Prologue: Screams of the Veiled Woods
She slithered through the mist.
A forked tongue flickered in the air. Leaves rustled as Nagini passed beneath the trees.
Ahead, flashes of light illuminated the forest, followed by the concussive whum, whum of spells striking magical barriers. Nagini drew closer.
Three wizards stood with their wands raised, unleashing spells at something lurking in the mist.
A towering, humanoid figure loomed among the trees, its silhouette outlined by a blue glow.
‘Incendio!’ a bulky wizard roared.
Flames engulfed the veiled creature.
The giant uttered strange words, invoking an ancient magic unlike anything Nagini had ever encountered. Vines erupted from the earth, and roots impaled one of the wizards. He dangled with his feet inches above the ground as the vines swelled, siphoning away his life essence.
Within seconds, he had withered into a husk.
He gasped once before his body crumbled into ash.
Another wizard transformed into a werewolf and charged on all fours. Vines lashed towards him, but he slashed them into chunks with his claws. The lycanthrope leapt at the giant.
A vine shot up and impaled his shoulder, driving him into the ground. He howled as it siphoned away his life essence. With a desperate slash, he severed the vine and staggered free, one arm withered and useless.
The giant turned its attention towards Nagini.
The snake reared up and hissed.
The creature raised a hand. Nagini caught sight of stone fingers as chunks of wood materialised in the air, spinning together before forming a cluster of sharpened spikes.
‘Expulso!’ one of the wizards shouted, thrusting out his wand.
An explosion erupted a heartbeat before the wooden spikes reached them. The blast scattered the projectiles in every direction, and several impaled Nagini.
She recoiled, coiling in on herself as she hissed in pain.
A swirling mass of smoke and ash streaked across the sky. It slammed into the ground, and Lord Voldemort emerged from the cloud.
His robes fluttered in the wind as he stood with his wand raised.
The giant roared and advanced. The ground shook beneath its every footfall as it loomed over him, a colossal figure crafted from grey stone, its eyes glowing emerald green.
It lifted one blocky foot.
Voldemort swept his wand through the air.
WAATHRUUUUUM!
A beam of magic erupted upwards, blasting through the giant’s foot and leg. Flickering red and green light bathed the forest as stone shattered. The colossus staggered backwards.
Voldemort snapped his wand towards it and unleashed a barrage of spells. Concussive blasts tore chunks from its body, sending rubble raining through the trees. He finished with a devastating strike to the head.
The giant’s skull shattered, and its entire body collapsed in a shower of pebbles.
Voldemort doubled over, breathing heavily. Only a few months had passed since the Triwizard Tournament, and he had yet to recover his full strength.
‘My lord, are you all right?’
Peter Pettigrew (Wormtail) hurried over, clasping his hands together.
‘Pathetic. You couldn’t best a single guardian,’ Voldemort growled.
‘Ap... apologies, my Lord. We weren’t... We weren’t expecting it to be so strong.’
‘What will you do with the others?’ Voldemort asked, casting him a sidelong glance.
‘OTHERS!’ Wormtail squeaked.
’Aaaaaahhhhhhh!’
Another colossus roared in the distance.
‘My Lord, perhaps... perhaps we should retreat?’ Wormtail stammered.
The ground shook as three more giants approached.
‘We need the Hollow King.’ Voldemort straightened, wand at the ready.
‘L... Lord, I’ve heard there’s another way. Perhaps we could bypass the forest.’ Wormtail grabbed his master’s arm.
‘And you didn’t think to mention this sooner?’ Voldemort fixed him with a cold stare.
‘It’s... it’s... ah... hidden. Perhaps one of the children...’ Wormtail grimaced.
Sweat beaded on the portly man’s brow. He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead.
‘Speak with Lucius Malfoid. We’ll have his daughter put to work. She’s proved useful to us before. Remind me, Worm... what’s her name?’
Voldemort narrowed his eyes.
The ground trembled as the colossi closed in, roots bursting from the earth at their command.
‘Draconia... Draconia Malfoid, my Lord,’ Wormtail squealed.
‘Then we’ll put her to work. The future of the wizarding world depends on that girl.’
Voldemort raised his wand and Disapparated.
The others dissolved into swirling shadows and Disapparated after him.
