry," he said, his voice almost sincere.

"Your 'eart is black! You feel no love! You killed a good man!" she spat.

"He was a good man, but he had to die. He stood in the way of change—of a better world," Grindelwald replied.

"You only wish for a world where you stand unchallenged!" Apolline shouted.

Grindelwald stood again. "No one has sacrificed more for our kind than I have. I gave up love. I gave up happiness, all so wizardkind may have a better future. One day, you will all see." Grindelwald raised his wand and sent a small sphere of fire toward the Chateau, engulfing the main house in flames.

"NOO!" Apolline screamed, watching her home, where her children were, erupt into flames and explode. She could only desperately beg for help.

Crack

Apparating nearby was someone Apolline recognized. Harry stood a few feet from her, Abernathy's dead body at his side. With a snap of his wand, Harry cut through Apolline's bindings.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked. But Apolline was speechless, overwhelmed by the loss of her husband and the destruction of her home. Her children were inside.

Harry followed her gaze to the burnt corpse nearby. Despite its charred appearance, Harry recognized Louis from his magical signature.

"Louis..." Harry muttered, fists tightening.

Grindelwald tensed at the sight of Harry, especially seeing him arrive with the dead body of one of his stronger acolytes. He hadn't known Harry was so close to the Delacour family.

Lyra, standing near Grindelwald, had gone pale, her mind racing with echoes of her master's words.

You can't defy fate.

Was this it? Was Harry here to kill Grindelwald? Could they stop him?

"Harry Potter... I didn't expect to see you here," Grindelwald called out. "I had thought I wouldn't see you again until I came to collect you."

"I'm sorry to disappoint," Harry said, his emotionless facade cracking as he looked at Louis's lifeless body. Louis had been a good man, someone who always tried to do right by everyone. He didn't deserve to die in front of his wife, in his own home.

"I don't suppose you've reconsidered your answer? A wizard of your caliber on our side could end this war, bring an end to the division between wizards, the bigotry of the purebloods, and craft a world of peace for all magicals," Grindelwald said passionately.

Harry stared at him for a long moment before slowly removing his blindfold and throwing it to the ground. Red sparks began to build up around his body, his hair swaying from the static electricity. His eyes shifted from crystal blue to a glowing red as he drew more power from the stone.

"Gellert Grindelwald... I am going to kill you!" Harry hissed as his wand appeared in his hand.

A shockwave pulsed out of Harry, sending chills through everyone present. Harry wandlessly pushed Apolline out of the way and raised his wand, ready for battle.

"Kill him now! All of you!" Lyra shouted to the acolytes, the prophecy pounding in her mind. Seeing Harry's power made her tremble.

But before the acolytes could move, Grindelwald raised his hand. "No! I will handle this. None of you are to interfere. With the power of the Philosopher's Stone, Harry is beyond you."

"My Lord... please don't do this," Lyra said desperately.

"Do not worry, my dear. I will be fine," Grindelwald said, pressing the back of his hand to her face. "Now move. All of you... Aurelius, you know what to do."

"Yes, my Lord," Aurelius said before apparating away.

Moments later, only Grindelwald and Harry remained, standing on opposite sides of the field under the high moon. Power thrummed around Harry as he prepared to go all out against the Dark Lord before him.

"There was no need to say goodbye. Your acolytes will be joining you shortly," Harry said, venom dripping from his voice.

Grindelwald remained expressionless as the tension between them built. A moment later, they both raised their wands, casting spells that clashed midair. Grindelwald didn't allow the clash to linger, twirling his wand to whip the beam, sending an influx of power toward Harry, breaking the connection and pushing him back.

Harry retaliated with a chain of dark spells, each aimed to kill or maim. He fired off five before even hitting the ground. As he landed, red sparks erupted at his feet, causing the earth to shift. Spikes erupted from the ground, rushing toward Grindelwald as Harry continued to fire spells.

"Transfiguration was never my strong suit," Grindelwald chuckled as he apparated to Harry's left. However, the spikes shifted direction, even more erupting from the ground. Harry caused the terrain to rumble, trying to make Grindelwald trip, but the Dark Lord remained sure-footed, batting away the incoming spells.

Grindelwald cast a spell Harry had never seen before. It shot from his wand like a white net, turning Harry's spikes into dust.

"You'll have to do better than that if you wish to kill me, Harry," Grindelwald taunted, tapping his wand against his palm.

Harry roared, firing a stream of lightning at Grindelwald. The Dark Lord summoned a shield made of water, blocking the bolt. Harry then twisted the stream of lightning into a whip, slashing at the shield. Grindelwald dispelled the water before catching the lightning whip with his wand, taking control of it and dragging Harry off his feet, slamming him to the ground.

Growling, Harry slammed his hand into the ground, causing the terrain around them to shift wildly. Pillars shot up from the ground, and the earth crumbled beneath them. Grindelwald leaped onto one of the rising pillars, and Harry apparated after him. He transfigured the pillar ahead of Grindelwald into snakes, launching them at the Dark Lord. Grindelwald summoned a wave of fire, incinerating the snakes, then batted away Harry's bone-breaker curse aimed at his neck.

Harry ducked under Grindelwald's next spell and threw a punch with all the power he could muster. Grindelwald slipped left, slashing his wand as he did, nearly decapitating Harry. Grindelwald then shot Harry with an implosion curse, crushing the right side of his body.

However, Harry was channeling so much power from the stone that his body regenerated in seconds. He slipped forward, raising his leg and kicking Grindelwald in the chest, launching him back through a shifting pillar. Apparating above him, Harry fired pure magic at Grindelwald, the force slamming him into the ground with the power of a bomb. Harry landed near the crater, only to see blue flames moving over Grindelwald's body as he lay in the center.

When Grindelwald stood, his body was fully healed from the damage.

"Disappointed? You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Grindelwald asked.

Harry fired another lightning bolt, but Grindelwald caught it with his wand and sent it into the ground. Harry placed his hand on the earth, summoning hundreds of golems that surrounded the crater. He then began firing spell after spell as the golems rushed Grindelwald, eager to tear the Dark Lord apart.

Grindelwald shielded against the spells, watching as the golems drew closer. He then sent a banishing hex at Harry, overpowering his shield and sending him flying. Grindelwald twirled his wand above his head. "Protego Diabolica," he murmured, summoning a ring of blue fire around him. The golems that crossed the flame were instantly turned to ash. The rest were engulfed in flames as Grindelwald took control and destroyed them. He then flicked his wand, shaping the flames into a dragon, which he sent after Harry.

Harry moved quickly, red lightning sparking under his feet as he transfigured the ground around him for cover, trying to snuff out the flames. He did something he had never done while using the stone—something only achieved through advanced transfiguration.

Draining more power from the stone, Harry transfigured the rising earth around him into water, which clashed with the flaming dragon pursuing him. With his wand in hand, he took control of the water, thrusting his wand forward to meet the dragon. Grindelwald tried to keep the dragon burning, but in the end, Harry's water overwhelmed it.

The water surrounding Harry surged toward Grindelwald, then transfigured into two massive ice dragons that roared as they closed in. "You are powerful, Harry... but how much of that power is truly yours?" Grindelwald's voice echoed, carried by magic.

"Flames of Rebirth Reversal: Hellfire."

Red flames ignited around Grindelwald, and with a flick of his wand, a stream of flames collided with the ice dragons Harry had sent toward him.

BOOM

Harry shielded his eyes as a massive steam explosion erupted, forcing both wizards back. He summoned a gust of wind to clear the steam and found Grindelwald standing unharmed, red flames still surrounding him.

"My hellfire is even hotter than fiendfyre and much more aggressive... I'll give you one chance to surrender, Harry," Grindelwald shouted.

"You died the moment you attacked Hogwarts," Harry replied without hesitation.

Power thrummed through the air as Harry clasped his hands together.

"Ocean of my soul

The King who sleeps in the deep

The World Shaker

He Who Wraps Around the World

Arise, Pisces, from the depths

King of the Sea: Jormungandr!"

With a flash of light and a deafening roar, a massive serpent-like creature appeared behind Harry, coiled and ready to strike. It dwarfed Taurus's king form, standing at nearly forty feet tall.

Grindelwald's cloak billowed in the wind as the serpent roared, a smile spreading across his face. "Such power... I would expect nothing less from a descendant of Merlin!" he shouted. Red flames formed wings on Grindelwald's back as he ascended into the sky, gathering more fire around him.

Harry frowned, wondering how Grindelwald had learned that information, but at the moment, it didn't matter. "Jormungandr!" Harry shouted.

The serpent roared in response, and the air around them grew heavy. Pisces's ability allowed it to manipulate water, and in its king form, it could draw water directly from the atmosphere. Harry drew his wand, summoning vast amounts of water as he transfigured the ground.

Grindelwald floated above, watching as a literal tsunami of water surged toward him, surrounding him on nearly every side. He raised his wand before his face and closed his eyes.

"Light in the Dark

Shining Brilliance

Prometheus

The First Light

Sacred Flame of Creation

Magic Reversal Maximum Technique: The Morningstar."

The flames around Grindelwald shifted from deep red to white, including the ones on his back. He pointed his wand forward, summoning a small white flame the size of a tennis ball.

"Burn," Grindelwald whispered.

A moment of silence followed.

Harry felt something was wrong. Jormungandr sensed it too. The moment the serpent saw Grindelwald's flames turn white, it wrapped itself around Harry, and it was a good thing it did.

The small white flame exploded in a bright flash, evaporating all the water rushing toward Grindelwald and scorching the earth in a mile-wide radius. Jormungandr was burned away, dispelled, while Harry lay on the ground, half of his body missing. Grindelwald descended from the sky, his flames returning to red as he landed in front of Harry.

Harry struggled to speak, barely clinging to life. Even the stone was struggling to heal the damage done to him, but it did. Harry pushed himself to his knees, his body severely crippled from overusing the stone. He could barely raise his wand, let alone fight.

"I spent many nights worrying about you, Harry," Grindelwald said, kneeling beside him. "I thought you'd be my downfall. I honestly did. Yet, it seems you are years away from being a true challenge to me, even with the stone."

Multiple cracks echoed as Grindelwald's acolytes apparated back. But they weren't alone. Each acolyte held a hostage—Fleur, Yennefer, Ciri, Gabrielle, and Apolline. They all had wands pressed against their throats.

"Speaking of the stone, Harry, I'd like you to hand it over," Grindelwald said gently.

Harry looked up at him, then spat on the ground. "Why don't you just take it?" he asked in a strained voice.

Grindelwald smiled. "Your headmaster cast a rather ingenious spell on the stone, linking it to you. It cannot be taken by force. It can only be given."

"Then go fuck yourself," Harry rasped before coughing up blood.

"I thought you might say that," Grindelwald said.

"Execute them. Start with the little ones," Grindelwald instructed his acolytes.

Harry's eyes widened as he looked at Ciri and Gabrielle. Two acolytes had green sparks at the tips of their wands, ready to cast the Killing Curse.

"No! Wait! Stop!" Harry shouted, but they didn't stop. The first syllables of the Killing Curse began to form on their lips.

"I'll give you the stone!" Harry screamed at Grindelwald.

Grindelwald raised his hand, and the acolytes halted.

"I'll give you the stone if you give me your word that you'll leave them alone—that you won't harm them or allow them to be harmed," Harry said, his fists tightening.

Grindelwald nodded. "You have my word, Harry. I do not enjoy killing our kind. I only do so when necessary. They will not be harmed and will be allowed to go wherever they wish. I swear it."

Harry wanted to demand a magical vow, but he knew Grindelwald would never agree to it. This was the best he could hope for. Summoning the stone into his hand, Harry held it out to Grindelwald.

"I relinquish the stone to you," Harry said, his voice tight with emotion.

Grindelwald took the stone from Harry's hand and gasped as power flooded his body. He had never imagined it could feel like this. He pocketed the stone.

"Thank you, Harry. You've done more for wizardkind than you'll ever know," Grindelwald said, raising his wand.

"No!" Fleur screamed, thrashing against Macduff.

"You said you'd let us go!" Yennefer cried out.

Grindelwald turned to them. "I said I'd let you go. Harry, I'm afraid, is too dangerous to be left alive."

The girls screamed and cried as Grindelwald turned back to Harry, his wand glowing green. A fitting end, he thought, to kill Harry with the same spell that had nearly taken his life as a baby.

"I wish things could be different..." Grindelwald said, genuinely regretting that Harry hadn't joined him.

"Me too..." Harry muttered, though his wish for a different life was far from Grindelwald's.

A moment passed between them as Harry lowered his head, closing his eyes. In that moment, he felt a thrum from deep within his soul.

"Avada Kedavra!"

The green light left Grindelwald's wand, striking Harry and causing him to crumple to the ground.

(AN: So the big battle between Harry and Grindelwald is now over, the final battle is on the horizon. I know I keep saying that but it's basically true. I reckon two more chapters left until the final battle and the end of the first arc. Wooooooo. Shame Harry's dead, but tbf I've always wanted to kill a Main character and subvert everyone's expectations. I wonder who is gonna be the main character now, maybe Ron? Or Dudley? Or Cedric Or James. Who knows man. Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter.)

(PS: I do not want to hear any bitching about how I'm nerfing Harry by taking away the stone, he was never going to keep it. Relying on the stone stops him from developing his own abilities and it's a crutch for transfiguration, I want Harry to get to that level by himself)

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