Chapter 11: Just keep swimming…
While the mission was in progress, Daphne had been following the feed, as she monitored the performance of the muscle weave. She had manually done some small in-mission adjustments while Neville and Ronald had been looking on. Neville had been taking notes, and Ronald was convinced that his war mace was a great pick for him. Remus wrestling a Nundu had the Weasley twins on the edge of their seats, and the appearance of the Cockatrice was surprising enough for everyone to become instantly worried until Remus had snuffed the creature out.
"Damn she can run fast. She can outrun the Hogwarts express, now!" Ronald commented to Daphne.
"Well, we have to watch out for those two. I was pleased when Harry suggested that I need a raise. Don't need the money, happy to know I helped him to aim better. His magic becomes a bit different when he aims with a weapon, I was able to work that in from his biosensor readings. Hermione got some top-end speed!" Daphne explained as she was quite proud of herself.
"Seeing people die is not nice but I strangely could not stop watching. I am not sure if I could kill someone, but Harry makes it look….easy." Percy commented as Penny uncovered her eyes occasionally.
"Harry and Hermione are absolute terrors on the battlefield. Now I understand why they won in Diagon Alley!" Penny exclaimed as she peeked at the monitor.
"The armour in the Diagon Alley op was far more primitive. Harry rewatched Iron Man so many times, that he can probably write the script from his head. I could almost do it too. The ideas were…beneficial." Daphne explained.
"This operation makes their combined death toll at five hundred. Not bad. What is Riddle doing?" Luna asked.
"Just checking in on his dud eggs. He is trying to figure out which Horcruxes he used and which ones were destroyed. We should keep this in our archives. Draco-iddle as I call him walking about like a looney bin is too funny!" Tracey answered as she crunched on some of Neville's Potato Chips and Salsa.
"I like that name. Draco-iddle. Well, they are getting ready to fly home, so we can go off to bed. Looks like Blaise's mother was the ring leader?" Neville commented.
"Yes, I saw. Ouch, Harry knocked her teeth out. It was actually…..kind of funny!" Daphne commented, as suddenly Blaise made a lot of sense. He had merely learned how to emulate his black widow mother. Manipulation was his primary tactic, but sometimes he almost wanted to be kind? Daphne decided that she would not think much about him.
It was the middle of February, and school was bumbling along for the fivesome as they continued to prepare for their NEWTS. The usual Valentine's day celebrations were in progress and Ronald and even Neville was forced to dodge admiring witches. Luna naturally stayed glued to Neville the entire day and gave everyone aggressive stares, while twiddling her wand.
"Can't complain. I like when you scare them off!" Neville laughed.
"Let them try anything funny. Not that I don't trust you. I just want to make a scene!" Luna giggled.
"Sometimes I swear we have picked up a lot of Harry and Hermione's habits. But I guess that is the fun as we string everyone along. How is Padma?"
"She doesn't know anything yet, but if she finds out we will rope both of them in?" Luna replied.
Somebody then lobbed a dung bomb at Luna, and the couple both dropped their books as they flicked their wands to stop the object. Neville summoned an alternate display of the marauder's map – this one was low profile and only hovered around the wrist, with minimal light emission.
"Henchmen number one and two. A cheap shot, because they know they can't face us directly. I am setting permanent proximity alarms for that lot." Neville replied.
"Don't Crabbe and Goyle have anything more constructive to do?" Luna asked as she bent down to pick up her books. She was quite surprised when the entire stack of books arrived in her hand wandlessly. Neville was reaching for his "Defense notepad" when the same thing happened to him, with his range being a bit more pronounced.
"Well…Harry and Hermione promised us that we would see results. I don't think we could have gotten a better surprise for Valentine's day!" Neville grinned.
"No, we could not. Well okay, maybe I got a bit of a surprise. I liked the small six-pack that I saw this morning on myself. My bum is toned now with all those squats!" Luna replied casually, before Neville's face became very red. Luna hugged Neville as they shared a laugh, as they continued to walk towards the abandoned Ravenclaw wing to help the fifth and seventh-year students with exam questions and practice. There were even some random sixth years who preferred to take classes with the trio.
"So you and Luna are an item?" Miles joked, when the pair arrived.
"We are? Valentine's day was no stress for me. Luna decided on what we were doing and I decided on what to teach you. Today we are going for Minnie Mouse and her favourite – Combat Transfiguration. Buttons to needles and Wingardium Leviosa is no joke if you can stab people in the eye?" Neville explained.
"That is really creative. Who would have thought? Are you always so violent?" Gareth commented.
"Honeybum is not violent. Oh, my favourite type of violence is the Greengrass special. Aguamenti, followed by the freezing charm. Then a reducto. The preferred area is the crotch." Luna joked.
Miles and Gareth winced.
"I was there when Daphne used that on Stebbins. It was a holy day for all the girls in Slytherin who have gotten harassed by him! We wanted to send her a gift basket!" Pheobe laughed.
"I will take it in artisanal coffee. And not a basket full, just a single bag of something nice but not overly expensive?" Daphne commented as she entered the room and everyone laughed.
Ronald was training to take on Ravenclaw and it was rumoured that they had a new seeker called Cho-Chang. While he continued the exercise and the practice during the next two weeks, someone who had escaped the notice of everyone was now spying within the Ministry of Magic.
Peter Pettigrew skittered into the Ministry of Magic, as he began with his first operation – his job was to acquire the Dark Lord's wand which was in evidence storage. He had been hearing rumours of the changes in magical society and some of the information perplexed him. Sirius Black was free but mostly drunk according to rumours. Remus Lupin would probably try to contact him, but he had not been sighted for many years in Magical England. They would be after him soon enough because Sirius knew that he was not dead.
"Crawling down the sewer Peter? Come out and face me! Come out and face me you fucking traitor! Come and collect your finger you tossing cunt!" Sirius had screamed the fateful day.
And then, there was the Guild. There was something about them that rubbed him the wrong way. They seemed too powerful, and their intentions were too hidden. No, they were not to be trusted.
Pettigrew often wondered what had happened to the Marauder's Map. The item had gone missing from James' backpack, and it has never been found in their seventh year. James reasoned that he was done at Hogwarts and he did not need to remake the item. Peter decided to stay away from Hogwarts because he was afraid that Sirius could catch him – he had nothing to lose now that Harry was dead.
Yes, his master would be pleased with his actions. He would continue to look for the Dark Lord. While he flexed his whiskers under a counter, he suddenly heard Rufus Scrimgeour and Amelia Bones as they walked towards her office.
"There has been a discussion between Fudge and Thicknesse. They are shutting down Azkaban." Amelia whispered as Peter Pettigrew followed stealthily, before the door to her office closed. He was now hiding under a coat hanger as he continued to listen to the conversation.
"Amelia, is that…wise?" Rufus asked.
"The arguments that Thicknesse put forth are simple – anyone can fly with a broom to the place as the enchantments are now broken. The Dementors have been destroyed, and the rumours have been travelling around. Somebody leaked Dawlish's memory. We cannot afford to have someone else break Bellatrix and the rest out." Amelia explained.
"What did Fudge suggest?"Rufus asked.
"Internal containment on the lowest level here at the Ministry. The Ministry has four Dementors that always stay here to assist with trials. And they somehow know that the others were killed. They might be linked. They are afraid, and they said that they refuse to cross Lord Peverell's path." Amelia replied as she took a drink.
"What do we do about a person who has killed all the Azkaban Dementors? Anyway, Bellatrix Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, and Augustus Rookwood deserve the Dementors that are at the Ministry."
"They certainly do, Rufus. We will be moving them via ship, and they have asked for you and Moody to accompany the team. Dawlish, Grouse and the rest flat our refused a second operation to that place." Amelia explained.
"Strange they asked Moody? The Ministry must be desperate, as they had put him on indefinite suspension since the last war. He is a Ministry malcontent. Should we prepare for the coming of the Dark Lord? We know he is alive. What do we do Amelia?" Rufus asked.
"Perhaps we should take a page out of Albus Dumbledore's book. Perhaps we need our team of trusted Aurors. Our version of the Order of the Phoenix? " Amelia wondered as Rufus scratched his beard.
"They should be sworn by magical oath to fight He-who-must-not-be-named. Not to the Ministry. I suspect there was widespread infiltration during the last war. We cannot leave justice up to vigilantes, as much as I would like the Stormbringers to eliminate the lot of them." Rufus insisted.
"They may not be vigilantes anymore. I have a friend who migrated to Italy. She told me that the Alpha Kill Squad has been reactivated and that they saved the Italian Minister of Magic's daughters from mobsters, about two weeks ago. They also killed the local insurgency completely. Two hundred deaths. I believe it might be them."
"How so, Amelia?"
"Two Muggle tanks were disintegrated into nothing. Same types of bloodstains from Cassius Manor. I got some pictures from the evidence collection. Dismemberment, chopped into random body parts and punctured necks. Some were burnt and others were frozen to death. They even contained a Nundu and a Quintaped. I heard the Nundu scared the local Aurors out of their mind, and they contained the creature with no problem. Claw marks were made into steel doors. And I have confirmation it was four people." Amelia explained.
"But why do the French have control of them? Arent the Kill-Teams internationally accountable?" Rufus asked.
"The rumour is that they do not take payment. They volunteer to do the missions and they are self-funded. So nobody can make demands of them. But even if this was not the case, England does not donate to the I.C.W Kill Team fund anymore, since Bagnold came into power. The Dark Lord killed three members from the previous Alpha Kill Team, and that has left a bad stain on our international presence. It is rumoured that the Alpha squad has been moved to its own division, and it has an English name now. I need confirmation on that, however. My friend told me the rumours, she is working to get them confirmed."
"What is it now called?" Rufus asked.
"ST&R. Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. The Operatives are called Spectres. Even their gear is ominous. I heard they wear mostly black, and they are completely armoured. Lots of guns and grenades. They are essentially magical Black-Ops-type soldiers. That is what my friend heard from the rumours." Amelia answered.
"That sounds exactly like them – I have had some time to study the evidence you sent to me. It seems that they have military training. That alone puts everyone else at a severe disadvantage. They are brutal fighters, no doubt about that, Amelia." Rufus replied.
As the conversation continued, Pettigrew listened as he realised that the Dark Lord's plans were unravelling. Amelia and Rufus would have to be killed – they were waiting for the Dark Lord. How could they suspect that he would return one day? No, they would have to be eliminated. And who were these new wizards who the Dementors were afraid of? Dementors had been killed? At least he had a name.
Lord Peverell. Someone who had destroyed Dementors? How was that even possible?
Perhaps his master would reward him for providing this name. Later when Amelia left the office, Pettigrew resumed his human form and began looking into the murder cases during the Last Wizarding war. He, after not finding anything decided to look for evidence related to the death of James Potter. After rummaging around for about an hour, he placed everything back carefully before he transformed into a rat and he dragged the Dark Lord's wand with his tail. As he made his way to the Ministry floo he exited a random Muggle house, where the owners had gone on a holiday. Pettigrew decided that he would recheck the Ministry ever so often because if he could break Bellatrix out, he would be richly rewarded. He also decided to get whatever evidence he could find about the destruction of the Dementors.
His master would need to know about Lord Peverell when he returned.
Blaise began to pace up and down as he knew something was wrong. The correspondence was definitely from his mother, but somehow something had changed. As Blaise read between the lines, he wondered if his mother had been captured or perhaps she was under duress. The earliest time that he could see his mother, would be at the end of the school term when he took the Portkey at Gringotts to travel to Italy. His mother had warned him, and explained that he was to "devote time to his studies, and not to pursue any extracurricular activities."
As Blaise rubbed his chin, he decided to write a letter to an old woman who his mother usually bought fresh pasta from, not too far from his mother's house. If his mother had not purchased from her within the last two weeks, she had probably been captured. Later that day, Blaise began to cry in his dormitory, and Invictus who felt sorry for the boy decided to give him a lifeline after explaining the situation to Harry.
"Yeah, I guess that is okay. As long as she stays in prison, and continues to provide information willingly, she should not be a threat. I haven't killed her because she is an Italian citizen, and therefore not my business. Perhaps I can speak to him myself. Mione….how about a shakedown?" Harry suggested.
"You know, it might be funny to put the fear of God into him. Sometimes it is fun to be the bad guy!" Hermione laughed.
"We can arrange for him to speak to his mother. Since he loves to spy, why should we waste a free resource? No, he works for us now!" Harry said, in an overly dramatic Italian mobster voice.
A couple of days later, Ronald was surprised when he made his way to the Headmaster's office for national Quidditch practice, and standing there with his broom was Atticus Mallory. Ronald who understood that he was neutral, gladly shook his hand.
"Mr Mallory. You did say that you were a good chaser. Charlie has been confirmed as the replacement seeker. It will be nice to have another Hogwarts person on the team." Ronald explained.
"I have heard the rumours from some of the gals in my house. The rumour is that you do one-handed pushups in the Astronomy Tower sometimes. Heard you are a fitness freak. You might have to work up a schedule for me, I am a bit…..weedy?" Atticus joked.
"Oh yeah, sometimes I need a change of scenery. The coach is pushing us hard. The hard work isn't because I like to preen myself like Draco. I just want us to win?" Ronald stated.
"Ah, it warms my heart to see polite conversations between the houses. In five minutes the Portkey will be ready." Albus replied.
"WAIT FOR ME!" a girl yelled as she bolted into the office. Suddenly she was trying to catch her breath, as she realised that she was early.
"Hello, Ms Primrose. Looks like the coach is pulling out all the stops. At this rate, we will have someone from every house on the national team. I like it!" Ronald laughed.
"Woman, you better survive today. Ravenclaw is counting on you for representation!" Atticus laughed.
"No pressure then?" she replied as Albus smiled and left. Fawkes was sniffing Ronald, and he who had a lot of experience with scratching Grace gave Fawkes some needed attention.
"Well..that is interesting. This is?" Atticus trailed off.
"Fawkes. Dumbledore's phoenix. I have a touch with animals so that is why he is lining up for the head scritches as I call it. Oh, look one minute again." Ronald replied as the three students grabbed the portkey and waited for the transportation.
That evening the coach who had suspected that Violet was the best chaser at Hogwarts, continued to make small adjustments to her flying style that allowed her to fly far faster and more efficiently. She continued to rally off Atticus and Charlie continued to hunt the Snitch down as he began to rely on wandless magic to assist him as necessary. Now he was looking with his magic and he was relying less on his eyes. The coach saw Charlie's potential and realised that he might be the best seeker in the world easily if his growth continued.
Lucius as promised, had launched a commission of enquiry into Hagrid's breeding practices. The claim was that his illegal beasts had attacked his son the year before. Draco had indicated that "the oaf had installed special glass to block his illicit activities" and Lucius decided to attempt to get back at Dumbledore, by getting the half-giant arrested. When Lucius had silently issued a warrant for his arrest via Dolores Umbridge, Dawlish found Lord Black standing in front of Hagrid's with one of the newer rifles pointed at him. Albus Dumbledore was indisposed for the next couple of days, and Lucius thought that he could manage to get Hagrid incarcerated, through some petty bribes. One of Lorna's informants had passed the information along, and Sirius wasn't going to let that nonsense stand.
"Dawlish, if you fuck with me this afternoon, I will kill you. And then when the Ministry sends the Aurors to lock me up if you think this new gun that my friend provided me is all that I have…..try your luck. But then you should know better than anyone what happened that Thursday evening."
Grouse was now looking at the red laser beam that was pointed at Dawlish's chest and realised that the Storm Lord was continuing to advance his designs. The new gun looked even scarier with its floating components and the angry violet energy that glowed at the tip of the barrel.
"Do not interfere with the business of Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses. I am warning you, one last time!" Sirius replied.
Grouse and Dawlish left, and decided that they would report to their superiors that Lord Black had threatened them. Hagrid who had busted out of his hut was greeted by Sirius. Under his disguise as Lord Aurelian Black, he explained that Lucius had attempted to get him thrown in Azkaban with an unlawful warrant and that he was a friend of Jean and Hadrian. He was only too happy to "put the fuckers in their place."
"Anyway, I have a contract for you. I want you to produce at least 2,000 pounds of blast-ended skrewts, monthly. Jean is using the powdered shell as an ingredient in a new experimental potion. Five galleons a pound is what you are being offered. And if you can produce more, we will buy it all!" Sirius suggested.
Hagrid was quite happy, as he collected the necessary equipment. Hermione loved when Hagrid spawned new magical creatures because it often gave her access to new reagents. She was now putting the final tweaks on a new potion called Skaði, and it would arrest the transformation of Werewolfs for at least three months at a time. The best part was that her potion would only cost a fraction of the cost of Wolfsbane and it would allow Sirius to trample "Umbitch's Anti-Werewolf bill". Remus would undergo the trial of the new potion and if it worked, she was heading off to see the three musketeers in France. Hermione had not made any pioneering breakthroughs for a long time, and she decided that she could take a break from the Runes and Arithmancy.
March had arrived.
The match between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had passed. Hufflepuff had won again, but Ronald suspected that Ravenclaw's main problem was their new seeker. She seemed too busy as she blushed at Cedric the entire match. The Hufflepuffs were aware that the Ravenclaw chasers and the Keeper had improved enough to threaten them.
Violet Primrose was the first chaser to get past Ronald.
While everybody had celebrated her performance, Ronald understood that his coach was merely bringing out the latent talent in the girl. Perkins, Emma and Melvin even suggested that they would make Cedric Diggory look "fresh for every match" if his looks could help them win against the doe-eyed Asian seeker. Atticus who was waiting with a group of Slytherins shook Ronald's hand as he walked back to the Hufflepuff common room after he had changed out of his team uniform.
"Hey red! Nice keeping today. Violet was just a savage today, she got you good." Atticus laughed, as the two other boys were eating potato chips.
"Thanks, Atticus. She is a far better chaser than Katie and Angelina, she just needed to tune the broom profile and position herself better. She made me work for it. But that isn't a bad thing. We need that kind of fire for the World Cup."
"I suspect that Charlie is going to have to go up against Krum. He is locating the snitch quickly but he needs to get it wrapped up in his fingers, more quickly. How is he finding it so early?" Atticus asked.
"How about a small piece of magical theory? Look, when we were cavemen three hundred thousand years ago some random bloke manifested magical capability. There was no wand, no brooms and no conception of civilisation. Magic in its default state is wandless. "
Ronald then grabbed Rothley's potato chips, before floating them back to him. The other two boys were flabbergasted, but Atticus had seen when Ronald had taken his wand off the duelling platform last year.
"So, you can use wandless magic to track objects and enhance your speed or reflexes. All you need to do is breathe deeply and shape your intent. You don't need a spell. Sometimes when you are emotionally charged you can manifest the magic, but it can be done deliberately too. Don't force it either, just think and let it come naturally." Ronald explained.
"How could you have so much magical strength?" Everest asked.
"Not strength. Efficiency and Quality – come from regular exercise. Maybe Rothley might know this one. No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try. " Ronald laughed before Rothley had an "a-ha" moment.
"Shite! That makes perfect sense now. You and the other two running defence classes in the Ravenclaw wing this evening?" Atticus asked, clearly unaware of the Star Wars joke.
"Yes. After I get changed and I get something to eat. Hey, my brother wants something." Ronald replied as Percy walked towards Ronald with Penny. Everybody noticed that Percy was looking for bigger and Penny seemed slightly more muscled. The rumour in the upper years was that "they had shagged until they got fit." That was not untrue – but the real reason was that they had nutritionist planned meals at the apartment and Ronald loved logging everybody's stats from the biosensor suite in the Marauder's bracelet. Then he tailored the exercise programs as necessary.
"Afternoon Mallory! Hello to you too, Everest and Rothley," Percy addressed the three boys, before shaking their hands. Penny merely gave the boys a polite wave.
"Hello. Were you at the match?" Atticus asked.
"No, I am working on something and I could not come - was never too much of a Quidditch person. But I am sure Ronald was excellent. Charlie told me you and Violet are hitting those hoops lately. He said he gets good energy from the lot of you." Percy explained.
"Thanks. If your brother can dog Krum one-to-one, we could have that Worldcup title in two years. Many of the Death Muncher children are unpleased that I am talking to Charlie, but as I say…..fuck em. Quidditch is important, to me!"
"True. Some things are bigger than house rivalries. I don't like Quidditch much, but surely the traditionalists would enjoy our country going to the world cup? Even if that demands that some people that they find unworthy are working towards their benefit? And I thought House Slytherin understood the necessity of politics?" Percy wondered.
Rothley raised his eyebrows as he scratched his chin – that chain of thoughts was very sensible.
"You know. You do have a point. Ouch, not much sensibility in the snake den these days. But then they are horny, drunk, high on Cuban cigarettes and very unhinged so the behaviour is not too unexpected in any case." Everest replied.
"We know your twin brothers are the suppliers. Everyone knows. What impresses us is the continued manner in which their contraband cannot be found by McGonagall. That is the best prank in the history of Hogwarts. No, we are not asking you to say anything. My mum isn't magical and I have used Skype alright? To see the lot of them fawn over the instant messaging on the data slates pleases me to no end!" Rothley laughed.
"I haven't been able to figure out if it is them, honestly. They have no contraband at home or at the Castle. Ronald, I need you as we have some urgent business to deal with?" Percy explained.
Ronald told Atticus and his friends goodbye as he walked off with his brother.
"Who would have thought that we could be civil with the Gryffs? Although it seems there are a lot of quiet chats with the wizarding messenger. Rothley you going to ask Spinnet out? She is right over there. We came with you to be your wingmen, and we are here." Atticus teased.
"Ah fuck it….
OI! ALICIA!...GO TO HOGSMEADE WITH ME YOU GOOD LOOKING WOMAN!" the boy yelled across the corridor before everyone else looked at the first open date between a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. When Alicia had blushed and nodded, Minerva who was walking by and in a good mood said, "Rothley, twenty points to Slytherin for having the courage to ask one of my lions out. Please do be nice to her wont you?"
The boy clenched his fist and made a "YES!" motion.
The news had spread quickly and the neutrals who had been egging the shy boy on were now hooting in the common room. He was the champ who was brave enough to date a forbidden Gryff. Draco frowned his face while Blaise patrolled up and down, with worry.
Pansy was head over heels as she gossiped with Millicent Bulstrode. The sad reality was that Draco had not remembered any of the recent shagging – Voldemort had enjoyed using Draco's cock on Pansy as he pleasured himself. He had suggested that Draco take what was offered because he had an itch. Pansy Parkinson who was so happy over her relationship was collecting pipe from the darkest plumber of them all, He-whose-faucet-was-extremely-leaky. Draco swung his head to one side, and Pansy knew that it was time for a romp in a nearby broom cupboard. She loved when Draco would get rough with her, as he pulled her hair, slapped her and even bruised her body regularly.
That was more a case of Riddle liking it rough.
While Draco or rather Riddle continued to pound Pansy in a broom cupboard, the group consulted the sonar readings from their Marauder bracelet. Percy attached a small device to a hidden door in the Chamber of Secrets. The parseltongue that was recorded from Draco's polymer spray was replayed, and the door revealed itself before it opened. As Daphne and Tracey entered the room, Ronald looked around and realised the obvious as Percy jumped to the roof.
"I knew we would find it. This is Salazar's private quarters. Let us see if they are any possessions here!" Percy exclaimed.
"I can't believe this. We are in Salazar Slytherin's crib!" Tracey laughed.
"This is very interesting. He does not seem like a nutter?" Daphne commented as she looked around the room. It seemed very plain – almost spartan and efficient. It reminded her very much of Harry. As she looked at him, his eyes were already luminous.
"The advantage of knowing Hermione and I, is that you will visit interesting places?" Harry replied as he began to scan the room for malicious spells. The room contained many bookshelves and small trinkets, but it was anything far from gaudy.
"Salazar was a introvert. Didn't like too much noise. Looks like he was just a basement dweller?" Ronald suggested.
"Why do you think so?" Harry asked.
"This honestly looks like Percy's room. And even yours too Harry? This is definitely your bedroom?" Ronald suggested.
"I think that is quite an accurate observation," Hermione replied as she grinned.
"You know what? Maybe you are right, Ronald. The Chamber of Secrets is engineered quite well. It is Hogwarts' lowest level and it still gets light and air during the day. A lot of fresh water from the rain. The basement dweller was probably the engineer within the founders?" Harry laughed, as the others considered that Salazar was capable of impressive sculptures. Maybe he had built the primary foundation of the castle, after all. After rummaging around for about an hour, they managed to find a couple of personal accounts that were written completely in Parseltongue. That alone was a great find as the language possessed a written alphabet. Percy who loved linguistics decided that he was having a look immediately when he got changed, later that evening.
The other heirlooms were his legendary daggers, and Harry had only been too happy to examine the enchantments and the structure of the blade. The edge was designed with micro-capillaries and they were all filled with basilisk venom. Harry took the daggers and decided that he would reforge them by improving the metallurgy and embedding power crystals and emitter matrixes into the blades. The design would stay exactly the same, but there would be extra functionality. Then Daphne and Tracey would be given one each to carry – after all they were his snakes. Daphne was looking at the corner of the room, and she opened a closet and saw something that caused the entire group to laugh.
Salazar Slytherin's most prized possessions were his fishing poles.
He had at least ten of them and upon examination of another attached room, there was a small canoe that did not have a single magical enchantment on it. The fishing poles were quite modern looking as it looked like he had thought about modern features, one thousand years ago in the past. Retractable strings, autowinding handles, extendible string pockets, and the wood had been strengthened.
"I am giving your fathers these fishing poles. Good prank for them for Christmas later this year. Both of them can afford yachts if they wanted in any case?" Harry teased.
"Dad might like fishing. He loves seafood. Now if you tell him he can catch his own with Salazar Slytherin's fishing pole, that might make his head explode!" Daphne laughed.
Finally, the last possession was a small chest with a snake pendant. After Harry had determined that there were no malicious enchantments, Daphne decided to try it on. As soon as she placed the pendant on, she could see a new passageway that had been hidden behind a rather thick door revealed itself. As the group emptied the items into transport crates, they climbed the new staircase. After a two hour trip up many flights of stairs (Hermione insisted on taking magical signatures), the group were surprised when they found themselves at the top of the central tower. Daphne pointed to another doorway, and Harry nodded as he could see it too, with his mage sight.
"Looks like I have to use my eyes all the time in this place. There is always some hidden contraption or door. There is no record of this place on the map. Anyway, let us climb the last flight of stars." Harry suggested. After another half hour, they found themselves in one of the most secretive rooms in Hogwarts – they were now looking at the original enchantment that the founders had cast, as it quested for magicals and committed the names of all magicals.
They were looking at the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance.
"Well, this is fantastic. No human hands have touched this book since the days of the founders." Harry wondered.
"Hey, this tower allows us to see the whole castle. Wait a moment isn't the Astronomy tower the highest tower in Hogwarts? How could we be higher?" Hermione asked.
Harry jetted out of the window and found himself surprised – an entire spire of Hogwarts was invisible and this tower was the ultimate lookout. Harry then glided back into the spire by approximating the window entrance and found himself in the room again. The invisibility field enveloped a fair amount of the tower, and Harry began to consider the possibilities as he landed inside the room. There were probably powerful enchantments that prevented people from flying into the towers, and other notice me not charms. Hermione began to look at the custom wards and made adjustments for the group.
"Hey people, the central tower has an upper level that is invisible. From the outside, it looks like empty air. But I am not surprised. We do indivisibly spells regularly, why would not the founders not be capable of it? Salazar loves hidey holes come to think about it?" Harry asked.
"Are we adding this to the bracelet?" Ronald asked.
"Hell yes. I think we will have to sweep Hogwarts with a fleet of sonar drones, just in case there are other places like this. Wait a moment, does Hogwarts have a warding stone? It must have one! How come we have never seen that?" Harry wondered.
"Makes sense to hide it. If we could get into that we could bolster the castle defences. Tie the map into the wards too. I love this spot. Possible location for high zoom cameras, and a sniper nest?" Hermione suggested.
"We can ask the Room of Requirement to give us a passage. We could even bootstrap a reactor. So that is one project we can do. We might be able to place a lot of cannons and other things inside this tower and utilise them, later on. The invisibility field extends for about five metres outside the wall. We have a nice envelope. Anyway, let me check the book, I want to see what it says about us?" Harry wondered.
After Hermione gingerly flipped through the parchment, Harry saw that he was enlisted as "Notable Alumni, Professional nationwide prankster, Artificer, can engineer anything, magical mercenary, businessman, magical theorist…..Help – running out of space for his twenty other achievements. Private Tuition – partial attendance."
Hermione was listed as "Notable Alumni, Runemathimancy/Illusionary priestess, can concuct any kind of chemical or potion, can program any item, Magical mercenary, Professional potioneer, Businesswoman, Magical theorist…..Help – running out of space for her thirty seven achievements. Private Tuition – partial attendance"
Daphne joked that their titles were the longest in the book, as their achievements took the entire width of the parchment. Harry and Hermione were a bit embarrassed as the rest had laughed at them, at their expense.
"Hey if Hogwarts thinks we are accomplished enough, fine by me. We may not be full time students, but the long-term plan is for this school and magical society to be safe from Voldy and his collaborators. And we want more effective relevant education for the students too!" Hermione replied.
The book which had turned a page automatically inked, "Hogwarts thanks you for your contributions to student safety, educational outcomes, Quidditch, quality of life, staff efficiency, structural upgrades and your stellar quality pranks, Caelian Artitificer Lord Hadrian Peverell, Vesta-Priestess Lady Hermione Granger…."
Then the writing faded away, and it continued to record the name of various wizards. Harry yelled "Thanks!" and the castle replied in a scrappy and secretive scribble, "You are welcome Prongslet and Teethsie!"
"Well, that is extremely cool. So the castle is sentient. Let us see what it says about our family members?" Harry suggested.
He soon saw the following, as he checked in on his immediate family members, one at a time. It seemed that the book had a sense of humour and it liked to crack jokes:
· Priya Singh, Notable Alumni, Master Healer, can fix any ailment. Help…running out of space for her medical achievements. Winner of Hogwarts most fantastic smile award since…..forever!
· Lorna Findlay, Notable Alumni, Retainer, Businesswoman, Logistics expert, Professional nationwide schemer, knows more than she lets on!
· Remus Lupin, Notable Alumni, Magical Mercenary, Bibliophile, Full-moon howler, Manufacturing expert. Probably the tallest man in Magical England.
· James Potter, Notable Alumni, Hit-Wizard, Amateur Prankster, Transfiguration Savant, stopped Tom Riddle.
· Sirius Black, Notable Alumni, Magical Mercenary, Retired Womaniser, Businessman, Logistics expert, Social Reforms Activist.
· Lilly Potter, Notable Alumni, Charms Mastery, Magical Theory Mastery, Runes Mastery, Potions Mastery, Ancient Cultures Researcher, the brightest witch of the 1999 Graduation year, stopped Tom Riddle.
· Peter Pettigrew, Hogwarts gutter rat and professional traitor. Missing a finger, a spine and a personality.
Harry and Hermione continued to look through the book. So the castle had preferences. After checking Draco Malfoy, the title was quite obvious.
· Draco Malfoy, current student, professional ponce, elementary schemer, fatherly disappointment.
"Alright, can we check our descriptions too?" Daphne suggested.
Soon enough the group poured over the book and Mipsy delivered sandwiches as they spent the entire evening in the room. After all, the book seemed to have a dry sense of humour when necessary and the listed quips were funny enough to read aloud. The item, however, did indicate dispositions. Perhaps these were old titles that were used in the Wizarding World and they had been forgotten? Hermione and Harry scratched their heads as they read the following:
· Neville Longbottom, current student, apprentice swordmaster, part-time tutor, apprentice brawler, Master gardener/agriculturist, Godric Gryffindor's yearly awardee for outright bravery, Magical England's singular hot-sauce extraordinaire.
· Augusta Longbottom, Notable Alumni, Businesswoman, Social Reforms Activist, Apprentice chef, don't screw with that woman if it is the last thing you do.
· Luna Lovegood, current student, apprentice painter, apprentice journalist, part-time tutor, apprentice magizoologist, fashion designer, Rowena Ravenclaw's yearly awardee for dreaminess.
· Xenophillius Lovegood, Notable Alumni, Master Journalist, Businessman, author of Magical England's best newspaper, Vinyl music collector savant.
· Ronald "Brutus" Weasley, current student, apprentice Quidditch athlete, apprentice potioneer, part-time tutor, could be the strongest of them all soon enough, Helga Hufflepuff's yearly awardee for pure physical strength. Has the best right hook in Hogwarts.
· Arthur Weasley, Notable Alumni, Mundane relations expert, Businessman, Logistics, Magical Policy savant, Social Reforms Activist.
· Molly Weasley, Notable Alumni, Businesswoman, the Best chef in magical England, Majority owner of the best magical kitchen in England, Majority owner of the best coffee shop in magical England, household charms extraordinaire!
· Bill Weasley, Notable Alumni, Cursebreaker, Arithmancer, Magical theorist, the coolest wizard on the block.
· Charlie Weasley, Notable Alumni, professional Quidditch Master, Beastmaster, local witch heart-throb.
· Percy Weasley, current student, current Hogwarts lore keeper, Magical researcher, Future Headboy, sometimes a chad.
· Fred Weasley, current student, professional magical prankster, Contraband supplier, apprentice Quidditch athlete, partial Hogwarts menace when necessary, fireworks expert.
· George Weasley, current student, professional magical prankster, Contraband supplier, apprentice Quidditch athlete, partial Hogwarts menace when necessary, fireworks expert.
· Ginny Weasley, current student, Demolitions expert, apprentice Quidditch athlete, Apprentice jeweller, could possibly destroy entire walls if she is angry.
· Daphne Greengrass, current student, Apprentice Runimathimancy priestess, Savant computer programmer, Expert coffee critique specialist.
· Cyrus Greengrass, Notable Alumni, Magical relations expert, Businessman, Logistics, Magical Policy savant, Social Reforms Activist and kickass intelligence operative.
· Ophelia Greengrass, Notable Alumni, Magical relations expert, Logistics, Apprentice gardener/agriculturalist, the best therapist you will ever find.
· Astoria Greengrass, current student, Demolitions expert, Burger Critique specialist, apprentice Quidditch athlete, could possibly destroy entire walls if she is angry.
· Tracey Davis, current student, Professional Novelist, Professional smut publisher/ pervert, Fitness/Trainer nutcase. A damned good writer, if you ask me!
· Reginald Davis, Notable Alumni, Magical relations expert, Businessman, Logistics, Magical Policy savant, Social Reforms Activist.
· Amy Davis, Notable Alumni, Notable Alumni, Magical and Mundane relations expert, Logistics, Apprentice gardener/agriculturalist, Makeup/Beauty extraordinaire.
· Penelope Clearwater, current student, current Hogwarts lore keeper, Magical researcher, Fast Food expert, Future Headgirl, Accounting expert -you will always balance your budget.
Harry and Hermione took enough pictures and sent the messages out. Harry got a bit uncomfortable when Ophelia messaged Harry privately and said:
"See, even Hogwarts knows. Come and talk to me, if you think you are ready. Lilly used to do this for me when exams stressed me out. How could you expect me not to fuss over you?"
Harry replied, "This Friday. You pick a time, and I promise I will be there," before he wondered about the obvious question.
"Do you think Moldydork is here?" Harry asked the group.
The book then flipped a couple of hundred pages back, and displayed Tom Marvolo Riddle as:
"Excommunicated for crimes against Magical England and Hogwarts, He-who-has-no-home-here."
After checking on some of the other common Death Eater names, Harry realised that Hogwarts did not like Death Eaters or people who practised the Dark Arts. Perhaps it was a good thing the book was secluded, as some enthusiastic person could have probably used the book as the basis for a student and staff inquisition – Harry concluded that it was better if the object remained hidden. As the group finished with their investigation, the others apparated to the apartment, and Harry and Hermione decided that it was time they had a little chit-chat with Blaise Zabini as they took a jaunt into the Slytherin dorms.
"Wakey Wakey Sleeping Beauty?" Harry said sweetly, as Blaise opened his eyes and found himself in a chair. Harry was impressed when the boy instead of screaming bloody murder, looked around carefully at everything before opening his mouth.
"Well, we aren't in England or Italy, that is for sure. So much for my nap." He replied quite calmly, as he stared at the armour and the Thunderbolt that was parked in the background. He could not fool Harry – his onboard scanner suite in his armour indicated that Blaise's pulse and his emotional state were approaching a full-on panic.
"No, we are not Mr Zabini. We are in France." Harry replied.
"Oh. Well, I would ask you to introduce yourself but I know who you are. Am I going to survive the evening?" he asked.
"Oh yes, we aren't here to kill you. I brought you here because I felt sorry for you. I lost my parents in the last war. And you now…..don't lie to me boy, you were upset as you suspected something happened to your mother."
"You ran into her?" Blaise asked cautiously.
"More like she was responsible for kidnapping the Italian Minister of Magic's daughters. After we recovered the girls and killed all the scum, I had to knock her front teeth out. You are lucky I didn't kill her. She got away on the basis that I know that you would prefer to be decent, but you do what you must to get by. And also, on the basis that she is not a citizen of England. Because if she was, while I am not the law….I like to dip my fingers in other people's business…" Harry commented.
Blaise nodded slowly.
"You will find that no amount of seduction can tempt me when I reinforce my mind. You think the little wandless legillimens that you casually do is some great feat? Oh, my sweet summer child…." Harry trailed off.
Blaise gulped.
While Blaise was projecting a confident face, deep down he was scared out of his wits. He had heard the rumours but to see them in person? Blaise was an accomplished manipulator, but he was not too creative. The sight alone of the both of them had left him bewildered. Blaise understood from his limited knowledge that he was looking at some type of artefact that probably was a mixture of muggle ideas and magic. The floating centre pod and the detached wings alone were a sight to behold. The various weapon emplacements over the object looked like they had enough firepower to take out an army. But most obvious to Blaise's eyes was the bold faded Union Jack that was painted on the side of the flying object.
So, they were British. And they were muggle. They were flying the Muggle National Flag of England.
And the armour? That was another story. Blaise knew in passing that the Muggles had advanced with the development of guns and that they did not wear plate armour. Therefore, the simultaneous mix of old and new ideas perplexed the boy. A piece of a halberd could be seen as it floated across the Storm Lord's back. The skull mask was disconcerting as it seemed like his head was on fire. The six glowing eyes left him confused, as he did not know which of the glowing orbs to observe. The absence of facial expressions but their replacement with the cold hard steel pieces that animated itself – it looked like a horror show made real. The Roman centurion crest did not go unnoticed either. The house insignia was something he did not understand, but it looked modern and powerful. He also recognised the seven arithmantic points of magic, as he understood some additional theories from his light reading.
Just when the evening could not get more impossible, Remus and Sirius landed after taking a small scout of the area. For Blaise to see them fly so smoothly and alight on the ground with nothing as much as a hiccup, frightened him. Flying only ever happened with a broom and there were no surfaces or places that seemed to produce the magic to allow them to fly. The broom rescue made sense, and Blaise wondered if they had truly flown at an excess of four hundred mph per hour, according to Madam Hooch. Sirius walked towards Blaise with the rifle in his hand. For Blaise, he already knew the insignia as the nine-headed snake flickered its many tongues. However, the size of the man was impressive. Perhaps it was a new member of House Black? As the unknown man seemed to relax, suddenly the gun disassembled and began to float over his armour. For the other man, Blaise observed as his vibrant red claws receded into his hands.
"Ah. Here we have the son of the Black Widow herself. Any trouble from him?" Sirius asked aloud as he grinned within his helmet.
"Oh, I don't think so. His primitive brain is trying to figure us out. Very amusing….." Hermione answered aloud, as she stood before the boy.
Blaise quickly realised that unlike the Italian mundane guns that he was somewhat familiar with, the guns that they possessed could be built on the spot. Based on the floating attachments, they had every type of gun he could imagine, as Blaise examined the barrel lengths. If these people were the manufacturers of the pistols that the Aurors were using internationally, this implied that their personal inventions were way worse. He listed to the comments, as he understood he was a little boy, in this setting.
"Can you blame him? His mother taught him manipulation, not critical thinking." Remus replied.
"Come now, don't sell him so short. Mr Zabini?" Harry continued. Blaise was now trying to compose himself.
"Why do you think we dragged your ass out of your bed? It cant be to threaten your mother. If she wasn't useful, I would have killed her on the spot." Harry asked.
"You need something from me?" Blaise suggested rather cautiously.
"Five points to Slytherin! What else?" Harry asked, as the vocoder and the blinking lights and shifting plates on his face relaxed somewhat.
"I don't know. I can offer you only what you ask, and you haven't asked me anything yet?" Blaise suggested hopefully.
"Oh, you poor boy. We brought you here for you to see your mother. Sure there is some threat involved. Reveal our secrets and we will kill you. Truthfully, we know you have been crying and we felt sowwie fer wee ylittle Balisey Paisey." Hermione laughed, condescendingly.
"Really?" Blaise asked.
"Sure. In return for this favour, we want an oath on your magic. Spy on specific members of Hogwarts, and send me the information. Every useful nugget of info gets you a handsome sum of money. If you deliver, you will have more than enough to handle your yearly school expenses, and might even have some pocket change to travel and buy something nice." Harry suggested.
Blaise took out his wand and intoned the oath, as he promised upon his life, to never willingly divulge their secrets. The oath had been long, as it was written beforehand to consider all possibilities. Blaise was given a copy of the oath and then he was asked to step into the Thunderbolt-II. As Blaise sat down, Remus took a seat that was behind him. Sirius was facing him in the opposite direction as the boy looked at the power crystals and the hologram of the Globe. His head swivelled around as he looked at the organic sweeping shapes and the small pedestal that seemed dimply lit. Blaise had to blink at the floating chairs and the armour racks.
"Right now your mother is in French custody. I spoke to her. She is looking at lifetime imprisonment. And then where does that leave you as you are dependent on her? Your mother did not think about how her activities would affect you?" Sirius casually mentioned.
"I suppose not. I know she has her faults, but she always loved me and treated me like I was the world. I don't know my father, all I know was that my mother became jaded after he abused her." Blaise responded.
"Life is sometimes…complex. Since you are under oath, let me explain this quickly. Your mother was right. There is no Artificing Guild. We own everything. The brooms, the dataslates, the entire Quidditch broadcast system, the televised shows, the guns, the appliances? Everything. And for those who are selling on our platform, we are taking a small commission out of it. And we are international."
Blaise whistled.
"Exactly. You will report to us via a specialised module that will be deployed to your data slate. You will observe particularly your fellow students in your academic year. The Slytherins. Do this for us, and we will provide you with direct dataslate communication with your mother and…"
By the time Sirius was finished, Blaise was convinced that the trio did not know the Storm-Lord and the Storm-Priestess. Daphne and Tracey were just talented people and the Storm lord was interested in getting to know them. Harry had no intention of letting Blaise know that they were already his students. Blaise was also instructed to keep an eye on Draco, Pansy, Theodore, Vincent, Gregory, and Millicent.
"Look I am not saying that you like me, but I just want to know how fast does this thing go? And are all those stubby bits are guns? Does it have a name?" Blaise asked hopefully.
"It is called Thunderbolt-II and it is a bomber and personal transport. The main cannon can liquefy tanks and the twelve emplacements are technically plasma guns. As to how fast it can go…"
The protego field snapped into place and secured Blaise as his legs were squeezed forcefully. This was a secondary system to assist passengers who did not possess a muscle weave. Hermione then hit the throttle, and Blaise felt the G-forces and the blood as it drained out of his body and pooled in his legs. Hermione then dropped off the speed and laughed, after Blaise began to scream bloody murder.
"Oh you poor thing, we just got up to 1800 mph. We were planning to go the full 2800mph but you would not survive, your physical fitness is substandard…." Hermione laughed. Blaise was now panting as he realised that the rumours about the Storm-bringers were not overboard – they were severely uninformed of their true capability. Blaise understood with utter clarity at that moment that if the Dark Lord returned, it did not matter.
They would only get more powerful with time – both magically and financially.
Blaise was now in his dormitory, after speaking to his mother face to face. She was being treated decently, and her teeth had been repaired. She had promised upon her magic to help fully with no deception, as long as she could see her son. Harry had set up private video calls whenever Blaise wanted, and Belinda implored Blaise to cooperate with the authorities.
"Son, I have made many wrong choices and now it has caught up to me. The Artificer did not have to make things easy for you, and he is capable of ripping the information out of my mind. He felt sorry for you. Had the girls been killed, he would have ended me right there. He only gave me a pass, because he saw how I had been abused by…your father and because of the Minister's request. He understands what that is like…that is all I can say."
Blaise nodded. So he too had been forged in pain.
"He has promised me on his magic that if you study hard and if you are a distinguished student, he will offer you a scholarship. I guess you will have to fix my mess son?" Belinda replied, sadly.
"I can do that. Maybe I don't need all the material wealth in the world. I just need you. You were always enough. I could remember when we were hungry, but I never loved you any less?" Blaise answered.
Harry had listened and came to understand that life had been hard for the woman – she did everything for her son. She wanted him to have the world, and she always dreamed that he would live like a prince. She had done great evil in the name of love, as misguided as her actions were to everyone else. Her son was sacred to her, and Harry understood what this felt like – She genuinely cared about her boy. After the two hour long heartfelt discussion, a cloaked drone had apparated Blaise directly to his room in Hogwarts. Somewhere inside the Storm-Lord was a decent human being. Blaise considered that many of the Death Eaters would not qualify for his exemption. He decided to stay in Malfoy's circle but he would try to be decent to everyone when he was out of earshot of the four other snakes.
Or Perhaps the three other snakes. Theodore was beginning to frown at Draco's statements – he always suspected that Nott hated his father. It was rumoured that he had killed his wife for producing a squib. The child had never been found – perhaps Theodore Nott was living in a complete nightmare, and that was why he always seemed angry. Whoever was the new bird, he liked her a lot.
Theodore Nott's face was sometimes dreamy, and it was good to see that he was happy, even if it was only in the library when he sneaked away.