AN:
Some Answers:
Dragon0102 chapter 16 . Apr 28
Could have would have should have! Darrow had to be selective in what he gives the Norse because everything would eventually find its way down to the other civilizations. Some animals would have been nice if he had thought about it but he did teach them about selective breeding.
Either way it will be up to the Asgardians what they pass down to the Norse.
frankieu chapter 16 . Apr 28
Thanks! It will be a while until he gets back to the Xenaverse to check up on the Norse. Change happens slowly, we are talking about decades here at a minimum.
spaceman89 chapter 16 . Apr 28
He will get to stargate once he 'collects' everything he needs from Harry Potter.
RoyalTwinFangs chapter 16 . Apr 28
Oh, that would be interesting! We'll see!
chapter 16 . Apr 28
He will have a good relationship with the Norse in Xenaverse but it will be a long while before they change and evolve.
HughJasz chapter 16 . Apr 28
Yup lol maybe the Norse will instill their version of Rule Brittania!
Kulha chapter 16 . Apr 28
Eh, Darrow is still human at least in mind. Even worse he was basically an average bro before the story started. It's not like he was around blood, guts and dead bodies before.
Unfortunately he has to meddle in cannon. It's part of the adventure he craves.
Yea you are right, as long as the Norse gods don't do anything stupid their civilization should rise to the top.
Glrasshopper chapter 16 . Apr 28
Yup, farming better allows for more population which will eventually allow for more specialist and more expansion. The gods have to be careful what they implement because any farming tools and tricks are always going to be better suited for the climates of the Romans/Persians/Egyptians. Basically anyone south of them.
Dscot chapter 16 . Apr 28
England is the prize, Scotland can come later. Ireland would also be good. But England for the farmland, better weather, proximity to mineral wealth in Wales etc etc.
There will be some trolling…kind of.
Joe Lawyer chapter 16 . Apr 28
You are 100% correct and it's exactly why I had him train with them. It's a big step in switching mentality from Normal human /wizard to god. He's not quite there yet but he learned some valuable lessons.
Plus who doesn't want to throw lightning around like hotcakes :) .
ZhaWarudo chapter 16 . Apr 29
I don't know if brilliant but for me it was the easiest and laziest way. Every time I read a multiverse jumping story I always think "Dam if only they knew about Xenaverse, it would be so easy!"
Yea, I get that it was a bit of cheat simply jumping to the right locations. I was lazy and uninspired to write Darrow having looking for them. Just picture Darrow chilling on a couch browsing the Xenaverse timeline with ARTY trying to find the location for hours on end.
I totally concur Gal Gadot is hot.
ficreader2011 chapter 1 . Apr 30
Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying the story.
loki98065 chapter 16 . May 1
Yup, lol there will be some fun with no nose.
Thank you all for you input it is appreciated and please don't be surprised if I 'steal' some of your suggestions.
Story inspired heavily by 'Cruel To be Kind', '12 Steps To Omnipotence', 'Rise of an Empire' and a million and one other fanfics. If you see stuff and think that it's similar to another fanfic. it's probably because we read the same story and I liked that plot line or idea.
BEWARE this is a 'Gary Stu, wish fulfillment, power fantasy type story.
Thank you for reading!
Enjoy
Chapter 17
Year 6, Day 363: Harry Potter Universe, August 1995
The heavy grey skies reflected the somber, dreary mood of the gathered crowed in the overgrown cemetery without falling into rain.
'Thank you me!' Courtesy of my training with Odin of course. I'm not a storm master as the likes of Zeus, Odin or Thor yet but I was adequate enough now that I wouldn't lose myself in the moment.
Gathering a few clouds above this little unimportant village in northern Wales to set the mood was not a problem.
As I looked around the vast majority of the Pack was here and for good reason this was Brian's funeral. The 50 year old wolf was the unofficial leader. The man was the one that usually rallied everyone to help when one was in need. He had helped many thought their first few years as werewolves including Claire, Nick's girlfriend.
In the last few years 'members' had turned their ears more towards Nick and Claire but that was more due to practical reasons as Nick was basically second in command of House Miercuri while Claire had taken over a lot of the day to day administration of the farms and various other businesses both magical and muggle.
The funeral itself was simple and to the point, all costs paid for by Miercuri estate of course, Brian was of mixed muggle and half-blood stock with only a few relatives still alive and fewer even in attendance.
It wasn't long until all the appropriate rights and rituals were observed and it was only natural that we found ourselves in the little village pub of this tiny magical enclave celebrating the life of Brian.
'My father', Michael was also present and currently mingling with the pack, expressing heartfelt sorrows, re-assurances and listening to stories.
Truly Cato was a natural at working people, each one he spoke with I could see the change happening before my eyes, they would stand a bit straighter, eyes would brighten and confidence would return to their demeanor.
He was fitting the character of a powerful and fatherly figure to a T in a way that I never could and if he still felt any discomfort from me using my godly powers to transform him into 'Michael Miercuri' it was well hidden.
Personally I think he secretly liked shedding 50 years even if it was only for a few hours, he just didn't want to admit it.
As he worked the crowed I focused on my target who for the past few hours was trying to put on a brave face as he received everyone's concerns and well wishes.
"Hey Miles. Mind grabbing me one as well?" I asked startling the almost twenty two year old as he picked up another pint.
"Darrow," he said turning around looking at me a bit unsure. "Uh yea, sure I guess, you look like you can handle it." He said gesturing to the barkeep for another pint.
You see technically I was fifteen but physically due to this summer's 'growth spurts' I was over 6' and close to two hundred pounds.
I was a big lad.
"Thanks." I leaned on the bar next to him. "You've probably heard this question a lot today but how are you holding up? I've been told you and Brian were close."
I could see he was doing everything he could to control his emotions. "Aye, that's true. He was like a father really. Took me in when my family died. Helped me work through…well…everything." He said sadly. "Holding up as good as I can I guess." He said as he handed me the pint.
We both took a sip of our drinks and I let the silence sit for a moment.
"Empty." I finally said as Miles looked at me. "Confused, angry, no furious really." I continued. "It's how I felt when my mom died. I can't imagine having to go through that twice. I don't think it gets any easier."
The brown haired boy nodded and sipped his drink. "No it doesn't."
"They say it's best to keep moving forward, keep yourself busy so you don't let the feelings overwhelm you. But I think they say that because what else can you do." I said shrugging and taking another gulp.
Miles actually smiled a bit. "Brian said the same thing after my parents died. Taught me how to woodwork."
My eyebrows raised curiously. "Did it work?"
Miles shrugged. "I guess it did, know how to build a shed now."
I almost snorted. "For me it was soccer practice for a year and then we came here, fresh start and all." He only nodded in acknowledgement.
We both sipped our drinks and looked at the mingling crowed in silence.
"They won't get away with this." I said turning back to him. "My father will retaliate, it's in his nature."
Now that peaked the young man's attention.
Before he could ask about it we heard a clinking of glass and our attention was diverted to the source, Michael with Nick and Claire beside him.
"Everyone if we would have you attention for a few moments please. Mr. Miercuri would like to say a few words." He said as 'my father' stepped up.
"Thank you Nick." He started.
"I cannot say that I knew Brian well, truthfully I have barely had time to get to know any of you at all and that is my shame. I am glad that in spite of my failing you have welcomed me here today in this private moment."
"Listening to your stories tonight I feel like for a brief moment I have also known Brian. He was a good man, respected and loved. As evidenced by your presence here." He said gesturing his hands towards the crowd.
Oh he was good. You see people are sad their friend is gone, any regrets, secrets or atonements you may have wanted to sort out with him are simply not possible. So you make them feel good like they were good friends, you pamper them up a bit.
"He helped out many of you in your time of need, he was kind and supportive he rallied you when you were down and he didn't give up hope." I could see a few of them nod heartedly in the crowd.
"He was a true leader-" he gestured once again to the crowed. "-and if I understand correctly a father as well" he said pointedly at Miles.
As the crowed turned their heads there was almost a chorus nodding and acknowledgement, Miles himself responded with a silent nod.
Cato took that as acknowledgement to continue the speech.
"Though he may be gone his change brought upon the world is not. His memory will still live on through each and every one of you." He said and paused for a second raising his glass.
"To Brian!" he said to which the crowed echoed back a chorus "TO BRIAN!"
Cato took only the briefest sip letting the beer barely touch his lips before he brought his glass down and took everyone's attention again.
Now that the crowd was softened it was time to put out some bait.
"I would also like to say that this attack sickens me!" Cato said with more strength and fire than the somber bittersweet tone from before.
"There are rumors that this was the hand of the resurgence of the Voldemort cult." As he said He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's name I saw a good portion of the crowed actually flinch. "As retaliation for my son-" He points with his drink at me. "-ruining their plans to kill Harry Potter in the Triwizard tournament." He paused.
"That could be true. Though I do not truly know I can only speculate." He said. "Which I do not like to do!" he said turning it around. "I like to deal in facts. Facts have been very good for me. They have brought me a lot of success. So please excuse my brash Yankee manners if I speak bluntly." He said almost coyly.
That actually brought a smile and chuckle to a few people.
"Two of the three places targeted, the farms, are almost fully staffed by yourselves." He said gesturing to crowd. "My estate was attacked not when I or Darrow were there but rather when Nick and Claire were."
I had actually been surprised at the scale of the attack. Over twenty people involved. Eight assaulted the Mansion and twelve split between the two farms.
"None of the other businesses muggle or magical were touched." He said and paused. "I hope you can see where I am going with this. To me the pattern is clear."
"Revenge or not they retaliated against werewolves…against you!" He said firmly.
I could see the crowd get both angry and uncomfortable.
"I find that disturbing, it is clear to me that there is something rotten at work here. The aurors refuse to acknowledge it."
"Two of the four dead attackers were from families that had a history of blood purity discrimination, supporters of Voldemort." He said.
It's true most of them were lowlifes but there were a couple of highborns from established families sprinkled in of which two were dead. This really smelled like Malfoy plot, he was a sneaky one. I doubt any of the captured ones were going to be linked to Malfoy most were hired wands but there were one or two highborns from well-known families.
Of the eight that attacked the mansion four were dead. Their intelligence sucked balls. I wasn't there but Claire and Nick were and they just so happened to be meeting with Andreas and the two old scruffy Aurors that were training the security teams.
Combine that with my top of the line wards…yea, it didn't go well for them. They were basically sitting ducks.
"Even though we took four of theirs we still lost two of ours." Cato continued.
The farm attacks were much more successful. The security teams and staff working were able to repel them but unfortunately they got Brian and Amelia.
Amelia Alistair was Ashley's mom and if what I heard was right Brian was courting her, quite successfully, and they were just coming off a stroll when they literally walked into the fight.
They were caught outside the wards and quickly overwhelmed.
An unfortunate coincidence for them.
Amelia's funeral was the day before. The Alistairs were a well-established family and had a private event where it was mostly family with a few members of the pack and other friends in attendance.
"That is not acceptable to me. I want you to know that House Miercuri stands with you! An attack on you is an attack on me and an attack on all of US!" Cato said fiery.
"I will be honest, I do not trust that the Ministry will be capable of bringing justice or let alone protect us in the future! The ministry discriminates! It is corrupt and slow to act."
A sizable chorus and murmurings of 'Aye' were heard all around.
"I believe it is up to us to protect ourselves, to ensure that this will not happen again!" He said firmly to the crowd.
"To that effect I have already discussed with Nick measures that House Miercuri will take."
"We will provide all of our employees with emergency portkeys, well will help …"
We did discuss all of this. It will be pricey but hey it's not like I'm making money in the first place with the wolves. Tying them closer to me, making them feel like House Miercuri is the place that brings security, that will fight for them is much more important.
"…upgrade the wards …will finance the purchase of second wands for all our employees…"
That seemed to interest the crowed greatly. As wolves they were always at risk of losing their wands and even being sent to Azkaban for the smallest infraction. Having a back-up wand could be lifesaving.
"…increase the security force and open up the training to anyone that wishes to take it…at no cost to you."
Miles turned to me. "Your dad is really gearing up for a fight isn't he?" he said seriously. I turned and looked at him.
"My father thinks this will happen again unless we show strength." Miles only looked at me and then back to 'Michael'.
"House Miercuri is dedicated to your safety and while I don't go looking for a fight I'm also no coward. I will stand my ground. I will not be bullied simply because I exist or because my son ruined some terrorists plan."
"I will fight for him and I will fight for you. United we can prevail, we can get justice!"
A chorus of 'Aye' and 'Justice' were heard all around.
"With that said, enough talking shop. We're here to celebrate Brian and not plot how to take over the world" Cato said coyly. Which brought a chuckle out of a few folks.
"Cheers to Brian!"
"To Brian" the crowd responded back sipping their drinks and turning back to their group conversations more animated than before. They did have a lot more to talk about now.
Miles finished his drink in one big gulp.
"When your father makes his move, tell him I'm in." He said as he put the glass down on the bar and left to another group.
I almost smiled.
Scene Break
"Binny coffee please." I said almost instantly after using Arty to transport us to my living room.
Almost just as instantly two cups with small biscuits appeared. Binny made one hell of a Turkish coffee.
"Aghem" Cato cleared his throat. "Would you be so kind to change me back?" He asked.
I snapped my fingers and a blue light enveloped his body from the middle outwards turning him back into his real self.
"Thank you." He said flexing his arms and fingers.
"Don't worry I didn't miss any fingers."
"This time you didn't." He replied. I only rolled my eyes. You miss one finger onetime and he holds it over you forever.
"So do you think they bought it?" I asked him.
"Yes." His reply was automatic.
"Are you just saying that because you gave the speech?" I asked.
He only looked at me and blinked once. "Were you not reading their thoughts?"
Now I felt a bit embarrassed. "Ugh, I was, kind of…not everyone, I was mostly focused on Miles."
He scrutinized me harder this time and let out a sigh. "You forgot didn't you?"
I gasped. "I did not forget! It's just hard you know I still need to concentrate on one person and I still prefer eye contact…plus I was focusing on Miles and …"
"Enough!" He said putting his palm up in reconciliation. "We will go through some crowd exercises at a later date. What about Miles?"
"Calmer than I thought." I responded. "At least on the surface. First family dead and now the second one, he's young and angry but overall taking it better than I expected. He wants justice but will settle for revenge. It doesn't mean he will go on a rampage but he's our man if we want him to. His thoughts were genuine."
"Good. Greg and Craig are also a given." He replied. That I knew as well the brothers not only were friends of Brian but they liked the opportunity that House Miercuri brought them. They especially liked the muggle security training. "But still overall regardless of how you want to play this you will have to bring in Nick and likely Claire. Depends how much you want to disclose."
"Last time we agreed they weren't quite ready." I said frowning.
"They weren't but the scale of this attack changes things. In the original timeline he didn't act until much later in the next year, now injured he lashed out like a wild dog. If he can't get to you he will continue to target those around you."
"Right, if I lose Claire, I lose Nick and if I lose Nick I lose the wolves." He nodded sipping the coffee.
I mimicked him.
"Hmm…Christmas time? That would be the only time, I think."
"It will be enough time to sort out your backstory and how much to disclose." He paused and I considered his words. I did have to decide how much to tell them.
"You could also just kill Voldemort, force a confrontation or drop him into a volcano under anti apparition wards." He said amused.
I snorted mid sip. "He would still live unless I get all the hocruxes first."
"Without a body. If he takes half as long as the first time it's still half a decade away."
I shook my head.
"No, even with the changes, I'm hoping the event will happen in sixth year. It's worth waiting for it, I want the Hollows. Plus with Voldemort running free it will be easier to catch some of the pureblood idiots. I want their elves." I said putting the little coffee cup down.
"I'll give them permanent security and at Christmas time we'll bring them in." I said firmly.
"Very well. Now let's talk about you mind reading the crowd."
"Right now?" I said a bit deflated.
"There is only a week before you return to Hogwarts. Yes right now." He said dryly.
Ugh the lazy part in me really wanted to watch some TV and zone out. I had just spent over a month in ancient Scandinavia basically working the whole time.
Make no mistake getting your ass whooped repeatedly and teaching prickly gods the finer points of building a civilization was hard work.
Still I relented after all I am the one that signed up for this.
"Very well."
Scene Break
Year 7, Day 4: Harry Potter Universe, September 1995
In spite of recent events the sun was shining brightly through the windows of the train platform giving the hustle and bustle of parents and students a cheerful tone.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught a young man who looked extra bright and confident when compared to his movie self.
It's amazing what can happen when your rich godfather is proven innocent, set free and you get to spend the summer getting to know him.
That and Cedric not dying in front of your eyes probably also helped a little bit.
Harry was dressed in casual but very nice fitted clothes and he looked in good spirits as he was conversing with Sue Li while Sirius and Lupin were both chatting with Sue Li's parents.
I assume as he spent his summer getting to know Sirius he also spent it 'getting to know' Sue Li. 'Aww Yee! Maybe our boy won't die a virgin this time!' I couldn't help think.
I have no idea if the whole Dementor attack happened or not, I didn't check, but I doubt it did. Not with both Sirius and Lupin by his side.
"Darrow!" I was broken out of my thoughts by a pitched voice.
"Mandy! How are you?" I said waving at the blond girl. To my surprise she went straight into a hug. Had I not been…well…huge she would have toppled me over.
Before I could say anything another voice I recognized as Larry's shouted my name. "Darrow!"
I looked and saw Larry, Ash and Luna all speedily walking towards me. "Look at him. Told you he'd be fine! He's Le Marteau!" He said almost smugly and while Luna smiled I swear I saw Ash roll his eyes.
Mandy had broken the way too tight and way too close hug. She was pressing her 'growing' assets a bit too confidently into me.
With no Michelle here this year…I might have to watch out.
"You're fine right Darrow?" Luna asked sweetly.
"Yes I am. Now what's this all about?" Apparently that wasn't the right question.
"What's this all about?" Mandy asked incredulously. "Not a peep from you all summer and you don't even write afterwards. We've been worried sick!"
"The attack mate, we all read about it in the papers. Six dead, a farm burnt down?" Larry supplied.
Right, of course they would be worried. I had been so busy that I simply forgot to write back to them.
"Don't worry. I'm fine I wasn't even…" I didn't get to finish my sentence as another voice interrupted us.
"OY! DARROW! MANDY!" We all turned to the shouting voice of Andrew as he was sticking his head out the window two cars down.
"WE GOT A SPOT COME OVER! TERRY AND PADMA ARE HERE AS WELL!" He yelled.
I sighed. Now everyone on the platform around us was looking at us.
"Well come on. You heard him! I'll tell you the story inside. Don't want to repeat myself six times!" I said and took the lead in walking over.
'Oh little ravens what shall I do with…' It was two steps into my thought that a jolt of realization and concern hit me. My eyes frowned and my mouth tightened.
'…he better not target my Ravens.'
AN:
Wohoo! Finally done this chapter! I was really stuck on how to write the funeral scene. Next chapter School year, Nick and Claire, RoR.
Thank you for reading.