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Holidays
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The Gringotts Hall echoed with excited chatter as a flood of children and teenagers entered through a large gate with the word Hogwarts engraved upon the lintel. The Goblin Guards watched stoically as the students flowed past them, some striding confidently towards their destination while others moved more slowly, looking round for the banners that would tell them which of the Gates they were meant to use. Some of the younger ones were surprised to find that the Goblin Guards were a good source of directions, as long as they were approached politely.
"The Malfoy Concourse is this way." Draco said to his followers and hangers-on as he led them towards the gate underneath the Malfoy banner. Glancing round, he hid his sneer at the sight of the Potter banner on the other side of the Hall, then he strode through the Gate and into a large circular chamber, one with two rings of balconies linked by four recessed spiralling staircases rising from the ground. On the other side of the chamber on a slightly raised dias was a door set into a bejewelled, golden frame with the Malfoy crest picked out in emeralds and black diamonds.
"The Chamber of the Pure, as paid for entirely by my father." Malfoy announced with a smirk. "As you can see, it was created to hold up to forty-seven doors, seven on the ground level and twenty on each balcony-ring. Each of the upper doors has its own balcony for use in meetings, the corridor that connects them runs round behind them and the pillars in which the Doors are placed."
"An excellent summary, my son." An approving voice said and everyone turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing on the dias in front of the Malfoy Door. "Miss Parkinson, you wished to say something?"
"Judging from the spacings, if the stairs weren't where they are, another eight Doors could be installed on the balconies and four on the ground."
"Indeed, you are correct. The original design had the stairs freestanding and connected to the balconies by short bridges, but such a thing would have made meetings harder due to blocked lines of sight. Sacrificing a the potential for another dozen Doors in exhcange for increased clarity of speech and vision was a trade I was more than willing to make."
The door to the left of the dias opened and Vincent Crabbe's father stepped through it, pausing to not respectfully to Lucius, who returned the nod. A moment later, the door to the right of the dias opened to reveal the form of Gregory Goyle's father. Another door opened to the left of the Gringott's Gate and Daphne's face lit up as a regal woman and a small girl stepped through.
"As you can see," Malfoy said, pitching his voice so that it carried through the rising hubbub, "The Gates give us a fast and secure means of travelling and while you are here, may I invite you all to a celebration on Beltane at my mansion, I have hired the Weird Sisters for the younger generation in the West Ballroom, while the East Ballroom will have more… traditional entertainment. If you wish to attend, please have your parents Owl me and I hope to see you all there. In the meantime, I wish you all a pleasant holiday. Draco?"
"Coming, father." Draco said as he strode across the marble floor to his father.
"Your mother is waiting." Lucius smiled and Draco returned his smile before stepping through the Door to his father's mansion and the welcome that awaited him.
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Albus sat in the living room of his cottage, looking into the depths of the firewhisky glass that he held, his mind busy as he fought to reconcile the events of the previous few weeks with what he had believed was meant to happen.
Perhaps it was indeed as Lupin had suggested, that the Prophecy had been fulfilled when Voldemort had lost his body to the reflected killing curse, but somehow he doubted it.
Rising to his feet, he strode across to a large bookcase that took up most of the back wall and hunted through it, finally pulling out a large geneology book of recent printing. Opening it, he leafed through to the page marked Greengrass and froze, staring at it.
Ladon Greengrass had been born Ladon Lancer. When he had married, on the last day of July to a pregnant Ephemeria Greengrass, he had taken her family name rather than her taking his, effectively being reborn since Ladon Greengrass hadn't existed before that day.
And with the him having managed to remain neutral… he must have survived defying Riddle's attempts to recruit him somehow, or rather, his parents (and those of his wife) must have… and by not killing him, Riddle effectively marked him as his equal… and it was Laden who had struck Riddle down after the last two the Horcruxes had been destroyed by his friend, as confirmed privately by Severus who had witnessed the destruction of the Diary and the Diadem, the last two of Riddle's anchors.
Friendship. The Power the Dark Lord knew not.
All those years he had thought that Harry Potter had been the child of prophecy but it would seem that he had been mistaken, there had been another.
Albus smiled and settled back into his chair, relaxing as Fawkes started to sing.
It was over, the Prophecy had indeed been fulfilled.
He was going to really enjoy this years Beltane celebrations.
Although he really did need to find out just what had happened to the Stone.
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"Welcome to Grassip Lane, America's equivalent to Diagon Alley." Sirius declaimed as he led the group out of the small apartment above one of the shops and down the stairs. "It is one of three streets arranged in a triangle, the other two being Rockip Lane and Sandip Lane. Gringotts is at the midpoint of Rockip, so we head right or clockwise and the corners are anchored by enchanted arches that have low-powered muggle-repelling charms on them."
Harry turned in surprise as a centaur trotted past, several saddlebags on its back.
"The American wizarding world is less restrictive than Britain's, but it is also a lot smaller." Sirius shrugged. "The original settlers, the Puritans, didn't believe in magic and saw it as demonic influence, so no mages went with them and only a few followed them. It's only been the last hundred years or so that numbers have increased as the muggleborn and magical sentients decided they don't like the restrictions in Britain and thus the native Wizards have put more effort into finding and recruiting magic users. Like the rest of the Wizarding World, American Wizards keep their powers secret, although they are far more likely to live in muggle areas."
"Nice." Arthur Weasley said, looking round.
"They've also recently started experimenting with combining magic and technology." Sirius added.
"Recently?"
"After seeing how much damage muggles could do in the Second World War, the wizards decided that they needed to pay more attention to what was happening in the rest of the world. I believe that about a tenth of the Secret Service are either magicals or know about the Magical world."
"Is there a bookshop here?" Hermione asked, causing several of her friends to hastily muffle their chuckles. "What? It's a valid question."
"I believe that there's a large one on Sandip, but I can't remember what it's called." Remus said, looking embarrassed. "I was only really here to arrange for the vaults to be moved here and to get our visas from the Department of Magic."
"These people are very tolerant." Arthur noted as a goblin and a vampire (who was sheltering under a magic-enhanced Parasol) strolled past, arguing about something obscure. "I wonder if Ahsoka could go unveiled here?"
"Probably best if Xenophilius finishes that side-project he's working with Ahsoka on, first." Remus said, then he saw the looks being sent his way and sighed. "Look, you know how Xeno has been interested in odd animals for years? Well, he's putting together material based on the files Ahsoka brought with her and the things she can remember. They're planning on releasing it to the roleplaying muggles first."
"That… is a very intelligent plan." Sirius mused.
"Xeno came up with it."
Sirius's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets and Remus nodded in confirmation.
"What's got Sirius so shocked?" Hermione asked, looking at him curiously.
"He just discovered someone's hidden depths." Remus replied.
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"…and now for our last piece of business before we break until the new year." Elphius Doge said, looking round at the assembled Wizengamot. "The Ministry of Magic has finished its investigation and determined that Lord Potter is guilty of associating with demonic entities, as is Lord Black. Since both are currently full members of the Wizengamot, albeit in absentia, they cannot be charged while they still hold their seats in accordance with the ancient laws. The Ministry has respectfully requested that we remove that protection in order to allow them to see justice done."
"I propose a vote to remove Lords Potter and Black from the Wizengamot." Lord Nott said.
"I second the motion." Malfoy quickly replied.
"Are there any who wish to speak in defense of Lords Potter and Black?"
"I do." Said Augusta Longbottom as she rose majestically from her chair. "As Regent Longbottom, I must point out that the one that Lords Potter and Black are accused of associating with is the one who rescued a young Harry Potter from a miserable existence, thus uncovering the traitorous Pettigrew and setting the conditions for the final death of Tom Riddle. Those are not the actions of a demon. Ahsoka Tano is merely a witch from a distant land, one who happens to look different. There is nothing demonic involved and thus the charge is meaningless."
"Recognising Lord Malfoy."
Malfoy stood as Lady Longbottom resumed her seat. "Regent Longbottom reminds us of history, but the facts are simple. This Tano is not human, she is not from this world and therefore, by our own laws, she is classified as a Demon. She may not be from the afterlife, she may not derive directly from the Infernal Realms, but she is still, by every law and custom of our society, a Demon who should not be allowed to inflict her non-human views on our human society. We are humans. Muggle, muggleborn, halfblood, highblood or pureblood, our humanity unites us and defines us. She is not human and so I move that after this matter is resolved, the Wizengamot, at minimum, removes its declaration in her favour. Remember that she forced young Lord Potter to claim his Lordship at eleven years old, far too young to understand the culture, responsibilities and traditions of the Wizengamot. Lord Black chose to abandon his duties and let a werewolf walk amongst us in his name, and they did so because of Tano. No, my friends, the charges are true."
"Any others who wish to speak?" Doge asked, looking round. "Then we shall vote. The first vote, should Lord Potter be stripped of his seat on the Wizengamot. Place your wand on the relevant square on the bench in front of you…"
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"One step closer." Malfoy gloated in his private study. His guest nodded.
"Between your abilities and my position, we will be able to rebuild society as it should be, rather than the mess it is now." Ladon said, accepting a goblet of wine. "I must say, though, moving this slowly is getting… aggravating."
"We need to work slowly." Lucius said, putting his goblet down and leaning forwards, his face intent. "Riddle tried to move too fast and he misjudged peoples reactions. The public dislike change except when it seems slow, gentle and inevitable. If we try to move fast, we will find that our haste has created resistance and we will be at war again. We have to work slowly in order to build our society how we want it, we must be careful so that we don't raise suspicions before all is in place."
"And Hogwarts?"
"Hogwarts will eventually become ours, but not for several years to come." Lucius said thoughtfully. "Any pressure we apply for them will cause them and those supporting them to look more closely at us. Instead, we shall raise the funding they receive, as well as increasing the funding for St Mungos and the DMLE."
"Who'd have thought that rooting out inefficiency and corruption could have led to so much money being liberated." Ladon chuckled darkly. "And several of our political enemies being caught with their hands in the money-bag… priceless. Truly a political advantage worth savouring."
"Shame we had to cut one of our own loose as well." Lucius sighed, then he smirked. "Although had he actually been intelligent enough to hide his indescretions, he would have made an adequate tool given his former position. Oh well, what is, is, and it's no good worrying about what might have been."
Ladon nodded and raised his goblet. "To the future, may it be perfect."
"To the future." Lucius responded, tapping his goblet against Ladon's.
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"According to the English Ministry, you're a demonic entity." Remus stated with disgust as he entered the massive workshop.
"I've been called worse." Ahsoka shrugged from where she was helping to adjust some of the systems on the first non-magical LAAT/i. "I mean, for a while I was called traitor by the Jedi Order. I was proven innocent, but it still hurt."
Harry nodded as he wordlessly passed her an adjustable spanner and Ahsoka looked at it before applying it to the nut.
"Urgh. Give me a Hydrospanner any day, makes it so much easier."
"Look at it this way." Nicholas Flamel offered as he tapped several controls to initiate a system test. "Soon, we'll be able to put up an assembly line of these and… and… what are you planning on doing with them?"
"Sell them." Ahsoka shrugged. "We'll need some serious money…"
"You need my money?! Well, I suppose that you can have it if you ask nicely." Sirius interjected and Ahsoka facepalmed.
"I can't believe I walked into that again. Let me rephrase. Although the Black and Potter fortunes are large, they aren't large enough for the plans I have, we need an income stream. And what better way than to sell a finished product to a very grateful customer. The American Military will go nuts over the larties. Faster and more agile than helicopters while still retaining their agility without sacrificing offensive and defensive firepower. And once we get the vehicle and cargo versions designed and built…"
"More money for the other designs." Remus finished as he folded the Daily Prophet and placed it on a side bench. "Are we going to convert the LAAT/me's?"
"Lartmes?" Harry asked and Remus shrugged.
"Low Altitude Assault Transports, Magic Enhanced."
"We'll keep them for the Jedi Order and the Wolfalorians." Ahsoka said, wiping her hands clean of grease and oil. "Maybe build a few more."
"Can I have one?" Sirius grinned.
"You have that flying bike of yours." Remus said repressively and Sirius pouted at him.
"But that's old stuff, Moony. Larties are new!"
"I won't tell Moony what we got Sirius if you don't." Ahsoka whispered to Harry who nodded, his eyes flicking over to the corner where a large tarpaulin held a working magically-enhanced recreation of an enclosed speeder bike.
"Deal."
"Hey, Ahsoka! We got the first walker working!"
Everyone's heads snapped round as the excited mechanic ran in.
"Walker?" Sirius asked.