Formal Alliances:
Later that evening, Harry and Hermione appeared at the Weasley residence and knocked on the door. Hermione who decided to lighten the mood decided to yell rather brightly:
"It is the Trouble-bringers!"
Molly opened the door quietly and suddenly her face was bright…but somewhat reserved? Harry and Hermione had expected this – after all, she technically had murderers in her house. Good Murderers, bad murderers, it was all the same? Harry was pleased with Molly had offered him a cold cup of orange juice as they entered the kitchen. Arthur was silent and alert as he considered who these children were.
"Well, Ms Weasley, I am glad I am still eligible for this. I think you are within your right to have reservations. But I can assure you, we had good reasons. It gets very….complicated. Think you are ready for the full story?" asked Harry.
"I think so. You must understand it is not that we do not have high regard for what you have done. This is all a lot for us. Our lives move slowly. I don't understand why you had to kill, and this troubles me." she replied.
"Oh dear, Mione we are in trouble. They think it gets better…"
"Mione?" asked Molly Weasley.
"Hermione Jean Granger. Harry, time to zap them," she replied.
"Grace!" Harry yelled.
ZAP.
Suddenly a beautiful blue bird appeared in the kitchen as she merely alighted on Harry's shoulder. Molly and her family were already shocked.
"Well, this is Grace. She is a lightning phoenix. My phoenix to be precise. No different from Dumbledore's Phoenix. However, Fawkes is a fire phoenix."
"You own a phoenix? But how? Only Dumbledore has one?" Molly asked.
"I dunno, there is one on my shoulder? She showed up one day, and decided she wasn't paying any rent and…"
Grace pecked him, somewhat roughly and it was comical. She was very intelligent and she understood English? Her face had been full of expressions. It provided a momentary smile to Molly, Authur and Ginny who had walked into the room.
"Ouch. Alright! Alright! She saved me from death okay? And then, she decided to become a squatter. Anyway, everyone hold my hand. She is going to apparate us to Peverell Manor. Yes, they can transport people. Albus gets around just like that too…."
Everybody held Harry and Hermione's hands.
ZAP.
Arthur and Molly were now in the Peverell Workshop. Strangely enough was Augusta Longbottom, Amba Singh, Remus Lupin, and another unknown woman….and…...
Arthur decided to ask the obvious question:
"Sirius Black, but it can be? You were in Azkaban!"
"For a crime, I did not commit? Do you reeeeeeally trust Fudge?" Sirius asked, as he drank a beer.
"I – okay. Point Taken. What is this place? And what are those things on the wall?"
"Weapons. We have a lot of them." Remus laughed.
"Hello Augusta and Amba, I am happy to see your faces. Why do I get the feeling that you guys already knew?"
"Well he has been my adoptive grandson for twenty nine months. I have been aware of his plans."
Molly raised her eyebrows, and Augusta filled in the rest.
"We always knew from the beginning. But let the boy tell his story. For the second time…." Augusta laughed.
Ginny was looking at the Armor and pointing excitedly as Hermione walked her over to a refrigerator, before popping a canned drink for her. Harry continued with his standard Introductions:
"So Ms Weasley, Mr Weasley….."
Ginny had now taken a seat and was drinking a cold Coca-Cola.
"And Ginny….most of you believe that Harry Potter is dead. Surely the newspapers are correct? No, it is not correct because I was responsible for getting that article published indirectly. I faked my death because…
I AM HARRY POTTER."
Molly began to sputter.
"But why? I don't understand….you should have been starting school? Why are you doing all these things?"
"I had an accident where a piece of Lord Moldypants that was trapped in my scar, attacked me. I had to fight him off at eight years old. I was not far off from Ginny's age. As you can see, I have no scar. I was dead for approaching three minutes probably, as I fought him, to prevent him from possessing my body. And then Grace arrives and then she saves me with a gallon of phoenix tears. That was the experience I had mentioned last month.
"You mean he is alive!" asked Arthur, terrified of such a possibility.
"Very much so. And Dumbledore knows. Dumbledore has a plan to take him on, but he plans to sacrifice people. We have been monitoring him. What about if that sacrifice included one of your children as collateral damage?"
"But Albus Dumbledore is the greatest Wizard!" Molly replied.
"Would you say that if it was Fred? George? Ginny? Just imagine they died in the war. Is that a price you are willing to pay?"
Molly seemed distressed, to consider such a thought.
"Exactly. Those who we killed today, will haunt us no longer in the future. However, the issue too is that Albus is responsible for my abuse and he was not even aware of when I was hanging on to the last thread of my life. Come visit my pensieve. See my memories for yourself. See how I have suffered. And then tell me if you believe that he doesn't make mistakes.
Harry then wandlessly summoned the Pensieve, and this piece of magic impressed Arthur.
"You can do wandless magic?" asked Arthur.
"I can. You will see the entire development of that skill eventually. Anyway, the memories are in. Come and take a look."
Molly and Arthur nodded then dove in as they began to experience the pain of truly being Harry Potter.
Two hours later, Harry Potter and the Weasleys returned from the pensieve. Molly had always been protective of her children and she informally considered Harry and Hermione two of her own, already. And to see the boy suffer so much? Molly's motherly instinct took over and she now was crying long tears. Even Arthur was forced to wipe his eyes with his sleeve. He could feel the pain, still echoing from the pensieve. Molly came over and held his face affectionately and hugged the boy as Arthur patted his shoulder.
"Well, Ms Weasley, I had Ginny's age when I suffered that kind of pain. Now I want you to imagine that Ginny had died today. Or perhaps, you were injured and you could no longer carry out your duties as a mother? Isn't that exactly what Alice Longbottom's reality is? Today we did not have a single death. No critical injuries. We even made anonymous donations to restore many businesses.
But we made 30 of his fuckers pay."
Arthur and Molly were surprised at the coarse language.
"Now, you know the big secret. He is coming back. How much will we lose? Some might find our methods extreme, but we disposed of thirty of his followers? He has done a piece of magic so dark, that he probably split his soul into pieces. This is god damned Necromancy. The blackest of the dark arts.
And we should fight that kind of evil with...stunners? Are you fucking kidding me?"
Molly nodded, as suddenly some deep-seated resentment came to the surface.
"I always had wondered, after the death of my twin brothers, if we should have done things differently. I just can't understand. How could he leave you to suffer so?" Molly asked as she sat down to catch her breath. Amba sat next to her and held her hand. Mipsy who had sensed the commotion came with a teapot and winked at Harry.
"Here, have some tea, Ms Weasley. Or you can have a bottle of wine from the vineyard."
Hermione on cue showed up with a bottle of wine and some glasses. Hermione popped the bottle with an opener as she poured a glass out for Augusta. Arthur decided after what he saw, that he also needed a glass.
"Anyway, the issue with Albus Dumbledore is not that he is a bad wizard. I don't think that one bit. I just think he is too busy, doing too many things because nobody has a spine in the Wizarding World."
"That - that is a unique view to have. After what I have seen, I almost want to never speak that name again. We do not take kindly to people being denied their Inheritance. Yet, it seems that you stepped into it, I suppose?" replied Arthur.
"Correct. That is another story for another day. The story gets better and worse, then better and then this morning? Worse. It comes and it goes.
Whatever we choose to do all the time, that is what we become good at doing. Educators become better at their craft, Politicians become better at negotiation and Policymakers become better at writing International Law. The problem is that Albus Dumbledore does all of these things as Supreme Mugwump, Chief Warlock and Headmaster. That is why I suffered. Not because he is evil. I suffered because he was too busy to truly check in on me. I know for a fact that good ol' Minnie Mouse is the person who is carrying Hogwarts on her back."
"You mean Minerva McGonagall?" asked Molly.
"But of course, the one and only Minnie Mouse herself. Minnie Mouse is a Muggle cartoon character by the way, but we think it is a nice nickname. But yes, she is the person who runs Hogwarts. Fillius is the real Dean of the school, as he understands the issues.
Dumbledore just plots, and plot and plots as he thinks that he alone can solve the issue by himself."
"I am curious, as to all these other things. The Wizarding World has never seen the implements you possess. They seem to be magical refinements of these things over here. These are guns, aren't they?"
"Did you hear about a sting operation where almost eighty eight women were rescued from a Chattel Market?" asked Harry.
"Yes, heard the rumours. Mad eye moody led the operation?"
"HA! Did you see the article about the Muggleborn healer recently? The one now working in France?" Harry asked again, as he prepared to connect the two events.
"Yes! I did. I was happy for her! She was within her right to do that! She needed a job, and they failed to provide!" replied Arthur.
"Excellent. That is my adoptive mother - Grandma's daughter."
"Order of Merlin, First Class Master Healer Priya Singh is your daughter Amba?"
"She is. But more importantly, she is Harry's adoptive mother. And that boy and girl over there? They are our grandchildren." Amba replied proudly.
"What happened with the sting operation?" asked Authur.
"Lord Agamemnon Cassius kidnapped my mother and my elder sister Lorna right over here, intending to rape them. We went into Cassius Manor and we splattered all of them. We killed all seventy two men. After we were done, you know what we found? We found eighty eight women who were part of a Chattel Market!
It was us, who got Andromeda Tonks to call the Aurors. And that was only after I paid money out of my pocket for Gringotts to break the anti-apparition words. It was Bill who broke the ward. They were doing narcotics and weapon trading. We took the weapons."
"Bill met you before?" asked Arthur.
"Yes, he did. He still should not speak of the matter as he is sworn to keep his oath via the Gringotts magic."
"How did you get all these artefacts?" asked Arthur.
"Ever heard of the Deathstick?"
"I have. Another old tale, no wand could be that powerful?" asked Molly.
"Nope. Built by Glaucon Peverell. One of three powerful objects. I have the notes on the table across there?"
Both of them became silent as they realised that they were dealing with an utterly Ancient House. So this was the Peverell lineage.
"Is that where the Artefacts come from?" asked Arthur, after he began to connect the dots.
"The artefacts start with mum. Before she became celebrated recently, she was a muggle school teacher. It was she who found me with broken bones in a muggle primary school. She fixed me. She carried me to see the Goblins. She taught me Magic. And her best friend, this one right over here? My elder sister?
A Slytherin! The oh so dark house where everybody is a Death Eater. Why do you think they haven't been managing? We have our own snake.
A Slytherin Aunt and a Hufflepuff Mom! Ha.
That was the combination that allowed me to inherit the Peverell Magic. I promised Magic itself that I would have revenge. I read all those trashy books and decided that I didn't want a herd of unicorns, I didn't want a harem, but I wanted a lot of weapons. When the Dark Wanker shows up, he will be facing an entirely new type of warfare. Come let me show you something….."
Molly and Arthur walked after Harry as he demonstrated the craters on the armour.
"This was where I took a couple of Avada Kedavras to the chest, that night I rescued my mother. This armour cannot block the Crucio or the Imperius, but it can block the killing curse. I made it myself."
"Your armour can block the killing curse?" Authur queried, as if to clarify the impossible claim.
"Yes. I figured it out. Hermione…I am going walk a bit….there. Show them our shielding devices."
Hermione quickly took her wand and began to throw stunners that even Molly recognised as being at almost the same power like hers. But the speed? She could cast almost twice as fast. They all watched in amazement as a Protego shield activated every time the spell landed on Harry. Harry held up his hand and Hermione stopped.
"That – That is amazing. Did you build that? How?" asked Arthur.
"Magic and a fair amount of ideas and innovations copied from Muggle Science. Hermione over there created Medi-Spray"
"The Medi-Spray...you invented it?" asked Molly, as she realised that she bought a potion, created by a girl who had casually sat in her kitchen.
"I did. Used a fair amount of Chemistry. Less than a year and my potions made me bout five million galleons. The new pain suppression potion for bone regrowth is also a recent one I also made."
"No wonder you are so supportive of us...in any case, the galleons are not a big deal, aren't they?" asked Molly.
"Not one bit. I believe we have a responsibility to help hardworking people. Harry and I consider ourselves to be people who come from the working middle class. And now that we have stepped into wealth, we believe that we should look after others. That for me represents quintessential British values. In any case, the Death Eaters have a habit of banding together. We will not be outperformed by scrum like that. So, we found the best people to support. Do you want another oath on that? Hermione asked.
"No dear, not at all. I think some…...deception was necessary. I understand why Percy has changed. He knows doesn't he?" asked Arthur.
"He does. I rather we are prepared by our initiative, rather than fumbling around. Imagine the Dark Wanka arrives and we are scampering, and trying to figure out what to do?" Harry stated.
Arthur held Molly's hand as they realised that they were truly in the presence of accomplished wizards and witches.
"Well, this has been enlightening. Even if there was no oath involved, I would keep your secrets. But what do we have to do with this?" asked Arthur.
"I had always planned for you to be in my corner. I will win this war by having technology, political power, magical power, friendship, bravery and conviction. No family has the conviction that you have. After all, if I did not genuinely respect you, I could have never given oaths in the eyes of Lady Magic. And I gave you my word upon my magic that I saw genuine goodness and excellence in you. So did Hermione and Sirius."
"We know. That has been humbling for us. So, what now….Harry?" Molly asked.
"We will have to bring Ronald, the twins and Charlie into the fold as Luna and Neville already know everything. I have reason to believe because Hogwarts is so special, the Dark Lord will try to dispose of Albus Dumbledore via proxy. I give it three months before some kind of impossible garbage happens at Hogwarts. This is directly related to Moldypants making his way back. Albus himself suspects this, and some infants have died in Albania. The Dark Wanka has no problem doing necromancy and killing children in the process. I will even bet you ten pounds as a joke…."
"Are my children in trouble?"
"No. Percy has a smartphone. He will keep an eye out. We also have artefacts to deploy remotely, that allow us to see inside Hogwarts. As soon as there is a whiff of trouble, we are busting in fully armed."
"What does Sirius have to do with all this?" asked Arthur.
"I am going to make this short and I will provide you with memories you can watch. You have a pensieve?" asked Harry.
"We do but we haven't used it in a while. We can get that sorted out though…."
"Excellent Uncle Arthur. The idea was to get supporters of my parents. Remus and Sirius first. Sirius was in Azkaban so I broke him out and killed the Dementors. In any case, it was Pettigrew that betrayed us. He sold my parents out to Lord Moldypants. He was the secret keeper for my parent's location."
Molly and Arthur raised their eyebrows. Sirius, Augusta and Remus laughed as the Weasleys were getting the "Harry and Hermione treatment."
"You killed the Dementors?" Molly asked.
"Okay, that sounds impossible at first. I will tell you what I did, as a total summary. So…I had to figure out where Azkaban was, and I did. I had to figure out why brooms don't work across the Azkaban ward. I figured that out. Figured out the Armor and the guns, and the jetpack. That allows me to fly. Flew to Azkaban, shot the Dementors with magical plasma, cracked the wall, rescued Sirius, and brought him back. Decided to make him step into his Lordship. He is the new Lord Black. He stripped Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange of everything that could be taken away.
Meanwhile, I plan to annoy Lucius Malfoy by giving you access to opportunities. I want Draco to catch a heart attack, the little shithead. You probably didn't notice but all my lovelies went to school wearing Acromantula.
"Acromantula?" asked Molly, as she realised why Lorna had opted to carry off of them to get the robes done.
"Oh, it is glorious! When we said we were giving them spanking band new...I meant it! They worked for their fair share of money and they were super efficient! Why...I have enough brooms for the next three months. Your three boys made eight thousand brooms. Fred and George were running the machines and Ronald worked like a machine. They were sometimes running off three hundred handles and thruster cages, every day!"
"Three hundred?" Authur asked.
"Yes. The money they made? They deserved it. My brooms are being sold internationally. I have enough for Christmas. They manufactured 800,000 galleons worth of brooms. That is why I paid them good money. The money might seem like a lot, but look at how much work they did!"
"How much did they make? They didn't mention it….." Authur questioned.
"The boys worked at least ten hours, seven days a week. The twins and Ronald managed about 20,000 galleons each. Charlie managed about 30,000. Percy managed 48,000 because he was working sixteen hours a day of his own free will. They have personal vault keys and I even set them up with mundane stock options."
"That is a lot of money!" Molly replied.
"If you look at their salaries out of the selling cost of what they have produced, I paid less than twenty per cent of my final cost to have somebody else handle all the labour with my brooms. That is very much within my margin. The trick is that I work with machines. Fed and George took to CNC machining like it was nobody's business. Very technically minded. Zonko's is in a lot of trouble.
Charlie? Damn, he can fly.
And Ronald? We started to call him the terminator. Not that you understand the joke but trust me, he is the Terminator."
"That makes sense. I understand that you are using the situation to annoy your enemies?" asked Arthur.
"Yes. Setting you and my collaborators is towards the war effort also.
So this is the plan for now - The Dark Lord arrives again, from whatever dark magic that he did in the first place. Things are quiet for a while until he begins to move behind the scenes. We give them time to operate and we figure out who they are, and what they do. This will allow us to root them out properly. Just when they think they have won the battle, we show up eventually packing weapons, a highly trained kill squad, and other things to give them nightmares.
Most likely your children and other students will not be fighting to kill, but merely defending Hogwarts. We will find ways to passively train them in combat so that they are prepared. I will also have enough money to buy out the 12 darker seats with hostile takeovers. That is where it will be too late. Hermione and I also plan to hold control of the magical consumer market"
Molly and Authur began to realise why the other side was in terrible trouble.
"That is how you conduct warfare. On both military and economic fronts. Albus never could financially pressure the Darker Houses. But we are different. That is what will allow us to win."
"I-I suppose you want revenge for your parents, Harry?" asked Arthur.
"Partially correct. But you see the issue is that we are fighting a much bigger enemy. Just imagine we spare the Death Eaters. They go back into society. The laws do not change. Eventually, the same problem arrives again. So even if we won the war, without political and economic might...the same issue remains. Malfoy and his ilk should have been jailed! This is not just about defeating the Dark Lord. This is uprooting society and fixing it with a goddamned revolution.
All I expect of you is for you to openly get into business and do well. I was going to launch a cookbook around your methods and make devices that do cooking by storing your custom kitchen magic, so it can be replicated. Imagine Narcissa Malfoy types lining up to appliances. Then, imagine you and Aunty Molly making 75 per cent of all of the international profits that I plan to make. That is throughout all the I.C.W countries, by the way."
"You want us to do well, don't you?" asked Molly with a gentle voice.
"I want her to do well too! She can cook more and worry less!" Amba yelled from the couch. Everyone laughed.
Harry took out his wand, as he believed that this oath would seal the deal and build stronger relationships.
"I Harry Potter, as Palatine Artificer Lord Peverell swear on my magic that I deeply understand that the Weasleys are proud people. Charity is when you provide something with no expectations. This is a business deal, where I suspect that the Weasleys will do extremely well. I genuinely want you to do well, based on mutual respect.
I do not expect your children to fight to kill, but I expect them to be the best that they can be, so that if they are attacked, they can defend themselves. I am hoping not that they will follow my lead blindly, but that they will offer solutions and see the things I cannot. This is a partnership, not a dictatorship. I am eventually hoping that House Weasley will at a net worth of a couple million galleons, will pay the four million galleon fine and resume being the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Weasley. We will need political support.
And if you can't pay the penalty, bloody hell we will pay for it from our coffers!"
Authur and Molly's faces softened, and Ginny was quiet. They realised that besides the macabre news, they had genuine supporters who wanted them to do well. Harry seemed to have no problem taking a magical oath, and that was no small thing. Suddenly the other people in the room pitched in:
"I, Sirius Orion Black, as Lord Black pledge to have Harry's back as my godson, and by extension the Weasleys if they need anything at all."
"I, Hermione Jean Granger as Rune-Priestess Lady Granger pledge to support House Weasley as they support us in our mission to battle Lord Voldemort and his supporters."
"I, Augusta Longbottom as Reagent Lady Longbottom, swear to honour the tradition of supporting House Potter! And by proxy to support every other house here in our alliance!
And when my Grandson becomes Lord Longbottom, they will tremble at the sight of all of us!"
Molly Weasley and Arthur were crying. They had not been considered good enough to get support from anyone. A Christmas family meeting would be necessary. Molly nodded tearfully at Arthur.
"I, Arthur Weasley as Lord Weasley, promise to put my best foot forward as we attempt to fight for what house Weasley has always done – we always fought for the rights of everyone. We promise our best as a family to work hard towards supporting you with disposing of Lord Voldemort. We will trust Lord Peverell to provide us advice on how best to proceed, and we will also provide advice where necessary. We promise to keep your secrets as you will keep ours."
Charlie Weasley was ensuring that his broom was safe, as he suddenly felt the Weasley House Magic becoming active and strong. He immediately found Percy climbing the stairs to find him.
"Perce, did you feel that?" asked Charlie.
"Yes. What does that mean?" asked Percy.
"It means our new friends have taken formal oaths to get us back in the game. We better start dusting off the Grimoire, and the other things, the Weasleys are back in the game thanks to our airplane specialists."
Percy who knew the real identities of the pair realised that they did not do anything by half measures. Suddenly his smartphone beeped and it was a call from some unknown number? He answered the phone as Charlie looked on:
Percy heard the voice of his mother.
"Hello Perce, we are allied with House Potter, House Peverell, House Granger, House Black and House Longbottom. We will have a family meeting at Christmas, and everybody is going to meet Harry Potter. Hermione saved Ginny and I from Death Eaters, during an attack this morning and we saw her face. They have updated us on everything. I am proud you are researching our Founders. Make sure you get a good night's sleep, and don't study too hard.
Bye bye!"
"Perce what was that?" asked Charlie.
"Hadrian gave me this phone. I just got a call from our mother. We are now allied with five other houses. Christmas we will get the details. That is all I can say."
"Keep me updated. We are going to shake Hogwarts down this term."
"We are going to do exactly that" answered Percy, as he ate a Snickers.
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Note: Book 2 is out!