"Ah, Isard, Keplen come," the dark lord waved over his voice, gravelly and harsh, a far cry from the smooth baritone it usually hypnotised listeners with. Several drips were injecting potions into Grindelwald's blood, and his haggard appearance belayed his weakness. Isard had to rely on his occlumency to clamp down on his shock, though evidently the dark lord already guessed his thoughts. "Indeed, my body has been heavily damaged in a confrontation with Lady Voldemort. I confess I...underestimated her abilities, to my own detriment. But you need not concern yourself over that. Tell me, have you found your daughter yet?"
"Alas not, milord," Ivarin ground out, clearly bitter. "I...did not succeed in locating her. My contacts are convinced she does not exist. My best guess is that she is dead."
"I doubt that," Grindelwald rebuffed, "No Ivarin I know has been anything less than cunning, resourceful and skilled. Have you explored the other continents?"
"My contacts outside the continent...are very scarce," Ivarin admitted. "It has been difficult with my family's...declining finances. However, what sources I have suggest there is no trace of the girl."
"A shame, she seemed to hold so much promise," Grindelwald lamented. "Alas, such things cannot be helped. Tell me, what are the state of our forces?"
"Nervous and anxious, milord," Ivarin told the dark lord bluntly. "There are...rumours of your defeat at the hands of Voldemort. The circle had tried dissuading such notions...but it seems the dark lady's propaganda efforts are taking a toll. Their attacks have further intensified, and recruitment has all but dried up."
"That is...most concerning. And what steps do you propose to...rectify this?"
"I believe a show of strength, followed by a truce with Voldemort would be the best course of action. Many in the ICW are pureblood bigots that are sympathetic to her faction and abhor your ideals of equality. I know she has ambitions for Russia, which despite its weakened strength remains a formidable foe that could eat into much of her time and resources. Both our factions would gain from a truce, until either we have dealt with the ICW or they the Russians."
"And you believe she would agree to this?"
"I don't believe she would reject it considering our situation. As is, her power base is still weak and their resources relatively limited. She knows in a sustained conflict with you, that our forces would triumph if not for the ICW, and that once the ICW is finished with us it will take action against her. From her perspective, it would make far more sense to expand into Russia."
"You make good points," Grindelwald mused. "I will consider it. In the meantime, prepare raids for Tirana, Sofiia and Budapest. We need a demonstration of strength, scout it out and make sure we are overwhelmingly advantaged in every engagement. Kepler, disillusion yourself and stand in the corner for me."
"By your command, milord," Ivarin agreed, frowning as there was a soft knock on the door. Grindelwald waved a hand, dismissing him, and he left the room, masking his disdain when he saw Schwarz's spawn. Offering a curt nod, he strode off to prepare the details for the attacks, while she entered the room nervously, nearly balking at the sight of the weakened state of the dark lord.
"Ah, Serilda, come, my dear," Grindelwald beckoned. Reinforcing her occlumency, Serilda obeyed, walking to the front of the dark lord and cutsying. "How goes your relationship with White?"
"Very well, milord. I was able to secure much time in his schedule. Har-White is intrigued by spellcrafting, and I have been able to monopolise much of his attention with this talent," she preened, clearly expecting praise. Serilda startled at the dark lord's frown, wondering if she had spoken wrongly.
"Curious," Grindelwald frowned, before a smile emerged on his face and he began to chuckle darkly. Serilda had to clamp down hard on her occlumency to prevent a flinch, though the dark lord was thankfully too lost in his thoughts to notice. "Well played, mister White."
Serilda remained quiet, trying not to interrupt the dark lord, shuffling on the spot awkwardly for several minutes before Grindelwald seemed to remember she was still there. "Tell me about your interactions spare no detail."
"In general, we meet in the library or one of the abandoned classrooms around Durmstang almost everyday in the afternnon. We discuss the fundamental of spell creation and some more advanced techniques. I've been guiding him on spell modification most of the time. I believe he's now almost addicted to the field, as I've managed to convince him to drop many of his roles, including that of assembly master." Serilda withered slightly at Grindelwald's snort, but pressed on, "I've also been able to make some headway with members of his circle. Aurelius Kotova has offered his patronage, and apparently I'm being considered for a role in his circle."
"Oh, he does not seem the type not to reciprocate...what are you hiding from me?" Grindelwald eyed her searchingly.
"He...also tutors me in runes and arithmacy, occasionally on duelling," Serilda conceded abashed as her head throbbed slightly. She did her best not to show her discomfort.
"Ah, and you find him...attractive? Enthralling?"
"I...respect him, milord. He is very capable and driven. He would be an excellent asset, if he could be moulded into your follower."
"Hmm, and do you believe that he could be made to follow?"
"I...would not rule it out, milord. He is highly idealistic yet equally pragmatic. Once he is shown the justness of your cause, I firmly believe he will be one of your greatest assets."
"I see…that's all for now. You may go."
"By your leave, milord," Serilda curtsied before striding out of the room. Grindelwald eyed the spot she had stood for in several moments before humming thoughtfully.
"Your thoughts, Kepler?"
"She is...troubled. Her loyalties may be wavering, milord. Shall I terminate her?"
"And why would we want that now?"
"Sh...she's a traitor, milord!"
"Not yet...she's waivering, but she's not defected yet."
"What difference does it make?" Kepler asked in disbelief. Grindelwald smiled condescendingly.
"All the difference, my friend. White allowed her into his confidence knowing that she was our agent, of that I have no doubt. Which means he wishes to use her to feed information to us. I have other sources which will be able to pass me fragments of more accurate information...but Serilda...she will communicate what White wishes for us to know. And that, my friend, is very valuable information indeed. In fact, your granddaughter as a traitor will offer more to our cause then she possibly could have as a loyalist. White is trying to play the game...and the ball is in our court. Let us return with a feint."
"By your command, my lord," Kepler agreed reluctantly. "Who is the spy, if I may ask?"
"Hmm...I see no reason to conceal from my most loyal. Very well, it is the Rosier child, young Otaba. Beyond this, there is nothing that concerns you." There was a warning not to inqurie further, which Kepler, having served the dark lord for decades, knew full well and heeded with an incline of his head. "Begin preparing the terms for a truce with Voldemort. I want it done as soon as possible, the ICW are growing bolder by the day."
"By your leave, milord," the man bowed deeply before leaving the room. Once he was left to the silence, Grindelwald closed his eyes, deep in thought.
-Break-
"General, the Russians have broke through at Chelm. Colonel Walczak is retreating along the E373, they've set up a second line at Kamionka, but Russian artillery is making the situation untenable. They're requesting air support."
"Impossible, all our planes are tied up protecting Warsaw from their incursions, and even then the city's being bombed daily. Sending them any further west would be suicide for planes we can't afford to lose," Ira dismissed with a disgruntled sigh. "Have him hold the line, we can't allow them to press further. Our forces at Zamosc need to be pulled back as well."
"But that will leave the entire South of the country vulnerable!" one of her aides protested. Ira sympathised, which was the only reason she hadn't snapped at the officer's tone.
"The Reds there will be focused on taking over Ukraine rather than a southern push. The Northern Red forces are frankly tied down in the Baltics, which means we only need to focus on our northern border with Belarus. Kucharski, has Kozłowski managed to get me a team from the UOP yet?"
"Yes, they're being transferred from Valga. They're working on infiltration across the border, they estimate it'll take another month," her aide answered. Ira allowed a grin to emerge on her face at the first bit of good news since she took her latest promotion.
"Good, give another month for them to take action, that means we need to hold off the Reds for two months."
"You're confident that the civil war will flare up again? The Reds and the Whites have been awfully chummy lately, UOP reports suggest that fighting has all but stopped."
"It's a matter of convenience. The Whites want to stop the Chinese from completely overunning the East, and the Reds want to acquire Central Europe and the Baltics. It makes sense that they would halt the civil war. Just as easily their peace could crumble, given many Reds hates the Whites more than foreigners, same with the Whites against the Reds."
"The Colonel will be facing down two mechanised division, which considering the beating they've taken is a three to one disadvantage," her aide protested. "They won't hold for a week, let alone a month!"
"Then I suggest you start learning Russian and studying Marx. If they reach Lublin, they'll have a hub to push towards Warsaw. We're only holding the line because of their logistical hold ups. Capturing Chelm will already provide them with a major boost."
"The Sejm won't be happy about this," her aide sighed agitatedly. Afterall, it was he who would have to pass on the report to the politicians. Ira snorted unsympathetically.
"Tell them to grab a gun and fight in the trenches for a change. I don't tell them how to run the country and they don't tell me how to fight the damn war."
"And you wonder why General Ostrowski insisted you not talk to the politicians directly," her aide snorted before both chuckled commiseratingly. "Is the situation really that bad?"
"Białystok is receiving reinforcements to hold the line after Sokolka's fall. Most Red troops are arriving on rail into there, so it makes sense. Doesn't mean I have to like it though."
"Our units are nearing only half their strength though!"
"Białystok is more strategically important. If they punch through there they could easily cut off the Baltics or punch straight to Germany. If they drive North to Kaunas they'll threaten the rear of Vilnius and likely force a capitulation. It'll also provide major relief to Kalinigrad. Naturally, high command knows this."
"So why not let them take the heat? We desperately need the time to regroup," another of her aides mused.
"It was my proposal, but Ostrowski is against abandoning our so called allies. Damn that man's strange belief in honour," Ira grumbled. "No doubt he'll throw a fit that they're almost going to isolate Ukraine from us. Any word from the Germans?"
"Still in a pissing contest with France. Spain's on the verge of a civil war between the Republicans and the Natinalists again, and Italy's slowly fracturing. We've only got the Baltics and Ukraine to count on," her aide lamented.
"We might have to raze Krakow if the war drags on for much longer," Ira huffed. "Frankly it's a miracle that we're still in the fight considering the strength the Reds have mustered. Even with the Whites fighting against them it was a fair fight."
"Tell Colonel Krol to try and push towards Lviv. We need to get pressure off the Northern font," Ira ordered after deep contemplation. "May god have mercy on our souls."
-Break-
Katerina rolled to the side as several jets of blue light fizzled out on the floor where she had been standing moments ago. Flicking her wand, she fired several arcs of yellow magic, causing her father's eyebrow to raise up as he conjured up a bright purple shield, which rippled upon impact from the yellow magic.
Pressing her advantage, Katerina narrowed her eyes, focusing on the air around her as she formed them into several lances and hurled them against her father, piercing with such ferocity that his shield crumbled and his arm was impaled as he tried to avoid the barrage. Seeing he was beginning to recover, several curses on the tip of his tongue, Katerina vaulted into the air, jumping on invisible steps made of temporarily compressed air to vault over her father, landing gracefully on the ground and summoning air towards her, dragging her father towards her as her wand fired a disarming spell, knocking his wand out of his hand.
"Yield," she instructed, a wand pointed at his throat. He nodded, raising his hands slowly in surrender, causing her to relax as she offered her father a hand up.
"Good," the man praised, wincing slightly as he flexed his arm. Katerina rolled her eyes, waving her wand on his arm and forming a small cast as well as closing the wound. "Thank you, dear. Your grandfather would have been proud. Even if he did hate air elementals with a passion."
"What was he?"
"Fire. He was furious when my affinity was discovered to be air, wouldn't talk to me for a month," Ivan chuckled. "Your grandfather Malac was like that, very prideful. And I do believe I promised to tell you of him when you beat me in a duel. Come, this is a long conversation, and I'll need some firewhiskey before the end of it."
Obediently, she followed him into the lord's study, a place she had only been in twice her entire life. It was a large, ornate room, with imperious wooden bookshelves filled with preening tomes perfectly preserved, several busts of former Lords of the house, and their wands mounted on the back wall, golden plates below each conveying their owner's name and greatest accomplishments.
"Sit," he instructed, taking out two shot glasses and a crystal bottle of brownish liquid, before collapsing into his seat. "I ask you not to interrupt. It is difficult enough to do this. Where to start...how about on your grandfather's youth. Yes, he was born in a poor Polish town. The sixth son in a family, he was considered unimportant, and pursued a humble life as duelling instructor due to his talent in the field. He fell in love with a young muggleborn, your grandmother, Anya Oliwa, and the two wed, having three children, me being the youngest. All was well, they were moderately prosperous, at least until the Great War began. The family was torn in two, some following the dark lord, others against. Malec wanted no part in any of it, even if Anya was sympathetic to Grindelwald. He kept himself and her out of it, at least until Anya died in an attack. It was just a case of being in the wrong place in the wrong time, but it sent him into near insanity. He fought eight of Grindelwald's war mages to a standstill in Warsaw as the invasion began, killing three and mortally wounding another two. He nearly died, but his actions delayed the German advance for days, and Grindelwald extended him an offer to join his ranks. Malac spat on it and proceeded to become a one man army, commiting search and destroy missions as well as assassinations of key Grindelwaldians. Wager, Mey, Weber, Lucon, Duric, Blue, Lisyn, all within the first year. Grindelwald had to personally hunt him down, bringing several of his lieutenants with him. The battle of Smolensk was one of the bloodiest. Of the roughly eight hundred magicals on both side, less than thirty would survive. On his own, he managed to stand as Grindelwald's equal for several minutes, a feat that would not be surpassed until Dumbledore in 1945, who battled a significantly weakened dark lord. And while he was pursuing his revenge, it was up to my elder brother and sister to take care of the three of us. We survived on scraps in the muggle world, using magic to scrounge what we could. Several times we were nearly caught, and...my brother...he was captured one night by the Germans. Neither me nor my sister saw him again."
Ivan downed the shot of alcohol, shaking his head. "My sister...she had to...she used her body to keep us out of trouble, until one day she couldn't take it anymore...and hung herself. From that moment, I swore none in our family would ever be weak again. It is why I honour our heritage so. Because we are strong. Because through adversity we survive."
He grabbed the shot in front of Katerina and downed it as well. "And that is our family's story. Of how an ancient and noble house was nearly driven extinct by a patriarch too consumed by wrath and three children too weak to survive."
Staggering up, he turned behind him, tapping his wand on the panel and causing a box to pop out. He placed it on the desk, pushing it to Katerina. "The memory of the battle. It is yours now, do with it what you will. Just make sure it never nears me again."
Katerina gingerly grabbed the box, opening the lid to see a small vial filled with silver mist. Seeing her father now beginning to drink from the bottle, she quietly excused herself, not that he heard her words, the vial clutched in her hands. She knew Harry would be interested in this.
-Break-
Harry sat with Sarah in one of the small boats that slowly ferried them across the small lake towards the summer palace, an oriental style building constructed largely out of wood. Their guide, a young Chinese ministry employee, introduced, "Decades after the British and French destroyed the original, a homage was built by our magicals to preserve its history, even if many of the original artifacts were plundered or destroyed. Today, it is usually open to tourists except for use during official functions."
"What artifacts are stored here?" Sarah queried. The guide looked delighted at the question.
"The most famous would probably be the soul container of Qin Shi Huang, who attempted what we suspect was a failed horcrux ritual. Legends persist, though research has conclusively debunked this, that the Emperor could be revived through a resurrection ritual. Also present is the sovereign jade, three meters in radius and a meter thick. Apart from that, several salvaged pieces of fine china are also present. Alas, when the traitors embarked on The Great Retreat, they plundered much of the material wealth of the country, including priceless artifacts." Harry was surprised at the bitterness that emanate from the guide's voice. "The repatriation of such artifacts has remained thwarted, but perhaps one day China's heritage will be restored."
As their boat gently docked to the small stone dock, Jade turned around and brightened, fake smile displaced by a genuine one as she hurried over gracefully, wrapping Harry in a hug. "You made it!"
"What am I, chopped liver?" Sarah quipped, causing Jade to laugh as she wrapped her in a hug as well. "Good to see you again, sis."
The three walked up the entrance, passing by the Chinese minister greeting several businessmen, and into the large central courtyard, where fairies flickered above with the glow around their bodies, and a water construct resembling a dragon flowed around.
"Impressive," Harry mused, and Sarah grinned knowingly when Jade brightened at his observation. She led them gracefully towards one of the many snack tables, centerpieced by an ornately carved crystal watermelon, whose green shell had been carved out to partially open like the cushion for a gemstone. The red inside of the watermelon had been crafted to resemble a pair of magpies, orbiting each other like twin suns. Jade grabbed two pieces of thin fried pastry, golden brown and resembling a magpie.
"Here, try this one, it's called qiao guo," she encouraged. Harry accepted it, taking a bite and relishing the sweet paste that formed the filling. Meanwhile, Sarah had grabbed a crystallised honey pear by the stem and placed it in her mouth whole, the sugars causing her eyes to wide like saucers.
"How was it?"
"Delicious, Sarah, are you quite alright?" Jade looked slightly miffed his attention was not on her, until she turned and saw Sarah's slightly delirious state and her eyes widened.
"Shit, you're supposed to eat those slowly...ah...this…" Jade fished out a vial of foul green liquid and uncorked it, downing it down Sarah's throat. She heaved, choked and shook herself out of her stupor, glaring at the duo. "You're welcome, silly girl! Those are extremely sugary, what were you thinking?"
"That it looked tasty," Sarah shrugged with faux innocence, causing Jade to smack herself on the forehead while Harry merely chuckled.
"It's a wonder you've maintained your figure with your sugar intake," he chided lightly, causing the girl to frown. "Honestly, you should see the studies muggles do. Sugar is addictive as cocaine, or their version of euphoria potion."
"I'll control myself," Sarah promised abashed. Harry rolled his eyes, but nevertheless shooed her off. Jade tried to not look too pleased at this development, spooning a small handful of white beads onto a plate and handing it to him.
"Try this, water chestnuts. They're a delicacy," she promised. He savoured one, and while disliking the taste, masked it with a pleasant smile, grabbing one and feeding it to her. They continued to do this, drawing stares, though no one dared interrupt, until they had finished the plate. Jade had a smug grin while Harry merely looked amused.
"Come, I'm sure you want to see some of the artifacts, nerd."
"And proud of it," he returned easily, following her as they walked through several corridors and entered a smaller courtyard, where a scattered few other guests were admiring the large circular piece of jade at the center.
"The Sovereign Jade," she explained. "The single largest piece of Jade in the world, carved to symbolise the infinite wealth of the realm under Emperor Tang Xuanzong in the Song Dynasty, during which fapi, or paper money, was invented."
"Fascinating," Harry murmured before smiling knowingly, "you studied, didn't you?"
"Just a little bit," Jade admitted, cheeks flushing slightly. Harry chuckled.
"I appreciate it, knowing you took time to study that for me means more than any gift could," he assured. She brightened at this, wrapping an arm around him in a sideways hug. Harry pulled a small package from his pocket, handing it to Jade, who opened it curiously.
"This isn't a marriage proposal, is it?"
"No," he assured, causing her to look a mixture between relief and disappointment
"An emerald?" she furrowed her brow upon inspecting the gift.
"The first one I grew in alchemy," he confirmed. "Look closely at it."
"I...what about it?" Running a finger over the surface, she yelped when it pricked her, drawing a drop of blood and causing the gem to turn translucent red, glowing for a moment and humming, before returning to its original state. "Harry...what just happened?"
Harry cast a discreet repelling ward that caused the others in the vicinity to quickly leave the area, looking confused as they did so. "It's a device of many functions. Tell it to deploy, in Parseltongue"
"Deploy," she hissed, leaping into the air when two snakes emerged, each rearing its head to three meters tall, emerald eyes glowing ominously as they circled her, hissing angrily. "Harry...what are those?"
"Like them? They're your new guardians. If you're ever in trouble, just summon them, and they will appear. Stone golems, charged using ambient magic when not in use and linked to you through blood," Harry explained.
"Coil around him," she hissed, and the two snakes reared back before pouncing at Harry, who raised a shield lazily, protecting himself. "Enough, come back."The snakes bowed their heads before disappearing. Harry merely quirked an eyebrow. "I give you a gift and you use it to attack me?"
"I was curious," Jade shrugged sheepishly. "Besides, I knew you would be fine. But that does bring up a question...how did you know I spoke parseltongue."
"Geneology research and trying this out," he chuckled. "They're stone golems, they'd respond to any command you give them, english or parseltongue."
"You...you tricked me!" she sputtered with a groan. "Dad's going to kill me for letting that slip…you're mean, tricking me into lowering my guard with a gift. COme on, for that you'll pay by being my dance partner for the night."
"Oh the horror," Harry drawled, ducking her swat of the hand. "Retirment has made you grow slow dear."
"Only you, Harry," she rolled her eyes, an affectionate smile tugging at her lips. The two walked hand in hand back to the main courtyard, upon the sight of which the minister looked infinitely relieved as he raised his glass and tapped a spoon against it.
"My friends, as is tradition, prior to the communion with water, let us honour the tradition of coupleship with a dance." Harry looked to Jade, who refused to meet his gaze as the two stood near the centre of the courtyard, surrounded by other couples. After several moments, an orchestra began to play, and the two began to flow with the music.
Harry's training had mostly included western dancing styles, and as such he allowed Jade to lead as they moved across the floor. In unison, all the couples moved together, morphing into different shapes to appease an invisible observer from above.
For half an hour, this continued, until the music finally stopped, and those that did not dance applauded politely. The minister rose to the podium once again, with a beaming smile. "I would like to invite all our honoured guests to the waterfront. The crowd began to filter through the various corridors, ushered by guides towards an elevated platform overlooking the lake's surface. Jade guided Harry towards one of the private boxes, which Harry noted with amusement was clearly meant just for the two of them.
The two took seats as fairies uptop dispersed, allowing darkness to fall over the area, until glows began emanating from the bottom of the lake, brilliant shades of light blue as though flames were burning bright underwater.
An orchestra began to play as the flames slowly rose until they broke through the surface, revealing nearly a hundred performers with bubblehead charms now floating above the water. Harry narrowed his eyes, before his eyes lit with triumph as he sensed the magic that was making this possible. A repelling ward just below the water surface gave the impression that they were standing on water, with the realistic splash and ripples as they moved around.
The hundred performers formed give circles, which slowly began to morph into petal shapes, as the five groups moved closer and closer in a feat of choreography that left even Harry impressed, until it took the form of a spinning flower.
The music then shift, and the performers began to disperse, moving out in three rings like pulses on the waterfront from an in imaginary pebble having been dropped in the middle, returning to the original formation of a large single circle.
Then, in unison, they retrieved their wands just as the drums began crescendoing and accelerating in beat, while water slowly rose up in front of the performers, morphing into various constructs of translucent fish following their caster like dogs. Suddenly, by some invisible sign, all the water constructs swam towards the center, occasionally leaping into the air like a dolphin surfacing, before all united into a large body of water in the center, forming a large water dragon that breathed out a 'flame' made of diffused water spray, peppering the audience lightly.
The dragon faded, broken apart back into the fish constructs as they swam back to their owners, and the performers formed several moving shapes with the flames atop their heads, before splitting into two groups of fifty, the flames on their head disappearing save for one performer who now had a red aura and another who had a blue one. The water began morphing, forming a bridge as the two characters slowly ascended the steps.
The choir began singing as they neared each other, until, just steps apart, the bridge parted into two pieces, with both performers reaching a hand out to each other as they drifted apart. Several columns of water shot out in the middle, as though bombs had been dropped in them, exploding violently. Then, the dragon construct, smaller this time, appeared, turning its head to each of the performers.
The choir continued to sing, a distinct note of anger and agony in their tones as Harry and Jade watched enraptured. Below, the performers began to move again, forming various shapes and characters, circling around as the song continued, until the dragon lay down, dissolving onto the lake surface, and the two bridge fragments drifted back together, uniting as one and allowing the performers to kiss in the middle. At that very moment, the music peaked, just as hundreds of 'birds' made from water broke from the lake surface, flying high above. Jade had tears in her eyes as the two stood up and applauded, much like the rest of the audience. The performers bowed, before together, descending back down the lake surface.
"That was...beautiful," Harry breathed out. Jade merely nodded. "Thank you for sharing that with me."
-Break-
"Welcome, master White," headmistress Tang greeted with a bow of her head. Harry returned the gesture.
"Thank you for hosting me, headmistress. You honour me with your hospitality."
"Come, our summer classes are just about to have lunch," she guided him through a large garden area towards a large hall, constructed like a sea shell. It soared one hundred fifty meters into the air, and was at least three quarters a kilometer long. Looking around, there were several more buildings, smaller than the one they were heading towards by varying degrees. Seeing his attention, she smiled.
"We're very proud of our architecture. The idea is to ensure natural harmony with the surroundings. While some of the distant facilities are different, everything on the main campus uses the same lachrymiform design. This allows for good ventilation and sunlight for all facilities," the headmistress lectured. Harry nodded in understanding.
"And how is transportation arranged to the outer facilities?"
"Portkey hoppers. As you can imagine, transporting large numbers of students over a large distance takes more magic than realistically possible, thus a bunch of portkeys shuffle them in a near seamless motion."
"Ingenious," Harry mused. "Not many places employ such technologies."
"It's difficult to set up and maintain. Were it not for the ministry's desire to use this as a proof of concept, then it never would have been possible," the headmistress admitted, pleased that he was impressed. "Perhaps it will be the future of transportation."
"I'd rather believe we'll come up with something revolutionary," Harry chuckled. "I've never liked most forms of magical transport, always some strange quirks. Three hundred years ago, muggles were still using wooden boats and horse drawn carts. Today, they have steel birds called planes that could take you anywhere in the world within a day's time, or large boats capable of transporting thousands at a time. In the same time, we've been stuck using broomsticks, floo and portkeys relayed through a patchwork of hoppers."
"Magicals don't like to change, mister White."
"Until a disaster happens, at least," Harry chuckled. "With the situation in Europe, how soon until a relay is damaged in the fighting or sabotaged. Imagine the outcry if suddenly dozens of people were lost into the floo."
"How morbid," the headmistress shook her head amusedly. "But not untrue. I've always believed in progressive steps rather than counting on revolution, but I've read your paper on statistics, and you do make a convincing argument that supposedly random sparks of innovation aren't as random as we think when aggregated."
They stepped through the entrance, and were greeted by a blast of cool air. At his bemused look, the headmistress explained, "Cooling and ventilation charms. When there are large crowds of students, it's vital that the air is circulated. Thus air is drawn from vents at the top and flushed down and out here."
"That's...very surprising attention to detail," Harry acknowledged respectfully, causing the headmistress to preen slightly. They entered through a set of double doors, the room inside of which hundreds of students were gathered, chattering in small groups, clustered near the front. Many more tables around were empty, clearly signifying the school's much higher capacity during term time. A hush quickly fell and the students stood to attention at the headmistress' entrance.
Harry instinctively waited at the bottom of the stairs that led to the elevated staff table, while the headmistress ascended the steps and walked towards the podium in front. "Good afternoon students. Before today's banquet begins, I would like to introduce a special guest. Master Harry White, as many of you know, is a certified arithmancy, runes and ritual master, having made significant achievements in all three fields. Those of you studying advanced courses likely have even been reading up on his works. Today, he will be touring the facilities and giving a brief talk, all of which you are welcome to attend. That is all."
Descending from the podium, she waved for him to join her at the staff table, once again filled onto to a third of its capacity, with a variety of Chinese dishes appearing in front of him. Happily, he grabbed the pair of chopsticks and served several pieces to the headmistress in deference before serving himself.
"Tell me, Harry, why did you agree to come to the academy. I know your attention is in high demand, and that you declined an invitation to Mahoutokoro and Castelobruxo at the very least," she probed.
"Partially due to curiousity, partially due to respect, partially due to a good friend's request," Harry listed off. "I admit to being curious as to how magic is being taught, and as one of the founding magical civilisations, I wanted to see how the curriculum was handled, given the Great Retreat sapped significant resources. I came because having been in the Union, I'm well aware of the difficulty of rebuilding from the ashes of a war. The story was so similar to that of Soviet Russia, and I couldn't possibly not come to pay homage and respect. Jade Lin, your country's minister of foreign affairs, is also a good friend, and insisted I visit."
"Then it seems I owe her lunch," the headmistress mused. They ate, making idle chatter, until the meal was over, and she led him around the building, showing off various classrooms and other facilities. They left the main building and headed for one of the other large shells, which turned out to be a library containing many of the texts that hadn't been taken by the Nationalists to Taiwan in their retreat. He was privately amused that several first edition copies of his works were present, and happily autographed them to several gushing librarians.
After that, they departed for another shell, reveaelled to be an auditorium. Many students had gathered, along with ministry representatives and other imperious looking officials. After a quick introduction by the headmistress, he stepped up to the stage, meeting the gazes of the eager students.
"There are...many things I could talk about today, but I feel, that we would best be served if I talked about interdisciplinary studies. In education, it always boils down to a matter of depth versus breadth. As the knowledge discovered and created reaches a certain volume, progression becomes difficult as everyone has to work through all prior knowledge before being able to get to new ones. This has led to specialisation: you have those who focus on spell crafting, those who focus on duelling, those who focus on martial magics and physical combat...ecetera. But even this eventually tapers out in yield. That is what we've seen in many fields today, be it arithmancy, runes, transfiguration, charms...did you know, in the past hundred years, less than ten runes were created? The problem with academics these days is that everyone is focused on regurgitation rather than attempts to iterate and innovate."
He took a breath, smiling at the enthralled looks many in the audience had, even if several educators seemed in disbelief at his speech. "Moreover, cross magical studies have become increasingly rare. Indulge me a bit as I talk about Durmstrang. At the end of the year, we are, in addition to passing an exam, expected to produce a project that reflects the depth of our understanding in a field. Yet in the past century, most projects have merely been demonstrations of difficult, but established feats, or at best minor variations of it. There has been no innovation, be it in the magic or the application of it. Potions, could be used in defence. I've proved it, creating a stunning potion. Runes can be used in rituals. I've proved it, iterating on an existing four stage ritual. The problem is that we're often so blinded by the supposed boundaries of our field we refuse to explore the true possibilities of interlinkage. Seeing as we are in China, I believe it fitting to use the Century of Humiliation as an example.
Chinese society was at its peak in the 1500s. The four great inventions were made in China, and all of Asia kowtowed in a tributary system. European powers fought each other over trade routes to access China. Yet the Chinese rested content on their laurels, slowly falling behind and stagnating, closing itself to outsiders until it was forcibly carved open by the western powers. Are we magicals going to allow ourselves to fall into the same trap?
In the past century, muggles have managed to send humans to the moon, have managed to develop computational machines that can calculate in one second what it would take a human weeks if not months to do by hand, a network that can communicate messages near instantaneously around the globe...and what has the magical world done in the past century? I challenge any of you to name one society changing discovery or invention in the past hun...no, the past three hundred years.
I have spent significant time in the Soviet Union, and have learned dearly the difficulty of rising from the ashes. That Chinese magical society managed to rebuild mirrors so similarly how we in Russia had to rebuild. The Union fell because it it failed to overcome the weaknesses of corruption, complacancy and paranoia. Instead of internal development, it continued to militarise in an attempt to keep up in a race they could not win. Instead of adapting when it failed, they tried to do more of the same. We had a joke, that in other countries power is passed from father to son, in Russia, from grandfather to grandfather. The society's failure to adapt, iterate and innovate drove the Union to extinction, whereas on the muggle side it was China's willingness to exercise pragmatism that prevented the collapse after the Cultural Revolution. We in the magical world now face a precipice. There are nearly six billion muggles, compared to...what, ten million magicals? And with their technological advancements, how long until we're outmatched individual for individual and society against society? You might believe that magic will always be superior; did the Ming too not believe themselves superior to the barbarians in the rest of the world?
But back to innovation and iteration. While on a societal level, specialisation has been a force for good, we have forgotten the need to have thinkers, inventors, tinkerers that cross fields and make new connections. I believe in a world where an advancement in arithmancy will revolutionise runes, which in turn will change the field of rituals. Today, such a thing would take centuries. Tomorrow, you have the choice of making it a matter of days.
As students in one of the most prestegious schools of magic, you recieve world class training. I feel little need ot educate you on what you already, or will soon know. What I do feel needs to be said, is how you think, how you apply yourself. For an average student, becoming a potion brewer and making the same potions over and over may be an acceptable, even a good outcome. Considering the resources you have enjoyed at this school, those of you who take potions have no excuse not to be inventing new potions, improving existing ones, or thinking of new ways to apply them. This goes for all subjects.
Is this institute not here for excellence? Is it not the goal of elite institutions like this to empower the best to reach their full potential. To make the great greater?
I was once told, to dare to dream is to dare to live. Allow yourself to ponder on the possibilities, not just confined to the mundane and the expected. Push the boundaries, question expectations, explore both your inner self and the wider world.
This is not the speech many of you were likely expecting, but I hope, even if you disagree with everything I have said, that it has made you think. That you do not reject it on principle, but rather because you have considered the merits of my arguments and rejected them objectively. Thank you."
The hall was stunned to silence as he departed.
Author Note:
So much to talk about! Sorry for the absence yesterday, I had to deal with some tech issues, but everything is good now. Lot's of titbits and references in this chapter that I look forward to all you dear readers spotting. I know this chapter is a bit longer than usual, but I really do love worldbuilding, which this chapter is filled to the brim with. Much of the appeal of the original Harry Potter series wasn't the fights or the drama, it was simply the experience of a 'normal' magical child going to a boarding school. Many fall in love with learning the subject, even doing 'homework' on forums like Reddit. I'm not going to be going into nearly as much details as, say, Alexandra Quick, which focuses on MACUSA, simply by virtue of me writing this fic with many nations in mind rather than just one, but I hope to at least offer some depth for major ones such as the BMU, China and several others that will be revealled in the future.
For those of you curious, I based the summer equinox celebrations on the Qixi festival, which celebrates the tale of a goddess falling in love with a mortal, and the heavens being displeased with the match. Thus, only once a year, the heavens allow the two lovers to meet by forming a bridge between the mortal world and the one for gods. I really can't do the story justice, I reccommend you search it up. For those who want an idea of the festival I described, youtube 'Hangzhou, A Living Poem' for the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit. It's a fantastic show, regardless of your opinion on the CCP, and served as a starting point when I imagined the performance.
Historians among you, you might have noticed I called the Taiwanese retreat the 'Great Retreat'. This, while not an official term, is a play on when the GMD called the CCP's Long March 'the Great Retreat' instead. Nomenclature is surprisingly fascinating. I want to make clear that this is in no way a reflection of my opinion on the real nation of Taiwan. However, from the perspective of Chinese nationalists like Jade, they would certainly demonise the Taiwanese. Harry's actions are both based on his own respect for mainland Chinese society (both magical and muggle) given the similarities to the Soviet Union as well as to appease his hosts. In the future, I definitely hope to explore more on Taiwan, which in this story's canon would be a small magical community that essentially isolated itself and focused on domestic issues. Sitting on a hoard of artifacts, wealth and magical knowledge, Taiwan would be a force to be reckoned with, though the sheer economic benefits of relations with the largest magical population on Earth means, similar in our own world, that most countries will be pragmatic and pick the mainland. At the end of the day, between food on the table and political correctness, most will choose the former, that's just reality.
I do want to address Serilda for a bit. Right now, she still believes firmly in the Grindelwaldian cause, but that's largely because she's been indoctrinated into it by her family as a child. Unlike Ira, whose worldview was fundamentally challenged by the shock of being beaten by Harry in the duel, Serilda isn't the same. I want her to slowly become more sympathetic to Harry and eventually have to pick a side naturally, almost like a foil to Ira's arc. The reason why Kepler is able to identify her potential impending disloyalty is because of his experience and familiarity with her. It is implied that Grindelwald is relying on his assessments, as even with his legilimency (keep in mind, while his legilimency might be considered weak by Harry's standard, Harry is a prodigy. Grindelwald is no Dumbledore, but he's probably on par with someone like Snape) he isn't fully confident in concluding one way or another. Grindelwald is pretending he knows more than he really does to try to get her to slip up because he is in a position of ignorance. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have acted in such a brash manner, given he's the type to want to inspire loyalty among his followers.
Now onto my favourite part: reader comments!
This time I'm answering DebaterMax, who was very gracious in pointing out mistakes in several chapters. I've gone through and amended most of them, thank you for your comments! Debatermax asks for a synopsis of Harry's wealth manager, so here goes:
Albert Warcraft is the heir of a successful upperclass family that imports from the muggle world, think foodstuffs. Their family is extremely wealthy and well connected. He is introduced to the circle once Harry gains significant influence through his position as Assembly Master, and thus the two form a mutually beneficial agreement. Overtime, he becomes more and more inspired by Harry, and convinced by his achievements that Harry will become a century defining figure, and thus grows ever more devoted as a follower. Once graduated, he enters the muggle world, helping make investments and acquire patents, trade secrets and technology schematics for Harry. In future, he'll also be Harry's go-to for influencing muggle politics and whatnot, at least before the muggle-magical separation ends.
I definitely sympathise with you on not remembering Albert, I introduced him so it wouldn't feel as much as deus ex machina in the future when Harry needs someone with political knowhow, connections and resources, but I don't really plan for Albert to shine much until into the distant future, way past the tournament arc. Thank you for your kind words, I definitely did consider pursuing a major in history, but economics also fascinated me, and while history I can self-study, in future when I write more works I definitely am hoping to incorporate economics into it. For instance, it's fascinating to think how one of the potential reasons for the American Revolution was because the Crown tried to force the Colonialists to use the pound sterling over colonial script. Economics really does make the world go round!
As far as I remember, and I could be way off, Foch was not directly involved in the deployment of tanks and the development of strategies for it, but he was definitely a major part of the French resisting the 1918 Lundendoff offensive with his strategy of deep battle, before airplane recon identified a gap between the German First and Second Army which he exploited at the second battle of Marne. Despite mistakes that cost the lives of tens of thousands, notably in the Battle of Somme, he's still a key military figure worthy of study and I'm glad you got the reference!
On a final note, thank you for the comments. It's always lovely to learn more about my readers, my best wishes on your AP exams. I definitely hear you, I did have a Star Wars rewrite planned, but I've shelved it to focus on this story for now. I definitely also have some ideas for the Old Republic, especially for Revan, who, in my opinion, had his characterisation destroyed by the novel Revan. It was so cool to think that there was a character who never fell to the dark side's lure, but used it because he believed it a lesser evil against the Sith Emperor. And then the novel destroys all of that and claims he and Malak were brainwashed by Vitiate. Ugh. But that's just my take on it.
As always, if you enjoyed this chapter and the story as a whole, a follow and favoutie shows your appreciation. Writing this does take a lot of time and effort, and seeing proof that you're enjoying my work is a great motivation. Even better would be for you to leave a comment, be it positive, negative or just to say hi! I really do love learning more about all your readers out there, and conversations between us are half the fun. It's why I make a point of answering as many as I can in the author notes!
Until next time, toodles!