CHAPTER 6:

MEDIA RELATIONS

Some days later, Alexia was going through her possessions at Rockfort Island. Dumbledore had graciously given her a Portkey that could ferry her to and fro from Rockfort, as he was able to use a photo of the island and the rough coordinates to give her a reliable Portkey. Henry had come back, briefly, to hug his grandfather, but had opted to attend a number of lessons at Hogwarts in the interim. He took to learning magic and its subjects quickly.

Of course, the Hogwarts curriculum left a lot to be desired. History was a joke, maths, in the form of Arithmancy, was optional, and for any Muggleborn student, they needed to keep up some sort of correspondence schooling if they had a chance of getting any work in normal society after Hogwarts. After all, Muggleborns were second class citizens in Magical Britain, and many other magical societies around the world, even if this fact was rarely acknowledged.

Of course, Henry was educated to a postgraduate university level, thanks to Alexia's tutoring during their time in stasis. While not her equal in genius, he nonetheless had a respectable level of intelligence. The Granger girl had that potential, Alexia felt. And she had expressed interest in Veronica. Perhaps a possible consort for Henry? Intelligent and attractive…but how would she feel about Umbrella's other pursuits?

Her father entered the room, rapping on the door as a nicety. "Are you all right, Alexia?"

"I am fine, Father. Just…feeling some sentiment." Alexia pursed her lips as she found her private film reel, of the time she and her brother plucked the wings off a dragonfly, and fed it alive to an ant's nest. At the time, she had felt a strange enjoyment in the act. Now, she felt disquiet. Not guilt per se, but the fact was that she found dragonflies to be quite elegant and fascinating creatures now. And then, there was the fact that her brother, at least after she adopted Henry, was not a happy memory.

She placed the film reel back in the cupboard. "How did William take my request?"

"Surprisingly well. I believe his words were, 'You want the bitch? You can have her!' She'll arrive in a couple of days. Alexia, why did you want her of all…people sent here?"

"My son is considered the Boy Who Lived because he survived an instant death curse, apparently doing the impossible. It was in all likelihood his mother who used a ritual of some kind, but even so, it must've been untested. This woman has survived the odds herself. Have the laboratories been suitably reinforced?"

"They can withstand a Tyrant, if need be," Alexander Ashford said. "They can withstand multiple Tyrants. The French are getting a little territorial, though."

"They would. They have a very proprietorial attitude to their research. Then again, so does William. And, as a matter of fact, so do I. That is something Spencer fails to understand. He is probably wondering why I have had this woman shipped here, scrabbling around to think of a reason why."

"And why are you doing this?"

"Ever since I was taken out of stasis, my mind has been racing to improve Veronica. I believe that, while temporary stasis is still needed to stabilise the infection, I can reduce the timeframe to a matter of days rather than years. In addition, William's work on the G-Virus got me thinking. If I can combine the G-Virus' regenerative abilities with Veronica…" Alexia smiled. "I believe William has a short memory. He has handed me a very valuable specimen on a platter. Then again, as that rather vulgar saying goes, one's trash may be another's treasure." She then returned to her possessions. "I will have to head back to Hogwarts before long. Tomorrow will be a ceremony known as the Weighing of the Wands, and Dumbledore warned me that a representative of the press will be there. He's almost certain that it will be a rather appalling witch equivalent of a paparazzo known as Rita Skeeter."

"How is Henry taking to his wand?"

"Very well, though that old wandmaker made a rather ominous remark. He said that the wand was the twin of Voldemort's, though the core, a Phoenix tail feather, came from Dumbledore's Phoenix. But the wand suits him well, though he has found wandless magic surprisingly easy. I have also been talking to some of the teachers there. Dumbledore asked me to provide sanctuary for one Sirius Black."

"Who?"

"Henry's godfather," Alexia said. "The fool was framed and sent to the wizarding prison of Azkaban, and on rather shoddy evidence. The public of Magical Britain thought that he betrayed the Potters to Voldemort, and murdered one of his friends, along with a dozen other people. The truth was, it was said friend, one Peter Pettigrew, who was guilty of said crimes, and framed him. That is what Dumbledore told me. He had been blinded by anger at what he thought to be a betrayal by Black, he never looked at the evidence objectively. Black escaped Azkaban last year when he saw Pettigrew in disguise. You see, Black and Pettigrew, along with Henry's biological father, were Animagi. That meant they could transform themselves into animals."

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Which ones?"

"I know nothing about James Potter, but apparently Black can turn into a massive black dog resembling a Grim, a portent of death in Magical Britain. And given his betrayal of the Potters, it is far from surprising that Pettigrew masqueraded as a pet rat for several years. The family he was with did not notice, oddly enough, though according to Dumbledore, some magical pets are longer lived than their mundane counterparts. In addition, they had another friend who is seeking to come here with Black: one Remus Lupin."

"Is he an Animagus too?"

"No, but I daresay that if the higher-ups learned of him, they would be drooling at a chance to study him. Which is why I intend to do so first. He's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Alexander asked incredulously.

"Yes. I even told Dumbledore that I would study Lupin and his condition so that I could potentially effect a cure, or at the very least a better treatment. It appears to be viral in nature, though it's only infectious during the full moon." Alexia frowned as she remembered something. "Father…your father, Doctor Edward Ashford, worked with Spencer and Marcus on the Progenitor Virus. Did he notice anything…odd about it?"

"Many things that were odd, Alexia. Why do you ask?" Alexander asked.

"One of the students at Hogwarts, a Luna Lovegood, made a remark about it. She knew about the Sonnentreppe plant in Kijuju. Apparently her father, along with herself, are cryptozoologists of the wizarding world. She has the disposition of a scatter-brained lunatic, but I can tell she knows more than she's letting on. And along with the Granger girl, she was Sorted into Ravenclaw, presumably for her intelligence." Alexia pursed her lips. "I think we may have potential new recruits, especially with Hermione's links to Umbrella. In any case, I had best be going. Henry will need to front the press tomorrow, and I will be chaperoning him…"


The question was, how to deal with Rita? She was going to doubtless try to find out a lot about Alexia. Alexia wondered how she was going to handle the issue of her gaining magic late in life. Should she expose Project Medea? Spencer would doubtless be watching the media of Magical Britain like a hawk by now. If she exposed Project Medea, he might retaliate.

But then again, that would leave him open to counterattack. Her father and Wesker had certainly said that Spencer was no longer at all loved in the company he helped found (and if he had his way, history would say he alone founded it). She could assume the throne of Umbrella before long.

After a moment's consideration, she decided to lie. She had consulted with that greasy-haired man Snape on a plausible cover story. Snape seemed to dislike her son initially (Dumbledore supplied a couple of reasons why), but seemed willing to cooperate. He seemed to recognise a fellow Slytherin, as well as someone who was much higher up the food chain.

Which was why she was with Henry, her hand on his shoulder, as the Weighing of the Wands took place in a small classroom. She wasn't sure who she hated more: that gurning grinning brain-damaged imbecile Bagman, or the acidly-smiling and garishly-dressed Rita Skeeter. Rita had tried to get a word with Henry in private, until Alexia fixed her with a look, and an unnerving, regal smile, and told her to wait until after the ceremony…and under Alexia's supervision.

She brought Henry over to where Fleur and Cedric were speaking. "…horrible woman," Fleur muttered. "The Daily Prophet is even worse than most of the tabloids back home."

"Yeah. I mean, sometimes it's good, but the Ministry controls it," Cedric said. He looked up, and saw Henry and Alexia. "Harry, good to see you here."

"Thank you. I prefer Henry, but I won't object to Harry. Almost everyone here calls me Harry," Henry said. "Why have they got this Bagman person in charge of this Tournament?"

"He's the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Cedric said. "And he's in charge with Mr Crouch, who's the Head of the Department of International Cooperation."

"Crouch seemed more competent than he was," Alexia observed, "if somewhat quicker to anger."

Fleur snorted quietly. "My father used to work in the Magical French Embassy during Voldemort's war." As Cedric flinched, Fleur rolled her eyes. "The Taboo spell is not in place anymore, Cedric. Unless he comes back from the grave, you will not have to fear that monstre anymore. In any case, Monsieur Crouch, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, acted like Fouquier-Tinville during that time."

"Sorry?" Cedric asked.

"She means the infamous 'Purveyor to the Guillotine', Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville, a lethally zealous prosecutor during the Reign of Terror(1)," Alexia said.

Fleur nodded. "They were dark times for both sides. Monsieur Crouch authorised the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses. There are rumours that a couple of accused Death Eaters ended up in Azkaban without trial. And when his own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters, Crouch prosecuted him ruthlessly."

"A dark chapter in our history," Dumbledore said, having entered the room, along with the other Headmasters of the schools present. Another man, an ancient one with large, pale eyes, came through. Alexia recognised him as Ollivander, the wandmaker whom Henry had gotten his wand from. The purpose of this ceremony, Alexia gathered, was to ensure the wands were of the best quality, and Ollivander was to examine and test each wand.

Fleur went first, her wand turning out to have a Veela hair, her grandmother's, at its core. Cedric went next, Ollivander recognising it as his own handiwork, musing on the unicorn he took the unicorn tail-hair from, which had nearly gored him. Alexia nearly snorted at Cedric's unwitting joke that he polished his wand regularly. Seriously, a boy that old didn't know that was innuendo?

Krum went next. His wand turned out to be the work of Gregorovitch, a rival wandmaker to Ollivander, with the core of a dragon heartstring. And finally, Henry's wand, which was inspected, and then tested. Then, Bagman demanded photos, and then afterwards, Rita wanted that interview.

Having been briefed by Dumbledore about Quick-Quotes quills, Alexia made it very clear to Rita that using one was not on. Rita gave a rather thin smile, and took out another quill. "Now, first question," Rita said. "Where have you been all this time, Harry?"

"Living with my mother. My adoptive mother, yes, but Lady Alexia Ashford is the only mother I have known."

"Do you feel sad that you have never met your true parents?"

"Of course. But they died before I truly knew them," Henry said. "My mother has cared for me from a young age."

"And is it true that you didn't put your name into the Goblet of Fire?"

"It is true. Both my mother and I were in cryogenic stasis at the time, and had been for years." On Rita's confused look, Henry said, "A special kind of sleep that we used to make sure a special experiment we were running was safe. It's a Muggle technology."

"And yet, according to sources, Lady Ashford has demonstrated magical ability," Rita said. "I have done my research into Lady Ashford and Umbrella, and have found that the Ashfords are not even Squibs. How does she have magical ability?"

"It is a rather complicated story," Alexia interjected, irritated about Rita speaking of her as if she wasn't there. "The abridged version is that I wished to use an adoption potion, but the instructions I had obtained were garbled, and I had imbibed the potion myself. Instead of Henry gaining my characteristics, I gained his magic, much to my surprise."

The interview went on for a little while, and Alexia was sure that Rita had enough to do her article, though she clearly was frustrated that she couldn't get more. But Alexia felt it a satisfactory-enough mix of truth, half-truths, and lies for The Daily Prophet. What was more, it meant avoiding the attention of Spencer for now, along with the less-salubrious elements of Magical Britain, who'd be clamouring at her for stealing magic. At least now it was made out to be an accident rather than something on purpose…


For the night, Henry and Alexia opted to head back to Rockfort, partly because Henry wanted a meal there, and to see his grandfather, and partly because Alexia was awaiting something. A special delivery.

After dinner, they went to the laboratory, and watched as a massive stasis tank was wheeled in, and soon connected to the lab's electricity supply, as well as disconnected from the battery that had sustained the tank, and its occupant, during the flight from Raccoon City.

Henry gaped, despite himself. The form in the tank was not as bulky as a Tyrant, which he had seen pictures of. It was more tall and lanky, if it was upright. Instead, the form was curled in a foetal position, the malformed skull of the creature relaxed in whatever passed for repose for the tormented thing. The body was, roughly, human, but Henry saw a massive eyeball on the back of the creature, like a tumour, and tendrils waved lazily, protruding from rents in the creature's flesh.

"Mother…is that who I think it is?" Henry asked, walking forward and putting his hand gently on the glass.

"Indeed it is," Alexia said. "Birkin was all too happy to get rid of her. He does not realise it, but he has given me a most excellent test-subject for the next stage of Veronica. This woman, after all, has survived everything Umbrella has pumped into her veins. The Tyrant Virus, the Nemesis Parasite… She may yet be the crucible for the virus that will be the next stage of our plans. She was for the God Virus Birkin is working on. But I intend to create something better than the T or G-Viruses. I intend to create something that surpasses them and Veronica." She walked forward, and placed her hand gently on the glass. "Look upon the woman who will be the crucible for the future, my son. Look upon Lisa Trevor."

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

And there you have it. Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Hope it was worth the wait. Hopefully, more chapters will come swiftly.

Now, regarding Lisa Trevor, well, back when this was originally Henry Ashford and the Philosopher's Stone, I had always intended to bring Lisa Trevor in, and have her changed by Alexia's experiments. She'll be a key character in this story, becoming an intelligent Tyrant-like being. You'll see.

I am also aware that Veronica and the G-Virus have been combined to create the C-Virus, the one responsible for the events of Resident Evil 6. This will be a new take on the C-Virus, the virus Alexia is planning.

Review-answering time! Thanks for the praise in doing a darker Harry. I haven't really done a darker Harry before. He's not quite villainous, more dark than evil, and willing to do some nasty things to get his way, but he's also pragmatic and willing to work behind the scenes.

Mangahero18: I don't have an English degree, just a couple of health science degrees, and experience writing (unpublished) non-fanfics.

Navn Ukjent: Buggered if I know, but maybe they weren't complete clones of Veronica. Maybe Alexander put his DNA into the mix.

Lu Bane Na: I use the pairings for romantic pairings only. Yes, Harry and Alexia are very close, but I'm not pairing them in the summary in case people think this is an incest fic. Their relationship is weird, but not incestuous by any means.

1. I needed to find the French equivalent of a hanging judge, and found this man after a search through Wikipedia.