"Ognum! Ognum! Ognum! I call this session to order," Harry announced, banging his gavel. "Today, we will be discussing the proposed amendments to section 2 sub clause b. The floor is now open."

Several wands lit up, and he selected one of his allies, who rose up gracefully. "Thank you, assembly master. It is clear to me that the guild system has demanded reforms for a long time. The system requiring only two people per guild is rife for abuse. It frankly astounds me that any member of this chamber could claim to work in the interests of the students if they oppose such a bill is beyond me! I motion for a move to tertiary voting immediately!"

Several resounding cheers from the neutrals were given, even if both the preservationists and the reformists looked defiant.

"Very well, there has been a motion to move to tertiary voting, all those in favour?" Just over two thirds of the chamber had their wands lit. "The motion has passed. Discussion on the issue is not closed. We will not vote on the amendments. Those in favour?"

Just over three quarters raised their wands. Harry quickly tallied the votes.

"And those against?"

Around half of those who did not support the amendments lit their wands, while the rest abstained in protest. In the end, he noted the individuals who did both, but didn't concern himself over it.

"The amendment passes. The floor is now open to any motions." One of his allies raised their wands, and he acknowledged the girl.

"Motion to discuss bill E-67," she called out, causing an uproar from supporters and detractors alike. Harry banged his gavel.

"Order! There will be order! The motion from representative Lynts has been acknowledged. We will now entertain a primary vote to open discussion. All those in favour?" This was far more narrow, representing just over three fifths of the delegates present. Many of the moderates not aligned with his cause voted with their more radical counterparts against it, but it mattered little. "Very well, the motion passes. We will now open discussion on bill E-67. Representative Lynts, the floor is yours."

"Thank you assembly master. Frankly, there does not need to be two hundred delegates here bickering over minor decisions. Many of us could spend this time more productively. While the assembly remains a core institution of Durmstrang, it must change with the times. With the addition of so many new classes, many representatives here are feeling pulled from multiple directions. Given that most sessions end in majority consensus, there is no need to gather every single week! To that end, an executive council composed of the most suitable candidates should be sufficient to support the assembly master in executing the student body's will. I urge you all to consider the deadlock this could resolve. Thank you."

As she sat down, there were cheers from the neutrals along with jeers from much of the rest of the delegates present. Harry banged his gavel until there was relative silence. "Thank you representative. The floor is now open."

Several wands lit up, and he gestured for Velotin, one of the radical reformists, to speak. "My fellow delegates. This constitutes nothing short of a power grab by the assembly master and a subversion of this body! Time after time his faction has shoehorned amendments and bills without consideration for the diverse views of this body. With his policy of majoritarianism, he is stifling the rights of students to diverse views. I call on all of you to come to your senses and reject this bill!"

Shouts of support and objection came from the various delegates, and Harry allowed this to linger for several moments before banging his gavel. "Representative Millian, the floor is yours."

"Thank you, assembly master. My esteemed colleague would claim to stand for the rights of students, when he is nothing more than a synchopat representing an extremist minority. He would have you believe that we should protect the rights of these abusers at the expense of an innocent, loyal majority. Is that a society we will accept? The irony that he critiques our esteemed assembly master, who has regained the student voice and fought back the encroaching influence of the board and staff that my esteemed friend himself is complicit in perpetuating, should not be lost on anyone. The one thing we can perhaps agree on, is that there are members of this body who need to come to their senses. Those from the far left and right, deluded in their own world and unwilling to accept change. Seeing as they would spend their time slandering other members rather than discussing the merits of this bill, I propose we move to tertiary voting. Thank you."

Loud applause and cheering came from the centre of the room, while those on the left and right exhibited varying degrees of anger, from stiffened postures to coloured cheeks. Others look defeated, knowing that they could not hope to stop this legislation. Were there not a rule that no delegate could leave the chamber, he had no doubt many would have walked out in protest.

"Very well, the motion shall be voted on. All those in favour?" Roughly three fifths of wands lit up in support. "And those against?"

Most of the remaining delegates had raised their wands, including some notable moderates. Harry could sympathise, with this they were essentially losing their leverage. He counted himself lucky that the far left and right were too stubborn to form a united front against him, putting only symbolic resistance in their weakened positions.

"The motion passes. We will now move to final voting. All those in favour?" There was no difference to the final vote compared to the procedural one. It had passed with a slim but clear majority. "Very well, Bill E-67 has been officially accepted as the thirty second amendment to the charter. I will be accepting applications to the positions of the newly created executive council for one week, a reminder that you must have a second for your application to be considered. I now call this session to a close!"

The doors were opened by the guards, and many delegates stormed out, while others moved at a more sedate pace. He himself made small talk with several of his followers before excusing himself from the chamber.

-Break-

"Professor," Harry greeted with an incline of his head, entering the alchemy classroom. Tomak favoured him with a rare smile, beckoning him to follow. The two entered through one of the side-doors, revealing a large circular room with a large alchemical circle.

"Tell me, White, what do you see?"

"A two stage sacrificial circle, platinum conduits, trio partitions for each of the sacrificial indexes leading to twenty one sacrifices rather than seven...standard...no, slightly modified Valler-Xandu rune sequences. Likely used for the enchantment of crystals."

"Very good," the professor breathed. "How far you have come. I haven't shown anyone this room in years, but I do believe you would be well suited to a new task. Come with me,"

Professor Tomak led him back out and through several side-corridors on the Alchemy floor until they arrived at a large circular room. "This...this is a heavily protected room that can pretty withstand most alchemical sacrifices. Observe the walls."

"They're plated with gold," Harry breathed in awe. The professor smiled thinly.

"An inch thick, alchemical purity. Tell me, why would that be done?"

"So that if a sacrifice isn't enough, the gold can be used to supplement rather than causing structural damage to the room," Harry answered easily. The professor hummed in agreement.

"I'm sure you've done some alchemical work on your own, but the moment you step from one to multi-stage sacrifices, the momentum upon commencement becomes far greater, meaning rather than just stopping when a sacrifice runs out, it will attempt to complete it by drawing in everything around it. Several alchemists have met gruesome deaths because of this."

"You wish for me to draw my own circle?"

"Indeed. Anyone who can follow basic instructions and be provided with an alchemical circle could make a reasonably efficient sacrifice. No, the true mark of an alchemist is to be able to create your own circles."

"Wouldn't it be easier to simply hire an existing alchemist to do it?"

Harry was surprised when the professor merely chuckled. "You are thinking completely wrong. An alchemist's circle is much like family magic, guarded zealously and almost never released. Of course, there are alchemists who do sell their designs for small fortunes a piece, though they are few and far between. Many die taking their knowledge to the grave."

"So that's why the subject is stagnant," Harry mused. "You don't agree with that philosophy, do you, professor?"

"Indeed I do not," Tomak chuckled. "I am considered quite off by many of my peers for teaching. Perhaps the only other example is Dumbledore, but even he has stopped offering classes."

"What do you see in me, professor?"

"Explain."

"You showed me your circle...a remarkable gesture of trust. I would like to understand why?"

"How astute of you," Tomak commented shrewdly, observing him with scrutinising eyes. "Most would simply take the gesture for what it is. No, I show it to you, because I very much hope that you will be my legacy."

"Sir?"

"Listen, and do not interrupt," the professor sighed. Harry nodded in understanding. "My family...well...it used to be much bigger. I had a wife and two children, along with several siblings. Grindelwald's war destroyed it all. Brother turned on brother, father against son...the war cost my family everything, and for what? I remember my brother...he begged me not to go to war. I was idealistic then, I believed into Grindelwald's lies, gave him everything. Others in the family took the cause of the opposite side, and we fought, we bled, and we died. Only when I was alone...did I finally realise how futile it all was."

"War is war, nothing more nothing less," Tomak warned after a brief silence. "Don't think the staff don't know of the goings in the student assembly. What is it, the executive council that now rules over the school? Bah, I couldn't care less. I do wonder, however, why you devote so much time to it. I've noticed you visit the library far less often these days. It worries me."

"As my professor?"

"As your mentor," Tomak corrected sharply. "The allure of power has enthralled many. I do implore you to focus on learning...I would hate to see you waste your potential."

The professor had changed his words at the last minute, and both knew it. However, Harry merely inclined his head in respect. "I won't disappoint you, sir."

"I am old, my opinion matters little. I only pray you do not disappoint yourself," the professor squeezed him on the shoulder. "But enough on my ramblings, this room is yours to use for the rest of your time here at Durmstrang. Let me know if you have any questions."

"Thank you, professor," Harry inclined his head in respect. Tomak smiled before departing the room, closing the door behind him softly and leaving Harry alone. He stared at the metallic walls, a distorted reflection of himself staring back at him.

Taking out his ritual knife, he began carving. There was work to be done.

-Break-

"Sarah, walk with me?" Harry offered his hand. The fellow fifth year quickly latched herself to the side, neither oblivious to the many envious glares she received. "How have your classes been?"

"Good. Alana's been helping me with runes, I'm hoping to get an honour by the end of the year," the girl answered cheerfully as they walked along the corridor. Discreetly, two students followed, they wands out and their eyes carefully observant of any potential threats. "Progress with your agents is going slowly, they are not handling Jade's methods very well."

"They will require time to acclimate," Harry conceded. "At least they're loyal."

"You used legilimency on them, didn't you?"

"To a limited extent, yes," Harry acknowledged, leading her into one of the private rooms and recasting the privacy charms around them. "With enough training, you could reprogram entire minds. I am not adept enough to do that yet...but I am able to enhance certain feelings and suppress those in others."

"That's why you're so focused on making people grateful," Sarah realised in triumph. Because you need a base feeling to latch onto and magnify."

"Precisely," he smiled. "But we are departing from what should be our focus. Have you sensed the intrusion yet?"

"Crap," she cursed. He sighed indulgently, feeling her mindscape begin to turn over as she quickly located his probe. "How did I not notice?"

"It's to be expected, I suppose," Harry assured. "You're making excellent progress, far better than I did at the same time in my development. Seeing as I have some extra time on my hands, I was wondering if you'd like to learn to manipulate emotions in another person's mind."

"You'd...you'd teach me that?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"Of course, you are my most devoted. Try and reach out to my mind now." He waited patiently as she struggled for several moments before latching on at the very edge. "Very good, Sarah. I'm going to weaken my guard now, feel."

He could feel her probe analysing his defences as he slowly lowered them, cautiously entering into his mindscape. He gently tugged her, guiding her deeper inside. "Very good, your mental senses are improving. Now I want you to feel. What emotion am I projecting now?"

"Anger," she answered quickly.

"And now?"

"Curiosity."

"Now?"

"Satisfaction."

"Very good. Now I want you to try and trace the feeling of satisfaction. Feel for the root of it," he encouraged. She replicated the same technique used to latch onto emotions to enter a mindscape, slithering through his mind until she found the memory of his first meeting with her. "Very good. Now try and amplify the sensations, gently part the restraints on it and magnify the feeling."

She tried for several minutes without success, and he stopped her attempts. "I want you to observe closely as I manipulate the degree of occlumency I employ to restrain the feeling, alright?"

He increased and decreased the leash he tightened on his emotions several times, a mentally tiring exercise. Recentering himself, he encouraged her to try.

"I...I think I got it," she exclaimed in triumph. He felt a foreign presence cradling his memory, beginning to tug at it much like a child would clay. He allowed her to experiment despite the discomfort of a foreign presence running through his mind. "Do you...do you feel it?"

"Yes," he smiled despite the discomfort. "You're doing very well. Now try to do so more softly. Gradually ease open or close the restraints, lest it be too obvious."

He observed her probe as she tried to follow his instructions, familiarising herself with his defenses and the best pressure points to manipulate them from. Harry forced himself to contain the swell of pride that threatened to surge through him lest it interrupt Sarah from her work. After several dozen attempts, she was finally able to do so to a reasonable degree.

"Excellent," he complimented, looking slightly fatigued and in pain. When she retracted her mind probe, she startled at the slight sweat on his face. He waved it off. "Don't worry, just not...used to others being in my mind."

"Did I hurt you? Are you okay?" she babbled worriedly. He placed a shaky finger on her lips, gently silencing her protests.

"I'm fine, Sarah. I'm very proud of you, the progress you've made in both legilimency and occlumency is frankly prodigious."

"What stage would you call me?"

"Emotional manipulation through legilimency is definitely a sixth tier ability, and your defenses could constitute a low sixth tier achievement, though the integration between layers needs to be improved," Harry concluded after several moments of thought.

"And what of the seventh? You still haven't told me of them."

"Because they are very dangerous, and I very nearly lost myself experimenting with them. You must swear to me that you will only attempt such things when I am with you."

"You have my word."

"Good...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to explain it. The seventh tier of occlumency is a theoretical concept of augmenting one's mind. From increasing recall abilities, to forcing oneself to feel a certain emotion, its existence is postulated because we unconsciously do it in the prior stages of occlumency. For instance, when casting a patronus, you are using a memory to force yourself to feel happiness. Augmency believes that the memory can be skipped and the feeling created artificially with enough training," Harry explained as Sarah listened enraptured. "I have practiced such to a certain degree, it is essentially unlearning what I have learnt in occlumency to try and hide the fact that I am using it. To create a friendly persona without lowering my guard. However, it is dangerous, and only through intimate knowledge of your mind and extraordinary skill can it be pulled off successfully."

"And of legilimency?"

"An even more...advanced technique, one I have yet to practice successfully. The previous six tiers of legilimency have involved the intrusion, the observation and the manipulation of another being. But, some have postulated, what if there was a way to completely alter another?"

"Like a memory charm?"

"This is where we must get philosophical. Is a person who they are by innate nature, or by the experiences that shape them? I have no definite answer, and it is my personal belief it is a mixture. The memory charm changes a person because it deprives them of an experience that makes them who they are, but one could argue, they fundamentally would remain the same person, given theoretically in the same situation they would act in the exact same way instinctually."

"And the seventh stage attempts to change a person's innate nature?" Sarah shivered. "That sounds…"

"It is a terrifying prospect," Harry agreed solemnly. "To this date, there are no documented successes of this, though who would know?"

"You want to train with such an ability," she observed. "You trust me that much?"

"Yes, Sarah. If you're willing, I would like for us to push the boundaries of the mind arts together."

"Do you even need to ask?" She grinned. Harry laughed.

-Break-

"Petrificus totalus," Rose incanted, before her face scrunched up in annoyance. Lily would have laughed, were she not certain that would upset her daughter, and thus instead took a sip of tea to hide the growing smirk on her lips. "Why can't I do the spell, mum?" Rose asked, frustrated. "I've tried for the past two week!"

"It's a third year spell, dear," Lily assured calmly. "Don't worry too much, I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

"It's not just that, mum!" Rose groaned, and Lily was forced to suppress the giggles forming. She was only partially successful, if her daughter's askance glare was any indication. "A few of the older years tried to hex me. I barely held them off!"

"Are you okay?" Lily shot up from her seat, huffing at Rose's roll of the eyes.

"I'm fine, mum. I can cast the protego charm, after all. It's just that...I need to keep on my toes. Who knows what the Slytherins will try to do in the future."

"You shouldn't discriminate against the Slytherins," Lily pointed out half-heartedly, even if she sometimes wondered why the house wasn't abolished. It could not be denied that many of the Death Eaters were from that house. Rose merely scrunched up her face in annoyance.

"Ugh, not you too, Professor Potter. They're so mean, always trying to pick fights. It's even worse when there are Griffyndors around. And Snape's such an asshat, he always prevents them from getting in trouble," Rose bemoaned, ignoring Lily's exclamation of 'language'.

"Yes, Severus is...quite annoying," Lily conceded, causing Rose to grin cheekily at her. "I'll have a talk with Dumbledore to see if there's anything he can do."

"Perhaps that conversation can happen now," a cheerful voice interrupted, causing the two to turn around and see Dumbledore had just entered the office, Fawkes perched on his head. Rose giggled at the sight, ignoring Lily's half hearted chiding. "Now, now, Lily, amusement is not to be restrained. Laughter, afterall, is the best medicine. Now, Rose, why don't you tell me what's been going on?"

"Three fourth year Slytherins tried to hex me, and when I shielded, Snape took off ten points from me for duelling in the corridors! He's a bully!"

"Well don't you worry, ten points back to Hufflepuff," Dumbledore assured easily. "I'll be sure to talk to Severus about his behavior."

"That's not worked for the many times you have promised," Lily jibbed, causing Dumbledore to frown. "Something needs to be done, Albus, you know it as well as anyone."

"Severus has my full trust, Lily."

"That excuse is wearing thin, uncle," Rose pointed out, drawing the attention of the two adults. "All the non-slytherin students hate him. Whatever he's done in the past, it doesn't excuse his attitude. He shouldn't be a professor!"

"Seversus is a highly talented potions master," Dumbledore rebuked gently.

"But a horrible professor. He just puts the instructions on the board and tells us to brew," Rose spat. Dumbledore sighed tiredly, the twinkle in his eyes dimming.

"With Lucius on the board of governors, there isn't very much I can do," Dumbledore admitted. "His favoritism against Slytherins is...regrettable. I shall endeavour to cull his behavior."

That both Potters looked at him dubiously caused the man to sigh yet again. "But that is not why I am here. I was hoping to speak to you about your curriculum, Lily."

"Oh?" she quirked an eyebrow dangerously, even if her voice was porcelain polite.

"The board has...deemed your amendments too radical for the curriculum, and have asked you revert to the original curriculum."

"Albus! That hogwash is completely inaccurate! I should know, I spent years in the muggle world," Lily protested vehemently. Albus merely sighed tiredly. "I'm going to take this up with the board myself, they've gone too far this time."

"Perhaps it would be best if you eased the students in," Dumbledore pushed. "It is...after all, difficult for those who used the old curriculum to suddenly face such radical changes...it is expected that a few of them would have grievances."

"I will not compromise on telling them the reality of the muggle world, Albus," Lily denied. "If they think they can just leverage my reputation to further their blatant lies, they have another thing coming!"

"I see you will not be dissuaded. I wish you the best of luck," Dumbledore nodded before leaving the office. Lily shot Rose an apologetic look.

"No mum, I understand," Rose immediately assured. "Just promise me one thing."

"What's that, sweetie?"

"Show those purebloods who's boss," Rose grinned, drawing a laugh from Lily as she shooed her daughter from her office, beginning to prepare for her confrontation with the board of governors. She had a few floo calls to make.

Author Note:
Another chapter. Be prepared for no chapter or a late one tomorrow. To snowbot, thank you for your comment, the feedback is appreciated, and I wholeheartedly agree. Looking back, some character introductions were definitely too artificial now that I look back at it, but what's done is done I suppose. Hopefully, you'll fall in love with the characters of Ira, Alana, Sarah and Katerina in time, these four are definitely going to be the new hard hitters in the coming chapters. The problem I have right now is that we're stuck in between his time in the USSR as an agent and the time when he will become a true leader and fight in a global war spanning both the muggle and magical world. Two (hopefully) exciting aspects that I frankly feel needs to be bridged. I totally get that it's difficult to get emotionally invested in these characters for now, which is why you're seeing me start to put more emphasis back on 1:1 scenes between Harry and the various members of his circle. Alas, some characters I need for the future for a moderately important role in the story, enough that I don't want them to appear deus ex machina, but also such that I can't reasonably spend several chapters giving organic introductions to each one. Take Enoch, Albert, Megan and Aurelius for instance, they're going to be part of Harry's ruling council but the story isn't going to pay them particularly much attention. That they detract from us spending more time with the core cast, I can definitely sympathise, and will hopefuly remedy in the coming chapters. I won't lie, I've had to start tracking names with a spreadsheet, which is probably a sign I went too far too fast. I'm definitely hoping to give each character strong moments in this year's plot to distinguish them, so we'll see how that goes. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the Potter and class sections, I'll definitely push those higher up the list of things to add in future chapters. Thank you for your honest feedback, it's much appreciated.

As always, if you enjoyed this story thus far, it would mean a lot if you would follow, favourite, share and leave a comment, even if just to say hi. Until next time, toodles!