"Students, welcome back, I hope you had a pleasant Yule," he greeted. "For those who stayed over the holidays, please indulge me, for I believe it important to enlighten those who were not present. During the holidays, the dark lord Grindelwald attacked and entered the Durmstrang grounds."
There were worried whispers from much of the hall, though a notable minority seemed excited by the news. He allowed this for several moments before raising his hand for silence.
"No student was harmed throughout the man's time within the castle. His objectives remain unknown, as is what, if anything, he managed to achieve. To ensure the safety of the school, the wards are currently being improved, while a team of international aurors will be guarding the school until the defences are completed. I ask you to treat the professionals with respect, and assist them upon request. Now I invite in the aurors, led by commander Eric Foch."
The doors slammed open, and twenty aurors, assembled in two lines of ten, marched forward in unison, followed by a single auror wearing the robes of an ICW commander. Harry clapped, and soon much of the hall followed, even if there was a notable minority that refused to do so.
"I ask that you allow the aurors to complete their tasks without undue disruption. They are trained professionals here to ensure your safety. Each and everyone of you is expected to uphold the integrity that being a Durmstrang student demands. Commander Foch, the podium is yours."
The commander stepped up, shaking his hand firmly as he returned to his seat. "Thank you, assembly master. Students, I would like to assure you that the likelihood of Grindelwald returning remains extremely low, and that we are here merely as a precaution. My aurors and I will try to remain as inconspicuous and unobtrusive to your daily lives. While I am aware there are those of you here that may...hold sympathies for Grindelwald's cause, I ask that you do not violate any laws or regulations, as you can and will be charged. The ICW has declared war on the dark lord Grindelwald, meaning those who associate with him may be punished to the fullest extent of international law, which includes the death penalty. If you at any point have any information you are able to share that leads to the capture of Grindelwald, you will be rewarded substantially when you come forward with such information to any of the aurors present. Thank you."
There was polite applause from most of the room, though many still seemed unsure of the presence of the aurors. Harry idly noted the emotion of various groups in the great hall, before turning to his circle.
"Welcome back everyone. Otaba, Megan, Aurelius, how was your Yule?" Harry inquired.
"Incredible. I managed to visit the Americas, I met so many people there," Megan beamed. "I've established several relationships that can hopefully be leveraged by you in the future."
"Well done," Harry praised, causing the girl to beam. Observing the envious looks she received from the others, he smothered a smile, instead pretending not to notice. Turning to Aurelius, the boy immediately straightened up.
"I travelled with my family to China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and India. I too managed to make some contacts there that may prove useful," he answered confidently. Harry favoured the boy with a pleased smile before turning to Otaba.
"Grindelwald has entrusted me with the task of getting closer to you and feed back information to him. He wants to know your motives and abilities. He admitted to being impressed when meeting you."
"Fascinating," Harry murmured. "That is definitely a valuable opportunity. I shall provide you with notes to pass onto the dark lord. There's more, I suspect."
"Another girl, Serilda Schwarz, she is tasked with seducing you." Several snorts from the others were clearly audible, though the boy ignored them in favour of continuing. "I was to expose this betrayal to gain a foothold into your circle."
"Not a bad plan," Harry conceded wryly, his eyes scanning the room until they found the girl in question. Their eyes locked for a moment, and she waved briefly before ducking her head shyly. Harry rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "She's a passable actor...she might prove valuable asset to the cause."
"Milord?"
"She's one of the few capable in spell creation, I would hardly overlook such a potential asset," Harry chuckled, despite the displeased look from most of his circle. Sarah, on the other hand, merely looked deep in thought, undoubtedly already running through several plans in her head. "Unless any of you are capable of filling that role?"
Dejected mutters confirmed what he already knew. Sighing, he shook his head. "Each of you has a place, so long as you obey, you need not fear being replaced. Now come, Sarah, I wish to speak with you in private."
"Yes milord," the girl set down her cutlery, following him as they left the hall, layering several privacy wards around them. Harry nodded approvingly.
"Thoughts?"
"She would make a useful ally to have," Sarah mused. "You could engineer a situation and rescue her. The classic."
"The timing would be too suspicious," Harry shook his head. "No, I plan on approaching her."
"Why?"
"My reasons are twofold. One, she is a genuinely promising asset and potential threat, thus keeping her close would allow me to better understand and monitor her. Grindelwald clearly expects her to fail, and is willing to sacrifice her to get an inroad for Otaba. If I allow her to get close, Grindelwald will be suspicious of her, straining their relationship."
"Won't this undermine Otaba?"
"Not if we play this well. Grindelwald knows I am at least somewhat capable, even though I suspect he still underestimates me. No, if I followed through and simply allowed Otaba through, it would be suspicious to him."
"So...you plan to spring the trap," Sarah mused knowingly. Harry nodded.
"He knows it's too good an opportunity for me to pass up, to not take the bait would raise suspicions. No, he has knowingly offered what he believes as two of his pawns."
"She's a fervent Grindelwaldian though," Sarah pointed out. "Not to mention likely trained in the mind arts. It would be difficult to modify her mind."
"Fortunately I don't intend to do so," Harry answered. "Remember what Sun Tsu said about spies?"
"That an enemy spy converted to one's own is the most valuable of them all."
"Indeed. But when one knows the identity of the spy, one does not need to convert them. In fact, it may be better to let the compromised spy believe their cover remains intact," Harry lectured. "I do believe...ah, here she comes. Please ensure that Otaba is aware of the...pertinent details."
"I'll make sure he doesn't screw anything up," Sarah promised, breaking off. Harry turned around, deliberately meeting Schwarz's gaze, walking up to her with a smile. She blushed slightly, whispering something quickly to the others in her small group before breaking off from them.
"Miss Schwarz, just the person I was hoping to see. Would you be so jind to join me for a walk?"
"Who am I to deny the assembly master?" she responded nonchalantly, though he noticed the excited gleam that briefly coloured her eyes. "Though I must admit my confusion as to why I earned such attention. I'm sure there are many who would cater to every one of your needs and wants."
"Perhaps," Harry chuckled, "though my colleague Otaba insisted you were the expert on spell crafting within the school. I was hoping to bounce off some ideas from you."
"Shoot," she encouraged, unable to hide her relief at the mention of Otaba from his observant eyes. He layered some privacy wards around them.
"Do you follow the Amebus or the Vaharier school of thought?" Her eyes widened in surprise, once again.
"I wasn't aware you took spell creation."
"I dabble," Harry shrugged. "It's a fascinating subject, and even if I doubt I'll ever be an expert, I believe knowing the fundamentals of all magics is the duty of any self-respecting witch or wizard."
"I personally follow the Vaharier school of thought," she admitted. "You?"
"I'm hardly well versed enough to have a meaningful opinion," he chuckled, shaking his head at her incredulous look. "I suppose I follow a rather obscure branch, the Mycelia way. It has a rather...unique perspective."
"Oh? I confess I've never heard of that," she sighed with a sour look on her face, before brightening. "What does it profess?"
"That wandless and non-verbal magic is not a countenance to the fact that words and wand motions have magical properties, only that it bypasses them," Harry acknowledged. "Following Vaharier, you would disagree, believing that wand motions and incantations are merely tools to focus the practitioner through associative memory, correct?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "You're remarkably well read for one who merely dabbles."
"Reciting books is hardly an indication of ability," Harry deflected. She nodded, conceding the point. "I was wondering about your perspective on the fundamental question of charms."
"I...believe that there are three fundamental principles to any cast magic: gradiation, integrity and resolution: gradiation being the size of the difference from the natural state, integrity being the ability of the magic to hold the difference, and resolution being the magnitude and detail of the magic."
"A rather...modern interpretation. I believe the champion of this philosophy was...Grindelwald/"
"It was," she stiffened, answering tersely.
"Yes, he was rather adept at charms and spell creation, was he not? I admit my talents lay more with armithacy and runes, so I likely fail to appreciate the true impact of his works. He did do many great things, terrible, perhaps, but great nevertheless." He observed the several warring emotions flickering through Serilda's face with hidden amusement. "But we are not here to discuss that. I was hoping for your insights onto a project of mine. Tell me, how does one determine the appropriate wand motion for a spell?"
"It would need to reflect the nature of the magic, I suppose," Serilda proffered. "Large strokes are useful for more powerful magics, while flicks and twirls moreso for delicate and precise spells."
"And if I wanted to create a spell that is both?"
"You'd have to find a tradeoff, using a variation of the Fabian curve. Depending on whether you struggle more with power or precision, you could alter the motions slightly to best suit your personal needs," Serilda supplied.
"Fascinating...which do you find you need more of, if you don't mind me asking."
"Personally I struggle with precision, so I add a twenty perfect skew towards precision over power."
"Fascinating," Harry mused. "I must thank you. This has been a most enlightening conversation, if you ever need help with runes, armithacy or something else, I'd be happy to return the favour, miss Schwarz."
"It's Serilda," she offered pleasantly.
"Harry then," he returned. She nodded, pleased, waving goodbye before walking off. Several of her friends eyed her suspiciously, though Harry paid this little heed, instead deep in thought. He would need to find a camera to record his wand motions and tweak them to optimisation. If there was room to improve, he would not leave it unclaimed on the table.
-Break-
"Rose, come with me please," Lily called out urgently. Several heads turned to professor Potter, though Rose paid it little heed, quickly waving goodbye to her confused friends and following her mother out of the great hall."
"Mum what's going on?"
"Your father's been injured, he's at ...I...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have panicked, do you want to-"
"I want to see him," Rose shot down instantly, following Lily to her office, where both grabbed a pinch of floo powder and called out, "St. Mungos!
The two appeared in the lobby, and waited in a line at the reception. Looking up, a kind old witch informed, "Fourth floor, Adam Smith ward."
"Thank you," Lily smiled before dragging rose up the several flights of stairs to the fourth floor. They passed by the Janus Thickey ward and into the Adam Smith ward, where several beds were occupied. Passing by one bed obscured by curtains from which several pained cries erupted until a silencing ward was presumably thrown up, Rose edged closer to Lily, as they continued down the isle until they came across the pale form of James Potter chatting merrily with a witch at his bedside. Hearing their footsteps, the two turned
"Lils! Rose! What are you doing here?" he chuckled. Lily observed the witch, wearing a casual robe that was far thinner than the standard in Britain. She had creamy porcelain skin and chocolate hair. Lily, who knew she was beautiful, still couldn't help but feel slightly insecure around her, but tried to quash those thoughts.
"What are we doing here?" Lily screamed hysterically. I'm at Hogwarts finishing off a class and I get an urgent floo from the auror department in France that tells me in broken English you've been moved back to Britain because of serious injuries! Did you think I wasn't going to come?"
"Madame," the woman interjected softly, "please calm down, or we will be kicked out."
"Who are you?" Lily demanded.
"I'm french auror captain Celeste Garier, James' partner in operations. Your husband saved my life, miss Potter, if you are to blame anyone, blame my carelessness," she insisted smoothly. Lily took several deep breaths, nodding stiffly at Celeste before turning back to James.
"What happened?" she asked more softly. James cringed, and Celeste once again took the lead.
"He was placed under the cruciatus and then stabbed with a cursed blade. I was able to stop it from spreading...but the healers are not hopeful about the scar on his abdomen," Celeste sighed painfully.
While the two women were talking, Rose had taken it upon herself to climb onto James' lap, hugging her father tightly. "You promised you were going to be alright!"
"And I'm here, fine, aren't I?" James chuckled, ruffling her hair.
"You nearly died! How can you be so nonchalant about this?" Rose exclaimed. James pinched her cheek.
"Because I'm fighting for a safer world, for you and Lily."
"Someone else can fight. You have a family, dad. Do you not care about what mom thinks? What I think?" Rose demanded. James flinched at the accusation, slumping.
"If Not Now, When? If Not Me, Who?" James challenged. "There are bad people out there who would destroy society as we know it. Someone has to help fight them."
"You're silly," Rose frowned, unable to come up with a better retort. James sighed, pulling her into his chest and clutching her tightly as he watched Lily laugh at something Celeste said. He was glad, he had worried how she would react to his auror partner. All of a sudden, things were looking up again.
-Break-
Sarah checked her map again, double checking she was at the right place. Harry had the tendency to set up way too many rooms and somehow remember exactly what was in each one. Undoubtedly a product of his training, she sometimes wondered what exactly he went through to become what he is today.
Prying open the door, she saw five tesla coils producing torrents of magic, lashing out at Harry, who had raised a shield in the middle that was flickering violently. Sarah was surprised, despite the pungent feeling of violent magic emitted from the five coils, Harry's shield was the strongest shield she had been privy to, and twenty seven individuals casting shieldbreakers at the same time had been unable to break it.
After several minutes more, he dropped the shield, and the coils stopped emitting magic. Perspiration was visible across his entire body, having soaked through his robes to make them damp, and several trickles were falling onto the floor. It was one of the few times she saw him visibly exhausted.
"Ah Sarah, just training a bit on my shields. Want to try?"
"Sure," she agreed as he walked over to a bench, pulling out a bottle of water and gulping down several mouthfuls. "How do I start it?"
"Just stand in the middle and cast a shield. Don't cast any other magic."
"Got it," she agreed, walking to the centre. Raising a shield, the five bolts of magic lashed out, and immediately she felt her shield fracture, crippling, the backlash causing her entire body to seize up for a moment.
"W-w-what is that?" she exclaimed in horror. He chuckled.
"Magical conduits. They're runed to attack any shield within its boundaries using power from the wards. Think of it as confounding the wards to believe that the shield is magic disrupting the school.
"H-how? I've never felt anything like that! Not even your attacks are close!"
"I know," he admitted easily, wiping the sweat from his brow with a towel. "I daresay that would be near the most potent of what Grindelwald could bring in a fight. I can barely hold a shield for thirty seconds, and that's after quite a bit of practice."
"Why?" she inquired. Harry rarely showed things to her on a whim, there was always a purpose.
"Because I still have a long way to go, as Grindelwald so painfully reminded me. After he had shattered the school wards, he managed to break my shield in less than five seconds. A man who has been trapped for decades in prison and left to wither, was able to do this. I shudder to think what he will be like at full strength. Were it not for my abilities in the mind arts, I would likely be dead. And now that he knows of that avenue's vulnerability, I have no doubt he will rectify it before our next confrontation."
To her surprise, Harry didn't appear sour, merely contemplative and determined. He would match those titans and surpass them. She didn't doubt this, just as she didn't doubt she would be by his side when that happened.
-Break-
"Move out," newly minted lieutenant Ivarin barked at the forty soldiers under her command. Normally, she would have graduated as second lieutenant, but given the desperate shortage of staff officers along with her stellar performance, she had been granted the rank along with several others.
Using the strategy of 'run and fire', inherited from Soviet doctrine, their shots incurred few enemy casualties, but had the desired effect of causing them to duck below their trenches rather than risk being shot while returning fire. As she closed in, she pulled out two grenades, yanking the pins and tossing them into the trenches, causing several panicked cries before two simultaneous explosions sent dirt flying into the air. She didn't think about the limbs flying into the air, but rather on where the enemies were located as she leapt down into the trench. Without hesitation, she drew her pistol, discarding the rifle she carried, and fired several pint point accurate shots at the heads of two fleeing Russian soldiers, who dropped to the ground, sending a slosh of mud and water.
Sensing danger, she ducked behind a wooden crate just as several shots whizzed past where Ira had been standing a second ago. Discreetly pulling out a wand, she cast homeo revelio, receiving several pings in the immediate vicinity.
Thus, without leaving cover, she raised her pistol and fired several shots, managing to kill another two soldiers and causing audible panic among the others. Soon, the gunfire around her increased, with her squad breaching the trenches at multiple points.
Ira quickly cast several healing charms where a bullet had grazed her side earlier, before tucking away the wand into her wrist holster. "Zielinski! Sitrep!"
"Two dead, another three wounded," her second in command answered crisply. "Command has ordered us to hold the trench until reinforcements arrive."
"Are they insane? The Russians outnumber us three to one in this sector. If we don't keep them off balance, they're going to overwhelm us!"
"Orders?"
"Gather those still able to fight. We're moving forward."
"Yes ma'am," her XO acknowledged, barking orders to the various squads. Within minutes, they were all assembled. Ira raised her eyebrow when seeing there were roughly eighty troops, to which her XO explained, "the neighbouring unit lost their CO and XO."
"Excellent work," Ira praised, knowing her chances of success had increased significantly. Moving single file through the communication trench. Several times they had to stop to engage in sporadic firefights, though with the help of discreet magical shields and her accuracy in firing, the squad suffered no casualties.
Silently taking out two centuries, she rounded the corner while the bodies were dragged away by two of her men, before nearly gasping in shock and freezing up. They stumbled across a large staging area where several thousand Russian troops were gathered. There was a row of tanks being tended to by mechanics, while roughly two dozen troops were unloading crates from several trucks.
"Fuck, this is bad. The sector's going to be overwhelmed," Ira cursed. Her XO nodded grimly.
"Orders, ma'am?" Zielinski asked nervously.
"Take three squads, move over to those crates, throw grenades and open fire, have your snipers target the fuel tank there," Ira ordered. Her second in command nodded, relaying the message in whispers to the squad leaders. Discreetly, Ira cast several notice-me-not charms. The men quietly shuffled into place, creeping slowly.
Ira watched the Russians, roughly ten thousand hundred in total, huddled in small groups, most loading or cleaning their weapons, though a few were taking shots of vodka while laughing boisterously. Suddenly, there were panicked cries as the grenades as the closely packed vehicles erupted into a large ball of flames. An even larger explosion rocked the entire staging area with the explosion of the fuel tank.
"Steady," Ira ordered when she noticed several fingers twitching on the trigger of weapons, watching as some of the Russian commanders regained their nerve and barked orders, forming a hasty battle line against the rough direction. "Now!"
Her men opened fire, catching the Russians, who were only just regaining their nerve, to break completely. Soon, Russian troops began throwing their weapons to the ground. "Move out, 18th rifle squad, you're to escort the prisoners back to our lines. Shoot anyone that looks to be stirring up resistance, we can't afford to let them overwhelm us."
Her three squads vaulted from their hiding places, beginning to send the prisoners back towards the Polish line. Ira nearly cackled in glee when a major general stepped forward along with his aides, holding a white flag in his hand.
"Major General, you are surrendering?" Ira questioned.
"Yes," the man sighed. "My aides will relay the orders."
Turning to her squad, she demanded, "Who speaks Russian?"
Two hands were raised. "Good, follow the aides and make sure they're only relaying the orders to surrender, nothing else. Otherwise shoot them."
The two soldiers saluted her before following the disgruntled staff officers to spread the word to the rest of the military. The major general was led off along with his troops in a column back to the Polish lines. Ira wondered how long it would be until the man realised he had surrendered to two half-strength platoons. To have captured a Soviet corps, now that was something to write to Harry about.
-Break-
"My friends," Voldemort intoned smoothly. "You all know of the grave injustice that has been wrought upon you. Legacies destroyed, heritage lost, magic forsaken by the heretics that exiled you."
Several disgruntled murmurs escaped the lips of the enclave leaders present.
"How far you've fallen, to now fight over the scraps while the Russians laugh. We now know with the fall of the Iron Curtain, how weak they truly are, truly have become. So I tell you, that now is not the time to fight among ourselves, for what are small differences when we are united by a common goal? The reclamation of our birthright." Voldemort allowed her aura to flare up slightly, inwardly smirking at the effects her word had on the leaders of the magical enclaves. With the departure of the ICW, she was the only major force left in the region.
"Millenia ago, pilgrims marched to the holy lands to reclaim it in a crusade. We must now do the same, brothers and sisters! The moment is opportune. Pledge yourselves to me, and I will restore prosperity, order, peace and security. Join me, and we shall manifest our destinies!" The grumblings turned into loud chants of approval, causing her to smile.
"The Romanovs pledge themselves to you!" Anastasia Romanov pledged, causing a cacophony of similar statements to follow from the other enclave leaders. Voldemort smiled; soon, she would be powerful again.
Author Note:
Admittedly one of my favoured chapters thus far, there are two major things I want to talk about this time.
1. Harry has definitely been awed by Grindelwald's display of power. Make no mistake, while Harry would crush an ordinary witch or wizard, he still has ways to go before he can match the titans. Potential does not equate current ability. We're going to see a shift away from politics and a focus more on personal development because of this. On a meta-level, this is because I feel we've exhausted what could be reasonably covered in school politics.
2. Ira's command is a heavy handed reference to Erwin Rommel's accomplishments in Italy during WW1. In command of a company, roughly 150 men, he infiltrated the enemy lines and attacked an Italian corps of 10,000. This was because the Italians were behind the front lines and completely unprepared for an attack. Believing they were surrounded by the Germans and that the front lines had collapsed, they surrendered. The only other similar example that comes to mind is when T. Moffatt Burriss, taking two other men, went in a jeep and met a German Panzer corps of 15000 men. The Germans surrendered and were disarmed by the Americans, though this was likely due to the fear of being captured by the Soviets, notorious for their harsh treatment of German POWs, rather than the belief they could not withstand an attack.
Now onto some reader comments from last time:
Snowbot mentions how they would like to see a final confrontation between the four titans. While it'll take some setting up and I want to try avoiding a macguffin story if at all possible, I will say I'm exploring all possilities in terms of a final battle. On an additional note to this, I will say that by the end of the story, Harry will have surpassed the other three titans in terms of ability, though as to how, you'll have to wait and see. He's going to pay in blood, sweat, toil and tears, but as Reznov told us, "Victory can not be achieved without sacrifice Mason, we Russians know this better than anyone."
Dragonhitter brings up the question of why Harry is seemingly allowing his circle to feel isolated. I'll admit, perhaps I played up this aspect a bit too much, but I want to emphasise how Harry isn't an alturistic person. While we're seeing hints with Sarah that he could become a kinder person, he freely admits that his intent when showing affection to Sarah initially was to manipulate her into his service. Harry may be the protagonist, but he's no hero. Thus far, his focus has been on preparing for the future training up agents, which has invovled paying far more attention to Sarah. As his priorities shift to duelling and fighting, we're going to see his focus start to divert more to Katerina. However, he definitely is aware of and playing on their insecurities to ensure they don't remain complacent. For instance, we saw various member trying to claw for praise from him. As a product of this, we're going to start seeing alliances form between the various members of the circle, and eventually factions that vy against each other to earn Harry's favour. I've always hated the idea that any 'faction' can be completely united. It's a ridiculous notion, as there are more nuances in politics. It's an aspect I want to explore further: what happens when they have similar goals, but different belief in methods, or perhaps eventually, even divergent goals. They are all loyal to Harry, but undoubtedly believe he is best served in differnet ways, and will try to fulfill their own vision from that, which can at times bring various members of the circle into conflict with each other. But to return to your question, a final reason would be simply because Harry has to many things pulling on him. Managing the guild assembly, keeping the staff and board in check behind the scenes, supervising various projects such as Sarah training the agents and classes (which we'll definitely see more of in sixth year, don't you worry), he doesn't have a lot of time, which inevitably means compared to prior, he's spending less time in personal conversations with his circle.
Onto your question, Harry isn't just going to accept his family back without strings. I'm still exploring several avenues of development as to how exactly I want to frame it. However, I will say that Rose and Harry will have a relationship important to the story. Beyond that, I'm afraid you'll have to wait, both because it would spoil the story and because I genuinely haven't firmly committed to one direction.
Thank you both for the questions!
As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, a follow and favourite would mean a lot. I do pour my heart and soul into this writing, so hopefully depsite some flaws you'll feel the love I have for this story, and just perhaps, feel similarly about Harry Potter and the Raven. If you didn't enjoy it, be sure to leave a comment on why: it helps me improve future chapters of the story and develop as a writer. Whether positive or negative, I read all the comments, so leave a message, even if just to say hi.
A quick note before I sign off, tomorrow, my IB grades are released, so I might not be able to post a chapter. For those of you new here, I try to post a chapter a day, but there will be hiccups, so be sure to follow to ensure you're notified when the next chapter comes up. Until next time, toodles!