…Office of the Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster Lord Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had a plan. It was the type of plan that the headmaster preferred to make. It was complex with multiple, interconnected goals that are convolutedly dependent on each other as well as various, nearly impossible to predict, decisions made by people who have no idea that their choices may be the difference between success and failure. As usual in such cases, the "puppet master" was immensely satisfied with his own "genius" at being able to craft the "Rube Goldberg Machine" of plans and was supremely confident in its inevitable success.
The first stage of his latest gordian knot had already been completed with the successful planning of the Triwizard Tournament and the baiting of one of the Dark Lord's followers to use an obscure ritual to bring his master back. A ritual that would require the blood of Harry Potter. At the same time as setting the stage for what Dumbledore planned to be the first of three confrontations between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Voldemort, the Triwizard tournament was shining a positive light on him.
It was a slow boil but the public's interest in the competition was growing as they sought to extend the celebration from the World Cup victory. That light would allow him to re-establish himself as the infallible leader of the light. His personal reputation was already re-awakening with his most recent magical discoveries, his political power was growing under the guidance of his son in the Wizengamot and he would be the lead judge and administrator for the coming tournament. A position that historically was held by the highest noble in the land.
The last point was, counterintuitively, the most important. At least to Albus' mind. He knew that in politics, the truth and facts were many times the least important detail when it came to power and control. He was a Lord and Headmaster of the premier magical school and a genius in the fields of potions and alchemy, but all of those things paled next to what the public's perception of him was. So, while his positions and awards was the justification, it meant nothing unless the public saw him as the true Lord of Hogwarts.
With his power restored and the inevitable trauma from the, likely painful, defeat at the hands of the re-awakened dark lord, he would be able to remove the "bad" influences from the "chosen one" so that he could train him for the coming fight but would really instill in him the need to make the proper sacrifice when the time came. It would all come together at the end of the year when the world would see a defeated Harry Potter, an arisen Dark Lord and him, standing like a beacon of light in the coming darkness.
He was supremely confident that he could save Harry Potter before the dark lord killed him after the ritual, counting on Tom's desire to show his greatness. Harry Potter would be bloodied but alive until Voldemort could kill him in front of his followers, Albus was sure. The timing still had to be perfect though because Harry Potter needed to stay in the hands of Voldemort long enough to receive enough crucios to break his defiant spirit. That would be coupled with the killing of his six fiancés by a "death eater" that had defeated the vaunted Potter wards.
The second defeat would come a year later and Dumbledore was already setting events in motion where that defeat would come at the cost of Sirius Black and Minerva McGonagall's lives. Albus was sure the two were his main opponents in getting control of his boy-who-lived and with their deaths, Harry would lose his last bit of hope and be ready for the final confrontation where he would go to join his lost love ones. Then Albus would kill a newly mortal dark lord and claim his rightful position as Lord and Commander of the Wizarding World.
Still submerged in his belief (read delusions), the headmaster rose from the chair in his office with all the imagined regality of Merlin and "glided" through his castle to take his seat in the second of his throne-like chairs. He sat in his seat of power and anticipated the beginning of the next stage of his plan. The road to greatness began with the Triwizard tournament but the grandness of the tournament would be pointless if no one knew about it or, more importantly, associated that grandness with him.
To that end he had arranged for the evening editions of the two most popular wizarding publications to have front page stories about the return of the Triwizard tournament and , more importantly, his leadership in bringing it back and the prestige and power of Hogwarts and its Headmaster due to hosting it. As a bit of petty showmanship he had arranged for them to be available to "his" students. A few would be on the house tables for the feast and there would be additional copies in all the common rooms as well as the library.
The headmaster had read advanced copies of both the articles, so his expectations about the articles was not unreasonable. The two Hogwarts alumnae that wrote them were very excited about the tournament and the "leader of the light" had fed that excitement during the interviews with them. The intent of the articles had been to praise the school and stoke the school spirit of the large part of magical Britain that had attended Hogwarts.
A bit of subtle, impressively non-magical, "suggestions" along with skillful manipulation had produced two articles that all but declared the headmaster "Lord Hogwarts". And that the great wizard was inviting the gentry to his castle for game and sport. The one fortunate thing about the appearance of the Lady of the Lake was that Albus Dumbledore and his name had vanished from the public consciousness for a time and most people didn't even think of the fact that he was the instigator that caused her appearance.
The articles would be the first mention of him to the public in almost two months and Albus was satisfied that their reintroduction to him would cast him as a virtual equal to the Prima Potentia. That was not an exaggeration, The Prima Potentia, the Minister, The Chief Warlock and the Headmaster of Hogwarts were the very top of the public understanding about the leadership of the Wizarding world, With the Prima Potentia sitting above the other three. Unfortunately for Albus Dumbledore, the last step was the hardest.
...Carriages from Hogsmeade Station to Hogwarts
The scarily orderly students of the premier magical school in Europe (according to British magicals) settled into a line of carriages behind the three that held the heirs and their entourages. The spectacular site would not go unnoticed or unmentioned as the grounds of Hogwarts had already began to fill with the press and early arrivals for the coming tournament. Since the Tri-wizard Tournament represented another exception to the restrictions on taking pictures of Harry Potter, the scene was thoroughly memorialized on film.
The Potter contingent was in the first carriage and were being escorted along the path by four drakes, Ron's, Lavender's and Harry's two. Behind the Potter carriage was the Nott carriage. Nott had not allowed Pansy or Narcissa to ride in the carriage to allow for more exposure to the press that was hovering on the castle grounds. Both reborn Lamias preened at the attention, looking both decidedly dark and dangerous as well as seductively beautiful.
The final of the carriages carrying the elite of the magical nobility was escorted by two large felines. None of the English press could identify the obviously magical creatures, which only made them more impressed at their presence. A few of the more intelligent were able to guess that they were likely Japanese magical creatures since Neville's interactions with the Japanese magical community was still widely remembered, especially as a particular shogunate was purposefully keeping the embarrassment in the public consciousness.
Albus Dumbledore had opened the school to the press and to boarders to increase the image of "grand spectacle" he wanted to present. His goal was to make the tournament grander than the world cup with himself at the center. And he had been mostly successful. The tournament only involved three European magical schools but the entire magical world had been entranced by the return of the event. So it was the headmaster's fault that the world got to once again see the subtle display of great political power by three of the premiere families of magical Britain.
Fortunately for the various magical media, they had learned well from the wedding of Sirius Black and had sent many experts along with their "game and sports" reporters and so from the very first moment of their arrival, social reporters, magical creature experts and a whole assortment of "talking heads" and "experts" were able to file reporting about everything from the engagement rings to the lamias. By the time they went to print, even the two white Nekomata had been identified and their rarity reported upon.
The event had truly reached the heights that both Albus and his son had desired but whether they would be the beneficiaries of the increased attention was still up in the air. Day 1 was not turning out as they would have hoped and waiting to receive his students, Albus didn't know that his three "advoceries" had already scored points in the game of public perception he wanted to play with them.
"Wow, look at all the people." Ginny remarked as her eyes ran across the grounds of the castle. Karli nodded in agreement adding, "It almost looks like the World Cup is happening again." All of the occupants of the carriage knew of the almost certainty that the entire event was a "trap" for both Voldemort and Harry as well as the Headmaster's effort to increase his own reputation and image through hosting the tournament. "I have to admit, the old bugger really pulled it off." Ron said before dodging a swing from Lavender.
Simultaneously, Hermione squacked, "Ron! language!" before bursting into giggles when he turned to her in mock outrage and betrayal. Her giggles turned to laughter when he lept at her and started to tickle her. The short battle ended with Hermione in Ron's lap, the two sharing a semi passionate snog, before she transformed into her kitsune form to enjoy Ron stroking behind her ears for the remainder of the short five minute trip.
Daphne and Tracey met eyes and shook their heads at the Gryffindors they had surrounded themselves with. Then Daphne leaned close to her friend and said softly, "Your braggart of a boyfriend is right though. I'm almost impressed by the old fools attempt." Tracey let the insult slide, knowing that Daphne loved Ron darely. Instead she replied, "Professor Dumbledore is definitely playing every card he has." What she didn't say was that she thought his cards were a bit underwwhelming. A silent sentiment shared by everyone in the carriage.
Similar conversations were occuring in the carriages of the other two Prima Potentia heirs. Neither knew of the Headmaster's grander plans but knew that he had been dealt a devastating blow to his reputation due to his attempt at Harry Potter's guardianship. Theo Nott respected the Headmaster's attempt at recovering his reputation, commenting "He's acting like Caesar and trying to distract the populous with games." Blaize agreed with him to an extent, though he did point out that the problem with the analogy was that Theo and the other heirs where the "Caesars" of the magical community so he thought Albus' efforts were doomed to failure.
Neville had a similar thought when he commented, "It would probably have worked if Harry, Theo and I weren't here." He found himself with a lap full of sexy Indian twins who were turned on by Neville's bold statement about his importance. Neville didn't think he had said anything particularly bold, but wasn't going to complain about having gorgeous twins rubbing their panty covered crotches against his thigh while kissing his neck. Hanna just held the clearly pouting monkey, stroking Cho's hair and feeling a bit of pity for the girl who had been punished with abstinence.
The carriages arrived at the castle where the onlookers were treated to the sight of well dressed "modern" house elves popping in to open the doors for the three carriages holding the truest of magical nobility. It was another "surprise" arranged between the three heirs without telling their ladies and the honest look of happiness on all the girl's faces would sell out teen witch weekly.
The fact that the Nott elves were equally dashing as the "light" sided elves would cause a minor scandal. Many dark families would find themselves unsure of which side to choose since they had been so embarrassed by their weak looking elves but didn't want to think of their representative of pureblood values treating house elves well enough for them to look so good. It would take till the end of the year but Theo's example would eventually win out and elves across england would live better lives. Pride being a much better motivator than decency.
More pictures were taken and more society pages filled as the three boys waited for the rest of the school to arrive and form up in front of them before the boys turned and with their retinue led the school through the grand doors with Harry still subtly positioning himself to give the impression that he was the leader of the leaders or in the parlance of the Lycans, the alpha of alphas.
Grimmauld Commons, London, England, UK
Since its opening, the newest addition to the British magical community had been an unmitigated success. Magical society was almost a utopia where true poverty, homelessness, hunger and most of the socio-economic ills of the muggle world did not exist. Such a society was a breeding ground for decadence and excess, and Sirius Black had created a mecca for it. He had made himself into a modern day Bacchus, feeding the masses an unending supply of food, drink and entertainment.
It had been a week since they had left, when out of the Temmes river rose the beautiful, sleek yacht known as the "Black's Balls." Even with Sirius' absence, the "Commons" was still the most popular magical district in all of Britain, but many were anxious for him to return. Sirius Black was a popular figure in his own little "Dutchie" but the people were truly missing his ladies. The Valkyries were a consistent presence at the commons, acting as restaurant managers, chefs, dealers, dancers et. al and the gorgeous squib girls and women had become the heart and soul of the area.
So when the yacht was spotted a pulse of excitement ran through the guests who preferred the "beautiful and friendly" squibs to the "gorgeous and intimidating" Lycan women that had replaced them until their return. The return of Sirius Black was also a portent of some great new magical spectacle. The Lord Black was constantly quoted in the papers referring to the mayhem he caused as "pranks" and that had become what most people called them. So when the ship settled in it's berth everyone wondered what the "prank" would be and held their collective breath.
They were not disappointed, because after a pause, the dock exploded into action. Out of the ship flew a multitude of clearly female creatures. The flying women all landed around the peer. Perching on roofs or masts or various other elevated points. With them settled people were able to get a better look at the women (?). All of their wings had settled around their shoulders and looked like long leather shawls and all their eyes glowed white.
The denizens of the entertainment district had absolute confidence in the combined power of the Lycans and the magics of the Potter wards so faced the never-before-seen "monsters" with guarded curiosity, but not fear when hundreds of feminine shaped winged beings took to the sky. Many thought they were sirens but that was dismissed almost immediately by the more knowledgeable because of the lack of the ethereal presence associated with them. Sirens showed themselves as semi solid when in public view.
With them standing still, the crowd got a good look at them. Many of the regulars even recognized many of their favorite women from the various bars and restaurants. Slowly, people realized that the near army of women were Sirius' squib harem. Little had changed about them as they were all already stunningly beautiful, but the glowing eyes and folded wings added a massive amount of exoticness to them all.
They got a better look at the wings as well and could see that they were, basically, bat wings with two additional winged arms sprouting from their backs. The wings only had one finger to each side connected by a membrane. The arms and fingers were clearly very flexible and prehensile as they folded smoothly around their shoulders with the wings looking like a shawl that cut across their chest leaving their shoulders exposed.
The women were split into two groups. The first had wings the same color as their skin and wore dark metallic colored halter tops that tied around their necks and dark leather pants that on closer inspection would reveal to be a very dark blue and not the black that was originally suspected. The pants were low rise and tight hugging their toned legs like a second skin. The women represented a diverse groups of heights and body types but in all cases a flat stomach was on display between the pants and the halters.
The "cape wings" draped around their shoulders and were held together by a clawed "thumb" and rested on their breasts drawing many eyes to the varied sizes of them within Sirius' beautiful ladies. Finally, on their feet were open toed heeled sandals. No one noticed that their weight sat on the pads of their feet like the lycans, but did notice that the heels were at least 7 inches tall.
All the women had hair cut short in various types of pixie cuts and wore a gold circlet that had a triangular front that reached down between their eyebrows. With a twitch they all were holding long golden spears and many in the crowd instantly thought that the Amazons now had competition for the position of warrior women of Britain.
The second group of women had white wings. So white, they could be mistaken for angelic if not for the devilish reputation of the bat wing shape. They wore matching sexy sheer white, ankle length dresses, also with halter style tops. The dresses had slits that reached above their hips on either side exposing flawless toned legs. The dresses were so sheer that the onlookers could see these women's breasts even from afar as clearly as if they were topless, since they wore nothing beneath the dress except small panties.
The equally white panties they all wore was easily seen and a bit too small as those close to them could see plump indentations of pussy and the shape of a pierced clit on each woman. The final addition to complete the mixed and confusingly erotic and religous impression was that each wore matching white coverings on their heads that even the magicals recognized as the simply veils of catholic nuns. They positioned themselves closest to the boat and managed to look both pious and deadly at the same time.
Many in the crowd wondered if Sirius had found a way to "cure" squibs as both groups of women were clearly now magical. Finally, Sirius Black appeared surrounded by his seven closest women each leading large canines-like creatures. A few in the crowd noticed a similarity to hellhounds except the four legged creatures also looked similar to Harry Potter's drakes. Those same people in the crowd also knew that taming Hellhounds was impossible so had no idea what they were looking at.
What everyone could agree on, however, was that the animals were the size of bulls and clearly had canine ancestry. Sirius led two and each of his seven girls had one next to them. At least two dozen more appeared scattered around the boat. The Lycans were some of the few in the crowd that noticed that the already powerful and dangerous wizard had become moreso. The primal part of the Lycans recognizing an apex predator that surpassed all but their Alpha.
The crowd let out a cheer at what they considered Sirius' prank when all the "dogs" sat at the feet of him and his ladies. Despite seeming docile, everyone close to the animals could see in their eyes intelligence and protectiveness of their master and his mistresses. Sirius was well known to be a dog animagus and the coat of arms for the House of Black had dogs on them so everyone thought that the animals and the newly "magical" former squibs were the extent of his latest prank.
But Sirius Black was the walking embodiment of "but there's more" so when he transformed into a creature they had never seen before, the crowd was awed and amazed but none were truly surprised that he had done something else and only in wonder at what it was. There was a similar response to his "squib" brides doing the same. Even with the lack of surprise, pandemonium was still unleashed. Sirius Black was a monster.
The creature that Sirius turned into was easily a match for Remus' lycan form at almost 10 feet tall. His skin had turned a deep dark purple that matched the hellhounds and his persistent smirk now showed extended canines that looked terrifying, even from behind the Lycans. Like the squib harem he had bat wings that spread out widely before settling on his shoulders like the cape of royalty.
His feet had become similar to the Lycans where he stood on his pads and he had grown a dragon tail. Under his well tailored suit he had a broad chest and when he finally was seen topless, the public would no he was covered in dense defined muscles. The tips of his fingers and toes had reformed into thick talons that were clearly lethal despite being immaculately pedicured.
When he first transformed he extended his wings fully to a wingspan of at least 30 ft, before they folded to wrap around his neck. Each wing had three fingers which created rigid seems in the cape that they became. It was not bigotry that would call him a monster because this form was truly terrifying. Especially as his eyes glowed the same ominous white as the more human squib harem spread out around the docks.
Where Sirius looked powerful and unmoveable, his wives and daughters were lithe and flexible, They had grown to stand at least eight feet tall but maintained the proportions of the women they were. Like the Squib harem, each woman had only one finger on each wing and their wings folded around them in the same way as the women arrayed around them cutting across their chests like a shaul.
After returning to his human form, it would take 2 hours to calm everyone down and have Sirius explain his latest "prank" to the wide eyed denizens of Grimmauld Commons and the media that had arrived as soon as the yacht had been spotted. His girls had done the same and all the squib girls had drawn attention back to themselves when their wings retracted into their backs leaving only a clearly magical tattoo of viking wings.
The squib harem are still squibs in so much as they cannot do directed magic but are now magical "creatures" like Veela that Sirius named Valkyries.
The large canines were Hellhound and Dragon hybrids that had the loyalty of house elves and the intelligence of Kneazles and would join Amber as defenders of the House of Black. Sirius named them Shadow Hounds.
He had conducted a ritual and bound his new form to his family. The form would forever be a trait of the House of Black and as the progenitor he had granted the gift to his wives and all four of his daughters. Sirius named it the Gargoyle Bond.
Riddle Manor, Little Hangleton, England
Lord Voldemort was desperately trying to hang on to his temper. The late editions of the main newspapers of magical Britain were a smoldering ash at his feet. Both his minions had suffered for his anger but neither had lost anything more of themselves, thanks to a moment of sanity that reminded the baby possessing Dark Lord that he needed them. The more important of the two, Augustus Rookwood, was on the floor next to Peter Pettigrew shivering from the lingering pain caused by their master. Rookwood was fortunate that he was no longer less able to endure Voldemort's tempers; his loss of brilliance gifting him with a sturdier constitution.
The sickly looking baby spoke in a menacing voice, "The Notts shall pay for their insolence..." Then a smile replaced his snarl, amazingly doing nothing to reduce the evil or menace radiating from the creature. "...after I rip every spell, potion, and ritual they used from their minds." The smile became a terrifying smirk. "The parkinson creature will make a good replacement for Nagini." The thought of his lost familiar and what she had carried wiped the smirk from his face and returned him to barely restrained fury.
Relative calm did not return to him for quite some time, but his two followers survived it without additional pain. A miracle for both men. Fortunately for them, the time it took to drive their master's anger back down to "calm", also gave them time to get their wits back. So when the Dark Lord's eyes locked on them they were prepared to answer him. "Is our helper ready?", the malformed baby hissed, one of his eyes still twitching at the Nott's gaul. "Yes, Master." Pettigrew responded quickly. The Dark Lord chuckled, "Good. Remind him of the price of failure." then he gestured to the still smouldering ash pile, "This insolence changes nothing."
Despite the ferocity of his previous state, the Dark Lord looked at his followers with a tranquility that scared them more than his anger. They remembered well from his first rise, anger meant pain, but calm assuredness meant someone was going to die. Gruesomely. With adult movements that looked demonic on the small "baby", Voldemort pulled a piece of parchment from nowhere. "Little rat…" he called "...I have a task for you." Pettigrew scampered to kneel in front of his master, his nose twitching like the rat that was the embodiment of his cursed soul.
"You will leave me till you memorize every name on this list. You will not copy them anywhere but into your pea brain. If I learn you have, I will make you beg for death for a year before handing you to Rookwood to repeat for five more." The Dark Lord's command and threat sent a spike of absolute terror through the rat. "You will hand this sheet back to me tomorrow. Do Not Fail Me! BE GONE!" The final scream sending the rat running from the room with the paper clenched tightly in his hands.
"Rookwood." the Dark Lord said after basking in the fear of his retreating servant. "Yes, my Lord" drifted back to him. The Dark Lord noticed that something was missing from Rookwood that had always been there but dismissed it as unimportant. "We need resources. I realized that you never confirmed that everyone of my treasure troves had been violated or that everything of value had been taken. The Dark Lord pulled a second parchment from nowhere. "You will memorize this list, then return it to me. Then you will go to every location and search them thoroughly. I want a full accounting. I also know that you and many of my followers had their own staches, you will find them and bring it all to me."
Rookwood took the parchment, bowed and left. Voldemort having no idea that his less intelligent servant would only be able to deliver half as much as the brilliant mind he had wasted in his anger. The second man made a hasty retreat and, again, the Dark Lord allowed the fear he had generated to continue to soothe his anger. The closest the Dark Lord came to joyousness was when he could bask in the fear of those beneath him.
His mind relatively calm again, the Dark Lord pondered, again, if he should collect one, some or all of his remaining keys to immortality. The loss of Nagini had shaken him and he was torn about having his most prized possessions so close to him. One was, actually, currently very close to him. Only a short walk from the large manor house he was staying in. He had already lost one due to his temper and he could imagine any number of events happening close to him that could cause him to lose another.
His inclination was to wait until he had his body and full power back as his paranoia would not let him trust his two followers to not try to destroy them while he was still weakened. Part of him believed the death of Nagini was orchestrated by Rookwood. His pride refused to acknowledge that he had simply lost control. Since his youth in the orphanage that part promised that nothing would ever control him again. That caused him to punish the man more than he would normally; just in case his suspicion was true.
He convinced himself that his containers were safe where they were. They had survived for over a decade in hiding and Rookwood had managed to destroy one in less than a year after bringing it into the light. No one but him knew where they were hidden and the ones he had entrusted to his most loyal followers were safe since they did not know what they truly were and each had the additional protection of a bit of his own self preservation consciousness within them.
"Once I have my power back, I shall retrieve the ring" he thought to himself. It would ease his paranoia to have it near him. The ring was easier to protect from harm than Nagini had been and its presence on his finger would serve as a sign against the Nott family who dared to suggest through their actions that they had more right to Slytherin than him.
"I AM THE TRUE HEIR" he bellowed at no one, as his anger rushed back into him.
...Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"What happened?" Albus' mind could only form those two words. For a man who prided himself on his ability to juggle "everything" at the same time, the multiple unexplained happenings before him should not have reduced his mind to blabbering a simple two word question. But that was exactly what had happened. As if his mind had become a record stuck in a particular groove, all that repeated was that question, over and over.
The entrance of the three Prima Potentia heirs had been the first instance. Despite the fact that he had almost expected something to happen upon Harry Potter's arrival he was still taken aback by the spectacle, despite that it was lacking in the magic of his previous arrivals. In his mind's eye he saw a newly risen dark lord who had already recruited the entirety of the student body to his dark cause. The boy had even succeeded where he had failed and brought the other two Prima Potentia heirs under his thrall.
To the self appointed "leader of the light", the boy's approaching death at the hands of Voldemort had become imperative for the survival of the wizarding world. And more than just to stop the Dark Lord from destroying it. Albus was no longer sure if Harry Potter was a tool of the Sirius Black or if Sirius had corrupted the heir to his dark cause. But it was clear to those who could see that Harry Potter was rowling in the darkness and spreading that darkness like a plague to the other students.
Then Albus noticed Pansy. His was completely focused on Harry Potter, but her form was so startling that it was able to break the tunnel vision that the headmaster had for the prophesized boy. He did not recognize her at first and instead just saw a collared dark creature slithering into his school at the end of a leash held by the Nott heir. She was beatiful and oozed sex appeal and seduction which was not surprising since Lamia's, like most feminine dark creatures used seduction against their victims.
He controlled his instinct to attack long enough to recognize the dark creature as one of his Slytherin students. "What happened?" his mind screamed at the result of an obviously dark ritual and watched it move through his school. A school that was meant to be a beacon of the light. With his focus shifted he saw that his school was hosting two such creatures and the second was the former Narcissa. "What madness has overtaken the world that dark creatures born of dark magic feel comfortable to stroll into my school." he thought in despair.
Albus blamed Harry Potter and the people supporting him. Theodore Nott's behavior was exactly the type of thing that he had been trying to prevent when he first beseeched Harry to forgo wearing his heir's ring. Theo had been inspired by the "boy-who-lived" and was trying to surpass him in his dark deeds. The boy and his entourage was practically a carbon copy of the Potter contingent. Multiple betrothed, a primary follower in Zambini and two dark creatures to match Potter's drakes.
After a last look at the creature that was once Pansy Parkinson, he turned his eyes away from it, unwilling to see his failure to save yet another young girl from the machinations of the dark. But he could not escape his mounting failures as his eyes landed on Neville Longbottom. No family had fallen further than the House of Longbottom. A sharp mind and a quick count identified the collared monkey as Cho Chang. He maintained his outward countenance but inside he sobbed in despair at the loss of two girls, like his sister, so close to each other.
He shuddered to think what had become of Cho Chang. Was her transformation permanent, or was she simply an animagus that he was forcing to stay in her form. Was he torturing her. Would he force her to be in the school but unable to be a student. Albus imagined some small slight that the girl had committed that lead to the cruel and extreme punishment and despaired again at his inability to stop it. That he was so close to the truth of the situation and at the same time so far from it was amazing.
His mind was in the process of shutting down but time continued and once the entire hall was seated, he realized that his castle was infested by more than just students. It had turned into a menagerie. A seventh year Slytherin and a sixth year ravenclaw had received drakes over the summer and the two dog sized creatures joined the thirteen of the potter group and had taken over a corner of his grand hall to curl up together.
One "drake" remained at the table with Harry Potter and a close look caused Dumbledore to real in horror as the small animal was clearly the result of some magic that sacrificed his owl. An owl whose purity had been evident in its snow white color. Evidence of the darkness evident in the grays and black that had mixed into the form of the small thing on Harry's shoulders. Not once had he ever cared about the owl, but now his heart wrenched and he felt sorrow at her loss.
Then, for the first time since taking his seat, he looked down and saw the paper he had arranged to be available for all to see and that was when the voice in his head was reduced to a simple two word question. "What happened?"
...Grimmauld Commons, London, England, UK
Nymphadora Tonks had spent much of her childhood angry at her mother's family for casting her out because she had fallen in love with the "wrong" man. That the man was her father who she loved absolutely and who she happily remained the "little princess" of, only made her anger hotter. The fact that they had rejected the amazing man bothered her more than the fact that they were blood purists of the worst sort despite the two things being so closely related.
So, she had been absolutely gleeful; that not only had her father been accepted as a consort of the House of Black but all the "bitches" that had once considered her illegitimate were now truly cast from the family and had no name or connection to the family. She had been able to live in this perpetual state of joy and achieved justice until the new Head of House Black had called her family to him.
She should have known that the hurricane of crazy that was her second cousin would eventually turn towards her but she was still surprised at the announcement she had been given. Sirius Black intended to change the very core of what she was as a witch. As if she wasn't odd enough as the lone metamorphmagus in the entirety of the British Aisles. Even though it had only been a couple weeks, she could barely remember the series of shocks.
Sirius had decided to turn the Prima Potentia House of Black into a house of magical creatures, Nymphadora knew he didn't see it that way but that was what he was doing since after the rituals, every child of the House of Black would have what Sirius was referring to as an "ability". The "Daughter of the House of Black" had thought it insane to call such fundamental changes to the entire familial line, "abilities".
Still when it was fully explained to her, she was interested in the additional power. She was a witch after all. Besides the death of her teammate still pressed against her heart and the thought that she could become extremely difficult to kill and powerful enough to protect her team appealed to her. Her only real fear had been of her relationship with Cedric. She loved him. Truly and completely. He reminded her of her father in all the right ways and was sexually satisfying in even better ways.
Her mother had complete faith in Cedric and his feelings for her daughter as she recognized the similarities of character to her husband, as well. What she said, however, was "If a little thing like changing your species will scare him away, then it's best to know now." Tonks had laughed heartily at her mother's cheek. Especially as she found she had complete faith that Cedric would not abandon her for something so "minor".
Perhaps insanity ran in the family or Sirius' was infectious, but she ended up happily walking into the ritual circle to be changed forever. She had been stunned once it was over. Unlike his wives whose hybrid forms had the same skin tone as their human form, she, her mother and, as she would later discover, Sirius' blood adopted twins came in various shades of blue and purple. The Tonks women were a steel blue, while Sirius was a dark purple.
The daughters were, like them in color and the Hit Witch wondered in the darker vs lighter skin tone had something to do with gender. She remembered looking at her new form while standing naked in a mirror and trying out her metamorphmagus powers. She was happy to see she still had them though she could only change herself to creatures within whatever species her current form was so the only way to change from human to gargoyle was through her acquired power.
As a gargoyle however, she was still able to change her hair color, could mimic any of the other girls, but not Sirius and she found that she could alter some of her features, like changing her Dragon tail into a lion's or changing her skin from smooth to haired. Her desire to be different culminated in her form shifting to look like a gargoyle that had a lion as a base instead of dragon. It was sexy and, more importantly, her head of house approved.
Her and her mother were standing off to the side of Sirius' presentation and she wondered how long it would take for the world to associate Sirius' announcement that he had bonded the ritual to his House with her and her mother. They had not transformed so it was no surprise that they had remained unnoticed for the time being. Sirius had not ordered it, the two just preferred to witness Sirius' spectacles than be part of it.
Mother and daughter looked at each other and decided that they had seen enough and Sirius did not need them for this. He had no plans to formally introduce them and they had only been included because of Sirius' odd love for his family. Something both women appreciated. But they both wanted to show off their new forms to their respective men so nodded to Brianna to let her know they were leaving before hugging each other and then vanishing. Again no one noticed that Andromeda's apparition was as silent as her specially trained daughter's.
With his speech done Sirius and all his women transformed back. All the squibs sprouted wings from their backs and flapped once to take to the air. The monstrous form that was Sirius and his equally monstrous, if still beautiful, wives jumped. Due to their size and power, they could not technically fly like the squibs but could only glide. It mattered little in the long run since they could jump 30 ft into the air with their powerful legs before unfurling their wings and gliding on the air.
It took a moment to realize that the group had not taken the hell hounds and there was a quick moment of panic as the overly large dogs gathered and moved as a pack down the street. Everyone made way for them and once it was clear the unleashed animals weren't going to attack anyone they became the final stamp on Sirius' latest spectacle. Especially when one licked a young girl who carelessly ran away from her mother to look at the "doggies".
...Location Unspecified
Peter Pettigrew moved through the bushes to the home of the ninth name on the list he had been forced to memorize. His journey's in to the wizarding world of Britain had become some of his most feared activities which was meaningful since he regularly came into contact with a possessed deformed baby holding the Dark Lord Voldemort who said hello and goodbye, "crucio." The wrath of the dark lord if he knew there was anything that Peter feared more than him would have been immense but it was true.
Peter still had hope with the dark lord. It was a dark hope that promised a life of pain and slavery, but also promised him his own slaves to pay that pain foward upon. In Peter's mind, when the dark lord rose to claim the world he would be remembered for his service and gifted with money and women that would make every crucio worth it. He even thought that despite his weaker magic he may rise into the hallowed place as one of the dark lord's inner circle.
Wizarding Britain, on the other hand, offered him nothing but a slow painful death. He had no illusions about what would happen to him if Sirius Black, Remus Lupin or even Harry Potter got hold of him. All of them represented a new trend in the "light side". One that was more committed to justice than forgiveness. Sirius even called himself gray. Peter cared little about the titles, he knew the men and he knew if any of them ever got a hold of him, he would have no hope. Just a long, slow and painful death.
So, the last place he wanted to be was in the magical parts of England. A place where he was the number one most wanted criminal. A place that had murdered Barty Crouch Jr. in the street and decapitated Bellatrix Lestrange at an apparition point and killed the Lestrange brothers, all without a care in the world. And also a place where 9 out of 10 families had Potter wards all designed to keep out people with the dark mark and undoubtedly secretly keyed to seek him out specifically.
He had never felt so trapped as when he was forced to move through this world. His rat form doing so little to protect him that he might as well skulk around as a human. And what made it all the worse was that his only hope, his Lord, loved to send him out to suffer the fear and anxiety. He finally arrived at his destination and froze. It had been a close thing as he could not imagine his target having Potter wards but they were there.
The audacity of the man to place wards on his home that would keep out the Dark Lord's followers. Antonin Dolohov had been scheduled to receive his dark mark after their master killed a child prophesied to stop him. That had not worked out but in the aftermath had allowed the man to hide his true allegiances. His lack of a mark had allowed him to effortlessly slide back into their society when the dark lord fell.
Peter knew this man and hated him. He hated that he had once felt so superior to the man for having received his dark mark despite having joined after the man had. But then he had been forced to spend a decade as a pet in the company of an annoying and poor family. And now the man had a ward that kept him from his mission. A ward that would, once again, leave Dolohov safe and him on the floor twitching in pain and agony.
Then the ward vanished. There was a second ward still up but the Potter ward set had just turned off. Peter's unappreciated skill would have told him but the depowering of the ward had been so blatant that a third year would recognize it after half a semester. With a sigh and a lot of trepidation, Peter crossed into the property, squeaking in terror when the ward re-appeared. Peter went on, knowing he was now trapped within the ward boundary, frantically trying to figure out what he would do if Sirius Black was the person waiting on him.
"Hello, little mouse." came a voice Peter recognized. As was typical for people like him, he forgot the prayer he had just made and instead of feeling gratitude to the universe that it was not the voice of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin or Harry Potter, he was instead filled with anger. "Dolohov" Peter sneered after transforming into his human form. With the fear of being trapped gone, he felt confident in showing his displeasure at the man who would dare erect Potter wards when their master may send a loyal follower to him.
Dolohov had no fear of the "mouse" before him. He was as loyal as any death eater and he was sure his master would consider his precaution wise. Not using Potter wards did not mean you were a death eater, but having them made a person almost immune from accusation. Especially someone like him who had no mark and no one alive to even suggest he had been a member. He also had been waiting for this moment for over 10 years and he had secondary wards that had alerted him of the messenger's arrival.
"Little mouse messenger" Dolohov said enjoying the twitch of anger that he kept seeing in the man he had no respect for, "what would my lord have me do?" Dolohov listened as the "mouse" delivered his message. Dolohov knew the message came from the dark lord just from the genius of what he had been directed to do. The pathetic being before him would never come up with something so clever. And even if someone one was impersonating the dark lord, the plan was good and the imposter would be dealt with when the true master returned.
After receiving the message, Dolohov took great pleasure in telling his guest about how much he had been able to accomplish in the 10 years since their master's fall. Like most of his most loyal followers, Antonin knew the dark lord would return. He knew it like he knew the sky was blue and water was wet. So he had spent that time gathering resources and recruiting on his master's behalf. Something that had become much easier due to the "brat" Potter.
Peter was forced to listen to the man since he had not taken down the ward trapping him there and had ignored every request he made to let him go. Between that and the fact that Peter was sure the master would reward Dolohov for his efforts left Peter stewing in anger and resentment. It was impotent as Dolohov was more powerful than him magically and also had too much to provide their lord. Peter had no doubt that if he managed to kill the man in front of him, his lord would find out.
Finally Dolohov lowered the ward and just as Peter transformed, the man said with a smirk, "go, little mouse. Complete the dark lord's errands, I will continue to prepare and build his army." He didn't know how, but he knew Dolohoc would be a member of the new inner circle. That he would have done so much and still be denied while the irritating man would be easily accepted based on a stroke of luck infuriated the rat animagus, but he could do nothing so he went to get to name 10.
...Daily Prophet
Prima Potentia House of Nott Emerges by Buregaurd Lestor Fielding
For the past three years magical Britannia has experienced a revolution. Or perhaps a renaissance. Traditions thought long past have bubbled to the surface and have been approved by the Lady of magic, herself.
It started, of course, with His Grace (HG) Lord Harry Potter's return to the wizarding world after a forced exile into the muggle world. As we know that exile was orchestrated by the Headmaster of Hogwarts and newly risen Earl, Lord Albus Dumbledore. Without knowledge of his station or importance to our world and perhaps, more importantly, the changes to our cultural heritage that had occured, HG Lord Potter re-entered our world as the Prima Potentia future Lord he was and not the simply Hogwarts student that had been expected.
Investigation has determined that HG Lord Potter's re-opening of his house and re-swearing of his family's vassals and retainers led to a conversation between the newly risen Count, Lord Arthur Weasley and the very successful owner of Quality Quidditch Supply, Vasant Patil. That conversation led to the re-opening of the second Prima Potentia House of Longbottom and with HG Lord Potter's standard, HG Lord Neville Longbottom stepped up to the challenge.
At the same time HG, Lord Potter was bringing to public attention the illegal incarceration of HG, Lord Sirius Black who upon being freed and discovering that he was the true heir to the Prima Potentia House of Black followed the example of the young Lords and stepped up to the position of tradition within the English magical nobility.
But in our world's seeming rush to re-engage with tradition, there was one elite family that seemed unable to find its footing. A family that should have been the most well positioned to embrace a return to traditional wizarding values. A house as elite as any of the others and one that had not suffered any of the tragedies or losses of each of the other three Dutchies.
Of course, we are talking about the Prima Potentia House of Nott. The "failure to launch", as the Muggles would say, was a deep concern to the traditionally dark families. With the Potters and Longbottoms making grand public gestures, and HG Lord Sirius Black making grande but confusingly aligned gestures, the dark families looked to their own Duke to do the same and champion their own beliefs. But, with all due respect, the Prima Potentia House of Nott seemed incapable of doing so.
Then came a series of further missteps and embarrassments that lost the Notts a large portion of their fortune and culminated with Alvin Nott having to step down from his position as head of the family and raise his son, HG Lord Theodore Nott, in his place. See our earlier investigative article about Lord Nott's connection to a planned attack and kidnapping on the Marauder Estate. What seemed like the final death to the hope of the dark aligned families has instead turned to renewed pride.
With the reigns securely in his hands, HG Lord Nottt started the Prima Potentia House of Nott on a fast rise that matched, or perhaps surpassed, the speed of the re-awakening of the Houses of Potter, Longbottom and Black. "Dark does not mean evil, it means respect for power and the strength and ambition to actively seek it out and HG Lord Nott has shown that to be true," said Lord Marcus Flint, himself a recently risen Lord after the tragic death of his father.
HG Lord Nott began his campaign of re-emergence for his family by defeating HG Lord Potter in a political duel of which there are little details. What is known is that when the magic settled, Lord Nott had saved Ms. Marietta Edgecombe from social obscurity and gone so far as to have the future Lady's Potter and Longbottom draw her into their social circle. Marietta had earned the Lord Potter's ire due to a, little remembered, slight against one of his future ladies.
Not satisfied to rest on those laurels, HG Lord Nott quickly built for himself a harem of beautiful young women himself to match the Ladies that had been drawn to the other three Prima Potentia Lords. And unlike the slapdash ways of Potter and Longbottom, Lord Nott did it with all the propriety that tradition demanded. Even achieving for his house, a first in history, retinue of vassals. "HG not only brought these charming women into his care but he expanded his family's power and position in the same pen stroke. That is what it means to be a traditionalist, to be a family that respects the dark." said Lord Corner, leader of the dark faction in the lower house.
As evidence of the House of Nott's reclaimed position it was not until they had set the House on a proper footing that the Lady of the Lake appeared. Many scholars believe that if not for Lord Nott's efforts, she would not have appeared and Lord Potter's muggle may have faced a difficult court. They believe it is not unthinkable that HG Lord Potter owes the House of Nott a debt of some kind.
After a summer of unrelated, but very helpful deaths, including that of the former Lord Nott, HG Lord Nott arrived at the Hogwarts Express with his coup de grace. As was explained in a press release from the Prima Potentia House of Nott, HG accepted Pansy Parkinson and Narcissa Snow as his personal slaves, branding them with the proper version of slave marks, unlike Lord Potter's marking of his muggle slave, after conducting proper negotiation with their family, as necessary.
In addition, the press release clarified, using a ritual developed within the House based on its affinity with beast magic, Lord Nott transformed his first and favored slave into a basilisk lamia and his second into a cobra version. And with rigorous training and due to his excellent breeding, HG Lord Nott has also reportedly unlocked his full potential as a wizard. His retinue of vassals and slaves arrived in grand fashion and put to rest any question about the final of our four pillars of society.
It is clear to myself and our readers that the Prima Potentia House of Nott has, in one summer, brought the House of Nott from confused to resurgent and completes the final corner of British Magic holding up our society. The only question remaining is whether HG Lord Black's insistence that he is gray instead of dark will maintain the needed balance between the dark and the light in our society.
...Great Hall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
For most wizards, it did not matter that the article about the Triwizard Tournament was on an interior page and that the front page was dedicated to the emergence of the Prima Potentia House of Nott. They also didn't know that the cover photo had been changed from a regal Albus Dumbledore in front of the awe-inspiring castle and instead featured a regal Lord Theodore Nott with two gorgeous Lamias flanking him as he walked down the train platform. The "everyman" wizard would have preferred the chosen picture, anyway, if given a choice.
But in the game of thrones, of subtle manipulation of the populous, of messages that would be ingrained in the public psyche without their knowledge, it was a disaster for Albus Dumbledore. The paper had screamed the truth that Dumbledore was trying to combat, that no matter the height he would achieve, the Prima Potentia Magicae held an unassailable position above him. He looked at the paper, once again, distraught at how close generations of effort had come to destroying the Houses only to fail.
For a moment his mind fell into a hole of despair punctuated by what ifs. "What if, the various power grabbers had worked together? What if he had known about the grander effort he had been part of? What if? What if? What if" But with a deep breath and a powerful application of occlumency, he was able to drag himself back up. Harry Potter was the answer. The boy was the keystone to the resurgence of the Prima Potentia and despite their quick advancement, their power was still delicate.
The boy's inevitable death and the dark lord's revival would bring the whole thing down and leave Albus Dumbledore as the new Prima Potentia Lord. The one thing he had made himself absolutely believe with the faith of the pope, was that if he killed off all the existing Prima Potentia Houses that magic would strike a new covenant with him as the "most powerful" wizard in Britain.
The headmaster took a breath and looked up at his enemy arrayed before him. He doubted the other teachers knew what they were seeing. He doubted that even Longbottom and Nott knew what had happened, but Dumbledore knew. The Prima Potentia had united and Harry Potter was their leader. That was the message that had been sent clearly. The day had been Nott's but he had no doubt that the next day's paper would show Harry leading the other two heirs into the halls.
He hoped that it would be a minor enough thing to earn the second page of the paper behind the continuing coverage of the Triwizard Tournament. His first attempt had failed, but unlike the Prima Potentia, he had daily opportunities to increase his prestige through the end of the tournament. All three of the heirs had shown themselves. They had nothing new after tonight. They would be reported on often but each day they would get pushed further back into normalcy while the tournament and his plans brought him more and more forward.
The sorting went by unmolested by any further disruptions by Harry Potter or his followers. No new student had any direct link with any of the heirs and Albus only had to watch students not only get sorted into Hogwart's houses but also, in many cases, declare themselves as belonging to one of the heirs' factions. That Nott was no longer the clear loser in the division only caused a small twitch in Dumbledore's twinkling eyes.
After the sorting came the meal and the students all split to their factions. Longbottom at the Hufflepuff table, Potter at the Gryffindor table and Nott at the Slytherin table. The ravenclaw table was completely devoid of students, which was the clearest sign of which loyalty was greater in the mind of the students. Dumbledore cast a glance to his Ravenclaw head of house, hoping to see some disappointment in the half-goblin's eyes. But he was disappointed as Flitwick was happily engaged in conversation with Septima Marauder. The headmaster shuddered at what she had done to get her new name. Laying with beasts.
If he had asked, he would have learned that Filius Flitwick was not only unbothered by the lack of students at the Ravenclaw table, he was delighted by it. His students were split across all three factions and were building true friendships. It was not as public a reputation as the other three but Ravenclaws were the nerds of the wizarding world and that sometimes meant that they were social outcasts. Thought to be book worms only good for homework help.
But Harry Potter, and more specifically Luna Lovegood, had made the house into the mad scientists of the school. Clever witches and wizards whose feathered pens and perpetually smoking robes garnered high interest in what new experiment in magic had caused the smoke or burn. Unsurprisingly, many of them had followed the future Lady Marietta to Theo Nott's banner, which was mildly concerning, but the continued reverence for the Quetzalcoatl feathers tamped down his worry for them in the "dark" faction.
With the meal over, Dumbledore rose and made his opening remarks. His announcement that Quidditch would be cancelled because of the tournament was met with a bit of anger and some jeering. Albus Dumbledore was taken aback by it. He was once again learning how much of the awe and reverence he had received was because of Fawkes. Still he gathered himself and directed the students back to their "proper" seats so that he could officially open the Tournament.
This is where he had expected grumbling but received none. Students just moved back to their house tables and connected with friends that shared house ties but not faction ones. The ease of intermingling was bothersome to the headmaster that used loyalty divisions as one of his main tools of non-magical manipulation. He refocused for his moment when the doors opened and let in various reporters and "VIP" ticket holders for the official opening of the Triwizard Tournament.
Albus Dumbledore had worn special robes for the occasion. Royal purple and gold cut to evoke the image of Merlin, but also in much more subtle tones than his "eccentric" reputation as befitting his status as a High Lord. He waved his hands and the candles dimmed bringing the right mood to the room. Doing it wandlessly also suggested he had some talent in it when he didn't. But as was known, even subconsciously, magic is deceit.
"In 990, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded by the four greatest British Wizards of all time," Albus Dumbledore began. They ushered into the magical world a new idea. A move away from the days of apprenticeships that limited the potential of those with the blessing of magic. In one generation after their great achievement, magical Britain had risen to the pinnacle of magical education in the world."
Dumbledore was not a good man, but he was a great speaker and he captured the entire rooms attention, with his methodical delivery. "Across Europe, this increase in skill was noticed and great magicals from France and Eastern Europe decided to do the same. From those great minds was born Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. In two generations, those prestigious schools grew an alumni which just as much skill and accolades as Hogwarts and a question was asked."
The lights flickered and grew at the proper moments before stabilizing and dimming again. And the Headmaster continued. "Which is the best school of magic? As is the way with those civilized by the pursuit of knowledge, the question was not taken as a call to war but as a call to discovery. And from that call was born… THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT"
All the lights flared and a thrum of magic was felt like the striking of a bass drum write behind each person. With the flare of a teacher and a politician, the headmaster continued to explain that students from the other two participating schools would soon arrive as would the Goblet of Fire. It was a grand presentation and everyone left impressed and excited. Dumbledore had even gained a few steps toward his ultimate goal as most were definitely left with the impression that he was the "Lord" of Hogwarts Castle.
AN:
The style of wings on the Valkyries and Sirius's primary ladies are like Angela's from Disney's Gargoyles. Tonks and her mother have wings like Demona. Sirius and all of his children, including Clarissa and Claire have wings like Goliath.