"Welcome back to class. Today, given the...situation in Europe currently, the board has decided to require history classes to explore more of Grindelwald's campaign in mixed year groups. While I...dislike such a format, c'est la vie. So, when comparing the parallels between Grindelwald's first rise and his current actions, who wants to start us off?" professor Warwick asked, his normal enthusiasm muted at best. Several hands shot up, and he pointed to Serilda.
"Grindelwald's rise is a logical progression given the societal stagnancy faced by society," Serilda pointed out. "A victimisation complex built up over time is natural, given the superiority of wizarding society against the muggle one. Rather than stand our ground against the muggles, since the magical hunts of old. Since then, it's undeniable that the muggles have grown stronger since that period, certainly at a rate that exceeds our own. Given the inevitability of a diametric struggle, it makes sense that the rational among us seek a confrontation in which we dictate the terms and hold a decisive advantage."
"Counter, mister Lynit?"
"Grindelwald's policy of subjugation is a morally reprehensible one. Just because muggles do not possess magic does not innately make them inferior. The significant damage they did to our communities is an example of why peaceful coexistence cannot truly occur. The status quo that Grindelwald threatens to destroy is the preferable solution to all out war."
"Mister Fritz?"
"The dark lord's policy is the rational progression. Aversion to conflict is not a morally superior position, merely one of cowardice. In times of conflict, he who does not stand with me is necessarily against me. In this sense, the Coalition and Dumbledore, who seek to defend muggles, are blood traitors of the highest order."
"Miss Zienpi?"
"Grindelwald's war would lead to ruin. The muggles have a simple numerical advantage. Nearly six billion of them, maybe ten million of us. It's simple mathematics that we won't be able to compete with them. Their birth rate is two point eight per woman. In the magical world, it's roughly two point three. A muggle is far more replaceable than a magical, which makes a full conflict all the more difficult for us to win."
"And their advantage is growing each day. Right now, the magical world could still likely cripple the muggle one. In fifty years or a century? Who knows? The best time for action was a century ago, but now is better than later, when the muggles come to us, and not us to them."
The class quickly descended into repetitions of the arguments, debating the merits of taking the fight to the muggles and whether victory was still possible. Warwick seemed content to allow this to spiral out of control, showing little interest for the discussion, until Harry raised his hands, which managed to quieten the class without the professor's intervention.
"I think there is a fundamental flaw in everyone's argument. It is the belief that a conflict between muggle and magic is inevitable. This is fundamentally principled in the belief that there is a zero-sum game, when I believe this isn't the case. If we were to go into conflict, the mobility advantage magicals have, not to mention our ability to generally conceal ourselves in muggle society, would make the complete extermination of our society nearly impossible, and in turn lone wolf or guerilla attacks would severely cripple muggle society. Equally, much of magical society relies on several key production sites. Around the Mediterannean, there are perhaps twenty sites responsible for a quarter of magical fauna production. If these sites were destroyed, or even damaged, magical society would face significant hardship, with shortages for wand production, potions and more. To put it frankly, conflict would bring a state of mutual hardship, which would be an unpreferable outcome for both sides. In truth, magical society's growth is constrained by the limited space and labour we possess. Many steps in herbology, potions, arithmancy, runes, could all be supplemented to some extent by muggles and their invention. Similarly, muggles are reaching the limits to what their technology can hope to iterate on. Magic would open a completely new realm of possibilities: construction of buildings in hours rather than months, the cure to diseases uncurable by other means, the invention of new technology possible only through breaching the laws of muggle sciences. To put it bluntly, both sides could benefit greatly from the intermixing of muggle and magical."
There was silence for several moments before debate broke out between multiple groups, mostly consisting of those in favour of his argument and those against. He idly made his way to hear that Serilda was arguing against one of his followers.
"The muggles would never accept us. They treat each other horribly already. Millions of their children die to starvation each year, and others are captured as slaves and used as free labour in sweatshops! How can such a society be trusted?" she argued heatedly.
"Necessity is the mother of innovation. Sure, some elements of their society might be backward, but that doesn't mean that this practice is widespread. In the developing world, such things would be unthinkable, and many countries are already well on their way to reforming themselves. To compare the dregs of their society is unfair," one of his followers retorted. Harry nodded inwardly, pleased at the reasoning.
"And you would risk the entire magical society for this?"
"It seems, mister White, you've turned this debate into one of muggle integration," Warwick interjected softly beside him, looking amused. Harry shrugged.
"To understand Grindelwald, one needs to consider the merits of his arguments. Discussing his main one, that of muggle integration, seemed fitting. The future of conflict will cross the muggle and magical worlds, I merely pray that magicals are prepared for it."
"What do you see in the future?"
"A three way conflict between muggles that reject magic, magicals that reject muggle influences, and muggles and magicals that cooperate. Honestly...Grindelwald's great war was perhaps the single most crippling blow to magical society's chances of survival. How many families rendered extinct, industries that took decades to recover, divides created? Had he simply broke the statute of secrecy, society would have no choice but to follow."
"And your thoughts on his current conflict?" the professor prompted. The students nearest to the duo paused their debates, clearly curious at his answer.
"Whether by choice, removing the Russian revanchists from his ranks has ensured ideological cohesiveness among his ranks. While less powerful, their operations will become far more potent and concentrated. His timing is opportune, with the Americans, Asians and Africans facing their own problems, and a crippled Russian magical society, his only opposition is the ICW in Europe. The situation in the Balkans is strange, though it seems in my opinion that with the rumours out of Russia, that the two have formed some sort of truce. Many muggleborns and creatures who once thought Grindelwald too radical would have been burned by the post-war supremacist revival, and be more sympathetic to the dark lord's cause. I would suggest that if he acts in a wise manner, that he would very well be able to succeed. In his position, I would simply be waiting for an opportune moment to latch onto a muggle ally and completely destroy the statute of secrecy. The only problem I see is the Franco-German conflict in the muggle side, despite the separation between muggle and magical, I doubt either nationality of wizard would want to slaughter their muggle compatriots."
"An...interesting perspective. So you believe Grindelwald is far more likely to succeed?"
"All those who would oppose him have revealed themselves, and since his defeat, have fractured an infought, while Grindelwald's followers have remained largely consolidated, hiding underground. While the loss of several of his lieutenants such as Vinda Rosier will undoubtedly hinder his war effort, those individuals can, to a large extent, be replaced. I would say he is in a far better position than 1939."
"An...interesting perspective. Where I would see weakness in losing the support of the revanchists, you see strength. Do you wish to join the man, if you don't mind me asking?"
"While I have respect for his power, charisma and conviction in his ideology, I concede that I do not fully agree with him. I believe he will lead our world to ruin, despite his claimed intent to bring salvation."
"Ah," the professor nodded. "Well, I don't suppose you have much ambitions of becoming a dark lord yourself?"
"I much prefer to explore the nature of magic. I rather dislike people," Harry chuckled with a shake of his head. The professor eyed the rest of the class as he nodded commiseratingly. "History may not repeat itself, but people certainly do."
"That they do, that they do."
-Break-
"Celia, how goes the training of our forces?" Voldemort questioned smoothly. The witch straightened, answering crisply.
"Very well, milady. I have formed three elite units that will be ready for deployment within a month. Another six will be ready over the next two years. For general troops, I have eight legions ready along with another three being mustered that should be ready within a year."
"So eight thousand general troops and one hundred and eighty specialists...that is a good start, well done," Voldemort favoured her second in command with a smile. The woman looked as though her praise brought orgasmic bliss, and briefly Voldemort had a flashback to a younger Bellatrix, before her occlumency clamped such thoughts away. Alas, her old second had fallen to madness with the dark arts, and was now little better than a leashed animal.
Turning to Alexander Roselin, her chief logistics officer, he raised a questioning eyebrow. The man clearly knew what was expected, and reported, "We've stockpiled enough potions and equipment for roughly a year of protracted warfare. Alas, we can't push too far, lest we risk inflating prices in the market or alerting others to our movements."
"Constantine? Any word from your ICW contacts?"
"They remain oblivious as ever, and focused on Grindelwald, milady," Lapal, her spymaster, answered. Voldemort nodded pleased, eyeing the map of Eurasia on her table. Several figurines stood atop it, representing the various factions and their units.
"Good, Forik, take charge of the Russians. Let's run a simulation," she instructed, moving two of her figurines past the border, one towards Voronezh and the other towards Saratov. Forik in turn moved several units out from the Urals to meet them.
"Right, assuming they take the bait, which they should given portkeys would be within range of Moscow should either city fall, this would give us a pathway for our third set of forces," she mused, moving the third figurine through the nordics, past the arctic circle, before descending down towards a large red circle in the middle of the urals. "The main fortress of the Russian magicals is somewhere in this area, though we don't know precisely where the fortress is, we'll hopefully get enough time to destroy it. If we can manage this, the Russian resistance will collapse and we'll be able to safely secure the production sites."
"Milady, we still don't have a full assessment of Russia's magical capabilities. While they have lost much of their influence on a worldwide level...that we lack significant insights into their magical presence East of the Urals is troubling," Lapal supplied uneasily. Voldemort hummed thoughtfully, gesturing for the man to explain himself despite the indignation from several others of her inner circle. Their lack of involvement in the muggle civil war means that they likely still retain much of their strength from during the Soviet era."
"What would you propose?"
"Ideally, for more information to be acquired in regards to their true strength and capabilities. Their consolidation of the wards in key areas, while leaving their outposts such as Voronezh and Saratov vulnerable, does mean that their defences have likely increased by orders of magnitude in the key areas. It would fall in line with deep battle doctrine."
"Oh?" Voldemort probed.
"A muggle tactical doctrine," Lapal answered, unperturbed by the glowers he received from several other wizard supremacists in the room. "The russian magicals have taken heavy influence from their muggle counterparts, and I believe this is their strategy. They will attempt to inflict maximum damage on your forces in a fighting retreat, weakening our forces enough for a swift counterattack. I believe penetrating so deep into enemy territory without any security for our supply lines or escape is foolhardy. The Iron Curtain may have kept foreign agents out, but its main purpose was to keep its citizens within. I would hesitate to challenge the limits of their wards, which our experts continue to be unable to supply any concrete answers."
"It's far harder than you suggest," Victus Legon, Voldemort's chief researcher and unspeakable for the Italian ministry of magic, scowled. "That we've even managed to punch through a hole without the Russians storming down on us is a miracle."
"And how do you know they don't already know?" Lapal challenged. Voldemort raised a delicate finger, forestalling the impending argument between the two individuals, who bowed their heads in acquiescence to her unspoken request for silence.
"General White is a cunning and resourceful man. He undoubtedly has been observing, and that there has been no obvious response is concerning."
"Milady, General White is dead. His body was found in a muggle submarine heading for the arctic, the body's DNA and magical imprint matches it," Lapal pointed out hesitantly. Others in the room nodded, for all their disagreements, they all believed that White was dead. All the evidence pointed to such, yet Voldemort had a gut feeling that such a man would not die from such a mistake. No, she knew the man was alive and well, in fact suspected that he was the very same man that had loaned her the guardians, even if she could not prove it to anyone.
"You may all dislike the man, but he is clever and resourceful. But it matters little, he has built a brutally efficient system that has been nigh impenetrable. The guardians who I temporarily acquired the services of are testament to their continued strength. We are in a race against time, for if Grindelwald and the ICW resolve their conflict, they will gain an advantage in recuperation time. We must claim such a position, and emerge victorious in Russia, rebuild the infrastructure and pacify the population before the ICW and Western Europe manage to end their fighting to turn on us. Constantine, let us assume your theory on deep battle doctrine rings true. What would be the best strategy to counter it?"
"There are two philosophies in regard to this: blitz and attrition. The former suggests a breakthrough at a strategically weak position followed by envelopment and capture of key targets, while the latter suggests salami tactics, refusing to advance to a point where the enemy has consolidated strength and we have weakened, taking each layer of defense individually. The former's challenge is that it requires intimate knowledge of the enemy's defences to succeed, while the latter requires patience."
"Then what do you suggest we do? You more than most are aware of the predicament we are facing. Inaction will doom us all."
"Very true, milady. I believe we need a third front."
"Preposterous, we're already stretched thi-"
"Let Constantine speak, Forik," Voldemort reprimanded lightly. The man backed down, though clearly displeased. Lapal inclined his head in thanks before continuing.
"The Russians know that in a war of attrition they will likely win against us. They know that we're pressed against Grindelwald and the ICW, and in fact seem to not believe we would attack them. Logically, we shouldn't, not unless several preconditions are met."
"Those being?"
"First, the assurance that a hole in the Iron Curtain can be maintained. Second, that a sufficient reserve is able to be kept to manage a counterattack from the Russians. Third, strategically vital areas can be accurately identified and studied to facilitate capture or destruction. Fourth, that operational secrecy is ensured to allow for a multi-faceted plan."
"You do not believe that these operational preconditions can be met?"
"Not with our current strategy, milady," the man admitted. "I believe that we need to introduce another factor. If we can get the Russians involved in Asia, and given their dependency on the Chinese, they have little choice, I believe our chances will increase significantly. The Chinese are kept in check only by the combined efforts of the Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese and Indians. Even now, their strength continues to grow, which tips the scales towards a conflict. If we can accelerate this...then the Russians will be forced to divert their strength to aid the Chinese, buying us valuable time to infiltrate into their territory."
"I don't suppose you have any way of realising this?" Legon snarked. Voldemort rolled her eyes inwardly; her spymaster would not have brought this up unless he had a plan in store. True to her suspicions, the man smiled lazily.
"Of course I have. While you've continued to fail to deliver results, I've not only managed to narrow down the location of the main fortress to a searchable area, but also infiltrated high Japanese society. They're frothing at the mouth, one humiliation away from declaring war."
"Excellent. Constantine, your plan has merits, you have my full authority to enact it." Turning to her circle, many of whom looked rebellious, she warned, "Do not let your petty power plays interrupt the grand plan. If that ever happens, I will make you beg for death."
Projecting her aura and flooding the room with her oppressive magic, all of her lieutenants visibly struggled to maintain stoic composure, with only Lapal and Celia succeeding to any meaningful degree. With a swish of her cloak, Voldemort left the planning room.
-Break-
Twelve mages wearing black bodysuits waited patiently on a narrow mountain ledge while a thirteenth member was casting a bevy of charms, slowly weaving his wand in intricate motions. After several moments, he nodded to the team leader, identified by his grey armband, and the man climbed up, quickly followed by the rest of the team. The wizard responsible for waving his wand entered last, sealing up the hole behind him just as a pulse of magic flashed, turning the ward from invisible to a translucent green that flickered for several moments before dying down.
He gave the team leader a thumbs up, signalling their entry had remained undetected, and the thirteen continued to scale up the side of the mountain, having passed the defensive wards around the hip of the mountain containing the illustrious ICW headquarters in Geneva. When they finally emerged on relatively flat ground, the thirteen pulled out their packs, retrieving the containers of dust they had been provided.
Suiting up with gas masks, given that the gas they were working with passed through most magical defences, they crept towards the ventilation systems, guarded only by a sleeping guard and a fence topped with barbed wire. A thrown knife from one of the agents quickly deprived the guard of his life without triggering any of the hostile magic alert wards, and several fence clippers cut through a hole, allowing them access to the exposed ventilation units. Each lined themselves up to one of the chutes, pouring a small vial of blue liquid into their powder boxes before tossing them into the chute.
There was a small fizzing noise, and they observed down their assigned chutes as gas rapidly formed, a translucent white before turning completely colourless. From their training, they knew that it was completely odorless and colourless. None dared to take off their gas masks, knowing inhalation into the lungs would result in a quick but gruesome death as the body's white blood cells were tricked into cannibalising the alveoli.
Each taking out their watches and setting the time, they nodded to each other, and slid down the chutes, knowing by heart the route to their assigned targets. Whisu Ominstar, the leader of this mission, slowly crept along the ventilation shaft, paying little attention to the sounds of pained choking and panicked screams echoing along the metallic panels of the duct. Passing three vent openings, he came across a fork, and turned left, continuing down and passing another two vent holes, before he came upon his target. He pulled out a screwdriver and undid the holes to the panels, sliding out to see the room was devoid of life except for him, save for an elderly wizard clawing at his chest in vain. Ignoring this, Whisu walked to behind the desk and pried open the drawers of the supreme mugwump, picking out a manilla folder and opening it, spreading out the papers within. Methodically, he picked each one up with his gloved hand and snapped a photo with the camera he was equipped with, before replacing it delicately into the folder.
When he had confirmed that all fifty six pages had been photographed, he placed the folder back into the drawer and closed it, stowing away his equipment and opening the office door, looking outside to both sides cautiously. There were several corpses, one was still twitching, but no threat. Whisu allowed a small sigh of relief to emerge from his lips. Despite being heavily trained, their small team was no match for the hundreds of highly trained security wizards lurking around normally. He shuddered to think of what security measures would have been present if the ICW was in session.
Glancing down at his watch, he saw he was still thirty seconds ahead of schedule, and waited impatiently for the seconds to reach eight minutes before flicking his wand and conjuring fiendfyre into the office, before quickly bolting down the corridors. The protective charms would hold for several minutes, but also alert the ICW that there was a danger in the building. Standard response time was fifteen, though a fast response time would be here in ten, the minimum time required for the standard lockdown to allow an override.
Turning left, then right, then left again, he bounded down the steps three at a time, making his way to the lobby, just in time to see the rest of his team entering from various other points. All nodded towards him, signalling their objective had been completed. He nodded pleased, and pulled out his wand, incanting, "Morsmordre."
A wist of green smoke formed, and a skull with a serpent formed high up the grand ICW building's atrium. Already, several of the protective charms had failed, and heat was beginning to spread from the fiendfyre they had conjured. Still, all kept their cool as they followed Whisu out the building, back to the place where they had initially breached the wards. With their climbing axes lodged onto the mountain side, all waited patiently, trying to ignore the strain on their hands, as their watches ticked down.
As the beep sounded, thrice in unison before their watches quietened, all maximised their alertness as they waited for the opportune moment to escape. They had practiced it down to a four seconds, three less than the seven afforded to them, though that had been in training. Should they fail to escape, there was a killpill lodged into their teeth, and they knew what was expected of them.
After one minute and thirty seven seconds passed, twenty three ahead of schedule, the wards rippled before glowing blue. All the thirteen dislodged their picks, allowing themselves to freefall before slamming the axes back onto the mountain side, in time to look up and see the wards had returned to their normal transparent. Looking around, Whisu gavea smile beneath his gas mask as he saw all twelve others were safely by his side. Their highest stake mission yet had been an undeniable, resounding success.
-Break-
"Surely you can do better than that," Harry chuckled as Katerina flung several lances of air at him. They fizzed out millimeters before they were supposed to hit him, instead turning into a breeze that caused his cloak to billo. While she dodged his retaliation of several blasts of yellow energy, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. He was always quite the showman, honestly, the psychological warfare he employed was almost as difficult to contend with as his magic. He swirled his wand as though drawing invisible circles, and three small whirlwinds began to orbit him.
This was new...and another humbling reminder that despite not being a natural air elemental, his control still far exceeded hers. All three began to hurtle towards her, surrounding her like hawks as she slashed her wand around her, creating a gust of wind in counter orbit to the three whirlwinds, reducing the potency of their strength and allowing her to seize control, dispelling them. Harry gave a pleased nod, the only sign of his approval, before he sent several successive bolts of energy towards her.
Knowing what he expected, and realistically knowing it was her only hope of surviving such an onslaught, she concentrated on the air around her, taking a deep breath and surrounding herself with a blanket of compressed air, watching as the magic arced around her, swirling around her as they crackled with energy. Redirecting them back at Harry took more concentration, as she now had to weave a new path for the energy to follow. Of course, that wasn't helped by the fact he was continuously sending more bolts of energy.
With her occlumency, she split off a stream of her mind to continue to hold onto the bubble around her, while her conscious thoughts moved towards creating two powerful prongs, new pathways that would allow the energy to arc back towards him. As she finally managed to do it, to Katerina's horror, he sent several bolts along the pathway she had worked so hard to create, which accelerated the bolts of magic towards her.
"Bastard!" she yelled as the magic shattered her concentration, though she was spared from any real harm as the bolt harmlessly tickled her as it passed through, sending shudders through her body. Ignoring the slight heat from her loins, she glowered at Harry, who merely smiled innocently.
"Such uncloth language from a lady," he chided with faux sternness. "I would paddle you, but you'd probably enjoy it."
"I would most certainly not," Katerina sputtered in spite of herself, eliciting a roll of his eyes. "I wouldn't."
"Whatever you say, dear," he smiled patronisingly, gesturing for her to take a seat in front of him. They sat cross legged, knee to knee, fingers intertwined as they looked into each other. "I noticed you finally managed a separate stream of thought under duress, very well done."
Katerina glowed at the praise, nodding happily. "In isolation, I can do three now, but I definitely was surprised I managed to achieve it in a duel, even if you went easy on me."
"Right, I just need to see if there's any damage to your brain." She lowered her occlumency, and felt his presence slither into her mind. He made sure to project warmth and comfort, like a beacon to let her know where he was at all times. It was endearing, that he chose to demonstrate this small gesture to reduce her insecurity of having her mind entered. Given he was a class seven legilimens, he could have easily done so without her knowledge. She felt his presence withdraw, and was almost sad at the loss. "Excellent, while there is some strain, it's well within normal, especially for early compartmentalisation of thought streams. Your body is tired, so let's focus on your occlumency and legilimency now."
She knew better to protest, for her body was already beginning to ache from the energy expended during their short duel. Manipulation of air, despite being her affinity, was still extremely taxing with the precision demanded for success. She wondered when dinner was, she could really use a recharge...
"Pay attention dear," he chided softly, drawing a blush from Katerina.
"You already entered my mind?"
"Briefly. The thoughts about dinner, that was me," he chuckled softly. "Don't be too hard on yourself. This is the art of thought implantation. Remember emotional flashes? Show me sadness."
She nodded, locking eyes with him. She probed his defenses, finding a small imperfection and latching onto that like a hook onto a cliff edge, worming her way inside his mind before beginning to project feelings of sadness. After several moments, she was gently pushed out of his mind.
"Good. Very good, However, any decent occlumens will realise that the emotions are foreign. Thus, convention states that drawing out thoughts is a better method, especially if it's a logical progression of what they are thinking of. You're guiding how their thoughts wander, to put it simply."
"Conventionally?"
"Ah, very astute of you," Harry praised, causing Katerina to straighten up. She knew he always placed these little 'tests', passing which often afforded knowledge or information he otherwise may not have revealed. Others might have disliked such, but Katerina admitted that it was useful in keeping her on her toes. "I have a rather...unorthodox view on the mind arts. I believe that emotions are the root cause of everything, though of course, they are hardest to manipulate to a high level. While a memory or a thought can be diverted, a truly well implanted emotion cannot be divested except with augmency, the self-alteration of the mind. I consider the art above the imperius and a step below a complete mind recreation. The imperius basically drugs you, you're fundamentally not yourself when you act. This...this becomes part of you, an imprint is left. If done well, untraceable by any means. Imagine if during lovemaking, you infiltrated one of the participants' minds and implanted a feeling of disgust. This would cause their subconscious to associate disgust with the other person, or perhaps with intercourse."
"But isn't it far less precise?"
"In a manner of speaking," Harry conceded with a pleasant smile, a sign she took for encouragement to elaborate.
"Emotive association is much less precise, much harder to utilise. Wouldn't an imperius be far more effective?"
"Let us use an analogy. Which is more deadly? A virus or a cancer?"
"The virus?"
"Perhaps in ancient times, where medical practices were non-existent. But today, most deaths in developed societies can be attributed to cancer. Much harder to detect, much harder to treat, because it is indistinguishable from the host's body. A skilled occlumens can easily remove thoughts and memories from themselves, but to fundamentally alter a part of their core complex, very few are able, and even few willing. They could try and suppress the emotion, of course, but it's far more difficult than blocking out thoughts or memories."
"So against an untrained individual an imperius would be more effective, but against an occlumencer, the opposite? It's the same philosophy you use with your followers, right? Rather than make them swear oaths and sign contracts, you try to organically build loyalty."
Harry favoured her with a smile, drawing a beam from Katerina. "An apt summary. Of course, I can only speculate, but augmency seems to...provide harmonic irresonance with the soul. It is...merely speculation, one I have had little time to explore, but I believe...well, it's one of the reasons I can't cast a patronus."
"What?" Katerina questioned confusedly. "How is that…oh…"
"Oh indeed," Harry nodded amusedly as she blushed in embarrassment. "But that is just a tangent to our conversation, the point being that while emotional manipulations are, to my knowledge, the greatest level of impact one can do without fully destroying and rewriting another's mind, there is a further...deeper level."
"Soul magic."
"Indeed," Harry smiled. "Perhaps it is related to the ancient magic we seek. Perhaps it doesn't. Who knows? But back to our study, to be right one must first be wrong. Send a probe to me and allow me to guide you."
She quickly did so, latching on to his mind much easier compared to her prior attempt due to his assistance. She was gently drawn into one of his several compartmentalised conscious streams. "I've removed all my defences, this is, in most cases, a stream of consciousness, all my surface thoughts."
She observed curiously, leaning in to feel his various analysis and observations of Katerina's performance. As she retracted, giving an abashed look, he shook his head in fond exasperation. "How will I ever cure you of your headstrong behavior?"
"You could alter me," she joked lightly, before quailing at his dark look. "Sorry."
"I sometimes forget how innocent you remain," Harry shook his head, waving off her concerned look. "Such things are not to be taken lightly, I hope you don't have to find out why personally. But anyways, see this other stream?"
She nodded, and he smiled. "This is a second stream of thought, consisting me of doing various arithmetic calculations in my head. I want you to take the thoughts there and transplant it into my main stream of thought."
"I...how?" she goggled. Harry sighed.
"That is for you to discover. Most occlumens couldn't hope to modulate their mind like I am to make this relatively easy and safe for you to learn."
"How...how did you learn?"
"I was constantly forced under torture and potions in a magically sealed room. I learned to compartmentalise my thoughts in order to develop a semblance of concentration so that I could break the lock," Harry answered stoically. "I would much rather not subject my followers to such a treatment, if it's all the same to you."
Looking far more determined, she gently pried into the second conscious stream, though struggled to latch onto the thoughts as they seemed to flow past her fingers like mist. "You need to will it. Here, you must learn to alter the fundamental rules. Intent and will are the most important tenants. If you will it, you'll be able to grab the memory."
Katerina tried several times, growing increasingly frustrated and desperate as nothing happened. Unbeknownst to her, Harry had left her side, diverting another thought stream to reverse the legilimency connection and amplify her fear of failure. Observing impassively, he felt her presence in his mindscape grow more erratic, yet also more potent. Through sheer desperation, she willed herself to be, gently lowering the glowing orb into his main thought stream.
Immediately, Harry startled slightly as the front of his mind was dominated by arithmetic calculations. In his stupor, the mental connection was broken, and Katerina thrown out forcefully. The girl looked shaken, but upon seeing his dazed look pounced to her feet worriedly.
"I'm fine," Harry quickly assured. "Just...unused to such a sensation. It's quite disorientating, but you did well."
"That...those...were you augmenting my emotions?"
"Yes," he admitted after some hesitation, pondering whether revealing this information was beneficial. "Over time, you might have achieved the same result, but we're in a race against time. Every minute I spend with you on legilimency is one less we're training to duel, or one less researching the ancient magics, one less managing our contacts...one minute where Voldemort and Grindelwald continue to gather strength."
A knock on the door interrupted Katerina's response. With a tilt of his head, the magical protections on the door unlocked, revealing a bubbly Sarah. Katerina forced herself to remain calm as the girl skipped forward.
"The operation was a success!" she announced. Katerina merely quirked an eyebrow, though Harry evidently didn't share her confusion.
"Any casualties?"
"None. Sources say that the ICW is scrambling. Reporters got a whiff, and...well, it's not looking pretty for them. I doubt even her sympathisers will be able to prevent all out war," Sarah chirped.
"Excellent," Harry beamed. "Very well done, this should buy us several years. Was I right on my suspicions of her involvement in Asia?"
"She's heard whispers, unconfirmed, mind you, that the Japanese nationalists are stirring. Could be related, but she can't be sure," Sarah shrugged. Harry nodded thoughtfully.
"Your thoughts?"
"You're on the snitch. Just a hunch, but it makes sense from the dark lady's perspective. I couldn't imagine she'd be stupid enough to start a war against Russia without a second front. Why doesn't she attack the BMU, to be honest?"
"Ideologically, her followers would revolt at the idea. They want to reclaim their supposedly motherland. Practically, the BMU serves as a great buffer between her and Grindelwald. Attacking the BMU would also take up far too much of her resources, ones she can ill afford."
"You think her attack on Russia is inevitable?"
"I do," Harry chuckled. "She realises that she has to attack at some point. The Russians, despite their posturing, grow weaker. I have no doubt that their leader is able, but to my knowledge they don't have a magical titan like Voldemort or Grindelwald, which means they're in a tough I were them, I'd do deep battle doctrine, sacrifice outposts in Eastern Europe. Make them look attractive and weak to tempt Voldemort's followers. She'll be forced to act prematurely and leave herself vulnerable to a counterattack."
"So why…"
"Involve the ICW?" Harry finished. Sarah merely nodded while Katerina continued to observe the conversation, trying to pick up any information she could. "Because I can't have Voldemort gain too much power. I have other plans for Russia, as they'll prove pivotal as a counterweight and leverage in the Asian region. Besides, the operation will undoubtedly resume hostilities between Grindelwald and Voldemort, which is a win in itself."
"I see," Sarah murmured, nodding her compliance. "I'll keep you updated."
"Thank you, Sarah, you may go," Harry dipped his head. Sarah bowed lowly before striding out of the room, at which point Katerina stared at him curiously. "You have questions?"
"Many. What's this about an attack on the ICW?"
"Just the handiwork of some of Sarah's agents. You'd be surprised how a little ingenuity combined with lax security can do significant damage," Harry chuckled. "But for now don't worry too much about it, let's continue with your legilimency exercises. This time, I'm going to be raising some defences."
Katerina gulped, but nodded determinedly. Harry smiled at this, allowing her probe to enter his mind. They had a lot of work to do.
Author Notes:
As promised, a history lesson! Though most of you were probably more excited about the infiltration of the ICW admittedly. This was a fun chapter to write, even if it did take quite a bit of time. You can definitely tell that the plot is thickening, with Harry (or Raven?) once again playing his opponents against each other. It'll be curious to see how Voldemort, or for the matter Grindelwald, reacts to such a blatant attack on the ICW. Not much worldbuilding to do until Yule, so fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your preference) it'll be two to three chapters before we see that. Right now, we're focusing on advancing the conflict and witnessing how Harry plans to rise. I hope this excites you, as I know more than a few of you are probably somewhat frustrated by Harry remaining in a school when he could be out doing (probably) much more. Well to that, I say, no more! Debatermax had some very interesting questions, though alas I may have provided a bit too much answer to properly fit onto this author note. I highly encourage you to join our server, where I'm happy to go more in depth than I would feel comfortable doing so here on ffn. The server code is: Jew89k8Jp8.
Thank you to Ignotus Redwood and Ezylryb for your kind words. A warm welcome to Pont1ac-band1t. The egg is a plotpoint that will probably go unexplored until the tournament arc or beyond. As to a pairing, while Harry eventually marry, I haven't decided if it will be out of love, political benefit or something else entirely. I'm not denying that there could be hints of romance, in particular Harry manipulating the romantic aspirations of those around him, but he isn't commiting to a relationship anytime soon. It's just too early for that, given right now to call his circle 'friends' would be a stretch. He'll need to overcome this innate 'selfishness' and trust issues in order to have a hope for any sort of romantic relationship in the traditional sense. I will say that I'm not opposed to him having a pet, in fact, I'm going to put up a poll on discord, where you'll have a chance to vote. I'll say that the age difference between Riddle and Harry...well I doubt I would go there, as interesting an idea as it would be. However, that isn't to say they won't interact, or have a very interesting dynamic between them. You'll just have to wait and see!
As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, consider leaving a follow and a favourite. It shows your appreciation for the hard work that goes into writing this story, and encourages me to keep going. Liked something? Disliked something? Consider leaving a comment, even if just to say hi! I promise I won't bite!