Chapter 9: Archive 6

Lord Baron Potter-Black was world famous prior to his ascendancy to ruler of magical Britain as Lord Pretanoi, but in the time after his investiture he attained greater fame, if that was possible. In the wake of the events regarding the reorganization of the Wizangamot, the establishment of the Noble Council and the Great Reorganization many companies and individuals attempted to profit upon his name and likeness. While most of the attempts were of the more benign type such as posters and truthful accounts in many books, some other items were less savory and bound by reality.

Lord Baron Potter-Black never expressed an opinion on such items publicly, but in the excerpt below, published for the first time, we find his true feelings on the issues.

-ooo-

Pensieve Memory, Noble Council Meeting, Potter Manor. 13 March 2002.

Harry Potter sat at his official desk in his usual morning attire, pajama pants and a Chudley Cannons t-shirt. A large box sat in front of him and he flipped through a book while the Noble Council filed in. After they were seated he adjusted his glasses and shook his head.

"Ok, now that we're all here..."

"Pajamas, Harry? Can't you be properly dressed?" Hermione shook her head. "You are Lord Pretanoi, you know."

"Right, and that means if I want to 'rule Britain' in my pajamas I can. Besides, you told me this morning you were having a lie in..."

Hermione coughed and the rest of the Noble Council laughed. "Enough about this morning, Harry." Hermione brushed some hair back from her face. "What's in the box?"

"That's why we're all here." He picked up the book and showed it to them. "Rubbish like this. Have any of you seen this? It's a book about me."

Ron shrugged. "There's lots of books about you, mate. Part of the territory. Not like there weren't any before you became the big cheese."

"But this is different, Ron." Harry sat the book down. "This one isn't that bad, it's mostly a re-telling of how we've changed the Wizangamot and makes some comparisons to Muggle governments, Parliament mostly, but it's just the tip of the dragon's tail. Here, look at this one." He dug into the box and pulled out a book with a lurid red and gold cover that had a picture of him on the front from when he was at Hogwarts. "This one, for example, is pants. According to this one I'm going to use my 'powers' as Lord Pretanoi, go back in time with all of my memories and then show up at Hogwarts in my first year and then completely rewrite history. They're saying that I'll do it and get rid of Riddle and all the horcruxes by my sixth year. Mental, completely mental."

"That wouldn't work, Harry." Hermione shook her head. "Time-turners can only go so far back, and even if you did have one that could go back..."

Harry waved her off. "I know, 'Mione, I know. But they think it could work. That's the best one of that lot; the others are worse." He pulled out two more books. "This one says I'm going to go back and stop Riddle from killing my parents and this one, Merlin, this one says I'm going to go back to the time when the Hogwarts founders are creating Hogwarts and learn...I don't know, everything. It makes me out to be a better wizard than Merlin, Dumbledore, Riddle and pretty much every wizard ever. Please."

Neville stretched out his long legs and smiled. "Well, you are pretty powerful, Harry. We all are since we've joined the Noble Council."

"Oh blow it out your arse, Nev." Harry rolled his eyes. "We all know that we're learning this as we go, nobody knows what we can do until it happens and even then we don't really understand it all."

Hannah smiled at his exasperation. "Harry, they've been printing lies about you for years. Why is it different this time?"

"Oh, that's just the beginning, Hannah." Harry reached into the box and pulled out a small, plastic figure. "Look at this. It's me. I'm an action figure. We all are, actually." He pulled out other action figures and tossed them to the Noble Council. "Check those out and tell me what you see."

Hermione turned her figure over in her hands and her eyebrows rose higher and higher as she inspected it. "Harry! I am not that well...endowed! I don't look like that! And my hair is horrible!"

"Better than mine, Hermione." Hannah held her figure up for all to see. "With the size of those two I'd have to have charmed support garments and end up with back problems. I don't think this can even stand up on its own." She sat the figure on the desk where it immediately fell forward. "Mental!"

"Oh, give it to Bill, he'll like it." Ron laughed. "I'm happy with mine."

"Yeah, I'm not surprised." Hermione took it out of his hands. "You look like one of those Muggle body-builders with all those muscles. And there's no way you could even lift that sword, as big as it is."

"I turn into a dog!" Sirius let out his barking laugh. "Look, if I twist here and here, then here...I change into a dog! Brilliant!"

"Mine's got a button on the back; wonder what that's for?" Neville pushed the button and a very small orb meant to represent a shield spell popped out. "Oh. Ok."

Harry looked over to his goblin advisor. "Kreekle, is there anything we can do about this?"

"Perhaps." Kreekle took the action figure from Neville, depressed the button and ceased the orb charm. After a few minutes of scrutiny he gave the figure back to Neville. "It appears these are being manufactured, unlicensed, in Australia. We can send an owl to their British Ambassador and see if we can pursue legal means of ceasing production."

"Great." Harry sat back. "Ok, now that we're done with that I've saved the best for last. There's other stuff in there, things like commemorative plates with our faces on them, 'official' wand replicas and the like, but this..." He pulled another book out of the box and sat it on the desk, "...this is the absolute worst."

The book was as large as Hogwarts: A History and was bound in a bright gold wrapping that reflected light.

"Why's this one so bad?" Ron gave him a confused look. "Can't be worse than the others."

"Oh, it is." Harry shook his head. "Let me show you."

Upon immediately opening the book a self-reading charm activated and all through the room music could be heard, house elf rap music.

"That's Dobby's music, it is!" The house elf bounced excitedly in his chair.

"Right, Dobby, and you're not getting any of the money from this book's sale, are you?" Harry shook his head as the music faded away. "Just listen."

As the Noble Council sat still the book began reading itself and it became rapidly obvious that it was another wholly fabricated retelling of their Hogwarts years. That wasn't too bad, but then the commentary began and everyone's mouth fell open.

"Harry!" Hermione rolled her eyes viciously. "I didn't say that!"

"You're right, Hermione, you didn't." Harry shut the book which ceased the enchantment. "This has people who sort of sound like us commenting on what happened."

Ron shook his head. "So it's a book about us and it has us, now, as old as we are now, talking about what happened to us in the book when we were kids. Merlin, that's dumb."

"Not to mention that it probably breaks at least one law." Harry looked to Kreekle. "Am I right?"

"Impersonation presented as fact, not to mention the obvious liberties the author has taken with the factual record and the unauthorized use of Lord Dobby's music...I believe it is illegal, Harry." Kreekle nodded. "I will have our legal team review the matter."

Once Kreekle left the room Neville leaned over to Hermione. "I'd hate to be the people that made this stuff; can you imagine what'll happen when they find out they've kept goblins from their cut of the gold?"

-ooo-

Interview with Professor Snickfang, Gringotts Historian and Professor of Non-Wizarding History, Hogwarts. Taken from Unpublished Excerpts of A History of Magical Post-War Britain, Chelsey Saxet author. Professor Snickfang was interviewed by the author. Reprinted with permission by Red Hippogriff Publishing, London, 2150.

Chelsey Saxet: I would like to return to The Dark Troubles, and I'll stick to the facts. I think if you answer with 'yes' or 'no' answers that wouldn't violate your oaths, would it?

Professor Snickfang: That may be possible. Proceed.

CS: Ok. The death total from The Dark Troubles recorded in the official record stands at nine. [Checks notes] The Patil twins, Zacharias Smith and Alicia Spinnet, plus..I won't name all of them, you know who died, but is this the total of all the individuals killed during The Dark Troubles?'

PS: Yes.

CS: Were The Dark Troubles ended by Lord Pretanoi and the Noble Council or by the Aurors, as stated officially in the record? Was the sole perpetrator caught and sent through the veil?

PS: [Does not respond.]

CS: I'll take that as a non-answer answer. Is it true that someone was imperiused or worse that helped the Photograph killer...

PS: Mrs. Saxet, we should end this line of conversation immediately. For our well-being.

-ooo-

The joy of Britain, as well as the world, regarding Lord Pretanoi and the Noble Council was tempered with The Dark Troubles. Some posited that the bad times of Tom Riddle had returned, that Death Eaters would soon stalk the streets, that there was one last horcrux that had not been destroyed. The truth, however, was much more evil and mundane.

Presented here for the first time are the true details of how The Dark Troubles ended.

-ooo-

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet, 30 March 2002

CURSE OF DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY STRIKES AGAIN!

FORMER HOGWARTS STUDENTS SLAIN, COUNTRY IN FEAR!

WHY NO COMMENT FROM LORD PRETANOI?

Dennis Creevy, Senior Crime Correspondent

The three latest victims of the Photograph Killer were discovered yesterday in a small Muggle flat in Kent. Former Hogwarts students and members of Dumbledore's Army Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Anthony Goldstein were found dispatched in the same manner as the previous victims. The Auror Department issued a statement saying that the deaths were currently 'suspicious and under investigation.' The Phoenix Guard of Lord Pretanoi were seen at the scene but issued no statement.

As indicated in the previous articles on the deaths no photographs remained in the flat. Terry Boot, a former classmate, indicated that he and his girlfriend Ms. Susan Bones remembered seeing photographs when they visited the flat to meet the occupants prior to going down to their local for a pint. They saw the victims back to their flat and confirmed that Mr. Corner, Mr. Finch-Fletchley and Mr. Goldstein arrived back and were alive at the time. Mr. Boot was the Designated Apparator and was not under the influence.

The Daily Prophet believes the time for 'no comment' statements is over. Unless the Auror Department or Lord Pretanoi himself (regular Noble Council press conferences are more theatre than informational) gives a press conference we have no confidence in their ability to keep people safe.

-ooo-

TOP SECRET PENSIEVE RECORDING. UNAUTHORISED VIEWING IS ILLEGAL AND SUBJECT TO PENALTIES 1 THROUGH 58 ON THE PHOENIX GUARD PENALTY LIST. ALL VIEWERS MUST LOG NAME, DATE OF VIEWING, TIME OF VIEWING AND PURPOSE FOR VIEWING ON THE DETAIL SHEET OR INCUR PHOENIX GUARD PENALTY 72. PENSIEVE RECORDING MUST BE RETURNED TO VIAL AND FILED PROPERLY. VIEWERS MAY BE OBLIVIATED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE PHOENIX GUARD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

NAME: Lilian Pretanoi-Potter-Black-Granger, Daniel Potter-Black-Granger-Pretanoi

DATE: 31 July, 2017

VIEWING PURPOSE: Because stupid Danny doesn't believe that Dad and Mum took down that awful Photograph Killer and because if I'm right he owes me 200 Galleons.

I'm not stupid Lils you are you just think you're so smart because you're older. I'm going to Hogwarts this year, too!

Oh stuff a sock in it, Danny boy.

I'll tell Mum and she won't let you be Lady Pretanoi an' an' an' she won't let you run Britain when you're grown up!

Do you want to see this or not? You'd better have that 200 Galleons ready.

Fine. Let's do it. And good thing you'll be Lady Pretanoi 'cuz you're the ugliest one in your year.

PENSIEVE RECORDING ACTIVATE IN 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Harry Potter stood over the massive corpse and wept openly, one hand over the oozing wound. As Hannah Abbott healed him with a few deft waves of her wand he turned to the love of his life. Hermione stood there with her arms open, waiting to receive him, her tears falling as well. She enveloped him as he sunk his head down on her shoulder and cried hard, bitter tears.

Neville walked over and put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "You had to do it, mate. You saw there wasn't an option."

Ron stood with his hands on the pommel of the Sword of Gryffindor, it's bloody tip sunk into the soft earth, and leaned hard upon it so he seemed half-bent. "It wasn't him really, was it, Nev?" Ron's voice was flat and unbelieving. "It was, but it wasn't. Didja see his eyes? Nothin' in there. Can't believe I had to do that. What's Harry going to do? I mean...Merlin."

"Harry?" Hannah knelt down next to the mountainous remains. "Harry, come look at this. Everybody, take a look." After they all assembled Hannah waved her wand and they all watched as every hair on the corpse turned an electric shade of green. "Do you know what this means? It means he didn't do this on his own. This potion is...I don't know where to begin."

Harry pulled away from Hermione and half-staggered over to the corpse. "Why'd he do it, Hannah? Why? Was he imperiused?"

Hannah waved her wand over the corpse's head in a slow, deliberate pattern and spoke the slow words of the diagnostic spell. Once she finished she gasped and fell back onto the grass. "His brain is...it was that potion. He doesn't really have a brain anymore. It's like he was almost an inferius. There's barely anything left; it's almost all rotted away from the inside."

"NO!" Harry's shout scattered the birds in the area and made the ground tremble. "I won't have him be remembered like this!"

"Harry..." Hermione came over and put her hand in his, soothing him. "Tonks matched the boot print with the ones found at the murder sites. I don't know if we can keep this secret."

"Tonks?" Harry looked wildly over at the head of the Phoenix Guards, his eyes flashing an eerie green light. "I can classify what I want as a state secret as Lord Pretanoi, right?" His voice radiated anger. "Right?"

"Y..yes, Harry, you can." Tonks nodded weakly. "You can."

"Fine!" He looked around at the assembled team and eyed each of them in turn. "By my right as Lord Pretanoi I'm making this a state secret! Nobody will know about this until we're all dead and gone and by then we'll have killed that...that bastard that did this! You all will swear it, swear it to me, uh, on your magic!"

"That doesn't really work, Harry." Hermione gave him a sad look. "It only works if you do an unbreakable vow, and those are, well, those are technically dark magic as they can kill you. Unbreakable vows were made illegal..."

"I don't care if they're legal or not, Hermione. Fine." He took a look at all of them. "Promise me that you won't say anything. Please. If not for me do it for Hagrid."

They all nodded and looked down at the corpse of their old friend. It seemed so long ago that he taught them about magical creatures. As they nodded each of them, in their own time, on their own, uttered the words 'for Hagrid.'

Pensieve memory breaks and shifts to a copse of trees outside the Black Lake at Hogwarts. The Noble Council, several Phoenix Guards and Lord Pretanoi stand with their wands ready to attack.

"Why'd you do it?" Harry held out his wand and it trembled with the barely controlled power that wanted to surge out from him and attack. "Why?"

Former Hogwarts Professor Horace Slughorn stood near the lake, flanked by a multitude of wizards and witches garbed in the robes of the Society for Wizarding Heritage. A black robe covered his tattered green waistcoat and trousers. "Why? You ask me why? You should know why, Harry, you above everybody else!"

Ron leaned over to Tonks and whispered in her ear. "Why don't we just off him now?"

Tonks shook her head ever so slightly, her concentration never wavering from the Society and Slughorn. "We don't have the proof yet and he's doing the villain monologue bit. They always love to tell you their evil plans. This way we get as good as a confession for the pensieve."

Harry's voice pulled their concentration to him. "Well, it's obvious I bloody well don't know, so why don't you tell me?"

"YOU MADE ME AN OUTCAST!" Slughorn's voice echoed over the lake. "You and Dumbledore. Oh, I know you kept my confidence about Riddle and the horcruxes, but Dumbledore didn't! I knew he wrote about me in that bloody journal of his, the one that Gringotts will eventually have to release, Albus had to have his memoirs printed, oh yes, and I knew he wrote about the horcruxes, and Riddle, and how I told him about them! And there were whispers, oh yes, the whispers! 'There goes old Slughorn, you know he and Slytherin house didn't fight at Hogwarts. I bet he's in with the Death Eaters!' I couldn't get a job! Hogwarts doesn't pay that well, I was skint! I had to go back to selling illegal potions."

Harry gestured at the Society members with his non-wand hand. "And your distribution team? So you're selling illegal potions, why kill..."

"You denied me. They all did." Slughorn's voice was a sneer. "I invited you, offered you everything and you denied me, you and your little Dumbledore's Army. And how can I help Lord Pretanoi and the Noble Council? Longbottom's the bloody King of America! And Weasley over there is the Emperor of Brazil!"

Hannah stepped forward. "They didn't need you, did they, Professor?"

"I COULD HAVE HELPED YOU, HARRY!" Slughorn waved his arms wildly. "I could have helped you, but then you went to Gringotts and became Lord Pretanoi! What can an old potions professor offer you, offer Lord Pretanoi? NOTHING! JUST WHAT YOU LEFT ME! Nobody would return my owls! I missed Quidditch matches, I had to pay for my own seat!"

"So why'd you have to do that to Hagrid? What'd he ever do to you?" Harry pointed his wand at Slughorn which caused the old professor to take a step back, behind one of the larger Society wizards.

"He showed me a picture. A picture you sent him."

"Oh hell." Harry looked to Hermione. "Colin's DA picture."

Before another word was spoken one of the Society witches flicked her wand and cast a stunner at Tonks, missing her, but it was the spark that lit the blaze. Spells were thrown and duels began, sometimes two or three society members against one of Lord Pretanoi's cohort. The Sword of Gryffindor sang, literally; instead of an awe-inspiring song or a lusty battle song of yore for some reason it was an ancient drinking song. Ron ignored the singing sword as flames danced along it's cold steel and struck the Society members down, their spells deflected off it's metal like water off a mermaid's tail.

Harry and Hermione, without a word spoken between them, fought as one. The wove shielding and attacking spells between them, alternating with no discernible pattern, effective as a hot knife through treacle tart. When one of Hermione's slicing spells took off the wand arm of a Society member Harry caught the wand in the air and tried to cast spells with both wands but it didn't work. He threw the spare wand to the ground, nodded to Hermione and she jumped on his back. The close physical contact of the two, the combination of the ruler and The Head, the combination of two hearts that beat as one became a terrible, swift form of justice.

In the distance two forms began to attack the Society members, causing their numbers to deplete rapidly. Spells could be seen flashing along with the sound of an axe cleaving bone from flesh. Also, in the shadows, a large dog ran through the wizards with fire in its eyes and blood dripping from its muzzle. All around the large dog were small forms of house elves, dressed in all black, with silver daggers in each of their hands. The weak spells of the Society stood no chance.

As the Society members fell like rotten leaves from a dying tree the Noble Council and the Phoenix Guard began to slowly encircle Slughorn. Despite his age his wand moved back and forth at an unnatural speed and made everyone give him a wide berth. He and Harry were locked into battle until Harry summoned up a power from within, a power driven by the memories of Hagrid rescuing him from that horrible island with the Dursleys, Hagrid telling him he was a wizard, Hagrid in Diagon Alley with his beloved Hedwig, Hagrid with the photo album of his parents; those memories fueled an unknown spell that shot out at Slughorn, broke through the shield with ease and struck Slughorn directly in the chest, lifting him up off the ground and scorching the earth in a twenty foot radius. Then, after a quick nod, Hannah and Neville cast a spell on Slughorn that he could not deflect in his current state; Hannah's spell covered the old professor in a hazy purple light while Neville cast a spell that encased Slughorn in a ball of goopy looking gel. They cautiously approached the ball while the Phoenix Guard and Ron mopped up the remnants of the Society members.

"What did you do?" Hermione looked at Slughorn and he reminded her of those prehistoric insects that were preserved in amber at the Muggle museums. "Is he alive?"

"Alive, and probably having a horrible physical experience." Hannah looked over to Neville. "Nice job, Nev."

"Thanks, Han. I have no idea what I did, really." Neville looked over to Hannah. "What'd your spell do?"

"Did you see the way he moved?" Hannah put her wand in her robe. "I've never seen a man his age move like that, and he used to teach potions, so I knew he must be on something. I cast the detox spell that they use at the rehab centres."

Harry walked forward and kicked the gooey Slughorn ball. Instead of his foot entering the ball the material on the outside had formed a thin but hard shell, and the kick sent the ball careening towards the lake before Tonks levitated it back to their area.

END PENSIEVE RECORDING. PLEASE REPORT TO HEAD OF PHOENIX GUARD TO REGISTER VIEWING. FAILURE TO REGISTER VIEWING WILL RESULT IN PHOENIX GUARD PENALTIES 89 THROUGH 104.

ENTER COMMENT TO END VIEWING SESSION.

Danny? Lils we have to go see Tonks! We're in so much trouble. I don't care if we are, Danny. I don't want to think about this again. We'll have to tell Mum and Dad, though. Do I owe you those Galleons? Forget about it, squirt. Forget about it.

-ooo-

Excerpt from The Daily Prophet, 31 March 2002

PHOTOGRAPH KILLER CAUGHT BY LORD PRETANOI, NOBLE COUNCIL AND PHOENIX GUARDS!

FORMER HOGWARTS PROFESSOR IN AUROR CUSTODY!

DARK TROUBLES AT AN END!

Dennis Creevey, Senior Crime Correspondent

In shocking revelations Lord Pretanoi, in conjunction with the Noble Council and the Phoenix Guard turned over Horace Slughorn, former Potions professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, over to the Auror department and charged him with the Dark Trouble murders. Slughorn's wand was entered into evidence along with multiple accounts into the Evidence Pensieve at the Ministry.

Further evidence was provided from Slughorn's residence, including diaries, illegal potions and potion making ingredients along with all of the missing photographs from the victims. Evidence released to The Daily Prophet indicates that Slughorn went off the rails. Former students remember the Slug Club, an informal student group that used to meet in Slughorn's office, as well as all the photographs of notable former students. A photograph of The Daily Prophet's lead photographer, Colin Creevey, was found with large X's over the faces of the victims.

The team that captured Slughorn was unable to prevent his last victim, Rubeus Hagrid, beloved former Professor of Care of Magical Creatures and Hogwarts Groundskeeper. Services for Mr. Hagrid have not been announced as of press time.

Slughorn will be officially brought up on charges of Manufacture of Illegal Potion with Intent to Distribute and multiple First Degree Murder charges when the Wizangamot convenes on Monday. He is currently being held without bond at an undisclosed Auror Detention facility. It is believed that due to the heinous nature of the crimes the prosecution will seek the death penalty. Due to the involvement in the capture of Slughorn Lord Pretanoi and other members of the Noble Council that sit on the Wizangamot have recused themselves from the trial.

For a detailed listing of illegal potions found at the scene see sidebar on page 4D.

For photographs and tributes to the victims see pages 5A through 6D.