Chapter 6: Getting the others, taking a trip
The rest of the evening had been eventful. Minerva was now speaking to Albus Dumbledore, and Flitwick was having a drink in his quarters after he considered that even the recent pranks on the school compound made sense. They almost seemed to resemble the sort of thing James would have done if Lilly could have assisted him when he was a student. Harry Potter was probably a crow, indeed. Percy had to be working for him. How to approach the boy without spooking him? For now, he would work to earn Percy's trust until the right time arrived. Meanwhile, Penny Clearwater was having a chat with her boyfriend, as her world was going to get rather impossible.
"So Penny as I was saying, I work for someone important. After what occurred yesterday, I think it is important for you to meet my…employer."
"I don't know Perce. Do I have to take a magical oath? That seems a bit severe. What could be that important?" Penny asked.
"Confirmation that the thing you saw a couple of months ago on the Castle front lawn was the Dark Lord himself. He is alive, as I said. Where do you think I have been getting information about the Founders? My employer's lineage and direct dealings with them." Percy replied.
"That doesn't seem possible Perce. Although if that is true, I want to see their lore?" Penny asked, as she was somewhat excited.
"Last year for the holidays you would have noticed that I warmed up to muggle or as my boss likes to say…mundane things. I suddenly wanted Muggle history books. Then I started to pick out nice gifts for you partially because I have a lot of galleons and I understand how to use technology. Suddenly pureblood Percy was getting regular takeout from all of the best spots in London. And I know how you appreciated the book voucher and the kindle for Christmas." Percy replied.
"That is one of the things, that made me decide that you are a keeper. I am good enough as a muggleborn witch. We get enough insults in your world already. You scored eleven out of ten this Christmas gone by. That and the workouts you are doing - I can see the chest getting much broader. You look delicious, lately?" Penny replied, as she licked her lips and Percy grinned a little bit.
"All of that improvement and understanding has to do with the fact that my boss straightened me out. He is a half-blood. He lives in both worlds. I came to realise that I trusted my textbooks too much, and nothing is invaluable as having an experience. So I went into muggle London and had a good time. Realised that Lucy had it out for my father, and I became appreciative of his efforts. He always tried his best to ensure that we weren't hungry. After we started the kitchen business, dad told the Ministry to sod off."
"How did that go?" Penny asked.
"Well, my father understood little about the mundane world. He always considered your world fascinating. And even then he was the authority on mundane items and appliances, within the Ministry. Now the Ministry is trying its best to deal with toasters and other items that have been enchanted to harm non-magicals. They are struggling." Percy replied.
"When I came to the kitchen for the holidays we saw your mum using a lot of appliances. My mother was quite jealous of the multiple Kitchen-Aids and other things." Penny asked.
"My boss modified them. They run on magic. Now, dad is a legit expert on mundane appliances and devices. He has been reading on the computer at home, and even bought tools and took things apart. Heard he bought an AMG C63 recently. You would not be able to tell that we were purebloods now." Percy joked.
"You know if your boss is responsible for you being more accepting this past year, he might not be so bad?" Penny suggested.
"Okay Penny, so it looks like I have to use unreasonable means as reasonable discussion is taking too long.
I promise you that if you take the oath, you can sleep in next to me in a nice comfy full-sized bed. You can have me all to yourself. Somewhere outside of the castle…and it is in a manner of speaking, my space. Tonight. We might even manage to carry you to France for a little sightseeing tomorrow morning. Possibly."
"Mr Weasley, if I decide to give my oath, you better had and deliver, on everything. Who knows you might get to…..see something nice…." Penny teased.
"I look nice with my shirt off sweetie.
"It is you, who might see something nice tonight. You might even get a chance to see how I perform under combat conditions this Saturday. Where do you think I learned the wand work? Your handsome boyfriend trains like an Auror at an obstacle course outside school." Percy insisted, confidently.
"All right that is it. Carry me, and I will give my oath. If you don't deliver on your end, I am murdering you and putting your body in a ditch." Penny replied.
Harry who was listening to the conversation after Percy had pinged him, whispered into Hermione's ear, "Oh I like it. Slytherin bribery tactics! Percy is a giga-chad now!"
"You know, playing matchmaker is kind of fun! They are so cute together. Come on let us help a lad out. Get Mipsy to get a bottle of good stuff waiting in his room?" Hermione suggested.
"Already on it!" Mipsy replied as she rolled in the new parts of the rail cannon into the workshop.
"Hey, time for assembly then. So we have another eaglefoot. We will continue to monitor our favourite pair of Indian twins. The small group who stopped by the kitchen might make for good recruits too." Harry suggested before Percy pinged his comms.
"We will need to kit Penny up with a package. We should start making these and having them ready to go. It feels so nice when we give the gear out, it feels official! I am going to get an A.L.B for her, to keep Dumbledick out of her head. You bringing Susan to have a chit-chat with her?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, I will. She deserves to know. I say giving Susan a tour might be funny. She will tell Amelia everything. Good giggles!" Harry replied before Percy pinged him on the communicator.
"Hello, Harry. I think we have Penny. Cleared for transport to the workshop?" he asked.
"Sure! Remember your introduction? Come on, make Penny work for it!" Harry laughed.
He and Hermione decided that after they were done with Penny, they would deal with Susan. The only acceptable collateral damage was the children of the Death-Eaters. Harry reasoned that Susan ought to know what had happened to her, after sharing her mind with Riddle.
Penny found herself confused as Percy pulled up his sleeve and then a complicated bracelet appeared on his hand. Then, he adventurously wrapped his arms around Penny's waist, before whispering one of Hermione's favourite lines, that he had adopted.
"Hold on spider monkey!" he laughed as he pressed the button, and Penny found herself looking at the Thunderbolt-II, after landing in the Peverell Workshop. Percy held Penny's hand and walked her over to Harry and Hermione who were behind their multi-monitor setups.
"Right Penny, so my boss is the one and only Harry Potter, also known to the masses as the Storm Lord. And we have his friend, Hermione Granger, the Storm-Priestess." Percy replied with a smirk.
Penny began to stutter, as that claim was already ridiculous enough. Harry and Hermione came over and gave Penny a polite handshake as her poor head looked at the gunship, the standard muggle weapons and finally armour alcove in the corner of the shop. Penny seemed shocked – Harry Potter was alive? What was this place? Did it look like an engineering lab? Were those things, weapons?
"Oh poor you, Penny. You look like him, the first time we brought him here. He almost lost his mind!" Harry smirked.
"What is that?" Penny asked as she looked at the long cannon on the workbench
"Prototype rail cannon. Shoots a twenty gram depleted uranium weight at approximately 0.01 per cent the speed of light. Say about 30 kilometres per second. If you check your standard formula, Kinetic energy is 1/2MV^2, you get the equivalent energy of an APFSDS or one of those tank penetrating rounds. And we can increase the speed to double that if necessary. We are installing her into our gunship." Harry replied casually.
"Where did you get depleted uranium from?" Percy asked.
"Lorna? I think she made a deal with some Russian warlord from somewhere. Who knows?" Hermione laughed.
Penny was now looking at the Thunderbolt, and she appreciated the Union Jack that was painted on the sides. The stylised PEVERELL-BLACK INDUSTRIES and GRANGER-BLACK PHARMACEUTICALS looked intimidating. It suggested not the traditional magical businesses that she was familiar with - they were modern and had a corporate vibe to them.
"Can the new gunship handle that much force? How are you getting the power to dump down the rails?" Percy asked, as he had a fairly good idea of how the thing worked - he had seen the previous prototypes, being broken into tiny pieces many evenings.
Harry replied, "The barrel floats in a superconducting array that can absorb the recoil. The barrel eventually deforms after firing multiple shots at higher speeds. We need better metallurgy. New barrels will be an ongoing expense if we have to use the cannon regularly. We also have to use the thrusters to compensate, as the recoil makes the gunship do a forward wheelie if you want to call it that."
"That is a scary amount of power? What did you do?" Percy asked.
"We improved the tolerance of the superconductor pads. They are much closer to the projectile. The superconductors are cooled by a bose-einstein condensate coolant and we improved the reactor power output by using a dual plasma stream. They rotate opposite each other in a constrained manner. Far better Plasma enrichment. Also causes the efficiency of the magic emission to be much higher. The internal aluminium core is accelerated with the magic and carries the round down the barrel, and it even becomes a plasma that stays under compression until the depleted round cracks and spills everything out, like a shaped charge. Punch through and splatter at the same time."
"What?" Penny asked.
The pair seemed like mad-scientist types, and yet there were wands and runes around the shop.
Penny as she sat on the couch, was soon greeted by Remus and Sirius, as Harry briefly explained the entire fiasco. He even provided the necessary memory recollections, evidence and recordings of Albus' plotting sessions. For Penny to hear the voice of the Dark Lord, as he whispered feverishly had gotten her white with fear. It also did not help that she had been his student, last year. After the main plotline of Harry's life was explained, Penny got a tour of the armour systems before she was given an Anti-Legilimency Bracelet or as Hermione now called it, an A.L.B. Penny gave the oath gladly, and Sirius questioned her about her skills.
"So what exactly were the job prospects?" he asked.
"I already know as a muggleborn I will not get a job in the Wizarding World. I did my ACCA last year. Topped England in the exam." Penny replied, with a proud look on her face.
"As soon as the holidays arrive, you are hired. It will be hard work, but we pay the galleons. I think we can do 2,000 gallons a month. Ten thousand quid." Sirius replied. Penny was surprised. That was a ridiculous amount of money – only fully chartered accounts earned that much, and often only in bigger companies. Sirus explained why soon enough:
"Why are we paying you such an exorbitant salary? We are doing this because this is preparation for war, and we need secrecy. After you leave Hogwarts, working here full-time will be a challenge. You will find out things you rather didn't know. You might be required to work late nights too, with Percy. We hunt criminals in our spare time. Rapists? Narcotics? Human Trafficking? We tend to kill them. So, operating for us is almost like being Pepper Potts for Tony Stark. Then, you will be required to train. Everybody can fight. You will be sculpted into a dangerous witch. Weapons training, magic, tactics, the whole deal."
"That sounds reasonable. I am not much of a threat to anybody. I would like to at least protect myself?" Penny replied.
Harry then explained, "Oh, we got you covered. About that, we have a little package for you. We have a transporter, some shields, a drone and other goodies. You can take Tonk's old room as she moved out and…."
Harry explained her new accommodation options, and Percy was assigned the responsibility to take her through the gear and other items. Thirty minutes later Harry and Hermione had apparated into the apartment and helped to get Penny settled in, by asking Tipsy and Mipsy to assist with stealthily moving over her possessions. While most Ravenclaws shared a dorm with somebody else, Ravenclaw Tower had single dorms for prefects. As far as anybody else knew, Penny was just staying in her room.
"Right. Thanks for joining the fight. It is a long road with a lot of preparation. Tomorrow we are zapping to France to take our morning run. Hermione has some unopened extra clothes that will fit you well, as you guys are the same size. And yes, all blue. See you lot in the morning." Harry replied before he and Hermione disappeared into the castle, to fetch Susan Bones. Fred and George tumbled out into the living room and found themselves shocked. Then when they saw that she had her hardshell case, they reasoned that she had been recruited.
"Ah, Miss Clearwater. Welcome to Supreme Leader Haza P's gang. Or as Gred likes to call it…."
"Warlord Peverell's army! We hope you suffer during the morning run!" the twins replied in an alternating manner.
"Oh, it is proper bloody painful!" Fred commented.
"Hi! Er…okay. Hey, Harry told me about the contraband operation. You got ice cream?" Penny asked.
"Whatever flavour you want. The flatscreen has Netflix too if you want a break from your studies. Help yourself. Last floor. Check the freezer, Percy will show you. The third basement. We are going back to the machine shop." George replied.
Soon enough Percy's room was closed shut, and his brothers quickly understood that the couple did not want to be disturbed. Penny made it her business to make Percy's eyes roll and his toes curl, and Percy reciprocated. He was happy that the room was silenced. Three hours later, Penny purred as she said:
"That was a performance. Maybe that exercise did you a lot of good."
There was a momentary pause, as both of them giggled, and Percy began to fill Penny in on the other parts of Harry's story that had been skipped. Then she had a look at his research before he showed her footage from Harry's 'battle cam' of the Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets. Finally was a small tutorial on how to use the stealth mode in the bracelet, along with the new Marauder Map which now featured all the secret tunnels that were hidden in the walls and even the Chamber of Secrets. Penny was surprised that Hermione could conjure such complex illusions.
"Their magic makes me feel like they are all about the Iron Man vibe!" Penny exclaimed.
"Exactly that – Harry and Hermione are sci-fi nerds. The Marauder's bracelet looks feels and functions like something Tony Stark would have built. Although technically, Harry might be legitimately ahead. Thunderbolt-II has plasma afterburners and a magical fission reactor. They are working on a piece of mathematics for their jump drive, and they should be able to apparate into outer space…"
"Both of them are crazy, Perce. Perkins was convinced that Fred and George were the culprits. And while he never was interested in ratting them out, he always wondered why they never found the contraband at the castle. I cannot see how they would ever look for it in this apartment?" Penny explained.
"Yes, Harry plans to send Voldy a purchasing history of every single student from the darker houses," Percy replied as he smirked.
"Oh dear Pearce, won't they be punished severely? Although I have to admit, that is a brilliant move?"
"That was always the idea Penny. While the main threat for this year has been thwarted, I still want to dig deeper into Riddle's business. As I told Harry, a headboy to take another headboy down."
"Who knows love, it might be a headboy and a headgirl. Let us get some shuteye. I heard we are going to France for a run. You people are impossible!" Penny laughed.
"Oh just wait until to see the obstacle course this Saturday, Penny. Maybe you can join our squad?" Percy replied.
"You have a squad?" Penny asked.
"You will see, for yourself" Percy smiled.
While the lovebirds were having a good time, Hermione sneaked into the Hufflepuff Girl's dormitory under invisibility. She grabbed the diary from Susan's bed with some titanium padded gloves, and quickly placed it into a sealed titanium box. The girl who was not aware of the occlumentic link to the Horcrux awoke immediately as soon as it was severed. As she looked for the diary, Hermione grabbed the girl's hand and apparated both of them to a set of Gymnast mattresses that were stacked up in a corner of the Peverell Workshop. As soon as the red-headed girl got her bearings, she realised that she was now looking at the Storm-Lord and the Storm-Priestess. She could remember what she had done under the compulsion and she began to cry. Harry became somewhat sad, as it reminded him of his time in the cupboard when he was helpless.
"I didn't mean it! He made me do it! I never meant to hurt Mr Filch's cat! Please don't hurt me!"
Hermione stretched over the mattress and held out her hand gently and said, with some humour in her voice:
"You would think after he rescued you during the broom incident, that we want to hurt you? Rubbish. We wanted to have a chat with you." Hermione replied very gently. Susan Bones took Hermione's hand and slowly helped the girl off the mattress, before stooping to her knees and giving Susan a large hug. Suddenly she became quiet as she choked on her voice and said,
"Tom said to trust him. He promised to bring back my parents!"
Susan could see that the Storm Lord had softened, even behind his silvery faceless helmet.
"I lost my parents to the war. So I….understand. We plucked you away from Hogwarts because we think you deserved to know what happened to you." Harry explained.
"You know about my diary?" Susan asked as she dried her tears in her uniform. Hermione handed her a tissue.
"That isn't your diary. More like that is Lord Voldemort's diary." Herry replied. Susan was not only shocked but terrified, as she gaped at Harry like fish that was stranded on land. Harry continued with his explanation:
"Lucius Malfoy either planted it on you, or Draco slipped it in your Cauldron. We were on the side wall of Flourish and Botts when he accused your Aunt of not setting a good example." Hermione followed.
"You were right there?" Susan asked.
"Tell you what….the Storm Lord and the Storm Priestess are these mythical creatures, these great heroes that suddenly appeared in your world. How about if you take a look around our superhero lair, eat some of our snacks and we can tell you what happened?" Harry suggested.
"Yes please!" Susan exclaimed.
"He-who-must-not-be-named is alive? And a piece of him was in that book?" Susan asked as she paled.
"Correct," Hermione replied.
"And Lucius Malfoy did this to get back at Aunty? And you just decided to kill a Basilisk?" Susan asked, after watching the video footage.
"We decided to kill random Death Eaters too. Look, we thought that you should know, alright? It has been handled. You do not have to be scared." Harry explained.
"Thanks?" Susan said as she became a little more confident.
"In any case, we have a small gift for you. This band will prevent anyone from entering your mind and extracting information, or possessing you. Please take care of this. Morgana herself made this. Here let me put it on, and not to worry it hides, itself."
"Morgana, like that Morgana?" Susan asked.
"Sure. I am of her line. No, I am not related to her. Anyone with sufficient capability will qualify to join. I am a muggleborn. This one here is a half-blood. We are just hard workers." Hermione replied.
"Are you Hufflepuffs?" Susan asked.
"My mother is a Hufflepuff!" Harry beamed proudly. Susan smiled. This for her meant that Hufflepuff was not useless. Hermione continued, "I am a Claw for sure. This one here, I don't know. He could part-time in every house if he wanted to. He has all four qualities in him." Hermione replied. Susan's face became confused until she considered that perhaps the Storm Lord was just that special. Mipsy appeared with a couple of boxes.
"What are those?" Susan asked.
"Snickers. Compensation for pulling you out of bed. You have been a good sport." Harry replied.
"Could you teach me to fight?" Susan asked.
"No. I don't fight. I kill. But I recently heard about a group of excellent students. Neville Longbottom and company. I think Mr Ronald Weasley might be your ticket in. They are very talented by my standards, and I am hard to…impress." Harry replied.
"I want revenge for my parents!" the little girl yelled, sadly.
"Oh, I understand that. I wrote to your aunt recently and I shared a piece of information with her. And as hurtful as it is, you should look upon your enemy and understand what you are dealing with Susan. So it is with the greatest sympathy that I say this….
If the rumours about Lucius Malfoy are to be believed, it was he who raped your mother. We can eventually find out with Veritaserum. And no, not in the Wizengamot. We will reveal ourselves and pass judgement on them. I give you my word that I will lop his head off myself." Harry explained.
Suddenly the little shy Susan was angry, and she began another round of sobbing. After Hermione patted her back, she took off her gloves and held the girl's both hands. She projected her magic and tried to convey what Harry had promised everyone – that people would get justice for the deeds that were done. Susan understood Hermione's magic and nodded before saying:
"I will work as hard as I can if he-who-must-not-be-named is coming back."
"Atta Susan. We haven't revealed anything that is of importance. So if you wanted to tell your aunt, you could. Although, she doesn't like me much. Me and this one here? We are lawless vigilantes, bla bla bla….." Harry explained.
"Aunty Amelia would be disappointed I trusted a random book. Can this be my secret? This place is so neat!" Susan asked.
"If you want. Tell you what. Do you want to meet his phoenix and my dragon?" Hermione asked.
"You have a dragon?" Susan asked incredulously.
"Yes, and she is very nice. She talks. Well mentally to me. No, she won't bite you."
"Well okay…then?" Susan squeaked.
It was half-past eleven, and Susan Bones was skipping out of the Hufflepuff bathroom after the Rune-Priestess had dropped her off. As she entered her dormitory, she saw Hannah Abbott on the edge of the bed, waiting for her.
"Sleepwalking again Suzie?" Hannah asked.
"No. That book that I had? It was a dark artefact. Professor Dumbledore took it away. All good now." Susan replied as she grinned.
"Thank Hecate! You look happier! You used to look so angry and you stopped talking to me!" Hannah complained.
"Sorry. That book was dangerous. I am fine now. I am going to sleep, I had a tiring night."
As Susan went to sleep, she thought about Draco Malfoy and realised that he didn't deserve the laugh that he usually got, when Crabbe and Goyle bullied her. She was talking to Ronald soon.
On the bright side, she had the opportunity to pet a phoenix and a dragon. The Storm Lord and the Rune-Priestess were real, and they were the coolest people she had ever met. She had considered telling her aunt, but she decided that she wanted tonight to be her secret. And both of them were very nice. Susan had liked that, very much.
Draco Malfoy awoke the next morning with a funny looking book on his bed. Somehow the book seemed familiar, but he paid it no mind. As he rubbed his eyes, he suddenly felt like he should open the book, for some strange reason. As he opened the book, there was a "Hello? Who is this?" that appeared on the blank pages.
Tom Riddle found himself perplexed. For a short moment last night, the link with the stupid girl had been completely broken. This was unusual – the essence of what remained of him could often sense objects and people around him. Something had grabbed the book and it had felt icy cold – almost like iron. Then he seemed to be in some kind of great void where he could sense absolutely nothing. And then, the space felt familiar – it felt like the Slytherin dorms. Some time had passed, and something had happened. Perhaps the girl had gotten rid of the book?
The girl was the niece of Amelia Bones – a person that he did not know. However, it seemed that she was the current Head Auror of Magical England. He had gotten even more powerful as the little girl had written about he-who-must-not-named, with abject fear on the pages of the diary. He was the unstoppable Dark Wizard, who could not die. He had truly become immortal.
The silly girl had lost her muggle mother and father to a Death Eater attack. Truthfully, he had hoped that one of his loyal followers had raped her, before killing her. He had worked slowly to gain her trust and to burrow into her mental defences. He had managed to inadvertently petrify the cat that had been wandering the corridor, by speaking parseltongue to the basilisk. Now he needed to ensure that his mission would be carried out successfully. The essence of Thomas Riddle was surprised when the boy replied:
"Draco Malfoy. Who are you?"
Thomas Riddle found it strange that the son of Lucius Malfoy had possession of his diary. From what he understood, society suspected Lucius Malfoy of being the head Death Eater. However, his wealth and affluence had stopped many from asking too many questions. Draco was the young boy who had yelled "You will be next, mudbloods!", which Susan found offensive as a half-blood. Perhaps the boy had promise?
Riddle decided that he would try to get back into the possession of Susan Bones by taking control of the boy passively. And if that was not possible, and some unforeseen set of events had occurred, he would use the son of his most loyal follower to carry out his plan.
"Just a diary. I belong to Susan Bones." Tom replied.
"Too bad. I am not giving it back to the filthy half-blood. Might be nice to find out her secrets!" Darco wrote with a malicious streak.
"Do you follow the old ways?" Tom asked curiously.
"I do. So do my father and my friends. Why do you ask?" Draco scribbled, with his magic expressing curiosity, through the ink.
"I follow the old ways. Perhaps…I might prefer your company scion Draco?" Tom suggested.
"Maybe you are the right sort. Unfortunately, we have to put up the filth in our society." Draco replied, as his zeal took over. He seemed to forget that he was talking to a diary of all things.
"Perhaps Draco this meeting between us was mandated by fate. Susan merely found me discarded on the road. Perhaps we can be friends instead?" Tom asked.
"Maybe?" Draco replied as he found the diary's choices to mirror his convictions.
"You have a good head on your shoulders, Draco. Tell me about your father. I heard that he is a distinguished Lord of the Wizengamot. Susan did not have…nice things to say about him…" Tom suggested, to ascertain Draco's behaviour. After considering the comments from the young silver-haired boy
Riddle changed his mind. No, he liked Draco. Who else but a pureblood Slytherin to carry out his plans?
Little did both of the idiots know, that Hermione had applied a hydrophobic polymer tracking spray to all of Draco's clothes under invisibility. It was a substance that could not be washed off, and Malfoy had been given a dedicated alert on the Marauder's map, along with a separate folder for all of his conversations. Harry was aware that Riddle would try something else to injure the students and he was more than willing to sacrifice Draco, to ascertain how the Dark Lord operated. An overhead, cloaked drone would monitor his communication with the book.
"I have another piece of the magical signature of your Horcrux now. Oh, King Ragnok will enjoy looking for all of them." Harry giggled, as he continued with his University assignments.
With the fiasco that had occurred with Filch's cat, soon enough all of the students were asking about the Chamber of Secrets. While Binns the resident ghost History Professor of Hogwarts considered such a claim to be non-factual, Professor McGonagall had volunteered to explain the legend, after Seamus had questioned the woman. Draco on the other hand enjoyed the tale and sincerely hoped that the Chamber of Secrets existed.
"Hope the beast kills all the mudbloods!" he whispered to Pansy Parkinson, as all of the muggleborn students became frightened. Riddle who already had a presence in Draco's mind realised that using the Chamber of Secrets as bait would allow him to easily take over the boy. Why would the boy refuse to see it? He even seemed genuinely interested in killing the unclean.
Meanwhile, the Defense against the Dark Arts classrooms were empty that afternoon, and Harry and Hermione began to search for the "jinx" that was present under their invisibility cloaks. Soon enough, Harry with his Mage Sight realised that there was a small spot in each classroom where the sickly green magic had been deposited. Hermione took an arithmantic readout, and the solution was so complex that it astounded Hermione.
"Well Harry, this one is unusual. I suspect this magic predisposes you towards making bad choices." Hermione suggested.
"I think so. The bleed on the magic is very slow. Won't do anything for a new teacher, but could affect even Neville, as long as he stands here. After a couple of months, it could get hairy. But the issue is…why didn't they try another classroom. Like, there is a jinx, and everybody is receiving it - then it has to be in that particular part of the castle. The Kink isn't on the person. Just…switch the room?" Harry replied.
"Sometimes I wonder if some of them are superstitious. I can do a runic workaround for this. Should be able to use a piece of the RuneOS Virtualisation layer. Can box it up tight. We can dump the magic into a crystal. The only thing is that we will need to plant the emitter into the wall. Say about thirty millimetres."
"Well Hermione, we did buy a nice drill for the Azkaban breakout. Time to use it. So four classes to do. As long as we have the alert system up, it should be fine. Let us go home and design the emitters. Then we can install them tonight. "
After the pair went home, they designed a new emitter with the necessary solution. They included a small crystal capacitor, that stored the energy from Voldemort's spell. The new adaptation was that the crystal could be emptied on command after it stored the energy. Now the magic that allowed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position to constantly require a new professor every year could be activated and deactivated deliberately. Late into the night, Harry and Hermione apparated into each classroom in the Defense Tower and installed all of the emitters on the floor of all the classrooms. The concrete drill made quick work of making a large hole, as it was muted behind a privacy ward. Then Harry painted over the spot and placed the furniture over their modification.
"Alright…time to test and…..there!" Hermione replied, as Harry opened up the battle link, and allowed Hermione to see through his eyes. After she activated the rune, the energy from the "jinx" was nullified as it was stored in the crystal.
"Looks good. Set it as permanently off, and when we need it, we will empty all of the misfortune on a target!" Harry giggled.
"Oh, this is a good one. Maybe if Snivellius gets the job, we can have a go at him?" Hermione suggested.
"Probably. Our uni assignments are suffering. I am going to drop off the letter and then we can study for the rest of the night. That tunnel excursion was expensive, in terms of the time we spent on it. We should have only minor upkeep for a long while…" Harry replied.
Albus Dumbledore found a letter outside of his office, the next morning. Looking at Neville and his group had become something that comforted him. It seemed that Daphne and Tracey were part of the group now! Yes, they were making progress!
They were making progress in France.
All Albus had been looking at were drones that were programmed with the necessary illusions. For even the most discerning eyes, Neville and his gang continued to observe the same routine. Albus wondered why the Storm Lord would write him again, so soon. Out of curiosity, he opened the letter and found himself shocked. And this letter was quite long:
Well Well Well Dumbledick,
To think you had a Basilisk crawling around the school. And you had no idea. And yet I am not a student and I was able to figure this out easily. See the attached pictures. And yes, I killed the beast inside the Chamber of Secrets. And yes, I took the corpse.
I am going to skin every bit of his scales off and make a funny hat! Hats for everyone!
Yes, the Chamber exists, and Salazar had put the snakeyboi in there not to target Muggleborns, but to target anything that would threaten the castle - including other magical mercenaries and associated looney bins. I think the forerunners to the famously dark families in today's Wizengamot twisted the narrative to suit their purposes.
So no, the basilisk was a weapon of pureblooded mania, what fucking rubbish. I am going to need a twenty-ton lorry for all that stupidity.
I was quite surprised to find out that there were no records of the previous attack at the Ministry of Magic. It did not take me long to work back to Myrtle Warren – the poor girl was killed in the creation of the Dork Lord's first Horcrux. However, people do remember the school being closed and that shiny award that Riddle got for special services to the school in 1943 was very…suspish. I had an operative obtain that information from good ole' Augusta. We even found her skeleton, and we gave the poor girl a proper burial. Augusta is such a firecracker! She doesn't know that I am the source of her anonymous information. She even works in my kitchen too. Heard you became a fan of the place.
Nice. Fifty per cent discount for you and the staff at Hogwarts. I don't like you, but we can be civil.
So how was the snakeyboi released? Why Lucius planted a Horcrux on a student and hoped that it would bring shame to the family name. A diary to be precise. Amelia could have been asked to resign, had Susan Bones been successful. Lucius could have been responsible for another Myrtle.
Once again you have not learned your lesson. Some people cannot be reformed.
I am killing Lucius in any case. He raped Susan Bones' mother. And you want to send these shits to Azkaban? Pfft. Wait a moment – the place has lost its charm right?
So yes, off with their heads.
If that is news for you, might I suggest you try to investigate some issues more deeply? But then Azkaban doesn't scare anyone. Yeah, I might be at fault for that. Now to do some general housekeeping:
You have my wand. My ancestral inheritance, and you can't seem to use the fucking thing.
Peverell Magic is temparamental. It is Warlock magic. If the magic senses that you are not resolute, it voices its disagreement. This feeling guides me in the creation of my artefacts, as you call them. I wonder if the wand is protesting, lately? I suspect so.
The wand - its nature is to bring justice to the innocent. To punish the evil doers. To make the wicked kneel. Those are the maxims of the Peverell battle magic. The little games that history has played to get the allegiance of the wand are minor. I don't have to duel you for my wand. I was meditating one night, and I felt the magic.
You see, my new wand is a recent creation. It was built from parts that I salvaged from the Deathstick's predecessor, along with some new cutting-edge muggle materials. While transfiguring the new components, I felt the tug and I followed the magic. And imagine when I ended up at the door to your office.
I have decided to leave you with it for now.
Concerning the Horcrux, after I am done with my analysis of the item, then I might send it to you. I know you have been getting trouble tracing my magic. I love these games! Think carefully, and try again. I on the other hand can trace magic over wide areas. So, we will see what I can dig up. The only question now is how much he created. This book represents the third Horcrux that I have encountered. Yes, I have been busy encountering all of those wonderful items. So I am thinking seven perhaps? Or nine? Those numbers are odd and have significance in the pagan religions. Powerful Arithmantic properties.
I hope to nail some of them before he comes back, and then to hold the rest in containment When I am ready to launch my boot up his poopshoot, I will destroy the items, and beat the snot out of him. My phoenix has commented that she too would like to take a dump in his eye socket after she claws his eyeballs out.
I understand my style of brutally killing people is distasteful. So, I will give you a deal. Since you don't like my combat methods as a goody-good two shoes.
I gave Hogwarts half of the money from the Basilisk sale. It was worth four million galleons as it was almost one thousand years old. So you have two million galleons at your disposal to use for the upcoming war. What, do you think I don't know about the Order of the Fried Chicken? But then I did poke fun at you and Grindy, surely I am well informed. That money is in your account, and it cannot be frozen by anyone. I am saying after the Order has been allowed to operate, they won't do jackshit when Voldy comes back. Exactly like the last war. And when you can't clean the mess up, this time when I arrive, I am burning down all of the darker families. Approved methods (these are war crimes by the way...) include:
· Public executions.
· Beheading.
· Snapping necks.
· Occasional torture (Muggle methods, Crucio is so yesterday).
· Hostage taking (Darker Children who are willingly involved).
· Galdatorial combat.
· Finally, my favourite as a Christian. Burning them alive. And I mean roasting them in Dragon fire. We got one of those recently. Might do the whole hang them on a cross bit, for psychological intimidation.
Look, the rest of the school year is supposed to be deathtrap free, and you made some good money. Do whatever it is you do. You are a good man, a bad principal, a manipulator and a great mentor all at the same time. I am going to win this war. Your participation is inconsequential. I will uproot him and all his supporters.
And I will kill all of them. By the droves, if I must.
Get in my way, and I will put tank rounds in the castle. And my tanks are way worse than the modern ones.
24 Motherfucking Megajoules of Kinetic energy.
Seeya later,
Warlord Pervypants.
When Albus was finished with the letter, he genuinely sat down, scratched his head, and took a Gin and Tonic. He was relieved, that the Basilisk was dead. And funding for the war? Albus was hoping to put away the quidditch earnings. Now, he did not have a concern about financially supporting the Order of the Phoenix. And yet he did not feel comforted. The Storm-Lord was telling him, that even with the resources at his disposal (of which the Storm-Lord had provided feely) that he would make no difference. And worse yet, the animated picture had been taken from the viewpoint of the gun. Dragons and Basilisk hides were well known for being magically resistive. And the weapon had boiled away the animal's head like nothing. His weapons were advancing at a rapid pace, and he was now experimenting with some of the most powerful wand lore in the world.
Albus did not feel in control anymore, and there was nothing he could do about it.
It was almost the end of October, and Albus was quite surprised when none other than Master Healer Priya Singh and Lord Patel arrived to see him at Hogwarts. As Priya explained her relationship to the family, Albus decided that whatever religious celebrations the twins needed to attend were a family affair. Priya also explained her interest in mentoring young healers, no different from how Madam Pomfrey had mentored her.
"Ms Singh, thank you for your interest in developing our talent. I am aware that Magical England has not been kind to you, but you have not abandoned Hogwarts." Albus stated.
"No, not at all. You will find that I have a particular interest in the welfare of Indian students. There are many struggles to reconcile our ancestral culture and an education system from somewhere else. My research indicated that my magical ancestors could conjure lightning, summon storms, and do very impressive feats of magic by utilising our prayers in our scriptures. Our healing was far ahead of what is present now. All wandless and non-verbal. No, I had to convince you that parents should be allowed to guide their children, as they see fit."
"No argument from me, Ms Singh. I am not against such accommodations. My battles in the Wizengamot leave me with little time to be conscious of such things. I am somewhat glad, that we did have this discussion this afternoon, both with you and Mr Patel. And I am glad that you decided to voice your concerns here at the office." Albus replied.
Priya considered that Harry's analysis was spot on. Dumbledore had too many things tugging at him, to be a truly good principal and school administrator. An agreement had been reached – Albus would allow the Indian twins to leave when they needed to have their major religious observances. This would be exercised under accommodations for family business, but also Albus was hoping to attract the healer to eventually work in England as an eventual replacement for Madam Pomfrey. That meant giving calculated concessions.
Priya continued, "Thank you. As you know the Longbottoms, the Weasleys and Xeno are all business associates. My mother would like them to attend my performance. I also have been speaking to the Greengrass family. Astoria is my patient, as I recently cured her blood curse."
"You cured it? That is momentous news! Even I know of the Greengrass blood curse. It has been a terrible affair for their family!" Albus replied as he was genuinely impressed.
"Yes. The research will become public soon, as soon as the process can be reliably replicated. All of these families will be attending my performance, and their guardians will be here to collect them. I hope that will not be a problem?" Priya replied, with her characteristic hopeful and winning smile.
Albus paused, as he became curious.
"I see. This is not a bad thing. There has been much house unity among this group. There has been much networking lately?" Albus asked.
"Correct professor. This has occurred through Lord Aurelian Black. I am his personal healer. And then I believe Mr Padfoot works for a high-power investor, who I have not met yet. They are paying for the portkey and the other arrangements. I was merely asked to organise this on their behalf, but I would be happy to have familiar faces there."
Albus suspected that this was the Storm Lord and Lord Aurelian Black's doing. He silently looked into the mind of the woman and realised that she did not know anything at all. The entire group was being manipulated by the Storm Lord. Albus decided to allow events to play out, with the hope that much later on he could come to such an event, and try to work backwards under a disguise. Time was on his side for now. Albus carefully crafted his reply as Harry whispered in the workshop, "Take the bait, take the bait….take the bait….I know you are guilty about Neville. Take the bait, you old codger…."
"That will not be a problem. Let them make some good memories then?" Albus replied as he considered that Neville would have to be sacrificed in the long term to defeat the Dark Lord. Albus was not banking on the Storm Lord. He was not the child of prophecy, and he would not be able to do the job. Prophecies were things that were products of magic, and they were things that were tied to fate itself.
The meeting was now over and the visitors had left. Albus whispered, "Such a talented boy. Let Neville make some memories. He is working hard enough. The prophecy will come to pass…."
Albus had decided regardless of the Storm Lord's plan, only Neville could end Voldemort.
"So you do feel guilty about sacrificing Neville. Your way or the highway then? Fine by me." Harry replied as he continued with his assignments.
"Loony?" Ronald yelled over the training floor.
"Hmm Ronald?" she answered.
"Was talking to Mione. A message came through. We have acquired the twins for our trip. I mean, Parv and Padma! "
"Is Dumbles suspicious?" Tracey asked.
"Yes, but the Wizengamot has him busy. Dum-bitch, the pink dementor is crafting some type of Anti-Werewolf law. So he is busy for now. But he might appear later on, who knows?" Ronald explained, from what Hermione had told him on the voice note.
"So this was the plan – to grow the underground resistance?" Penny asked as she looked at the astronomical amount of Galleons that the group of them earned. She was now taking stock of their entire combined wealth and tracking the various income streams.
"I don't think Harry is taking anyone else. Harry is expecting the twins to support the effort either by being healers or combat medics. Parvati loves gossip, she can control the rumour mill at Hogwarts easily. She also loves that Witch Weekly magazine, imagine her in control of it, and Tracey as the instigator" Neville suggested, with a large grin on his face. Daphne stopped her runes, raised her eyebrow and realised that could be an effective propaganda tool to mislead the masses.
"Hey, more opportunities to write lewd stuff? No problem!" Tracey replied as Ronald spotted her weightlifting. "Anyway Daffy, ready for our excursion?"
"I am so happy we got help with picking the right bits?" Daphne giggled as she considered that her emerald green outfit was very beautiful. She had heard enough of the experience of the trio, and her Father had enjoyed the festivities last year. She was curious to see it all, and Tracey wanted to eat whatever was being served.
It was now the second week of November. The Divali celebrations had been an eye-opener for Daphne. But her highlight was when Harry had done a total double-take.
"You alright Harry?" Daphne asked.
"Pleasantly surprised. You look great. Maybe you should have entered the beauty pageant?"
"I am here to have fun, Harry. Not to pretend I am having fun. This is a yearly tradition now?" Daphne asked.
"I guess. When mom went on that stage last year, it was a secret surprise. Now, we were expecting her to perform this year. You however, got a surprise."
"I did. Oh, she dances so beautifully. I have to thank you for seeing this! Now I understand why she walks so gracefully. She has very strong legs!" Daphne replied.
"She does. And the toes too. Very coordinated. It is a demanding thing. But the grace of doing it with the music and the expression? Oh, that is not an easy thing." Harry replied.
"Percy and Penny seem to be having a good time?" Daphne asked as Fred and George seemed to be taking notes about possible pranking material. Astoria, Ginny and Gabrielle were flitting around, and Fleur and Bill seemed to be having a tender moment in a far-off corner. Harry replied:
"I think so. I believe in celebrating anything where families unite. Hermione and I attend all the celebrations with your father. Samhain was good. I gave offerings to my parents in the bonfire. I celebrate with my mother, and I privately go to my church when I find myself in need of…..counsel. I go into Catholic mode for Christmas. Sirius goes with me to keep me company when he misses mum. Well, I mean my mum, Lilly."
"That makes you odd, but special. I will be attending every year. Oh, to see my parents dressed up in something besides traditional dress robes? Mum and Aunty Amy are having a good time." Daphne replied before Tracey collected her and the snakes went exploring.
Daphne and Tracey went to see the sights and sounds. She considered tonight to be a blessing. And she did like looking at Harry. He did look handsome. After she had slipped away, she found herself next to Ronald who was sneaking a glance at Hermione and she spoke with Fleur.
"So progress?" Daphne asked.
"Good friends for now. That isn't bad. How about you Daffy?"
"Good friends too. But he is very cautious. Our interactions have never been romantic. Hermione occasionally holds your hand." Daphne noted.
"Yeah but she doesn't mean anything by it. She likes to hug and cuddle. I enjoy the attention, don't say anything eh!" Ronald smirked.
For Padma and Parvati, Hadrian and Jean were the most confusing two people they had ever met.
"So you are adopted?" Parvati asked.
"Yes. Mom used to be my teacher at a muggle primary school. My former guardians were horrible people. Hermione was my only friend. I got adopted eventually."
"And both of you are magicals?" Padma asked.
"Yes. We were both foreigners so, Hogwarts didn't pertain to us. We take private tuition. But I know Neville and everyone else." Harry replied.
"Do you know your mum is a rockstar healer in the magical world?" Parvati asked.
"Yes. Hermione and I are ordinary. I struggle with potions. Hermione likes runes." Harry replied.
"Are you a Hindu?" Parvati asked.
"Sometimes? My deceased mother was Christian. Muggleborn witch. Dad was an Anglo-Saxon Pagan. He was a pureblood. I am a Christian, because of what my mother left for me, in her inheritance. However, I help my adoptive mother with whatever she needs. And she never asked or insisted that I take up her religious practices. It is more of a case of me loving my adoptive mother to pieces. She took me in, no questions asked. So I say whatever she needs, no questions asked."
"That is sweet! You have to understand we were pretty shocked. This is…..unusual for us." Padma replied.
"Understandable. I am a child under the sun of multiple faiths, I guess. Hermione isn't religious, but she has never insulted people or belittled anyone for their beliefs. She is here to dress up, eat, have a laugh and catch up with her friends. She likes new experiences."
"It is kind of weird to see all the women in our corner with a properly done Sari. That was a bit shocking. We still struggle sometimes?" Parvati giggled.
"Mum probably helped most of them. But you bet your last galleon that Hermione doesn't need help. She will figure out how to wear anything!" Harry replied as Hermione butted in.
"I just needed to see how to do it once. I made my adjustments too. If I could own a piece of traditional clothing from every part of the world, that would be far better than a wardrobe of the same thing. I bought a kimono the other day, and I like it. All blue ladies, all blue." Hermione replied. Padma smiled in approval, as she felt that she had spoken to another Ravenclaw. Parvati was surprised to find out that Daphne and Tracey were good friends with the 'trio'. She had always bought into the idea that Slytherins could not be trusted. That was until Neville vouched for them.
"We don't advertise this at school, because it would be too much trouble. Yes, they are some nutcases in Slytherin. But lots of good people too. They are our friends Parv, relax." Neville replied as Padma nodded – she had no issues with Slytherins as a Ravenclaw. Parvati eventually warmed up to the pair of snakes, particularly Tracey as the night progressed.
"The Pureblood Chronicles is the greatest book I ever read!" Parvati giggled.
"Thank you for supporting my work," Tracey replied.
"Wait..you wrote it?" Parvati asked, completely shocked.
"Yes. I heard you write in your spare time. I was thinking we could co-author some chapters. Work on the plot. Our little secret. I want to expand the novel with some spin-offs. I want to make an entire brand. And oh, maximum raunchiness" Tracey suggested, with a smile. Parvati now had an evil look in her eye. She was thinking thoughts that were certainly not in line with the festivities.
"What will I need to do?" she asked.
"Just sign a contract to keep our business private. I know you like to gossip. So do I. This one should stay private. Pansy the pug and others like her would not buy the book if a brown Indian girl like you and a white half-blood scum like me were known to be the authors." Tracey suggested as Parvati realised that Pansy, Millicent and the others were exactly like that even though they had all loved the book, last year.
Parvati frowned, as she remembered when Pansy Parkinson had told her that she had "shit coloured skin", and she had been very embarrassed during that potions class. She had even cried a little. All the Slytherins had laughed until Seamus had lobbed a dung bomb at Pansy's cauldron during potions. Gryffindor had lost points but Seamus had concluded that 'if the fecking munter hoor bint had brains, she'd stop letting that eejit Malfoy from havin a shite on her apple through a tennis racket face."
That was the most perplexing statement she had ever heard until Dean Thomas translated the entire thing.
If Pansy the whore had any brains, she would stop letting ponce Malfoy shit on her ugly face.
Of course, the translated statement was very mild, if you considered the inclusion of Seamus' inflexions and mannerisms. Now she considered that memory, and this was an opportunity to get back at Pansy. Perhaps she could say silent about this. Parvati decided that maybe a secret with a Slytherin friend might be exciting.
"Deal. We will meet up somewhere, and discuss the plot and I will sign a contract. And I am carrying this secret to my grave!" Parvati replied as she shook Tracey's hand.
The celebrations had come to an end. Neville and the rest portkeyed to Hogwarts, and Albus was pleased to see all of them dressed up. Albus was surprised when Penny requested to go with Percy, but she was an excellent student and he did not mind. It also seemed that wherever Daphne went, Tracey followed. The group were all dressed in traditional Indian wear that matched their house colours. They looked like a group of young people who had a good time.
"I think this was a good night indeed. All of you look resplendent in your House colours. Mr Weasley and Ms Clearwater, please escort the rest to their dorms. I hope it was an enjoyable night?" Albus asked kindly.
"The food was great!" Tracey replied as Ronald placed a rather heavy bag of food, sweets and deserts he had brought from the celebrations.
"Professor, you can tuck into this! It was pretty good!" Ronald laughed.
"Thank you, my boy. You have no idea how much you are like your mother. Off the lot of you go, to your common rooms!" Albus explained brightly, as he saw Luna and Neville standing together as a couple. Albus found this beautiful – Neville would fight in the name of love, and he would not become jaded. Perhaps the excursion could be encouraged if it would cement bonds that make them compliant lieutenants. Percy and Penny went to the apartment as soon as they were out of eyesight, and they returned to escort the twins to their separate houses in their uniforms. As soon as the remaining students were far enough and no portraits or any other prying eyes were present, they immediately cloaked themselves and went to the apartment. Then the undressing into more comfortable clothes occurred.
"So did you enjoy tonight?" Neville asked Daphne.
"Yes. This celebration is important to Harry, isn't it?" Daphne asked.
"Of course. He loves his mother to pieces. Tomorrow is her birthday. Sirius is the day right after. So it's like a combined religious festival, a double parental birthday celebration and a day to let loose." Neville explained.
"Harry was really…happy tonight," Daphne commented.
"Harry also loves Christmas. Sometimes Harry is really….complex. Other times he is just one of the guys. You will realise outside of his talents, he is a 'bob is your uncle' sort of guy?" Neville joked.
It was the third week in November.
Hogwarts was getting ready for the first match of the term. Gryffindor would be playing against a new Slytherin lineup, and the Quidditch fever was already in the air. The other magical schools had not decided on international broadcasts. Clearance from the magical governments of these countries was still an issue. Many of them were debating the cultural issues – they preferred for their schools to remain isolated. However, Beauxbaton matches were already in progress. The French quidditch players were already getting love letters from adoring Hogwarts fans, and the same was occurring for the Hogwarts students. A French witch was interested in George, and she was an attractive brunette.
"Oi Greengrass hurry up with the instant messaging, we need that done already!" George complained.
"Hey, I am done! Gringotts is doing its security module. We had to interface the vault magic into the magical identification system. It will be here next week!" Daphne replied.
"How is the triple Spiny Shell going?" Fred asked.
"The runes are done. You and George can do the spikes on the thing. Stori and Ginny are designing payloads. There is a sticky one, a skin irritant, one that is a mild explosion, and one with napalm." Daphne joked.
"Nice. Wish we could use it on Malfoy, that git. Harry told us about Susan. What a tool." Fred replied.
Draco Malfoy continued to have conversations with the book. Eventually, Riddle revealed himself as a person who was a former aide of the Dark Lord himself. He had passed and this diary was a magical experiment that he had conducted, to ensure that his mission was carried out – he had even described the events that allowed him to initially open the Chamber of Secrets, and it was he who was responsible for the death of Myrtle Warren. Draco was surprised and had found the Ravenclaw ghost and questioned her. Myrtle hardly got any attention, and she was only happy to talk to the silver-haired boy. After he had confirmed that the story was true, he then asked the diary:
"How can I help?"
"I will take you to the Chamber of Secrets. I will have to partially possess you, as I am a parseltongue. Unless you can speak the snake tongue yourself, you will not be able to open the chamber. Trust me. We will follow in the noble work of Salazar Slytherin."
Draco who was too excited did not even seem bothered by the prospect. No, if this was to kill the mudbloods, it was all line. And he could speak Parseltongue? He had to be descended from nobility!
One evening, he found himself at Moaning Myrtle's preferred lavatory. He lost awareness of himself and found himself fully conscious, after the iron hatch to the main chamber was already opened. He was now looking at the legendary Chamber of Secrets, and only a worthy Slytherin could have led him there. Now Riddle had a small presence on the boy's mind and he could see and sense his fascination, as he looked upon the carved stone face of Salazar himself. The boy felt the magic of the diary, and he opened it and saw the following message:
"What do you think? Was I dishonest?" Tom asked.
Draco scribbled hastily, "No. I will do anything to help you."
"We are brothers Draco. Only we are worthy of Salazar. I will summon the great beast, and it will exterminate the Mudbloods. One by one." Tom replied. For the rest of that evening, Riddle was confused because he had now hit an unexpected snag. Invictus proceeded with recording the Parseltongue attempts, and Draco spent hours that evening, wasting his time.