Title: On Muggle-Born Witches and Their Wisdom

Chapter: 1

Synopsis: Voldemort has found a ritual to harness the powers of Muggle-born wizards and witches – one that could give him an advantage during the war. There is a catch though: they have to be completely and totally willing, or else the ritual will go horribly wrong. Seeing no options in his current day situation, Voldemort attempts to find another way around his predicament.

I sat patiently at my mahogany desk, waiting for that imbecile of a follower to return with the book I requested. In boredom, my eyes swept across the chamber, taking in my surroundings and looking for anything out of the ordinary. Glancing down, I saw Nagini at my feet, curled around the chair leg with her head resting on the top of my left dragon hide boot. Adjacent from my desk, the fireplace was popping and crackling, the fire creating the only source of sound and light within the room. My bed, with its green and silver silk sheets, was perfectly made – it staid like this always, as I had little use for sleep. The shelf next to the bed held a private collection of my favorite books, none of which seemed to be misplaced or out of order; with that observation, I was returned to my previous thoughts; At least he is good for something, despite how long he is taking. It would have been much harder to find that book were it not for him and his money; nevertheless, I should punish him for his ineptitude once he returns.

I absentmindedly ran my fingers along a crack on the desk; His wealth has made him worthwhile… Worthwhile – that is not something I can say for the majority of my followers.

Just thinking about that made me angry.

I was beginning to wonder if Malfoy would ever return. I should have just done it myself, I fumed.

My fingers tracing the crack began to strum impatiently upon the desk. This was becoming ridiculous; Malfoy would unquestionably face my wrath if he did not knock within the next minute. If he is so incompetent that he is unable to retrieve a single book, then he and the rest of the lot might as well-

A quick, timid knock from behind the door interrupted my thoughts.

Finally. "You may come in."

Malfoy opened the door carefully. "I retrieved the book, just as you requested, my Lord" he said, shutting the door behind him.

Nagini lifted her head off of my boot and hissed at the new intruder. "Yes, but I hoped you would have done it sooner. You were taking so long that I was beginning to worry about your usefulness," I responded bitterly.

Malfoy stumbled through his reply in fear of punishment.

As he should be, I thought.

"I-I'm sorry my Lord, it will never happen again." He quickly walked over and handed me the book.

"I hope so, for your own sake. That is all."

Malfoy bowed and left my chambers as quickly as he could.

I looked at the dusty blue book that was placed on my desk. It was torn at the edges and falling apart, the spine barely was intact, and the gold decoration on the cover was faded so that, upon first glance, one might not recognize it. Nevertheless, it was a first edition book to be treasured like no other. I opened the book carefully to the first yellowed page, one that was not even fully attached to the spine. It read:

Pā Muggleboren Wiccan ac se Wīsdōm

Eoessa Sakndenberg

1481

Looking at the title brought me back to my previous years. I had heard of this book during my sixth year at Hogwarts, but because the subject was so profane at that time, nobody dared to discuss it. It was rumored that Salazar Slytherin had destroyed all three copies of Sakndenberg's book during the book-burning ceremony in his hatred against mudbloods, so even for those who were interested in such a topic, the idea that a long lost copy of it might still be circulating after so many years was quite absurd; many therefore believed it to be a myth and gave up on finding it.

The book intrigued me long after my years in Hogwarts were over, which is why I continued to seek it upon leaving school. I researched it first, looking for records that might direct me to information on its contents; it took me ten years to come across a clue, and I had almost forgotten about the whole ordeal, when I found a source that stated Salazar had burned it in fear of the controversial knowledge it. This was even more fascinating – Salazar Slytherin, afraid of a book about mudbloods… The thought spurred me forward in my investigation. Eighteen more years had passed, and I had yet to find any substantial information on the book; I had almost given up on finding anything else, when, during some light reading on The Dark Arts and Those Who Wield Them: an Account of Evil Wizards and Witches by Albion Vulpus, I had found a few direct quotes from the ancient book. It mostly discussed the witch, Morgan le Fay, and how she had gained her power. She, too, was a muggle-born, and yet she was one of the most powerful and dark witches of the Middle Ages. Vulpus' book was also quite old – dated 1598 – so finding the last copy of Sakndenberg's book might still be hopeless. Even so, I was sure that he must have been the one to own the last copy; If not him, then his relatives at least.

I had set out to find the Vulpus family. They were pureblood, and quite a prominent family at that – If I remember correctly, Hogwarts, a History had even stated that Vulpus was one of the first few Headmasters. It would make sense that he might have the book, seeing as how Sakndenberg was a Headmaster as well – a gift between the two, perhaps? The Vulpus family was quite easy to find, and even easier to dispose of. As I had come to believe, a great-great-great-grandson down the line had received Sakndenberg's book as a gift. He must have disregarded it as rubbish, for when I had found it in their library, it was at the bottom of a box stored away in a back closet, still covered in its old wrappings topped off with a tattered bow. If only he knew what secrets it contained…

I could hardly contain my enthusiasm upon finding Pā Muggleboren Wiccan ac se Wīsdōm; and yet, when I had returned to my chambers to read and finish the book, it turned out to be a complete waste of time. It contained secrets, yes – secrets and dark rituals that would turn any willing muggle-born wizard or witch into a powerfully dark one – one whose powers could be harnessed or harvested by myself…

And yet, there was a catch. Said muggle-born wizard or witch must be willing, completely and totally willing. Performing the ritual with anyone who was just the least bit reluctant would result in the death of both the wizard and the ritual aide.

After discovering the catch, I had believed the book to be worthless. I would have to be the ritual aide if I wanted to help teach and control the muggle-born wizard's new powers, but I would not be willing to risk my life. The book was monetarily valuable nonetheless, so I had Malfoy store it in his library for possible future reference. It was only until last week when I had come up with a use for the book.

I looked at the book that lay on my desk, ready to set my new plan into motion. I pointed my wand at it and murmured a few spells, and then I pulled out a scroll and quill. After I finished writing my letter, I slid it inside the book and covered the whole thing in meager wrapping paper. Nagini hissed and uncurled herself from the chair leg as she felt me stand up and walk away from my chair.

"Is that a gift for the girl, master?" Nagini hissed in Parseltounge.

"Yes, this is a gift for her birthday" I responded, deep in thought.

"One she'll love, no doubt" Nagini replied; I could feel her coiling beside my feet once more as I tied the parcel to the owl's leg. "Make sure this gets to Hogwarts in time for breakfast tomorrow morning" I told the owl.

The owl slowly began to flap its wings, preparing for flight. Let's see how long it will take to get a willing mudblood I thought, watching the owl as it swooped out of the window and disappeared into the night.