Harry smiled as for the first time, a finished ring cooled on the anvil. Creation of metals and then forging the metal into another shape, all without touching it or the tools was one of Flamel's most challenging exercises. It forced him to manipulate multiple things at once, as if his magic were a fine-tuned instrument. It also forced him to think and plan out his manipulations, as he learned the fourteenth time he attempted the exercise by banishing a hammer through the floor. He hit the ring with a cooling charm and carefully picked it up. Eyeing it, he decided it was beautiful with its shifting rings of various shades of iron. Slipping it onto his finger, he realized that it was too big for him. With a shrug he flipped it into the air and caught it as he walked out of the room that served as his training area. Once he showed the ring to the old man, he would be told the next exercise. At least he hoped. He was getting tired of constantly casting climate charms on himself to keep from overheating.
He knocked softly on Flamel's office door. A muffled enter allowed him to push the door open, and toss the ring onto the man's desk, atop the parchment he was clearly grading.
"Finished it have you?" The Alchemist smiled as he crossed through a line of writing on the parchment, making a note beside it.
"Yes master. What's the next exercise?" The black haired boy grabbed a small stack of ungraded essays and swiftly got to work. He would only grade the ones from OWL level or below, but that was a rule in place at Hogwarts, not because Nicolas wished otherwise. If the Alchemist had his way, Harry would be doing the Defense job for him as his apprentice entirely, but alas, the school had bylaws in place to prevent such a thing. Together the duo worked through the essays swiftly, a task that a mere two months ago would have taken them multiple days instead of two hours.
As they finished the last essays, and were preparing to leave the office to enter Harry's Room to study more intimate subjects such as alchemy and magical control, Flamel started to speak.
"Starting tomorrow, you will be teaching every Monday and Friday. That means you will be teaching the fifth years, the sixth years and the fourth years. You will of course have notes, and all authority. I shall be in the back, invisible to ensure safety."
"Why Master?" Harry asked. Over the last two months he had learned much about Nicolas Flamel. Flamel would not expand upon anything without being asked, and rarely would he expand further than a few sentences unless pressed. He believed knowledge was gained and earned through hard work and research, and it was obvious where the headmaster got his vague clues from. However, Nicolas would answer clearly if asked, unlike a man with a long beard that Harry could mention.
"You have control of yourself. However teaching requires a fine understanding of the method of magics. For example, why does a wizard use a piercing curse over a penetration hex?" Flamel asked his apprentice.
Instantly, Harry responded, having asked that same question to Sirius last year. "Wand Motions mainly. The pronounced 'b' shape of the penetration hex means that when chaining or rapidly responding, it is difficult to utilize. Also the hex arcs, which is due to the purpose of the spell being utilized up close. The piercing curse is a mere jab, with a clockwise half twist. That motion chains well into over a dozen spells, the most common being the banishment charm. That particular pair is known as Asgov's Duo, part of the famous dueling chain sharing Asgov's name." Harry was surprised by the time he was finished, having not even realized how much he knew of the difference between the two spells and their usefulness.
"Exactly my apprentice. In my experience those who teach are those with the finest control and understanding of the magics of which they teach. You will be teaching Defense, which luckily has a wide arcing definition. You can incorporate some transfiguration charms and even potions. Those who teach also have a better understanding of themselves." Nicolas smiled as Harry nodded. "You have fine control of your magic now, it is time to gain control of yourself. You must understand who you are, and what that means. Teaching forces you to confront yourself. Teaching forces you to be concise. I suspect that by the end of this year, possibly this term, you will be able to Crown safely."
Harry was excited. Ever since he became an apprentice, he was told by Nicolas he would not be allowed to Crown until he fixed the issue with Nero. To move towards that goal over the last two months, he had been engaging in philosophical discussions, self-isolation and evaluation and more to understand himself and his magic. He had learned about himself and his family more than he ever thought from his master. Nicolas, while not the most social person, had a plethora of encounters with Potter family members. Living over several centuries would make even a hermit seem sociable he assumed.
"Master. I think that if I am to teach in," Harry looked at the week planner on the partner desk, showing the day as Wednesday. "Two days, I should look over what you have planned for the students on Friday and Monday."
"No need. The Fourth Years are studying curses and hexes, specifically casting. The Fifth years are over general combat. They should be able to do a shield charm come their next class. The sixth years are covering combat transfiguration. Which if you cannot teach, you likely wouldn't be my apprentice." A smirk from the man had Harry shaking his head even as he was blushing slightly. His master had a habit of stating his abilities as indictive of why he was granted the opportunity to be Flamel's apprentice. Harry, even while training with Sirius, never received praise as freely as Nicolas gave it. Nicolas believed that praise was a reward and a cheap one at that. He was always careful to note progress and improvement. With a sigh, Harry slid into his chair and pulled a book from the small stack on his side of the desk. Cracking the book open, he began his nightly reading. Yet another task from Flamel, the nightly reading was an hour every evening where he would read about a field of magic, today was charms, and then engage Nicolas in conversation about what it was that he read.
Nicolas was careful with what his apprentice read. While he had a wealth of knowledge due to his familiar magic, that knowledge was not as contemporary as he would like. After a thorough testing, he discovered that the boy's knowledge in spell crafting, charms, warding and enchantment was lacking. His knowledge in alchemy was dated by at least a half century, if not a full, and his potions knowledge was limited to the precise methods on how ingredients interact. That did not surprise him as the last Potter to be a potions master lived in the early 19th century, before the creation of many modern potion making practices. Even with that limitation he was certain that the boy could brew nearly any potion if given guidelines on what the potion was supposed to do, and what ingredients he had, which was what the practical of the OWL and NEWT required.
What truly astounded Nicolas was his student's knowledge on transfiguration, curses, hexes and offensive and defensive spell work. The boy was fifteen yet understood transfiguration concepts that took himself and Albus years to fully comprehend. It was evident that he had the knowledge of masters at his fingertips. Just from what Nicolas remembered and was told of James Potter, he knew that just having his knowledge would allow his student to be a gifted transfiguration user. Yet transfiguration paled in comparison to the offensive capabilities locked in the experiences of the boy's ancestors. Nearly any combat-oriented spell either was practiced or encountered at least once by someone in the Potter family. Being a family who enjoyed freedom, they encountered dark wizards often. While Harry employed a liberal use of elemental manipulation, with a wealth of curses hexes and shields added in to enhance his transfiguration in battle, his ancestors held a plethora of different styles and allowed the boy intimate knowledge of each. He knew that the boy's Grandfather Charles utilized a primarily stationary style, using wandless manipulation of the ground and shields to protect his position while raining hell upon any in front of him. That style was one that he was familiar with, as most magicals adapted the style in some way baring those who traveled a path full of conflict.
It was to fill the gaps that he tasked Harry to read so much. Reading would allow him to utilize the, frankly incredible, foundation of knowledge that his ancestors passed on. It would also allow him the ability to make his own informed decisions about magic. His apprentice once told him that when he crowned and Nero wasn't in control it was like a million voices were telling him to do different things. Nicolas suspected that Harry's identity wasn't strong enough to quell the voices alone, thus the self-discovery. He suspected that soon, he would realize exactly what Nero was. At least he only hoped, because the time was short before Voldemort's actions were more than the mere raids he was performing.
Harry yawned as he set up the classroom for the first class he would be teaching. He decided that a practical approach was needed to teach the concepts of combat. With flicks of his wand he made the room massive with liberal uses of the expansion charm. With a flourish, the whole room swirled as desks stacked themselves along one wall and chairs followed suit on another. With a smirk he leaned against the desk just as the clock tower rang for the classes to shift. As he waited, he tapped his head with his wand, disillusioning himself to the point he was nearly invisible with only a slight simmer. He watched as the fifth years entered. The Ravenclaws were first, easing into the room and glancing around in slight confusion. They ended up setting their bags either at their feet or along the wall of desks. Harry noticed one student, Michael Corner if he was right, using rummaging around his bag for something as a chance to scope out the room. He was certain the student noticed him, as his wand point never left his direction as soon as he was spotted.
The Gryffindors entered next, each one noticing the room and Harry noticed that each had a hand in a pocket, likely around a wand. Ron and Dean had even looked around the room as they moved towards the corners. As the clock tower finished its four-minute-long signal of the hour, the door slammed itself shut, making the occupants jump and look back. In that instant Harry released the disillusion charm, shimmering into existence.
"Good Morning Class. Today I shall be instructing you. All bags are be placed at the back of the room; you will only need your wands." Harry spoke with a quiet authority that many of the students instantly reacted to. He noticed a slight amount of hesitance from some of the Ravenclaws before they obeyed.
"Master Flamel has relayed that you have been covering magical combat. Is that correct?" Harry asked as the students all got back to their original positions.
"Yeah, Harry. General stuff like the shield charm, some curses and defensive wand work." Ron spoke up, his tone familiar as he leaned against the chairs.
Harry nodded. "Okay then. As you can tell this room has been expanded. That is because we will be seeing what you have learned today. Pair up. One Ravenclaw with a Gryffindor. Corner, you're with me to make the teams even."
In a moment the students shuffled around. As the pairs now looked at Harry he smiled. "In most books the term duel is used to describe how magical combat works. However in reality, the term duel isn't accurate. A duel has rules, a referee and a win condition. Magical combat has only one; survival. In this exercise, you are responsible for yourself and your partner. Only the following may be used; Stupify, Protego and Supplemental defensives magic such as disillusionment. If your partner falls, you must either revive or make it to one of the 'medical stations'." With a flourish of his wand, the chairs and desks shifted to form walls; forming two rooms. Another flourish revealed a simmering line that blocked off two feet of the far side of the classroom. Due to the expanded space, Harry knew the distance was approximately 100 meters from the door to the simmering ward line. "That is the safe space. The line is a ward line. As soon as 5 pairs cross that line or I decide, the exercise will be over with a loud gong sound. Is every one clear on the rules?"
"So it's a race to get to the line first? I can handle that." Lavender muttered to her partner Padma. She was lucky to grab the Ravenclaw before her sister did, but judging from Parvati's look at her partner, Sue Li, she wasn't complaining. She was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly missed the catch that Harry mentioned.
"Sounds easy right? Well… you see… there is one small catch…." With a slightly evil grin, Harry pointed his wand to the ground, and a loud bang was heard. In an instant the room was filled with black fog, making it hard to see more than a foot in front of your face.
"You can't see where you're going! And my partner and I will be hunting you down!" Harry tapped Michael on the head, disillusioning him and softly whispering to show him what he's got. Corner slid into the mist, his form quickly disappearing as Harry fired stunners haphazardly as he backed towards the ward line.
Michael frowned slightly as he dodged a flash of blue, noting that due to the chaos, the pairs had turned against each other. He noticed his roommate Oliver and his partner Hermione exchanging curses with Padma and Lavender. With a whisper he stunned Oliver from behind, forcing Hermione on the defensive against the duo. With twin flicks, they fell as they focused entirely on Granger. Hermione was the only still capable of moving as she shielded her partner. Michael slipped further into the mist. He didn't want to upset Harry. He started to move away before Hermione spoke. "Come on then! I don't want special treatment Harry! I thought you were better than that!"
Michael held his throat as he chuckled, projecting his voice to the left of Hermione, the fog turning the sound into something dark and foreboding. "Fine then. Prepare yourself."
Michael slipped away as Hermione looked around her for the voice, content with his mindgames. Soon he found Dean dragging his partner, Isobel along towards the general direction of the medical areas. In a flash, Michael blasted a stunning spell towards Dean, who barely brought a shield up. Dean's eyes widened as he saw Michael's outline in the fog, launching several spells, only one of which was the red of a stunner. Each clanged harmlessly against Corner's shield before the fog thickened due to another loud bang. The last thing Dean saw was Corner grinning before a flash of red hit him from the side.
Michael held his laughter in when he saw Ron and Megan Jones stun Dean. It was utter chaos in the smoke, and he knew that just outside it, Harry would be waiting. With a flick, he engaged Ron and Megan with a modified lumos charm. A faint buzzing orb appeared between the two, that with another flick exploded into blinding bright light for a second. The fog muted the effect, yet also reflected the light creating an effect similar to what Michael read about as a flash grenade. As the two held their eyes, he stunned them both, and in a flash of inspiration cast sticking charms to keep them to the floor. He grinned as he grabbed both Dean and Isobel. When this was over, he would have a surprise.
Harry checked his watch. At the ten-minute mark he looked across from him to see only one pair; Parvati and Sue Li; both panting as they leaned against each other. Even working together they couldn't touch him. Harry was in awe at the ease of his dismantling of every thing that the girls threw at him. Even when they broke the rules of the exercise by using offensive spells such as curses and even in Parvati's case some transfiguration of birds, Harry easily countered each thing. Spells were deflected, countered or in some cases casually dodged.
Sue Li raised her wand shakily before Harry blasted a stunner forth, it easily destroying the shield the girl managed knocking her out. Parvati soon followed. As the girls slumped against each other, Harry pointed his wand at the ward line. With a loud gong, the exercise ended. A flick made the black fog start to dissipate. Harry smirked as Michael came into view. He was sitting casually in a clearly transfigured chair, as seven stunned bodies were positioned around him. Hermione had her wand trained on him, likely midcast when the ward gong went off.
"Michael. Hermione. Exercise is over." At a speed most of the students didn't even register, seven renerverates were sent flying towards the victims. With groans each woke up but still didn't move from their spots. Harry's eyebrow rose as Michael grinned.
"Sticking charms. Really useful from second year." A wave, and each was free.
"Gather round. We get to discuss this." Harry snapped his fingers making the desks and chairs move back into place. As the students settled in, Harry leaned against his Master's desk.
"What happened?"
Michael's hand was the first up. With a nod from Harry, he stated "As soon as you sent stunners randomly into the smoke, the pairs assumed they came from each other. It became chaos and a battle in there. I used that to my advantage, sneaking along and stunning randomly. I could also throw my voice so it sounded like the stupefy came from the left instead of the right, which really helped against the shielding."
Harry nodded. "Anything else?"
Hermione's hand went up and she got a nod. "Well, we didn't really trust our partners. I know I wasn't close enough to Oliver to stop him from going down."
Harry nodded. "That is one of the major things about combat. It is one reason why hitwizards and aurors both work as partners. Even in times of peace, they work hard to be able to work together. In a combat situation, any advantage should be explored. I gave you all an advantage that you didn't even think about. It was 8 pairs against 1 pair. Even against those odds, it was unlikely you would have won, however, it was much more likely than even one of you getting past me. Another reason why I paired you up was to show that even people you may not know well can become an ally in a combat situation. What each of you should have done was as soon as you paired, you should have asked about strengths and weaknesses. I know that Master Flamel had spoken of those with this class, and I know you all should be aware of what you are capable of." The class absorbed the information rapidly, as they took notes.
"Next, we should discuss the issue with that exercise. It was too safe. Outside of this classroom, and this castle hopefully, combat is not that safe. Stunners will not be the spell of choice for most lawbreakers, even if they aren't cold blooded killers like the Death Eaters. Who can tell me the most used offensive spell?" Michael's hand went up.
Harry nodded to him when he realized that there wouldn't be any one else willing to answer. Michael spoke swiftly. "It's a debate between two spells actually. According to ministry data on spells cased first in Auror arrests it is the Reductor curse. However according to my dad, who is a hitwizard who runs the Diagon Alley beat, it's more likely a cutter of some kind."
Harry laughed a little before he straightened. "Sorry. I didn't mean to laugh it's just not what I expected to hear. You see the answer I was looking for was "no one knows. I personally know over a dozen ways to open a fight, and that is using transfiguration. Spells are just as versatile. Such as the modified lumos charm that was mentioned in your reading. Did anyone think that the first spell taught to you would be combat effective with the addition of a mere flick? The second year curriculum is full of nothing but combat effective magic, even if you never knew it. The incindio charm can make a fireball, which is hard to shield against. Even the knockback jinx has a combat purpose if you think about it. The biggest weapon a magical has is their mind. For example, Michael ensured that anyone he stunned was out of the fight. How? A simple sticking charm, applied to large areas allows him to stick them in place. Its simple its fast and its effective."
The class continued, with Harry lecturing for twenty minutes before separating the class once more in half. "Okay, now who can tell me the fundamental weakness of shield charms?"
Sue Li raised her hand, and at Harry's acknowledgement, began to speak. "Shields are always tied to something. Normally that means that they are stationary, such as protego, or are smaller as is the case with Scuja."
Harry nodded. "I am going to give you a question, and I want you all to either try it, or think about it. Can you tie a shield to an object that you are not touching or a part of? I will not accept any answers until five minutes have passed."
He watched impassively as Hermione and the Ravenclaws tore through their notes on the shield charm. Harry knew that they wouldn't find the answer there unless the Ravenclaw common room had information that is normally housed in the restricted section. Traditionally, this was something that the students discovered on their own and were taught of later, but Harry felt that this was extremely useful. That is if anyone got it.
Ron's brow furrowed in thought as he went through all the applications of shield charms that his family had ever mentioned. In a flash of remembrance, his hand shot up just as the five minute mark shown on Harry's watch.
"Yes Ron?" Harry asked.
"You can tie them to other objects, otherwise you wouldn't be able to shield someone one else with a spell. You can tie them to ward stones as well, my brother mentioned that was one of the first things they were taught in Egypt because of the sandstorms."
Harry smiled as he nodded. "Yes. Shields are interesting pieces of magic. Take the protego, which is taught in third year now. Previously it was taught fourth year, but still fairly early in your education. Why is that? The reason is actually extremely complex and dives into magical theory that most will never see a use in. The basics are that the spell is elastic, keeping its form due to its tether. That means that the shape of a shield is malleable. Observe." With a tap of his wand to his non-wand arm, and a spoken scuja, a kite shield appeared on his forearm. With another tap and a scuja, the kite shield was replaced with a buckler.
With a flick the shield disappeared and with another flick, a red ball the size of a melon appeared. "What this means, is that shields can be strengthened or even weaponized by a few talented individuals. In History you will learn about a woman named Sonja Longfellow, an American who joined Grindlewald as a lieutenant. She, like all the lieutenants received a moniker to strike fear into the populous. She was known as the Shield Maiden. Her specialty was shields and barriers, which you will learn more of if you study into NEWT level. Essentially, when she would enter combat, she would do something that has been mimicked only by teams." Harry gently tossed the ball to Ron. "Place a shield around it. Michael, place a shield around Ron's shield."
Harry waited for the two to do as asked before he lashed out, stating his spell clearly so that the whole room would know what happened. "Hasta." A small clang was heard as the spell was completely nullified. Harry smirked and repeated the spell six times, each one being nullified.
"That piercing curse is one of the most common ways to deal with a shield charm. Normally three go through nearly any shield. That ball just took on seven. Layering of shield charms is a tactic that anyone who will be working together should be aware of. Ask Michael how he did it, and ask Ron what it felt like. Due next class,2 essays are due! I want 8 inches on the exercise we performed; focus on what you could have done differently to improve and I need 10 inches on piercing, cutting and the drilling charm. Answer me this, why are piercing and cutting curses more prevalent than drilling charms, severing charms and penetrating hexes? Dismissed!" Harry smiled as the class started to leave, enjoying the extra two minutes given to them by the Apprentice.
Nicolas shimmered into existence as the last student left the room, his position sitting at the desk having never been noticed. "You mentioned layering to them so soon. Why?" The alchemist opened the conversation with that question, as everything else made sense to him.
"What did you notice about the class Master?" Harry asked as he moved the desks and chairs once more, this time forming two towers flanking the entrance to the room.
"You speak of the Corner boy. Correct?"
"Yes Master. His wand was inherited, similar to Neville. Even with a handicap, both were good enough to still be above average. Corner excelled at control. I know you could see into the fog Master. Michael controlled that battle entirely. The boy may not have power, but he has control. Same with Sue Li and Hermione. Both excel in versatile control. What they don't know is synergistic casting, or syncing your magic to your own previously cast spells. Corner was syncing his magic to my disillusion charm, possibly even instinctually."
Nicolas thought through his memory of the battle. He watched the whole thing from his desk, and now that he thought of it, he realized that he only saw shimmers of red instead of flashes whenever Corner cast, signs of either an underpowered spell or a synced one.
"Interesting observation. Any other noteworthy members of your former class?"
"Ron and Dean when they entered immediately assumed a cross fire position, without speaking to each other. It was them that spurred the cross house pairing actually." Nicolas nodded, having idly wondered about the reason his apprentice had shifted from the original plan. "I thought that if Ron and Dean managed to team up, they would figure out the exercise."
" You desire to train them to find allies mid-combat, or find roles that fit them outside of combat." Nicolas smiled at the shocked look on Harry's face. "Now my apprentice. I have been teaching longer than you have been alive. It will work, but only if you are consistent. Next exercise the pairs assigned should be random. Also, same objective in escape, however make it that only the first 3 pairs will escape and they will be excused from the homework. Opinions?"
Harry thought through what that exercise would look like for that class. "Okay, but we will modify a little bit. Each pair can only have one support caster and one offensive caster."
"Ah, have them rely upon each other to escape?"
"Exactly master. The first three exercises will focus on that concept. The next will be a solo exercise, probably in a special corridor if it is still there." Harry rubbed his chin in thought as he checked his watch.
"Next are the sixth years. You know that." Nicolas lightly scoffed. All of his students had a time related habit. Albus studied best when a clock was ticking in the room, Harry checked his watch. He never understood the appeal, however being an immortal likely shifted his view significantly.
A slight flex of his magic made him disappear once again, just as the clock tower rang the turn of the hour, and announcing the arrival of the Sixth years. Harry leaned back against the desk to prepare himself for the first double long class.
Flamel watched in silence as again his apprentice proved his worth. Explaining battle transfiguration as if it were a game allowed the sixth years to experiment, while incorporating the spells that they should have memorized and practiced according to their homework. Using only transfiguration, the class had to get by Harry. Flamel smirked, still unseen, as his apprentice held off the entirety of the Sixth Year Newt class. The entire time, his wand was moving, yet he never stopped instructing. Each flick, turning beasts into furniture, into walls, into flames that incinerated flocks of birds.
"Nathan, upward flick will get better cohesion; Jasiline, Meghan control your conjuring better. A single flick shouldn't shatter your marble! Warrace, channel more into it! If you want it to reach me, you have to mean it!" Harry called out as he battled the sixth years to a standstill. He knew that this was a losing effort on his part; one mistake would result in him being overrun, but this was the lesson his Master instructed him to do.
With a circular flick, a bell appeared and rang twice, signally the end of the lesson. "Wonderful job. Now, since we are all loose, make some desks so that we can take notes."
For the rest of the class, Harry taught the small helpful things about transfiguration. He spoke about how transfiguration was an art of moderation and control. Amazing for turning the tide in certain spaces or for fighting multiple opponents, transfiguration gave crowd control without resorting to elemental magics or runic techniques, both of which were difficult to utilize in combat. He also spoke about the necessary moderation of one's self that came with transfiguration. He spoke that transfiguration in general is very taxing unless you know exactly what you are doing, something that few magicals can do with consistency. Therefore, the common auror tactic of creation of barriers which are then strengthened, gives the general bonuses of transfiguration, without having to be masters of the art.
The sixth years gained pages of notes as Harry lectured; from topics as simple as conjuration in combat, to the viability of conjuring a spike into someone. The last one actually gave him a pause for a second and he responded," The likelihood of a magical pulling that one off midfight would be low. Maybe if you opened it on an unsuspecting person, but then you are doing murder which isn't the point. Without some form of enhancement, most aren't going to have the mental clarity to pull that one off. There is also the argument that a magical would be able to feel the attempt due to the magic required, similar to forced human transfigurations." The class nodded in agreement, each having been apart of the Transfiguration course that spoke on human transfiguration. Harry decided then and there that his master's requirement that each student be in NEWT Charms and Transfiguration instead of scraping a grade over all for their OWL was the best way to go about not having a consistent teacher.
"Any other questions?" Harry asked as the class only had a few minutes remaining. One sixth year put up their hand, a pretty brunet who Harry thought was named Andrea. Upon his nod of acceptance, she spoke. "What is the benefits of transfiguration when dealing with creatures?"
Harry smiled widely, as for the first time someone asked him about creature based combat. While Professor Lupin specialized in Creatures, he knew that the curriculum for them were heavily moderated for Defense. However, such things were up in the air with this class. Harry glanced subtly at the desk before speaking. "That is a wonderful question, and plays into our next lesson. I want 18 inches on transfiguration dealing with creatures with 3X ratings or below. Give me examples, transfigurations that are easily used and those that won't work for certain creatures. The majority of that information can be found in the library, especially if you look up how to handle the creature. Those of you in Care, likely have adequate knowledge to at least begin. When we return, we will look at what to do in the unlikely event you are facing a 4x or higher creature alone. See you next time." Just as Harry finished speaking, the clock tower's chime rang through the castle. As the last of the students for the day went through the door, Harry looked at the desk to see his master smiling widely at him.
"Good job my apprentice."
Grindlewald straightened his robes with impatience. This was always the part he hated about being in-charge. Speeches always were simple to create and even give, at least for him; no it was the stuffy dress robes that the speech giver always had to wear. Each layer just added more material, restricting his movement, covering his flesh. After his first imprisonment, for a mere week before being expelled from Durmstrang, he grew to hate confined spaces. That was one reason what every cell in Nurmengard was rather spacious, his the most lavish cell of them all.
Shaking the memories away, he slid his wand into the holster on his wrist, thankful that the trusty tool was up to the task he placed upon it two months previously. As a man entered the room to remind him of the time, he was also glad in his training of his lieutenants. Scarvosky survived that explosion mainly due to his ritual. However, the fact that Grindlewald even had men still was due to Scarvosky's abilities to manipulate iron. Grindlewald was aware that the Iron Cross that each person wore was saturated with Scarvosky's magic. Yet, to create literal domes of iron around several dozen of his men was simply incredible. Even if the effort put his Iron Angel into a coma that he had yet to awake from.
Grindlewald walked through the halls of the Russian Court of Magic, his passing gathering various people. First was Klaus, stationed faithfully by his door. Next was the only other lieutenant that had be able to join him. Sonja Longfellow was not the best healer, yet she was capable enough. As such it did not surprise him that she exited and joined his side from the makeshift medical bay followed closely by those who were injured, yet could comfortably walk behind her.
Next were the officers of his forces. Each one stood waiting in the main hall of the auditorium, their rank and file behind them. Their arms and wands were crossed over their chest, only falling in one platoon at a time as Grindlewald passed. He strode through the doors, and walked to the podium.
Before him stood dozens of reporters, hundreds of magical citizens and flashing cameras and lights. He began to speak immediately.
"My dearest countrymen. It is my grave duty to accept this position in what is possibly the most trying time in our lives. Just a few short months ago, my predecessor and the dark lord Grindlewald dueled, resulting in the destruction of the Prime Chancellor's castle. In a daring move, he destroyed himself to ensure the destruction of the dark lord Grindlewald. I am proud to say that his decision has resulted in a stronger Magical Russia!" The cheers from the crowd were loud, boisterous and were only calmed by a few motions of silence from Grindlewald.
"As you may know, due to the invasion of the dark lord's forces, we had lost much; our leader, much of our government members, our families and some of our friends. I declare this day a day of mourning for Magical Russia, in remembrance of those we lost. However! We may not stop our strides of recovery by not addressing the tyranny that allowed Grindlewald to invade our great nation! Where was the ICW?! Where were our allies when my esteemed predecessor call for assistance?! They failed to answer, and thus they should pay the price! Our day of remembrance need not happen if our calls were answered! Our nation would not have to rise back to our feet! It is for that reason, that my first act as Prime Chancellor of Magical Russia is to ensure that no plague exists inside our country, and that no alliance favors the other over our country. It is my pledge to you, my wonderful countrymen, that under no circumstance will Magical Russia become the oppressed nation that our Allies seem to desire. That under no circumstance will our nation be infested with those who do not believe in Magical Russia. This I swear under my name! For I am the Prime Chancellor of Magical Russia, I am Alexander Brendwal!"
As soon as the speech ended, the crowd started to chant his name as reporters from around the world started to ask questions.
Under the false face he wore, Grindlewald smiled widely.
you know, when I said I'd timeskip 2 months, I didnt mean in real Life. But Corona and getting Harry's teaching right was difficult. Next chapter will be aftermath, Grindlewald's next steps, and some Voldemort. Also, I sorta got addicted to another idea I had for a story. That will be going up soon as well, with over 5 chapters already writen. So if you are interested in star wars or Naruto, give it a read.
Til then, Zero.