KenderCleric's Challenge #12 - Origin of the Game

Summary:

Dateline August 21st, 2002
Harry Potter and You-Know-Who Vanish during duel!

Late last evening Harry Potter and members of the vigilante Anti-Death Eater organization known as the Order of the Phoenix met the You-Know-Who's forces head on. At shortly past seven pm on the 20th Death Eaters appeared at the Ministry of Magic. According to inside sources the Ministry wards fell at exactly twenty-two past seven allowing Death Eaters access.

While Aurors had arrived on the scene only moments after the initial attack on the wards they were no match for the overwhelming Death Eater numbers. Reports indicate it was nearly a 4:1 ratio. While a small contingent of You-Know-Who's servants remained outside the Ministry to hold off the Aurors the rest entered. Their destination was the same as the last Death Eater infiltration of the Ministry in 1996: the Department of Mysteries.

It is unclear at this time what the target of the raid was, but it matters little now. Apparently tipped off by sources unknown Harry Potter, Chosen One and Savior of the Light, and Order members were waiting for the Death Eaters inside the DoM. While details are still coming in at this late hour sources among the Aurors and Department of Magical Law Enforcement say that the battle between Potter, the Order, and the Death Eaters was one for the records.

Just as happened so many years ago when the Death Eaters had been beaten You-Know-Who himself arrived on the scene. Harry Potter himself engaged the Dark Lord in a duel while Order members secured the remaining Death Eaters. Potter and You-Know-Who dueled throughout the length and breadth of the Department of Mysteries. It was a display of skill and power that many witnesses say reminded them of the famed duel between the late Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort in the lobby of the Ministry in 1995.

The duel, while incredible, didn't seem to be making any progress. Potter and the Dark Lord were apparently too perfect a match for one another and many witnesses began to wonder if either could come out on top. As the two titans of magical power combated one another into the "Time Chamber" (see Department of Mysteries Unveiled) the tides of battle changed. Potter managed to set off some sort of explosion behind You-Know-Who that caught him unaware.

Just as many believed that the battle was won for the Light a second explosion rocked the Time Chamber. When the light, smoke, and debris from the explosion faded both You-Know-Who and Harry Potter had vanished. Experts are still trying to determine both the cause of the explosion and the fate of both the Wizarding World's Savior and Bane.

We at the Daily Prophet will keep you, our devoted readers, up to date with the latest insider news as more details become available.


Countless ages have past since that fateful day in the Department of Mysteries. It will only be a few short years now before time has caught up to itself. The irony of it all is that Voldemort and I are still no closer to killing one another. Years passed after that accident in the Time Chamber before either of us realized exactly what we'd started.

I can say with complete honesty that setting off a massive chain reaction between every bit of time magic the Department of Mysteries had was a lousy idea. Sure I didn't mean for it to happen, but that's a bit of a Gryffindorish reaction if I do say so. Having now met the man I can confirm Godric was very much the "act first, say 'oops' later" kind of guy.

So many countless years Voldemort and I have struggled against one another. Our clashes have had unexpected consequences though. Hell, our duel in the DoM had unexpected consequences...everything else has just been bloody bizarre.

Thanks to that explosion we found ourselves back in time so far that the written word was the inspiring new concept amongst most people. We had been changed somehow by the energy released in the explosion. Voldemort actually looked like his old human self again, and every one of my old scars and aches had vanished except the one on my forehead. There was a tangible energy that seemed to reside comfortably just under our skin now and it called to us. The energy wanted to be reunited.

As if we didn't have enough reason to try and kill one another before. Oh how we tried to kill one another. You can not possibly imagine the frustration of killing a man a dozen times over only to watch him get back up. My only consolation is that Voldemort suffered the same annoyance.

When we began to encounter people who wielded the still primal ability to use magic is when we found out the other side effects of our trip. Magic calls to itself apparently. If we spent too much time around another witch or wizard that odd energy below our skin would seep out and into the unsuspecting person. It would be a few hundred years before we figured out what it all meant. In the mean time both Voldemort and I plotted, schemed, and tried to do in another.

It was almost like a game.

Looking back on it I wish I had never made that analogy to anyone. Now the others do call it "The Game". Sure, they have no clue what it's really all about. They just know that the energy within them calls to itself and that if you lop off another carrier's head you get their power. Goody for you. They don't realize that there is no great prize for killing the most. In the end they're all just fodder for Voldemort and myself.

Oh yes. We will get that energy back some day...all of it. Then we will face each other again. We might not have known how to do each other in back in those early days, but we certainly do now. Our odd skirmishes throughout the ages haven't been anything more than that. It was painfully obvious that fate and that damn prophecy were still screwing with us. So long as the energy within us remains at differing levels we aren't equals.

When I see that fraud of a seer again I'm going to kill her. This is all her fault really.


The Challenge:

Inspired by Highlander. Write a fic that begins in 2002 with the battle described in the summary. The story should quickly detail the "birth" of the Immortals as a side effect of the magical explosion that sent Voldemort and Harry back in time. Pick up the main part of the story just as Harry and Voldemort "catch back up" with their own time after several thousands of years. The story should chronicle the events leading up to their true final battle including "The Gathering" of Immortals and ultimately the outcome of Voldemort and Harry's "game".


The Rules:

• Voldemort and Harry are the only Immortals who retain their magic. Immortals are born when the energy within Harry or Voldemort "bleeds" off into a child with magical potential. The energy bleed off changes the child's magic making them both a squib and potential Immortal.
• "The Game" and "Ultimate Prize" that most Immortals believe in is a twisted and out of context reference to the battle between Voldemort and Harry. They call their almost never-ending war against each other "the game" and the "Ultimate Prize" is to finally be rid of one or the other.
• Voldemort and Harry do encounter each other throughout time, but both mostly stay as hidden as possible. Neither wants to create a paradox in time that could only further complicate the damn prophecy.
• "The Gathering" is the time when Voldemort and Harry are, finally, nearly back to their original time and are ready to face one another. They must regather all the energy from the other Immortals before they can once again face one another as equals though.
• This fic is not HBP compliant. No Horcruxes.
• This ignores the craptastic origins of Immortals given in the 2nd movie. We shall all pretend that the movie was never made and be glad for it.

 

Thank you, thank you.

This story would be bloody epic if an author was good enough to pull it all together. Maybe it's at the upper parts of your 'to do' list, eh Kender? My only problem is that I see this being a Flairgold story and Harry Potter turns into supergod!Harry who is completely different from the hero we all know. That would be odd to adjust to, but if the transition could be done well I'd be as avid about this as I am about Shezza's story. You made up for your xce..okay, enough talking about that.

 

This idea could rock so hard it is not funny. The sheer scale of the story would be immense but would be one hell of a awesome read. I to hope that this story gets written.

 

And the plot bunny king strikes again! Nice one, Kender! I believe rep is due. This fic would be insanely awesome if someone took it up with enough skill. It leaves enough open that the writer can put int heir own style but the main plot is down pat. I wonder how it will all play out though.

I don't know if I got what you were saying but my interpretation is that they can only kill each other when they are equals and with the fluctuating power they get from sucking magic out of the 'immortals' they can't truly end each other's existance until they get to their own time when somehow their energy equals out.

 

Fairly close to what I was thinking. They're waiting to get back to their own time so that they don't accidentally muck up time and create a paradox. The last thing they need is to further complicate the prophecy.

Once they're back in their own time then they've got their freedom back so to speak. In order for them to be equals for the prophecy they have to reclaim all of the energy that has seeped out of them to create other Immortals; meaning the time of "The Gathering" the Immortals always speak of is when Harry and Voldemort will seek out the remaining Immortals to reclaim their Quickening. Once it's back down to just Harry and Voldemort then they can duke it out.

That's just how I invisioned it. Creative freeway is obviously given to the author.