1976
James Potter and Lucius Malfoy had been working diligently on their assignment from Professor McGonnagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. After a few minor adjustments, they'd finally figured out exactly what needed to be done. Tonight, their fourth night of detention, they were ready to test it out.
'I can hardly believe Malfoy's being so incredibly agreeable. Must be something in this for him that I haven't figured out yet.'
"So are you sure about this?" James asked. He was a little uncertain, wondering if perhaps Malfoy had decided to poison him during the 'test'. After all, the Slytherin definitely had the upper hand in Potions. James couldn't have identified half the ingredients in this potion, not to mention verified their purposes.
"Don't be absurd, Potter," Lucius looked at the raven-haired Gryffindor with contempt. He knew the Potion was perfect. For that matter, everyone in school knew that Lucius was a Potions expert, second only to his housemate, Severus Snape. How dare Potter question his knowledge? "Of course I'm certain about my potion. Perhaps you would prefer that I take it first, to ensure that you won't be poisoned by my exceptional knowledge?"
"Absolutely Mr. Malfoy, that's exactly what I would prefer," James said pompously, doing an amazing impression of the everyday tone and behavior of one Lucius Malfoy. Oddly, Malfoy was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being mocked. He simply reached for a small vial and filled it slightly over halfway with the watery black liquid.
"Tell me sirs, are we ready for our test?" Professor McGonagall asked. The two young men turned to see their Transfiguration professor standing just inside the doorway along with Albus Dumbledore. James smiled at the two professors, noticing the twinkling eyes and friendly smile he received in return from the Headmaster. James had always admired and respected Dumbledore, who was widely known as the most powerful wizard of this time.
"Yes, Professor, I believe we are," Malfoy answered.
The four of them gathered around the caldron, the young raven-haired man holding the small, liquid filled vial. Lucius and James explained what they had come up with for the first stage of the assignment.
"We decided that it needed to be visual," said Lucius. He took out a blank piece of parchment and spread it across the table. "We've enchanted this parchment to show a calendar of sorts. It's receptive to the dates spoken to it." With that, he touched his wand to it and said, "November, 1976" Immediately, lines and numbers appears on the parchment, spreading across it, merging together, until finally there was a complete calendar month neatly laid out on the table.
James Potter smiled to himself, pleased that he could achieve such accurate results without the help of Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail. He'd discussed it with them first, not wanting to use the Marauders Map secret without the prior knowledge of the other Marauders. Looking up at his professors, it appeared they were quite pleased with the enchantment as well.
"Now," James said, "all we have to do is brush the potion over it, and it will reveal any dark disturbances during the month of November."
There was a moment of silence as the young men pondered the power and importance of what they were about to do. If this worked, well, it could well change the way the wizarding world was run. It would be an invaluable tool for the Ministry of Magic, as well as a highly guarded secret that would require great protection by the Misuse of Magic office.
"The potion will not be complete until we add the Centaur tears," Lucius said. "With the seeing powers of the Centaurs, the tears will give us the opportunity to see the future. The potion without the tears would simply reveal dark influences of the here and now."
'Like you?' James thought. He knew the Malfoy's had been Slytherin's for many hundreds of years. He also knew that Lucius Malfoy's mother, Electra, was as dark as they came. 'She's probably been teaching Lucius the Dark Arts since he was a baby.' Shaking his head slightly, James came back to the issue at hand.
"How much of the Centaur tears do we need to add?" he asked.
"One drop should be enough for the month," Lucius said. He pulled a dropper out of a delicate glass bottle and allowed one very small drop to fall into his vial and they watched as the potion went from a murky black to crystal clear.
"It looks just like water!" James said with surprise.
"It's supposed to," Lucius replied quietly. He was quite proud of this potion. Lucius never told anyone how often he worked with Severus Snape on their Potions homework, late evenings in the dungeon, hours and hours of detailed potions work, creating new ones, practicing old ones. He never talked about the deeper level of his friendship with Severus. Their friendship was quite different than the others he had formed within the Slytherin dorm over the last six years. Lucius was hoping this potion, created on his own, would be special enough and powerful enough to provide him with a place in the wizarding world as a future potions master. Perhaps he would even have the opportunity to work with Severus in a professional capacity. Lucius was completely unaware of the discreet smile that crept onto his face as he considered the notion of impressing Severus with his new potions work, working with Severus, creating potions with Severus, spending extra time with Severus, touching Severus.but that line of thinking would get him nowhere. Lucius already knew that his parents had pledged him to Narcissa. No matter where his desire or his heart led him, he would be married to Narcissa within a year and they would be expected to produce an heir as soon as possible.
"Ah-hmmm" The sound of Professor Dumbledore clearing his throat quickly broke that train of thought. "Shall we?" Dumbledore asked Lucius, the twinkle in his eyes told Lucius that he knew exactly what the young blond had been thinking, while the smile told Lucius that Dumbledore would keep that knowledge to himself.
"Yes sir," Lucius said. "We shall."
Lucius picked up a soft brush and dipped it into the vial James was holding. The parchment darkened slightly as the liquid was spread across, but then went back to its natural pale color almost immediately. They looked at one another, then at their professors, and waited. The four of them sat in the potions classroom looking at each other silently and waited for something to happen for what seemed like hours. Finally, (about 3 ½ minutes later) it happened.
Shimmering letters appeared on the calendar, in the box representing November 17th. ~Darkness falls, 4:17 pm~
"Now what?" James asked.
"That's simple, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore replied. "Now you get to work on the next step."
"We would like to see what the two of you can do to prevent or correct the problem that will occur on November 17th," McGonagall said. "You may use a charm, a potion, divination, or any other ideas that make sense to you. Please notify us when you are prepared, we'd like to see something by the end of the week." With that, she glanced at Albus, her eyes clearing saying 'we've got a lot to talk about' and turned to walk out of the room.
Professor Dumbledore nodded slightly at Minerva, then looked at the young men in front of him with the ever-present twinkle in his eyes. "You two may not be old enough to have learned this yet, but I'll tell you now, there are very few times when it is beneficial to argue or disagree with a woman. Something about them, they always seem to have the upper hand." He smiled and started toward the door, then paused and looked back at them. "I'm very proud of the both of you. That's some good work you've done, and very befitting work from two of the most powerful students in the school."
James smiled at the kindly headmaster, then turned to begin putting equipment and ingredients away so he could get back to his common room and find the woman who had the upper hand in his life. Lucius followed suit, primarily thinking that Electra would be proud to hear that he had impressed the headmaster with his potions work.
In the corridor, Minerva and Albus walked quickly and quietly to the gargoyle which led to Albus' office. Albus Dumbledore quietly whispered his password, {Sugar Quills} and the two of them followed the spiral staircase up to the office where they could, at last, discuss the amazing events that had taken place that evening.
"I find it utterly amazing that two students could put together such powerful magic in a matter of days, Albus. What are we dealing with here? What do you hope to get from this?"
"I believe those two students, along with a few others, could do much more than that if they were to put their minds to it. We have some strong powers in this school, Minerva. Stronger than we have in at least two decades. And there will be more to come, power like this school never thought it would see. I can sense it." He reached for a Chocolate Toad and quickly bit a leg off before it could hop away. Though he seemed distracted by his love for sweets, Minerva knew he was completely attentive in all things serious.
"What do you know?"
"I know that James Potter and Lucius Malfoy are very powerful wizards, possibly much more powerful than many of the governors of the school, and even a number of members of the Ministry. I also know that Potter is most likely going to marry Lily Evans, the most powerful witch born of non magical parents I have seen in my lifetime. I've no doubt that those two will produce some very strong children in time. Furthermore, I know that Lucius Malfoy has been promised to Narcissa Black, also a gifted potions student - not to mention an excellent beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team - and those two are very likely to have extremely powerful offspring as well."
McGonagall sat silently, wondering what this was leading to.
"I've received word from an old friend at the Ministry of Magic, a seer in the Future Accuracy and Reparation Department. She tells me that Scales of Power are showing something very odd, extreme fluctuations in the balance of power, and that these two families are somehow involved in it. The time wheel seems to be a bit off, as though the future has been put together wrong, like a potion mixed in the wrong order. The high levels of power we have within these young people lead me to believe that we're on the right track. Once we see what else Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy come up with, we'll have an idea what to do next."
James Potter and Lucius Malfoy had been working diligently on their assignment from Professor McGonnagall and Headmaster Dumbledore. After a few minor adjustments, they'd finally figured out exactly what needed to be done. Tonight, their fourth night of detention, they were ready to test it out.
'I can hardly believe Malfoy's being so incredibly agreeable. Must be something in this for him that I haven't figured out yet.'
"So are you sure about this?" James asked. He was a little uncertain, wondering if perhaps Malfoy had decided to poison him during the 'test'. After all, the Slytherin definitely had the upper hand in Potions. James couldn't have identified half the ingredients in this potion, not to mention verified their purposes.
"Don't be absurd, Potter," Lucius looked at the raven-haired Gryffindor with contempt. He knew the Potion was perfect. For that matter, everyone in school knew that Lucius was a Potions expert, second only to his housemate, Severus Snape. How dare Potter question his knowledge? "Of course I'm certain about my potion. Perhaps you would prefer that I take it first, to ensure that you won't be poisoned by my exceptional knowledge?"
"Absolutely Mr. Malfoy, that's exactly what I would prefer," James said pompously, doing an amazing impression of the everyday tone and behavior of one Lucius Malfoy. Oddly, Malfoy was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being mocked. He simply reached for a small vial and filled it slightly over halfway with the watery black liquid.
"Tell me sirs, are we ready for our test?" Professor McGonagall asked. The two young men turned to see their Transfiguration professor standing just inside the doorway along with Albus Dumbledore. James smiled at the two professors, noticing the twinkling eyes and friendly smile he received in return from the Headmaster. James had always admired and respected Dumbledore, who was widely known as the most powerful wizard of this time.
"Yes, Professor, I believe we are," Malfoy answered.
The four of them gathered around the caldron, the young raven-haired man holding the small, liquid filled vial. Lucius and James explained what they had come up with for the first stage of the assignment.
"We decided that it needed to be visual," said Lucius. He took out a blank piece of parchment and spread it across the table. "We've enchanted this parchment to show a calendar of sorts. It's receptive to the dates spoken to it." With that, he touched his wand to it and said, "November, 1976" Immediately, lines and numbers appears on the parchment, spreading across it, merging together, until finally there was a complete calendar month neatly laid out on the table.
James Potter smiled to himself, pleased that he could achieve such accurate results without the help of Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail. He'd discussed it with them first, not wanting to use the Marauders Map secret without the prior knowledge of the other Marauders. Looking up at his professors, it appeared they were quite pleased with the enchantment as well.
"Now," James said, "all we have to do is brush the potion over it, and it will reveal any dark disturbances during the month of November."
There was a moment of silence as the young men pondered the power and importance of what they were about to do. If this worked, well, it could well change the way the wizarding world was run. It would be an invaluable tool for the Ministry of Magic, as well as a highly guarded secret that would require great protection by the Misuse of Magic office.
"The potion will not be complete until we add the Centaur tears," Lucius said. "With the seeing powers of the Centaurs, the tears will give us the opportunity to see the future. The potion without the tears would simply reveal dark influences of the here and now."
'Like you?' James thought. He knew the Malfoy's had been Slytherin's for many hundreds of years. He also knew that Lucius Malfoy's mother, Electra, was as dark as they came. 'She's probably been teaching Lucius the Dark Arts since he was a baby.' Shaking his head slightly, James came back to the issue at hand.
"How much of the Centaur tears do we need to add?" he asked.
"One drop should be enough for the month," Lucius said. He pulled a dropper out of a delicate glass bottle and allowed one very small drop to fall into his vial and they watched as the potion went from a murky black to crystal clear.
"It looks just like water!" James said with surprise.
"It's supposed to," Lucius replied quietly. He was quite proud of this potion. Lucius never told anyone how often he worked with Severus Snape on their Potions homework, late evenings in the dungeon, hours and hours of detailed potions work, creating new ones, practicing old ones. He never talked about the deeper level of his friendship with Severus. Their friendship was quite different than the others he had formed within the Slytherin dorm over the last six years. Lucius was hoping this potion, created on his own, would be special enough and powerful enough to provide him with a place in the wizarding world as a future potions master. Perhaps he would even have the opportunity to work with Severus in a professional capacity. Lucius was completely unaware of the discreet smile that crept onto his face as he considered the notion of impressing Severus with his new potions work, working with Severus, creating potions with Severus, spending extra time with Severus, touching Severus.but that line of thinking would get him nowhere. Lucius already knew that his parents had pledged him to Narcissa. No matter where his desire or his heart led him, he would be married to Narcissa within a year and they would be expected to produce an heir as soon as possible.
"Ah-hmmm" The sound of Professor Dumbledore clearing his throat quickly broke that train of thought. "Shall we?" Dumbledore asked Lucius, the twinkle in his eyes told Lucius that he knew exactly what the young blond had been thinking, while the smile told Lucius that Dumbledore would keep that knowledge to himself.
"Yes sir," Lucius said. "We shall."
Lucius picked up a soft brush and dipped it into the vial James was holding. The parchment darkened slightly as the liquid was spread across, but then went back to its natural pale color almost immediately. They looked at one another, then at their professors, and waited. The four of them sat in the potions classroom looking at each other silently and waited for something to happen for what seemed like hours. Finally, (about 3 ½ minutes later) it happened.
Shimmering letters appeared on the calendar, in the box representing November 17th. ~Darkness falls, 4:17 pm~
"Now what?" James asked.
"That's simple, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore replied. "Now you get to work on the next step."
"We would like to see what the two of you can do to prevent or correct the problem that will occur on November 17th," McGonagall said. "You may use a charm, a potion, divination, or any other ideas that make sense to you. Please notify us when you are prepared, we'd like to see something by the end of the week." With that, she glanced at Albus, her eyes clearing saying 'we've got a lot to talk about' and turned to walk out of the room.
Professor Dumbledore nodded slightly at Minerva, then looked at the young men in front of him with the ever-present twinkle in his eyes. "You two may not be old enough to have learned this yet, but I'll tell you now, there are very few times when it is beneficial to argue or disagree with a woman. Something about them, they always seem to have the upper hand." He smiled and started toward the door, then paused and looked back at them. "I'm very proud of the both of you. That's some good work you've done, and very befitting work from two of the most powerful students in the school."
James smiled at the kindly headmaster, then turned to begin putting equipment and ingredients away so he could get back to his common room and find the woman who had the upper hand in his life. Lucius followed suit, primarily thinking that Electra would be proud to hear that he had impressed the headmaster with his potions work.
In the corridor, Minerva and Albus walked quickly and quietly to the gargoyle which led to Albus' office. Albus Dumbledore quietly whispered his password, {Sugar Quills} and the two of them followed the spiral staircase up to the office where they could, at last, discuss the amazing events that had taken place that evening.
"I find it utterly amazing that two students could put together such powerful magic in a matter of days, Albus. What are we dealing with here? What do you hope to get from this?"
"I believe those two students, along with a few others, could do much more than that if they were to put their minds to it. We have some strong powers in this school, Minerva. Stronger than we have in at least two decades. And there will be more to come, power like this school never thought it would see. I can sense it." He reached for a Chocolate Toad and quickly bit a leg off before it could hop away. Though he seemed distracted by his love for sweets, Minerva knew he was completely attentive in all things serious.
"What do you know?"
"I know that James Potter and Lucius Malfoy are very powerful wizards, possibly much more powerful than many of the governors of the school, and even a number of members of the Ministry. I also know that Potter is most likely going to marry Lily Evans, the most powerful witch born of non magical parents I have seen in my lifetime. I've no doubt that those two will produce some very strong children in time. Furthermore, I know that Lucius Malfoy has been promised to Narcissa Black, also a gifted potions student - not to mention an excellent beater for the Slytherin Quidditch team - and those two are very likely to have extremely powerful offspring as well."
McGonagall sat silently, wondering what this was leading to.
"I've received word from an old friend at the Ministry of Magic, a seer in the Future Accuracy and Reparation Department. She tells me that Scales of Power are showing something very odd, extreme fluctuations in the balance of power, and that these two families are somehow involved in it. The time wheel seems to be a bit off, as though the future has been put together wrong, like a potion mixed in the wrong order. The high levels of power we have within these young people lead me to believe that we're on the right track. Once we see what else Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy come up with, we'll have an idea what to do next."