Chapter 2- The start in the past

Recall:

"We'll be naked when we arrive."

Hermione didn't have any time to retort as it started then; excruciating pain tearing her apart. She had faced Bellatrix's Cruciatius before but it was a love tap in comparison to the pain she was feeling at the moment. She screamed her throat raw but instead of lessening, the pain increased with time till she couldn't take anymore and blacked out.

\m/\m/\m/

When Hermione regained consciousness, she found herself on the same bed and in the same room she had occupied last night. Was it last night? She remembered the excruciating pain and her subsequent black out. Were they in 1950 or had the ritual failed? Hermione did a mental scan and noticed that her memory was alright. However, she was wearing a new set of clothes. Harry must have changed them, she thought. Harry's last words before she had blacked out suddenly came to her mind. She also remembered screaming her throat raw but it didn't feel sore or anything. Definitely Harry work.

Hermione rose from her bed, took her wand from the bedside table and did a quick tempus charm. 08:07, 14:08:1950. Yup, they were in the correct year after all. She now had to find out where Harry was. He had a lot to tell her.

She visited the library first, it was still the same. However there was no Harry. She had half a mind to start studying immediately but as Harry had the plans, she decided to confer with him first.

Guessing that Harry would be in some other part of the castle, she left the library and began exploring. After an hour of walking through various corridors and ascending hundreds of steps she realized why the Aryans were loved, respected and even feared at their prime. The castle was a marvel. It was designed to be impregnable. Even their ruins screamed power. Their excellence in magic was obvious considering the wealth of knowledge stored at the library. They really were one of a kind.

Hermione ascended some more stairs and found herself at the top of the castle. The castle had a total of 11 floors in the main structure, the outer structures reached a height of 8 floors. The sight which greeted Hermione was mesmerizing. The height of the castle combined with the height of the hill on which it stood gave her a bird's eye view of the entire region. She saw Harry sitting on a stone bench near the edge of the floor. She quietly joined him.

Both were aware of each other's presence but remained quiet, admiring the view until Harry broke the silence. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is." Hermione agreed.

They remained silent for another minute before Harry broke the silence again. "We start again from today Hermione. Are you with me?"

Hermione nodded. Harry turned a bit towards her, Hermione mirrored his actions.

"We tried changing things last time Hermione, especially in the Ministry. But we were unsuccessful. Both of us left the ministry for that very reason."

"I tried a lot Harry, but I couldn't do much." Harry nodded. He knew why that happened.

"I have a question. The corruption existed during the time of Dumbledore. But did it exist during the time of Voldemort?"

Hermione pondered, "It would be hard to determine considering that we were on the run for most of the time."

"I'll tell you the truth then, it was almost non-existent."

Hermione was astounded. "How?"

"Fear." Harry simply said.

Hermione's eyes widened comically as she realized what Harry had said. She knew fear was a very good motivator, if not the best. Suddenly a lot of things became clear to her. Things like why they were in Aryan territory and why Harry had told her that they would be a part of the Primordial Family soon. She also realized why she couldn't change anything of significance at the Ministry. She had knowledge but not the power to back it. She was a muggleborn and no matter how good she became she wouldn't be able to bring any worthwhile change as she was an outsider. People like Malfoy could do it with very less difficulty as they were in the main system and as Harry put it, part of the backbone of the Magical community. Hermione looked at Harry. He had been right all the time.

"We have been doing it the wrong way."

Harry nodded.

"You said that we would start our new lives, would it be as Aryans?"

Harry smiled. "I knew you would figure it out. That is one of the reasons why I brought you with me."

Hermione smiled back. "What were the other reasons?"

"That I would need help in this mission? That I love you too much to abandon you in a world about to be destroyed?"

Tears slowly came unbidden in Hermione's eyes. Harry had never confided like this to her before. She knew that he loved her but never actually realized what it meant to both of them. They had faced a lot together but Harry was never this expressive before.

She hugged him tightly. A part of her realized that they had a huge project ahead of them considering that Harry felt the need to be so open but she put those thoughts aside at the moment and concentrated in the hug. Harry returned the hug wholeheartedly.

After a while they separated.

"It's only us now Hermione. We have to do it for everyone's sake now. We'll have status, power and money to back us this time."

Hermione nodded, steeling her resolve. "What's the plan?"

Harry started explaining. "We'll be the new Aryan siblings. Being a Primordial family, we will get a lot of chances to remodel the world without much resistance. But we need to start young. That is why I'll create two bodies for us." Harry held out his hand to stop Hermione from interrupting. "They will take almost 9 years to reach the stage we require. In the mean time I will instruct you in the different forms of magic I have learned. By the time you are ready you should be almost as powerful as Dumbledore. You will also have another thing to do; make those designs complete. Any questions?"

"A lot. Would it be polite or even appropriate to take the name of Aryan? What about its mythical family magic? I understand the need to start young, we'll be able to influence the younger generation in a much better way. But what bodies are you talking about?"

Harry laughed. Leave it to Hermione to think about things like politeness. Hermione arched her eyebrow in confusion.

"We won't be hijacking an important title, Hermione." Harry explained. "Do you remember when I said that I felt a pull on my magic and discovered this place?" Hermione nodded. "I searched the library for a possible cause and found it in the Aryan Family Chronicles. It was supposedly prophesized that only the one who had knowledge and qualities similar to a true Aryan could resurface the family to its previous glory if the line ends. That person, along with the ones he calls family will automatically gain allegiance of the Aryan Family Magic and bring about world peace until the time of the next heir approaches."

Hermione palmed her face in mock distress. "Another prophecy. Great."

Harry chuckled. "Don't worry Hermione, the true meaning of this prophecy has been proven over time."

"You mean, what we are going to do has happened before?" Hermione looked a bit skeptical.

"Yes, other families have taken over the mantle of this House although not in the way we are going to. But we will be the fourth family to do so."

"What were the names of the other families before they became Aryans? By the way how can one simply become an Aryan?"

"Only they knew, Hermione. There are records of how the families got the Aryan name but no record of their original names. Even this bit of information is only available to the Aryan heads. The philosophy is that once you become an Aryan you cease to be what you were before. You'll get more information in the library. And as for becoming an Aryan, there is a blood ritual. The blood of the last Aryan lord and his lady is in a specially made room next to the private reading room in stasis. Normally one would simply have to use a mix of the blood in an inheritance ritual but for us it will be a bit difficult as the ritual does not change our age, just modifies our body and magic a bit. So we'll have to create the bodies, resembling our 16 year old selves. And as I said before we ceased to be Harry Potter and Hermione Granger the moment we arrived here. You have to choose a name. I already chose one."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Ares James Aryan." Harry/Ares smirked. "What about you?"

Hermione thought for some time. "Well, if you are Ares, I guess Athena would suit me as we are to become siblings."

Harry smirked again and teased her. "You had to choose Athena eh, goddess of Wisdom?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Says the idiot who chose Ares, the god of War."

The new Ares made a face of mock outrage. "I am not an idiot."

Unable to hold herself at the made-up face Athena burst out laughing and was joined by Ares.

"I like it. Athena- Goddess of Wisdom and War strategy, sister of Ares- God of War and Bloodlust. What about your middle name?"

"Lillian?" Hermione queried. Harry smiled. His new sister had chosen the name of her once daughter as her middle name just like he had chosen his father's.

"Deal. Athena Lillian Aryan, pleased to meet you. I am Ares James Aryan, at your service." Ares gave her a bow. Athena followed his lead and curtsied. She extended her hand which Ares kissed. "Pleased to make you acquaintance, my lord."

Ares and Athena looked at each other silently before they burst out in laughter, again.

"My, my Her-Athena, I didn't know that you were accustomed to proper pureblood etiquette." Ares chortled as Athena snorted.

"Pureblood etiquette is similar to the ones followed by the nobility, nothing I don't know."

"Snorting doesn't suit a lady of your stature Athena. You will, after all be a daughter of the Primordial House of Aryan." Ares laughed.

"Well I'm not an Aryan yet, so…"

"Alright then," Ares said after controlling his laughter. "The rest of the plan goes as follows: We join Hogwarts as 6th year students in 1960, socialize, and make new friends and alliances as we build out power. Once we are strong enough we deliver the first blow, removal of the goblins."

"The goblins? Why?" Athena asked.

"Well, it's a long story. The shortest description would be that they are the reason why the Aryan family went extinct. I am going to bring back the dwarves in their stead."

"The dwarves ran Gringotts earlier?" Athena certainly didn't get that information in any library.

Ares sighed. He knew he had to explain, there would be no stalling her.

"Okay, let's start at the beginning. The Aryan family started sometime in the 8th millennium BC. They started the magical version of the Vedic civilization. They were the first magicals that lived together in the form of a family. Before that most magicals were nomads and lived alone. They were the first to create a proper and efficient language and script for recording their history and magic. They taught magic to the gifted, they started the magical civilization.

Oldest written records of the Aryans start in 7083 BC, that's when they created their script, an older version of Sanskrit. Their civilization turned into the first magical empire in 5674 BC when they allied with the dwarves and several other magical races and families that had emerged by then.

This magical empire flourished. The Aryan Head of Family was the Supreme Warlord, the Emperor equivalent in their civilization. Magicals were sought out from all over the world and taught about their gifts. They made alliances with several families outside Eurasia and the magical culture and trade expanded. The Black Phoenix Guards, their elite military force, took care of the protection of the people in the empire. They also assisted the allied families in difficulties. Maintaining magical secrecy was one of the points they emphasized as people fear what they don't know and they didn't want any bloodshed over that issue later.

Aryans didn't actually favour a monarchical system. As the title of warlord suggest, they actually took care of the military and research, more like the heading the DMLE and DoM rather than being Minister. There was an elected body of mages who took care of the administration, i.e. democracy in its early form. There were equal rights for everyone, even non-magicals of the family who later started the non-magical components of their race. They migrated from their hidden abode in central Eurasia to different parts of the world and started the Vedic civilization. Intermingling of Aryan blood with other races brought diversity and new variations. It strengthened their family further.

Although strong, the Aryan family never strayed away from their path of righteousness, if it can be called that. They have always been neutral, taking the best from all kinds of magic and were considered to be the seneschals of Good. They led every fight against Evil be it on the battlefield or the political arena. They were the patrons of knowledge and learning. They believed that knowledge itself is not evil as it cannot manifest on its own. The intent of the person using the knowledge is what matters most.

Courage, nobility, chivalry, loyalty, eruditeness and shrewdness were the common characteristics of each Aryan. They were never shy of hard work and were extremely loyal to family and friends. When it came to magical strengths, they were a class apart from other magicals. Almost 80% of the Aryan Lords were elementals or had a strong affinity to a certain element. The rest were powerful and mighty in their own right.

They were the first to discover experimentally that a person had a higher probability of being magically stronger if both the parents were magical. This was the basis on which the pureblood supremacy notion started. Of course the extremists conveniently developed the theory further on baseless things and even resorted to inbreeding later to keep their bloodline pure and stronger. Apparently the extremists forgot that the same Aryan researcher had also said that the vigour and strength of the offsprings decreases if their parental links become closer over time.

The family despised such notions and had crushed more than a dozen extremist rebellions mercilessly. They considered such disparity and inequality to be the roots of Evil and hence gave no quarter to the people fighting for such ideals.

The Aryans held the reigns of intercultural peace for almost 9 millennia. But things changed after 962 AD. The Aryans had continuously assisted the dwarves in defending their keep from the greedy goblins, the darker and comparatively less useful versions of the dwarves. However, the goblins bred much faster than dwarves. Tired of war, a treaty was signed between the leaders of the three races. As per the treaty, the goblins were given the right to work as bankers replacing the dwarves. As a gesture of goodwill the entire Aryan account was transferred to Gringotts from the dwarf bank. Everything was alright till 965 when disaster stroke. As there were no family records after that I guessed it was then that Devagiri was attacked and the library's Secure Mode was triggered, a contingency to preserve the knowledge if the castle was forcefully breached. Only someone of the current warlord's blood and true to the family cause would be able to open the library then along with the next heir.

I later discovered the real story in a diary left by the granddaughter of the then Aryan lord. Apparently she had escaped the slaughter and visited the castle later to make sure that the next heir knew the truth."

"What happened?" Athena asked. She had been hanging on to everything Ares said.

"The goblins dishonoured the treaty. They had plotted with some families disgruntled with the Aryan Warlord-ship and had attacked with a large force in the dead of the night. The Aryans fought hard but were eventually overwhelmed. Every single member of the family was killed, except the granddaughter of course, who escaped somehow. The citizens of Devagiri weren't spared either.

The granddaughter left a request on the diary too, a request to the next heir; 'To destroy the usurpers and to show no mercy when the family rose again.' We are going to honour that request."

"What about the dwarves? Why didn't they help?"

"The attackers cut off all ways of contact to any outside help. By the time the Aryans managed to send a distress signal, the goblin allied force had almost won. But the dwarves didn't fare much better. Without the Aryans to lead, the huge alliance of mostly light-sided races like dwarves, elves and centaurs broke. The elves disappeared completely while the centaurs took a neutral position and have been like that ever since. The dwarves were targeted next and clans after clans were wiped out till they supposedly became extinct."

"Supposedly?"

"It is mentioned in her diary that the dwarves had faked extinction and had retired to their protected underground citadels awaiting the next heir."

"So you plan to seek them out?" Athena asked.

"Yes, but not yet. They cannot see me in this form. These ten years we will only prepare ourselves. Alright?"

Athena nodded.

"But I have to ask something first. What are your feelings on what we are planning to do?"

Athena took her time before answering. "I can only say that it is a great honour and responsibility. I welcome the opportunity with open arms. There will be a lot of stakes on how we act. But aside that I have no worries. I'll stay by your side Ares as I always have."

"Thank you Athena. But you need not worry at all. The Aryan blood will ensure that we don't have to act at all. We are still having this feeling that we are actually Harry and Hermione right? After we change the bodies, it will be a foreign concept to us. We will genuinely become Athena and Ares Aryan. I mean, even records of our existence will be automatically created in the concerned places. We will belong in this time."

Athena looked awed. Ares chuckled. Earlier it was the opposite.

"Let's get started." Athena eagerly rose and almost ran downstairs to the library.

9 years later… 15th July, 1959

Athena was walking downstairs towards the dungeons where Ares had established his laboratories. He had constantly denied her the permission to see what he was doing in his lab all these years. Athena had tried several tricks to make him change his standbut to no avail. Today, however, he had agreed and Athena was visiting with a curious disposition.

She had guessed that Ares was making their new bodies. However how he could create or even change a body failed to enter her scope of understanding. Ares had also kept mum saying that it was a surprise.

Athena trusted him. Ares had helped her a lot to get over the death of her family members. In the last nine years he had taught her a lot. Combined with her studious nature, she had now become a force to be reckoned with. Although she knew that she couldn't overpower him ever, she was confident that she could easily duel Dumbledore and probably win it.

Athena knocked at the door which Ares had directed her to. It was promptly opened and Ares ushered her in. Athena noticed that the room was very sparsely decorated. She sat on a sofa while Ares took the armchair.

"You have been wondering perhaps, what I was doing here?" Ares started.

Athena nodded. "I believe you were preparing our new bodies?"

"Right you are Athena. But before I show you your new form I have to explain a few things. You once asked me how we could change bodies. Have you found out the answer?"

Athena shook her head in negative.

"You would have if you had studied the dark arts like I told you to" Ares sighed as he thought to himself. Despite being able to convince her that magic was simply a tool, he couldn't convince her to study the dark arts deeply like he did at Albania. She did learn them superficially but never attempted any even once. Ares continued anyway.

"I believe you know what actually makes a person alive?"

Athena nodded this time. "Body and Soul."

"Correct. However, the interesting thing is that we are not our bodies. We are the souls. Our body is just a container that tethers us to this plane of the Earth. Without an anchor or a body we cannot interact with this plane. That is why when our body stops working, we die. It doesn't mean that the souls are dead, just that we cannot interact with the world again."

Athena frowned. "How do you know?"

"Well, the answer was always in front of me although it took me several years to recognise it. Do you remember what happened after Voldemort hit me with the Killing curse in the Forbidden forest?"

"Yes, you told me that you met Dumbledore in a replica of the Kings Cross station. But how is this relevant Ares?" Athena was confused now.

Ares smiled. "What does the killing curse do, my dear?"

"It severs the bond between the body and soul. But- … oh." A look of understanding reached her eyes. "Are you saying that your soul was temporarily dislodged from your body?"

"Exactly. The AK dislodged me as well as the soul fragment of Voldy. The Dumbledore I met was the soul-Dumbledore. He said that choosing the train depends on me. I believe he meant that I could either leave my body completely or return to it. I chose to return. He also said that although the conversation took place in my mind it didn't mean that it was unreal. I believe that he couldn't tell us about the souls talking due to some reason. That's why he simply left a clue."

Athena still looked a bit sceptical. "It seems probable but where is the proof?"

"We'll only get the proof when we die, otherwise there would already have been several books on the topic. But if we remove the impossible, whatever remains must be the truth no matter how improbable it might seem. And as the mind cannot simply fabricate knowledge of its own, I believe that to be truth."

Athena was silent for a while before assenting with Ares. "You are probably right, as always. So how do we change anchors?"

"There is a runic ritual which would capture the soul once it leaves the body and transfer it to the next body. The process is similar to the creation of a horcrux. However there are a few differences. The entire soul is transferred instead of a piece and we only have to AK each other."

Hearing the similarity with a horcrux, Athena would have angrily berated Ares in the past. But now she knew that if he had selected something, it was probably the best way to do it.

"Alright. When and how do we do it?"

Ares smiled. "We will do it now. Follow me."

Ares led Athena to one of the adjoining rooms. The room was quite large and filled with different digital appliances, gadgets one could find in a 2045 muggle lab. Athena never knew that Ares had brought these things with him. Suddenly she remembered the moment before time travelling. Ares had told her that the trunks he had brought were lead lined. Now she realised why. Lead prevents magical interference in digital appliances. She observed the walls of the room carefully. The white walls had a metallic shine in them.

"Lead lined room?" Athena asked Ares.

"Yes." Ares simply replied.

There were two large oval boxes made of some metal in the centre of the room. Athena noticed that they were connected by several chains of runes. Ares went towards the left one and pressed a button on it. The upper surface opened slowly to reveal a wooden bed where numerous runes were carved. Ares took off his shoes and laid down on the bed. Immediately straps appeared around him binding him to the bed as it moved to a vertical state. Athena guessed that the new body was in the other box.

"Do you see that green button on the panel in that wall?" Ares asked, indicating the button in question.

Athena nodded and moved towards it.

"Good. When you press that button, the runes will be charged. AK me within ten seconds after that. I'll see you again in another form."

Athena smiled nervously. What if something wrong happens and Ares dies in reality?

No. She would not become weak at the crucial point. She would trust his calculations. Steeling herself she pressed the green button and immediately cast the killing curse for the first time. Ares had taught her how to do it along with many other dark arts.

Athena saw the life leaving his body as the green curse struck. Suddenly the lid of the other contained opened with a hiss and a lot of steam escaped the confines of the box. Athena was rooted to the spot as the body lying inside stirred and rose unsteadily after a few moments.

"Athena?" He queried in a rasp.

That was all that took her running towards the 15 year old boy in front of her and hugging him as if there was no tomorrow.

"Oh, Ares, I was so worried. Are you alright?"

Athena moved away a bit to properly take in the sight before her. Ares' new form was about 5'10'' in height and of the build of an athlete. As he was only wearing a knee length trouser she could see the lean muscles and six packs on his body. His skin tone was lighter than before. However the main changes were in his face. It was much more aristocratic than before and bore no resemblance to the Potter family. The wild hair was gone, replaced by a smooth black tuft. His eyes were still green but of a slightly darker shade. Earlier they were just a notable feature of his, now they were mesmerizing. A quick glance would indicate an extremely handsome and desirable boy but only a detailed study would portray him as the deadly hunter he actually was. The bright green orbs exuded power, his stance confidence.

"Well, all the organs and senses seem to be working perfectly. I just need to get used to it." Ares' voice lost the hoarseness gradually and Athena realised that it was a bit deeper and yet smoother than before.

"So," Ares asked, "How do I look?"

Athena laughed. "You know that you look good. But I am sure that you won't have any deficiency of girlfriends in Hogwarts."

Ares simply smirked before leading her back to the drawing room and then to another adjoining room. This room was similar to the earlier one except that one part of the room was covered by a curtain. Athena looked at Ares quizzically.

Ares gave her a sheepish smile before saying, "I thought that you would like to see yourself properly so I kept your new body naked on the other box. There is a mirror inside too along with clothes."

"Oh Ares, you think a lot. Thank you." Athena gave him a fond smile. She went towards the other box and pressed the button on it just like Ares had. She then laid down on the wooden bed. After she was properly strapped in and the bed became vertical Ares charged the runes and AKed her.

Athena's senses extinguished immediately and suddenly she felt very light, as if she were a feather. As she started to drift upwards she felt a strong tug in her navel just like a portkey before all her senses returned to her. She smelled the remains of a few preservative gases and heard Ares's new voice.

"Are you alright Athena?"

She moved her hand a bit and felt the smooth bed sheet and soft mattress below her. She opened her eyes and found her sight better than before, as if an HD print was upgraded to 4K quality.

"I think so." She slowly replied to Ares's question and found a drastic change in her voice. Earlier it was nothing exceptional but now it was almost musical. Wondering what her body looked like she steadily got up and looked at the mirror by her side. To say that Athena was shocked would be an understatement. Ares had really over done it.

She was easily 2 inches taller than her original 5'7'' height. Her face had aristocratic features similar to Ares but with a more feminine side. Her eyes were a deep sea blue, a shade she had never seen in any human eyes and she had long lustrous straight black hair. Her body was built to perfection, not a single spot or blemish covering it. Even if she was being modest she could easily say she was extremely beautiful and that a common person would mistake her for a Veela.

In short, she was very satisfied with her new body. She didn't know how but somehow Ares had modelled her new body in a fashion she wanted in one of her teenage fantasies. He had probably picked it up from her mind sometime while teaching advanced occlumency.

She noticed that unlike Ares' new body which radiated a sense of strength and power, she radiated beauty and delicacy. Ares designed himself as the powerful lord that he was, the Alpha of the alphas and her as the exquisite sister to the Lord, a woman men would gladly die for. Both of them were alluring in their own way but deadly at the same time. Her respect for Ares increased a few notches for this extraordinary creation.

'Astir maana vereor'- the family motto combining Old Norse, Sanskrit and Latin respectively meant love, respect and fear. Their appearance alone would do a lot to obtain that that. No. Not the family, it's her family now, an inside voice immediately corrected. She guessed that this was what Aryan meant about the blood taking care of their act. They were the Aryans now and hence it wouldn't be called an act.

Athena Lillian Aryan donned the robes her new brother had provided and came out from the curtains. She noticed that her movements somehow felt more fluidic and elegant. Ares was watching her with an expectant face. She noticed that he had put on a shirt. She didn't say anything, just hugged her brother. After a few moments in his strong arms she left the embrace whispering a thanks in his ears.

A bright smile lit Ares eyes. "I guess you like your new self?"

"I love it. Thanks again Ares." Athena happily replied. "Did you pick up the image from my mind earlier?"

Ares gave her a sheepish grin and nodded. "I modified a few things of course."

"What and how? You never taught me these things." Athena eyed him a bit accusingly.

Ares laughed. "I'll tell you now my dear. But let's get comfortable first."

Both of them went back to the drawing room and seated themselves comfortably.

"Okay brother, start yakking." Athena demanded in her no nonsense way.

Ares laughed. He really loved it when she demanded some information of him. Instead of irritating him, it reminded that he had someone close to him who had the right to act so. It made him aware of family. Moreover it would be impossible to get angry at the new musical voice.

*I made some very obvious changes. Can't you recognise it?* Ares asked in parseltongue.

Athena thought hard but couldn't single out any changes aside her until Ares laughed and told her to think and observe.

Observe?

Then she realised it, Ares was hissing and she understood it. That meant only one thing. She could speak parseltongue. Excited at being able to do so Athena spoke, "I can speak parseltongue?"

Ares smiled. *You can Athena, but you are not speaking it at the moment.*

"And now?" She asked. Ares shook his head.

Athena was disappointed. What use is a language if you can't speak it?

* Don't be disappointed, Athena. Parseltongue is not like other languages. It is a genetic trait. That is why it only ever runs in families. Moreover in the first stages it can only be used to talk to snakes. Remember, in our second year when I realised the ability I could only speak to snakes? The only reason I am able to speak it now is because I have experience with it. Don't worry, I tweaked the genes a bit. You will be able to converse with me in it soon enough if you practise talking to a snake. Your mind will need to recognise it as a language and not as a genetic trait.*

Athena nodded. "I'll practise it later then. What other changes have you made?"

"I experimented with the genes of a Veela. I isolated the genes responsible for their extraordinary beauty and allure and inserted them in our genome."

"I didn't know that it was possible to do so." Athena frowned, trying to remember any knowledge regarding genetical science.

"Oh, it isn't." Ares smirked. "But if you build everything from scratch, it is quite possible."

Athena was surprised. "You never cease to amaze me Ares. So technically you are my creator?"

"I am the creator of both of us, if that makes any sense."

The siblings laughed.

"So you get Veela like beauty. However I tweaked it in a way that you could only switch on the allure in the most desperate of situations so that you don't get into trouble because of it. Along with it our bodies are much stronger and durable. We'll heal twice as fast and our magic sustaining capacity is unbelievingly more. Our senses will become three times sharper with the release of adrenalin in our blood, so sharper battle reflexes. Moreover I made these changes hereditary. In other words we are a new breed of humans. And from tomorrow we start to actually know our body and its limits."

Athena acquiesced.

"Do you know one thing Ares?"

"What?"

"Moldyfarts won't stand a chance again us."

The siblings fell into another bout of laughter.

19 June, 1960

"Are you ready Athena?" Ares knocked at her door.

"Almost." Athena shouted from inside her room. A minute later she emerged from her room in a form fitting blue dress that matched wonderfully with her eyes. It was simple yet made her look gorgeous. During the last year she had matured a bit and now looked even more beautiful than before.

A thing Ares had always admired in Athena was that she never took much time in trivial things like make-up, dressing up and whatever other girly things there were. However he did find her present attire a bit unsuitable for the event in hand. They were about to go get their wands not attend a party.

Seeing Ares look at her dress in a disapproving way Athena laughed. Ares had become the brother she always wanted over the last year, loving and protective. Although she had always thought of him as a brother, her connection with him deepened tenfold after they changed their body and became true Aryans.

"Don't look at me like that Ares. Do I look ugly?"

Ares eyed his sister as if she had gone barmy. "You know very well that you would look good even in rags, Athena. But I am confused. Why this getup?"

Athena smiled. "To start my image of course. You designed me like this for this very reason, didn't you?"

Ares frowned. That was actually the truth. He had indeed made her features as beautiful as he could for that purpose. People tended to follow a beautiful person eagerly rather than a plain or ugly one. But now he was a bit reluctant to do so. She was his sister and he didn't want to use or endanger her in anyway.

Seeing his hesitation Athena realised his problem. His increased love and protectiveness for her forbade him to do as per his original plans. She approached him and took his hand in hers.

"I know you don't want to use me Ares, but I am more than capable of doing what you have planned. I am a very powerful witch, you trained me yourself for ten years. Moreover I'll never be in any danger. I just have to build up a reputation of being a very capable witch along with an enchantress and for that I need to look my best everywhere we go."

Ares grudgingly agreed. He took her hand and apparated away.

"Where are we Ares?" Athena asked her brother eyeing the beautiful country landscape. Ares had just apparated them to the place and was now leading her up through a mountainous pathway.

"Well, we need our true wands. We are here to get them made." Ares replied.

True wands? Athena was puzzled. "But Ares, we already have our wands. And where is 'here'?"

Ares smiled. "Our wands are attuned to our old bodies and magic. We need a perfect match now to perform some of the more powerful spells with minimal effort. And we are in China, Athena. Chu Ling is one of the pioneers in the art of Wandlore." He then explained a bit about the wand maker.

Ling was the most respected wand-maker in Central Asia. He only made custom wands for those he thought to be good wizards or witches in the making. Ling was one of the many wand-makers who had experimented in dual-core wands but was the only one to succeed. The fact that the wand combusted after a few hours was a completely different issue.

After walking for a few minutes, they reached their destination, a small cottage surrounded by a dense foliage. Ares took the lead and knocked at the door. A minute later the door was opened by a very old man. The man eyed the foreigners curiously.

"Mr. Ling?" Ares asked.

"Yes. And who might you be young man?" The man replied in surprisingly accent less English.

"I am Ares Aryan and this is my sister Athena. We would like you to make our wands."

Ling's eyebrow rose a bit at the mention of the Aryan name but didn't comment anything on it.

"You don't have wands yet? How old are you kids? And why are you alone so far away from home?"

Athena became a bit worried at the questioning but Ares merely smiled. He had expected such questions. Athena knew that her brother was a bit skilled in Wandlore but was definitely not a wand maker and they needed the best wands one could afford.

"We do, Mr. Ling." Ares replied. "But they do not feel the same they used to, probably due some change in our magic. As to our age, my sister is 16 while I'm almost 16. And we are alone so far away from home because our parents are dead. Did I answer all your questions?"

The wand maker observed the duo keenly before nodding. "Come in."

As Athena entered the room she realised why Ares had brought her there. The room was huge, probably due to hundreds of expansion charms or even runes and was filled with glass jars from top to bottom. She went near and found that every jar had only one type of material inside, like a feather of a phoenix, unicorn hair or dragon heartstring. Must be the cores Ling uses for the wands. There were several other materials which she didn't recognize at all. Athena was so awestruck that she didn't notice the ward they had entered. But Ares did, although he didn't say anything.

She followed Ares and Ling to a small circular table at one corner and took a seat.

"So, what brought you here? Judging from your accent, you are British. Has Ollivander died?" Ling asked flatly.

Ares chuckled. "No Mr. Ling, he is quite alright. However it's a tradition amongst Aryans to have their wands custom made. We came to know that you are the best in the field. That is the sole reason why we are here."

Ling nodded. "May I see you present wands?"

Ares and Athena gave him their wands. After a few minutes of inspecting them in silence, he spoke blandly, without any emotion on his face. "The wands still follow you but the original connection is not there anymore. You were right, you magic must have changed. I wonder how…" He trailed away, his face scrunched up as if he were thinking hard.

Ares smiled. "Mr. Ling, considering you expertise in the area, you already know that those wands have been used for much longer than 6 years. You probably also have an idea why our magic changed, so don't act as if you are ignorant of the key factors. I'll be frank and truthful with you and I expect the same from you. We are here to get our wands made. If you don't want to make our wands we'll leave right away. If you do, we keep our secrets and you keep yours. There will only be a trader-customer relationship. Do we have an understanding?"

Ling looked a bit shocked. No one had ever talked to him that way. He knew he was dealing with someone who was definitely not an almost 16 year old. Moreover they bore the name of Aryan. He decided tread carefully and fulfil any work he could do.

"Yes, we do. And yes I'll make your wands. Please walk among the shelves and bring the jar you feel drawn to. Then after calculating the relevant arithmantic formulas you will have to choose the wood for the wands."

Ares nodded and proceeded to walk among the shelves. However Athena had something else on her mind.

"What Arithmantic formulas are you talking about?" She asked the wand maker.

"You are interested in Wandlore?" Ling was surprised. Very few had interest in that branch of magic.

"No, Ares is the Wandlore expert. I am more interested in Arithmancy."

"Oh, alright. The material which you choose have different properties. After finding out their equations we have to integrate them. The result will tell us the best possible wood for making the wand. Almost every equation holds true for two kinds of woods. Did I answer your questions?"

Athena nodded and followed Ares. As she walked by the shelves she felt drawn to a particular jar. She picked it up and upon observing it easily recognised the silvery white tail hair of a unicorn. She was a bit surprised considering that her last core was a dragon heartstring. Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard. (Extracted from Pottermore, not mine.)

As Athena was about to return to Ling, she felt another pull. She moved towards the bottle and as she slowly grasped it she actually felt a slight tingling passing her body. She looked at the label on the jar, Griffin heartstring, 1561. That surprised her. The first selection of Unicorn hair contrasted with Griffin heartstring as Griffin core wands were much more powerful than Unicorn wands and more conducive to battle magic. Not much is known about them as such wands were very rare. She brought the two jars to Ling giddy with excitement.

She found Ares near the wand maker, two vials in his hand. Ling was looking over some equations on a parchment. Both were frowning. Sensing that something was wrong she asked her brother, "What happened?"

Ares turned towards her and sighed, "I selected two cores, both liquids and polar opposites of each other."

Liquids? Athena had never heard of liquid cores before. "What?"

"Phoenix tears and Basilisk venom." He deadpanned.

A look of understanding graced her beautiful features as she made the connection. Ares was bitten by a basilisk in his last life and a phoenix healed his wound. However Athena didn't need to be a Wandlore expert to guess that a wand having polar opposite substances as cores wouldn't last long.

Ling clearing his throat brought them to reality.

"I am not sure that I can make your wand Mr Aryan. The opposite natures of the cores you brought will cancel out each other leaving the wand devoid of any magic. I am sorry but there is nothing that can unify them to work together."

Athena noticed that Ares face, which had a sadness embedded in it, glowed with hope after hearing the last sentence.

Smiling mysteriously he said, "Have a look at the cores Athena brought Mr. Ling. I'll be back shortly", and disappeared amongst the many shelves.

Ling nodded and indicated her to give him the materials. Athena shrugged and did so. If Ares had an idea he would share it with her eventually. She watched Ling inspect the heartstring and the hair, all the while writing equations on a parchment. After that he proceeded to integrate them. Just as Ares appeared with a jar Ling spoke, "The equations lead to only one wood, white oak. However, the two cores will need a binding agent. I believe your blood will do the trick. Furthermore a blood bound wand will only work for the person with whose blood it is bound."

"That's great. But it won't exactly be legal, would it?" Athena asked smiling a bit to gleefully than normal. Since she had truly become an Aryan her thinking had become shrewder and she constantly sought out loopholes in the law. After all, whatever the Aryans did, they did it within the law and if they ever had to do anything outside it they made sure no one knew about it.

Ling smiled, for the first time since they came in. "What's the law for an Aryan?"

The Aryan siblings smirked, identically.

"What did you get, Ares?" Athena asked her brother as he handed a jar to the wand maker.

"Threstal hair."

Athena face-palmed mentally. Of course, it was quite obvious. Ares once wielded the Elder Wand, the only known wand with a Threstal hair core, so he developed an affinity for it. Moreover what could be a greater unifier than Death? Threstals symbolised exactly that.

Seeing the wand-maker look at his brother in astonishment she replied, "Ares has used a Threstal hair core wand before. I believed it had a slight attraction to you?" She asked her brother.

Ares nodded, excitement shining in his eyes. "Yes, however I didn't notice it the first time as the magic of the other two cores were keeping my senses busy. Moreover it wasn't exactly attracting me, more like giving me a wary signal as if it wasn't sure to offer me allegiance. But as I grasped it, a gust of power surged through me. It is going to be a hell of a wand."

Ling was a loss of words. When he finally managed to speak, he couldn't keep out the awe and thrill from his words. "Never had I seen any person with the affinity to three powerful wand cores. I will make your wands with great honour and pleasure."

"Well, that's my brother." Athena said proudly lifting her chin up a bit.

"How will you keep the basilisk venom from corroding the other two cores?" Ares asked a bit anxiously.

"Leave that to me Mr. Aryan. I'll have your wands ready by nightfall."

"Can we watch you make them?" Athena asked a bit eagerly.

Ling smiled. "Of course Miss Aryan, you are welcome to stay if you don't have any pressing issues at hand. You too Mr. Aryan."

Over the next four hours they watched Ling make their wands. Her wand making process was quite simple. Ling took her blood in a thin 15in long glass pipe and inserted the two cores inside amidst long recitations of ancient binding charms. The blood acted as the gum which bound the two cores together, the ancient binding charms ensuring that it would last an age. The fused reddish core strand was then inserted inside the white oak wood casing and after a few more minute binding spells, her wand was ready.

It literally took her breath away. The slim wand was pure white with a crimson line spiralling from the base to the tip as if it were a vine climbing a tree. Ares congratulated her on getting such a beautiful wand. As she held the wand a sense of euphoria overwhelmed her senses, the feeling of completion. Reddish-golden sparks erupted from the tip and she felt powerful, almost invincible. The other occupants of the room also felt the magic, the wand's acceptance of its mistress. It was a happy, empowering feeling.

So engrossed was Athena in admiring her new wand that she almost missed the making of Ares' wand. The wand maker took a piece of Redwood and shaped it in the form of a wand. Unlike her wand it was thicker and instead of making a thin hole to insert the core, Ling split the wand casing into two parts vertically and began to carve out the interior in the form of a canal. He then spent the better half of an hour carving minute runes in various parts of the two halves. He then went to the adjoining furnace and poured something thick on the canals and joined the two halves together.

"What was that?" Ares asked curiously.

Ling smiled. "Basilisk venom would disintegrate the wood casing at once. So I placed a layer of silver inside to prevent that."

Ares frowned. "What about the Threstal hair then? Won't the venom disintegrate it too?"

"Magical creatures have some resistance to its corrosive abilities, although the only thing that will save you from a venom spray would be Basilisk skin. Threstal hair might resist the venom for about a minute, long enough for me to insert the phoenix tears which would counter its effects.

"We can only hope that this wand works Mr. Aryan. I fear that the venom and tears would neutralise each other leaving only the Threstal hair functional. But if the Threstal hair can combine life and destruction with death, it would be the most powerful wand in magical history."

The Aryan siblings continued to watch in fascination as the wand maker poured in the venom after the silver had cooled down, Ares a bit grimly as well. Ling awaited till silvery-yellowish fumes arose from the wand and then quickly inserted the Threstal hair before pouring in the Phoenix tears slowly. Amidst a hissing sound white smoke emerged from the canal as if a fire had been extinguished. Ling quickly sealed the entrance at the base of the wand with some more silver and placed the wand in a glass container.

As soon as he closed the door of the container various runes glowed blue and its cooling feature was initiated. Within 1 minute the temperature inside had been reduced to about -273C and the glass turned foggy. Unable to see what was going on inside, Athena asked Ling.

"What is happening?"

"I'm allowing the silver to condense. If my calculations are correct the wand should be ready by 5 minutes."

"What is actually happenening?" Ares asked. He could not follow Ling properly after he poured the venom in the wand canal.

"Why Mr. Aryan, you should know. After all, as your sister informed me, you are the Wandlore expert." Ling spoke teasingly.

Athena turned a bit red although Ares kept his calm.

"True, Mr. Ling. But I'm rather inexperienced when it comes to making wands. There is much more to wand making than just Wandlore. That is why we are here. So?"

Ling laughed. "You are right. You see, when I poured the venom in, it reacted with the silver, one of the few things which does. As a result, tremendous heat was produced which started melting the interiors. As soon as I added the phoenix tears, the corrosion ended. However enough silver would have probably mixed with the cores. I then sealed the entrance with more molten silver and placed it to cool down and condense. As a result the core should be now a solid, comprising of the three cores and silver binding them together, just like the blood in Miss Aryan's Wand."

"Should be?" Ares asked a bit anxiously.

"I've never made such a wand before, Mr. Aryan. So I can't be sure of the result. But anyway we'll find out soon."

"Will the silver melts if the wand heats up while performing powerful magic?"

Ling thought for a moment before replying, "I don't think it will, Mr. Aryan. The three cores represent the highest power in their respective fields. Phoenix tears are the most potent in healing and can even reverse the effect of the strongest and deadliest of all venoms, Basilisk's. The Threstal hair core symbolises death but in reality the core is more attuned to perform stronger magic. Moreover the three has solidified with silver, the only metal conducive to magic. That is what only silver id used to make magical swords and not gold. The combination, if it truly accepts you will only ever be your wand as Phoenix cores are always pickiest when it comes to owning it. Even if one forcibly takes it away from you, the wand will be hard to tame and even after that will not work well for the usurper. Let's wait and see."

The next 5 minutes were Ares' worst. They watched with bated breath as the foggy glass cleared, revealing the wand of the Aryan Lord. It was… wow. The dark red wand had a silver base from where two lines of silver moved towards the tip in a straight line. Ares noticed that the silver lines were exactly in the places where the wand had been split into two earlier. Apparently the silver had melted through the mending before cooling down.

Ling took the wand out and smoothed the silver where it was uneven. When Ares finally held it in his hand a deep feeling of immense power surged through him. The wand sparked and hummed in undisguised power as it accepted its master. A bright light emerged from within Ares, blinding the other two occupants. The jars began to shake fervently although none fell down. Ares looked at his new wand. The silvery lines and base were glowing, giving out light of its own. After a few moments, everything returned to its normal state.

Athena and Ling uncovered their eyes which they had shielded with their hands. Ares looked at Athena quizzically. In his state of euphoria he hadn't noticed the light emerging from him. Athena just gave him a proud smile and a thumbs up. "Voldy is so very dead."

Ares smiled. The power of the wand which lay in his hands was much more than the Elder wand. Athena's words held every bit of truth. Voldemort would have a very hard time when he comes home.

…To be continued

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A/N: How come none of you have reviewed yet? Don't like it? Please tell me then, in a review (hehe). Chapter 3 is underway. I might be able to past it within the next week. Happy reading.

ArunabhAryan out \m/