As many of you know by now from my incessant whining about how much I hate it, the writing in James Potter and the Continuous Legacy as it was originally posted is far from the kind of standards to which I usually hold my work since it was written more than two years before it was actually uploaded. So I have decided to undertake the project of rewriting the first book to my current standards, and may do the same with Bloodline of Kings once this one is done. I will continue to update James Potter and the Alchemist's Curse at the same time though, so worry not the new stuff is still coming.
But even if you have read James Potter and the Continuous Legacy, you may want to stop by and take a glance. There are numerous subplots and intricacies that never got fully flushed out in the original version, so there is still plenty of new things to look for in this revision, even if the central plot is already known to you who have read it. And for those who have not, try not to spoil it by looking at the original, because you'll enjoy it so much more if you read this new version. It's really immeasurably better than the original.
Chapter One: The Gathering Shadow
A thin layer of mist hung over the City of London as the sun set on a cool spring day, the pale rooftops poking through the shroud like a series of icebergs floating at the surface of a stormy sea. The city was swallowed up by it, engulfed in its expansive embrace as mothers bustled home from parks with bemused children and those on the streets walked with a renewed urgency. Sure, it was only a misty cloud, but no one liked to be outside on nights like these.
To a select few however, the odd weather was more than just a superstitious bother. To them, it was a message that their time had been revealed. And ominous invitation to the meeting that would at long last be taking place in a small home in its outer limits. For on this day, an evil pact would reveal itself to the world, and make known its grand yet twisted intentions for the world. This world that had been envisioned by countless before, men both great and terrible, and yet none had ever quite been able to realize it. However, on this day that was all going to change.
On this day, a rapidly emerging force in the Wizarding World was preparing to announce itself to the rest of the magical community, in order that their cause begin to make itself known to others outside of their small group. For without public attention and fear, they could never hope to achieve their goals. And how massive in scope and promise these goals were, if realized, their cause would change the face of the world entirely, and leave it facing a new era in the lives of Wizardkind!
Though the Second Wizarding War had long since ground to its horrific conclusion, this group insisted that the War's principals had not been understood by the magical community, who had blinded themselves to the truth of what had happened by the fear of change and their mindless loyalty to traitors such as Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. This fear, along with the propaganda of the new regime, had brainwashed the people into believing the trumped up lies of the world's most treasonous slime, and turning their backs on the greatest wizard ever to live!
Three cloaked figured, wearing hoods and skirting along the alleyways of London as though they were mere shadows, approached the main gate with caution. There was simply no telling was going to happen, and the thought of what their leader might do to them if they were late filled them with more dread than did the thought of the long stay in Azkaban that awaited them if they were ever caught in his service. Though the Dementors had been removed from Azkaban long ago, the prison was still a place that struck fear into the hearts of even the most hardened of men.
As the passed through the main gate, their boots squishing on the wet cobblestones of the walkway to the front door, the man on the left turned to his two companions and whispered in a panicked voice "This had better be important, I'm probably going to get fired for this!" The man was very young, he had not been much more than a boy when the Second Wizarding War had ended at the Battle of Hogwarts, but he was as loyal to the cause as any of its oldest members.
A man on his left hissed at him to be silent, saying "You should be willing … proud even, to give up your job in his service! Remember the cause you're fighting for, nothing can be more important than the mission! When all is said and done, you know that you shall be rewarded for your loyalty!" the man was much older, and his beard was white with the permafrost of many winters, though his voice was as clear and forceful as a man of thirty.
"Maybe so." replied the young man, sounding quite indignant, "But how am I to survive whilst we wait for the liberation to come? Am I to survive solely on the words of The Master, great as he is and beautiful as the world he promises is?" it seemed as though this was something that had been nagging at the man for some time, but he was quickly silenced by the third figure, this one a woman.
"I wouldn't let those words be heard inside." The woman said, her voice rough and coarse as an unshaven prisoner as she immediately wrested for herself the attention of the two men next to her. "They may be construed the wrong way, and The Master does not take well to dissent.
The old man looked at her in interest, but the younger boy merely lowered his head in shame and muttered "Yes, you're right Madam Couture, I forgot myself." though it was clear that the question was still eating away at him. The man had a bright future outside of the organization, and he was loathe to risk it for a future that might yet be decades away.
The woman realized this however, as she continued in her screechy voice, "Be sure that you keep in mind that you are hardly the first to have these thoughts. Our glorious future is some ways off, so you must make some measures to ensure you're there to see it. Just make sure that your public life does not interfere with your duties to the organization." After a noticeable pause, she added "And be sure that you never express any discontent before The Master!"
The boy opened his mouth to murmur his understanding, but immediately fell deathly silent as they reached the imposing doorway, which was made of the finest oak and towered at least six feet over the head of even the tallest of men. Raising his gloved fist, the man on the right knocked precisely five times before pausing, his fist still hovering less than an inch from the doorframe.
The courtyard before the door was quiet as a morgue as the trio waited for what seemed like an age before the man returned his attention to the door, knocking twice. After similar pauses of no more than two or three seconds, each of which felt like a lifetime in and of themselves, the man knocked an additional nine, and then lastly eight times.
To any outsider, this would have seemed like blatant insanity, or else some kind of bizarre OCD, yet nothing could be further from the truth. This seemingly random sequence of knocking was actually a secret code for the organization, and the door swung open soundlessly a moment later to admit the robed men.
Turning to the two younger followers standing beside him, the old man said quietly "You will carry this information to your grave, or you will find yourself rotting in one much earlier than you would like do you understand?" After the two nodded wordlessly, the man stroked his silvery beard and explained "The entry code is done through knocks, five then two then nine and then eight."
The woman looked at him as though he had sprouted a second head, but the young man who had been griping about putting his job in jeopardy gave out a breath of recognition. "The Black Day." He said, and the woman let out a gasp of realization. May 2, 1998 would forever be known to members of their order as 'The Black Day', the day on which the savior of Wizardkind fell, and the pretender took up the mantle that should never have been his, and warped the world into his twisted image.
This order and its ideals were virtually completely unknown to the people of the world, and indeed it was only a select few who even began to guess at the fact that groups such as this existed, but indeed they did. They were ready to share their message with the rest of the world, and educate the brainwashed masses of the lies that had been thrust upon them by those whom they viewed as their saviors.
This group was known as the Magical History Movement, or the MHM, and their goal was simple. Their aim was to make the Wizarding World realize that the Dark Lord Voldemort was actually a benevolent man whose only goal was to unite the Wizarding World under one banner and assert their control over the inferior Muggle world, which was of course their rightful place.
Unfortunately, as with any revolutionary movement, his plans had been met with resistance and he had been forced to violence in order to make this great new future a possibility. After all, it was difficult to unseat a firmly entrenched regime that had the support of the people, no matter how twisted and brainwashed their perceptions were.
Of course, as everyone who wasn't living underneath a rock knew, the Dark Lord was killed by Harry Potter on that fateful May day in 1998, a day that the victorious fiends had labeled 'Wizarding Independence Day'. But what very few people knew, according to the Magical History Movement, was that Harry Potter had killed the Dark Lord not to save the world from any 'evil plot' of his, but so that he could undermine the Ministry of Magic and take it over for himself, by installing his puppet as Minister of Magic. May 2nd was not a day of merry revel and excitement, but a day of determined vengeance against those who had destroyed their best chance at a united Wizarding World.
Of course there had been no plot of 'World Domination', that was the stuff of fantasies and children's stories, not of reality. Lord Voldemort had no intentions of taking over the world, he had sought only the unification of the Wizards of the world, but that had not been good enough for a boy with an overinflated ego by the name of Harry Potter.
Harry Potter's story was a strange one to be sure. During Lord Voldemort's first attempt to unite the Wizarding World, a group known as the Order of the Phoenix had emerged with the sole effort of opposing his beautiful vision. And while Lord Voldemort had wished to avoid the spilling of magical blood, he had been given no other choice than to take on this group of guerillas.
A couple by the name of James and Lily Potter were amongst the foremost leaders of this vigilante group, and after receiving a lead as to their whereabouts, Lord Voldemort had gone after them, hoping to cripple the guerilla Order of the Phoenix and secure peace for Wizardkind. But he had not anticipated the Dark Magic that the Potters had on their side, and the parents had even gone so far as to lay a curse upon their own son so as to ensure the destruction of their sworn enemy.
Yet Lord Voldemort had survived, weakened to be sure, but he had survived and had fled England to reconsolidate his power and seek a new way to enable his beautiful vision to become a reality. And when he had returned to England more than a decade later, he had brought with him new ideas of how to unite the Magical World and end the outdated International Statute of Secrecy.
But once again, he had been defeated by the Dark Magic of the Potters, and the world's hope of finally being united in the magical hierarchy that it should always have seen was shattered into a million pieces, and this time the Dark Lord was truly gone.
Of course, such a cold blooded murder would usually be met with outrage by the world community, but the charismatic guile of Harry Potter, and the emotional strings of the lies he had strung for the last two decades were strong enough to convince the Wizarding World that he had actually saved them all from some insane plot by Lord Voldemort to rule the world.
Needless to say, there was nothing more ridiculous than the notion that Lord Voldemort had been attempting to take over the world, but the magical community, eager for a step away from the chaos that had admittedly accompanied the changing of the guard, had readily accepted these ridiculous lies.
In fact, they had gobbled them up so readily, that just weeks later they had elected the finger puppet of the murderer himself, Kingsley Shacklebot, to the position of Ministry of Magic! In light of that shocking event, it was only a matter of time before a man known only as The Master began gathering the enlightened few around him, rallying under the banner of the Magical History Movement, with the goal of rectifying the wrongs of the history books.
This leader was a young mysterious man whose name was known only to a select few, and his past to even fewer. Like the organization itself, the man was faceless, almost entirely unknown, and extremely deadly; and it was because of him that this meeting had been called forward. His face was disguised behind a hood as he strode at the head of the room before the fifty or so who had gathered at his command.
The actual ranks of the Magical History Movement numbered in the thousands, but it was only a select few who had been invited to this meeting. The MHM could not afford to have too many of its members assembled in one location at the same time, and so the fifty present here today would be in charge of starting the chain of communication which would have the entire organization informed in a matter of hours without anyone being any the wiser.
Underneath the hood, a pair of gleaming eyes scanned the crowd before him, many of whom were new members of the order which he had founded. Effortlessly and silently he assessed who would be an asset to the organization as a combatant, and who would play other key roles. For he was an excellent judge of character, and could quickly point out a man's strengths and weaknesses as though he was reading stats off a chocolate frog card. Already he was beginning to plan which of his supporters he would be sending on this crucial mission. Only the best of the best could go, as their fate hinged on this mission being an absolute success.
Stopping in midstride, the man faced the crowd and said "I suppose you're all wondering why I've assembled you here. After all, our organization is rarely brought together in such numbers…it is how we have survived over the years." There were murmurings of assent throughout the room. Everyone present was expecting some kind of incredible breakthrough, for what else could have caused such an unprecedented gathering? Even fifty was an unusually large number for the Magical History Movement, as the last large scale meeting of the organization had consisted of only two dozen members!
"As I'm sure you know my friends, it was 18 years ago today that the greatest crime ever committed against Wizards took place, and to this day it goes unpunished." Pausing to glare out the window he continued "Everyone knows of this crime, everyone knows who committed it, but yet no one seems to care. Why is this?" at this he turned once again to face the room, as though daring one of them to answer. "Eighteen years ago today the world was lied to and deceived!" he proclaimed, slamming his hand down on the table. "Only we know the true story, and it is our sacred duty to ensure that the world knows the evil that Harry Potter has done!"
There was a general murmuring around the room at this point, yes they all knew that Harry Potter had murdered the Dark Lord eighteen years ago, and that by doing so he had prevented the Dark Lord from uniting the world under the banner of Wizard-rule, but what was the point of this meeting if not to tell them something that they already knew?
Still, no one dared to mention these qualms aloud however so long as The Master stood before them with what must have been vitally important words at his lips. The Master commanded absolute silence from his followers when he spoke, and dealt absolute punishments to those who did not comply. Even the muted whispers were more than he would tolerate, and they quickly realized this.
The Master's stare grew ice-cold, and the room quickly fell silent as those gathered caught a glimpse of his withering gaze. Fiery sparks jumped from his wand as the whispers died away, slowly fading as he felt the full attention of those gathered returning to him. "Yes," he continued, his voice harsher than before, "Harry Potter is the most praised criminal that the world has ever known. But now, we have found a way to ensure that the lies that he has created are forever shattered!"
The man's voice was as liquid gold to the listeners, who had cast aside their doubts at his promises and assurances. "How?" they chorused, as if trained to do so like pets, a chorus which they knew would be accepted almost as though he had whispered it into their ears himself. As though he knew this, the man's wicked grin grew even wider.
"How?" he scoffed, as if the very question was an insult to his intelligence. "We've all heard the legend of the famous Battle of Hogwarts, where Harry Potter cast down the Dark Lord and installed his puppet Kingsley Shacklebot as Minister of Magic." Again as if on cue, the others began hissing and booing at the mention of Potter and Shacklebot, but at a wave of the speaker's hand they grew silent once more.
"Yes!" The Master went on, "The magic used that day was some of the most incredible ever seen! And we have realized since that it was caused by an ancient artifact that none of the combatants knew about, the energy of which fuelled the spells of both sides! If we could find a way to channel its energy, then we will be able to destroy Harry Potter and his puppet regime once and for all! And restore the World to the way that it was meant to be!"
Those gathered seemed to be waiting for a cue to show their enthusiasm for this plan, as many were practically shaking in their seat. Most of those gathered had either been with the organization for some time or else were fresh faced rookies. Whether because of the newfound exuberance they felt in joining this cause, or at seeing their decades of work paid off, the feeling in the room was incredible, but no one dared speak until it was clear that The Master was done with his part.
Indeed, The Master seemed to know the power that his silence held over them, captivating them as spoken words never could. Each passing second held with it the promise of some tantalizing revelation that was likely never coming. They were not to know the details of The Master's plans, that was only to be shared with his commanders. Those gathered here today were there because The Master would be choosing the mission force from amongst them. But even if they were sent with this force, they would know very little about the reasons for their actions.
At last, when the mounting tension in the room seemed as though it were ready to burst like an overinflated balloon, The Master spoke again. This time his voice was neither loud, nor harsh, nor enflamed with passion, nor even particularly excited. His voice was barely even audible, no more than the faintest of whispers, but this too was done intentionally.
For The Master was well trained in the art of charisma, which was how he had been able to craft around him such an elite corps as made up the central circle of the Magical History Movement. The Movement had expanded from there, but it was The Master himself who was solely responsible for the group that made up the core of the MHM.
And so, with the full intention of keeping his voice as quiet as possible, so as to force them to listen extra closely to hear him, The Master said "My friends, that is not all that is at stake here. We have the chance to secure an incredible victory for our cause." Every seated member leaned as far towards The Master as they possibly could as he continued "You see, with this artifact in our grasp, not only will we have the ability to overthrow the tainted regime of Harry Potter, but we will have a leader worthy of leading us there."
As the air was sucked out of the room as though by some enormous vacuum cleaner, he spoke the words that were the reason that this meeting had truly been called "You see, if all goes as planned, it will not be I who leads us to the gates of the Ministry, it will be the man who started it all." Taking one last breath, before raising a fist in triumph, The Master concluded "My friends, at long last the deed that Potter did will be undone, the Dark Lord shall return to us! You see, in just a few short months, we shall reawaken Lord Voldemort, and beneath him we shall free our world from the traitor Harry Potter!"
At the end of his speech, the man was short of breath, and his brow was covered in sweat – facts which thankfully none could see beneath his hood – but his words had done their job superbly. The crowd assembled around him began to roar and cheer in approval, a greeting which he seemed to take as trivial and commonplace. After acknowledging them he shouted "We are all followers of the Dark Lord, and we shall not rest until the truth is known to all the world!" and with those words, he strode from the hall to begin making preparations for the tasks ahead.
There was one thing though, that he had not told them, and it was absolutely central to the plan. Still, it was so vitally important, and so wholly impossible that he dare not reveal it to any other than those who would be a part of the task force. They would need to find a way to sneak into the grounds of Hogwarts; and for that they would need a plan that had been meticulously crafted by one of the most gifted schemers of all time.
"Mandeni!" the man barked, calling one of his most trusted advisors to his side. The man was tall, and had short-cropped black hair that rose up in the front like a tidal wave ready to crash down on an unsuspecting shore-line. "Yes my liege?" the man replied, kneeling on the ground before his leader, fearful of what the man could possibly want with him, yet at the same time overjoyed with the recognition that he had been given.
Taking neither notice nor interest in his follower's fear or his joy, The Master ushered him aside and whispered "You are very familiar with the magical defenses surrounding Hogwarts. So I need you to take a look at these plans and tell me if they will work." Mandeni had been a part of the reconstruction effort after the Battle of Hogwarts, and had overseen much of the reinforcements and enchantments that had been placed on the Castle and the surrounding area.
Mandeni rose with trembling knees from where he knelt at his master's feet and examined the plans closely, knowing all too well how important this decision was. If he told The Master that the plans would not work he would be furious and their plans would be set back several months as new ones were drawn up. No doubt, all of this rage and frustration would find an outlet in him, and he had no desire to be used as a human dart-board. On the other hand, if he told The Master that the plan was sound and it failed, for whatever reason, he would wish that he had never been born.
His life hung in the balance on this decision, but at the same time, so too did his future place in the world. If he could aid The Master in the crafting of these plans, he would earn himself great prestige within the Magical History Movement, something which was invaluable to one such as himself.
They walked for some time, making their way through the various hallways of the home, each of which were richly adorned. This was not the home of The Master, indeed no one within the Magical History Movement had so much as an inkling where he lived. The house was that of a senior member of the Magical History Movement, one who had died three years before but whose death had been kept a secret from the rest of the world. As far as anyone needed to know, Walter Cummingham was still alive and well, if extremely anti-social in his London villa.
The Master encouraged Mandeni to take his time, going over each and every detail of the plan a second and third time to make sure that nothing could go wrong, and Mandeni quickly saw why. This was a plan that could not fail, nor could it drag on for too long before it succeeded. It was an operation that should have taken months and months to undertake successfully, and yet they were to somehow accomplish this feat without once being discovered by so much as a single wandering student.
If so much as a single student stumbled across their operation, then everything would be ruined. They could not properly obliviate a student without the signs making itself apparent due to the sensitive nature of the minds of small children. Should they try to erase the memories of the incident they would leave the children gibbering wrecks, something which would surely reveal to the teachers of Hogwarts what had taken place. And they could not more kill any nosey students or take them hostage as a missing student would surely prompt a massive search leading to their discovery!
Still, for all the inherent dangers within it, the plan was beautifully laid out! Everything was accounted for and compensated for right down to the most miniscule detail, and Mandeni could not help but marvel at The Master's ingenuity. He knew that The Master was a genius, that was no secret, but the scale of this was beyond genius, it was as though it had been handed down by some omniscient and omnipotent being.
At last, Mandeni was certain, though it seemed as though he had been all along and had only been making sure. But he was now more certain than he had ever been of anything in his entire life. He had gone over every detail countless times, checking it against each defense that the school had, magical mundane and otherwise. There was nothing that he could conceive of that could derail this plan, it was too well laid out, and would simply not yield to failure.
But the infallibility of this plan was not the only thing that was keeping Mandeni spellbound, as the nature of these documents left him gaping open mouthed at the plan that was being put into motion. He simply could not believe what he was reading, but he knew that if this was what The Master had planned then it must be true, but it was simply too extraordinary!
Mandeni was a student of the old magic, but never had he thought that he would see this artifact cropping up again! He had heard stories of it once, long ago, but they had only been that … stories. Even if objects such as these did in fact exist, Mandeni had always felt that they would be better off left unused. There were some forces too great and terrible for man to attempt to lay claim to, and this was most certainly one of them.
But still, if it could help the cause, if it could bring the Magical History Movement closer to their objective, then Mandeni supposed that it was all for the best. Perhaps this once, they could dabble in the darker and more dangerous aspects of magic, so long as it was for the greater good of Wizardkind.
Finally, the man spoke, his voice quaking with fear as he continued to stare at the parchment he held in front of him. He came to a stop, and the hooded man did so as well a few paces later. Knowing that the moment of truth had come, The Master looked at him quite expectantly and demanded somewhat impatiently "Well?"
"They are flawless my lord," he gasped, still feeling extremely uneasy about this whole affair "there is no way that anyone could prevent this plan from going forward." The Master remained unconvinced by Mandeni's sniveling as he asked for confirmation just a moment later "And you're absolutely sure about this?" Though he did not say it aloud, it was clear that the sentiment 'or else' were hanging above their conversation.
Mandeni paled somewhat, but at last he nodded very slowly, his throat had constricted and was now denying him the ability of speech, but his nod seemed to be enough for The Master, as he nodded quietly as he took the parchment scrolls back from Mandeni and muttered quietly to himself "Good, good. Very good." He glanced at Mandeni and said "Thank you Mandeni, your services are no longer necessary."
With a sigh of relief, Mandeni turned to return to his place in the meeting hall, where the others were most certainly wrapping things up by now. Perhaps if he hurried he could join the discussion of what was going on with this new plan before everyone left. After all, the plans had not given much extraneous information, but there had been a detail here and there that had given him a good idea of what they were after, and he was certain that everyone was going to be blown away by that information!
He had taken his first step towards the stairs when he heard the sound of rushing wind behind him, and saw the faintest hint of green filling the room. Just as his eyes began to widen with the realization of what was happening, he fell to the floor … dead.
And so we begin again. I am very nervous about this but I'm going to go for it and give you guys a schedule in the hopes that I can stick to it. Every Monday I will post the next revised Chapter of James Potter and the Continuous Legacy, and every Friday I will post an all new Chapter for James Potter and the Alchemist's Curse. Thanks to everyone who has been following me for so long, and to those who are just stumbling upon me now too. Don't forget to click those buttons and REVIEW and FOLLOW!
Also, one of my friends gave me the idea of creating a Twitter Feed to give updates and info on what's going on with the writing of the series. Little insights and commentary into what is going on with the writing, uploading, and hashing out of the series. I don't know how well this will work and whether or not anyone will like the idea, but I've decided to go with it on a trial basis to see if people like it. If they do, I will continue, if not then I'll scrap that idea and just continue with the writing as I did before, but I think it would be a fun idea if people were into it.
So if anyone is on Twitter, or likes this idea and would like to make a Twitter to follow what's going on with the series, you should follow me on Twitter at 'TheJamesSPotter'
Hopefully this will work out and make this more enjoyable for everyone, if you guys like this idea or don't like it or have any thoughts whatsoever let me know in Reviews or PMs. In the end, this is all about you guys, the readers, and this is my attempt to make it cooler for you guys so please give me some feedback. :)