The Rise of Overlord Vulcan - Rewrite!

by The Dark Dragen

Read as how a different history, having an imaginary twin sister at a young age, and a having a different life before Hogwarts changes Harry from a weak and lonely boy, to the most powerful Dark Wizard the world had ever seen - Overlord Vulcan. (Second Year Begins!) Please read and review. ON HOLD UNTIL MUSE RETURNS!

21. Chapter 18 - The Serpent's Lair: Part 2

Chapter Eighteen...

The Serpent's Lair - Part 2!

(Anastasia Lestrange!)

(Harry Potter) 1st of July:

The next morning, Harry and the Grangers woke up early to do a bit of last-minute packing. Things which had been forgotten or neglected were now ready to be taken with them on vacation. At half past ten that morning, they left for Portsmouth International to catch the twelve-thirty ferry to Cherbourg in France. When they got to Portsmouth International just after eleven, they did a bit of shopping before deciding to have an early lunch.

During lunch, Harry asked how long it would take them to get to Cherbourg. Dan explained the trip to Cherbourg would take about four and a half hours, but they would be staying a motel for the night. The next day, after doing some sightseeing and shopping, they would begin their twelve-hour drive to La Grande Cosse. Seeing Harry's shocked expression at how long it was going to take them, Emma explained they would split the drive over two days and spend the night at another motel before arriving at La Grande Cosse. Dan then went on to explain that La Grande Cosse was a nudist camp with a private beach.

Emma reassured Harry that only part of their time would be spent there, and that he did not have to take all of his clothes off if he felt uncomfortable doing so. Harry was very happy about that, as he had never been naked around others before, but he was also excited about the idea. He concluded he would wait until he was at the camp before decided whether he would or not he would go without clothes.

As they waited for the ferry to leave, Emma and Dan visited the bar to get something to drink while Harry, Hermione, and Mel strolled around the ship.During their walk, they passed by a few stores, one of which appeared to be a bookstore.

Mel's eyes lit up as she asked in a whisper, "Hey Harry, do we think we could get some comics?"

"What are you thinking?" Harry asked the young girl, "You don't need to ask me about buying comics. It's up to you what you spend your money on."

"He's right, sis," Hermione admitted to her sister, "He's not Mum and Dad, you know."

"I know that, but what I meant is that we should buy some comics to see if we could copy any of the moves over the next few months." Melody explained to Hermione and Harry.

"Hmm, that might not be a bad idea," Harry admitted thoughtfully, "It is how most Mystics learn to use their powers, so we might be able to find a few new ideas in some of the comics."

"I never thought about that," Hermione replied, "but I would like to get a few comics and see what we can do."

For the next hour, the three pre-teens looked around the shop to see what comics they had and which ones they could try to learn from. In the end, Melody decided to get some Star Wars comics because she and her father were into Star Wars, and thought that some of the abilities in series would be very useful, even the darker skills.

Harry wasn't sure what to get. Normally he would get comics that were based around his own abilities; fire and earth skills. However, now he felt he should branch out a bit. After some thought, he bought a Japanese comic, called a 'Manga,' that the clerk recommended. It was titled 'Naruto', and Harry vaguely remembered Dudley watching it from time to time.

Harry decided to give it a try, as he found the basic plot fairly interesting: A Great Demon Fox, the Kyuubi no Yoko, attacked the home village of the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki, when he was a baby. As nothing could be done to kill the demon, he was used as a container so that the beast could be sealed within him. Sadly, both his parents died doing this, and Naruto grew up alone, and ostracized at times because some thought he was the Fox in disguise. Harry could empathize in some ways, and that, as he believed, was essential to enjoying comics of any kind. From what Harry remembered of the show, Naruto gained some sort of ability that allowed him to create clones. Once the clones were eliminated, he would retain all of their experiences and knowledge. Harry thought this would be a very useful skill to learn if he was able to.

Hermione was luckier and found her normal fare, Birds of Prey, in stock. It was about Barbara Gordon, who used to be known as Batgirl until The Joker paralyzed her. Later, she founded the Birds of Prey, a team of female heroes. Hermione liked this comic because it was about a team of eleven females, and while there were a few who had superpowers of their own, there were also those who had no powers at all, and fought crime with only their wits, fighting skills, and technology. Hermione thought she might be able to gain ideas from the comics that fit into her own needs, and create things from the comics to help her friends and family.

Once they got their comics, they returned to Emma and Dan at the bar where they went as a group to the poolside for a few hours to swim or sunbathe. Later, they had a quick meal before docking at Cherbourg, followed by some minor sightseeing before they booked into the Hotel Du Louvre for the night.

That night, Melody and Hermione were with Harry in his room, talking about the comics they purchased that afternoon. Harry started things off, "So which of the comics do you think we should start of with? Each of the comics have their own unique abilities in them."

"I don't mind, to be honest," Hermione told them, "as I'll likely not be able to learn anything from them." Harry was about to deny that and say she might, but Hermione continued before he could, "You may think I might, but I'm being realistic. You said it yourself, Harry. I'm more of a person that learns magic that is proven and documented, than by using my imagination and gaining powers that way. It might be impossible for me to learn, so I think it would be better for me to look over Birds of Prey, and see what ideas I can come up with to help you."

"Hermione, Hermione, you seem to be forgetting something," Harry smiled at her sadly, "You forget that we do what seems to be impossible each time we do magic. No, you might not be able to learn magic the same way your sister and I are able to, but just giving up before you try? Where is the Hermione I know from Hogwarts? That Hermione wouldn't back down from a challenge. Not before she at least tried her best first."

"Thank you, Harry." Hermione whispered to him with a hug.

"You're welcome, Hermione. I just don't want you to give up before you even try." Harry told his friend, "So which comic should we start with?"

"I think we should start with Star Wars," Melody told her new friend and her sister.

"Why's that?" Harry asked while Hermione perked up. The bushy haired Granger was less interested in Star Wars compared to Mel and their father, but she was still familiar enough with the story's universe through second-hand info that she could safely agree there was some stuff that they could try out.

"Harry, you have already got what the comics call Force Pull and Push." Melody explained. Before either Hermione or Harry could correct her, she went on to say, "Yes, I know you would call it summoning and banishing, but the two skills are more or less the same as Force Pull and Push. So I was thinking that Harry could teach us how to do this and work up from there. And it's not like we need to follow the Jedi Code or anything, so we're not limited to just one set of abilities."

"Well, you do have the Force Lightning down." Hermione joked at her sister, to which Mel giggled.

"Shame I won't be able to use Force Lightning for a while though; it looks like it'd take a huge amount of energy." Harry sighed at this. Looking up and seeing his friends' shocked faces, he asked, "What?"

"You'd said you've never seen or read Star Wars before, so how would you know about Force Lightning?" Hermione asked her friend.

"It is true, I haven't," Harry admitted, "but I once saw a scene as I was cleaning up at the Dursleys, and saw, I think it was the Dark Emperor, using Force Lightning."

"Oh, that would be Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious," Melody told Harry.

"So, after Force Pull and Push, what skills do you think we should we learn?" Harry asked the girls.

"I'm not too sure, but I think the Jedi Mind Trick could be a good one to have eventually." Melody reasoned. "Being able to alter a person's mind would be useful, it's basically hypnotism. The Sith use a version that also allows you to use a person's worst fears against them. Not saying we ever would, because that seems excessively cruel, but the option is there."

"As for an ability to learn after Force Pull and Push… well Force Slow sounds like a really good move to use against other Mages and Mystics. It would slow them down physically and mentally, limiting their choice of spells and ability to cast and aim them quickly." Melody suggested.

"While I'm not as big of a fan as you and dad, I've heard about Force Body, Force Speed, and Force Strength," Hermione added her two cents before going on, "not only those three, but also the Force Powers that help with the senses. I think those would be useful."

"That's not a bad idea, Hermione," Melody smiled at her sister.

With a thoughtful look on his face Harry was silent for several moments before he said, "Those are some good ideas, but do either of you two know how we can learn these skills?"

Now it was Melody and Hermione who had the thoughtful looks as they considered this. Unfortunately, the answer eluded them.

"To be honest, I'm not sure, myself," Melody admitted to Harry and her sister, "I think some of them were explained in a few of the comics that I read before, but I'm not sure. I can look through the comics we've got here, and get some more later, and once we get home I can look in the attic for some of my old ones to see if anything is said in them. If not, we can always just experiment until we make some progress. Isn't that half of the fun in learning a new power? Trying to experiment and see if we can do them or not? A power that only we and the people we want to learn it? Sure it'll be hard, but that's half the fun… or it is to me, at least." She finished hesitantly, realizing just how excited she was getting.

Harry had to admit, he did like the idea; it was a very appealing thought. While he knew that there was a Mystic or two out there with such powers, it would be nice if only he and his friends could have them. If they were able to learn it, that is. Even if they were only able to learn the basics, the skills from the source material would be a start in the right direction.

Harry smiled excitedly, making Melody's brief insecurities disappear. "You're right, it would be fun. In fact, there's a skill that I would like to try and learn over the summer. It's from these Naruto comics that I got, and is called the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's a skill that makes copies of yourself. Not only that, but whatever the clones learn, you would learn, as well, once you cancel the clone or clones. So I was thinking it would be very useful to learn if we wanted to obtain large amounts of information quicker. Even if we can only make one clone, that still doubles the information gained." He said, knowing full well both girls would be all but salivating at the thought.

He liked the idea, as he could have them finish off his Ghost Rider skill that he wasn't able to do just yet, as he was afraid of dying if he messed up while changing important body parts. To have these clones do it instead of him would be very useful. Not only that, but there were so many other ideas he could use the clones for, including having a clone become Maverick while he was at Hogwarts or on holiday like he was currently. This way, no one would suspect that Harry Potter and Maverick were the same person later on.

His assumption that the two would be excited about the Shadow Clones was correct. Melody's unfocused eyes stared at the space three inches to Harry's left as she imagined all the books she could read. A blush overtook her face as her hidden dirty side flashed a mental image of her being snuggled by two Harry's at once, but she quickly shook it off.

Hermione was in a similar state, staring four inches to Harry's right. The only difference was that her slightly older age reflected in her fantasies, which mirrored her sister's, but also involved kissing and wandering hands.

Before they could say or think more about this, or talk about the other skills they would like to learn, there was a knock on the door. Harry, being the closest, answered it. The door opened to reveal Dan and Emma.

"Okay, you three, it's time for bed," Emma announced, earning her groans of disappointment from her daughters, "I know you want to stay up, but we've got a few long days ahead of us before we get to La Grande Cosse."

She elaborated for Harry's benefit, "really, did you think we would put you through a ten-hour drive and not make stops along the way for sightseeing? That would be exceptionally boring and a huge waste of potential fun. Besides, if we spent ten solid hours in the car, none of us would be able to walk when we tried to get out."

Harry smiled at this; he wasn't exactly thrilled about the prospect of being in the car for that long, regardless of how spacious it was. Bidding the Grangers goodnight, he endured a 'Hermi-hug' from Emma before they all went to their respective rooms to get some sleep.

o0OoO0o

(Anastasia Lestrange) 2nd of July - Lestrange's Cottage:

Anastasia Lestrange, or Anya, as her mother called her, was sitting in the kitchen of the cottage that she and her mother lived in for the last eleven years. She couldn't help but to be a bit excited, as this would be the year she would be going to Hogwarts, just like her parents had. But she was also worried because of who her mother was: Bellatrix Lestrange, the most feared Death Eater in the last Wizarding War.

Her mother told her everything about her past; how, when she was young and somewhat foolish, she followed a man she admired and trusted above her own husband. Her mother told her that, back then before the Mystics appeared, she - like most of the wizarding world - believed that muggles and muggleborns were below them. They deserved to be nothing more than things to play with or killed, as they were the ones that stole magic from the purebloods and turned them into Squibs. Even those who didn't believe the story, still didn't like muggles and muggleborns, as they were trying to change the wizarding world to fit their own needs and beliefs, something few purebloods liked.

Anya had to agree with what her mother found out about the muggle world and their people. They can't truly be trusted. They hurt each other more than anyone in the wizarding world did each other, and would go to war for the simplest of things. Although they weren't as bad with the Mystics, they still had their own problems with the Dark Mystics trying to gain power. But from what her mother found out, it was in the nature of the muggle world, those with power often try and gain more, be it power, land or resources. In some places it was like a few Dark Wizards, but at least Dark Wizards don't always go to war to gain it, only the few Dark Lords that appear rarely.

Each of these dark wizards had their own reason for fighting against the muggles and muggleborns, but the outcome was meant to be the same: to make them into nothing more than slaves and playthings, to be used or disposed of as desired. The one that her mother followed was the latest Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, or as most known now called him, You-Know-Who, which she thought was a stupid name.

Lord Voldemort shared popular pureblood beliefs about muggles and muggleborns. For many years, her mother followed the latest Dark Lord loyally, without fear, and without a second thought, despite how he treated his followers, the Death Eaters. Voldemort would easily torture and kill people should they fail a task, even if he knew the task to be impossible. She would understand if the task was easy to do and they failed, but when they were outnumbered and about to be caught or killed, she believed they did the right thing by retreating.

For the longest time, her mother didn't think like that, and was tortured many of times, often for the simplest of reasons, mainly because the Dark Lord was angry and had to take it out on someone. Because of this, her mother became crazy, and in doing so became the most dangerous and fanatic of the Death Eaters. She would do anything that her Master asked of her, even sleep with other men so that her Master could get what he wanted.

However, everything changed for her mother when she was born. It took her until two years ago to tell her daughter the truth about who her father was. It wasn't Rodolphus Lestrange, but the Dark Lord himself. Her mother finally snapped when Voldemort denounced her as his daughter, all because of the old ways, since she wasn't a boy. This was something her mother couldn't abide by, despite having been loyal to Voldemort for years, even when others weren't.

With this one act, Anya's and her mother's lives changed forever. Feeling betrayed by the one person she followed faithfully for years, her mother made plans to double-cross the rest of the Death Eaters. With the apparent death of Lord Voldemort, and Harry Potter becoming the Boy-Who-Lived, things seemed to calm down a lot. Many of Voldemort's known followers were to stand trial for their actions. Those Death Eaters not wealthy enough to bribe themselves out of punishment, lied their way to freedom, claiming to have been under the Imperius Curse. Like sheep, the wizards and witches believed them. On the other hand, the Mystics these trials did not, but seeing they had no control over the law within the wizarding world, they couldn't do anything.

Thanks to Voldemort's betrayal, Bellatrix double-crossed the rest of Death Eaters that didn't say they were under the Imperius Curse. She even informed the Aurors about the attack that her husband, brother-in-law, and Bartemius Crouch, Jr., were about to conduct on the Longbottoms, as they believed they knew where their Master was.

Since her mother betrayed her former master, she and her mother had moved in with her Aunt Narcissa and her husband, Lucius Malfoy. For the first few years they stayed at the Malfoy's, her mother regained some of her mentality thanks to not being repeatedly tortured by her former Master. Her mother was also busy during this time, as she did one thing Bellatrix Lestrange never thought she would do: look into muggles.

Anya had to agree with what her mother found out about the muggle world and their people. They can't truly be trusted. They hurt each other more than anyone in the wizarding world did each other, and would go to war for the simplest of things. Although they weren't as bad with the Mystics, they still had their own problems with the Dark Mystics trying to gain power. But from what her mother found out, it was in the nature of the muggle world that those with power often try and gain more, be it power, land, or resources. In some ways, it was like a the dark wizards, but at least dark wizards don't always go to war to gain it, only the few dark lords that appear rarely.

Anya learnt that with the betrayal of her father with her mother, she wanted to gain everything that was once Voldemort's, be it power or money. Everything that was once Voldemort charm's, her mother wanted it be hers one day. But her mother knew that it would take time, she would need to gain power and people to follow her.

She was surprised to learn that her mother believed she was to be the next Dark Lady by birthright. But unlike her father, her mother didn't want her to ally herself only with purebloods, but with half-bloods and muggleborns who were Mystics, as well. The pureblood allies were for the money and the political power that they held, while the Mystics were because they were stronger and more powerful than the normal wand users.

Her mother went on to say that someone had to take control, and she wanted that person to be her daughter - not some corrupt government leader. The current politicians already kill, murder, and rape people, and get away with it, all because they're good at their job. At least Dark Magic Users were more open about it - something she was all for. She trusted those types more than some lying government official; at least they didn't lie about what they are. Sure, they used blackmail and bribery to get out of such things, but that's the way of life for those with money and power. So her mother said that if this was the type of person already in power, she would prefer her own daughter in power and be open about it.

When she learned this, she realized the reason for a few things in her life. Like why after four years living with Aunt Narcissa , Uncle Lucius, and Cousin Draco, her and her mom moved to France to live in the muggle world, which was something that surprised Anastasia after learning about her mother's past thoughts about them. Bellatrix explained that the reason for this was so that she could become a Mystic herself, so that she would become stronger and more powerful than her mother and father ever were. Not only that, but so Anya could learn to understand them like she was beginning to understand them, and their technology. Understanding their technology was something Voldemort seemed to forget about, and her mother feared would have been the Dark Lord's downfall in time.

After seeing the Star Wars movies a few years ago, she began watching the cartoons, playing the games, and reading the comics non-stop to learn and use the powers of the Sith. She learned the basics, like Force Pull and Push, seeing that they were similar to Summoning and Banishing. Further on, she began to learn such skills as Force Jump, Force Stun, and a few other Natural Force Powers to build up her defence skills before going onto some of the Sith abilities.

Anya first started to learn the dark side of the Force last year, when she started to use Force Rage. From what she read, it allowed the user to tap into his or her innermost fears, pain, and hate, and convert them into an intense rage. They could then channel that rage to increase his or her own speed, strength, and ferocity. However, the body could not handle such rage for long periods of time, so the user became greatly weakened for some time after it subsided, which is why she could only use it for short periods, having only fully learned it a month ago.

There were a few other Sith abilities Anya was learning. The main one was Drain Knowledge, which would allow her to extract knowledge out of a sentient being without its consent, but it also went beyond simple reading of thoughts. The Drain Knowledge ability disrupted the Force to steal deep memories and information in a violent and merciless way. The the problem was that such a process might damage the subject psychologically, so she had to be careful how she used it. So far she hadn't fully mastered the ability, as each time she used it on a person that her mother brought home, she wouldn't always get what she wanted, and she occasionally damaged the subject. While it was something she learned not to be bothered about, it was also something she didn't want to do too often, as to it would begin to raise questions.

The latest ability she started to learn was Create Force Wraith, which, as the name suggested, would allow her to create Force Wraiths. If done correctly, these wraiths would be shadowy creatures, standing between one to four meters tall, who would obey their creator's every command. The creatures were meant to radiate pure evil, giving off emanations of cold and death to those who can sense such things. From what Anya had found, Force Wraiths could be ordered to perform specific tasks, such as spying, as they could become invisible, and could even be used as warriors.

Studying to learn the Force wasn't the only thing she did over the last few years. Anya was going to muggle school to blend into the area, and to learn for herself what the muggles were like. As her mother wanted her to be able to draw her own conclusion about the muggles.

Aside from her muggle schooling, Anya was being taught about the wizarding world, too, so that she would be ready for Hogwarts. Learning both, Anastasia Lestrange wasn't all to happy about either of them, and could see why her mother wanted her to take them over. They needed a strong leader; someone who was willing to change things, even if it meant using darker methods.

One of the things her mother taught her was how to use Darkness Magic, which allows a person to manipulate shadows and darkness to the user's will. It was a skill that her mother said she and other Death Eater's learned, and so should only be used in public when really needed, as people would consider her a dark witch before she was ready. As being a Lestrange would already mark her as a Dark Witch, there was no need to make things worse than they already were.

Another thing Anya was learning was an idea she got from watching an anime called Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge. The ability she was trying to learn was from the character Morrigan, who was a Succubus. She had decided, at the request of her mother, to save the sexual abilities until she was older. Instead, she was learning the ability with wings, which can reshape the wings into spikes, tentacles, and blades when attacking her enemies, as well as using them to shield herself from enemy attacks.

She wasn't able to get far with this ability, yet, but that was mainly due to the fact that she only found it a few months ago. She was currently trying to form the wings onto her body, which she suspected would take some time. She was also looking into other abilities that a Succubus may have in other anime, such as Rosario + Vampire, which she heard also featured a Succubus character.

It was two weeks into the summer holidays, and so far it wasn't too bad for Anya, mainly because there wasn't much to do. The few friends that she had were on holiday, so she had no one she could talk to. But today marked the start of a bad summer, as she would spending it with her cousin, Draco Malfoy. The little shit was annoying as hell, and if he didn't get his way, he would throw around his father's political power as a threat. How he got into Slytherin, she would never know, as he didn't have an ounce of cunning in him, and was always relying on his father to make everything happen for him.

The only reason she bothered with the annoying little shit was for her mother's sake, as she and Aunt Narcissa were close. Otherwise she would have nothing to do nothing with him. At this time, she was waiting for her mother to get ready before they went to Rue de Lumière to meet up with the Malfoys.

Anya's thoughts were interrupted by her mother calling for her in French, "Are you ready dear?"

"Yes, mum," Anastasia Lestrange replied unhappily, "Can't we just say we forgot and go somewhere else? I really don't want to be near that little brat that I call a cousin."

Bellatrix giggled at this, knowing how little Anya and the Malfoy Heir got along, "Dear, I know you don't get along with each other, but we are Blacks, and unless they betray the family, we stick together no matter what. And I miss your Aunt Narcissa; I haven't seen your Aunt Narcissa for a few months."

"Fine, fine…" Anya huffed at this, then a thought popped into her mind, one that often did, "Are you sure that Draco is a Black, mother? He doesn't act like one."

"Haha, oh dear, you always say that and I always tell you that he is," Bellatrix laughed at her daughter, "but I do understand why you ask. If it wasn't for the fact that Narcissa gave birth to the little shit, I, too, would wonder about it. I think he is spending too much time around his father instead of his mother. Then again, at least Lucius is a bit more cunning than his son. I think the problem is that his father spoilt his son way too much, and now Draco thinks that his father will always get him out of trouble. Now dear, get your cloak, we're going to meet up with them."

"Fine, I'll get my cloak," Anya said as she departed.

Bellatrix laughed at her daughter as she got her cloak. She had never liked her cousin Draco, even when they were children. Not that she could blame her, with the way he acted. But as she told her daughter: unless they betray the family, the Blacks stick together.

Anya interrupted her mother's thought as she returned with her cloak. After a brief check to ensure they had everything they needed, they proceeded to floo to Rue de Lumière.

o0OoO0o

(Anastasia Lestrange) 2nd of July - Rue de Lumière:

Anya and her mother exited the floo at the Floo Stop Inn, a place for those making floo calls or trips. Each room had its own private fireplace, charmed so that only calls were allowed, and there was a set of floos in the main lobby for those wishing to travel. There was a restaurant and bar just past the lobby for those waiting on an empty fireplace, as well as rooms upstairs available to rent for the night.

Once Anya and her mother exited the Floo Stop Inn, they found themselves in the magical shopping district known as Rue de Lumière. They were shocked to see that the bookstore next door was crowded and jammed with what seemed to be mostly witches around Bellatrix's age.

Their confusion was quickly dispelled when they saw posters of a wizard with wavy blonde hair, and particularly straight and shiny teeth, wearing a flamboyant and flashy blue robe. Like other magical posters, it was moving, giving the ladies charming smiles and sly winks. Bellatrix read the text at the bottom of the poster aloud.

Today at Flourish and Blotts:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

Who'll be signing copies of his new book:

MAGICAL ME

Today 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

"Him!?" Bellatrix sneered once she finished reading the poster.

"Do you know him, mum?" Anya asked her mother, wondering why her mother held such disdain for the man.

"Not personally, no," Bellatrix admitted to her daughter, "but your Aunt Andromeda had the misfortune of meeting him when he was at Hogwarts."

Anya was shocked to hear her mother talk about her other sister; they split up after Aunt Andromeda left Hogwarts, as she decided to marry a muggleborn, something the Black family was strongly against because of their beliefs about muggleborns. Her Aunt Andromeda was kicked out of the family because of her marriage, and since that day no one in the family had talked to Andromeda. Her Uncle Sirius may have, but he was a different and difficult story.

"He tried to hit on her a few times," Bellatrix went to say, darkly, "he wouldn't take no for an answer. And I didn't blame my sister at all, that man had no skills other than his ability in charms. He was, by all rights, the scum of the Earth. At one point your Aunt Narcissa had to step in to save Andromeda from him, as he used some charms to try and have his way with her. He didn't even get expelled from Hogwarts. Dumbledore," she spat his name, "said it was just a mistake and that Lockhart should have a second chance, so nothing happened to him. The family wasn't happy about that, but with no Black on the Board of Governors, there was little we could have done. Though that didn't mean your Uncle Sirius didn't prank the living hell out of him," Bellatrix smiled fondly of the times before everything changed, before her former Master truly started to rise and gained allies.

Before anything else was said or done, they heard an English girl giddily exclaim, "Ooh I've heard of him! He's done so many things in his books, like in Wanderings with Werewolves where he defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. He's one of the few living heroes in the Wizarding World. Mum, can we see him?"

As the two Lestrange's turned round, they saw a head of brown, bushy hair atop a brown-eyed girl, walking with who they assumed was her family. There was a boy with them who didn't look to be related. While the sister nodded in agreement, he shook his head at the girl, unable to be bothered to care much. He seemed to dislike the idea of meeting the man at first glance, but appeared to want to not make a big fuss about it.

The boy had black hair and green eyes. There was a sense of power coming off him, but something was off about him that Anya couldn't explain. While she was trying to figure out the boy, Anya saw the girl's parents exchange almost exasperated looks before they agreed to visit the store. The young boy followed along, a thin frown barely noticeable on his face.

As the family and the boy entered the shop, Anya seemed to have her thoughts drifting towards the boy, wondering who he was. She didn't know why, but the black-haired boy caught her interest; she wanted to learn more about him. "Mum, I'm going into the bookshop. I want to see if I can find out who that boy is," Anya told her mother.

"Oh? Has my daughter found herself a handsome young Dark Wizard to follow?" Bellatrix teased her daughter.

"Mother!" Anya said with a bright red face before she entered the shop.

Bellatrix had a knowing smile as she followed her daughter into the bookshop. She knew the signs; she was her daughter's age once. Like her, she denied it when confronted, but her mother had known differently, too. She also sensed that the boy was powerful for his age - something she and her own mother looked for in a man, and although her daughter didn't know it, it would seem she liked a strong male, too. It would seem that, if she wanted her daughter to be a Dark Lady, she would have to teach her how to control her men first, before they took control of her.

That was for later; for now, she had to do some shopping with her daughter, so she brought her mind back to the present. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door said in French, "Calmly, please, ladies… don't push, there… mind the books, now…" He proceeded to hold his wand up to his throat and repeat the message in several different languages. Anya and her mother had to squeeze inside. A long line wound around the interior of the shop, leading to the back, where Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing his books.

"Oh, there you three are. Good," Anya heard the mother from of the family from earlier. She sounded breathless, and kept patting her hair, probably because of all the people pushing their way around. She would have needed to shove even harder to get to her children and their friend. "You shouldn't run off like that with this many people. You could get hurt - or worse, kidnapped." The trio apologized, and the mother continued on, "We should get in line, I hear Lockhart will be here any minute now."

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view and sat at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat sat at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

A tall, irritable-looking man was dancing around the crowd, taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Out of the way, there" He snarled at the girl with the family, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet and Magique News Weekly -"

The black haired boy from earlier was quick to rise to her defence. "Big deal," he snapped, stomping hard on the photographers foot. While the boy might have had intended to merely make a pointed and painful statement, the end result of probably breaking a bone in the man's foot seemed quite satisfying to the boy, especially once he saw the girl he was helping flinch when she took a step back, her own foot hurting from when the photographer had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard the photographer's pained expletive and looked up. His eyes instantly locked onto the disgruntled form of the black haired boy glaring at the man, and the two girls beside him, obviously sisters by their similar appearance. He shook his head in disbelief. It took a few moments, but when Lockhart spoke next, his words caused a momentary hush in the store, "It can't be... Harry Potter?"

o0OoO0o

(Harry Potter) 2nd of July - Rue de Lumière:

It was morning, and Harry and the Grangers found themselves up early so they could have breakfast and leave by eight o'clock, getting to Paris as soon as possible, preferably before lunch. The plan was to have lunch and spend the next few hours looking around the city before carrying on with their trip before staying at another hotel for the night.

The four-hour ride sped by, and they were in Paris before they knew it. The five of them visited the Eiffel Tower, the American Library near the tower, and a few other places before going to the Rue de Lumière, Paris' equivalent to Diagon Alley. Unlike the dilapidated Leaky Cauldron back in England, Rue de Lumière was accessed through Café Magique. Café Magique, like the Leaky Cauldron, was warded so that only people who had or knew about magic could see it. The patio seating was ringed with a hedge and some beautiful flowers, and smelled of breads and good food. The interior was even better; it was colorful and welcoming; the atmosphere was much warmer and more lively than the Leaky Cauldron. There was nothing overtly magical about the place, despite the potential for it.

As they approached the counter, Emma asked the lady who was in her mid twenties, "Hi, my family and I would like to enter Rue de Lumière, please."

"Of course," the woman behind the desk said, "Follow me."

Harry and the Granger Family followed the lady to the back of the shop. The back patio was reminiscent of the front of the shop, with two seating areas surrounded with similar floral arrangements. A stepping-stone path paved the way towards the back wall and split the patio in two. As they approached the vine-covered, stone archway, the lady pulled her wand out of her pocket and tapped it on the wall. The stones blocking the arch slowly folded back into each other, revealing Rue de Lumière.

As they walked they noticed that the alley was oddly similar to Diagon Alley. Everything was in French, and the items sold in the shops were slightly or vastly different depending on where you looked, but the general layout and design was still largely the same. The only immediately apparent distinction was actually the light posts. Every one of the metal poles was twisted and gnarled, but in such a way that they each looked interestingly artistic. At the top of each pole sat five diamond-shaped, glass lanterns in metal frames. One sat in the center while the other four, smaller lanterns stood off from each corner of the larger one. In the place of candles were balls of a gentle, white light, clearly made by magic.

As Harry and the Grangers walked down Rue de Lumière, they saw posters of a wizard with wavy blonde hair and particularly straight and shiny teeth, wearing a flamboyant and flashy blue robe. Like other magical posters, it was moving, giving the ladies charming smiles. Hermione whispered to Melody that she thought he was somewhat handsome. Harry scoffed, not seeing what was so attractive about the man. He just looked too perfect, like he was a doll or manufactured somehow. To distract himself he read the text at the bottom of the poster aloud.

Today at Flourish and Blotts:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

Who'll be signing copies of his new book:

MAGICAL ME

Today 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

"Ooh I've heard of him!" Hermione giddily exclaimed, "He's done so many things in his books, like in Wanderings with Werewolves where he defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. He's one of the few living heroes in the Wizarding World. Mum, can we see him?" Hermione asked her mother,, eagerly. Melody silently agreed, giving a small nod and an eager look. Harry shook his head, unable to be bothered to care much.

Emma and Dan exchanged almost exasperated looks, like they were resigned to have something like this happen eventually, before they gave their consent.

As they got to the bookstore they saw the front crowded and jammed with what seemed to be mostly witches around Emma's age, younger and older. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door said in French, "Calmly, please, ladies… don't push, there… mind the books, now…" in which all of the Grangers could understand - Harry could decipher it, but it took longer since he was still learning the language. The wizard then proceeded to hold wand up to his throat and repeated the message in several different languages.

Harry, Melody, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound around the interior of the shop, leading to the back, where Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing his books. They all looked for books that could help them learn some new skills or even to create spells, but were not having any luck.

"Oh, there you three are. Good," Emma said as she caught up. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair, probably because of all the people pushing their way around. Emma had needed to shove even harder to get to her children and their friend. "You shouldn't run off like that with this many people. You could get hurt - or worse, kidnapped." The trio apologized and Emma continued, "we should get in line. I hear Lockhart will be here any minute now."

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view and sat at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat sat at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

A tall, irritable-looking man was dancing around the crowd, taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Out of the way, there" he snarled at Melody, moving back to get a better shot, "This is for the Daily Prophet and Magique News Weekly -"

Harry was quick to rise to her defense, delighting in an opportunity to vent some frustration gained from this whole ordeal. "Big deal," he snapped, stomping hard on the photographers foot. While Harry had intended to merely make a pointed and painful statement, the end result of probably breaking a bone in the man's foot was quite satisfying, especially once he saw Melody flinch when she took a step back, her own foot hurting from when the photographer had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard the photographer's pained expletive and looked up. His eyes instantly locked onto the disgruntled form of Harry Potter glaring at the man, and the two girls beside him, obviously sisters by their similar appearance. He shook his head in disbelief. Everything seemed to be going his way these last few weeks. Of all the places in the world, he would have scarcely believed he would see the Boy-Who-Lived here in France, he thought to himself. Lockhart then leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be... Harry Potter?"

The crowd hushed and parted, whispering excitedly. Lockhart dived forward, seizing Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front of the shop. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Grangers, seemingly oblivious to his possibly broken toes.

But it didn't last long, Harry yanked his arm out of the blond's grasp and glared, "Take your hands off me, good sir," Harry sneered at the man, "I don't know you and I don't like being touched by strangers."

Harry was trying to do this without using violence; he knew that he had an anger problem thanks to his fire abilities. A side effect - he learned - all fire users had. For most part, he had been successful in keeping it under control, but his anger had gotten away from him twice this summer, and he wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because he hit puberty, but he was having difficulty managing his anger recently. Normally, he might have acted differently with Dobby - a big might - but with a calmer mind, he might have talked to the guy to get his mail back. Then again, with the way the house-elf was acting, it might have been harder than he would have liked, and it may have led to violence, anyway.

He hated it when people kept what was rightfully his from him, and if they didn't agree to give it back, things would often get heated. Unless talks were successful, violence would often follow, but at least he would have tried to talk to them first. With Dobby, his mind went right to violent actions.

With this Lockhart character, his anger was building up fast. If the man didn't take his hand off him, Lockhart was going to get hurt. Strangers touching him was a bigger problem than someone keeping things him, as it harkened back to when he was being bullied by his so called family. He had never liked being touched because of that. Over the years, he got better; he got to a place where he could allow his friends to touch him without flinching too much. There were still times when he flinched, but that was when he had sudden flashbacks, which was rare and easy to handle. With strangers, it was a bigger problem unless he was the one to initiate it. A passing touch. he could handle, as it can't be helped. Something like this, though… Well, angry boy plus puberty equals pain for the man if he didn't let go.

"Hoho, I'm sorry, my boy. I'm Gilderoy Lockhart!" Lockhart grandiosely announced as he took hold of Harry's arm this time.

"Last warning. Let go of me, please. I don't like being touched by strangers," Harry said to the man, dangerously.

Lockhart seemed to ignore what Harry told him, and went on to say, quietly, through his gleaming teeth, "now, nice big smile, Harry. Together, you and I are worth the front page."

The timing seemed to be perfect, as the photographer clicked a photo precisely when Harry's elbow buried itself in Gilderoy Lockhart's abdomen. The crowd gaped and gasped as Lockhart dropped to the floor clutching his damaged stomach. Eyes were taken off Lockhart as he groaned in pain, and were now focusing solely on Harry as he glared even harder at the man and spat, "I asked you not to touch me."

Harry walked back to the Grangers, the crowd parting like the Red Sea in front of the angry boy. "Can we please go now?" Harry asked Emma, annoyed for obvious reasons.

Emma smiled at him and nodded, taking her shocked daughters by the shoulders and leading them out of the book store. It was surprising that nobody bothered them on the way out, but the attention swiftly shifted back towards Lockhart as he climbed to his feet and made some kind of announcement.

"As long as we steer clear of the bookstore, we should be able to avoid any rabid fans. Still, we should hurry things along," Emma decided.

Harry sighed, feeling guilty for cutting things short, "I'm sorry-"

Emma was quick to cut off that train of thought, "no, I'm proud of you. Just because someone is famous doesn't give them the right to put their hands on you like that. You gave him a fair warning and he ignored it; he deserved it."

"W-Wait a moment," Harry and the Grangers heard Lockhart shout as they were about to leave. Lockhart knew he needed to do something quickly if he wanted to save some face and protect his public image, "I want to apologize."

As he said this, the group looked at him in interest, not expecting it. "I'm afraid my exuberance got the better of me; most are delighted to shake the hand of someone so famous, or have a picture taken with them. My assumption, Mr. Potter, that you would be the same, seems to have led me into a faux pas, so I apologize."

Lockhart held out his hand, a grin once more on his face. This one was less gleaming, and far more friendly. Seeing this - and Emma's encouraging look - Harry returned the handshake with one of his own. He only did so, like Lockhart, so he would not lose face in the public eye. He knew that people back England, and other places that looked up to him as the Boy-Who-Lived would look down on him if he refused to accept an apology from someone like Lockhart. The crowd took that moment to burst into applause, punctuated by rapid flashes of the camera.

Once the clamor had died down, Lockhart's grin once more became toothy and fake-looking, at least to Harry. Lockhart spoke, his voice louder so everyone would hear, "in return for my earlier rudeness, I shall repay young Harry and his two friends with free copies of my complete box set!"

Harry had to admit, the man knew how to work a crowd, but the man had more to say.

"Of course, that's not all! Mr. Potter and his companions will be getting much, much more than my new book, Magical Me. I was hoping to keep this a bit longer, but he and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real "Magical Me." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have the great pleasure and pride to announce that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Harry almost rolled his eyes at how utterly excited the gathered witches were; he even saw a few faint. There were times like these that caused him to wonder how people could get so worked up over something like this. If every one of Lockhart's books were to be believed, he was quite the hero, but the chances that none of his books were exaggerated - even in the slightest bit - were dismal at best and nonexistent at worst.

None of his feats were any indicator whether or not he would be a good teacher, though. A guest speaker, definitely, but not a full time teacher. He also found it strange that Dumbledore found someone so fast, then again, from what he heard around Hogwarts, Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers rarely lasted more than a year, and sometimes not even that long. With that in mind, it was no surprise that Dumbledore could get Lockhart so fast; he must have been on the back up list.

Harry, Hermione and Melody were given their books almost as soon as he was finished with the announcement, and were actually swept away by the suddenly ravenous crowd. Luckily, they were all deposited back into the alley, dazed but unhurt.

"I have to say, he's a showman if nothing else," Harry said, thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione, "He was only apologising to you for the way he was acting."

"No, he was only saving face," Harry told his female best friend, "He had his ass handed to him, and he had to save face somehow to the public. Offering us his box set for free was a smart move; not only did it make it so he saved face, but it made him look good at the same time. A Slytherin thing to do, I wonder if he went to Hogwarts if he was a Slytherin?" Harry asked himself thoughtfully.

"I have to agree with you, Harry Potter," a young female voice said behind them. As the Granger party turned round, they saw a small girl with thick black curls and a pale, heart-shaped face, with brown eyes. "That was a good show of showmanship, I bet if the public and the reporters weren't around, he wouldn't have done that."

"And who are you to say that?" Hermione asked the girl, in her former bossy tone of voice.

"Forgive me, my name is Anastasia Lestrange," Anastasia Lestrange introduced herself to Hermione and the rest of the group. "I'm just saying it as I see it."

For some reason the name rang alarm bells within Hermione's head; she didn't know why, but for the life her, she swore she had heard the name before. The problem was that she had no idea where she had heard it or why it was setting off alarm bells. Either way, the girl was disrespecting one of the few people she still trusted in her life. Her former idol, Albus Dumbledore, was shot down by Harry, and her trust and respect for the Headmaster was at an all time low. She didn't want to lose belief in another idol in her short life so soon.

"How dare you say that about Gilderoy Lockhart," Hermione begun to defend her idol, "he is a brave hero who has helped many people from what I read."

"That's what he leads people to believe," the young Lestrange girl told Hermione, "he might have changed since he left school, but my mother's sisters knew of him and he was only good at Charms and nothing else. He was the scum of the Earth from what I was told."

"But as you said, he could have changed since he left and is making up for what he did while at Hogwarts." Hermione defended her idol.

"Hmm, so you're one of them, then," Anastasia said thoughtfully. Before Hermione could ask what she meant by that remark, the young Lestrange went on to say, "I know you won't believe anything I say, so I'll say this: read his books cover to cover and take note of everything. And forget he's your idol; make up your own mind. I've only read a few of his books, but once you've done what I said, you'll see what I see: a fake; a fraud."

"How dare-" began Hermione, but was stopped by Harry as he put up his hand and said, "Hermione, remember what I taught you last year. Not everyone is who they seem to be. Look at Dumbledore," Harry hissed the name, "he is meant to be the good person that everyone heard about, but look at the way he treated me over the years. You might not like to hear what Miss Lestrange has told you, but she only told you to re-read his works. And this time, don't look at him as a hero, or an idol, look at him as a normal person. Look at dates, the facts, and read between the lines, and see what you find for yourself. Something I have been telling you for the last year, find out the facts for yourself, don't take what people say without looking into it yourself."

As much as she hated to admit it, Hermione did forget about it, but Gilderoy Lockhart was one of the few idols she had left, Harry being another. She didn't want to lose another one, but Harry and this Lestrange girl were right; she should look into this to see what she could find. She hoped she could prove Lestrange wrong about Lockhart.

"Fine I'll do that, only to prove you two wrong and that Lockhart did all these things," Hermione told the two of them.

"That's all I ask," Anastasia told her, "but don't be upset or angry at me if you don't like what you find out about him."

Before things could get heated, Harry asked Anastasia, "So, Miss Lestrange, what can I do for you?"

"Oh, not much. Just wanted to meet the Boy-Who-Lived," Anastasia told Harry, "You did more for us than you know."

"I did nothing," Harry told the young girl with a smile, "I was only a baby, my mother did the work with whatever she did before she was attacked."

"Be it you or your mother, I just want to come up and say thanks," young Anastasia told Harry.

"You're welcome, Miss Lestrange." Harry told the girl.

"Thanks. I'll see you at Hogwarts," was all Anastasia said before leaving.

Not much was said about the strange Anastasia Lestrange, as the group wasn't sure what to make of what just happened. They suspected that this would be a common thing for Harry, seeing that he was the Boy-Who-Lived, and people might want to thank him for the defeat of the Dark Lord in England. Although Harry and Hermione found it strange, seeing that hardly anyone back in England did this and they had to wonder why. Harry had the bad feeling that it had to do with whoever rerouted his mail, something he just remembered he hadn't sorted out yet and would have to sort out soon, as he had a few things planned which required his mail being delivered to him directly.

While the Granger finished their sightseeing and shopping in Paris, Hermione was thinking about Anastasia Lestrange. The name Lestrange was still ringing alarm bells for some reason, she would be hitting her books and see where she heard the name once got to Hôtel Marguerite that night. For now, she would enjoy the sightseeing and shopping in Paris with her family and friend.

o0OoO0o

(Anastasia Lestrange) 2nd of July - Rue de Lumière:

As soon as Anya left Harry Potter and his group, she walked to the alley next of the Floo Stop Inn, where she meet up with her mother.

"So what do you think of the Boy-Who-Lived?" Her mother asked her.

"Interesting, to say the least," Anya told her mother, "I couldn't talk for long as the girl, Hermione, I think Potter called her, seemed to be working out who I was, so I couldn't learn much. But I did learn that he isn't Dumbledore's Golden Boy as Draco claims he is."

"How so?" asked Bellatrix.

"I'm not sure, but from the way he talked, he had little to no respect nor trust for the man. From what I could tell, something happened between the two of them," Anya told her mother. Bellatrix was interested, now, and and decided to send a letter to her sister to see if she could find out more information about this. "He seemed open-minded; when he left the shop, he claimed Lockhart was a showman if nothing else. He believed Lockhart was acting when he was giving him and his friends the box sets, and was only doing it save face."

"And when his friend - a fan girl if I've ever seen one - tried to defend the fool when I agreed with him and voiced my own thoughts, Potter seemed to remind her that not everyone is who they seem to be. From the feeling I got from him, I think Potter will be meeting Lockhart again."

"Not for the skills that he wrote in his books, I bet," Bellatrix said, thoughtfully, as she considered what her daughter told her about Harry Potter. "Not that I blame Potter. If nothing else, Lockhart knows how to work people, and that's something young Potter will need to know in the future."

After a moment of thought, she wondered if her daughter had been able to feel anything from being so close to Potter, "So Anya, when you were near the boy, what did you sense about him?"

"He had this air of independence about him," Anya reminisced as she remembered what she could about the Boy-Who-Lived, "I could tell he was powerful, more powerful than anyone of his age I've been around. Draco says he is weak and foolish, really, I have no idea why he keeps trying to antagonize Potter; Potter could easily crash him. And lastly, I thought that I saw a hint of darkness within his eyes."

"Hmm, now that is interesting," Bellatrix said thoughtfully, "we should keep an eye on Potter. He might be some use to us in the future." After quickly casting a tempus charm, she saw that they were running late, "We'll talk more about this later, dear. For now, we have to meet up with my sister and Draco."

"Do I have to spend the summer with them?" Anya whined at this. While she loved her aunt, she couldn't stand Draco, and would like being anywhere other than near him. "I could spend the summer with one of my friends."

Bellatrix just chuckled at this and said to her daughter, "No, dear, you cannot. Things have been arranged, and so you have to spend the summer with him. But that doesn't mean you can't torment the lad," Bellatrix smirked, knowing that her daughter would like this.

"Oh thank you, mum," Anya hugged her mother, "you're the best."

At this, the two left the alley, and went to meet Anya's aunt and cousin.

o0OoO0o

(Harry Potter) 2nd of July - Orléans, Hôtel Marguerite, Harry's Room:

It had been a few hours since Harry and the Grangers departed from Rue de Lumière. The had used the time since then for sightseeing and shopping in Paris. Harry already got a few cool gifts for his friends, one was to be Ember's thirteenth birthday gift in October.

They were currently in a small town known as Orléans, a few hours away fromLa Grande Cosse and were staying in the Hôtel Marguerite for the night. The Granger family was looking around the town while Harry stayed in his hotel room; he had spent the first hour reading the books that Lockhart gave him. As he steadily made his way through the books, his urge to light them all on fire grew alongside his general disgust. Half the dates contradicted each other; only about a quarter of the spells were even real - the other spells were either fake, or had completely different effects from what was described in the books. That was all without mentioning that a cure for Lycanthropy simply did not exist, and should have been a major giveaway. Even if the cure was stupidly expensive to make, it would still be a well known and documented spell or potion. There were always rich people either looking to curry favour, or even simply stockpile it 'just in case.'

This particular scene called back to Harry's earlier assumption about the narrative being exaggerated, though. His tiny amount of understanding of the Latin language revealed that Homorphus roughly meant 'Shape of Man', so the spell - if it even existed - could possibly revert the werewolf back into their human form, and the book just took the supposed spell to its theatrical extreme and cured the afflicted werewolf. It certainly made for a happy ending, so Harry would normally excuse it, but the books were passed off as fact - not fiction.

The issues existed in most of the books he read in that hour or so. There were overlapping dates; spells were wrong, fake, or exaggerated; and in general, they read like a flattering exposé rather than a credible DADA textbook. The only thing the books did right was show Lockhart in a good light.

Harry had to admit that the fool known as Lockhart seemed to know how to play the people, and it was something Harry would have to learn. He might not like the man, but Harry was going to need to see if Lockhart would teach him what he knew, as he would need the skills when he was older.

As Harry read the books. He had to wonder that if he could work out that these books were fake or exaggerated, why hasn't anyone else done the same before? Was there a spell on the books to make it so people couldn't see these problems, or were Wizards and Witches just as stupid as Harry thought they were by default?

Harry admitted to himself that witches had an excuse, apparently Lockhart was exceptionally handsome, so the witches were reading the books for reasons other than objective knowledge; they wanted to gush and daydream about Lockhart acting the dashing hero that he portrayed. Wizards were just as bad, though without the hormonally driven lust towards the man. Harry chalked that up to general laziness and stupidity. Women, though… Harry sighed, women were strange creatures, and even the smartest of them could act weird for no discernible reason at all. Hermione Granger was the proof of it all, she was the smartest of their year, yet she, too, fell under Lockhart's spell.

Once Harry finished with his reading, he entered his mindscape to work on his Occlumency and hopefully work on keeping his anger in check. He really didn't want to let his anger control him more than it already had in the last few days, although he suspected that with him going through puberty, it might be harder than planned. He had read before that those who controlled fire would have a harder time to control their anger and lust. Thankfully, he was able to control his lust and it wasn't giving him any problems for the time being... unlike his anger, or so he thought.

He met up with his sister like he always upon entering his mindscape, but this time Lucy looked different. She appeared to be older - around sixteen or seventeen years old - and her emerald eyes glinted with amusement as she looked at Harry. Her dark, raven hair contrasted beautifully against her creamy skin; she was wearing an obsidian crown that wrapped around the back of her head and twisted into a horn-shaped design on either side of her forehead. An orange gem was suspended from a short silver chain on each side.

Her outfit was more revealing than she normally wore, and appeared to be made of obsidian backed by a leather that could very easily be mistaken for lava. Small plates of obsidian covered her shoulders and arms, the breaks between them creating an opening for the leather to shine through. A divide started just below her neck where the leather curved to encase her sides; the obsidian trim on the edge was just barely enough to cover her nipples, but the tight leather was enticing none the less. The front of her torso was nearly entirely exposed, the skin-tight leather joining just below her breasts created the only hidden skin between her neck and waist. A finger-wide band of obsidian wrapped snugly around the upper curve of each hip, meeting at the inside of her legs, a third band bridging the two just high enough to cover her vagina.

Aside from her arms, her legs were the least-exposed part of her body. Obsidian stretched down from mid-thigh to wrap around her leg before meeting again just above her ankles; the leather occupied any would-be exposed areas, offering a compromise between protection and flexibility. Overall, she was a seductress, and his body was reacting to her. It wasn't that he had problems with taboos such as incest, but it meant that the one thing he thought he had control over - his lust - was now playing up on him.

"Lucy, what are you playing at?" Harry asked his sister as he tried to control himself.

"Well, seeing that we're in a hell-like mindscape, I thought I'd wear something that fits the area. Don't you like it, brother?" Lucy teased her brother as she ran her hand down his face and chest, knowing full well what her body was doing to him. It was her hope to drive him mad enough that he would loosen up and have some fun. She had seen what he had been like over the last few years. People had been keeping him in the grey instead of letting him go full-out dark as they once talked about. Her plan was to put her brother back on the path they had planned all those years ago before she had to leave for good, and this was the first step.

"Not that I'm against it, Sis, but why are you looking like that?" Harry asked Lucy, still struggling to control his reaction.

"Oh, this?" Lucy said as she waved her hand over her body, "I've been trying out different bodies I would like to have should I still be around when you are sixteen. This one's my favourite so far."

"I'll admit it does look good on you," Harry admitted, blushing at this, "but could you please turn back into your normal form for me? I would prefer not to be distracted while I work on my mindscape."

"Fine, fine, but you're no fun," Lucy told her brother before she gave him a kiss not on the check, but on the lips, lasting a few second. As they parted, she briefly groped his cock and smirked at him as she transformed into her normal body. The transformation didn't help Harry much. She kept the outfit she was wearing, which wasn't too bad, but she was hitting puberty, and it showed in her developing breasts.

"So brother, what are your plans for today?" Lucy acted as if nothing was going on as the two of them were walking towards Harry's throne.

"I want to see if I can do anything about controlling my anger and such," Harry explained to his sister, "as the last few days, I've been losing my anger when I could have handled things differently. I was around people, or people could have came in and seen what I was doing, so I need to see if I can do anything about it here - maybe build a few things to handle these feelings, as with puberty hitting me, I need a way to control my emotions."

"You do have a point," Lucy admitted, while she wanted her brother dark and evil, she didn't want people to learn about it until he could protect himself, and make sure no one could turn him back. Having his emotions under control was a good idea. "So do you have any ideas on what you're going to do?"

"Not really, no," Harry admitted with a sigh, "I was going to come here and see what I can do once I did."

"Hmm, how about you add to this small island of yours," Lucy told her brother, "other than the throne, there's not much here, so would people would immediately go to the caves. Should someone see something on the island, they might suspect that you have something here and it would give you time to kick them out."

Harry had to admit that he hadn't thought about that before, but it did make sense. Perhaps, as he was altering the island, he could find a way to place his emotions somewhere. For what seemed to be be a few hours, Harry and Lucy worked on the island in the mindscape. The first thing that they did was create a ten-foot pyramid with a flat top, placing it where the throne once was with the throne atop it.Thin, five-foot obsidian pillars were placed at each corner, a warm glow emanating from the lava running through their cores. Steps made up of fake memories were marked by more torches, leading the way up to the throne. The real memories would be hidden inside the pyramid; the most important ones directly under his throne. To get to the island, Harry created four bridges. Each bridge had a gate which could only be opened with a hidden lever.That should slow anyone looking in his mind, and give him enough time to throw them out.

Lucy had Harry create a lava pool in the centre of the island, surrounding a smaller island with a statue of himself. Right now it looked like Harry, but Lucy suggested that he should build something terrifying, or something that didn't look like the real him.

By the time they finished, they still hadn't sorted out how to handle Harry's emotions. They would deal with this at a later time, though, as Harry felt Hermione calling him for dinner. Saying goodbye to Lucy, Harry left his mindscape for the day.

o0OoO0o

(Lucy Potter) 2nd of July - Harry's Mindscape:

Once her brother was gone, Lucy Potter walked up to the pool and statue that she had her brother create. She waved her hand and the lava parted like the red sea to reveal steps going down into a cave she created without her brother knowing. It was one of the few places that her brother didn't know about, and it was the place where all of his repressed memories were stored. Some would occasionally return to the surface, making itself known until he pushed them back down again.

She entered the icy cave, walking along the stone floor past windows that showed the lava outside. Some of the memories here would have helped in becoming a Dark Lord if he hadn't pushed them back. Some of the memories, Lucy noticed with bitterness, were of her and Harry when they were children.

It would seem that being Maverick was doing more harm than good for her plans for Harry. Sure, they would need the money from it, but he seemed to push the idea of being the new Overlord to the back of his mind in favour of running The Abyss. Lucy couldn't allow that. She would make sure that her brother remembered what he truly wanted before she disappeared for good.

As she made her way further into the icy cave, she found a few new memories of her in her new form, and the thoughts that accompanied them. She smirked as she saw that her brother wanted nothing more than to ravage her. She vowed to make sure these memories didn't stay here for long; she would make sure he wasn't able to fight his lust. Before long, he would have no choice but to have his way with women.

Finally, she got to where she wanted: the centre of the cave. Where a huge block of ice stood in the centre with a shadowy form visible within it. It was too obscure to tell who the figure was, but Lucy knew. she said as she ran her hand down the ice.

"Soon, my brother... soon I'll free you from this prison you put yourself in. And when you're free, you can shake the world, and put people on their knees in fear. I give you my word on this, even if it is the last thing I ever do for you."

The darkness within the ice thrashed about, eager to be released.

To be Continued!

Author's Note: Here ends the second part of The Serpent's Lair Saga, I would like to thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it and spend a few moments to review. I hope you read all of this note, as I would like your feedback on some of these, to help me out in the story. I hope that you enjoyed Anya, something I added, if you want a bit more info please read the side-story, although the main parts I think is in this story so you don't need to, but I might have left a few things out. I'm hoping she and a few other OC I've got will build up Harry's character, that'll lead him to the path I need him to go down.

Anyway, I'm only going to ask about two ideas today, as they are somewhat big ones, and more important at this moment, so please read them and not skip them as I need your feedback on them. As they're important to the story:

The first that I need help with is who should open the Chamber of Secrets, now I have mixed reviews about this, so let me go with the thoughts about each girl, and let you decide, and I hope you can help me with sorting out the ideas. First let's start of with Ginny, and then I'll go with Ember.

Ginny: Now not many are bothered if she opens the Chamber or not, but there are a few who wants her to as it would be easier to do than Ember. As I could use the life debt to get her to Harry's side and use the fact to fight between Purebloods to blackmail or dethrone Malfoy from his superiority complex. But there are some who think I could add her by using the fact that she is a fangirl, and seeing that Ron could be bad mouthing Harry or talking about him, she wants to find out more for herself, and I should use this fact.

Ember: There a few mixed reviews about this, but some believe that she shouldn't be the one to open the Chamber, as she is too close to Harry, and she already trusts Harry, and they are confident that were Lucius Malfoy to slip Riddle's diary among her schoolbooks she would begin asking questions as soon as she noticed it, starting with Harry and then the others. And as I think about this point, once it writes back to her, she would ask Harry about this. Not only that but there is one person who thinks that they always under the impression that Lucius gave Ginny the diary partly because he was hoping to discredit the Weasley family in the event of there being major fallout from the diary being discovered in her possession.

Both of the thoughts has got merits, but at the same time I really like the idea of Ember opening the chamber, and Harry using the fact that Ginny is a fangirl to get her. But as one reader already pointed out, Ember already trusts Harry and so she would go to him once she finds the book, or when she writes in it and it writes back. Although I can use the idea that the diary has spells on it so that once she writes in it, she can't easily tell anyone else, it would explain why Ginny didn't tell anyone in the book so soon until she fought it. But the main problem is how she can get the book, and not tell Harry that she has it. So if someone can help me with this, I'll be able to use Ember, but if not I'll have to go with Ginny.

The final thing for now is an idea I got about the Abyss, an idea I would like to use but I need your help to improve on. Here's the idea for it: It was stated that since I was unhappy with the Abyss, because it all happened too soon, someone suggested that I destroy it. The idea is that one of the Witch Hunter's groups or the Paladins themselves, gets a tip from one of the patrons/partners, who wasn't happy with Maverick for some reason. One I was given was that someone wasn't happy with the changes, like the sphinx and raid the place and even the half-giants and all the other security is unable to stop it (the security is after all mainly to stop cheating and brawls between patrons) and thus destroy it.

The person that gave me the idea went on to say that some of them manage to escape the attack and go into hiding. I could also have some of the minor characters like Warchief and Dante be caught by the Witch Hunters, so they can reappear later as enemies. This came about as I mentioned that some of the Witch Hunters brainwash the Magic Users, so that they kill or capture other Magical Users. Or I could have Harry rescue them a few years later, when he's stronger and learns that they are still alive.

The person went on to say that I could keep Bowser alive and busy, as he looks for who betrayed Harry and the club. This could spark a few changes within Harry. I was thinking this could be the start where Harry's darkness is awakened, as with everything that'll happen by this time, Harry snaps and allows his darkness to take him over slowly. Anyway, the person went on to say that as soon as Bowser found the one(s) responsible, Harry's rage and thirst for vengeance could make him kill them maybe even let them suffer for a bit before killing them, which Lucy would be absolutely delighted about.

The next part I'm not too sure about, but would like your thoughts about: this development would also make Harry… a bit more humble.

After his announcement to his partners and patrons regarding the Abyss, he was very full of himself in my opinion. Sitting there in his chair just saying that everything was sooooo easy because he knew exactly how they all would react and so on. If he realised, that he was so wrong by thinking that, he would act a lot more cautious for some time.

Moreover, if something like this happened, Harry wouldn't let the opportunity slip, to get his hands on a full grown basilisk, that could protect his next attempt of an underground facility; whenever he would do that.

What do you think of this ideas, is there anything else you want to see happen or do you want it to happen at all? I would like to hear your thoughts, and any ideas you might think of to go with this idea.

Now there is another idea from another person that I'm thinking to use, and it goes well with the last idea with the Abyss. Should Harry learn about Warchief and Dante, and if anyone else I decide to use, are still alive Harry could go and rescue them from being used and experimented on. During the rescue though, Harry finds out about one experiment called the 'Magic Hunter,' which is designed to be immune to most kinds damage magic or non-magic, combined with excellent hearing and sense of smell allowing him to track for miles.

His creators call him "hunter" he is a half-giant and half-bridge troll. Being part bridge troll allows him to understand how machines tend to work. He's brutal and savage in hand to hand combat. He is very loyal to the people trust. His weakness is that he isn't all that smart leading to poor judgment from time to time.

Now I know many don't review because of it being a rewrite, but I really need your help with this, so please if you can leave some feedback. As your thoughts and feedback helps me with problems like this, so either please review and/or leave me a PM, letting me know of your thoughts about these ideas or your thoughts of the chapter.

So once again thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and in return if you did, please leave a feedback for me. The longer the better. And please remember, more feedback equals faster updates, as I know what you want and I get the ideas I ask for to update sooner.

Next on Rise of Overlord Vulcan: In the next chapter, Summer of Fun, I won't go into detail as it'll spoil the chapter. But I can say that they'll be a few limes, and maybe a lemon. Harry will also be sorting out a few things back in England too. All will be revealed in the next chapter. (One last question, would you like it if I do a lemon between Harry and Emma, where Harry tricks her into teaching him how to masturbate and during which things get out of hand and they fuck each other.)

Remember, when you see a pair of these ( . Y . ) the lemon or lime is about to start, or has ended. So if you don't like lemons for whatever reason skip to the next pair of these ( . Y . )