Munich, December 14, 2003

The Gremlin Spot in Munich was a busy place. As the center of trade in the Wizarding Germany, the place was full of business and countless stores, even if there were only a few people out to shop. Harry apparated here all the way from China where he had investigated a cursed artifact that belonged to Al's grandfather and was stolen by some wannabe Dark Lord, Ming Hu or something. As the weather was unbearable, Harry casted a warming charm on his clothes and proceeded to his business.

Neuwolfenstein bank.

It was the central bank in this part of Europe and the only one run by humans, unlike the others banks run by either goblins or gnomes. Harry always wondered why some wizards would allow creatures to hold their money; goblins were not a nice bunch as far as he knows.

Accepting that it was a mystery he would solve later, Harry entered the bank, aware of the glares sent his way by some people due to the mark sewn on the back of his coat. He knew that only a small few would recognize it and a fewer for what it stands for.

A snake biting its tail and forming a circle with a pentagram inside, it was the family crest of the Archibald.

Al always reminded Harry that he was to flaunt his status as a member of the Archibald house for it was how all of them are required to act. He said that an Archibald must take pride for his identity for their family represented power and influence. Harry did not like it but obeyed it nonetheless. It was a sign to declare that the family known for its wickedness still exists and that all must remain vigilant, aware of them.

Harry spotted the counter where a woman on her mid-twenties was stationed. He went towards her, never losing his aura of power as he did. The woman showed a polite smile and asked him what she could do for him. If there was one thing Neuwolfenstein was known for, it was for their politeness no matter how stuck-up their clients were.

"I am Herwald Archibald," he saw her freeze for a moment before taking a suspicious glance at him. It seems that Al's family was still famous until now, and no doubt many had tried to impersonate them. "I am here to check the accounts of my family and make a few changes."

The woman frowned and took something from her desk. Harry saw her muttering under her sleeve before she turned to him with an apologetic smile.

"I apologize but that account has not been touched for decades and they are thought to be extinct," he already knew what she was up to. She wants to determine whether he was a fraud. "It is required for you to take the blood ritual to prove that you are a member of the Archibald house,"

Harry did not change his expression and nodded at her.

"Very well, someone will come here to administer the ritual."

He inwardly sighed. He never thought that his supposed family would extend the fear even to the most secured place in Germany. Then again, the Archibald's were notoriously known for its history in blood and for the many dark wizards and witches that it has produced for centuries. Harry played his snow-white hair as he waited for the person who would perform the ritual on him. He was painfully aware of the stares from the other people in the establishment.

Finally, after five minutes of waiting, a bulky man with dark skin and shaved head arrived and introduced himself as Kurt. Harry let out an amused smile and wondered if the man was trying to intimidate him. Al did it once, and Harry crapped on his pants.

He followed the man deeper to the bank and inside a room where he immediately noticed three more bulky men were waiting. Harry stood in the middle of the room even when Kurt and the other three surrounded him with matching glares that would have scared a muggle to submission. Harry let out a sigh after reading their surface thoughts with Legilimency and knew that he had to be rough. He would need to demonstrate that he was no fraud.

"Alright kid," Kurt said in what Harry assumed was his menacing tone. "You're not the first one to try to enter here and demand the fortune of that family. I'll give a chance to stop now and spent a year in prison… or we can do it the hard way."

The other men cracked their knuckled ominously.

Harry chuckled at them. For the supposedly, 'Politest' bank in the world, he sure was getting a VIP treatment. The four men growled and Harry was beginning to wonder whether they were impersonating a dog. Well, their impersonation sucks, a foal could do better than they could.

Harry adopted a cruel smirk as he allowed his magic to explode and ensnare them. The four hulking figures were lifted in the air without any movements from him. Harry's eyes changed from light green to gold as he used Mystic Eyes for intimidation. The effect was instant.

He could feel their fear of him radiating in the air thickly.

He wanted to release them now that his point was made, but there were other things that Al drilled on his mind. There were three rules that an Archibald must follow. One was to never allow anyone step on you. Two was to never bow down to anyone. Lastly, the third was to crush anyone who dares to impede them. Harry knew that his mission was to change Al's family ways; he would start with those three rules as soon as he can.

With the help of his magic, Harry blasted the four men to the walls and allowed his raw power to crush them for a second before he released them. The men simultaneously fell in the ground gasping for their breath. Harry glared harshly at a spot where he knew another one of them was watching.

His glare did its job as an old man removed his invisibility cloak and fought back the urge to bolt out of the door.

"Now that the introduction is over, let us proceed to business," said Harry as he stared down at the man who would everything but look directly at his eyes. "As you know, my family had a vacation, and left our accounts unattended. I need to rectify that."

"Yes, yes right away!"

The man scampered to get the necessary material while the four men from earlier decided to do their job and help. Harry watched them while feigning disinterest. He felt bad about how he treat them, he only hoped that he would not have to repeat that every time he goes somewhere. Although he will admit displaying power was fun… he cut that though from his mind and focused on his task.

The old man went to him and offered a piece of parchment and a small knife.

"Please drop three ounce of your blood to start the ritual…"

Harry glared at the man, this time for real. Al had taught him about countless rituals that may be used to ensure his identity and he knows for sure that this kind of procedure only requires a single drop of blood from him. He used Legilimency to read the man's surface thoughts and discovered that he planned to hide the other two drops from future use. Harry knew that some dark rituals required the blood of the target either given willingly or taken forcibly.

The people's fear of the Archibald's was now dawning on him.

"Do you take me for a fool?" he asked him harshly his magic running rampant, enough to shake the room they were in. "This is the last one. One more of this farce and I will ensure that none of you would leave this room breathing."

His intimidation act did its job as the old man fell on his butt and nodded profusely, fear evident on his eyes.

Harry produced a single drop of blood from his finger and allowed it to fall in the parchment. The place where his blood made contact shone with light and after a few moments, the name 'Herwald Rizevim Archibald' appeared on the surface. He showed the parchment to the old man who took it with trembling hands. As the man confirmed his identity, Harry summoned the parchment back to him and burned it with white flames, without a wand of course.

And with that, Harry returned to the woman in the counter with the five men behind him. A small part of him enjoyed the woman's expression when he saw how pale and scared her colleagues looked. She immediately did what he asked of her and there were no complications after that.

Nymphenburg Palace, December 15, 2003

Harry sipped his morning coffee with an amused smile as he stared at the newspaper on his hands. He wondered if the Neuwolfenstein were responsible for the article but quickly dismissed it. It must have been one of the people who saw him yesterday, more specifically, the mark on the back of his coat. The bank only provided confirmation and no other information about him, they would keep his privacy as per every bank's oath.

He looked at the window beside him and threw away the idea for a walk. He would enjoy his life back to the modern world for a while. He had spent a month in China searching for rumors about the Black Cleaver, but it seems that Ming something had destroyed it when he tried to do some ritual. It had been a while since he last felt the comfort of a real bed and an equally real pillow. He would have never thought that the Archibald's would own a palace! Even though it was open to the public, only a few selected places was to be showed to muggles.

Harry sighed and summoned a house elf to refill his drink.

A content look settled on his face and he took another glance at the newspaper.

Heir of the Archibald's Returns!

By Maria Antonia

You are not reading wrong dear readers! Yesterday, many people noticed a young man making his way to Neuwolfenstein bank. However, what they noticed was the symbol behind the young man's coat. It was the Archibald family crest, which depicted a snake eating its own tail with a pentagram. As you can see, many people still remembered the dark and bloody history of the Archibald family and their contributions to the advancement of dark magic. The Herald was bombarded with requests to investigate this young man and his ties to the legendary Archibald house.

I personally went to Neuwolfenstein bank to interview their manager, Patrick Bodewig. It was then that this reporter's fear came true. Manager Bodewig declared that Lord Herwald Rizevim Archibald is the heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Archibald!

As you know, the last member of the Archibald family, Alistair Romulus Archibald, disappeared a century ago after his single-handed destruction of a small village in Russia. Ever since then, there had been no news of him and people thought their family to be extinct. However, that is not the case! Lord Herwald has returned as the head of his house. This writer's only question is whether he would be like his ancestors, or would he be different? What does this mean for the Wizarding world?

Archibald's bloody and dark history, see page three.

New Lord Archibald, is he different from the previous, see page five

"Not even a week here and already made front page," Harry chuckled and put down the newspaper in the table. He then sighed as he remembered his business in the bank. He discovered most of Al's properties and fortune that left him hanging on his mouth. He did not however, found clues to where to find some of the dark artifacts that the Archibald's created.

So far, he had destroyed two of them. The first was the Blood Amulet in Siberia and the Crystal Skull in Vietnam. The Black Cleaver was destroyed by Ming-something and that left him a hundred more to hunt. Just how many artifacts' did they created? He thought they would settle down with seven from the arithmetic value or something, evidently not.

It would take him years to finish.

Oh well, he had all the time. Al did say that he should live a little and not devote his entire life hunting them. He also said trying Durmstrang where Al spent his childhood learning; that is until Grindlewald came and wreaked havoc to the world. Al, at that time did not viewed Grindlewald as a threat and allowed him to whatever he wanted so long as he did not get on his way. Being from a respected family would not matter if he did not finish schooling from a known school. Harry was rather curious, the last time he went to school was when he was ten and it was a muggle one.

On the other hand, perhaps he could go to Salem, the people there are nice. It was said so on a magazine.

Harry pondered for a moment and decided to choose later. For now, he had a lot to catch up in the muggle society. So many things had changed since his disappearance four years ago and he would not throw away this life because he had magic now.

Yes, he would start with the thing called internet…

January 10, 2003

Storming the Castle

Harry knew that all of the premiere magical schools guard their locations zealously, but this one has to take the cake. Durmstrang was hidden under a hundred spells of overpowers disillusion charms. Furthermore, the Durmstrang castle was practically a fortress, equipped with many means of defense and offense that can even take out a dragon! If it weren't for the image that he had to maintain, Harry would have asked help from someone or even enter the castle by normal means.

It was guarded heavily, but not impenetrable.

Sadly, he had to keep a powerful image so he had to do things the hard way. He could not appear weak and let the others perceive him as a child. He needed to make sure that his enemies would stay away from the cursed relics that he have sworn to destroy. He could only do that if he appeared as someone that they should not mess with.

Therefore, he plowed through the castles' defenses with his raw power.

He compressed the air around him and gave it a powerful rotation on par with super typhoons. He used more than half of his magic to charge the mini tornado before he released it to break through the defenses of Durmstrang castle. A small rift was left on his attack's wake and Harry almost collapsed to his knees. He was glad that he had his cane on him. By the time his attack broke through the defenses, he had already started to walk with leisure to the castle.

As he neared, he saw several of the ballistae aimed at him. Harry started to feel the beginning of nervousness; he might be ridiculously strong, but he was nowhere Al's power and his earlier trick had tired him dramatically.

Harry saw a middle-aged man along with a few wizards and witches making their way to him, their wands at ready. He smiled and walked towards them, his smile turned predatory when he saw the nervous expressions' on the battalion's faces. He knew that he had to play it right.

"Greetings," he said smoothly, noticing that some of them shivered on his voice alone. "I did not expect to be welcomed so quickly. Most people would hide in the confines of their dungeons."

The middle-aged man glared at Harry but he did not found it to be intimidating. He would have thought that the man was brave if not for the small twitching on his lips and the sweat all over his face despite the cold weather.

"Well, most people would not destroy a fortress' defense and walk like nothing happened," the middle-aged man said in an angry tone. "I see that you do not differ from your family, Lord Archibald."

"Oh, you already know me?" an amused smile lit up on his face. "Well, you have me at a disadvantage, would it be possible to bestow me your appellation?"

"Only a fool would not know of your name, Lord Archibald. Especially after the news of what you did to those assassins," the middle-aged man said with discomfort. "As for my name, I am Kristoff Bodewig, Headmaster of Durmstrang. The people behind me are the teaching staff."

"Exaggerations, I assure you," Harry said truthfully. The newspapers had greatly exaggerated the fate of his wannabe assassins. The truth was that he only roughed them up and placed fake memories on them. "I do not promote violence unlike my predecessors."

The teachers and Kristoff looked at him dubiously.

"I'm… sure they did," Kristoff coughed on his hand and wore a professional look. "Now that introductions are done, I have to respectfully ask why you destroyed my school's defenses, Lord Archibald."

"I hate portkeys and I wanted to get here as soon as I can," I just really wanted to show off my power and maintain my image as someone you would not fuck with. Harry answered with a cheeky smile. Kristoff did not look amused.

One of the teaching staffs noticed the hint he dropped.

"'To get here as soon as you can?'" the old witch asked stiffly. "May I ask why you wanted to be here in the first place?"

A patented look flashed on his face for a second before it was replaced by an innocent smile. However, the headmaster and his staff did not buy it for a second. Harry placed his hand below his chin and pretended to think; it was funny how his counterparts were sweating in their places.

"It's obvious!" Harry shouted with childlike tone. "I wanted to study at Durmstrang!"

Their faces… Oh Morgana, their faces!

Harry contained the urge to laugh and looked at their frozen expressions; a simple smirk appeared on his face as he did. Messing with people really was fun. The headmaster returned to his senses and stared at Harry with a frown.

"You destroyed the school's defenses for that?"

Harry nodded. Kristoff sighed and muttered the word 'retirement' under his breath, however Harry and the teaching staff all heard him. A bearded man in particular looked paler at this. Kristoff rubbed his temples and turned to him once again.

"There are many schools to choose from. I wish to ask why you would choose Durmstrang in particular, not that I am complaining of course…"

"Because of grandfather," a nostalgic smile surfaced on his face. "Grandfather told me tales of his days here, and I want to experience it as well. His name is Aleister."

The battalion of teaching staff froze at the name of the man who slaughtered an entire village for the sake of his research.

January 11, 2003

Heir of Archibald Attacks Durmstrang!

Yesterday, the peaceful students of Durmstrang were greatly disturbed when the defenses of their historic school were destroyed from the outside! As you know, Durmstrang is a school that is guarded heavily and secured by its teaching staffs. However, the school's defenses did not stood a chance when Lord Herwald Archibald himself crushed the hundreds of protective spells and strode through the castle. He was shortly intercepted by the brave high master and his teaching staff.

Imagine their surprise when the young Lord said that he wished to attend Durmstrang to honor his grandfather's request. After a brief discussion of the Lord and the High master, witnessed by the teaching staff, Lord Archibald was accepted in Durmstrang and would start his fourth year today.

Quidditch players who were in the sky and saw the event claimed that a tornado struck and ripped whatever protective layers were present in the school. They then saw a single figure approaching the school and called the high master for aid.

An anonymous student stated; "He walked through the destruction he caused with a content smile. His snow-white hair fluttered, revealing his eyes radiating with power. He stared through the castle's best weapons and wizards and wore a challenging smirk."

The last Archibald to attend Durmstrang was none other than Aleister Archibald, Lord Herwald's grandfather. It is because the aged lord wanted his grandson to find camaraderie and friends in school? Or is there another reason for his attendance.

High-Master Kristoff Bodewig retires from position! New High-Master, Igor Karkaroff Appointed—

Harry dropped the newspaper and strode towards the Great Hall of Durmstrang to eat breakfast. Stares followed wherever he went and he wanted nothing but to yell at them. The students watched everything he does and some even followed him when they thought he did not notice them. Fingers pointed at him whenever he enters a room and hushed whispers soon follow.

"It's him!" "Look! The one with the white hair!" "Did he really destroy our castle's defenses?" "That kind of power and he's only a fourth year?" "I heard the High Master dueled him and won! That's why he's here…" "Don't be an idiot. He took on the entire staff and won!" "Then why is he here?" "Maybe he's planning to make Durmstrang his base of operations." "Is he planning to recruit followers?" "Another Dark Lord in the making?" "Who knows, he might already be a Dark Lord and planning to Imperius' us all and us his servants!" "Just like in England? Death Heaters?" "Its Death Eaters, you moron!"

Harry chuckled at their conversations and made his way to get a plate of pancake… nothing beats pancake for breakfast.

April 7, 2003

The Vampire of Durmstrang

The old warehouse near the castle was seldom visited by students, Harry explored the building with this knowledge. Two months after his arrival in Durmstrang, the gossip about him had finally died. It was an awkward first week that he experienced, with everyone afraid of him and news about his nefarious plans changing every hour, each plan becoming more horrendous than the previous ones. Although it was amusing, it lost its novelty by the third week.

Every now and then, Harry would want to be alone to gather his thoughts. This night was one of those times.

Harry strolled through the abandoned place and thought about his academics. The Fourth Year Dark Arts were his favorite so far, Transfiguration came second, Charms in third and Potions is in the last. He was doing all well in them, except in the group work. Up until now, none had tried to talk to him. Even the blood elitists left him alone to his devices. Having a flashy entrance and a display of power contributed greatly in that.

Harry wasn't bothered though, none of the other students piqued his interest.

He sighed, it was getting hard to find something to so in the castle. Technology did not work well with magic and Harry was left with nothing to do but studying. The only past times he have was the morning and evening exercise. He was not interested in Quidditch and chasing intelligent balls. He wondered why so many of the student body was attracted to the sport in the first place.

Harry sat on the roof of the warehouse and allowed the air to carry his voice.

"I commend that I almost did not notice you. You're the sneakiest fellow I have encountered…"

The presence had followed him ever since he stepped inside the warehouse. It was quite hard to detect the presence for it blends with darkness and had a different feel than others. There was very little life in it.

"Well now, I see the rumors are true," a feminine voice replied as a figure walked out of the shadows. "You can't hide from the monster."

Harry spared a glance and saw the one who have followed him. She was a girl, on the same age as him, but he had never seen her before. She had raven black hair and an unnatural pale skin. However, what stood the most in her features were her blood red eyes.

"I thought the rumors of a vampire here were false." Harry mused. "May I know your name and the reason why you followed me?"

"Very well, since you asked politely; my name is Elizabeth Dunois," Elizabeth smiled thinly and revealed her sharp fangs. "For the second question, I followed you because you are in my territory."

"Hm? This dusty warehouse?"

"Well, my room is a lot cleaner, but yes, this place is my territory. That's why no one else aside from teachers visit this area."

"Ah, is my presence a bother to you?"

"Yes it is," Elizabeth answered with a straight face. "Please leave."

"Well then," Harry chuckled at her answer and stood from his place. "Please excuse my rudeness. I might come here again when the others are being a bother so please just ignore me."

Elizabeth frowned. "Just make sure you do not visit regularly," she vanished in her spot leaving Harry alone to his thoughts.

The girl was no ordinary vampire, Harry concluded as he jumped to the ground from his place in the roof. Vampires can't conceal their presence like that. Elizabeth Dunois was a different case. He was sure that she was nor just a normal vampire.

"An Elder," Harry mused.