Chapter 25: Preparations for the School Year
It wasn't very difficult to break into the Ministry of Magic. Harry and Hermione found that out at the end of fifth year, when Harry lost Sirius. Hermione found it even easier during her first solo mission, when the Ministry lost Cornelius Fudge.
The challenge this time was not to break into the Ministry, however. The challenge was to remain in the Ministry for several hours, and conduct some business in the Department of Mysteries, without being discovered by any employees. In order to successfully take the island of Azkaban from the Ministry, they had to move quietly until they were ready to take the prison. It had to done in one move, very quickly, so there was a lot of groundwork that had to be done before they took action.
The biggest task involved in taking the prison was the alarms. A massive web of interconnected wards and charms, all meshed together to a single alarm, located in the Ministry of Magic. The gigantic phalanx of spells was designed to instantly alert the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of a prison break. Obviously, in order to move all of the prisoners, they had to get them out of the cells, which would set off all of the alarms, and bring the entire Department to investigate. The Shadow Mages were very strong, but an attack of that size might damage the prison, and make the school's impending opening take much longer. Since the school was scheduled to open in just three weeks, they had to act quietly, quickly, and decisively, and they had very little time to do it.
The two shadow mages entered the Ministry in the same way that they always entered places. The doors all had alarms on them, but they didn't need doors to enter rooms. As they had planned, they were dressed as the Shadow Master demons, just in case they were discovered. Harry and Hermione immediately split up, each having a job to do. Hermione was taking care of the alarm system, and Harry was taking care of some very personal business.
Harry made his way down to the very bottom floor of the Department of Mysteries. He didn't want to come here often, but this was the only place where he could do what he needed to do. Pausing to make sure that he was alone, he approached the center of the circular room, where an odd arch-way stood, with a veil that drifted in the silence.
"Mother, Father, I would speak with you." Harry knew that he could speak to the dead in this room. His magic was demonic enough to reach across the planes, but there was no way for the dead to reply unless the conversation was held at a location where the division between planes was very thin. In the Department of Mysteries, where the two worlds were separated by only a veiled arch, was the absolute best place to converse between worlds.
Two dark shadows coalesced on the other side of the veil, and Harry knew that his call had been heard. He'd never tried to contact his parents before, even though he knew that it was possible. He'd been putting it off, convincing himself that he was too busy to take the time, but he finally admitted that he was afraid. His parents had brought him into the world, but they didn't have any idea WHAT they were bringing into the world. They knew about the prophecy concerning him, but they didn't know that their son could become the greatest force of darkness that the world had ever seen. Harry wasn't evil, but he certainly was dark, and he freely admitted it. Voldemort was evil, and that was a fact. However, Harry didn't know whether his parents could make the distinction between dark and evil. After all, most spells from the 'dark arts' side of magic had been used for evil at some point.
"Harry…" the ghostly voice of Lily Potter drifted from the veil. "I wondered when you would find the courage to visit us."
"My son…" his father continued. "You've grown since last we saw you in person." Harry knew that his father was speaking of the echoes forced from Voldemort's wand. When the Killing Curse was used, it forcibly separated the soul from the body. Spell feedback was guaranteed with any spell of that considerable power, and a small part of the soul was trapped in the wand of the caster. When Harry had pulled the soul fragments out of the wand, they had re-joined the rest of the souls in the afterlife, taking the experiences with them.
"I have grown, dad." Harry said. He was going to try and explain what had happened, but quickly found out that he didn't have to.
"I hope you didn't come to us for approval, Harry." His mother admonished lovingly. "I know what you're up to with that school of yours, and I don't think I could be as proud of you for anything, not even for being elected Minister of Magic."
"A pair of demons, who called themselves Flame and Blade, paid us a visit." Harry's father explained. "They explained to us about Voldemort's ritual, and the reasons it failed. They also explained about the consequences of the ritual on both you and your friend."
"Speaking of that, where is she?" Lily asked. "I would very much like to meet this girl who has stolen my boy's heart."
Harry gulped, just a bit nervous. Since the demons left their bodies, Harry and Hermione had gained most of their human emotions back. Sometimes, Harry wished that it weren't that way, especially when he was nervous. "She's upstairs, taking care of some school business."
"She's circumventing the Azkaban ward stone, you mean." Lily said with a smile on her voice.
Harry was about to reply, but didn't get the chance. Apparently, Hermione was much better at overcoming wards than he was, and had already finished her task. She melted easily into the room and walked over to Harry. "I've finished, Harry. We can take Azkaban whenever we want to. Have you finished what you came to do yet?" It was only after she said this that she turned to look at the veil, and noticed to very distinct silhouettes still clearly standing there. "Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to interrupt."
"That's alright, Hermione." Lily said. "I had just asked Harry about you, anyway. I know that you love my son, Hermione, and you have my heartfelt thanks for looking after him."
Hermione blushed a bit, and thanked Lily for what she said, and harry felt the need to get back on topic. "Mom, Dad, the reason I came to speak to you tonight has to do with us joining you beyond the veil."
Harry's mother was immediately vocal about this. "Harry no! You're too young to be thinking about dying. Your whole life is ahead of you, and you've just started an amazing project. You can't just up and leave it to the hands of fate. It's going to take several years before the school is fully operational, and has the right reputation."
"I know that, mom." Harry said defensively. "And trust me on this; we're not coming across the veil for a very long time. That's what I needed to talk to you about."
Now Lily was confused, so James asked the obvious question. "I'm very glad to hear that, Harry, but why would you come here to talk about NOT committing suicide? I mean we wouldn't ever expect you to do such a thing."
"Let me explain, dad." Harry said. "When the demons possessed us, they altered our bodies and out magic. They increased our sensory awareness, and added new senses which I can't even describe. One of those new senses can help us determine how long we will live, based on our health, and cellular growth rate. Demons age much slower than humans, so much slower in fact, that they are often thought of as immortal."
James Potter's profile showed surprise. "You mean…" He trailed off, unsure how to finish.
"That's right, dad. As long as nothing happens to kill me off, which is almost impossible, Hermione and I will most likely celebrate our twelve thousandth wedding anniversary before I appear to be as old as you." Harry said evenly.
Hermione took over for Harry. She knew this was difficult for him. "Harry doesn't want to be without his parents for that long, so we've come up with a solution, but we would like your support before we do it."
"I won't support either of you killing yourselves!" Lily snapped. "I sacrificed myself for you, Harry. I did it without a second thought, and I would do it again. I love you, my beautiful boy. I couldn't bear the thought of you joining me beyond the veil, not even now."
They didn't understand. Harry had to make them listen before they flew off the handle. "Mom, I don't want to kill myself, and I don't want to go beyond the veil. I want the both of you and Padfoot to join ME, on THIS side of the veil."
Harry's parents were struck properly speechless by the new information, and Hermione used the opportunity to explain her idea. Harry loved it, and she thought that Harry's parents might enjoy it also. "Earlier this year, I stole one of Harry's pictures from his album. It was a picture of Sirius, James, and you, Lily. I took it to an artist to have it turned into a painting, and the man asked if I wanted to have it animated, like a proper wizard painting. I told him that, no, I didn't want it enchanted in any way. I had the inkling of an idea, and needed an un-spelled painting to make it work."
As was their habit of late, Harry finished the explanation. Hermione and Harry liked to swap right in the middle of long explanation. They really did enjoy watching the heads turning to follow the speaker. It was like the listeners were watching a tennis match, the way their eyes went back and forth. "Because of the lengthy amount of time that the Dementors occupied Azkaban, the separation between your plane and ours is very thin. Not nearly as thin as right here, but if we enchanted that painting properly, it would become a window from your plane to ours. You couldn't cross over again, but you could see and hear what was going on in my school, and I could have my parents nearby, even if I couldn't touch you. It would be almost exactly the same thing as a Wizard portrait, but you could continue your life on your plane as well."
Once everyone was on the same page, Harry's parents were more than happy to agree to the plan. Harry left the Ministry that night, very pleased with the way things were going.
The raid on Azkaban was over before it even started. Without the wards to alert the Ministry, the two Shadow mages made short work of the Aurors. They didn't kill any of them, but they did force a tactical retreat. Once the Aurors were all gone, Harry and Hermione began to weave the Shadows into what was the most advanced thing that they had ever done. It had to work the first time, because there wouldn't be enough magic in either of them to do it again in the same day, and they didn't have an unlimited amount of time.
Harry began tracing the powers flowing around the island, and started weaving shadow magic throughout the lines, ensuring that nothing could apparate onto the island. Hermione began to weave more complex shadow patterns, and tied them to a large piece of Amethyst crystal. She was ensuring that portkeys designed to land anyone on the island would get confused, and land the traveler somewhere close to the Bermuda triangle.
When those two tasks were done, Harry and Hermione joined hands and began to chant. It was an extremely old spell that they were attempting, and had to be done with two people. There was simply no other way to channel the sheer amount of magic that it took to cast the ancient protection spell. The spell was equal parts words and gestures, and the two Shadow mages synchronized themselves perfectly. They finished the incantations at the same moment, and both joined hands and began bending the shadow magic to their will, strengthening the spell, and altering it to their unique magical signature. Once the shadow magic was balanced with the spell, Harry and Hermione used their enchanting skills to permanently tie the spell to the island itself, making a permanent ward, the most perfect protection that they could give the island.
The final product of the spell became apparent when the waves reversed themselves, and headed back to the sea. The undercurrent washed up to the shore, and was sent back out to sea as another cresting wave. Harry had insured that nobody could apparate to the school, Hermione had defeated the portkeys, and the two together had prevented physical entry by boat, since the tide would push all boats away from the island.
There were things beyond their abilities, however. It would be a difficult flight, but a group of dedicated wizards could approach by air, either riding magical horses, or if they really tried, broomsticks. Harry had spoken to the leader of the elementals, and she had assured him that it would be no problem to alter the air currents around the island to prevent any entry by flying.
Harry also had a lack of understanding of House-elf magic. It became apparent to him that his defenses weren't complete when about one hundred of the little buggers appeared, seemingly right through the defense systems. At the head of the small Battalion of house-elves, was a very familiar face.
"Harry Potter! Dobby has found you!" The small elf squeaked excitedly. "And Harry Potter has such a monstrous house now! Dobby brought friends to help him work for Harry Potter!"
Hermione was more than thrilled at the arrival of so many house elves. Well, she hadn't really thought about actually running the school in terms of how the students would be fed, but was ecstatic when each and every one of the house elves demanded one galleon per month, and three days off per year. Harry agreed to the terms, and the elves began to turn the prison into a school. Harry and Hermione decided to kill the prisoners, since most of them were serving life sentences anyway. Four of the prisoners were there for a few months only, and Harry and Hermione set them free early. The rest of the one hundred twenty six prisoners were serving life sentences on charges of murder, so they were killed. It was easier than setting them free, and they couldn't keep them.
"Welcome, one and all, to the Shadow Keep Academy." Harry Potter stood from his seat in the Keep's Great Hall. "I am pleased to see that so many students decided to take a chance on a brand new school. Having said that, since the feast is over it is time for me to give the start of term notices. Look around you, and notice the types of students that you will be going to school with. Some are Werewolves. We have a sizable amount of Vampires. I noticed that the Drow sent a few of their promising young ones, and it seems that we have the pleasure of welcoming the entire new generation of elementals, as well as a considerable number of their instructors."
Hermione stood then, and took her place in the center, to properly start the tennis-match explanation. "The one major thing that you might notice, is that there are no wizards. Most of you can use wizard magic, but you all have abilities beyond normal human wizards. Vampires, you can cast spells with wands, but you can also manipulate emotions and influence reactions. It's how you feed from humans. Drow, you have several secrets of your own magic, most of which center around the mysteries of soul magic. Werewolves, you have the ability to become some of the most fearsome warriors in the world. You are strong, fast, and remarkably hard to kill. These are the skills that we intend to help you hone to a razor sharp edge."
Harry took over, and the ball volleyed again. "This school is not a school for wizardry, as you might have believed. This is a Military school. We are going to teach you to harness your potential as warriors, healers, and commanders. When we are finished with you, you will be an asset to any military force you wish to join, including the newly formed Azkaban Militia. Every one of you, when you finish this school, is guaranteed a position in the Azkaban Militia. We will teach you magic as it applies in battle, how to counter the spells directed against you, and how to fight without magic as well. Most importantly, we intend to teach ALL of you to master your abilities."
"You might be wondering what Harry means by mastering your abilities." Hermione continued, and eyes scanned back to her. "Werewolves, especially, since your abilities are dependent on the moon. Are they really dependent on the moon, though? Let's ask Remus Lupin, Commander of Werewolf Battalion."
A door opened, and in sauntered Remus Lupin. The entire Hall gasped, with the exception of the few screams that were heard. What sauntered into the Hall was not a human with Lycanthropy, but a fully transformed werewolf. There was complete silence in the hall for a few seconds, and then a massive cheer erupted from the werewolves assembled at the large werewolf table. Remus walked to the very center of the hall, wher a black piece of cloth waited for him. Sliding a paw under the black fabric, Remus transformed into his human form, and wrapped the cloak around his shoulders. "If you believe," Remus barked, "that you are powerless against the moon, then you had better think again." Harry smiled, as it had been his idea for Remus to act like an Army Drill Sargeant. Remus began to pace. "Right now, you're not controlled by the moon. You depend on it! Society has you so brainwashed into thinking that it's wrong to change, that you need the moon's power to unlock the possible potential inside you. Well, I learned how to unlock it without the phase of the moon to help me, and I learned it from those two! With their help, I intend to teach each and every one of you how to master you own magic, and conquer the moon."
The applause and cheering continued for several minutes, and Then Harry sent the students to bed. It would be a very long year, and he was ready to get started.