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Chapter 8 - July 4th - 11:23 P.M. - Day Two

Knowledge of Growth

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Last Chapter:

30 minutes later, the first copy of the Daily Prophet for July 5th was printed. There was a picture of Fudge taken a few days ago. The picture of Fudge was looking unhappily at the bold headline, 'Ministry of Magic Changing, Fudge Resigns'

Another article by the Junior Editor was also on the front page, it's headline was the question on everyone's minds at the Prophet, 'Who Will Become the Next Minister of Magic?'

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Harry lay in bed thinking about what had happened earlier on that night.

*Flashback*

Harry and Snape stood looking at each other, waiting for the other to make a first move. Finally Snape said,

"You can go now."

Harry nodded and left the room. However, instead of going to his bedroom, he found himself walking towards the sitting room. He entered and looked to where Myrrdin Snape's painting was. The man in question was pacing his portrait and muttering to himself.

"Don't know why- some fellow- impossible prat!"

Myrrdin yelled the last part and Harry could barely stop himself from jumping.

"Excuse me." said Harry, interrupting Myrrdin's rant.

Myrrdin looked up and smiled.

"Young Harry! How are you? I hope you like the Manor here. I bought the land a long time ago and one of my descendants built the place. Now who was it?" Myrrdin paused and started to tap his chin in thought. He suddenly brightened up.

"Ah yes, it was Adrastos Snape! A fine man, very sociable. He was given the position of Lord. It's a shame no other Snape's have been given that position."

Harry was confused by Myrrdin's comment and asked, "What do you mean that he was given the position of Lord?"

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? Don't you know about the position of Lord and Lady?"

Harry shook his head, utterly confused.

"You don't know! What a disgrace! Well, I shall gladly clear things up for you." said Myrrdin outraged at Harry's lack of knowledge.

"The wizarding world didn't always have a Ministry of Magic. In my time, wizarding communities usually ruled themselves. However, they needed some higher form of ruling to keep all the communities in line. That is where the ruling Lord and Lady came in. One of the wizarding families were chosen to rule over the communities. The head of the family and his wife assumed the title of Lord and Lady. They were given power to rule however they wished. The first Lord and Lady were very just and fair rulers and were supported by most of the wizarding community in Great Britain. Except, when they died, there was a battle over who would take their place of power. Rowena Ravenclaw devised a secret way to choose the next Lord and Lady who would rule. I suppose it's still being used, however, it's still secret."

"So, do they had the Lord and Lady positions today?" asked Harry.

"Of course they do!" said Myrrdin, "Although, when the Ministry of Magic was formed, the power of the Lord and Lady was lessened. I believe that now their power only extends to making changes to the Ministry of Magic building, sending people to Azkaban without a trial, and letting people out of Azkaban without a reason. Of course, they do have a great deal of influence in the Ministry."

"Who are the Lord and Lady now?" asked Harry, startled.

"Well, the last I heard the last several generations have had Malfoy Lords and Ladies. Although, I don't believe there is a current Lord at this time. The current Lady Malfoy disappeared around 17 years ago." said Myrrdin.

"Malfoy! No way! They are too corrupt to have that much power!" yelled Harry in outrage.

A smooth voice interrupted Harry's tirade.

"I believe that is why there isn't a current Malfoy Lord at this time." said Severus walking to Harry's side.

"Whatever power chooses a Lord and/or Lady has always chosen good people who wouldn't let power corrupt them or their moral beliefs. That is why Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy aren't ruling. Lucius is an evil man and Narcissa is too easily swayed in her beliefs. Lady Ophelia Malfoy, Lucius's mother, is a headstrong woman. The only reason she is a Malfoy is because her marriage to Edwin Malfoy was arranged between her father and Edwin Malfoy's mother. Edwin's mother was a power-hungry woman who wanted nothing but more power. I've been told that she wanted to be given the title of Lady, but she was passed over. Her husband was Lord Cyril Malfoy, a good man from what I've heard. Edwin Malfoy was soft and was controlled by his mother. It was a surprise to them all when his wife gained the title of Lady Malfoy after he had been passed over."

"I heard that she has been missing for 17 years. What happened?" asked Harry.

"For all I know, Lucius killed her. More than likely though, she left the country to get away from her corrupt son who was a great deal like his father." replied Severus.

"Hello Severus," said Myrrdin, "it has been a while since you last visited me."

"Yes, well I've been teaching for the past several years at Hogwarts." said Severus, "Although I need to do some things so I will see you again later."

With a nod, he left the room with a sweep of his robes.

"Were you really friends with Salazar Slytherin?" asked Harry.

"How dare you question me!" exclaimed Myrrdin, "Of course I was friends with Salazar!"

"I'm sorry, but could you tell me more?" asked Harry.

"Why not?" said Myrrdin, "I grew up in a house near Salazar. Our fathers had been life long friends and Salazar was like a brother to me. We were taught magic together and when he created Hogwarts with the other founders, I was given the position of Dueling Professor. I was quite the dueler in my time. I was also there when he left Hogwarts. Salazar in truth didn't want all muggle borns out of the school, he just felt that some caused unnecessary trouble. Godric blew it all out of proportion because he and Salazar had never gotten along to begin with and it had been getting worse. Then Salazar was riled up into a huff and left. Neither one of them let go of their pride and apologized. They were both too stubborn. I was always jealous of one of Salazar's abilities though. It was a very interesting one. He was a parseltongue and could speak to snakes. I always wished that I could speak to snakes."

"Did his father speak parseltongue as well?" asked Harry curiously.

"No, it was a trait that Salazar was born with. He did pass the trait down to his son though. Why do you ask?" said Myrrdin examining Harry.

"No reason at all." said Harry, "I really should be going though. It's getting late."

"Very well Harry," said Myrrdin, "Come back to see me soon."

Harry waved and headed to his room.

*End Flashback*

It was a great deal of information to process and Harry decided to sleep on it.

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The woman in light blue robes with the mirror paced around her chair. He was late! Of all the times a person could be late! A flash of fire then appeared in front of her and a man appeared. The fire died away and he smiled at the woman. He was Asian and had long black hair in a braid. He had a small goatee on his chin. He wore a Japanese kimono with a hakama*. A Japanese katana* was strapped to his back.

"Vi! It is wonderful to see you!" he said with a Japanese accent.

"You are late!" she said sharply. "Why are you late."

"I couldn't help it. I had things to do. You know what's coming." he argued.

"That's true," she agreed, "You don't have to be Des to know what's coming."

"A war is coming. A large one. I feel that many people will die." he said sitting down on the floor.

"I just hope that he will be okay." said Vi, "Des won't tell me anything."

"He's not supposed to tell you anything and you know that." said the man, "And what do you mean he? Are you talking about a mortal or are you talking about Uth?"

"I'm talking about the mortal we all are aware of." she said.

"Ah, yes, he is very special. Much lies on his shoulders." said the man, "Now what was it you called me for?"

"I was wondering if you could convince her to help me." Vi said softly.

"You want me to convince her to help you! She'll never do it unless you ask her yourself. She is still waiting for an apology you know."

"I know, it doesn't hurt to ask you to do it though, you are closer to her than I am."

"You must do it yourself." said the man, "I must go now."

He bowed and said,

"Goodbye Vision. I hope to see you again soon."

Vision smiled and said, "I wish that it could be under better circumstances, War."

With those good-byes, War left Vision standing in her room. Wondering what would happen next.

(*A Hakama is a garment that goes over the kimono; kind of like pants. A katana is a type of Japanese sword.)

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July 5th - 8:00 A.M. - Day Three

Harry sat eating Breakfast in silence with Snape. When they finished, Snape asked,

"What plans do you have for today?"

Harry thought for a bit before replying,

"I'm not sure Professor, I might start on some Summer homework."

Snape looked at Harry and said, "It's Severus, remember? Would you care to help me with some potions I need to start brewing?"

Harry was a little surprised, but said, "Okay, when do we start?"

"Right now." said Snape, "Follow me."

They both left the room and went upstairs to the second floor. However, Snape turned away from where Harry's room was and headed towards the end of the hall. When Twinkle had shown Harry the manor, Harry noticed that there wasn't a door at the end of the hall, just a wooden wall. When they reached the wooden wall, Snape got his wand out and tapped the wall twice. To Harry's amazement, the wall disappeared and a door took it's place. Snape opened the door and several candles blazed to life.

With the light, Harry saw that it was a Potions lab. There were several caldrons lining one wall and all types of other things lined the other walls. Snape went and gathered two cauldrons to place over two of the four burners on the low table in the middle of the room. With a quick 'incendio' a fire was flickering under the cauldrons. Another spell added water to both cauldrons.

"Now come here and choose one of the cauldrons to work with. I will gather the ingredients while you can look at the potion we are making on page 563 in that book on the small table over there." Snape gestured to a tiny table on the corner with a large book on it. Harry turned to page 563 and saw that the potion was titled, Phoenix Draught. Harry was a little confused at first, but continued to read the instructions. Snape then sat the ingredients by the cauldrons and took the book from Harry.

"Now then, we are making this potion because Madam Pomfrey needs to restock her healing potions and the Phoenix Draught is a very powerful healing potion. Now you first need to wait until the water boils. Now that the water is boiling, you need to add a pinch of lionfish spine and stir clockwise 7 times. After that is done, you need to add two hairs of a jarvey."

They continued to toil over the cauldrons carefully. Harry was learning more about the complexity of Potions during this time than he ever really had in class. They finally added the final ingredient and sat down to wait for it to boil for 10 1/2 minutes.

"Severus? Why are you never like that at Hogwarts? I mean, how come you don't go into detail with all of your lessons?" asked Harry cautiously.

"Because most people at Hogwarts don't appreciate the fine art of brewing potions. Also, if I went into detail, I wouldn't be the feared Potions Master I am." said Snape sharply.

"You could at least be a little more fair towards the students." Harry pushed.

"I have a job to do and I do it. I don't have to do anymore than that!" Snape said icily.

"It's because of your task as a spy for Dumbledore isn't it?" asked Harry quietly.

"Yes it is." said Snape, "I believe it's time to check on the potions."

They both went to the cauldrons and took them off of the burners. Much to Harry's surprise, his potion was the exact same color as Snape's. Snape examined both potions before saying,

"I do believe that both of the potions are perfect. You are better at brewing potions than I thought."

"You never gave me much of a chance to prove myself." said Harry, "There's more to me than you know."

With that, Harry left the lab and headed towards his room. Snape poured the potions into vials and stored them in a small box to send to Madam Pomfrey later on.

An owl then flew in and dropped off the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. Snape looked at the front page and was shocked at the headline, 'Ministry of Magic Changing, Fudge Resigns'. He read the article and started to smirk. So that is why Dumbledore wouldn't be coming to Snape Manor for a while. At least that fool of a minister was out of the way. Another article printed speculations of who would be elected next. Amelia Bones was one of the predominate names mentioned, as was Arthur Weasley. Snape shook his head. Madam Bones was a good choice except she was perfectly happy being Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. However, although Arthur Weasley could be a little over excited at times, he would make a decent minister.

Snape thought that Harry would perhaps like to see this edition of the Prophet, so he went to the door to Harry's room and knocked on it. The door opened and Harry appeared, clearly surprised that Snape was there. Snape handed Harry the Prophet and said,

"I thought that you would be interested in today's Prophet. After all, you especially have been a victim of our former Minister's malice."

Snape then walked off to clean up the lab.

Harry looked at the paper and after reading the headline, he couldn't help but smile. Finally that moron who called himself minister was gone.

~End Chapter 8~

A/N: Yay! Chapter 8 is up! I hope you all think this chapter is fine. It was written a little hastily. I am half asleep right now. The ACT takes a lot out of a person. Well, onto the reviews!

HermioneGreen: Severus was just kinda knocked out so that he would be put to sleep. You will learn about the book later.

lillinfields: I'm glad you liked it and here's more!

Molly Morrison: I changed that stuff on chapter 3. I'm not Italian, so my translations suck. Hopefully it's a little better now. Thanks for your reviews!

AlannaRiddle: Yes, Harry will have blue eyes. Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate the support.

To starangel2106, Elessar, Anarane Anwamane, HecateDeMort, Lady Lightning, Luny, Nphipps, Henio and all those who read Harry Potter and the Serpent's Secret: Thanks for your reviews of support! Without you, I probably wouldn't be continuing this fic! Thankies!!!!!!

The next chapter should be up in a week.

|~Lilyanphino~|