AN: Hello, guys, and I'm back! And so comes back our favourite characters for another round…Tell you what guys, stop seeing both Wolf and Lion in such low lights( not that Harry would complain) but still….yeah, everyone has a story to tell over here, and not much of their backgrounds are very happy-go-lucky, so more than often nasty circumstances make nastier people…listen to what they have to say for themselves. I listened, and found their stories quite fascinating, both Wolf's and Lion's. Compelling pasts, those two have. It's really great writing this….and yeah guys, I love your reviews and thrive on them, so continue doing so! Replies to reviews:
RikudoNaruto1: Thanks to you, for such brilliant encouragement! We all exist to write only because of such enthusiastic readers as you
shunshu: Send more kisses, I'll accept them gladly! :D Thank you, by the way. Let's hope this stays interesting. No, on a second thought: let's hope this becomes even more interesting!
xxxLeanniexxx: Yeah, Lion is after Gertrude, but after reading this, you'll understand there's a greater desire for something else other than vengeance; everything's not as white, nor as black as it seems, remember? That's the spinal cord of this story. Thanks for the review, by the way. Let's see how Gertrude deals with this. Of course, this means someone named Harry would be having his hands full for quite a time.
Guest: Thanks. Mainly that's why I wrote this story. Tried to search out decent Harry raising Tom and becoming Lord Slytherin stories, but never found any. So chose the next best option: write my own story. And so you get it. As time went by, this developed, and it is what it is now Thanks for the encouragement.
And on another note, Belligerent King: Good Lord, didn't you read the next chapter? You know, maybe this is why they call patience to be a virtue. What use is cliffhangers if you don't have patience. OBVIOUSLY, Riddle is NOT in love with Ginny Weasley. It would be…eww. Yeah, that's what it would be. If you don't care to read on and find out what kind of love Tom exactly had for Ginny then, then I don't see myself bothering to explain it to you. It's pretty clear in chapter 2. Do not presume things. That takes the fun outta the story. Hard truth. Don't mind, please. Yeah, and have a mother who tricked a father into a marriage, conceived you, left you and died, grow up in an orphanage where you HAVE to use your magic as the last resort to be saved from bullies, yeah…..maybe Tom had the right to be fucked up because of that. Thanks for the review, by the way.
I won't be interfering any longer in our story-time. Pip Pip! Enjoy the read!
"Gertrude Gryffindor killed my father." The Lion hissed with terrible venom, jabbing his wand forward. Harry tightened his hold on his wand, pointed straight at the Lion's face.
"Quit it, boys," Wolf barked. "I said, lower your WANDS!"
The Lion closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. When he opened it again, his eyes were devoid of malice, only consisting resigned fury. He lowered his wand, and moved back. "Apologies, Lord Slytherin. I got a bit carried away."
Harry also lowered his wand, and moved forward, away from the cliff.
"Not you." Wolf said, pointing his wand at Harry.
"Geoffrey, it is not good to do this to him. It is dishonourable." Garret said in a tense voice.
"Dishonourable?" Wolf rounded on him. "Dishonourable? Listen, Lion, that honor brought me nothing but misery. Don't talk of dishonor to a person who's cursed to kill all his descendants before he can finally achieve death!"
"He's not like those you had to kill, Geoffrey!" The Lion yelled. "This man has honor! He understands what happened to me! He is a man worthy of his prowess!"
Wolf's eyes grew soft. "He didn't rush to the defense of that infernal girl in the memory?" He asked.
The Lion looked at Harry, and then looked back at Wolf.
"No. He did not."
Harry couldn't understand why Garret was telling such a half-truth; true, he hadn't rushed to the defense of Gertrude, but he also hadn't rushed to the defense of Garret in the memory. Garret seemed to be a man with inexplicable sentiments.
Meanwhile, Wolf had only lowered his wand infinitesimally, and was looking at Harry appreciatively. "Good, Harold. You seem to be a good man."
Harry heaved a sigh of relief.
"But being a good man doesn't mean you won't face War." Wolf said.
Immediately, Harry was on his guard, wand in hand.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean-" Wolf started.
"That there will be War, no matter what happens." Garret said, almost with a tinge of sadness.
Both Harry and Wolf turned to look at him.
He said, "This is not a squabble between me or a damned girl who killed my father, or between you two. No. This is a War that will change the very face of the Wizarding World. That will forge new destinies, new ideologies, that will see new gods and new devils. This will be change. What has been going on cannot go on any longer."
The Lion started pacing before them, still speaking in that absorbed, hypnotic tone.
"People will speak of this War for millennia to come; Mothers shall sing songs of the heroes to their children at night and the teachers shall sing songs of the blasted villains to the students in the morning. This will be a War of not bloodshed, but of the one true struggle. This will be a War for the betterment of the world as we know it. This will be a tale of duty and negligence, of the beginning and the end, of truth and lies, of glory and of disgrace, this will be a war for the very soul of Magic. Reigns shall topple, heads shall roll, Houses will fall. This will be the War of," he pointed at Harry, "reawakened power and honesty, and," he gestured at Wolf, "This War shall bring forth the ultimate freeing from the chains of birth and rebirth."
He turned to look at the sky, where a blood-red meteor was tracing a bloody path through the dark sky now. "This War will be in the outside as well as the inside. This War shall reveal the ultimate truth of life and of death. And this war shall be known as the greatest of all battles, the One True War of all the Wars to come." The Lion looked down, his eyes burning gold, at the two men in front of him.
"This shall be known as the Great War."
"I will revenge my father and wipe out the entire House of Gryffindor." The Lion said in a deadly calm voice.
"And I shall complete the work of a millennia, and wipe out my House to finally end it all as it began. Dust thou art, and to dust shall thou return." Wolf stated in a voice that left no illusions of the deadly conviction branded into the man's soul.
"What say you, Harold of the House Slytherin? What shall you fight for? For Love? For Desire? For conviction? For your Life? What puny ideals shall you fight for?" Both of them questioned Harry.
He would fight for the new world he was building. He would fight for the tired weary eyes of Dumbledore, of the hopeful eyes of Charles Potter, of the mocking smile of Orion Black. He would fight for the fifty thousand magicals that called England their home. He would fight to keep his work from being undone. And…..Harry realized. He would fight to keep the sadness from finally creeping up from Gertrude's smile to her eyes. And, to ensure that Thomas Harold Slytherin finally got the life that he and so many others had denied himself in another world.
But really? Harry questioned himself. Did he really want to fight for all this? He was the Master of Death. He could just call up anyone from the Death from what the tales told. But could he even that? Life was a huge maze of confusion, but he was still navigating. He was fighting the true war of all, the War of Life. But then, what exactly in this life had he been fighting for? Friends? No, no. Even after his friends had fallen, he had gone on. Love? No, no. Even after leaving Ginny, he had gone on to fight. Revenge? No, no. Even after killing Voldemort, he had gone on to fight. Then what was he fighting for? What had he been fighting for all his life, in the previous world as well as this?
Harry looked deep into his soul, and found the true answer. An indomitable fire flickered into life in his eyes. His will reasserted himself. The odds seem to get lower and lower in the face of what Harry had determined that he will fight and shed blood and kill for. He stood up tall, and looked both of them in the eyes, and said in a hard voice,
"For Peace. Yes, I shall fight this War so that there would be Peace."
"Return, Harold, to wherever you came from to come here." Wolf said. "It is now time for both of us to prepare for the War. We shall meet again, and I shall be waiting for the sweet touch of final death on my soul when I finally vanquish you and destroy you and the Line once and for all." And he blasted the part of the cliff on which Harry was standing.
Anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards sprang into the place, and Harry fell through the air, wand having blasted from his hand when Wolf had blasted him away. He looked down.
It was a hundred foot drop onto the rocks underneath, and the height was slowly decreasing at an alarming rate.
(line break)
"Where has Slytherin gone off to?" Abraxas Malfoy asked Orion Black. Orion shrugged. "I really don't know." He admitted.
"Well, it does seem suspicious. He makes a fool's entry, pulls up the entire atmosphere here so that it dissolves into a party of sorts, and in turn he gets to blend in with the crowd and avoid scrutiny and disappear. Worthy of a Slytherin." Malfoy raised his glass to Lestrange, who was listening to their conversation. In response, Lestrange also raised his glass to the name of Slytherin. Nott looked disinterested, but everyone knew he was in on the conversation.
"I say," Lestrange lowered his voice, and all of them leaned towards him to hear better, "Have anyone seen how that Gryffindor woman is looking at the Lord?"
Orion started laughing, and all of them looked at him with suspicion. "Well," he hiccoughed, "Well, you did see then. What a wonder."
"Shut it, Black." Nott hissed. "Yes Lestrange, we have. And what is your take on it?"
"My take?" Lestrange seemed confused for a moment, and said, "Bad, obviously! She's bad for the Lord!"
"I'd rather say," Malfoy said carefully, "That…..she doesn't seem to be too conniving. It might be real."
"Pft!" Nott said. "If you want the actual take, ask Greengrass and Davis. They'll have it out of her in no time. She's too gullible for Slytherin. She doesn't seem to have noticed his absence."
"Oh, she has, I assure you." Orion said, laughing.
"Has she now? Was that what you two were talking about by the fireside?" Nott asked with suspicion.
"You can say so. All I'd say that when Harry does come back, it'll amuse him a lot. The whole thing." Orion replied.
"You know, I'm surprised, Orion. I'd have thought you would have flirted with her." Nott remarked.
"Yeah, of course." Lestrange snidely said. "The man with the record of fucking a quarter of the wizarding world!"
"You flatter me, Lestrange," Orion said, "But of course, I love the company of the fairer sex. Don't mind, but I don't love your company. I'm sorry, are you jealous? I really don't swing that way."
"Why, you impudent bastard!" Lestrange exclaimed, as they all exploded with laughter.
"What are those dark idiots therer laughing about?" Charles Potter whispered to Thomas Lupin, eyeing the group of Black, Malfoy, Nott and Lestrange with consternation.
"Dunno." Lupin said.
"I also agree." Philip Longbottom sidled into a seat beside them.
"Would a prank help them lose their laughs?" Charles asked Thomas.
"Heavens, no." Philip frowned. "Gertrude'll have our hides if she knew we were trying to screw around with Slytherin's lot."
"You take the fun out." Charles made a face at Philip.
"By the way, have you seen how Slytherin looks at Gertrude?" Thomas Lupin asked both of them.
"Now you say that, I have." Charles said, with a look of dawning comprehension on his face.
"Those two!" Philip was laughing.
"What's the joke?" Charles asked him.
"It's funny, I must agree. Denial is making this all the more interesting." Albus Dumbledore joined them.
"Albus." All of them nodded at him.
"But Gentlemen," he said, "This might not be so laughing a matter as we might think."
"How so?" Thomas asked.
"Slytherin and Gryffindor on the same side. The alliance would be extremely powerful, and if unchecked….." Dumbledore trailed off, worry in his voice.
"Do you have any reason to think so?" Philip asked.
"We know Gertrude's origins. We know of the Council's decision to nominate her as the Gryffindor Lady. We know her strengths, weaknesses, her friends, her works. But," Dumbledore's voice got troubled, "There's no council for Slytherin blood. Through the centuries, if the line dies out, the blood would rise up again some time later, by a bastard, or by a very distant relation. They say Salazar himself would select the descendant. It's very shady. Who was Harold Slytherin's father? Who was his mother? Why is he radically different from the usual propaganda of Slytherin? Why is he so tolerant of Muggles? Why is he willing to play games yet put himself in battles to protect people? We don't know his weaknesses, only Gertrude might know. My sources told me that he once took a hit, and Gertrude brought him back from the brink. But I doubt even she knows the full extent of his capabilities. And all of a sudden, the rise of the Houses of both the Lion and the Serpent together? This seems to be a lot of manipulation done by Destiny. And where and why does Slytherin disappear at times? And who was Thomas Slytherin's mother? Did she die or something else happened to her? Why is Slytherin so tight-lipped about her? He does seem to be a man of contradictions."
"He's a good father." Thomas Lupin said.
"Yes." Dumbledore agreed. "I've watched his boy. Thomas Slytherin seems alert, highly intelligent, possesses a rare grip on spells above his age, and is very defensive of his father. Also, he's a bit secretive about his ambitions, which does spark my interest as to Harold Slytherin's intentions in Hogwarts. Does father have any work to do for son?" He asked.
"It might be-" Charles started, but was interrupted.
"Father's in danger! His portkey talisman just went out! I'm going in!" Tom shouted over the din. There was a shocked silence, then the entire dark side jumped to their feet. Tom shouted, "Sonorus!" and his voice amplified.
"We'll go in for the extraction! Black, Malfoy, Lestrange, Nott, Greengrass, come with me! No, Davis, stay here with Gryffindor. She is NOT going in where my father has not permitted me to let her go!" he added at Gertrude's furious glare. Davis moved in to step beside her, wand drawn warningly. "Let them do their job. They know what they're doing." She just said.
"We'll follow his magical signature through the portkey's vanishing trajectory!" Tom yelled out instructions, "Cast with me, Malfoy, Black! Davis, Lestrange, Nott, cover us, we'll need that. If you see my father, just grab him and make it out of there, just send a patronus to us! One, two….THREE!"
With the little miffed gazes of the men and woman save for Black, at being ordered about by a twelve-year boy, they all disappeared in a blaze of blue, tapping into the portkey to appear to the coordinates of the where Harry's magical signature was.
(line break)
Gertrude Gryffindor immediately sprang to action.
"Albus," she said, "Set me up a meeting with the Minister, please. I would discuss a matter of pressure with him. It's urgent."
"But-" Thomas Lupin started, and Charles Potter ended, "Shouldn't we be waiting for Slytherin to be rescued from whatever trouble he's into?"
Gertrude's face tightened, and paled. Both men immediately knew they had asked a wrong question. McKinnon moved to her side and clasped her shoulder. "He'll be all right. He doesn't seem like the man to be got rid of easily." She said.
Gertrude smiled faintly. She looked like she was screwing up some courage as she watched Dumbledore vanish into the fireplace, presumably to set up the meeting with the Minister. She came to a decision.
She turned to Potter and Lupin. "Charles and Thomas," she said, "Secure your homes, then go and check out all and any wizard folk you might have under you in your grounds. Check for those willing to fight. Whisper the word in Diagon Alley. See how many are willing to answer the Lion's Call."
"Is it coming to that?" Both of them asked warily.
"Prevention is better than cure, somebody said," Gertrude turned away from them as they both made for the fireplace, faces grim.
"Catelyn, Victoria," She nodded at McKinnon and McDonald both, and they nodded back, "Harold James Slytherin has been attacked, possibly. I think I know the assailant. But there's sure to be somebody associated with him, or else Harry can't be overpowered so easily. Lead out the yarn; let your little owls fly. See if you here any whispers of this extra individual. I need to know who he is."
Both McKinnon and McDonald stepped towards the fireplace.
"Philip," Gertrude turned to Longbottom, the only one remaining in the room, "I doubt how many wizards even of the dark would answer to the Serpent's Hiss. Harry might have trouble gaining extra wands. Please see to the other houses, if you can rally support. The more wands we get, the better. See to the moderate factions." Longbottom nodded, and sped towards the fireplace. After he had vanished, Gertrude, with bated breath, decided to play her part in the preparations. She touched her Lion Ring, and called into the fire, "Lion Council Member, the Eye of the Lion, Lord Peter Semoiris!"
Immediately, a head appeared in the fire, of an man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, with fierce black eyes and a tanned complexion. He inclined his head respectfully, and said in a grating voice, "You called, My Lady?"
"Muster the Council, and have them meet me at the knoll to the north of my stronghold. It is an emergency. I need the Lion's Army."
She was turning away from the fire, when she heard the fateful words. Semoiris said, "That might be a bit of a problem, My Lady."
"Why so?" her frown was heavy.
"Because three of the Council members are missing. Lord Herbert Willis, Lady Niobe Masbeth, and Lord Reinis Woodworth." Semoiris said gravely.
"Was there any sign of struggle?"
"No."
"Where could they have gone?"
"I'm sorry, My Lady. We are trying to turn them up, but their own respective factions of the Army is also missing now."
Gertrude's eyes flashed with anger. "Find them. Fast."
"Will do, My Lady." Semoiris inclined his head again.
"Have them meet me at the knoll anyway. Everyone should come battle ready. This will be a war conference. Make the preparations. See you an hour later over there." Gertrude said. Semoiris inclined his head in agreement, and his head vanished.
Gertrude sat back on the carpet and thought where the two Lords and a Lady might have gone.
(line break)
The wind whipped around the hill, blowing the robes of the two men and woman, revealing dragon-hide armor within. Behind them, to some distance, an army of roughly five hundred wizards and witches waited, in perfect synchronization. Even as they watched, the sun was eclipsed by the figure of a man descending from the topmost point of the hill, wand in his hand, which was by his side. His long, auburn hair hung to his shoulders and whipped around his face in a curious sort of frenzy. He was not wearing robes; only dragon hide armor, and a brilliant, roaring golden Lion etched in the middle of the armor. Whatever clothing he wore was scarlet and gold. His eyes, whirlpools of a shocking golden, warily took in the sight of the wizards and witches assembled.
He came to stand in front of the three leaders, and eyed them. "Willis. Masbeth. Woodworth. What brings you here?"
"My Lord-" all of them kneeled, and gasped, when a spell forcibly straightened their backs and made them stand.
"I do not remember me ever being a Lord." Garret calmy said. "So drop the mockery. Why. Did. You. Request. A meeting with me?"
"We-we have always believed you to be the correct successor of the Gryffindor line, my Lord." Lady Masbeth said, head held high. The two men with her nodded.
"And now you come to me, for what? Didn't like serving the girl who killed my blind, helpless Squib of a father?" The Lion asked mockingly.
All three winced. "It was…..a misjudgement on our parts, My Lord. We beg forgiveness." They made to kneel, but were pulled to stand again.
"You lot are much better off without me. What the hell do you need my forgiveness for? To go to heaven, or what?" Garret laughed.
"No, My lord." They stepped forward. "We born of the blood of War, minor, but still, scions of the noble House of Gryffindor, can still feel it in our blood when Mars shines bright. We come to pledge our blood, our arms, and our wands, to the one true Lion. We bow to you, Lord Garret Gryffindor, Lord of the Noble House of Gryffindor, first of his name!"
"Stop." The Lion replied coolly. "You know, what my father's murder made me realize? I can't be a Gryffindor. Gertrude Gryffindor is better than me. She kills better in cold blood, than me. Much better. I think I am perfectly content with my father's surname. I do not need any other. I am Garret Wilders, and I will not be Garret Gryffindor. That, is final."
"But-But, my Lord-"
"You all carry the blood of Gryffindor, noble Lords and Lady," The Lion cut in smoothly, "You will decide which side on this War you are in. I fight to avenge the injustice many others like my poor father have to go through. Will you stand with me?"
"Aye, AYE!" the cry rose from the heart of the gathered witches and wizards. The Sun glinted gloriously off the golden eyes of The Lion.
"We would fight to uphold justice." Lady Masbeth said.
"We would fight to uphold honour." Lord Willis said.
"And we shall fight to the Roar of the Lion!" Lord Woodworth yelled, and the chant rose again from the Army, "The Lion! The Lion! The Lion!"
Garret smiled to himself. Yes, the War was truly starting.
"A divided House you shall have, Gertrude Gryffindor," he whispered to the wind, "While I would have five hundred witches and wizards, and finally, my revenge. I would have justice. Not for my father, but for all of us who had lost our blood to your petty spurnings of us. We shall have our justice."
(Line Break)
Harry was falling, falling, when a body snatched him out of the air. Lord Orion Black yelled in his ears, "All right, Harry?"
He slowly awoke from the daze, and took in his bearings.
Black had managed to catch him before he fell to the rocks underneath, and they were on a broomstick, while he could see four other broomsticks slowly moving towards them. The extraction party had come, just as he had planned with Tom, if anything went awry in his many shady dealings.
"Father!" Tom shouted from his broomstick, managing it with admirable ease, his hair whipping about his face. "Father! Are you all right? Did they get you anywhere?"
"He looks faint." Both Malfoy and Nott commented, as Greengrass and Lestrange flew up to them. "My Lord! What happened?!" They asked.
"Later. Later….where-where's my wand?" Harry asked feebly. The impact of the blast was still ringing through his body.
"Oh Merlin, he's lost his wand." Tom swore out loud.
Harry concentrated on the tug of the Deathstick to his magic, and pulled with all might, trying to cast a wandless accio. Miraculously, it worked, and the wand flew into his hand from fifty feet away. He promptly collapsed. "Magical Exhaustion." Tom said, after inspecting his face.
"Malfy, Nott, Greengrass, Lestrange, form a box around us!" Tom commanded. "Black, we'll carry him between ourselves." The older man nodded, and the group started flying towards the Manor Of Slytherin.
"Call-cll…" Harry's weak voice mumbled.
"What is it, father?" Tom asked.
"Send out the hiss of the serpent." Was all Harry said before he fainted.