nobodez set the Daily Prophet down on the table, having read the headlines. The sensational news of Sirius Black's trial, and acquittal of all charges, dominated the top half of the magic paper, with a massive picture of Sirius and Arcturus Black emerging victorious from the courtroom occupying most of what space was left from the massive headline of "Sirius Black Acquitted".
nobodez, though, was more interested in the two secondary articles, below the fold, and one was about them, or rather their persona as "The Emperor", also known as "The Grey Lord", while the other was about the disappearance and presumed murder of the defense's primary witness, and cousin-in-law to Sirius, Lucius Black. nobodez had expected the first as soon as Sirius talked about who released him, but had not expected the second, at least, not for a few days. It seems that when Lucius died, so did a few wards his magic was powering (even though some of it remained, though it was now part of nobodez's magic instead), revealing to his new widow his untimely demise.
"So, I see we both made the front page of the Prophet," said Sirius, stepping out of the flat's floo. Although nobodez had a large amount of money, millions of galleons and tens of millions of pounds, they still 'lived', as it were, in Alex Smith's old flat, even though the lease-holder had been dead for nearly two years.
"I'm not happy about either of these articles, though I admit, I should have put my involvement under more protection," admitted the lich.
"It's not your fault, though I'd rather you not blame me either," said Sirius, sitting down opposite the lich at the cheap table. "Arcturus wants to meet you face to face, and I've already received requests from both Director Crouch of the MLE and Headmaster Dumbledore to talk about my involvement with you."
"Arcturus is important, as I need to get the diary from Narcissa," said the lich. "As for Crouch, if you'd like, I can pay him a visit. I know where the bodies are buried, and more importantly, which bodies are buried, and which aren't."
"Okay …" said Sirius hesitantly. "What about Dumbledore?"
"After what he did after Riddle's death, with Harry, do you trust him?" asked the lich. "I don't, but that's because I have a … distorted view of the man."
"I'd like to know the why's, such as why I was left to rot in Azkaban without a trial, but yes, he's a powerful man, and although he's made mistakes, he's still the greatest force for good this country has seen in centuries," the animagus explained.
"Tell him what you like, but remember, he's a skilled Legilimens, so don't look him in the eyes," cautioned nobodez.
"Of course," said Sirius with a scoff, "How'd you think the Marauders got away with so much?"
"Ah," said the lich.
"As for Arcturus, will he be meeting you or the Emperor?" asked Sirius.
The lich thought for a moment, and then the illusion of the Emperor sat opposite Sirius, though wearing a pastel blue bath robe rather than the blue suit or the brown robe.
"I hope you're not planning on wearing that," said Sirius with a smile.
"I'll have you know that I could fight of an alien invasion wearing this," said the Emperor, the affected accent gaining more and more Estuary atop the Received Pronunciation base and missing almost all of the American accent that nobodez normally spoke with (as well as all of the sub-harmonics).
"You know, you keep trying so hard, and yet, nobody will ever get your references," pointed out Sirius. "I recommend the brown robe, of course, or if you can transfigure something even nicer, perhaps go with that. He is the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."
"But of course, I may have been raised a middle-class American mundane, but even I know when I need to dress up," admitted the Emperor. He stood, and with a gesture of his hand his illusionary clothes changed, from the blue bath robe to a fine silk dress robe in black with red trim, over a dress shirt and bow tie, the former a light grey, while the latter was black.
"Red and Black, the colors of your soldiers," pointed out Sirius.
"The Wizards are Red, the Warriors are Black, and the Dementors, and yes, I now have Dementor minions, are Black with red bones," said the Emperor, as with a wave of his hand three illusory figures appeared to float above the newspaper.
The red robed wizard was looped in a devastating spell chain that Sirius had seen his cousin, Bellatrix, use in battle. The black armored warrior was looped as well, bringing the submachine gun, a term that Sirius had learned in the weeks since his escape, up to its shoulder to fire, and then lowering it again, before advancing a few steps and starting over. The black robed red skeletal Dementor gave Sirius the chills, even without any sort of aura of fear, though the red bones would differentiate the Emperor's Dementors from those used by the Ministry of Magic, as well as other governments around the world, to defend Azkaban and similar prisons.
With another wave, the illusions were gone once more, "Hopefully Arcturus will be cooperative, though I fear the fallout from my premature revelation might upset him."
"From what I could see he was still proceeding with the agreement, and even though Narcissa is likely to be distracted from the after effects of Lucius' death and disappearance, she'll provide him with the Diary," said Sirius with confidence.
"Let us hope so," said the Emperor.
Four hours later the Emperor was deposited via portkey into a dark, yet luxurious, entrance hall of a mansion or manor. He looked around and noticed that all of the paintings were empty of their subjects.
A door opened onto a balcony above, and the man was silhouetted by the light from a room beyond, "Welcome, 'Emperor', to the Ebon Hall."
The Emperor bowed his head to whom he presumed was Arcturus Black, "Lord Black, thank you for inviting my to your home."
"A house elf will be along shortly to collect your wands and any other weapons you might be carrying," said Arcturus. "Only then will be begin our meeting."
"Of course," said the Emperor.
After giving the two wands, neither of which was had been purchased by one Doctor Leonard McCoy from Ollivander, the PPK, the pair of poisoned hunting knives, and the 'stun' baton to the elf that had appeared (all replaceable), the Emperor smoothed his dress robe. As the elf popped away, a hidden door opened behind him, and lead into a well appointed study.
"Come in, Emperor," said Arcturus, this time standing fully illuminated. He appeared to be in his late fifties, which meant that as a wizard he was likely in his early eighties.
"Thank you, Lord Black."
"You can call me Arcturus, but only if I shan't have to call you by your rather pretentious title," said the wizard.
"You may call me Tiberius," replied the Emperor, before striding confidently into the study.
"You seemed to have been rather well armed for a visit to an ally's house, Tiberius," said Arturus, gesturing to the smaller of the two leather chairs, while taking a seat in the larger and more stately one.
"After the … revelation of our mutual involvement in getting your grandson his trial, I could not presume a hospitable welcome," explained 'Tiberius'.
"It was unlucky, and neither of us anticipated it, while both of us should," explained Arcturus. He placed his hand on a wooden box sitting on a table between the two chairs, "I took the pleasure of securing the object you desired from Narcissa this morning, after affirming that she was still protected by the House of her birth, as was her son." Lord Black then passed the box to 'Tiberius'.
"Thank you, Arcturus," said the Emperor, though did not examine it, as it was a gift from his host. "I was hoping that the revelation would not upset our alliance."
"I had actually hoped to expand our alliance, though by looking at you it might not be for a generation or more," said Arcturus.
"How so?"
"Tiberius, you know that my grandson has no children, and while he had many dalliances during his time at Hogwarts, none lasted beyond a third date. I am not as young as I once was, and while I am not an old man, I have lived longer than most of my family, having outlived my son and one of my grandsons. While my daughter, Lucretia, still lives, her husband died during the war with … Riddle was it?"
"Yes, Riddle, Tom Marvolo Riddle," explained the Emperor.
Arcturus gestured to the wooden box, "So that is his Diary?"
"Of a sort, while I suspect that once it was truly his diary, it is now an object that would allow him the ability to return from his destruction," explained 'Tiberius'.
"And you intend to destroy it?"
"As I have done with four others, such as the cup you retrieved from Bellatrix's vault for me."
"But that was not destroyed, I read that it was returned, anonymously, to the Smiths."
"The magic that Riddle put into it, though, was destroyed. As was that in Slytherin's Locket and Ravenclaw's Diadem, the former also returned to the Smiths and the latter soon to be returned to Hogwarts itself."
"You found Ravenclaw's Diadem?" asked Arcturus surprised.
"I knew where it was, and you grandson retrieved it. It was my hope that he'd be able to use it to curry favor with Headmaster Dumbledore."
"You seek Albus' favor?"
"I wish to be forgotten by the public, but that will not happen, and so I must instead stay true to my moniker."
" 'The Grey Lord'? Seems rather pretentious, though not quite as much as 'Emperor'."
"I am neither Dark like Grindlewald or Riddle, nor Light like Dumbledore, instead I seek a middle path, one where the evil are punished, but the good too are held to account. I seek an end to the Statute of Secrecy, and a rise of a Human Empire across the Earth, and eventually, across the Universe."
"Grand ideas, Tiberius, though I now understand your appellation."
The Emperor nodded, "It is, as I told your grandson, an aspirational one. I seek not the subjugation, nor the elimination of the non-magicals …"
"The muggles?" asked Arcturus.
"I would rather not use that term, as it is my intent to integrate them, or rather, to integrate the magical with the mundane," explained 'Tiberius'.
"Integration, a grand plan, but to do so would either take a large effort to destroy the Statute quickly, or much more time than you have."
"I have a plan, and even if it takes hundreds of years, it shall succeed," proclaimed the Emperor.
"While I do not share your beliefs, I admit that your plan is likely to succeed with or without the help of myself or my House, and so, I'd like to bind my House with yours. I had hoped, were you older, than you had a suitable daughter to marry my grandson, but I find instead that you're perhaps a decade older than he, and even if you did have a daughter, she'd not be old enough for Sirius."
The Emperor thought for a moment, contemplating his options. Two were visible and obvious to him. The first would be to claim some woman as sister, and use her to cement the alliance, but that would require magic upon the woman, of a style the Lockhart would approve, which made it the less savory, but less hazardous option, The second would be to take the more difficult path, one that would either require sacrificing magic for a period of time, or else killing many more Death Eaters before introducing a sister to Sirius. While he needed not make the decision now, the answer was obvious.
"I do have a sister, she's a bit older than Sirius, and she is, as the saying goes, unattached."
- Updated 09/10/13