"Before the feast commences, assembly master White has exercised his right to address the school. Assembly master, step forward," Karkoff ordered. Harry gracefully stood up from his table, stalking to the front of the school. Applause from his neutrals dutifully followed, and, idly, he observed that the number of those defiantly resisting the gesture had dwindled from last year.
Approaching the podium, he waited for the clapping to die down before speaking. "To all our new students, I offer a warm welcome. To returning students, welcome back. As assembly master, it is my duty to address the issues that face the student body. Last year's theme was accountability, for which I led significant reform towards the exploitation of the student body by abusive staff and a negligent board. As of today, I am pleased to announce the completion of the owl exchange terminal, as well as expansion of the duelling arena. The expansion of the medical wing is due to be completed by Yule, while the improvements to the library will be an ongoing process for the next decade."
He allowed for the applause to rise and fall.
"This year, I believe an appropriate theme would be empowerment. There are those of you who support Grindelwald, those who are vehemently against, and those who have yet to form an opinion. But let me ask you this: how many of you truly understand? How many of you are simply following the views of others, be they your parents or your peers? How many of you have simply contented yourself to be nothing more than sheep?
The Durmstrang philosophy has always been to prefer one great wizard over a hundred ordinary ones. Yet it seems we have lost sight of this. We cling onto a heritage of excellence, yet have we truly honoured such a legacy?
I can see the defiance in your eyes. The urge to reject such an assertion on the tip of your tongue. Yet it is not me who you must answer to, but yourself. For deep in your mind, your heart, I believe you know the answer.
Excellence is the quality of going beyond the expected. I truly believe that each one of you has the potential to be excellent in your own field. Some of you may have already found a direction, but many of you remain lost, adrift in an ocean of uncertainty. To this end, I am pleased to announce the significant bolstering of opportunities for self-exploration.
As of this school year, twenty eight new elective classes have been added to the selection, notably, studies in music, fine art, muggle history, languages, spell crafting, and perhaps most exciting for many of you, professional quidditch."
There was no containing the murmurs of excitement from many of the students, and Harry indulged this for a full minute before calling for silence. Frankly, it was a miracle he hadn't been forced to withstand a standing ovation as was.
"Durmstrang is a school of excellence, not only in academics, but in all facets of ourselves. I am firmly of the belief that it is better to be master of one subject, than proficient at ten. Let no one but yourself tell you what that path is to be. Durmstrang celebrates excellence in all fields, not just that of academics. With that said, I welcome you to a new era of Durmstrang. Enjoy your feast."
The applause was intense as he returned to his seat, which had the effect of bringing a sour look to the highmaster. Harry couldn't really blame the man, given he had effectively stole the opening of the feast, a right traditionally reserved for Karkoff. Several of the professors looked outright amused.
Taking his seat, he offered a nod to his circle as they dug into their food, quickly finishing and departing from the hall and towards their private board room. Once entered, the five members remained standing until he had taken his seat, before quickly following.
"Welcome back," Harry greeted everyone warmly. "I hope everyone here had a pleasant and productive summer. Katerina, why don't you start us off?"
"I was able to hone my skills in magical combat and learn several spells from the family grimoire that I believe will prove particularly useful for our followers to learn," the girl answered crisply. Harry favoured her with a smile before turning to Otaba.
"I managed to have discreet conversations with several of my family's usual suppliers. I've begun the process of acquisition, even if it's slower than I'd like."
"Excellent," Harry favoured the boy with another smile, causing the usually stoic Otaba to beam. He turned his attention to Alana.
"I did it," she replied, almost glowing when she handed him a small metal orb. He inspected it, before nodding pleased. "It's slightly lower power than you specified, but I'm working on a revision."
"Those targets were ambitious, you've done well, know that you have pleased me," Harry awarded. The girl looked ready to faint at the praise, and Harry smiled at her before turning to Megan.
"I've made several useful connections, with invitations to several events during Yule and summer," she answered. "Albert made good progress in subsuming various muggle relationships from the Warcraft family businesses, we've managed to secure channels for you to begin funding various muggle investments."
"Good," Harry smiled. "You have all pleased me. But there is work to be done. Places in our circle must be filled. Plans must be advanced. Opportunities created and exploited. Our enemies within the school are cornered, which makes them erratic and dangerous. We must be on guard."
He received determined nods from the five. "While Ira, Enoch and Albert remain part of our circle, there still remains an opportunity to induct more into our ranks. Find those among our ranks who are talented, ambitious and intelligent. Find those who believe in the cause. Katerina, you will assume responsibility for continued training of our ranks. Sarah, you will assume the secretarial duties taken by Albert last year. For now, that should be everything, unless anyone has something else to bring up?"
He received five shakes of the head. "Very well, Alana stay, everyone else, enjoy your evening."
As the others bid their goodbyes, leaving the two alone in the room, she looked at him in bemusement. "How do you always know?"
"You are my friend, Lana," Harry chuckled, leaving his seat and circling the table before retaking a seat next to the girl. "So why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"My father," she spat. "He wants me to leave you. As if that would happen! The nerve of him!"
"I see," Harry mused softly, patting his lap. She hesitated, but obeyed the request and sat in his lap, some of the tension in her body escaping. "And you are frustrated with him?"
"Bloody hell, yes! Who does he think he is? He's just like you said, old coots too stuck up to understand the tides of change. To think I looked up to him, ugh!" she ranted as he massaged her shoulder soothingly, wiping away the tears that fell from her eyes. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have parents...so I could be free, just like you."
"Family...it has a place," Harry proffered gently. "It is the place of a parent to protect and nurture their children, just as it is a child's duty to follow their parents until they have found their way. But...familial love should never be unconditional, nor expected to be."
"W...what do you mean?"
"Society is principled on discrimination, whether we like it or not. A meritocracy discriminates based on ability, a plutocracy based on wealth...but perhaps the worst of them all is nepotism, discrimination based on familial ties or friendship," Harry dictated softly, his voice clearly enthralling Alana. "For while choice and will may influence others, it is random chance that determines nepotism's results. One does not dictate the family they are born to, which is why I've always found the idea of familial ties quite...curious. Of course, there is the biological impulse for a parent to protect their offspring to preserve their genetic legacy...yet why is a child expected to follow their parent, to show devotion and love? I have my own theory, if you will indulge me: true family is not one of shared blood, but one of shared choice, for love not freely given is no love at all, loyalty forcibly taken merely coercion that would break at the first opportunity. Thus true family cannot be one formed out of obligation, as that seen in most blood relations. Rather, it must be sacrificial in nature, a surrender of part of one's self to another. That, Alana, is true family. Do you understand why I'm telling you this?"
"Because you...you want me to understand what real family is?" she postulated. He hummed a negative.
"No, Alana, because I want you to know, that the circle, we are your family. That so long as you're with us, you never have to fear being alone. Because we are here for each other, because I am here for you, Alana. Do you understand?"
She nodded tearfully, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his hands around her, running them comfortingly down her back. Inwardly, he smiled. She was now his, and his alone.
-Break-
Inquiry of ministry of security after several werewolf facilities experience breakouts over the summer
Twenty six werewolf facilities experienced catastrophic failures in containment, allowing werewolves meant to be contained at night to escape. In this tragic series of incidents, at least fifteen are confirmed dead and twenty seven turned, though the final tally is still yet to be fully determined. There has been a public outcry, and president Atin has promised to get to the bottom of these tragic events.
Tensions between werewolves and other species are running high, as some radical groups are calling for the expulsion of the former from the BMU. Prominent critic of werewolves and parliament member Gregory Malikov told the Magical Times, "These series of unfortunate events have highlighted that even existing procedures and facilities, world class by all standards, are unable to ensure the safety of innocent civilians. It is time to face this reality, and I will be pushing the Werewolf Security Bill in parliament later today."
However, others have laid the blame squarely at the government. Werewolf and parliament member Lydia Andres told the Magical times, "Werewolves make up 2% of the BMU's population and are upstanding members of the community. To support legislation such as Malikov's is an undeniable violation of our rights as citizens of the BMU. The facilities' failure cannot be blamed on the werewolves, who followed all regulations by entering facilities during the full moon."
While there are no easy solutions, the debate on how to handle the crisis is set to deadlock parliament in the emergency session called by the president. While the majority of the population opposes a complete expulsion of werewolves from BMU territories, an increasing vocal minority have staged numerous anti-werewolf rallies that have gained significant followings.
Minister of security Tidan Zazabru has already been summoned by the parliament. When we reached out to his office, we were told that no comment could be provided given the issue was still under investigation.
Harry set down the newspaper, a grim smile on his face. Beside him, Sarah raised a curious eyebrow. "You planned this?"
"It is a first step towards withering away the support of the government," Harry answered simply. "You cannot simply expect one single crisis to be sufficient for a takeover...no, you must slowly build it up, erode trust in the state...sow despair and fear in the population...only then, will you swoop in like an angel from the skies descending to save them."
"Why target werewolves?" she queried. "They're a decent target, I suppose, but after you worked so hard to establish them as upstanding members of society? Seems quite contradictory."
"Werewolves will form a core component of my plan," Harry answered simply. "Able to tank multiple spells, and indeed bullets save for silver ones, they will be an invaluable asset once we win them to our side."
"By stripping them of their rights and place in society?" Sarah questioned dubiously. Harry merely chuckled.
"Ah, but they do not know it is me behind this. In fact, I do believe they will soon hail me as their savior, if all goes according to plan."
"You enjoy engineering crises a bit too much, methinks," Sarah teased. Harry merely laughed at the jibe in good humour. Seriously, why make your plan so complicated? You could probably waltz into parliament as Raven, announce yourself as King, and take over the country."
"Because, Sarah, I want a people that are unconditionally loyal to me," he chuckled. "You know of the USSR's fall?"
"You've told me it many times," she rolled her eyes.
"For good reason. The Iron Curtain weakened its population, for it was a population loyal only out of fear and coercion. With the influence of Western media finally trickling in during the eighties, we saw the Union crumble from within. I will not control a country like that...I want one who embraces my authority as liberation, embraces their restraints as freedom, embraces sacrifice in the name of the society that I will construct."
"Planning that far ahead?"
"It is necessary. In the history of humanity, there has yet to be a society that has stood the test of time. Which means that I cannot be content with the strategies that leaders of the past and present use, I must innovate on the art itself. I have come to accept that I aspire not to control the state, but the people, for what is the former without the latter?"
"You frighten me, master. I love you, but you frighten me," Sarah chuckled ruefully. Harry merely shrugged. "Will you entrust anyone else with your plan?"
"Unlikely. Bits and pieces, certainly, but never the whole picture. They would never understand, not like us. Perhaps Alana in time could...Albert and Ira possibly, but for now, only you shall have the luxury," he assured. Sarah raised a questioning eyebrow. "Ah, of course you would ask. I am certain of your loyalty, in that you are willing to give everything to me. I know this, because I have long defeated you with the unlikeliest of weapons."
"And what is that?" she asked challengingly.
"Kindness." This clearly took her off guard, and he chuckled. "Ironic, is it not, that the two people who least know it in this school, possibly this country, are the ones who would find themselves bonded over such a thing?"
"Kindness?" she repeated, still in disbelief. Harry nodded.
"My time with you was with purpose in mind, make no mistake, but even I have limits to my utilitarianism. What you likely see as fluffy weakness from me, is in fact, very much that. Because more than most others we understand each other, understand being pushed beyond the limits to the lowest dregs of humanity, understand the struggle we endured to arrive at where we are, It is this which bonds us."
"Why tell me this?"
"Because I love you," he answered, laughing at her incredulous expression. "No, not in a romantic sense, but as a person. In the time we have spent together, you have overcome the demons of your past and became far more than I could have imagined. I tell you this, because more than anyone else, I want you to succeed, to empower you, to see you rise up alongside me."
"Why now?"
"Your reaction. It told me that you could accept the dark path I am going to embark on. That where I would face rejection and disgust from others, you would accept and support me unconditionally. It is then that I decided to entrust you with everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything," he echoed seriously. "I think...it is time for someone to finally be told my grand vision for the future."
-Break-
"Halt," Ira called out to her squad, who had been double timing for the past three hours through the dense forest. Her squad let out sighs of relief, quickly dropping their packs and pulling out their canteens, gulping down water as though it were sweet nectar. Using this time, she took out the letter in her pocket, reading it and as her smile grew on her face.
Harry had written to her, inquiring to her general wellbeing and commending her on her progress. How he even knew the details of her training, she didn't dare ask, though it was somehow heartwarming that he cared enough to bother learning such details, regardless of her methods. Attached to the letter was a small box of chocolate orbs, which she unshrunk, passing it over to the squad for them to enjoy.
"Courtesy of your boyfriend?" Nadia, one of her squadmates, asked with a teasing smirk. Ira merely smiled indulgently. "Fine lady like yourself, I'm sure you'd be quite the catch."
"Nah, merely a friend from school." she waved off, pretending not to hear the relieved sighs of several male squadmates. "Damn genius, the bastard, I decided to pick a fight with him, and he carved the skin off half my arm."
Her squadmates gave her incredulous looks, and Ira wondered how they would react if they knew the true injuries he had inflicted on her that fateful day. Given her track record at the academy, many of the nine person squad seemed disbelieving.
"I deserved it though, and we've been great friends ever since," she sighed wistfully. "But enough on my non-existent love life, Ernest, map."
The man in question quickly pulled out the sheet, laying it out on the ground. There was a dotted line indicating where they were going. The troops gathered round as she pointed to a spot at the entrance to the valley of a small mountain pass.
"Right, we're approximately here. We need to get there. Judging by the time we've taken, there's no way we're going to make it in time. The brass meant for us to fail, but I believe there must be a solution. Xawrey, did you get the pamphlet?"
"Yes ma'am," the fellow cadet answered, passing it to her. She opened it up, overlaying it on the map they had been provided for the mission. "See this path, it's a local hiking trail, unmarked and only known by those in the know. If we take it, we prevent having to circle the entire mountain."
"It's also a difficult path that floods during rain," Nadia pointed out dryly.
"Well, as you can see, it is not raining. And quite fortunate that we've received hiking training, no? Section, prepare to move out, let's bag ourselves a record, eh?"
"Hoorah!" her squad chanted despite their clear fatigue, quickly packing up the bits and bobs they had laid out in preparation to march out.
-Break-
Enoch sighed as another concerned MP finally left his office. As the rising star in the ranks of the guardians, he had been quickly promoted to chief guardian after the resignation of his predecessor over the werewolf affair, a miracle considering at the beginning of the summer, he had merely been a guardian. Alas, with the political situation, several other would be candidates refused the opportunity, leaving him the only viable choice for the minister of security.
In his new office, he quickly found himself swamped with paperwork all fighting over each other to be completed first. Hundreds of letters from prominent businessmen who hadn't already barged into his office to demand security for their establishments asking for the very same thing. They had to disband several militia to prevent clashes between pro and anti werewolf groups, and were facing lawsuits for such. It was a nightmare.
An owl entered his office, and he was about to shoo it away, when he saw a familiar seal and sighed in relief. Quickly grabbing the letter, he ignored the owl as it perched in the corner of his room waiting, and read the letter.
Werewolf situation resolved. Don't waste time investigating. Focus on exposing radical groups.
There was nothing else on the paper, but it was distinctly Harry's and it was enough for him to know that somehow, his boss had, presumably over the summer, found the cause and eliminated it. Now he just had to wait with bated breath, smile and take credit. For the first time in days, he allowed himself a genuine smile, beginning to pen a thank you note.
-Break-
Albert smiled thinly as an owl imperiously flew through his office window, landing on his desk and stretching its leg out. Accepting it and petting the bird on the head, he opened the letter, reading the instructions. It was detailed and specific, leaving very little room for interpretation.
Frowning, he took the rest of the documents out for his purview, account statements containing the information relating to Harry's business accounts. As he read down the list, his eyes got progressively wider. How the boy had managed to acquire one of the largest fortunes in both the muggle and magical world was probably not his place to ask, but Albert couldn't help but wonder. All he needed to do was sign the papers and he would have access to nearly a billion dollars in capital along with multiple times the value of that in magical currency. And that was only in liquid capital! Ae continued to pour through the documents, he quickly appraised that his judgement of Harry was completely off: he had somehow managed to liquidate gold onto the muggle markets without completely crashing the value. He had also invested in some of the most prominent businesses in the BMU. Albert now understood how Harry had all the connections, he might as well have owned the bloody country.
Build me a portfolio in the muggle world like the magical one. Focus on Eastern Europe, in the Baltics and Poland, as well as Russia. Make safe investments in the West. Pick up assets from Russia if you can get a good price. Leave East Asia to me, I'm handling that with separate accounts.
Albert poured himself a drink stiffly, downing the shot despite the fact he had woken up a scant two hours. To think he hadn't even known that the boy he worked for was one of the wealthiest individuals in the world! And Albert had no doubt that this wasn't even the true extent of his wealth.
"Anna! Get in here!" he called, and his assistant dutifully appeared at the door several moments later, curtsying.
"You called?"
"Put out an advert in the papers, we're going to need more people."
"Sir?" she asked perturbed, eyeing the bottle on the table with slight disapproval.
"Just...look at this," he pointed to the papers on the desk. Curiously, the girl approached, her eyes getting progressively wider as she skimmed through the various documents.
"This...Harry...oh merlin," she giggled as she read the list of instructions they had been sent. "He's quite a demanding boss, thankfully I don't answer to him directly for now."
"Yes, yes, laugh it up, I'll be sure to recommend you for a place in his circle if you keep it up," Albert scowled playfully. "Now, get those hiring notices sent out. There's no way we're going to manage between the two of us."
"Right away, sir," she hurried off, leaving him to his own thoughts once again. He poured another shot, and raised a silent toast to Harry before downing his drink.
Author Note:
So, while Harry's returning to Durmstrang, plans continue apace, and his influence continues to extend outwards. While Ira continues to impress at the military academy, Albert begins the daunting task of managing Harry's wealth and expanding the circle's influence in muggle society.
Some quick notes. Harry is extremely wealthy because his investments in the BMU have performed tremendously. He had obvious sold his positions in some and melted down galleons to sell on the muggle markets. While this is illegal by ICW decree, Harry is one of the few indiviuals capapble of breaking the enchantments and with the connections to discreetly sell it successfully without immediately getting caught. Outside the scope of the fiction (because frankly we've established money for now won't be a concern, and hammering home that point isn't fun), but he has several schemes such as purchasing cheap materials and sacrificing them to make more expensive ones. Because the alchemic cost of sacrifice isn't proportional to the market price differences in the muggle world, he can make a profit doing this. Another scheme involves enhancing jewels. With his ability to purify, augment and grow them, given gems of greater quality and size rise in price exponentially, he is able to establish another lucrative business source. While donations are definitely not with the same enthusiasm as before given the time past and the current rising crisis in the BMU, Harry's investment dividends more than make up for this.
The focus on the next two years will definitely be on Harry's circle and their various activities and the international situation in both the magical and muggle world, because that's frankly more interesting than what he could possibly do in most lessons. That is not to say we aren't going to see magical classes, but expect them to be interspaced more. I'm not going to lie, while undoubtedly you can all feel I'm trying to push this story towards the International Wizard Tournament, there needs to be a boatload of worldbuilding and threads set up over the next to years, and of course seeing Harry's reaction to that will be fun as always.
With that said, looking at the statistics, I can definitely start to see fatigue from a lot of you wearing in as you struggle to catch up. To be frank, keeping up the pace has definitely been a challenge, even if I enjoy it. While I could probably sustain 2 chapters a day for another few weeks, I'm definitely considering dropping this down to one. If you have thoughts on this matter, please feel free to leave them in the comments below, I'm not a legilimencer, and can only make educated guesses based on the visible responses you give me, such as viewership.
I want to take this opportunity to thank McLoggernaut for pointing out a mistake from last chapter, in which Alana Croft refers to Harry as 'Harry Potter'. No, she does not know his backstory to this extent, and it is indeed a mistake. Bravo on your sharp eyes, and thanks again. This mistake should have been corrected.
If you didn't like something, be sure to comment it. Criticism is very important to developing myself as a writer and will always be appreciated. If you enjoyed, please consider leaving a follow, favourite and comment, even just to say hi. Engagement is half the fun of writing this story, and it means a lot for you to have read this far, so once again, thank you, dear reader. Until next time, toodles!