>>6158641

You refuse to leave. The dragon above you can clearly dig, and if you leave now it can easily burrow underground and take months to be found again. If you apparate away, the last few weeks have been for nothing.

So you stand your ground.

“Hey, Ex, ever fought a dragon?” You ask inside of your head, and feel that both Excalibur is particularly offended at being used as bait and that no, not yet. “Well, today is your chance. But no killing, just as with Brighton.”

You breathe deeply, readying yourself, then point your wand at the ceiling a little ways from you.

“Deprimo!”

The stone cracks and collapses, and with it comes the great Catalonian Fireball, looking hungry, angry and drugged out of its mind.

“Stupefy!” You shout, aiming for the beast’s chest. It hits, but bounces off the beast’s thick hide. It shakes its head, trying to shrug both the magic and tranquilizer, then roars a breath of fire. You jump out of the way and behind a stone pillar, melted rock behind you.

You hear stumbling and rocks falling behind the dragon.

“Elliot! Apparate away!” Rolf shouts, sliding down into the room.

“No! We leave and we’re not finding him for months!” You spin out from behind the pillar, taking aim. “Conjunti-fuck!”

You duck as a paw that could take your head off swings where your face was a moment ago.

“Elliot! Incarcerous!” Thick ropes fly out, but unlike other times you’ve seen this spell used they don’t entirely disconnect from Rolf’s wand, instead wrapping around the dragon’s neck by one end, while he pulls the other, trying to force the dragon to turn. It doesn’t work, but buys you enough time to jump back up, holding Excalibur by the scabbard with both hands and swinging it upwards, slamming against the swollen wound on the dragon’s chest.

It lets out a pained growl, its tail swiping the air like a whip and slamming against Scamander’s chest, launching him at the cave wall.

“Shit! Conjunctivitis!” You shout, and this time the spell takes, hitting the beast in the eyes and swelling them almost closed. This does get it to no longer be able to see you, but instead it starts thrashing about, slamming against the cave walls, large rocks falling from the ceiling. “Rolf!” You shout as you see a boulder start to become loose above him, but he’s still too disorientated from getting hit.

You spin, apparating to the other side of the room, bellowing “Reducto!” at the top of your lungs, the rock exploding into dust moments before falling on top of Scamander. The dragon, blinded but not deaf, turns in your direction, a mouth full of flames.

[Cont.]

>>6158642

There is no time to think. You can’t move, your shields will not hold against a dragon’s breath, and you can’t apparate away with Rolf, only alone, and you’re not about to let him die. You pull out Excalibur out of its scabbard, raising it high in the air.

The dragon roars an inferno in your direction, and you bring the Sword of the Once and Future King down. Not at the dragon, but at the ground in front of you.

The flames hit with the force of a thousand years of ancient fire… But part before Excalibur, a cone unscorched behind it, where you stand with your wand at the ready.

“Stupefy!” You shout, putting every ounce of power you have into it, the red bolt slamming directly down the creature’s exposed throat.

The fire fails and the dragon collapses on the floor, down for at least a while.

--

Dragging an entire dragon out of a cave is a lot of work, but fortunately having to regrow new skin on your legs stops you from being part of it, instead just watching from afar while drinking water as cold as you can make it without freezing. The Scamanders have salves and healing potions specific for burns, and so have you, because there was no way in hell you were going after a dragon without at least a couple of those that you could trust had been brewed properly. Still, they take a while to work so you get to put your legs up and observe Arty, Luna and Rolf slowly dismantle parts of the cave until they can pull the creature out and bring it to a fenced area covered in anti-detection enchantments.

To not say you’re not doing anything, you brew an Oculus Potion to counteract your Conjunctivitis Curse, and a Sleeping Draught, with plans of feeding the dragon some every few hours to ensure it stays down while they treat it.

“I’m just curious to know what did an injury like that to a dragon,” you say, pointing to the claw marks.

“Self inflicted, I’m afraid,” Rolf says, scratching his scraggly beard. He had berated you severely for not getting out of the cave when he told you to, but had calmed down since. “Dragons are, well, not social creatures, but they need to roam and interact with things. Hiding away for so long must have left her mad. But we’ll take care of her. We’ll reach out to the Spanish government, they have preservation societies who can take care of her.”

“Or if everything else fails, there is always Romania,” Luna says, gently passing her hand over the dragon’s scales. “I know a Weasley there who would love to receive a homeless dragon.”

“There isn’t any chance she could have any eggs, is there?” Arty asks, but her tone makes it obvious she knows the answer.

“No, I’m afraid, or at least not any recent. But dragons live long lives, Arty. We may still find her a partner.”

“Oh, I’m certain we will,” Luna agrees, no doubt in her voice. “There are signs here and there. At least one more somewhere, I’m sure.”

[Cont.]

>>6158643

So, with the dragon filled with potions to make sure she won’t wake up any time soon and with several layers of salves on her wounds, you four have a celebratory dinner then retire for the night. You head to the bedroom, where the Prophecy tree-thing you and Arty water every day with a few drops of your blood grows by a window. You sit down by the bed, where she helps you clean your legs from the anti-burn healing cream.

“Almost as good as new,” she says, tracing the mostly healed injury, only a slight difference in color, soreness and lack of hair to distinguish them from your original skin.

“I began making my own improved versions of these potions the day you told me you got the apprenticeship. I just thought you’d be the one using them.”

“I offered to go with you.”

“You know I’d have let you if it was up to me. I mean, I’d have hated it and worried about it every second, but I trust your wand more than I trust Rolf’s.”

“Flatterer.”

“It’s true. He wasn’t a particularly grand help back there.”

“So you’re saying you could have taken the dragon down yourself?”

“No, I’m saying that if I had you with me, the dragon would have come willingly.”

That gets her to blush, so she kisses you for a while to stop you from saying anything else to embarrass her.

“Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to, and you didn’t have to go bait it with Excalibur, but you did. And now we saved a dragon, thanks to you.”

“I was just the bait. You three did the real detective work.”

“We didn’t get set on fire.” She kisses you some more. “I feel like going for a night walk. Can you walk ok?”

“Well enough.”

“I’ll go to the bathroom first and then we’ll go, meet you outside the tent.”

You do as you’re told, enjoying the cool night air, the great form of the dragon gently sleeping a few dozen meters away. It is a beautiful place, an isolated island of peace only interrupted by the eventual fire-breathing lizard.

Not a bad place to live, you figure.

When Arty comes out from the tent, she’s sheepishly holding a bottle in each hand.

“You want to get drunk?” You ask, smirking. “Celebrate capturing the dragon?”

“Celebrate capturing the dragon, yes,” she says, blushing again, biting her lower lip and handing you one of the bottles. “Getting drunk, no. I… I want to be clear headed… for this.”

You look at the bottle a little better, and it’s clearly not alcohol. No, it is more in the style of a potion bottle, though it is unmarked. It is a white-with-red-sparks liquid, though, and the only potion you can think that looks like this is-

Your eyes go wide.

“Arty! You-”

“I got them from the corner at the hospital wing!” She blurts out. “They… They should still be good, I promise I checked!”

[Cont.]

>>6158646

“Yeah, no, anti-pregnancy potions do last for a long time, I just didn’t expect this was the moment I’d be offered one!” You hiss, very quickly hyperventilating. You pass your hands through your hair, wiping away the sweat that had suddenly appeared there. Takes you a moment to calm down. “But, uh, I’m not complaining.”
“You… might,” she says, giving a forced smile.

“Why?”

And she generally points in the direction of-

“A dragon!? You want to fuck on top of a dragon!?”

“Shhh! Not so loud! And it is sleeping, I don’t see why not! I told you I had a plan!”

“A plan!? This isn’t a plan, this is you getting us both incinerated!”

“Does that mean… That you’re not doing it?” She pouts in the most adorable way.

You flick your wand and a jacket and a hat fly out of the tent. You look at her fiercely, pointing a finger directly at her face.

“If my jacket, my hat or my bits get charred, you’re getting me replacements and I don’t want to hear a peep about it.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Jones.”

And, though she isn’t here, you know that if you get eaten by a dragon tonight Linda will be proud of you. There is, after all, no better place to get eaten by a giant beast than the arms of the one you love.

--

The following morning you are in a particularly good mood. Are there scratches on your back from the roughness of the dragon scales? Yes. Are they side by side with the ones left by Arty’s nails? Also yes. Had you discovered that almost waking up a deadly dragon caused Arty to squeeze you in ways that left you weak on the knees? That her voice sounded sweeter when shouting your name? That her eyes go wide when you go all the way? Those are all better left unsaid, but yes.

Arty is in your arms and making it clear she wants a lazy and brief repeat of the previous night, which you’re happy to oblige. When that is done, you gently extract yourself and get out of bed, stretching.

“Uhf-ghg,” Arty says against the pillow.

“Good morning to you too.”

“I think you left a mark,” she says.

“I would be disappointed if I didn’t leave at least a few. Not like you were particularly subtle with your nails either. I can brew you a cream to clean them up.”

She gently traces a hickey on her neck, biting her lip. “No, they… they can stay for now. At least until we need to be presentable again. Honestly, I’m just glad we went through so much training.”

“You’re one to talk. If we had done this in the beginning of the year, my back would have been killing me right now.” Your muscles are sore from the effort, mind you, but it is quite bearable. “I’ll take a shower and get some breakfast in town. Do you want anything?”

“Another one of those you just gave me?”

“That can wait until I don’t smell like dragon, sulfur and sweat anymore.”

“Then just another fifteen minutes.”

[Cont.]

>>6158650

When you get out of the shower she’s fast asleep again with a smile on her face, and you leave her to rest. The Scamanders are nowhere to be seen, so you apparate to Collbató to go to a small bakery you found that makes fantastic bread. You’re so happy you don’t pay attention to the murmurs. You fail to notice the general climate of apprehension. You ignore the whispers. At least until you arrive at the cashier and she’s too busy paying attention to the reporter on the tv to take your order. Your spanish is rough, but you manage to get the fundamentals.

“-and more. Repeating again for those who just joined us, an enormous landmass just appeared off the coast of Spain and Portugal, with what appears to be a strange haze surrounding it. Governments of Europe are requesting calm and gathering to discuss next steps while sending forces to investigate the phenomena. We’re also getting similar reports from India, Brazil, Iran, South Africa, China and more. We’re still trying to determine the details, but communication seems to be severely hampered across large distances. Not only that-”

You just take a muffin from a shelf and toss a couple of notes on the counter. You sit down, take a bite, then let out a long, long sigh, Excalibur feeling heavy on your hips.

Atlantis and all its reflections have just returned from beyond the reach of Time, and you have no doubt Salazar and the Beast have returned with them.

- End of Act 4 -

--

You’re not quite sure what makes you take a while to go back to the tent, instead just taking a walk around the small city. It’s… just the knowledge that normalcy, or whatever this strange life you had with Arty which you were calling normalcy, is going to vanish, and you don’t know for how long. Whatever the reason, you enjoy the muggle city for just a while longer. With the back of your mind you feel someone who isn’t Arty trying to reach you by patronus, but they can wait.

Eventually, however, you feel it is time. You just sigh and apparate. When you arrive at the tent, Arty is outside with both your and her bags made, looking apprehensive.

“So, you heard the news?”

“Yeah, got woken up by a shining Jack Russel terrier.”

“Even the muggles are reporting it. I can only hope the ministry is doing a good job dealing with the government.”

“That’s not good. Shouldn’t anti-magic enchantments stop them from seeing the cities?”

“I guess the old ones didn’t care about it. Muggles had to be able to see them to create stories about them, after all.”

She fidgets, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. She opens her mouth to say something, then changes her mind, then tries speaking again.

“Granger is sending someone with a portkey, they should arrive soon.”

“I should charge her for the consultancy, that’s what I should do. Apollo, Linda and Helga?”

[Cont.]

>>6158651

“Heading there as we speak.” She looks down, then comes closer and into a hug. “I’m happy I could be with you… before whatever happens in Atlantis.”

“Hey, what are you talking about?” You ask, brushing the hair away from her face. “What’s going to happen in Atlantis is that we’re going to kick Salazar’s ass, that’s what we’re going to do. Finish this thing once and for all. And then we finish up school, get our N.E.W.T.s, write up our story and go live off the royalties in a house with a white picket fence.”

She smiles, but it’s a weak smile.

“Have a huge house, with a huge backyard filled with creatures?”

“Maybe even your own Nundu,” you add.

“That would be nice, huh?”

“That will be nice. We’ll make it happen, Arty. I promise.”

She buries her head in your chest, tightening the hug, and you hug her back. Takes a few minutes for Scamander to show up with a member of the Spanish government, who produces a portkey back to England. You and Arty touch it, the Scammenders staying behind to manage things with the dragon, and you fall in front of the fountain in the middle of the Ministry of Magic. A little ways away, a crowd of journalists is being blocked from entering the building.

“Elliot, good, I was hoping you’d arrive,” Ronald Weasley approaches, in a hurried manner. “The minister is already there, with about every auror we could muster, including retired ones. Come, I’ll take you to them.”

“Wait. There’s something I need to do.”

“Can’t it wait?” He asks, a bit incredulous. “Atlantis reappearing is pretty much the definition of an emergency.”

“Yeah, which is why I need to get my parents somewhere safe. It won’t take long. But I’ll need to break underage spellcasting laws, so you can arrest me later.” You kiss Arty. “I’ll be right back.”

You spin and disappear.

--

Atlantis was kind enough to reappear on a Saturday, so both your parents are home when you appear in the middle of the living room.

“Elliot!” Your father shouts, nearly falling backwards from his chair.

“Son, did- did you see-”

“I did, mom. It’s back. And I need you two to stay safe.”

“What? You’re not planning on going there!?”

“I am, the Minister asked for me, though I don’t know what we’ll find there. But I need you two to pack your bags. I need to get you two to safety.”

[Cont.]

>>6158652

“But we’re safe here, right, son?”

“I… I don’t know, dad. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know I can’t be there and thinking about you two not being safe.”

“That… that shouldn’t be your burden. It should be ours.”

“I know.” You hug them tight. “But you two are short of an Excalibur.”

His lips are forced tight, and he holds your shoulder firmly. “Maybe next time, then.”

“Where- where should we go?” Your mom asks. “Away from the cities? Some farm in the middle of nowhere?”

> There’s no place safer than Hogwarts. I’ll get the Headmistress to send someone to get you.
> I’ll bargain with the Ministry, get them to put you somewhere deep in their secret places, or wherever it is they’d take the Minister in case of a crisis.
> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.
> Other (Write in)

>>6158655
> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.
Arty a cute.

>>6158658
+1, they need to pack food and supplies and whatever few precious belongings and memories matter to them. They might not return and there might not be a Great Britain to return to once all is said and done.
Also yes, Arty best girl of entire quest

>>6158655
it returns!
>Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.

>>6158655
>Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.

yeah, thats our best bet. Hogwarts its probably THE worst place right about now.

>>6158650
at least if we die, out tombstone can say "Here lies Elliot, He scored on top of a dragon"

>>6158655
> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.

>>6158655
> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.

>>6158655
>> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.
Straight to business then. I wanted to get a Phoenix but those come when the plot demands it anyways.

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>>6158655
> Drive east, to Abberton, to the church. The room in that tower survived the fall of Camelot for a reason.

Potter knows Hogwarts. The Ministry. He doesn't know about that place.

>>6158643
So it does have some anti-magic powers. Will be useful in the fight with ArthurZar I am sure.

>>6158650
We finally got some pussy in cannon! I might try and write up a quick lewdfic, since fucking on top of a massive dragon was not in the bingo book.


Welcome back QM. Was expecting it to be a little long. Planned to try and finish one of my half finished fics to commemorate the next thread. Guess I will work on ArtyxHelgArty and dragon fucking next.

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Also, since we all might die? Good time to propose to Arty, perhaps? Promise to get hitched after she graduates? A 2 and half year engagement?

>>6158990
>since fucking on top of a massive dragon was not in the bingo book
Yeah, I didn't call Arty having that particular kink.

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>>6159262
She does love her animals.

End game is making Elliot put a fursuit on and plow her.

>>6159270
>>6159262
"Breeding the ultimate magical creature" :^)

>>6159273

Kek.

I will write just about anything in a lewdfic up to loli or incest but I do draw the line at furry shit.

On an only mildly unrelated note, the new Indiana Jones game is pretty fun, and ate away a good chunk of my afternoon when I should have been working. Also, just a half update today, because it is already too long.

>>6158990
>Was expecting it to be a little long.
Honestly, if I had managed to do another post and finish the Act on the last thread I'd probably have taken until next year, but being this close to the end and not finishing it was pissing me off.

>>6159262
She had a plan, anon, and she stuck to it.

>>6159270
> That spoiler
That did make me laugh out loud.

--

“Take clothes, take food, anything you need and can get your hands on.” You open your pouch, pulling out a few Wiggenweld Potions and handing them to them. “Then you drive east to Abberton. Camelot was there, and its last remains are still there. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but the room in that church survived the end of an era. It will survive this, too.”

Your parents look at each other, uncertain.

“And you? You’ll run off to save the world again?”

“If that’s what needs to happen. You two know Linda’s mom and Taylor’s parents number, right? Could you ask them to go too?”

Your mom nods. “We’ll get them.”

“Stay safe. I’ll be back when I know it’s safe. I love you two.”

You smile at your parents, possibly for the last time, then apparate away before you can change your mind and run away with them.

--

“Finally,” Ron says when you reappear. “We could have taken care of your parents.”

“No offense to the Ministry, sir, but no, you couldn’t. Now, where is the Minister?”

He takes you through several doors and corridors, until you arrive at a large and clearly well protected room. Apollo, Linda, Helga and Brighton are there and stand up the moment you arrive.

“About time, Hallaster,” Brighton says in his usual displeased and yet half-friendly tone, while Apollo envelops Arty in a bear hug. “We’re almost off to Atlantis without you.”

“He isn’t lying,” Helga agrees, pointing to a group of wizards looking exhausted in a corner. “The third advanced auror party has just gotten back from setting up wards and portkeys. How was the trip?”

“Good. Almost got killed by a dragon, but Excalibur came through- Is that Lockhart?”

“Ah, Elliot!” The blond wizard says, pleased, slipping past two aurors dressed as nurses. “How wonderful to meet you here! Do you know where ‘here’ is?”

“Ah, just somewhere temporary, sir. What I wonder is why are you here?” You ask, turning to Ron.

“We’re just taking him somewhere he can have a nice new view to paint, Elliot.” Granger arrives, having finished giving orders to some other aurors. “Nothing else. We still don’t know the nature of his powers, but our reports say that while the island is accessible, the city itself is protected by a barrier. We’d like to know if he finds something interesting to portray, he’ll be safe.”

“Excalibur is holding you to that. Now, what do we know?”

[Cont.]

>>6160022

“That every government in Europe is racing to discover what is going on and that I had to threaten the officials of three different countries to get them out of my way and make sure they don’t do anything stupid. But there was one… disturbing report.”

“Which was?”

“The shield protecting the city is translucent, difficult to see through, but clear enough to see the streets are empty. But one of my aurors said that he saw someone walking by them, close to the barrier. One Harry James Potter.”

“Motherf-” you massage the bridge of your nose. “Sure. Cool. Good. Not worried at all. Anything else?”

“No, now-”

“Ah, minister,” says a known voice behind, once that sends fury up your spine. “We’re ready, then?”

Six underage hands immediately point their wands at Scorpius Malfoy.

“Hey there, I mean no harm,” he lifts up his hands in surrender. “It’s… It’s just me. Just Scorpius. No Salazar.”

“Scorpius. Good to see you here.” Hermione walks in between all your wands and the last scion of the Malfoys. “Figured you’d want to see. Are you better?”

“Recovering,” he says, though he leans heavily on a cane with the head of a snake. His face is pale and his hair is thinning, some white already showing up between the blond, even though he’s only a few years older than you. “Strong enough to at least lend my services to help you.” He turns to you and your friends. “I’m sorry. To all of you. I’m sorry for hunting you when I still thought you were guilty, and… I’m sorry for not being strong enough to stop him from hurting you using my body.”

Slowly, you put down your wand.

“You really mean that.”

“I do. I wished… I wished to bring the Malfoy family to its old glory. Salazar’s words seemed to make so much sense, seemed to be so… sane. Your guilt seemed so clear. When I opened my mouth and spoke to a snake for the first time, I was awed, I knew it was my chance to be the greatest of the Malfoys.” His tone turns bitter. “And now my father is dead by my own hands and my house might as well be buried with him. The least I can do is make sure his murderer is caught.” He extends a hand to you. “If you’ll take me as your ally, Elliot, know I wish nothing more than to destroy the one responsible for the deaths of Lily Potter, Taylor Cycad and Draco Malfoy.”

You shake the offered hand.

“Welcome. Though you’ll find there’s a line for revenge, and Excalibur is ahead of you in it.”

“As long as Salazar’s head rolls, I’ll be at peace.”

“Good, you two made up,” Hermione says. “My men say they’re ready to receive us.”

--

[Cont.]

>>6160023

Like a city of gold inside a snowglobe. That is the first thought you have when the portkey drops you and your allies on the beach of Atlantis. Exactly like what you had seen in Merlin’s memories. It is Heaven. Still beautiful, still perfect.

And abandoned. There isn’t a soul in sight.

Around the beach, several tents with clearly demarcated areas, a variety of country flags and wizards of differing european and north-african nationalities spread out throughout the sand. The British have their own area, which is half-merged with the French, of all people. Each group has seemingly picked a different area of the barrier to analyze and experiment on, though neither seem to be having much success.

“I deed not expect you to consideur zis place a daycare, Granger,” says a voice behind you, and you turn to see a scrawny old lady with her nose so high it might as well point at the sky, and a permanently disgusted and bothered look on her face. By her side is the largest woman you’ve ever seen, followed by the most beautiful lady you’ve ever put your eyes on, looking not a day older than twenty but holding herself with a posture that indicated at least twice that.

“Veela,” Arty whispers by your side, curious. “Half? No, probably less.”

“All of you, meet the French Minister, madame Adélaïde Villeneuve, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons, madame Olympe Maxime, and Deputy Headmistress Gabrielle Delacour. Madams, meet the Boy Who Holds Excalibur and his friends. They are our… Alternative theories team.”

“Ah… please to meet you.”

“Alternative zeories!? Zey are children! Zey 'ave no place being 'ere!”

“If you will remember, minister, children saved Britain, and by consequence the rest of Europe, from falling into the hands of a mad wizard. And before that, animals helped stop Grindelwald. I wouldn’t be so hasty to judge from where help can come from.”

“Bah! Az long as we are clear, we take no responsibeelity for zem!”

She leaves before Granger has the chance to answer.

“Pleasant as usual,” the minister scowls before turning to the other two women. “Gabrielle, Maxime.”

“He’mion! Eet seems we only meet when problems arise, non?” The half-giant lady covers Grancer in a hug and the minister disappears for a moment.

“Ah, yes. Unfortunately so,” Granger says once she manages to escape the grapple and shoot a glare at her snickering husband.

“Good to see you again, Minister,” Gabrielle says in flawless english.

“You too. Could you take them to see the barrier? I’d like to discuss some things with Maxime.”

She nods at Hermione, then at you. You follow, with Brighton suddenly seeming incredibly interested in whatever she has to say.

“She’s thrice your age and isn’t even showing any cleavage, you dolt,” you mutter only to yourself, shaking your head, but Apollo chuckles by your side.

[Cont.]

>>6160024

She leads you by the beach, telling you details such as the exact time it appeared, how the aerial count of buildings was constantly changing, which countries were there, and finally…

“And then there are the shadows. Well, reflections, really.”

“What reflections?” Brighton asks, hanging on to her every word.

“Well… them.” She stops by the barrier, gracefully brushing her perfect golden hair behind her ear. She points at it, and you see yourself and your friends half reflected on it, but with some straining of your eyes the shapes of other people can be seen in the glimmering barrier. “With their magic being so different from ours, we’re not quite sure who or what they are. The current theory is that it is possible the Atlanteans have used their life to power the barrier.”

While Brighton agrees that is truly a clever theory, you approach, examining the figures.

“Does it do anything?” You ask. “The barrier, I mean.”

“No, just blocks anyone from passing through.” As if to make her point, she presses her hand against it, leaning until it is very clear the shimmering wall is supporting her. “Objects go through, but apparition and spells don’t. Well, except the Killing Curse, as the bulgarians kindly demonstrated a while ago.”

“Right,” you nod. “They’re reflections.”

She almost falls from her leaning stance.

“What!?”

“They’re reflections. Brazil, Iran, South Africa, more. Each of them had an island, landmass or something of the kind appear, correct? Call your government spies in those countries and describe the people in the reflection. I’m betting they’ll tell you these same people are surrounding their mysterious new land barriers.”

Because they were all the same, all the same Lost City. Which explained how Potter, who last you heard was in Peru, managed to get in so quickly and without anyone seeing him. He hadn’t crossed the barrier through this reflection of it, but most likely, what? El Dorado? Paititi? Probably whatever the Peruvian government was having to deal with.

How he’d managed to cross the barrier, however, you still didn’t know.

“I- wha- How could you possibly know that?”

You grin at her, putting a hand into your pouch and pulling out your replica, placing it firmly on top of your head. Linda facepalms so hard you can hear a faint “ouch” coming from her direction.

“Well Miss Delacour… I’m just that good.”

--

“You’re a dork, you know that?” Linda asks once Gabrielle leaves to tell her government what you just told her (with Brighton right behind her, of course).

“And you aren’t?”

“I never said that. Also, you got laid, didn’t you?”

You hesitate for just a moment, which is a moment too long.

[Cont.]

>>6160025

“Ha! I knew it! Not even Atlantis would make your step quite this light!”

“Shhhh! I’m not looking to make a formal announcement to the world!” You quickly spin around to make sure everyone else is too far away to hear, most of all Apollo who is trying to transfigure a piece of the barrier. “But… Yeah. On top of a sleeping dragon.”

“Bullshit!”

“I swear to Merlin.”

“I don’t even need to ask to know who came up with the idea and who was too much of a horny teenager to say no.”

“I know, right? But the way I see it, it buys me good boyfriend points, which I can then cash out for rewards.”

“Like?”

“Like not banging on top of a fucking dragon, for starters!”

Linda laughs, shaking her head, then leans against the barrier… and falls right through it.

“Linda!” You shout, immediately grabbing her legs and pulling her out. “Shit! Are you ok?”

“Oh fuck, oh shit!” she says, gasping for air as your friends rush towards her, though fortunately it seems no one around saw what happened. “Merlin fucking damnit that caught me off guard!”

“Are you alright? How the fuck did you do that!?”

“I… I don’t know! I just leaned against it and… I think I heard voices.”

“In there?”

“Yes… and no. I heard voices, screams, but… they were inside of my head, just like Rowena. Oh… oh no.”

“What, what is it?”

“Yeah, I just figured it out too,” Helga says, crouching down by Linda. “They were there, weren’t they? That’s how Salazar managed to apparate to Atlantis.”

“But that means… Merlin, all this time…”

“What are you two talking about?”

“Atlantis was erased from time, sent to somewhere even more Lost than the Darkness we were sent to,” Helga explains. “Its existence was erased, its essence taken, its consequences denied. But it still held on. And that almost nonexistent connection was enough for Salazar, someone who had been through the Darkness for an eternity, holding the broken shard of what once was Merlin, who had been to Atlantis once before, to be able to apparate there.”

“Except that Atlantis wasn’t empty when it vanished,” Linda mutters, in almost a whisper. “There were many, many people there. People with Ancient Magic, like Rowena. Souls whose fragments managed to return once it was brought back, torn and disfigured beyond recognition, but still a soul.”

“And they’re all desperately trying to leave, yeah.” Helga looks at the golden city behind her. “Which is why no one could enter. Because everyone who tried was an adult, with souls too big, too whole to pass through the hurricane of souls. But someone with a smaller soul, one that wasn’t as big…”

You stand up, holding Excalibur on its hilt, and approach the barrier. You take a deep breath… and step forwards.

The screams of an uncountable number of people storms your mind, howling, begging to be let out.

“Right,” you force the words out after stumbling back into a world of sanity. “Who wants to be the one to tell the minister we’re using child soldiers to storm Atlantis?”

Y'all didn't think I had made several arcs of student armies, generals and training for nothing, did you?

>>6160031
Oh boy, what are our lads called again? Raiders of Lost Worlds? Time to prove how accurate that name really is.

>>6160031
you fucking mad lad! you just made my night

>>6160040
i had a feeling that was the best name, I KNEW IT!
im so glad my suggestion was the winning one, its all falling in place nicely

>>6160026
It also occurs to me that someone with enough Horcruxes could probably sneak their way in too. How Harry managed it, perchance? Or maybe just leftovers from Voldy's fuckery.

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>>6160024
>“She’s thrice your age and isn’t even showing any cleavage

Perfect. Flat is justice.

>>6160031
Nah.

Didn't predict this exactly, but there was a reason I voted to let our potions take a hit vs. Army rolls post Nimue... eh. We might want to get the Mirror here. What with dealing with reflections. Could maybe do something if we are clever. Always thought we were going to get to Atlantis through that, but I still feel as if it is important.

Also fuck you Potter. Good that we have 3 Founders with us and a tiny girl with a +50 to Battle stuff. Two magic swords. I hope we can borrow a shitload of potions from everyone, all the various countries expeditions. All the cool magic BS artifacts we can.

We have Ginny, Potter, and ArthurZar to go against, min. Need every tool we can get.

>>6160064
It was a good name. And now we have the Indy hat, jacket, and cute girl to go with it.

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>>6160106

His soul might be "smaller" just because he never recovered from Voldemort taking up part for most of his adult life? That sound's possible. I think Ginny may be there to, since Riddle was fucking with her for an entire year.

But... So objects can pass in. Small chunks of soul can. Up to child sized.

What if we pelted the place with the Horcruxes they have and had the dementors follow them? I mean, that is like salt the earth stuff. If the Beast is running the show, might empower ArthurZar, but might not if Sally is still in charge? Possible picrel.

Even if not?

If we find a way to sink this place back into Never-Ever Land? Tossing all the Horcruxes in and getting the dementors to follow might be a way to just get rid of them forever.

Also, Hermione did say only like half of Voldy's Horcruxes had been found and contained on dementor island. We know Harry was jumping around like a few dozen countries... Hmmm.

>>6160120
>What if we pelted the place with the Horcruxes they have and had the dementors follow them?
Would be a good nuclear option to keep in our back pocket, should mention it to Hermione.

>>6160120
>>6160137
Do we have any reason to believe horcruxes will work well as munitions, and not just serve as a power-source? Even siccing Dementors on them sounds like a bad idea, given the yet-unexplored connection between they and The Beast Formerly Known as Merlin.