GOF: The Hexslinger's Tale – Reloaded
Disclaimer: I don't own Deadlands or Harry Potter; I'm just playing in their owners' sandbox.
Prologue 1: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road…
Potter Safe House – Godric's Hollow, Wales; New Year's Day, 1980
James Potter and his best friend/brother-in-all-but-blood/second cousin, Sirius Black, watched as a highly hormonal and extremely pissed off Lily Black nee La Croix threw yet another item enchanted with Monitoring Charms (that particular object being a vase) against the nearest wall while swearing loudly in French. The vase had been the fifth such item found and drove home the point the irate witch had been trying to get the two wizards to see for the past three months. A point that was horrific in its implications; that their former Headmaster and current leader of the fight against the Dark Lord Voldemort – Albus Dumbledore – wanted the Potter's dead. Yet another sacrifice on the altar of his self-professed Greater Good.
As the two men let their female companion vent her justifiable ire, a stray thought made them snort almost simultaneously because it was the funniest part of the fucked up situation they all found themselves in. In a prank of epic proportions, all of Wizarding Britain in general – and a certain ancient whiskered lemon drop sucking pedophilic goat raping bastard specifically – believed that the former Lily La Croix was the muggleborn Lily Evans. In addition, they believed that James and Lily were married and expecting a child.
In truth, the pair was actually half-siblings; Fleamont Potter (their father) had been traveling through Europe visiting various properties and business interest his family had on the Continent when the Second World War broke out in 1939. Trapped behind enemy lines, he'd nearly been caught by the Dark Lord Grindlewald's Magi SS on several occasions. One such encounter left him wounded but before the Nazi wizards had a chance to finish the job, Fleamont was rescued by members of the Veela Colony of Northern Europe. The Colony was in the process of evacuating when their advance scouts saw the fighting and interceded. For healing and delivering the wizard to the closest cell of the Magical Resistance, the price demanded was that the then Potter Heir sleep with the daughter of the colony's current Matriarch.
What red blooded male (magical or not) was going to turn down a night of intense passion with a living embodiment of fire and sexuality?
Fleamont Potter made it safely back to Britain and eventually forgot about the amorous encounter as the situation on the home front took precedent. Wizarding Britain was bound and determined to bury their collective heads in the sand about the war that raged on the other side of the Chanel. While his father – Lord Charlus Potter – argued in the Wizengamut that something needed to be done about Grindlewald, the younger Potter decided to take a more proactive approach and joined the RAF as a pilot. By the end of the War, Fleamont was a highly decorated Flight Captain. Among the awards on the mundane side were the Victoria Cross and a Knighthood; on the magical side – an Order of Merlin, Second Class.
His former encounter with the Veela would resurface just over two decades later. Lord Fleamont Potter, his wife Lady Dorea Potter nee Black and their son/heir – James – were summoned to Gringott's Bank for an emergency meeting with their Account Manager. The family was introduced to Isobel Quinn nee La Croix and eleven year old Lily, Fleamont's daughter. A quick Inheritance Test and story later, all the males – goblin and human – were shocked when the two older women merely sized each other up then embraced as sisters before sitting off to the side where they plotted out the best way to keep Lily protected from Noble and Most Ancient House of Potters many political enemies.
*HTR*
"That's it, I've had enough. Fuck Dumbledore! Fuck those bloody inbred pureblood twats that are hell bent on committing genocide! This world can burn for all I care; the only thing that matters is you, me, Sirius and our unborn child. I've had everything to perform the ritual needed to send us to my home stashed away but held off on doing it because I'd hoped we'd be able to make a difference and stop the war from dragging on. Between Dumbledore, Voldemort and the Ministry I've come to understand that the wizarding world here and a large portion of Europe is doomed. It's time to cut our losses and get out while we still can. I refuse to bring a child into this nightmare," Lily finally decreed as the violent part of her temper calmed.
Both James and her secret husband, Sirius, felt a wave of guilt at her outburst. They knew that Veela witch had gathered all the necessary components for the Portal Ritual back in their fifth year at Hogwarts just after the elder Potter's had been killed by Death Eaters while coming out of Gringott's. Originally, the boys had asked her to wait because they wanted revenge for the murders. But as they all got dragged further into the war effort after graduation they refused to consider leaving when there was a chance of ending the so-called Blood War once and for all.
Now, the two wizards felt like idiots for not getting the bloody hell out of the country before things had gotten as bad as they were currently.
"You're right love. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. I need to go see my grandfather, Arcturus, as he became the Head of House again after my father died last week. He will need to know our plans and how to reach me; plus there is some House business we need to take care of before I disappear. Then I'll swing by my decoy flat to pack what little there. It shouldn't take too long but be ready to do the ritual at noon tomorrow. In the meantime, you and Prongs need to booby trap this place to hell and back," Sirius commented before apparating out.
*HTR*
Hogsmead Village – Scotland; Friday, January 2, 1980 – 9 am
Sirius Black was finishing up the last of his packing when the wards around his flat alerted him to a couple of unwanted visitors. He sighed as he came to understand that he wasn't going to be able to go with Prongs and Lily-flower but at least he was going to keep his guests too busy to stop them from making a clean getaway. With the grace expected from the heir of one of the Old Families, he glided into the living room to greet the unwelcome arrivals but not before he sent off a Patronus message to his wife and cousin.
Potter Safe House
Lily and James where in the process of putting shrunken trunks into the witch's silk and lace drawstring purse when the spectral canine form of a Grim ran through the front wall and spoke in Sirius' voice.
"Lily-flower! Prongs! After my meet with old Arcturus last night, I swung by Gringott's and cleared out my personal vault. I ran into Mooney as I was leaving and I guess he noticed something because he just showed up at the flat with Dumbledore. You need to do the ritual now; I'll keep them busy here. I'm sorry, Lily; I love you."
The siblings shared a tearful but resolute look and a silent conviction passed between them – they come back at some point for their missing loved one. A half hour later, Lily completed the chant that was the final component of the ritual and James gaped as a vertical vortex of magical energy opened before his sister.
"Put this on, the trip is going to be difficult enough without you freaking out over whatever you might see along the way," Lily commented as she handed him a blindfold then proceeded to lead him by through the portal once it was tied in place.
*HTR*
Prologue: Just another Saturday night in Dodge…
Dodge House, Dodge City, Kansas – CSA; Saturday, June 10, 1880
The Black River Railroad train pulled into the station just before dawn. Train yard personnel along with the train crew worked overtime to get the locomotive ready for the next leg of its journey while the passengers slept. All except the three people currently in the private car of the line's owner – Mistress of the Black Arts turned wealthy Rail Baroness – Mina Devlin. The Widow Devlin was currently riding rock hard cock of a handsome young buck while her face was buried in the sex of a soon-to-be former member of the Wichita Witches, Mina's magical enforcers and security for Black River that was magically stuck to the wall at the head of the bed. They were lost in a haze of lust and mystical energy until final orgasmic chain reaction
It started when the witch the older woman's skilled tongue pleasured came hard. Mina's orgasm hit as she continued to lap up the ambrosia that flowed from her former enforcer's nether region. With one more forceful push, the Merry Widow slammed herself down onto the member of her male lover with all her might; the head of his penis passed through her cervix and pumped several blasts of his powerful seed straight into her womb. The younger woman was released from the charm that held her in place then collapsed onto the bed in a blissful sleep. Devlin gave a small mournful moan when she rolled off her current stud and felt his still hard cock slip from inside her. Despite the physical evidence to the contrary the youth joined the other woman in sleep.
With a devilish smirk she went over to the vanity table near the bed and removed several vials that had been spelled to be unbreakable and to keep their contents fresh. Mina returned to the bed and took her sleeping paramour's still turgid length into her mouth and sucked him to an orgasm that she greedily drank down. Next, she manually manipulated that wickedly delightful muscle until each of the vials was filled with his virile essence. The vials were hidden away before she joined the couple in bed for a few hours of well-earned rest.
Morgan Lash woke up to the smell of breakfast coming from the open bedroom door. She was still exhausted and physically sore from recent activities but she wasn't going to let guilt eat away at her or her future husband that had started to stir next to her. After all the things she'd been forced to do as a Wichita Witch (most highly illegal if not amoral), Lash was free and if the price paid was nearly a week of sex between her, her intended and her now former employer then so be it.
The witch and her fiancé, "Gentleman Jim" Charles, had met with Mina while she was doing an inspection of the Black River Railroad office/holdings in Tombstone. It was originally planned for the couple to buy Morgan's freedom; to that end, Jim had brought a carpetbag with $3000.00 in gold coins bundled into smaller bags of $500. Unfortunately, the Rail Baroness had known they were coming and planned accordingly. She outright rejected the initial offer and made some not so veiled threats to both of their lives unless they came up with money. It had taken all of her persuasive skills to keep Jim from blowing his cover and making a few direct threats of his own.
After a brief break for lunch – in separate restaurants – the trio returned to the negotiation table. Mina continued to drag out the process before she finally made a counter proposal. For $500 in gold coin and the younger pair willingly enter into relations with her for the duration of the train ride from Tombstone to Dodge City, Morgan would be free of any obligations or reprisals from Devlin, Black River Railroad and the Wichita Witches. Jim had angrily refused but Mina pointed out that before he and Lash got together, he'd had sex with more than a few of her Witches. Even afterward, they were known to occasionally take another woman into their bed. Knowing that they'd been outmaneuvered, the couple reluctantly accepted the terms.
*HTR*
Mina Devlin kept a triumphant expression on her face as her former traveling companions left her private car to do whatever the hell they planned next. She let out a laugh now that a potential problem had been dealt with in a way that was both pleasurable and profitable. Lash had been quickly becoming an unnecessary risk to her plan/bargain with the abomination that called himself the Cackler. If the young woman had ever learned the truth everything would've been ruined with her inevitable interference. Now that wasn't an issue anymore and not only was she $500 richer but received an even greater treasure.
The black witch closed her eyes as her left had drifted to just below her stomach were James Charles' magically powerful seed had taken root in her fertile womb. An image a young boy with his raven's wing black hair and their perfectly balances features smiled up at her as eldritch flames danced around his little fingers flashed in her mind.
'Yes, our son will be powerful,' she thought as she remembered the vials of that same seed hidden away under the false bottom of one of the vanity drawers in the bedroom. Mina briefly considered using one of the vials to impregnate her three daughters if they proved worthy. That idea was quickly scrapped. While she loved them to an extent and they were becoming more like their mother every day, they were very much their father's girls as well. Inevitably, one or more would try to do away with her then kill off the others as quickly as possible in order to take over.
That would never do, her daughters needed to meet tragic ends well before they get any ideas above their station. There was nine months to plan it all out before her son was born. Thankfully, she'd discovered the darling husband had had a few illegitimate sons. The idiot had signed the paperwork to legitimize then before he was murdered but Mina had managed to hide it before the fake will that left everything to her and their daughters were read. Bewitching one of them to marry her would end speculation as the father of her newborn. There would still be a scandal but that could easily be weathered.
*HTR*
Long Branch Saloon; Later that night…
No matter where you went in North America – specifically Canada and the United States – whenever you walked into a saloon you'd be able to find at least one poker game being played. And just like in every major city back East, in every prosperous cow town and boom town had one place where a certain elite class of men and women gathered in a special back room game. Unlike regular games that were all about pitting one's skills against the other people at the table for a pot of cash and getting caught cheating came with severe consequences, the cardsharps in this game weren't interested in money. When these individuals got together, the game was all about how well you cheated and – most importantly – dazzling the other players with your magic.
Now, way back in 1742, a man named Edmond Hoyle wrote a treatise – or booklet – on a card game played by the members of High Society called Whist. Mr. Hoyle was a scholar in the field of games of chance; his original treatise was followed by those for other popular card games as well as probability theory, backgammon and chess. When the original publisher of the books was going out of business, he sold their copyrights to Thomas Osborn. In a stroke of genius, he made a killing when he gathered all of Hoyle's works together and published them in an omnibus edition known the world over as Hoyle's Book of Games.
What most people didn't know was that old Edmond was also a scholar in another unique field – that of magic. He spent most of his early life traveling throughout Europe and the British Isles gathering together occult knowledge that had been forgotten or lost for centuries and then collated it into a more convenient format that was the basis for a modern magical discipline. He then encoded those theorems into his published works. It wasn't long before those with a similar esoteric slant discovered the hidden treasures those early treatises contained and began to study magic in earnest. With the release of the omnibus edition in 1748, Mr. Osborn unwitting sent the first true grimoire of the age out into the world and into the eager hands of would be mystics. These Hucksters as they called themselves now were the magicians of the modern era.
When the door to the backroom of the Long Branch Saloon opened, the six people that were already sitting around the table – four men and two women – "Gentleman Jim" Charles walked followed by a beautiful black haired woman that was approximately the same age as the young gambler and dressed in the tell-tale outfit of the infamous Wichita Witches. She looked a little nervous at the rather cool gazes being directed at her but wasn't about to back down.
Jim called out to the room, "Good evening my dear friends it is wonderful to see y'all here. I would like to introduce you to my lovely fiancée, Miss Morgan Lash. She recently parted with employer to help make and honest man of me."
The group relaxed as they shared a laugh. They received the message that Lash was no longer associated with the Witches or their activities so no reprisals for past/current/future sins of said group would be tolerated. Within a couple of months the word would spread to the other members of their not-so-secret community.
Jim and Morgan left after only a couple of hours then headed to stables to meet up with an old friend/employee of the undercover gambler, Professor Heinrich Gestalt. They found the Mad Scientist nervously waiting for them. According to the last message the Professor sent to his boss, he'd needed to get out of Denver as quickly as possible as a team the Agency had shown up and started to ask some uncomfortably pointed questions about the German ex-patriot. He'd packed everything into special trunks that Jim had left him with Space Expansion charms on the interiors and Shrinking/Feather Light combination charms on the exteriors. Gestalt left as soon as the card deck sizes storage containers were put into one of his horse's saddle bags.
Gentleman Jim Charles nodded to the nervous nelly then strode past him further into the stable and into an empty stall while removing a shrunken trunk from the pocket of his fine velvet jacket. Ten minutes later, Corporal Harlan "Harry" Black of the Texas Rangers stepped out of the stall and joined his waiting friends.
"How does it feel to put James Charles behind ya," Morgan asked after giving him a quick kiss.
"To tell the truth, I'm glad to retire him; hopefully permanently," the Ranger replied with a rueful grin then continued.
"Now, I think it's time for Rick over there to bust out the mounts because there's an old abandoned homestead 'bout 5 miles south o' here. We can reach it quickly and I'll set up some perimeter defenses before we get some shut eye. We'll head back to Louisiana at first light. Ever since were got off that train this morning, I've had a growing itch between my shoulder blades. Trouble's comin' and I don't wanna be here with comes to call."
Morgan and the newly christened Rick nodded their agreement but Trouble arrived with a vengeance. Harry doubled over as pain twisted his gut. His friends rushed over to see what was wrong but he waved them off. With shaking hands he removed a small pad of white paper and a pencil that's lead seemed to be an odd color. They watched as he scrawled a short note – Maman, they found me. They stared in shock as he tore the sheet off the pad and it ignited in green flames.
Before they had a chance to ask any more questions, a vortex of magical energy formed in the sky above the entrance to the stables. Rick had just enough time to get a firm hold on his saddle bags with one arm and one of Harry's legs with the other. Morgan latched onto her intended's free leg and the three were swept up into the vortex that closed immediately after.
AN: Some of you may be wondering why I decided to rewrite this story, especially when it will contain some mildly altered chunks of the original during the first few chapters. The list is actually pretty long but ultimately boil down to an ongoing series of computer crashes, real life keeping me from writing, and changing my mind on some of the aspects of the story after rereading it and wanting to incorporate some of aspects of the newer Deadlands source material into the narrative.
For those of you that read the original, you will already start to see the changes. The biggest being turning Lily into James' half-sister; something I thought would playout better in the overall story. The next thing I had always intended was for Harry to have a limited harem and at least one of them being a signature character from Deadlands. One of the major problems I faced with that was trying to find out which of the female sc's to use. At first, I set my sights on Mina Devlin or one of her daughters and laid the potential foundation of that to happen.
As soon as I did that I realized that in the end either Lily or her mother would pretty much wipe out the Devlin family to prevent that. The transition from classic Deadlands and Deadlands Reloaded (same setting only grafted to the much easier Savage Worlds rules) ultimately provided the perfect solution when the new signature character of Morgan Lash was introduced. I went back and forth after that on the whole harem idea. With Morgan as the Deadlands entry, I refocused on the HP universe. Again, the original idea was to always include Tonks and Fleur as the HP entrants.
One reviewer of the original called me out on basically forcing the Tonks/Harry relationship, which I freely acknowledged at the time. Looking back at it now in terms of the total story arc, I realize that Tonks would never work. Not because of the Metamorphmagus thing but strictly from the standpoint that she is an early twentysomething punk rocker witch that had been raised in a mixed household in a modern world. I just can't see her roughing it out on the trail. Therefore she's out of the running but that's not to say she can't be invited for some naughty-bad-fun at some point. Fleur is still but that leaves an empty slot to fill. At the moment I'm leaning a bit toward Luna if for no other reason the with all the dangerous and strange creatures in the Deadlands 'verse, that girl would go completed bat shit crazy – in a good way – but I don't know if I can write that. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I'm taking suggestions for who the last girl should be.