Severus bowed, kept his eyes down as he waited for Voldemort to give his orders. He wasn't exactly sure why he was summoned up here, but he knew he wasn't going to like it.
"Severus, we have a problem." Voldemort was holding some parchment.
The parchment looked like it had been wet at one time and was now dry. He could see a ruffled looking owl. Severus wasn't sure what exactly was going on. "My Lord?" While Voldemort wasn't the psycho that Dumbledore wanted everyone to believe the man to be, Voldemort wasn't anything like Dumbledore, either. The man had brought magic back into Hogwarts, ritual and holidays were returned. He had strengthened the muggle wards and guidelines.
"It appears that Harry Potter has been offered a position at Dumbledore's new school. The man has been sending him numerous owls. We found a few tracking charms, a compulsion spell, and one of the letters had an obedience like curse on it." Voldemort had wanted to send the letters back to Dumbledore with a few curses on them. He had sent the owls up to the belfry, he wasn't going to let them return to Dumbledore. It was petty, but it was better than killing the old fool.
Severus wanted to groan. What was Dumbledore thinking? Sending an owl to Harry Potter, he wondered if the lemon drops had rotted the man's brains finally. Dumbledore was in exile and had established a small school outside of Paris, for known light supporters. He wondered what the man was thinking of. Harry had been adopted three months after Dumbledore had dumped him at the Dursley. Dumbledore had retreated the night of the Longbottom family attack. Neville was the sole survivor but the boy barely had any magic. "I see. What has Mr. Potter decided?" He began to plan on what to write to Dumbledore.
"He made his choice to come to Hogwarts. However, it appears that Dumbledore isn't going to go away. I have acceptance letters from the Weasley family, Percy, Frederick, George, and Ronald. It seems they want to take their places here. I have a Percy, going into his 5th year, Frederick and George, twins who would in their 3rd, and Ronald Weasley, future 1st year, all submitting their magical acceptance into Hogwarts."
"I am not sure if that is possible for the older ones. They declined originally, didn't they?" Severus hadn't been invited to sit down, so remained standing. He knew this showed how stressed his Lord was. Normally, he would have indicated for Severus to take a seat by now.
Severus wondered what Dumbledore was attempting to do. Why send all the school-age Weasleys to Hogwarts now? Is it just because he believed that Harry Potter would be attending? Severus wondered how many attempts Dumbledore made to get in touch with Harry Potter or the Dursley family.
"They did. I know you have reviewed the charter, and is there a way to decline all of them? Lucius is at the achieves searching for the older children's original denial." Voldemort had sent Lucius to the Ministry to check their records too. He wasn't going to allow Dumbledore to find a way to sneak anyone into Hogwarts.
Severus thought for a few minutes. He wondered what Dumbledore was trying to accomplish with this move. Dumbledore always had plans. Severus knew that Dumbledore never was going to accept that he lost the war. So why send all the letters now. He smirked. "He is counting on the letters not being reviewed. Minerva used an auto-fill quill to send out the letters, and she used the older version of the of the sorting spell to create a muggle-born list. They never reviewed the acceptance letters. They always visited and almost bullied muggle parents into sending their magical children here. So he wouldn't know that we review each letter of acceptance. In the charter, we can deny entry to the older ones because of their original refusal, however, because the Weasley's have been attending here for a few generations, we can't deny their youngest son admittance. I think they have a daughter too. Do they have the funds to pay?"
"No, but I believe they are the only light family that is applying that needs tuition assistance, so we will have to approve the assistance." Voldemort really didn't want anyone from Dumbledore's group in Hogwarts, it would just bring trouble. He knew Dumbledore was looking to create a second war. The man had been pushing the ICW and other magical communities to ban Voldemort. Sadly, for Dumbledore, nothing was working.
Severus noticed Voldemort looked thoughtful. "My Lord, I am not sure, but it could be his way of finding out if you have Harry Potter. He did place him with his relatives, believing you were vanquished, he might be hoping to gain control over Harry Potter and use him to fulfill that prophecy. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't send numerous letters to the Dursley family. He placed him there for a reason."
Voldemort didn't respond right away. Finally, Voldemort handed the letters to Severus. "Send Ronald his acceptance, the tuition assistance approval, and the denial for the rest. See if any of the Order members would be willing to provide any information. I know you still write to Minnie and a few others. Do they still believe you are a spy?"
Severus knew Dumbledore believed he supported him. Dumbledore expected Severus to be his spy. He only heard from Dumbledore once or twice a month. Dumbledore usually wanted to find out what Voldemort was currently doing. Voldemort, Lucius, and he usually composted the letters to Dumbledore. Providing harmless information so that Dumbledore believed Severus was still his spy. "It will be done, my Lord. Dumbledore believed the report I sent to him. He honestly believes that Longbottom is magically stronger. He wants me to work with him."
Getting Dumbledore to believe Longbottom had been an easy sell. Severus knew that Dumbledore was counting on Longbottom as being the backup in case anything happened to Harry Potter before Dumbledore decided it was time to send the boys to meet Voldemort.
"Good, let me know if there are any issues. Speak to Lucius regarding the Weasley family. I don't want to have them try and appeal to the Ministry to try and get the rest of them in."
"Yes, my Lord." Severus bowed, and as he turned to leave, the connecting door to Voldemort's private quarters opened and Nicholas entered. "My Prince."
A tall, dark-haired boy had his head buried in a book. He looked up at Severus' words. The boy had his father's dark hair and height, but he was lanky. He was all arms and legs. Severus knew the boy would grow into those arms and legs. "Afternoon, Severus. I was hoping I would find you here. I have a potion question for you."
"Don't you always?" Severus grinned at the boy. "Come down to my lab in an hour, I have to take care of a few things for your father first." Severus knew he was looking at a future potion master. The boy loved potions as much as did.
"May we work on the base for the Vampiric Sun Dose?" Nicholas asked. It was a potion they had been working on revamping a lot of potions and that is one of them.
"Yes, I just received new ingredients." Severus was thankful that Voldemort let him have an unlimited budget on his potion research. Voldemort wanted to help creatures which was more than Dumbledore had ever done.
"Nicholas, let Severus go and take care of my requests, if you two start talking potions, nothing will get done." Voldemort gave his son a small smile. "I have something I need to speak to you about."
Nicholas shrugged his shoulders as if to say, I hope you aren't surprised. "My Lord, Little Prince." Severus bowed again and left. Nicholas would tell him what happened later. Severus had been Nicholas guard, friend, confidant, and support since Voldemort took over Hogwarts.
"Why does he call me Little Prince?" Nicholas asked, again, really, they stopped counting the number of times he asked. Nicholas hoped his father would get tired of him asking and finally answer him.
"You will find out when you're old enough. Now, come and have tea with me, we have a new student incoming that I believe will be looking for you." Voldemort loved his son. If anyone had ever told him he would a father and love being one ten years ago, he would have cursed them.
"Me?" Nicholas asked, confused, seeing his father's face. "Harry Potter." Nicholas made a face. He knew that meant Dumbledore was up to something. "Dumbledore."
"Exactly." Voldemort summoned an elf.
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Nicholas was sitting by himself, reading the newest potion book when the compartment door was slammed open. "Oops." A red-haired boy stepped into the compartment. "I guess I don't know my own strength. Excuse me, do you mind? Everywhere else is full."
"Not at all." Nicholas knew the train wasn't full. The only ones to ride the train were children of the Death Eaters, pure-bloods, half-bloods, and all non-first-year muggle-born and any staff that was needed. The muggle-borns first-years got a port-key to Hogwarts with one of the staff. The staff made sure that the muggle-borns' parents were comfortable with everything. He watched the boy take a seat opposite him.
"I'm Ron by the way! Ron Weasley." Ron held out his hand.
Nicholas shook his hand as he grinned, time to have some fun. His father was going to enjoy this memory. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter." Severus had explained to Nicholas that the Weasley family were loyal to Dumbledore.
"So, it's true! DO you really have the… the…" Ron waved his hand towards Nicholas' face.
"The what?" Nicholas wasn't sure what the boy meant. They knew the stories the light side had created regarding Harry Potter, they were some interesting pieces fantasy stories. He had read a few of the stories when they had visited other countries. He was thankful they were all in the fiction section.
"The scar?" Ron leaned a bit forward as if sharing a secret.
"My scar?" Nicholas touched his forehead. Why, oh, the stupid theory Dumbledore had about his scar and the Killing Curse. How Harry Potter survived because of Lily's Potter's love, and it left a scar on Harry Potter's head.
"Wicked!" Awe filled Ron's voice. "What house do you think you will be in?" Ron pulled out a brown bag, frowned as he placed it away from where he was sitting.
"Not really sure. I mean they all have their good points and bad." Nicholas knew that sounded like Filius Flitwick. Filius was the one who usually gave the students the lectures on the different houses when he met them as either muggle-borns or half-bloods. "What house are you hoping for?"
"Gryffindor, it's the house my parents, and well, all of my family was in. Well, except for my older brothers, they go to Dumbledore Academy for Wizards and Witches. He is the greatest wizard of our time." Weasley looked like a proud rooster.
"Dumbledore?" Really, he wondered who was doing Dumbledore's publicity, but they clearly were slacking. Voicing his surprise was a mistake, as he now had to listen to twenty minutes of Dumbledore's achievements, goals, ideas, and even some weird stories about the man, including one where Dumbledore was feared by what? Did he just hear that? Nicholas wondered if someone was pranking him.
"Voldemort is afraid of Dumbledore?" Nicholas knew his face showed his shock. He watched the boy flinch.
"Shhh, you don't say his name." Ron looked around as if expecting someone to jump out. "It's why no one has seen You-Know-Who since that night."
Nicholas was wondering what was in the water. His father wasn't hiding, and certainly still using his own name, and not that lame title the light tried to pass off on him. He knew that Dumbledore had been using whatever was necessary to alienate the UK from the rest of the wizarding world, but it wasn't working.
"I just need to avoid Slytherins, there isn't a bad wizard that didn't come from Slytherin, full of Death Eaters and dark wizards."
"Only from Slytherin? No other house?" Nicholas knew he was asking for trouble asking that question. He should have kept his mouth closed as he ended up listening to all the tales from the last war. He was about to pull out his wand when the door to the compartment opened. Sanity arrived.
Draco, with Blaise, Theo, and Pansy entered the compartment. "Nicholas?"
"Meet Ronald Weasley." Nicholas informed them. All of them well aware of the incoming Dumbledore's patsy. His father and the rest of them had been informed of who the Weasley family was and why they were coming.
"You said you're Harry Potter." Ron seemed dumbfounded.
"I was, and in a way still am. I mean I am heir Potter, but I don't really use the name. I prefer to use the name my father gave me. Nicholas Peverell." His full name was Nicholas Julius Riddle Slytherin Peverell. His father used Tom Marvolo Riddle Slytherin Peverell.
"Oh, you're the Headmaster's son." Nicholas and his friends watched the tension retreat from the boy's body. The group of friends exchanged a quick smirk. The boy couldn't cover his emotions and they knew his mouth was going to get him into trouble.
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"First years, over here." They all turned and saw the groundskeepers, one was by the carriages, getting the older students taken care of, one was by the boats, while Bruce was collecting the first years around him. Hogwarts had fifteen different groundskeepers, with Bruce being the head groundskeeper.
"Nicholas, are you taking the boat?" Draco asked as they exited the train.
"Come on, Nicholas, it will be fun." Pansy linked her arm with his. "You know Otis will want to say hi."
Nicholas smirked. "Ron, why don't you join us in the boat." Nicholas knew the boats weren't used like Dumbledore did. The boats were now just tradition. When his father took over Hogwarts, they discovered that Dumbledore had put up recording wards that recorded the first-years magical signatures, which was illegal, as well as adding monitoring charms to inform Dumbledore if any students took the dark mark later in their life, also illegally. Everything had been removed by the DoM the summer that Dumbledore left.
Ron was sitting next to Draco, Nicholas sat down next to Pansy and soon they were off. When they were about halfway across, Otis made an appearance. The giant squid came out of the water, and one of his tentacles went straight for Nicholas. Nicholas and Otis always played with each other. Draco and Pansy weren't surprised.
Ron started screaming, scrambling away from the tentacle. Ron stood up, his arms waving around causing him to rock the boat. Splash.
"Nicholas, stop playing with Otis." Bruce rolled his eyes. Otis used one tentacle to retrieve Ron from the water while taking a treat from Nicholas. "Just one treat, Nicholas. He already had some earlier."
"Yes, Sir." Nicholas responded. "Sorry. Otis is my friend." A soaking wet Ron was now sitting on the floor of the boat.
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Severus glared at the students in the hall. He noticed the wet boy, clearly, a Weasley judging by the red-hair. He glanced at Nicholas, who shrugged. He waved his wand, giving the Weasley boy clean, dry clothing. "Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are four houses, they are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor." Gryffindor was said with a lot of disdain. "Now while you're here your house will be like your family, in some cases your only family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup."
Suddenly a toad was hopping down the corridor. "Trevor! Sorry." Neville apologized to Severus and retrieved his toad. Neville had been to Hogwarts a lot over the years, as well as most of the other first years.
"May I suggest Mr. Longbottom that you keep control of your familiar or I will." Severus warned.
"Yes, Sir." Neville put Trevor into his pocket. He wasn't afraid of Severus, but knew whatever Severus said, the man meant.
Severus pointed to the Great Hall. "The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily. I will return in a few minutes to escort you in. Do not leave this area." Severus headed to the Great Hall.
"I heard a Weasley is here." Someone quietly said to their neighbor.
"Really?" A hushed voice asked.
"Wonder if they have finally realized what being a pure-blood is about." Another boy asked.
"I think it was the one that fell into the lake." Another student stated.
"Really, that would explain so much." The first person replied. He looked at Ron. "Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." He paused, "however, it appears you are realizing that some wizarding families are better than others, Weasley. You don't want to make friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
"Who are you?" Ron asked.
"Oh, I do apologize, I am Marcus Orus Paddington." Marcus was an average sized boy, with dirty blond hair.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, I don't need your help." Ron looked around at the rest of the first-years, seeing all new uniforms on the rest of the students.
"What is Mark doing?" Draco quietly asked. Draco wasn't sure what Mark was trying to accomplish. He sounded like a jerk and certainly wasn't the attitude that was welcomed in Hogwarts.
"No idea, but he sounds like a pompous jackass." Nicholas responded.
"Feeling Weasley out?" Draco wondered.
"Could be, but I feel Weasley is a Gryffindor."
"Great, like we need another one of them." Draco rolled his eyes. Gryffindor wasn't a bad house, but the ones who went into Gryffindor were the ones who usually got into trouble because they did a lot of things without thinking.
"We're ready for you. Follow me." Severus didn't even wait to see if they were following him, he just spun on his heels, robes billowing behind him as he led them into the Great Hall.
"It's not really the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." A girl with frizzy hair, buck-teeth, holding a book informed everyone.
"Muggle-born." Pansy stated. "Ravenclaw?"
"I think so." Blaise glanced at the book. It was clearly Hogwarts: A History.
Severus pointed to the wall on their left. "Will you wait along here. Now before we begin, Professor Peverell would like to say a few words."
Voldemort stood up. "Welcome students, old and new to another exciting year and as normal I have a few start-of-term notices. The first years please note, that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden to all students, without a professor accompanying you. Also, our caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Emerson, remind everyone to review the list of forbidden items. Remember if you cast a spell in the corridors, be ready to defend yourself. Thank you." Voldemort sat back down. He sat on a regular chair, not a throne that Dumbledore had used.
At Voldemort's nod, Severus pulled out a scroll from his robes. He was standing near a three-legged stool and onto of the stool was a hat. "When I call your name you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." Tradition rarely changed at Hogwarts.
Everyone was watching the sorting when Ron quietly asked, "why does that end table have so few students?"
Before anyone could answer, the hat shouted out "It better be Slytherin."
The first year headed to the far left table but Ron wasn't looking, he turned and faced Nicholas. "It must be the Slytherin table. There's no witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin."
No one said a word, as they were clearly shocked. No one judged houses like that any longer. While Gryffindor wasn't the most popular house, they weren't treated the same way that Dumbledore allowed the Slytherins to be treated. The hall was quiet, and everyone was staring at Ron. Severus recovered and realized he needed to get the boy sorted before someone hurt the boy for his bigotted attitude. "Ronald Weasley!"
Ron almost ran to the stool. The hat wasn't even close to the boy's head when it yelled out "Gryffindor!"
Ron beamed a smile at Nicholas. He started to head to the table with the most students, on the far right. "Mr. Weasley, you are a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin." He pointed to the table with the least number of students, exactly 23 students, counting Ron. A lot of Gryffindors had fled with Dumbledore, just based on Dumbledore's word that Gryffindors would not be welcomed at Hogwarts.
"Nicholas Peverell."
Nicholas sat down and before the hat even touched his head, it shouted "Slytherin!" If anyone had been looking at Ron Weasley, they would have treated the boy for shock. The ones closest to him heard him say "no, Harry Potter can't be a Slytherin."
"Where have you been?" One of the older Gryffindors asked. "He's been the son of the Dark Lord since Dumbledore ran with his tail between his legs."
Chapter 2
"Nicholas."
Nicholas turned around in the main hall to see a group of older Gryffindors coming toward him. "Hey, guys. Severus said we can start the Potion Club this week. He set up lab 6 for us to use." Since Nicholas lived at Hogwarts there weren't many students that he didn't know personally.
"Great, but that isn't what we wanted to talk to you about. Well, more like warn you." Michael Huffman, a fifth year Gryffindor, looked at his friends. They were all part of the Potion Club. He knew they were a bit more protective of Nicholas than most because they spent a lot of time with Nicholas.
"Yeah, a warning is the right word." Thurston Pilkington's younger brother was in Ravenclaw, while twin sister was in Hufflepuff, and his youngest brother was in Slytherin.
"A warning?" Nicholas looked at the group of five Gryffindors that he had known since they started at Hogwarts. The house rivalries that used to exist didn't any longer. The students weren't perfect but it wasn't Gryffindor versus Slytherin like when Dumbledore was the Headmaster.
Voldemort believed if there was an issue, the best way to settle it was in a safe environment, usually having the Head of Houses involved. Hogwarts also had a few dueling rooms for students to use if they were angry or upset. They didn't want students cursing each other in the halls and didn't want pranks like what the Marauders.
"Weasley was in full rant mode last night about you being Harry Potter, how you needed to defeat your father, and raved about Dumbledore. Merlin, he wouldn't shut up about Dumbledore. All of it was wrong, but no matter how many facts we showed him, he kept insisting that your father wasn't You-Know-Who, but was someone posing as the Dark Lord, and how the real You-Know-You was going to return. When we asked who You-Know-Who was, he could barely say Voldemort." Angelia Lu had been surprised about what Weasley believed. "He kept insisting the Dumbledore left Hogwarts because he was trying to save the purebloods, and show people that they didn't need to stay in Britain to be tortured by the minions of the real Dark Lord."
"He actually made no sense in his reasoning. No matter what we pointed out, he kept insisting that you needed to be called Harry Potter and that he had to get you to Dumbledore." Michael knew he wasn't the only one who wasn't sure how to handle the newest lion. "He wasn't very popular last night." Many of their housemates tried to stop Weasley from his rant but the boy wouldn't shut up.
"I'll warn my father. What is Professor Nanus say?" Nicholas didn't want to listen to another long-winded list of Dumbledore's fake accomplishments. He also knew that would mean his father, Uncle Lucius, and Severus would be extra protective of him. He touched the emergency port-key he wore around his neck.
"He gave him a detention and assigned some essays he will need to research." Angelia had been the one to go and get their Head of House.
"Thank you. I'll speak to my father." Nicholas and the group headed into the Great Hall for breakfast.
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Severus and the other Heads of Houses were handing out everyone's schedule, when Ron Weasley stood up, waved his schedule, yelled, "I'm not taking Dark Arts or anything else dark. How can you teach this? It's evil, it's dark. Dumbledore would have never allowed Hogwarts to be so perverted."
"Mr. Weasley, come with me, NOW!" Professor Nanus handed the remaining schedules to one of the prefects. "Mr. Wilson, finish passing these out." Professor Nanus escorted a whining Weasley out of the Great Hall.
"Yes, Sir." Gabriel Byrnes, as well as several others, were glaring at the retreating form of Ronald Weasley.
Nicholas shook his head. "I have a feeling Weasley is going to find Hogwarts isn't what he expected."
"I'm more concerned about what Weasley wants from you." Draco didn't trust Weasley.
"I'm more concerned with what Dumbledore expects Weasley to do." Nicholas told his best friend. "I know Father isn't happy." Nicholas didn't have to look up at the Head Table to know.
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"Dumbledore says-"
Nicholas wanted to curse someone, well really Ron Weasley. He knew he wasn't the only one. Every class had students saying the same thing about Weasley. All about how annoying he was. Granger was his only friend, but only because she was as annoying as Weasley was.
Granger was always quoting Hogwarts: A History like it was a Bible and kept trying to get everyone into what she considered study groups or set up their revision schedule as she wanted it to be set up. If you didn't agree with her, she hit you.
"Shut up about Dumbledore." Erica Hughes slammed her quill down. "We are sick of listening to you about him. The man isn't a saint, the man isn't even in this country. If you are so against what is being taught here at Hogwarts, why did you attend? Don't even mention Harry Potter."
"He should be called Harry Potter. He is the Boy-Who-Lived." Weasley yelled.
"Mr. Weasley detention, my office, 7." Lucius announced. He only taught two days a week. He taught Magical Law to the upper years and Political Science to the first thru third years.
"You should be in Azkaban, you and all your Death Eater friends."
"You are expelled from my class." Lucius really wanted to hex the boy. He was hoping this might be a good way to ship him back to Dumbledore.
Lucius, Severus, and Voldemort had tried to figure out how to get rid of the boy, but they wanted to make sure it was done legally. They knew Dumbledore would go running to the ICW and French government no matter how it was done. They weren't going to do anything but let the boy's own attitude hang him.
One month later
Voldemort looked around his office. It was another meeting for the staff, all concerning two different students. Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. He wasn't exactly sure which direction he wanted to go in handling each student.
"If we expel Mr. Weasley, Dumbledore will make a lot of waves." Filius warned. He was one of the few who remained at Hogwarts when Dumbledore ran. He had thought his kind would be destroyed, but instead, they were welcomed and accepted. Something Dumbledore didn't do.
"I agree, which is why we need to make sure everything is documented, my Lord." Lucius had researched and double checked all the laws that Dumbledore might try to use. "Memories, detailed detention reports, even copies of his tests and assignments."
"I have reported to Dumbledore the issues, but he hasn't responded to those reports except to ask questions about Nicholas. He wants me to find out what kind of protection you have provided, how often does he leave the castle. I believe he is hoping he can get Weasley to port-key him away or even plan a kidnapping, my Lord." Severus handed over the letters Dumbledore had written. "He doesn't come out and say anything directly."
"Of course, he wouldn't. He is relying on your ability to read what he means." Voldemort cast a coping spell. He began to write some ideas on how to protect his son better. He already had some protective spells and charms on his son, along with an emergency port-key. "Lucius, keep the copies with the other evidence. How many classes has Mr. Weasley be removed from?"
"Dark Arts after three lessons. Every class he would start on a rant on how the Dark Arts made you crazy, corrupted your soul, and something about it twisted your mind and soul. We tried to explain how the Dark Arts worked, but he doesn't want to listen. Magical Law, well, you read the report. Any class that he felt was being taught by a Death Eater." Professor Nanus handed the list to Voldemort. "I won't even tell you how many fights I've had to handle because of him in the common room and his dorm."
"How are the other Gryffindors handling Mr. Weasley's attitude, besides fighting?" Voldemort had seen the reports.
"Most of them have learned to ignore him. However, it doesn't seem to deter him." Professor Nanus had asked several of his older students to try and keep the younger years away from Weasley to cut down on the fights.
"I've had problems with him in potions. Every potion he asks if it's dark. He even asked if the cure boils potion was dark, my Lord. I fear Ms. Granger is following in his footsteps. She was talking to him about how being gay was immoral. This was after I gave the lecture on frog's spleens, which is used in the male pregnancy potion. Mr. Weasley spent the class telling her about Dumbledore's views."
"I've spoken to her." Filius looked up from his own notes. "She came to me after Mr. Weasley expulsion from Lucius' class. She had a lot of questions, which I answered, but I don't believe she accepted the answers I provided. She used referenced a King James' Bible, I believe she is a devout Christian. What information that Weasley gave her was more illusions about Dumbledore, those fiction stories about Harry Potter, and the fake reasons why Dumbledore left the country."
Voldemort had set the record straight but sadly most of the other countries like the fictional tales of Harry Potter and kept them in print. All of the books referenced where you could find the true story, stated that their book was fiction but that didn't seem to stop Dumbledore from using them to promote his agenda.
"Is she signed up for any of the religion classes?" Voldemort knew many muggles had issues with the beliefs that the wizarding world had.
"No, I tried, but she refused. I explained to her that it wasn't about converting her, but to show her our beliefs, but she was insistent that her religion was the only true religion." Filius had tried but the girl didn't want to listen.
"I believe Mr. Weasley has been using that. I heard him informing her that Dumbledore believed the muggles and wizarding worlds should be combined. How he doesn't believe muggles would have an issue with wizards." Irma Pince said. "They aren't very quiet about their discussions in the library."
"I see." Voldemort looked at the rest of the staff. "All of you are having the same type of issues?"
"Yes. Neither wants to listen." Most of the staff answered.
"Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger seem to get along rather well in my class and won't group with anyone else." Pomona had tried to get them to group with others but the two refused. Voldemort didn't have the classes broken up by houses, he had them broken up by how they tested. If they were slower or needed more help they were in smaller classes. If they were fast learners or bright, they were in different classes. Voldemort wanted students to be able to learn at their own pace.
"Yes, and for some reason, Mr. Weasley has been telling everyone that Nicholas is Harry Potter, which we know, and that he must fight You-Know-Who when he returns. He is under the impression that you aren't Voldemort. He won't even say your name, my Lord." Bella taught the Self-Defense class. "When I explained that you were the Dark Lord, he called me a liar, said you were a fraud, posing as You-Know-Who so that the Death Eaters could remain in control."
Voldemort looked surprised. He hadn't hidden who he was. While he used the name Peverell, he wasn't hiding who he was. He certainly didn't stop using the name Voldemort. Maybe he needed to find out what Dumbledore was spiking his tea with.
"Along with all Death Eaters belong in Azkaban, and how we have ruined Harry Potter." Narcissa taught healing. "He informed several Slytherin that if Dumbledore was here they wouldn't have been allowed to attend."
"My Lord, I believe Dumbledore is hoping that you will expel Mr. Weasley after he creates a divide. He honestly believes everyone here supports him, that you are using death threats and torture to keep control." Severus wasn't sure why Dumbledore believed that. "He has tried to get a people in as spies into the Ministry and Hogwarts."
"I do agree with Severus. Mr. Weasley is causing problems but not in the way that Dumbledore is expecting. The school is united against him." Lucius didn't want the boy back in class. He knew the rest of the staff didn't want him in their classes.
"Keep everything documented. Regarding Ms. Granger, all we can do is hope she will come around. The hitting needs to stop." Voldemort made some notes on Granger's file. "Perhaps arrange for her to speak to some of the muggle-born students, perhaps those that come from a religious background?"
"I have already spoken to a few and they have agreed to meet with us tomorrow night." Filius hoped it worked. The girl was bright but wasn't open to changes of any kind. He was actually surprised she decided to come to Hogwarts.
The door to Voldemort's office was opened. Nicholas stepped into the room. "Sorry for interrupting, but someone sent me this. It's a port-key." They saw a book floating behind Nicholas. "I found it on my desk, it was mixed in with my other books. I knew it wasn't one of mine."
Voldemort cleared an area on his desk. Nicholas floated the book over to his father's desk. "Augustus, Severus, Lucius, each of you set up a separate recording for this. Narcissa, Pomona, Filius, cast the detection spells. I don't want anyone to claim this is a set-up."
Everyone followed their orders as Nicholas and the others watched. Bella had pulled Nicholas close to her, putting her arm over Nicholas' shoulder. "Severus and I will double check the wards."
Voldemort knew the Aurors couldn't do anything as of yet. "I will forward this to Madam Bones, she can hopefully find a way to use it."
"I will also check the files for international port-keys." Lucius was going to the Ministry tomorrow, so he just added this to-do list of things.
"Good. If there is nothing else, I want to spend time with my son." Voldemort dismissed everyone. Nicholas sat down. "Nicholas, I know you won't like this, but I want to add some parsel protection on you."
"I don't mind it actually. Weasley is freaking me out with his Harry Potter and Dumbledore rants. Do you think Dumbledore might have used a house-elf?" Nicholas looked at the book. "No idea why he thought that book would work." It was a book that Nicholas had read a few years ago. Most students had read it before coming to Hogwarts. It was a beginners book on magical theory.
"I do. Weasley doesn't have the skill to bypass Severus and Bella's additional wards and Hogwarts would have told me if he tried to break her wards. He used a house-elf a few years ago when he tried to find you at the Dursley residence." The only reason it was discovered was that Petunia Dursley freaked out seeing the house-elf and blasted the Ministry for sending something so freakish to her house. "This was a book that Dumbledore had on the first-year book list."
"What do you think he might try next?" Nicholas was a bit tired of Weasley and Dumbledore.
"He will wait until you are away from Hogwarts, use another port-key or even have someone snatch you and apparate you to someplace else before port-keying you. Apparition overseas by oneself is hard, never mind taking someone else." Voldemort was going to be making sure there were extra people in Hogsmeade when the students went into town. He knew that Dumbledore didn't have a photograph of his son, as he had added that protection on his son a long time ago and renewed it each year.
"I will make sure to go no place by myself. Draco is going to be glued to me when I tell him. Severus will follow me into Hogsmeade."
"They will." Voldemort hoped Severus didn't kill Weasley or Dumbledore if they hurt his son because he would want to do it.
Chapter 3
The last few months had been everyone avoiding Weasley and Granger. Weasley kept insisting that something evil was going to happen on Samhain. Weasley spent the feast glaring at Nicholas. Granger lectured the students around her about how Samhain should be removed. November was basically everyone avoiding the two of them. Yule was horrid with Granger. Weasley and Granger went home, many thought that Granger went to France with Weasley. January, February, March, and April had the staff and students wanting to kill the duo. It was now almost May.
Weasley hadn't been subtle in what Dumbledore's beliefs. Weasley had been trying to get the school to believe him about what really happened that night. He even gifted everyone a copy of Dumbledore's book about the Potters and what happened on that night, for Yule. Weasley had them delivered the night before everyone was to leave for the Yule holiday. Nicholas had laughed when he saw the book.
FLASHBACK
"What? You can't take the truth?" Weasley had demanded when Nicholas laughed.
"It's not the truth." Nicholas banished the book. "Weasley, why don't you think about this? The only people who survived that night are me and my father. Dumbledore wasn't there. He even says so in the book. He tells people that this is what he believes happened. I would think you would take the story of the two who were there over someone who wasn't."
"You were a baby. You-Know-Who hasn't returned, so no one can tell us. Dumbledore was great friends with the Potters. He helped set up the Fidelius Charm." Weasley defended Dumbledore.
"Look what happened to them." Nicholas knew it was Pettigrew who ratted out his parents to his father. Pettigrew ran, no one knew where. However, Dumbledore ran, as did his godfather, Sirius Black. "Pettigrew was the secret keeper and he informed my father."
"Dumbledore was protecting you and them from Death Eaters and You-Know-Who. Death Eaters were killing Order members and attacking innocent people."
Nicholas had no illusions about what happened that night. "It was war. How come Dumbledore calls the attacks on what he called his enemies raids. Saying they were preventing corruption of their world. That they were protecting innocent people, yet attacked people in their homes. However, when Order members had their houses raided, he calls it attacks on innocents. My biological father was an Auror and an active Order member, who went on raids. Do you not understand the concept of war?"
"You-Know-Who will return and start killing muggles. He will kill half-bloods, he will make sure all pure-bloods will rule."
"Weasley, how about you think about this. My father is Voldemort. He is sitting right there. Your friend is a muggle-born, we have other muggle-born here in attendance, they aren't ghosts. Look around, see the number of students." Nicholas smirked as students cheered a bit.
"Mr. Weasley, I am Voldemort. If you wish I can provide to the number of students versus the numbers that attended when your beloved Dumbledore was in charge. We have three times as many students. Every classroom and house is filled." Voldemort was sitting in his normal chair. It wasn't a throne but a comfortable chair. "I am sure Ms. Granger can attest that there have been no threats to her life or her parents."
Granger looked a bit sheepish. "No there hasn't been. Actually, everyone was very welcoming to my parents and me. They even arranged for us to have escorts around Diagon Alley."
"Dumbledore is trying to protect us from You-Know-Who."
"Ron, sit down. You aren't going to win." Granger tugged Weasley down to his seat.
END FLASHBACK
Nicholas and Draco were standing over a cauldron. "Hey Markus, I think this is the wrong color." Draco looked at their potion ingredients on the cutting board as Markus walked over.
"We are off a shade or two. I am not why." Nicholas knew they followed the directions exactly.
Markus looked at the potion in the cauldron. "I got that shade before. Severus said it was because the frog's liver was about to expire. It will be fine by the end of the potion."
"Yes, it will." Severus appeared behind the group. Everyone but Nicholas jumped a bit. He wasn't surprised by that. Severus had been assisting two Hufflepuffs with their potion. The Dark Lord taught his son a long time ago to be aware of his surrounds, to be aware of changes in magic. It was something all Death Eaters had mastered. Something that was taught at Hogwarts to all seventh years, with the foundation starting during their first year.
"Is there a way to tell if they are about to expire?" Thomas, a Ravenclaw, looked at his frog's liver.
"Sadly, no, but there isn't. It will only affect this stage of the potion." Severus, using his wand, threw up a list of potions. "All of these potions will see the color change. As as you can see it's-" Severus stopped talking as the door to Lab 6 was opened. Since it was the Potion Club meeting, people all turned to see who was entering.
"Sorry to disturb you. We are doing a student check." Bella, with Filius and Pomona, began to check off the students present in the room. "Is it a safe time for you to leave the club, Professor Snape?"
Severus saw the quick glance at Nicholas. He realized what had happened. "Everything everyone is working on is at a safe stage. We were going to be wrapping everything up in ten minutes, so everyone start cleaning up. Nicholas, Draco, Markus, and Thomas make sure everything is put up correctly."
"Yes, Sir." The four boys replied.
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Severus headed to the Headmaster's office. The door was opened, like Dumbledore, he had wards to tell him who was coming up the stairs. Severus wasn't surprised to find the rest of the Heads of Houses and department heads already in the office, as well as Lucius.
"Who is missing?" Severus knew from the looks on the Dark Lord's face it wasn't good news. He was going to be writing a long letter tonight to Dumbledore about this attempt. He would have stopped it if he had known. He had tried to warn Dumbledore that things were what he hoped. Dumbledore, like normal, ignored what he didn't want to hear.
"No one. We found Granger and Weasley in that little room by the kitchen. Odin dropped them there when they tried to port-key out. When I spoke to the Head House Elf, Mitt, he informed me that two house-elves have been coming into Hogwarts. One of the other elves recognized one of them as the personal house-elf of Dumbledore from when Dumbledore was here. The other is an interesting one, it had the Potter family crest on his pillowcase." Voldemort laid down a baseball on his desk. "Weasley was holding this."
"The Potters elves are already here at Hogwarts. The houses were closed down." Lucius had handled the legal issues from when the Dark Lord adopted Harry Potter. "So it's not really a Potter elf. Do you think it might be another one of his personal ones?"
"I believe so. Mitt is banning all house-elves that aren't part of Hogwarts or have a member of their house they belong to." Voldemort knew Mitt would do anything to protect his son. "Mitt wasn't able to prevent it before today, but the house-elves are taking it as a personal attack on my son."
"What was the goal of the port-key?" Filius thought or hoped that Dumbledore hadn't tried to kidnap Nicholas.
"We learned from the temper tantrum that Ms. Granger had, that Mr. Weasley was showing it to her. He wanted her to help him get a baseball gaming going, he would be next to Nicholas, give him the ball, say the passcode. Mr. Weasley wasn't aware it was designed for multi people and told Ms. Granger the password, triggering it. The ward alerted me of the port-key, but we weren't sure who it was for, as I knew Nicholas was still present." Voldemort was going to contact the goblins and see if they would strengthen and inspect all the wards at Hogwarts. They usually did it every other year, but since Dumbledore seemed determined to get his son, he wanted to do anything possible to prevent it.
Lucius knew Dumbledore was desperate, but he didn't think the man was stupid. The man never acted rash, but many in the ICW had been wondering about the man's sanity.
"Perhaps we can use this to expel Mr. Weasley?" Professor Nunes picked up the baseball. "Why a baseball?"
"I believe because not many know the rules to baseball, exactly. It would fit with his ideal about pure-bloods. So it would enable Mr. Weasley to get close to my son." Voldemort looked at Lucius. "Is this a legal reason to get rid of Mr. Weasley?"
"While I believe we can get Mr. Weasley to admit he got the baseball from Dumbledore, we know how Dumbledore works. He wouldn't have come right out and said it was to kidnap Nicholas. We can suspend him for a few days on his usage of a port-key inside of Hogwarts. If we tried to go get him expelled, Dumbledore would use the accidental use of the password to show that it wasn't to be used." Lucius had been dealing Dumbledore and his creative word choices.
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Nicholas groaned as Weasley was heading toward him.
"Potter."
Nicholas turned and started to walk towards his father's office. He had been heading down to the dungeons, but it appeared Weasley had been waiting for him.
"Potter, I want to talk to you."
Nicholas kept walking. Students and staff were watching, but since nothing was happening they couldn't do anything.
"POTTER! You coward, running away like always. Some Savior you are."
Nicholas laughed as he kept walking. "He needs a mind healer." Nicholas heard a few say as he passed them.
"I'm hope he doesn't return." It was a sentiment shared by all.