Sept 1 evening
Slytherin common room
"I can't believe he took those curses for Potter."
"Of course he did. The Line Protection Contract will make him protect her until two heirs are born."
"Shut it." Daphne hissed. "You didn't see him that day Parkinson and Nott were stupid enough to attack her. I thought he was going to kill us all. He was enraged at our parents saying what you just implied. My father couldn't walk unaided for a day and a half."
"I can't believe you're gossiping about his private life." Terence Higgs snapped sharply. "You won't even think about it outside the common room am I clear? You do not want to be the one to reveal who he is."
"Potter helped save my godfather's life." Draco spoke up for the first time since they entered the common room. "She also kept him out of Azkaban and cleared his name. She's turning out to not be anything like we thought."
"You sound like you actually like her." Phillip Helmsley sneered.
"I do. Potter is Dark, vicious, cunning and compassionate at the same time. She's intelligent and witty and…"
"Crushing on the Dark Lord's whore?" Bulstrode asked in an ugly tone.
Draco's wand was out and Bulstrode was screaming in pain in seconds.
"Malfoy!" Keslar strode into the room.
"She called Lady Slytherin a whore." Draco snarled ending the curse.
Keslar stared at the fat, blubbering witch. "Has a death wish, does she?" His voice was dark and dangerous. He looked around the room. "Get it through your thick skulls. Potter is not the enemy. The new headmaster will kill anyone who threatens his wife whom he is very fond of. I doubt being a teen will stay his hand. Now go to bed and wake up with more common sense."
HP/TR
Tom turned his attention to the staff. "I understand your doubts and your fears. I will strive to relieve both if you will be good enough to show us to the staff conference room."
McGonagall stared at him a long moment then with a sniff turned to walk away. "This way."
They entered a fairly large room with a huge table in the middle. The staff settled into chairs nervously. Several shot Hari ugly looks as Tom attentively settled her into a chair next to his.
"Tonight, a broad outline of the things we hope to change, add or improve upon. Regrettably there will be many meetings this term as we implement these ideas. First of all for those who do not know me, I am Thomas Riddle, Lord of Slytherin and Ravenclaw. I believe you all know my lovely wife, Harika Potter Riddle. Her titles are a mouthful."
"Prat," Hari huffed affectionately.
Tom grinned at her touching the back of her hand gently.
Hari sighed. "We'd like to cover what we must tonight before getting rest for what is sure to be the first of several trying days for all of us."
Tom looked around the table at the varying expressions. "What you each need to do tonight is decide if you are willing to work with us. We won't tolerate constant strife or someone on the staff undermining our authority. We will be making plenty of changes – classes, behavior, rewards, punishments, etc. Details will come at our pace not yours so don't badger us. You need to let us know by noon tomorrow if you are staying on or not."
"Us? Our? Ms. Potter is still a student." McGonagall huffed.
"While it is true that Lady Slytherin will be attending classes she is half owner of the castle and has equal authority with me. You will treat her as the Lady of the castle. Classes," he continued to forestall questions. "You will spend the next week creating standardized lesson plans for each year. We have queried the different schools in Europe and the other continents and have consolidated their replies as to what they teach their students."
"Professor Trelawney, you have no decision to make. Divinations will not be offered any longer. The Sight is not something that can be taught."
"You're…you're firing me!" Trelawney gasped tears welling up in her huge eyes.
"Yes. I will however let you remain in the castle for two weeks to give you time to find other accommodations. You may go."
Trelawney fled the room in tears. The other staff members stared at them in trepidation.
"Cuthbert Binns will not be teaching History. How you all have allowed that travesty to continue for so long is beyond me. Remus Lupin will be returning as our History teacher."
"The werewolf!"
"Yes."
"Parents will not allow…"
"Parents can either let their children attend or not. The castle belongs to Hari and me. The Board is now obsolete. We make the staff decisions, the curriculum decisions and the expense decisions."
"Kipper, the files please." Hari called while the staff stared in shock and a house elf appeared with several folders. "Thank you." Hari took the files and looked at the title on the front before floating them to the professors with a flick of her hand.
"Hogwarts has fallen far behind the International Standards. We will recover her reputation." Tom declared firmly.
"I see Potions doesn't have a folder." Daeschler murmured smugly. "Am I to assume my subject is up to par?"
"No. You are to assume that Professor Snape has the folder." Hari replied coolly.
"Snape is gone."
"Professor Snape will be returning." Hari declared firmly. "He has stated a…" Hari paused at the uproar.
"He's a Death Eater."
"He killed Dawlish."
"He's a horri-"
"Silence!" Tom snarled.
Hari's gaze swept them coldly. "Professor Snape has stated a desire to return and teach. He has promised to curb his behavior toward the other Houses though you don't have room to complain now as you never did anything to curb or offset his behavior in the past. Unfair points were never returned. Unfair detentions never nullified."
McGonagall glared at Hari who met her gaze steadfastly with a furious one of her own.
Tom looked at Daeschler who was fuming. "We are introducing several other classes if you are interested in staying on in another capacity."
Daeschler jerked to his feet. "No, I won't work with a known Death Eater!"
Tom met his gaze steadily. "Then you have until the morning to clear out your quarters. You may go begin packing now."
Daeschler strode from the room banging the door shut behind him.
"While you are updating your classes also think of what you need for those classes to be successful. Hari has already started compiling a list of new equipment such as new brooms, new Herbology gear, etc. You can meet with her during the week to discuss wants and needs.
I have posted for teachers for new classes that we will be introducing. I have several already chosen. They should be here within the next few days. Speaking of postings," Tom looked at McGonagall. "If you decide to stay on, you need to choose either Deputy Headmistress understanding that means you will be working directly with me or Head of Gryffindor."
"I have done both for years. I will continue to do both."
"You will not. We have listened to students from each House. Gryffindors are by and large the most unsupervised and neglected of all the Houses."
"I do not neglect my students!"
"You do." Hari refuted. She held a hand up to silence McGonagall. "Professor, you teach Transfiguration, are Head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress. There are not enough hours in the day to do everything that you need to do. We are the ones that you neglect. When was the last time you had time to visit with Gryffindor, check to see if our work was done or if we needed help, posted and kept office hours, personally greeted first years and explained House rules to them?"
You will choose." Tom stated firmly when McGonagall remained stubbornly silent. "Any questions that cannot wait until tomorrow?"
"May I be bold and forthright?" Professor Flitwick asked determinedly.
Tom sighed having a suspicion of what was coming. "Of course, Professor Flitwick."
The diminutive man stood in his chair and met Tom's gaze directly. "I have no doubt that Albus was correct in who you really are, Tom Riddle. The only reason I am not still fighting you is because I do not believe Harika Potter would have consented to marriage and would not be so at ease by your side if you were as evil and sadistic as he painted you. Are you turning Hogwarts into a training camp for future followers?"
Several gasps were heard and frightened looks directed toward Tom. Was he Voldemort or his grandson? Would they ever know for certain? Were they actually sitting at the table with the most powerful, most fearsome Dark Lord ever?
Tom stared at the half-goblin. The small wizard had the courage of a dragon! Finally, he sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He looked directly at Flitwick. "I am not Voldemort. I am not here to train future Death Eaters. I want magical Britain to stop being the laughing stock of the magical world. I want to root out the bigotry and ignorance that has infected our society. If you wish to discuss it further, feel free to come see me tomorrow."
Flitwick paled slightly, but nodded.
Tom and Hari stood. "There are more changes than what we touched on tonight. I want to get staff issues settled before I go into further detail. We will meet at noon tomorrow. You will let us know then if you are resigning."
He placed a hand on the small of Hari's back and ushered her from the room. They were silent as they moved through the deserted halls toward the headmaster's quarters.
"How many owls do you think are left in the owlery?" Hari asked with amusement tinting her voice.
Tom snorted. "None."
"I'd like to check on the Infirmary before going to bed. Pomfrey was ignoring the Dark students in the Great Hall."
Tom turned them and headed back down the way they had come. He took a side corridor and soon they were approaching the Infirmary.
Soft crying reached them as they moved into the dimly lit room. Hari frowned and followed the sound to a curtained off bed.
She peeked in. A small girl was in the bed with a bandage around her arm. A young boy sat beside her. "Are you okay? Should I get Madam Pomfrey?"
The two children jumped in surprise and stared at her wide eyed then their eyes widened further and they gulped as they stared past her.
"I am not going to hurt you." Tom huffed.
"We just came down to check on everyone." Hari murmured edging into the enclosed area. "We didn't expect Dumbledore to blow up the floor." She indicated the girl's arm. "Are you in pain?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Frightened? It's okay to be frightened." Hari murmured when they ducked their heads.
The boy muttered, "They're saying you're You Know Who and you're going to torture and kill us 'cause we're…"
"Perrin!" The girl shrieked, terrified.
"Muggleborn," Hari finished gently.
"I am not!" Tom huffed. "I've said many times now and the goblins and the Ministry have verified it the Dark Lord is my grandfather. I can't help that. The castle is ours. We are going to expand the library and purchase new brooms for flying class, hire more teachers. We're even instituting a day when your parents will be able to come and see the school."
"You are?"
"Yes."
"So you really aren't You Know Who?"
"Do I look like a seventy year old psychotic madman?"
The girl stared hard at him a moment. "No, sir."
Tom moved over to the bedside table and picked up the plastic cup. He drew his wand and waved it over the cup then jabbed it down toward it. The cup became a stuffed griffin. He handed it to the girl. "There, you'll sleep better now."
The girl's eyes widened as she gingerly took the stuffed animal. "Thank you."
Hari leaned on his arm fighting back her amusement as she and Tom moved around the room checking on everyone. Luckily, there weren't too many serious injuries. The majority of students bunking in the infirmary tonight were on calming potions.
Hari smiled at the huddled Gryffindors when they found them. "Rocco, Callidora, Jimmy how are you?"
Their eyes widened. "My lord, my lady," they murmured quietly. "We're fine, Ma'am." Callidora responded glancing at Tom in awe. "And you, Sir? Are you…," she bit her lip and flushed.
Tom reached out and touched her blanket covered leg gently. He was stunned that the child cared enough to ask. "I am fine, thank you, Ms. Hooch. My wife is a very talented healer."
"We should have defended you!" Jimmy murmured in a shame filled voice.
"No!" Tom hissed. "No," he said more softly when they flinched. "I do not expect children to fight my battles. Your job is to learn and grow up to be fine Dark wizards and witches."
"Yes, milord."
"Hush now. None of that here. You are looking at your new Headmaster. Sleep now. Tomorrow will be another exciting day."
He led Hari from the room frowning at her paleness. Four weeks pregnant. Suffering from morning sickness. Snape's potions helped, but she was still queasy and careful of what she ate in the morning. Lately, she'd been getting tired easy and today was not an easy day. She was exhausted and trying hard to hide it.
By the first landing she was lagging. He swept her into his arms and carried her up the steps expecting her to argue and demand to be put down. Instead, she sighed and tucked her head against his shoulder.
The gargoyle slid aside at their approach. Tom let the winding staircase carry them up while he indulged himself with kissing his wife.
He strode through the office without a glance. Reaching the headmaster's quarters he called for Kipper and Annie. He settled into a chair with Hari and ordered the changing out of the bed for their own. He would not sleep in Dumbledore's bed. He had them empty the wardrobe ordering all of Dumbledore's clothing destroyed. He had them unpack their clothing.
He laid Hari on the bed and checked the room thoroughly for monitoring charms, spying charms, traps. He had the elves check. He called Fawkes in and questioned him about anything they should be concerned about in these rooms.
Finally, as satisfied as he could get, he stripped Hari and tucked her under the covers before removing his clothes and joining her.
"The fierce Dark Lord conjuring stuffed griffins," she murmured laughter in her voice.
"Practicing," he murmured back stroking her belly.
Hari felt her heart swell with love for the man.
Sept 2
Tom stared at the pretentious throne-like chair at the High table. He snorted. Yes, of course, he had a throne in his audience chamber, but that was to impress upon his followers and petitioners that he was the Dark Lord.
A headmaster of a school full of children should not sit upon a throne. Children were not to be lorded over. They were to be nurtured with care.
He would not be the Dark Lord at Hogwarts. He would be the stern yet approachable Headmaster. Dumbledore had been right about one thing. Here was the true powerbase. He would put a loyal follower in the Minister position and in as many ministry positions as possible. They could deal with politicians. He would stay here and influence the beliefs of future generations teach open-mindedness and encourage the thirst for knowledge and pride in their magical heritage. He would take a page from Slughorn's book and earn loyalty through good natured avenues – bolstering pride, helping the helpless, doing favors not manipulating guilt the way Dumbledore did. Eventually he and Hari would be rulers, but by that time it would be because the people wanted them to rule them.
He drew his yew wand and transfigured the chair to something just slightly of better quality than the professors' chairs. He transfigured the one to his right as well for Hari.
He settled her into the chair solicitously. His actions stating clearly she was his equal and he valued her.
He watched the staff members filter in uneasily. Only Keslar seemed to be at ease. They trailed in pale and rattled. It was obvious they had not slept well.
"Ms. Pince," Hari called out when she saw the librarian sidle into the room. "I need to meet with you to discuss changes in the library."
Pince stopped and glared at her. "The library is fine the way it is." She replied snottily.
"It is not fine the way it is. It will be changed. You can be part of the improvements coming to Hogwarts or you can be replaced." Hari replied just as snottily.
The librarian glared at her balefully then gave a sharp nod and moved to her place at the table wondering how many more onerous duties were about to be heaped upon her.
Students began filtering in to the room some shooting glances to the High table nervously. Others were trying with varying degrees of success to hide their glee.
Hari had a house elf bring her some parchment and a quill and wrote out several notes. She flicked her hand over them and they folded themselves into butterflies then fluttered off to their recipients.
"Wife?"
"Sorry, I want to get started on the new common rooms by year. I figured if we involved students from each house and each year it will give them something to do over the next week since there aren't going to be classes."
Tom nodded.
All across the room children opened their butterfly notes. Some paled and started shaking; others just folded them up and went on eating their breakfasts.
Ron Weasley's voice cut across the soft murmurings. "She's a traitor. There's no telling what she intends to do with them. Picking out the ones they want to start torturing or subverting."
"Really Ronald!" Hermione's voice was strident. "We're all disappointed that Hari turned against us and worried about the future but you have no idea what the notes are for."
Hari snorted. "Like they didn't turn against me over and over again. It was almost tradition to accuse me of vile things and hate me every other year." She said to Tom.
"Fickle are they?" Tom asked.
"Very. First year – held in awe or at least my scar was. Second year – evil heir of Slytherin. Third – poor, betrayed savior. Fourth – hated because someone else put my name in the tournament but they wouldn't believe that. Fifth – an unstable, lying gloryhound. Yet I apparently was supposed to stay loyal to them. Now I'm a traitor even though the contract was set centuries ago and I'd have died if I refused to honor it."
Most of the students that heard her glared up at her. She glared back.
"Well, it can't be good. Summoned by You Know Who's whore." Ron's voice carried over the other conversations.
Tom was on his feet before the thought registered. His magic lashed out toward the redhead. It wrapped around him, jerking him to his feet and dragging him across the floor to the High table where Tom stood vibrating with fury.
Ron screamed – a high pitched terrified shriek as he flailed about trying to escape the magic woven around him.
The students all stared, terrified at the dark, furious aura the new headmaster was throwing off. Black and plum strands of magic coiled around the white redhead and a sibilant hissing sound echoed around the great hall.
"Lord Slytherin! Lord Slytherin! Let him go! You can't accost a student!"
Tom ignored McGonagall's shrill demands. This was his home. His property. This boy, who had thought to marry and make Hari his property, had just insulted his wife in front of everyone. He glared down at the frightened young wizard who finally quit yelling and stared up at him with wide, round eyes. "Tell me Mr. Weasley do you truly belief that I am the Dark Lord Voldemort?"
Ron swallowed and trembled as he fought fruitlessly against the magic wrapped around his body. "D….d…dumbledore s….said y…y….you are s…s…..so you are!"
"Then why would you be idiotic enough to anger me?" Tom's magic coiled around the boy dark and vengeful.
"You w….w….won't k…k….k…kill me in fr….front of everyone."
Tom chuckled. "No, I won't because I am not Voldemort. If I were though, you would be dead right now."
"Tom."
Tom glanced at Hari and saw not reprimands but dark amusement in her eyes. He turned to the pasty white redhead letting his magic draw him upright with just the table between them. "I understand that part of your anger is because her contract with me superseded the illegal contract that Dumbledore made with your family that would have given Hari to you. She is not yours. She was never going to be yours. She will never be yours. Stay away from my wife, Mr. Weasley and keep your mouth shut about her. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," Ron squeaked as the dark magic tightened around him painfully.
"Good. I am fond of Arthur and would hate to have to bear bad news to him." Tom replied softly so that only Ron and those to each side of him heard.
He drew his magic in dumping the boy to the floor.
Ron scrambled away from him and fled back to Gryffindor's table. Hermione wrapped her arm around his holding on to him tightly as he shook and tried to regain his composure.
"Are you insane, Ron?" She shrieked in a loud whisper. "He doesn't have to kill you in front of people! He could do it anywhere very quietly. You really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut."
Tom's gaze swept over the room before he settled back into his chair.
"Lord Slytherin you cannot go around assaulting students and threatening them!" Professor McGonagall snapped furiously.
"On the contrary, I can." Tom murmured.
"I will not allow it!" McGonagall drew herself up stiffly.
"You can be fired." Tom snapped.
"Please…tempers are short this morning." Hari interrupted. "My husband is understandably protective. If you would please calm down, Professor."
McGonagall glared at her.
"Things are going to change around here, Professor and believe me when I say my husband does not take well to being ordered about. Calm down. Sit down. Or go pack. It wasn't an idle threat."
McGonagall glared then sat down.
Hari looked out over the drawn, frightened faces and sighed. She stood up. "So that everyone can quit worrying about the summons. We are opening up common rooms in the castle by year not House. These common rooms will be charmed to disallow physical violence. We are hoping to root out the animosity between the four houses. You are children. You shouldn't hate someone because of where they dorm. I picked one person from each year from each House to decorate and furnish their new common room."
A buzz of relief and excitement slid through the hall.
"If you have all finished eating we can adjourn to the empty rooms and begin."
"Leaving me to deal with staff?" Tom huffed softly.
Hari grinned at him and stroked his cheek. "You are so much better at controlling adults than I am."
He glared at her.
She bent and kissed him briefly before straightening and moving around the table and down between the tables toward the doors. A little over half way down she called out, "I should have twenty eight people following me."
People scrambled from each table.
Tom laughed softly. Merlin she was going to make a lovely Dark Lady.
Hari led the students up to the third floor and down a rarely used corridor. She stopped and turned around. "Hogwarts, doors please."
Up and down the hall seven doors glowed different colors. "There won't be passwords on the doors. The doors are keyed to your age. The only people not of that age that will be allowed in the rooms are Prefects and Staff. I will be talking Hogwarts into connecting doors to these rooms from near your House dormitories to make access easier."
She went to the first door and opened it up. "First years," she murmured.
Four small children edged forward. She waved them in. A house elf was in the room. "Debate amongst yourself what you want. Purple walls…" the house elf snapped and the walls began to be coated in purple. "Bag chairs, balls, books…" the items appeared. "Use your imagination. This is going to be where you can hang out with kids your age and set aside House prejudice. We want you all to realize that there are kids that you can be friends with in other Houses. The Hat sorts you by dominate personality and desires. It doesn't judge morals. Most of you could have been placed in several different houses, but the Hat had to choose one.
I see you are already staring at Ms. Preece as if she's evil. You don't know her. You only know what your parents and older siblings say about Slytherins. Let's say she has a really good heart which could put her in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but she wants to be a solicitor and defend people. Being a solicitor takes knowledge which could put her in Ravenclaw. It also takes cunning and cleverness which could put her in Slytherin. The Hat looks at all that and decides which one will suit her best for her personality and future goals."
"So she's Slytherin because she's cunning or really clever?"
"Exactly. It doesn't mean she'll use those traits to do bad things. I know Slytherin has a bad reputation. That is one thing my husband and I intend to change. Yes the Dark Lord and a lot of his followers came from Slytherin but he also had a lot of followers from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor – even a few from Hufflepuff. Some Ravenclaws want to learn all they can so they can use it against people; some Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs are very loyal…to the Dark Lord because the Light betrayed them in some fashion. The Sorting Hat picks the best House for you that doesn't mean you don't have traits from the Houses inside you or that you'll use those dominant traits for good or for evil."
"Oh." They all looked at Whitney with open curiosity now instead of guarded dislike.
Hari grinned and waved. "Have fun."
She moved the group down around the doors and gave a version of the same speech over and over again until they were all busy designing their rooms. The younger years took her speech to heart a lot quicker and easier than the upper years. The upper years would need to work it out themselves.
"Are you going to help design the seventh year room?" Hannah asked her.
"No." She shook her head. "Hogwarts would listen to me over all of you. So I'm keeping out of it."