"General," Raven greeted as the man stepped into his office. The flags of the nine safe cities now Raven was responsible for draped behind him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm in a bit of a dilemma," the General admitted, "and I would appreciate your counsel."

"Of course."

"I have been...alerted that a coup is to take place in a few days. Hardliners in the party have decided that Gorbachev is incapable of ensuring the continued existence of the Union. I...fear that I will be forced to pick a side soon."

"Interesting…" Raven mused, "I don't suppose you have any more information?"

"The KGB is in full support, their head, Vladimir Kryuchkov, is supposedly the leading figure. They wish to oppose-"

"The New Union Treaty, I am aware," Raven finished. "Gorbachev's policy was always going to cause a fracture of the Union. Do the military support the move?"

"Uncertain, though units around Moscow are apparently prepared to move in, so I assume those are at least loyal to the plotters. I am already in discussion with local leaders on the continuation of the safe cities, and they have been most cooperative in ensuring large autonomy and interconnectivity."

"You-you-what?"

"Don't be so surprised, General White. I must ensure the future of the people, my people. I've negotiated the effective secession of the areas we designated for the safe cities and non-interference with most of the local enclaves in the area. The Polish seemed eager to have a few of their own, and they're willing to pay top dollar for them. Three more are going to be built in Northern poland. We've negotiated, and Durmstrang or Koldovstorez will accept students that wish to join. But back to the point, I suppose it depends on whether you believe they will succeed."

"I...am uncertain."

"Then I suggest you make certain, General. In my opinion, the coup will fail. Yeltsin, for all his blubbering, is like Kruschev, a smart and savvy politician. I have a feeling he'll come out on top of this.

"Let us explore all the hypotheticals, then General, as you once taught me. Scenario one: we support it; the coup succeeds. What happens?"

"We earn favour with the new people in charge."

"And we see two possibilities from that. First, a rapid return to Stalinist policies of relative isolation and hostility towards the West and a focus on rapid industrial expansion. Mass campaigns of terror, the expansion of gulags and the KGB. Centralisation of power into Moscow and the central authorities. How long could the country continue? Corruption would remain rife, statistics forged, intellectuals and potential threats to the regime eliminated...there would be chaos not seen since the Revolution. And do you believe the people would allow for such a thing to happen after Gorbachev's reforms? There would be a civil war. Second, a more moderate approach, chipping away at civil liberties and developing industry. Still inadequate to address the current inflation crisis and economic stagnation, would cause both reformers and hard liners to turn against the coup. Inevitable civil war.

Scenario two: we fight against it; the coup succeeds. What happens?"

"We get persecuted and purged by the party."

"No, they can't afford to antagonise us. Their power would still be tenuous, they would try and make overtures to garner our support. The conspirators would be facing against a large segment of the population, the advantage of having magicals on their side would be immense. I daresay they would interpret it as a show of strength, and offer concessions."

"A...strange conclusion to draw. I don't see it," White admitted reluctantly.

"A matter of necessity. Much of the KGB's effectiveness can be traced back to the guardians. It is what enforces their fear. It is what allows them to do the otherwise impossible. Without us, the KGB would lose its effectiveness, its luster. Do not believe for a second that we would not suffer dearly, but they would suffer more so. Mutually assured destruction, an unpreferable outcome for both parties. The nature of concessions would be determined by bluffing and manipulation, but the Nash equilibrium drives both sides to cooperation.

Scenario three: we support it; the coup fails. What happens?"

"Gorbachev targets us by cutting support from the government."

"Possible, but unlikely. More likely, decentralisation would continue into a loose confederation of republics. These areas would now be fighting to keep the support of the magicals. While some may solicit the support of the enclaves, it is unlikely to hold much success. We will be in a moderate negotiating position, as governments try to attract us, knowing that the guardians in particular could ensure their dominance in magical affairs, and by extension, muggle ones. If Georgia were to receive the full might of the guardian forces, it would serve as a strong leverage against the Russians in any potential future conflict. Similarly, Russia would want to keep us out of their hands, and would have to offer more incentives."

"That's...actually plausible, if a bit optimistic, for my tastes."

"Oh they might posture and try to crack down. We may suffer like in the purges. But inevitably, they will realise our necessity and equilibrium will be reached. Fourth scenario: we rally against it; the coup fails."

"We garner goodwill from the regional republics, and are in a much stronger negotiating position."

"Precisely General."

"What if we stay neutral?"

This caused Raven to frown, pondering, before responding, "In times of war, General, neutrality is tacit support for the stronger party without the benefits. Whoever is not with me is necessarily against me."

"Dostoevsky?"

"Orwell actually. I suggest that I be deployed to safeguard Yeltsin. I would advise you to visit the regional presidents and encourage them to find safe shelter for the coming days. It will earn you gratitude, which can be used to build a working relationship for the future."

"You truly believe the Union will fall?"

"The lights have been flickering for decades," Raven shook his head. "The Soviet Union of Lenin and Stalin are long gone. If every part of the Union has fundamentally changed, does it matter if the Union still technically exists?"

"You've grown," General White complimented. "I admit I expected far more patriotism and support towards the Revolution."

"Revolutionary zeal did not preserve the Union for sixty nine years, General. But I suspect you knew that. I suspect you have another purpose for visiting me beyond testing my aptitude for analysis?"

"I was hoping you'd guard Yeltsin. He is the single most important figure for ensuring the coup fails."

"Of course, I shall clear my schedule. I presume I will be working solo?" The General nodded, causing Raven to smile appreciatively. "If there is nothing else?"

"No...thank you, Raven," the General nodded thoughtfully, leaving the room.

-Break-

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Baltic Magical Union," Raven announced, to the cheers of the crowds fortunate enough to earn a seat inside the new parliamentary building in Voronagrad, the largest of the fifteen magical cities part of the union. For the rest, large magical mirrors broadcasted the event live for all citizens of the Union to see. "I am Raven, the humble architect of this project."

The cheers reached deafening proportions, and he was forced to wait a full fifteen minutes before the crowd could be tamed. "Thank you, but I must say, without the support of everyone here, this would not have been possible! When the crime syndicates, the slavers, the bigots, the gangs tried to move in, it was all of you who fought back, fought to preserve the Union, preserve the dream."

More cheers erupted, though this burst was notably shorter. "I am proud to see us grow so fast. From non-existence to a population of over four hundred thousand in a matter of half a year. This is our achievement, everybody.

With that said, it is with a heavy heart that I now step aside, and allow the elected leaders to fulfill their duties. Please indulge the naive optimism from my youth and inexperience, when I say I believe we have a bright future to look forward to. I now present the first elected president of the BMU, mister Alexander Atin. Congratulations mister president."

The two exchanged congratulations and a firm handshake before turning to the cameras, waving and smiling, even if there was a mask on his face. The mystique of the Raven would grow, he was sure of it.

-Break-

"Not even eleven and you found your own country?" Jade asked amused as the two sat in a cafe in downtown Vorpnagrad, which appeared like a second coming of Xi'an's modern central district, only far larger and more elaborate.

"I merely proposed the idea and gave general oversight, the bureaucrats did all the hard work," Raven dismissed, sipping his cup of tea. "To think we've created a regional magical superpower in such a short time.".

"Four hundred thousand, though. That seems awfully high," she speculated, the question implicit audible to both.

"It'll probably grow to five hundred thousand by the end of the year," Raven chuckled. "So many half bloods and muggleborns applied, there's going to be a serious drain on other societies if it keeps up. I hear that Germany, France and Britain are already suffering slightly from it."

"That's almost matching MACUSA!" she exclaimed, causing him to nod amused. "And you...just gave this power away?"

"Not everything is about power, Jade," Raven sighed, thankful their conversation in Chinese was unlikely to be understood by anyone around them. "To be honest, I just want to live a simple life, working a simple job, with a wife and maybe three kids."

"Good luck with that," Jade snorted, causing him to frown. "Don't look at me like that, your abilities...everyone who knows you knows you're destined for greatness."

"Perhaps," Raven shrugged noncommittally, taking a sip of his tea to delay answering. She clearly sensed the tactic, but indulged. "White thinks that the collapse of the Union is inevitable. I'm inclined to agree."

"And what of the Soviet cities? There's still a good...fourty, fifty thousand magicals? I doubt the ministry is happy to concede control."

"They were provided with ample financial compensation. The BMU is essentially a tributary that will fund Russian reconstruction. What of China?"

"They look on with worry and envy, even if outwardly approving," Jade snorted. "We've a magical population of nearly two million, so they aren't quite concerned yet. Give it a few years, though, and I suspect they'll begin to take the BMU as serious competition, with Russia as essentially a buffer between."

"Don't you mean the Union?"

"Please, give it another half a year. Everyone knows that the Union will fall, it's just a question of when. That the magical population remains so low...it's going to be a rump state once they lose control of Eastern Europe."

"It is what I warned the General of," Raven admitted. "The entire magical population of the Union is trained to fight rather than to work for a functioning society. Another branch of the Soviet war machine. We might have had disproportionate leverage, but the fact is, we condemned ourselves to slowly wither."

"I don't suppose you're profiting from the BCU?"

"Oh, many people sent me gifts. I am probably well equipped to retire with the amount of funding people donated to the Raven," he answered amusedly. "Not only that, many offered shares of their new businesses to the Raven rather than the government. I've used a lot of that funding to set up businesses of my own, we'll see how that goes, but I'm hopeful."

"And what will you...do with such wealth?" she queried. He shrugged.

"Probably fund my magical travels. When I finish graduating, I want to follow the old ways, to discover magic in all its facets, to do what no one has ever done."

"Isn't that...frowned upon?" she suggested tentatively. He shrugged.

"Yes, ever since Grindelwald that practice has largely died out, but who's going to stop me? I've quite a few political favours to cash in if push comes to shove."

"Fair enough, former president Raven," she teased. "Where do you plan on studying?"

"Studying?"

"You're not going to one of the tier one schools of magic?" she queried incredulously. "You're almost eleven."

"I haven't decided whether I will or not," Raven admitted, "I suppose it depends on whether I'm taken off commission for the Union."

"What school do you think you would go to? Hogwarts?"

"Why in Merlin's name would I go there?" Raven laughed, biting down a sense of uneasiness.

"You're British, aren't you?" she smirked. "I've done my homework."

"I don't suppose you know who my parents are?" he challenged easily, masking his discomfort.

"I...not yet, unless you're willing to tell me?" she asked, amused. He shook his head, eliciting a pout from Jade. "One day I'll figure it out, have no doubt."

"I'm sure you will," he responded neutrally. She tried and failed to find a hint of mockery in his statement, and settled for stabbing her slice of cake with an impressive viciousness.

-Break-

Stepping into the street outside the dacha of Yeltsin, he saw spetsnaz units in several infantry fighting vehicles preparing to move in. Frowning, he quickly looked around, spotting the commander, and focused, breaching the squib's mind and mentally augmenting his instructions.

"We...are withdrawing," Viktor Karpukhin ordered after blinking several moments. His subordinates around looked confused, but heeded to obey amidst the now cheering crowds who had heard the proclamation. Using the distraction, he slipped into the dacha.

"Mister president," Raven greeted, causing the man to look up from his desk and smile.

"Raven, a pleasure to meet you in the flesh at last! Drink?"

"You still haven't evacuated," Raven pointed out stiffly. The man gave an 'ah', setting the bottle of vodka he was halfway to opening.

"I will not flee while the Russian people stand to defend me. If I am to be martyred, so be it."

"You realise that the coup will succeed if they capture you, correct?" Raven challenged. Yeltsin hesitated for a moment before stiffly nodding. "And yet you allow your self-righteousness and ego to cloud your judgement?"

"Is it wrong to wish to stand by my people?"

"It is a mark of a leader to sacrifice their pride for reality."

"Let us agree to disagree, then. I have faith that the army will stand down."

"It is the KGB that will be coming, not the army," Raven pointed out. Yeltsin hummed thoughtfully. "Surely you realise staying in your dacha is a horrible solution."

"And what would you propose?"

"To be honest? Go to the White House, communications there will be harder to cut off. Rally the people, if you must."

"You bring an...interesting point. I will consider it."

"I suggest you consider it quickly. I may have diverted the units outside for now, but they'll be back." Raven sighed.

-Break-

Raven kept an eye around, looking for threats as Yeltsin climbed atop a tank, in a bold voice, announcing, "Citizens of Russia: On the night of 18-19 August 1991, the legally elected president of the country was removed from power.

Regardless of the reasons given for his removal, we are dealing with a rightist, reactionary, anti-constitutional coup. Despite all the difficulties and severe trials being experienced by the people, the democratic process in the country is acquiring an increasingly broad sweep and an irreversible character.

The peoples of Russia are becoming masters of their destiny. The uncontrolled powers of unconstitutional organs have been considerably limited, and this includes party organs.

The leadership of Russia has adopted a resolute position toward the Union Treaty striving for the unity of the Soviet Union and unity of Russia. Our position on this issue permitted a considerable acceleration of the preparation of this treaty, to coordinate it with all the republics and to determine the date of signing as August 20. Tomorrow's signing has been canceled.

These developments gave rise to angry reactionary forces, pushed them to irresponsible and adventurist attempts to solve the most complicated political and economic problems by methods of force. Attempts to realize a coup have been tried earlier.

We considered and consider that such methods of force are unacceptable. They discredit the union in the eyes of the whole world, undermine our prestige in the world community, and return us to the Cold War era along with the Soviet Union's isolation in the world community. All of this forces us to proclaim that the so-called committee's ascendancy to power is unlawful.

Accordingly we proclaim all decisions and instructions of this committee to be unlawful.

We are confident that the organs of local power will unswervingly adhere to constitutional laws and decrees of the president of Russia.

We appeal to citizens of Russia to give a fitting rebuff to the putschists and demand a return of the country to normal constitutional development.

Undoubtedly it is essential to give the country's president, Gorbachev, an opportunity to address the people. Today he has been blockaded. I have been denied communications with him. We demand an immediate convocation of an extraordinary Congress of People's Deputies of the Union. We are absolutely confident that our countrymen will not permit the sanctioning of the tyranny and lawlessness of the putschists, who have lost all shame and conscience. We address an appeal to servicemen to manifest lofty civic duty and not take part in the reactionary coup.

Until these demands are met, we appeal for a universal unlimited strike. Thank you!"

Cheers resounded from the crowd around, and Raven breathed a sigh of relief, allowing his shield to flare down as the president climbed down from the tank. Politicians...

-Break-

"It's over," General White sighed. "The Union was dissolved by Gorbachev."

"But that means…"

"That the magical Union is equally gone. It's over, Raven. I dared to hope...but I suppose it was inevitable, wasn't it?"

"Time rolls its tanks, nothing but ashes remain," Raven mused, causing the General to nod somberly in agreement. "What will happen to...us?"

"The youth will be sent to orphanages, the adults will make their own way in life...but those who have been partially trained but not fully indoctrinated...they are too dangerous to be left alive."

"I...see," Raven acknowledged, his face carefully neutral. "What about me, sir?"

"You, Raven, will disappear, for from this moment you are Harry White," he answered, pulling out a drawer and placing it on the desk. Raven peered inside, and saw hundreds of documents, a Russian and Polish passport, several different ids and a pouch. "There will come a day when the Revolution rises again, and you must be ready to heed the call. I've diverted resources from the few magical agents we have into an account in your name at their bank, Gingots, I believe."

He pulled another drawer from his desk out, a smaller one, and unlocked it with a key, handing him a packet emblazoned with a double headed golden eagle, and beneath it, the label 'Durmstrang' on it.

"Your acceptance letter to Durmstrang. Given your abilities and appearances...you will transfer as a fourth year. You will need to procure a wand yourself, along with other reading material. While you are adept at runes and magical combat...those aren't the typical aptitudes tested for by the schools."

"I suppose I am to gather intelligence of the magical world?"

"Indeed. The Iron Curtain may have been raised out of necessity, but it also left us vulnerable...left us weak...left us behind. A second revolution will not allow that. But before that, there is...one last thing to take care of."

"Sir?"

"See to it."

"Your will be done," Raven solution, pocketing the documents into one of two duffel bags with him, filled with his gear: several rifles, pistols, blades with ammunition, tungsten plates, his collection of notes, several personal artifacts as well as a spare body suit.

Stepping outside the room, he handed the artifacts to a waiting guardian, ordering, "Take these to my plane."

Saluting, he carried the two bags and hurried off, allowing Raven to walk alone at a more sedate pace towards the barracks where the younger cadets were being housed. Nodding to the guardian at the door and dismissing them with a wave, he unlocked it, stepping inside.

"Holy shit it's Raven!" one of them exclaimed, before another slapped them and they all stood to attention.

"At ease. Gather round," he ordered, causing the children, eighty in all, to form a semi-circle around him, standing nearly shoulder to shoulder. "As of this moment...the Union no longer exists."

He allowed that to sink in, and it was a testament to their training that most were able to keep quiet. He allowed a few outbursts before raising his hand for silence. "Most of our resources are being extracted and moved underground...but you all are in a unique position. The General has ordered that you are to...terminate yourselves, but I believe there is another path."

He hadn't even finished when he heard the clack of several suicide pills being popped from the teeth, and at least a dozen of the cadets collapsed to the ground. He bit back a sigh, watching the remaining cadets eye each other nervously. "For those who want to live. Follow me."

"What will happen to us, sir?"

"I have...friends in the BMU, they will make arrangements for those of you. Your training would prove an invaluable tool to society."

"But what about the Revolution? We can't betray it!"

"But are we? Or did the revolution betray us first?" Raven challenged. "I fought for years to preserve it, yet look where we are now. But there is hope, for Marx's revolution was not only in reality, but in mind and spirit as well. The ideals of the revolution: equality, justice, freedom, these are the values that have been imprinted on you, and which you must serve as a revolutionary. So long as you do that, anyone who dares call you a traitor will answer to me!"

Several more cadets collapsed, white bubbles frothing in their mouths, though he was pleased to see over thirty still standing, grim determination in their faces. "Come, we don't have much time. Stick close and keep your eyes peeled, understood?"

All nodded their assent, and he opened the door, peering both ways before beckoning the cadets out and leading them towards the airfield. They made at a brisk pace, just a hint below panic, moving past guardians and aides carrying boxes of papers and equipment. While drawing strange looks, those daring enough to dally in their task to raise a questioning eyebrow were discouraged from further action by a stern glare from Raven.

Arriving at the airfield, he spotted his bags being loaded onto one of the planes, and shepherded the children towards it. At the base of the stair, the guardian raised a questioning eyebrow. "White changed his orders."

"Ah," the guardian sighed, tension escaping his body. Raven quickly urged the children aboard the plane, before boarding himself and shutting the door.

"Find a seat everybody." Tentatively, one of them stepped forward, taking off his medallion and handing it to him.

"I…" for the first time, Raven hesitated, "I cannot take this. The medallion is part of your squad...it is a part of you."

"He who saves a life, saves the world, Raven. What use is a medallion, when we already hold its ideals within," the cadet smiled, proffering the medallion once again. Seeing the desperate yet silent pleas in the eyes of the cadets around him, he reverently accepted it, placing it around his neck.

"Remember each other, cadets. For while you may not be joined in blood, the trials you have survived have made you no less than brother and sister. Trust in each other, help each other, and live the best lives you can," he advised, receiving many determined nods. Walking forward to the pilot, he gave a stiff order to fly to Voronagrad, causing the man to hesitate before Raven's glare caused him to think better of questioning it.

-Break-

"He disobeyed orders, sir," Orobus mused. General White nodded thoughtfully. The two stood at the window of the observation deck, where they could see the plane carrying Raven and the cadets flying past the mountain line and into the horizon. "Shall I go after him?"

"For what?"

"For...disobeying orders, general!"

"I think not. He has proven himself."

"Proven what?"

"That he is a better man than I," General White mused wistfully. "That for all his training, we never managed to destroy him. That...he will go on to do great things."

"But after everythin-"

"Child, I fought in the Great War. I gave my life to the revolution. I gave the chance for love to the revolution. I sold my soul for the revolution. And look where we are now."

"We can still hold it together! The Union has supporters! Our guardians would destroy any threat...simply condition him again! He could single handedly turn the tides of battle. He succeeded with the MBU, bringing hundreds of thousands under the Union banner!"

"I fear...he is destined for something greater," General White sighed wistfully."You're letting him...go?" She asked incredulously, turning to meet his gaze when a bullet from his pistol penetrated her skull, killing her instantly as her body slumped to the floor.

"I am. Unlike you and me, the Union never crushed his soul. The world of the future has no place for people like you and me." Turning to observe the plane, now but a speck on the horizon, he raised an invisible toast. "Long live your revolution, Raven."

Author Note:
So it ends. After over a dozen chapters in the Union, it is with a heavy heart that we must leave the Union behind and look forward. Hopefully this was a good sendoff for our General (for now?), who was definitely one of my favourite characters to write. I've tried to keep events in the August coup as authentic as possible: most historians attribute the failure of the coup to the spetsnaz units sent to capture him refusing to do so and backing down. A quick note, the White House in this instance is the name of the Russian Parliamentary building. Make no mistake, the aftershocks of the Union's collapse (especially on the magical side) will have a significant impact on things to come.

Onto a bit of worldbuilding, in general, I've always felt the magical world was a bit too small. A general rule of thumb, take the population equivalent in 1990 and multiply it by 0.004 for the magical population. Keep in mind that for some countries this will vary greatly: the baltics had essentially no magical population because any magicals were taken to magical cities in Russia. This is why the local governments would be eager to have magical cities develop there: they are hoping in the future it will prevent a repeat of Grindlewald, or at least provide a safeguard against it to have magical presence. On why the Soviet Union has so few magicals when ostensibly they should have in the range of 1 million, this is because of the purges Stalin enforced and the flight of many magical families in 1918 during the Revolution. There are hundreds of thousands of former Russian magicals that live in isolated enclaves or have fled to the balkans or west towards central Europe. This is why the Soviet magicals were heavily militarised and focused completely on fighting, because even if nearly their whole magical population is devoted to a fighting force, they would be at a numerical disadvantage against most enemies. It is also why they raised the Iron Curtain, beyond preventing foreign attacks through a series of powerful wards, not to mention their own magicals from fleeing, it also creates misinformation and allows the Union to project an image of strength, making other countries believe their population situation isn't as dire as it seems. Keep in mind population growth is based on a critical mass, and this is never achieved in the Union. Even if we assume they had a birth rate of 6 magicals per family, this only creates a 3x multiplier for each generation. From the start of the Soviet Union to the end, there might be between 9-12x the population, which sounds impressive, until you consider that from a 'low of one thousand', a touch exaggerated for propoganda purposes (the actual value is in the region of three thousand), the maximum they could hope for is 36000. That the Union has around 30,000 is already an impressive feat of their bredding program, no matter how unethical it may be. However, this pales in comparison to the roughly 300,000 that the UK has. This number is slightly inflated because the UK is a traditional powerhouse in magic, though their advantage is slowly diminishing. Rising powers such as China, who thanks to strong muggle side government investment, has managed to grow their magical population to the highest in the world at 2 million, as Jade said. Keep in mind that due to constraints on magical resources, it is generally natural for populations to settle lower than expected. Given this, it is also natural for some regions to have no magical communities completely within their borders, the Baltics for instance. While I hope to incorporate this worldbuilding, it either won't happen for a long time or at all. I incorporate this to better flesh out the world and give you an idea of what I am imagining thus far. Consider it in the same category as 'fanon', rather than story canon. On the state of the BMU, it is functionally like Hong Kong or Macau as an SAR to China during 1997. So while under the Union flag, it is distinctly seperate, with its own sets of laws and systems.

Before I sign off, I thought that there was a lovely question from Dragonhitter on the progression of the story and Harry's wandless magic. Seeing the latter is a titbit I thought of including but ultimately decided I wouldn't, here's the explanation: Soviet wands are of poor quality and make due to the Iron Curtain restricting most magicals to within the fortress. In the first part of the series, Harry is not given a wand because the General wants to build up his wandless abilities and not increase his power beyond the General's reasonable ability to control. The reason Harry used legilimency against the guardians was because he knew that he would quickly lose magically against such superior odds (bear in mind that the elite guardians sent after him would likely be a slightly underpowerred Bellatrix in terms of combat ability and he was faced down with over 60) Raven at the time didn't just need to win, but protect Sparrow and escape. Bear in mind he has no idea if this is everything, as there could have been reinforcements waiting to come in. Harry, if he trained with a wand, would pose too much of a threat. After his second stint at Kolyma, he was not given a wand because his power grew to the extent where the Soviet wands could not contain his magic for long. Magic is an energy and spells, which concentrate these powers, have a natural desire to dissipate, with the will of the caster and the magical charge holding a spell together. It is why spells grow weaker with distance in general. What a wand essentially serves to do is focus the energy and serve as an amplifier. As a natural conduit, magic is essentially 'harmonised' through the wand, allowing for greater precision and for most magicals a greater concentration. It is why pureblooded veela, for instance, would not use a wand, seeing as their affinity for fire is great enough for most practical purposes, and wandlore, which is focused on human magic, does not resonate as well with their magic. I'll definitely dig into this more in the next chapter where Harry actually gets a wand. Great question! For the latter, we will be seeing Harry in Durmstrang for three years and at Hogwarts as a delegate for. During this time, we will see Harry quickly adapt to a learning environment while facing down politics (Think Slytherin house politics in other fanfics) Durmstrang, servicing all of Eastern Europe and parts of Russia, is extremely selective, only selecting the magically gifted or politically connected. Think Oxbridge or Harvard for a comparison. The people there will be elites in their own field, and most will be trained to politickeer to make connections. Harry will face occassional problems in the political sphere and go on several missions during the holidays, but for now, his time as an assassin is going to cool off significantly. Remeber, this is a Harry that's being given freedom after being forced to serve under White for years as a child, a part of him will want to keep going on with his old life, while another part, one we see with the creation of the BMU, is a desire to be something greater. A third part, as he explains to Jade, is the desire to have a simple life. I hope to illustrate the different sides of Harry. There will be an eventual reunion with his family, which will go about as well as you expect, so we do have that to look forward to. Thank you again for the two wonderful questions, I hope they have been answered to your satisfaction.

Another point I wanted to quickly add: this fanfic may feel a bit skeletal. Right now I'm definitely most focused on plot, and I hope in a future remaster to flesh out the scenes more in line with standard. Some of you might be put off by this, some of you might like it better this way, regardless, just thought I'd mention this in case any of you are curious. If you know where the famous reference of the cadets handing Raven a medallion comes from, leave it in the comments!

As always, follow, favourite, share and leave a comment, even if only to say hi. Until next time, toodles!