Chapter 1: 10 Years Later
Hogwarts Kitchens, August 25th, 1991
"Did you hears the news Tinker?", squeaked Blinky excitedly.
"Yes, the Boy-Who-Lived is finally going to attend Hogwarts, it is rather exciting", replied Tinker in a neutral fashion while focusing on peeling potatoes.
Tinker was a very well-spoken house elf, in comparison to… well, the remainder of the house elf "staff". She had come from an abusive family, and, thankfully, her owner had finally drowned himself to death with the finest stock ofFirewhiskey in Britain, according to the late bastard. Her contract had been broken 4 months ago, and she had shed no tears over it. Immediately, she had packed her belongings (her favourite pillow and fork), and left the grandiose manor for the last time. For weeks, she had travelled from household to household discreetly, offering bits of speculation and information here and there, hoping to reform the old crowd. After the necessary elves were informed properly, she took off for Hogwarts. While she did not need to work, a lone house-elf camping out in hovels and the streets is a prime target. Of course, forcing a bond between house-elf and wizard was banned shortly after Lord Voldemort's demise, but the more laws there are, the more people there are breaking them. In that respect, Hogwarts was probably Tinker's only chance at living comfortably, not to mention that it provided important networking and alliance opportunities, with the hundreds of elves currently residing in the school.
"No no, I was talking about the upcoming dinner the Headmaster Dumblydoor is hosting for the lords. Blinky is being very impatient to cooks the food for the event."
For the millionth time, Tinker was wondering why the common house-elves insisted to refer to themselves in third person. It gave her a headache. She would believe they were doing it on purpose out of delusions of self-grandeur if she didn't know they had trouble counting up to the number 3. Sighing, Tinker simply responded with "Of course Blinky" before making her way to the kitchen entrance.
She was, technically, supposed to work for two more hours, but who would notice her absence? House-elves all look the same in a sea of hundreds after all. 'Perhaps this job isn't that painful after all' thought Tinker, as she grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer on the way out, now hopefully the prefects weren't using the baths at the moment…
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, August 25th, 1991
Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the 20th century, was pacing in front of his desk with his phoenix perched on his left shoulder. He was wearing mismatched socks, one maroon and one magenta, and munching on a chocolate frog. Every so often, a frown would mar his expression and a frustrated sigh would escape his lips.
The reason for his current predicament is no other than Lord Lucius Malfoy, his main opposition in the Wizengamot, and at Hogwarts too. How one man could hold three important poisitions escaped Albus, the unfairness of it all was only amplified by the Slytherin's considerable wealth. Lucius was the Head Governor on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, unofficial leader of the Dark party, and CEO of the Daily Prophet. If he had been less preoccupied by thoughts of his nemesis, the Chief Warlock/Headmaster/Supreme Mugwump would have noticed the irony in what he was saying. But such matters were trivial at that very moment.
The Headmaster had been working very hard on the Gringotts front recently. He had been in constant negotiations and talks with Director Ragnok. With the laws Dumbledore, himself passed a decade ago, during the aftermath of Tom Riddle's demise, magical creatures gained more rights than ever before. The old wizard was not one to do something without reason though. Simply, he did not believe Riddle was forever vanquished on that Halloween night. Admittedly, there was, certainly, evidence showcasing his death, but during his long life, Albus learned there were no such things as lucky breaks. Well, except maybe that one time he brewed some Felix Felicis and apparated to that candy store. He still had lemon drops leftover from having been the Millionth customer at Sweets Co. Ah, sweet sugary goodness…
Shaking his head, the old man realized he was getting off-topic. No, Tom Riddle was certainly out there, and he needed to gather as many allies as he could to end the Dark Lord once and for all whenever he returned.
He was hoping to secure more favour with the goblins. It had been going well, his knowledge of their language, Gobbledegook, facilitated their meetings and the goblins respected him, even if he was "the enemy", a wizard. Things were changing for the better, up until Lucius decided to push against the entry of goblin representatives on the Wizengamot body. He appealed to the Dark politicians and most of the Neutrals by bringing up the several bloody goblin rebellions of the past, and the race's general attitude against wizards. The political climate just was not ready to allow a goblin to sit on the Wizengamot just yet, and Lucius only served to continuously rub salt in the wound. The promises of more gold to finance the future revamped Order of the Phoenix and discreet monetary incentives here and there went crashing down after that particular Wizengamot session. Foolishly, most of the promises Albus made to the goblins relied, heavily, on the fact that they would get their long-coveted seat on the Ministry's political body.
With good reason, he had expected for the motion to pass, as Wizarding Britain had, over time, become more progressive. After all, only five years ago, the centaurs managed to gain a seat in the Wizengamot. Things have been looking up for magical creatures, but, there are always those frustrating lords that bring their prejudices to the table, and things always go downhill from there.
Albus was in a bad position. The previous war had deprived him of most of his gold and assets, and, as terrible as it sounds, the Potters were very wealthy and their untimely death was very inconvenient for the light side, such a loss in funds hit Dumbledore and his allies hard.
He dismissed that train of thought quickly, it was not the Potters' fault they got betrayed. He did miss Lily and James dearly, he considered every student of his, past and present, family in a way. Except perhaps the current source of his problems, Tom Marvolo Riddle, and Sirius Black, the not-so black sheep of the Black house after all.
One thing was sure though, Albus needed to secure a healthy amount of gold in the next year or two. He had very important plans; dare he say the fate of the Wizarding world rested on his hands. Which is why he decided to reinstate his tradition of hosting banquets in the Great Hall for the board of governors (minus Malfoy), various Light lords, and even a few key Neutral players. He may not have chosen to be considered the greatest wizard in recent history, but it certainly had its advantages. It was time to put them to good use. Everyone had children attending Hogwarts, why wouldn't they agree to donate a good amount to the new "Quidditch Fund"… yes that would be an excellent cover.
Abruptly, he stopped pacing and half-ran to his chair, picked up his thestral quill, and started drafting an invitation to be sent out to his carefully chosen group of people. Fawkes the phoenix, suddenly disrupted by the sudden movements, let out an annoyed trill before flying to his majestic, gold ornate perch. It was close to his burning day, and he needed all the peace he could get. His human was sometimes very inconsiderate…
Hey everyone, this is my first story and my first attempt at writing Fanfiction! This story will cover many point of views, and many political games, plots, and adventures from just about everyone in the magical society. Let me know in the reviews what's bad and good :D, and you can also tell me what point of view you would like to see next.