I immediately dodged away as eight more Killing Curses were snarled my way, using my physical capabilities to leap clear of any spellfire and up onto the top of Flourish and Blotts. Immediately an Amber Spear coalesced in my hand and I tossed it out at one of the Death Eaters who conjured a shield to defend himself. The spear struck the shield and the shield spell shattered like it was made of glass, allowing a conjured lightning bolt to streak in at the Death Eater and splash into his torso. He was thrown back as I ducked behind the lip of the roof, seven other Killing Curses splashing against the stonework.
Once more, I summoned a leap, this time conjuring a tendril of water that yanked the legs out from under another Death Eater and tossed him bodily into one of his compatriots even as said compatriot cast an Avada Kedavra. The collision that knocked both of them prone forced the Killing Curse to splash against a fifth Death Eater's Back. The Woman Stiffened as if having a massive coronary, dropping dead on the spot as I landed next to the two prone Death Eaters.
Two well-placed boots to the temple later and they were out like a light, leaving only three Death Eaters remaining. At this point, they were panicking and trying to make a hasty exit, laying down a smokescreen to try and make it out of the anti-apparition wards they'd laid down before beginning their attack, inadvertently trapping them inside with me. Unfortunately for them, the Dragon Pulse allowed me to sense exactly where they were.
I conjured a spray of Buckshot that launched itself at one of them as he ran for an alleyway, tearing into his chest and torso, even as I launched myself at the second remaining, fleeing Death Eater, elbow striking for his face. It must have seemed absolutely terrifying, me appearing out of the smoke, somehow knowing right where he was only to strike him in the temple with an elbow strike that knocked him out in an eyeblink.
The last Death Eater must have known she wasn't going to make it out of the anti-apparition area because she turned about as I came at her and snarled out, "Crucio!"
The torture curse struck me like a bolt of lightning, sending me to my knees with pain. I ground my teeth as I tried not to scream and focused instead on Summoning the Discipline of Crucitorn, detaching my mind from the sensation of pain with the Force. Unfortunately, this sort of thing was a workaround to my Primary Mutation, since the pain wasn't mental at all, but physical.
You see, the Torture Curse worked by causing literal, actual, pain. The magic stimulated the pain receptors in the brain and nerve endings all at once. It was why unconsciousness and insanity were escapes from it and why it was able to physically cripple someone if they stayed under its effects for too long. It was also why Occlumency wasn't proof against the curse, merely making you more resistant to it.
With my mind detached from the physical sensation of pain, however, I managed to push myself up off of my knees and begin to stalk forward. The Woman's mad laughter abruptly cut off as she realized her use of the Cruciatus Curse wasn't giving her the desired results. Unfortunately, she realized this too late. With a tug on the Force, I telekinetically summoned her wand to my hand. Suddenly, she got real quiet, real quickly.
"How?" She blinked behind her mask.
"You Death Eaters and your Unforgivables. You guys really need to broaden your repertoire." I grunted before a right cross slammed into her face, knocking her out. Once she was down, I snapped her wand for good measure, tossing the broken wood to the cobbles.
As that happened, there was an unmistakable sound of glass shattering as the Anti-Apparition Jinxes went down around the Alley and suddenly there were a number of popping noises as various people apparated onto the scene. I recognized one right away as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody from the prosthetic leg and eye, which likely meant the punkish-looking chick who stumbled as she apparated in had to be Tonks. The others were no names, or at least, no one I recognized.
"Hands where I can see 'em!" Shouted Moody.
"Mad-Eye, look!" Frowned Tonks, pointing.
Moody's prosthetic artifact of an eye swiveled around to where Tonks was pointing as the smoke from the Fumos Maxima charm was being dissipated by wind-summoning charms from the various other Aurors. As the oily black smoke dissipated, it revealed the unconscious forms of three more Death Eaters alongside the dead bodies of their four companions.
"We've got wounded Civilians!" Called out one of the Aurors as she spotted one of the various people whom the Death Eaters had taken potshots at before they had even started to fight with me.
"Right, Orpington, Higgs, go check for anyone still alive down there! Max, take Smythe with you and start booking the unconscious Death Eaters!" Ordered Moody.
The rest hastened to obey as Tonks reached down for the mask of the Unconscious Death Eater who'd Crucio'd me. Tonks pulled off the mask to reveal a round-faced, red-haired, sunken-eyed, woman with pale skin.
"My what have we here? Alecto Carrow is it? Caught red-handed even! I suppose you won't be able to weasel your way out of the bed you've made for yourself this time, eh? No fine and an out-of-the-way posting at some country estate until the heat dies down for you now!" Grinned Mad-Eye.
"That still leaves what we need to do with this bloke, though." Frowned Tonks as she pointed to me.
"Hmm. You look like a Yank. Are you a Yank?" Questioned Mad-Eye.
"Nie, jestem Polski." I replied.
Thankfully, Jan was apparently better with Polish than I had been in my previous life. Oh, I'd tried to get my Grandad to teach me, but I only really had picked up the swears. Of course, I was betting that Magical Eastern Europe wouldn't be the most stable of places right now. After all, it was the nineties, and with the equivalent of Magic Hitler having stirred up trouble both on the continent and in Britain with the likes of Dolohov to do his dirty work, it was a pretty safe bet.
"Polish, eh? That could be a problem. There's a half-dozen Magical Polands right now. Of course, you wouldn't be lying about that to avoid being deported back to America for illegal international entry, would you?" Pressed Moody. Looks like my hunch had paid off, now I had to sell it.
"Nie, mówię prawdę." I lied.
"Good enough for me. Tonks?" Queried Mad-Eye.
"Sure, I'll play." Smirked Tonks.
"Right, seeing as you're clearly a mystical refugee from War-Torn Poland, I suppose we'd best take you to someone who can help sort out your situation. What do you reckon, Tonks?" Asked Mad-Eye.
"Sounds like it's the sort of thing that needs to go straight to the top, Mad-Eye." Nodded Tonks.
"Aye, that it does. I can think of no one more suited to handle that than Albus Dumbledore. The man knows his way around government." Agreed Mad-Eye.
"He should do, he was only Chief Warlock of the whole bloody Wizengamot for decades." Concurred Tonks.
"Right. So, why don't we all head to the Leaky Cauldron and make a floo call, then we'll go see Dumbledore." Intoned Mad-Eye.
"Brzmi dobrze." I shrugged.
I wasn't lying that time. It really did sound good. Besides, Dumbledore would probably be able to help me find my Tower. Even if he was the Big Picture guy who tended to sacrifice individual people for the Greater Good like half the fandom seemed to think he was, it would still be in his interest to help me get home. He didn't need mystery Sorcerers running about acting as wild cards in his carefully orchestrated game of five-dimensional Chess with Voldemort, after all.
Mad-Eye, Tonks, and I made our way down the blood-slicked, partially scorched, cobbles of Diagon Alley until we made our way into the Leaky Cauldron. Mad-Eye stopped to talk to Tom, the old, bald, Bartender about placing a floo call. I caught the phrases 'Eight Death Eaters Single-handedly' and somewhat more troubling, 'Didn't have a visible wand', being exchanged before Mad-Eye hustled Tonks and I over to the Floo. What followed was a pinch of Floo powder tossed into the fire and a shout of. "The Burrow, Ottery Saint Catchpole."
Then I was being shoved through the flames by Moody and Tonks, stumbling as I felt a brief sensation of weightlessness before I exited the fireplace somewhere else, Moody and Tonks not far behind me. Fortuitously, I was starting to pick up the local magic, though I could apparently cast what I picked up Wandlessly thanks to my Adaptable and Ever-Evolving Powers. That was why when Moody and Tonks demonstrated the Scourgify Charm to clean the soot off them, I was able to follow suit.
"So, Wandless, Non-Vocal Casting as well, eh? You're just full of surprises, then aren't you, lad?" Questioned Moody.
"To nie jest trudne." I chuckled, downplaying the achievement.
"You can drop the act now. If you're from Poland, I'll eat my peg leg." Smirked Moody.
"Ah. What gave me away?" I queried.
"Your accent isn't native. If I had to guess, you're likely a second-generation immigrant." Came an aged Voice from off to my right. I turned around to see the bearded fashion disaster that was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore enter the room. He was wearing an atrocious lime green set of robes, though the lime green was shot through with little pink comets.
"And you must be Albus Dumbledore, then." I responded.
"Indeed. I am afraid you have me at something of a disadvantage in that regard." Smiled Dumbledore, a twinkle in his eye.
"Jan Kowalski, and no, that's not a fake name." I introduced myself.
"Is that so? Any relation to Jacob Kowalski?" Blinked Dumbledore.
"Not for at least four generations, no." I answered.
"Ah, a pity. I had hoped that fate might see fit to bring me a relative of an old friend who helped me through difficult times previously, but alas, it was not to be." Sighed Dumbledore.
"Sorry." I responded.
"It is quite all right, my boy. So, Jan Kowalski, what brings you here to see me?" Asked Dumbledore.
"Actually, I have a question, if you don't mind?" I questioned.
"I might have answers. I cannot promise I will divulge them, however. We did just meet, after all." Nodded Dumbledore.
"So. . .I have to ask. What year is it currently?" I queried.
Whatever Dumbledore had been expecting, that definitely hadn't been it. I could tell by the way his face made to scrunch up in confusion before he mastered the muscles in his cheeks back into submission. Tonks wasn't nearly as circumspect with her reaction. She had fixed herself some sort of drink and had taken a sip when I asked the question, immediately doing a spit take and forcing Moody to vanish the puddle with a stern rebuke about 'Molly's Floors.' For a few long moments, nobody said anything.
Then Dumbledore fixed me with a look and said, "I think perhaps it best for us to start at the beginning." I sighed as he said that.
It was shaping up to be a long night. . .
XXXX
AN: The next chapter is already up on my Patreon, so check the link in the threadmarked post if you guys feel like throwing me a couple bucks to get chapters in advance. Everyone who does is super appreciated and I can't thank my patrons enough.
All right, so here we get to see just how badly facing an out-of-context problem can be for the unprepared. It certainly doesn't help that the vast majority of Death Eaters tend to over-rely on the Unforgivables in combat scenarios. Granted, in terms of most in-context opponents that's a solid plan. However, they'll need more breadth of spell selection to deal with Jan.
The Polish in this chapter is translated as the following: Nie, jestem Polski means No I am Polish. Nie, mówię prawdę mean No I am telling the truth. Brzmi dobrze means Sounds Good. Finally, To nie jest trudne means It isn't difficult.
At any rate, the next chapter will get to the meat of the meeting with Dumbledore.
Stay tuned. . .