Well, another week passed with no word... very sad, i know... really need to get back into writing mode, got home from a trip and immediatly fell sick, then had an allergic reaction to the medince perscribed... so much fun, still itching even as I type this... anywho... Review please!

Chapter Six

Seasonal Plots

Zychre was a very curious ruby cobra, and as such had the desire to explore every inch of this large nest for so many of the adolescent humans and their hive minders, or at least that was how the snake interpreted it. He was aware enough that her outlook on the world was probably very different from his Veneficus', but it made sense to him, and that was all that mattered.

Currently, the little snake was exploring a strange scent he had found on her previous excursions, delving deep into the underbelly of the nest. This nest was colder than he would have liked, but his nest mate was a generous one, and had used his magical powers to give Zychre a cushion of much needed warmth, as well as shrouding the venomous snake from the eyes of the other human younglings. It would probably not be wise if they saw him, he had stated, and while Zychre would have wanted the due attention of the other creatures, accepted that none of them could appreciate his beauty as much as her Veneficus.

Down she crawled, deeper and deeper into the cold metal tunnels, finally ending her journey in a large place that simply reeked of some other snake. Zychre was just wondering what sort of snake could have lived in this place already when the sound of a massive body sliding across stone filled the empty chamber.

"Who disssturbsss my ssslumber?" hissed the giant serpent that emerged from the shadows.

Zychre admired the massive specimen before him before answering, "I am Zychre, mighty one, and am jussst exploring the nessst of the human I bonded with."

"Really now…" the larger serpent said, amused, "you, little more than a hatchling, are bonded with a human already? I would very much like to meet another ssspeaker if posssible. It hasss been far too long sssince I've interacted with any other creature. My massster died long ago, charging me to protect this ssschool with my powersss."

Zychre listened in amazement to the wise ancient serpent, soaking in the many stories and advice the great one had to offer in exchange for companionship. A great desire started to burn inside the little snake, a desire to grow to be powerful and useful to his nest mate, just as Cherix, basilisk familiar of Salazar Slytherin had been to her master.

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Hermione struggled to comprehend the events of Halloween the entire first week of November. It was strange, first Harry acts so mean to Neville, Ron and herself over the Rememberall, then turns around and saves her life, going far out of his way and getting injured in the process. It just didn't add up in Hermione's mind, and it almost had her struggling in classes with the plaguing questions. To cap it all off, there was the horrible moment that Hermione had actually seen Harry in the bathroom before passing out, a terrifying vision of the black haired boy glowing with rage and firing bolts of lightning from his fingertips at the troll.

That last part had to have been a hallucination, Hermione reasoned, as it wasn't physically possible, even with magic. Hermione did notice, however, that Draco Malfoy stuck close to Harry even more than ever now, and several of the other professors would glance for longer than normal at the pair of boys, professor Snape leading the amount of scrutiny. There could be reasonable explanations for all of these, but Hermione couldn't in good conscience form a theory before observing Harry for herself, and she just didn't have the time to do it between classes and homework and studying.

Perhaps the Quidditch match set for next weekend would prove the perfect opportunity for Hermione to make some casual observations about the pair of Slytherins without any distraction or her being noticed by others spying on the Slytherin first years.

Getting into a good position behind the Slytherins in the stands was surprisingly easy at eleven. The pitch was so crowded with many students from every house that one Ravenclaw in the primarily Slytherin side of the stands was overlooked. As the Gryffindor commentator started and the game began, Hermione sat back, idly watching the game with both Harry and Draco conveniently in her line of sight.

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Veneficus sighed inwardly as the Quidditch match began. Personally the Sith apprentice would have rather taken the free time to continue training, but unfortunately, Lord Anguis was still a normal child, and insisted that they attend the match. Veneficus had decided to indulge him just this one time, plotting to make some sort of object lesson out of it later if the boy was fool enough to try and badger anything else from the Dark Lord.

Not that the game wasn't somewhat entertaining. Not that it compared to podracing or arena fighting, especially when you're contenting, but the game had a few good qualities. Veneficus watched mainly the bludgers, along with the beaters from both teams, watching the iron balls as they tried to crash into flyers at random, sometimes propelled by the heavy bats the beaters carried with them. Veneficus smiled slightly as he fantasized about constructing weapons similar in function to the bludgers, and unleashed them on any unsuspecting enemies.

The young Sith was pulled out of his thoughts by a streak of gold flying past his vision, and he focused on the tiny winged ball that basically was the main objective of the game. Apparently others had noticed it as well, as the announcer stupidly declared that the Snitch had been sighted, allowing both incompetent teenagers from the two teams speeding off to try and capture it. The crowd cheered, egging one their respective team of choice, all eyes focused intently on the two seekers.

Only a warning from the Force saved Veneficus from a bloody fate, giving him time to dive across the students next to him and dodge one of the bludgers, which smashed headlong into the seat he had been previously occupying. The ball crushed the wooden bench, knocking several students to the floor, who screamed, but weren't heard in the din of the cheering masses. The bludger rose like a rocket, before inverting direction and pelting back at Veneficus. Inwardly, the young Sith cursed his acolyte for bringing him to the pitch as he rolled to dodged the next series of attacks from the crazed iron ball.

The surrounding students, including Anguis, scattered, were fleeing the rampaging bludger. The out of control sphere spun and dove, continuing to pelt toward Veneficus as he used the Force to assist his speed and weave around the ball's path of destruction.

The Sith didn't dare draw his lightsaber to simply carve the ball in two, nor was he prepared to reveal his abilities in a show for telekinesis or Force lightning out with all the unwanted eyes to see. But he had a sinking feeling that if he didn't do something, the infernal magical contraption would box him in, or he would be forced to do something that would bring the attention of the teachers to his advanced capabilities. Glancing momentarily across to the teacher's box, Veneficus hoped that someone was paying enough attention to notice something amiss.

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Everyone was too focused on the battle between the seekers that only Severus noticed a small disturbance in the Slytherin stands. Several students were scrambling to get away as a bludger repeatedly attacked someone in their midst. Severus also noticed that the bumbling fool of a Defense Professor, Quirrell, was missing from his seat.

Putting two and two together took less than a millisecond for Severus, and he quickly departed from the teacher's box and rushed to the Slytherin stands, wand in hand as he arrived. As he expected, the student avidly ducking and dodging the rogue bludger was none other than Harry Potter. Severus paused for a moment, stunned at the lightning reflexes the boy possessed, almost moving in anticipation of the bludger's next attack instead of in reaction. Severus also half registered that the boy could make a very good Quidditch player as he focused on aiming his wand.

Unfortunately, Severus couldn't line up a clean shot with the bludger trying to pummel the boy into a pulp. The words of a slowing charm on his lips, Severus halted when the impossible happened. The bludger finally had cornered Potter, trapping him between the railing and some rubble, and sped toward him. The boy threw both hands up to protect his face, and the bludger suddenly halted its advance.

Taking the immediate advantage, Severus flung a high powered reductor curse, making the iron ball detonate in a shower of iron shrapnel. Severus then sprinted to Potter's side. The boy was cut and burned from being rained on by molten iron, but was otherwise uninjured. Charging Mr. Malfoy to take the other boy to the Hospital Wing, Severus looked around for any sign of Quirrell. He only caught a glimpse of the purple turban disappearing down the closest staircase.

It didn't take long for Severus to track down and confront Quirrell, back inside the castle. The Quidditch match had ended almost immediately before Severus destroyed the bludger, so aside from those who had been nearest, the majority of the school wasn't aware of what had happened… yet.

Stopping the stuttering professor in a vacant corridor, Severus seized the man by the front of his robes. "S-S-Severus I-I-I…" the man began, but Severus cut him off.

"Safe you're whimpering, Quirrell. I know it was you who set the bludger on Mr. Potter. But what I want to know is why. What's your game Quirinus? Especially regarding the Stone…"

Quirrell's eyes widened dramatically, "I-I-I d-don't know what you're t-t-talking about, S-Severus."

"Oh, but you do, Quirrell…" Severus said coldly. Pausing, he cocked his head, listening. The sound of the returning mass of students was growing closer. Returning to Quirrell with a sneer, he continued. "We'll have another little chat soon, after you've decided where your loyalties lie."

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To say that Anguis' new Lord was displeased with him was an understatement. Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey was able to heal his cuts and burns with great ease, releasing him in less than one hour after the game ended. Slytherin had barely won, but Anguis cared little for the outcome of the game after Veneficus stated flatly that they would not be attending any of the rest of the matches for that year. Anguis wished he hadn't tried to protest, as his… punishment… hadn't been the kindest thing he had experienced.

The Sith Lord had given his acolyte a taste of the power that Anguis desired most, holding him under the torment of Force Lightning for merely fifteen seconds. Never in his life had the boy every felt that much pain as his skin burned and electricity jolted through his body. Shuddering in agony on the stone floor of their hidden room minutes later, Anguis had wondered momentarily what he had gotten himself into. But he couldn't back out now; the oath he had taken would be the end of him if he tried to betray his new Master.

So Anguis did the only thing he could, rode out the pain and learned to be more obedient to the Sith Lord he had affixed himself to. Taking Veneficus' advisement of using his newfound pain and anger as a focus for his power, Anguis threw himself into his training, striving hard to make objects float with the raw power of the Force. The concept was simple in Anguis' mind; all he needed to do was focus the Force as an extension of his will, just as you did with magic, but drawing it from the world around you was harder than the acolyte had expected. The Force wasn't born inside you like magic was, always there at your beck and call. Sure, there was a limited amount of Force energy that you yourself created by being alive, but the many factions of Force users, Veneficus had explained, also drew power from the many channels that bound the galaxy together as one great system. Making that, connection as the Sith Lord had called it, was vital to performing any feat with the power of the Force. Anguis had made contact several times now, but feeling the Force and commanding it to obey your will were two different things.

Anguis could only describe the difficulty as trying to tame a wild animal. At first, it wouldn't trust you, and therefore flee from you at every attempt to harness it. But through careful and long exercises, it could eventually learn to trust you, allowing you to harness and lead it around on a leash. Now all Anguis had to do was put his analogy into practice, by making a stack of small metal crates hover above the ground.

Veneficus sat nearby, partially in one of the conjured chairs of the room, while at the same time searching through several old books of various topics. However, it was apparent to Anguis that his master wasn't finding whatever information that he was searching for, as book after book was tossed aside, and another summoned in its place, until a small pile of the discards started to form next to the chair.

Taking a short break from moving a pile of books from one side of the room to the other, Anguis approached the Sith Lord, taking a glance at the current book he was perusing. It was an old copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and where to Find Them,' by Newt Scamander. The Dark Lord of the Sith was currently holding the book open to a page about Cerberus, The three headed dog that muggle mythology had guarding the gates of the Underworld.

"Thinking of buying a pet?" Anguis said, before his brain registered how stupid that was to saw with what he had just gone through earlier. But thankfully, Veneficus just smirked, closing the book and tossing it on the pile, "No, but you never know when the information will become useful…" he paused, looking at the title of the next book before throwing it across the room, "Kriffing Shavit!" he yelled, and Anguis backed away immediately, feeling the power of his master welling up, "why can't I find Nicolas Flamel anywhere in these useless books!"

"Nicholas Flamel?" Anguis said hesitantly, still fearing another dose of the Sith's wrath, "Isn't he that nine hundred year old alchemist… Why do you want to know about him?"

But the blond boy never got the answer to his question, as Veneficus bolted from the room the minute the word 'alchemist' left his mouth. Thinking it would be best if he left this well enough alone, Anguis returned to focusing his newfound powers to send objects around the room, his fresh irritation at his master aiding him in throwing the books stronger than he normally would.

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Veneficus didn't stop running till he arrived at the library. He knew the exact location of the book that would tell him what he desired, ever since his acolyte mentioned that Flamel was an alchemist. He remembered passing a fundamental book of alchemy during his first week perusing the library. Normally he would have let the room bring the book to him, but if what he suspected was true, he'd prefer his foolish apprentice to be unaware of what the Cerberus was guarding.

Veneficus entered the library at a light trot, and ignoring the rude glance from the librarian, made a beeline for the book in question. Flipping through the book, the Sith stopped at a long list of known alchemists. And there he was. Nicolas Flamel, widely noted for his historic creation of the Sorcerer's Stone, the powerful artifact that turned metal to gold and created immortality. Returning the book to its shelf, Veneficus left the library, walking slowly to nowhere in particular, pondering the implications of this discovery. If indeed it was the stone that was guarded here at Hogwarts, that would explain a few of the stranger happenings going on around, and if it existed…

Veneficus smiled as a little plan form in his mind. Unlimited wealth and immortality, the two things that would ensure the Sith's survival for all time. If he, Darth Veneficus got a hold of that artifact, he would be able to produce the elixir of life, and therefore be unstoppable. The other puzzling thing was the not so very tight security on the stone. Seriously, a Cerberus as the first guardian, Veneficus doubted that it was the only protection on such a priceless trinket.

Well, the oaf Hagrid gave him the first piece of information, perhaps another unplanned visit would yield another. Wasting no time, Veneficus left for the groundskeeper's hovel, knocking loudly on the door and faking a sweet smile as the giant man opened the door.

"Well, hello there Harry, How've yeh bin?" the giant said, and Veneficus shrugged as he entered, feigning mediocrity. "Nothing much, how have you been, Hagrid?"

As soon as the door was shut, however, than Veneficus dropped the act, using the Force to aid his words, "You will tell me everything you know about the measures guarding the Sorcerer's Stone."

Hagrid blinked at him, genuinely surprised but completely unaffected by the mental command, "No, yeh know I can't," he said sternly, "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts… I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

Veneficus was shocked. The giant oaf was immune to mind tricks. It was just what he needed right now; another wonderful and irritating complication to throw off his plan. Switching tactic quickly, he tried flattery, "Oh, come on, Hagrid," he said sweetly, "you might not want to tell me, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here."

Hagrid's beard twitched slightly and Veneficus could tell he was smiling. "I was just really wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you, in guarding it."

The oaf's chest swelled in pride, and Veneficus smirked as the giant man spilled all he knew, telling him that apart from the Cerberus, that Professors Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, Snape and Dumbledore himself had done some sort of spell or enchantment.

The Sith Lord left with a wide grin on his face. Each of the professors, with the exception of Dumbledore and Quirrell, had a specialty of what they studied, which would make formulating a counter strategy to run their gauntlet much easier. The Stone would fall into the hands of the Sith, and with it, the Order would be another step closer to at last crushing the Jedi and ruling the Galaxy for all time.

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Zhar dove as another ancient Sith trap sprung, and several poisonous darts shot over his head. He and Melina had been walking for hours, occasionally disarming or springing the many traps that the old Dark Side Masters had left in their citadel. Grunting slightly as he stood, brushing dust from his clothes. "How much farther do you think the vault is?" he asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"It can't be much farther, only just around the next…" she paused, reaching a hand out to sense the currents of the Force around them.

"I sense it too," Zhar said. There were others in the citadel with them, following them. "What do we do?" he said, pulling out his lightsaber as the Twi'lek also drew her weapon.

"We keep moving, find somewhere we can hold whomever it is off." And with that, the woman dash further ahead, Zhar right behind them.

The beings perusing them quickened their pace as well, and Zhar was about to call out that they should stand and fight, when they came to a hulk blast door. There was a single figure waiting for them, clad in a hooded black robe.

Both Zhar and Melina skidded to a halt, activating their sabers. Mind reeling, Zhar tried to reach out to this opponent with the Force. What he found frightened him to the core. The blackness of the beings aura was sickening. "It can't be…" he said in amazement, "the Sith Lords were wiped out…"

Even more frightening to Zhar was the fact that Melina seemed to recognize the figure, as well as the other three humans that took up flanking positions, crimson lightsabers igniting as they closed off their retreat.

"Acolyte Melina Eris…" the hooded figure spoke, advancing a few steps, "I have to say you made it farther into this citadel with your Jedi friend than I thought you would…"

The Twi'lek stood there, frozen in horror. "Melina…" Zhar said, as the three Sith behind them slowly advanced, "What's the plan Melina?"

But the Ex Sith had her own ideas. Screaming in fury she charged the hooded man, crimson blade twirling as she leapt the final few feet at him. Cursing loudly, Zhar ran after her. The hooded Sith ignited his own red blade, catching and parrying every attack from both Zhar and Melina, retaliating with short jabs and graceful slices that kept their offensive sloppy and off balanced.

If Zhar wasn't fighting for his life, he'd say he was impressed. The Sith Lord made lightsaber combat look like an art, and neither of them scored a single hit upon the unknown being. Interlocking the three of their blades, the Dark Lord glanced directly at Zhar, and the Dark Jedi gasped as the three eyes of his opponent burned into his mind.

"Impressive…" the mutant muttered, batting aside another attack and kicking Melina back before throwing Zhar into the wall with the Force. Recovering, Zhar leaped back at the man, catching a surprise blast of lightning on his blade.

"Most impressive…" the man continued saying, spinning to avoid Zhar's next strike and cutting Zhar low on the leg, causing more pain than any sort of damage to him. "But you are not nearly powerful enough to challenge me…"

Melina sprang again at him, diving with her saber in hopes of impaling the Sith Lord. That's when the man stopped playing games. Catching the Twi'lek midair with the Force, the Sith threw her into the nearby wall, then slammed her into the ground, knocking her lightsaber away and winding her.

Turning to face Zhar, the mutant deactivated his weapon, stowing it beneath his cloak, "Lower your weapon boy, you cannot hope to defeat me."

Glaring, Zhar lowered his saber slightly, but did not shut it off, "No," he admitted, "I can't, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to allow you to cut my throat without a fight."

The Sith Lord actually laughed, "Bravery… remnants of your Jedi training no doubt. But you have to great potential for me to kill off so simply. Why not join us boy, and we could facilitate your journey down the path of the Dark Side."

Zhar hesitated, weighing his options. Join the Sith, and possibly live a bit longer, or defy him and be slaughtered…"

"What choice do I really have?" Zhar said finally, shutting off his weapon and backing off a few steps.

"Wise choice, Jedi," the Sith Lord commended. Summoning Melina's fallen weapon, he motioned Zhar to come closer. "As your first show of loyalty, kill her…"

Zhar glanced at the fallen Twi'lek. He really had no feelings for her either way, and it was rather him or her, so he ignited his lightsaber and carried out his first order without fail, severing the Ex Sith's head from the rest of her body.

"Very good." The Sith Lord said, lowering his hood and returning to study the blast door.

"I can sense our prize beyond this door, but how to safely open it."

The door was large, filling the entire section of the corridor, and was a black metal with gold rune-like writing on it. "Lord Millennial," one of the other Sith spoke up, "it looks like several of the doors from Dromund Kaas, the ones that had to be opened with the Dark Side."

"Well spotted Neophyte…" Lord Millennial responded, before reaching out a hand, and pouring the power of the Dark Side into the door. The pure malevolent power made Zhar stagger back, aghast at the magnitude of strength the one man wielded. With an angry hissing sound, the doors slid aside. Granting the five of them entry to the vault beyond.

The room beyond opened up to a massive space, and Zhar was disappointed when there weren't mounds of treasure or artifacts, just one bizarre looking round ship. It looked kind of like an eyeball with strange looking wings of either side. It wasn't until Lord Millennial spoke up that Zhar understood the importance of the red orange ship before him.

"A Sith Meditation Sphere…"

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Sorin Kress remained in orbit over Ziost, on continued orders from Master Oprec to watch for Quelmok and follow him when he leaves the system. He was just wondering if the Fallen Jedi truly did plan on living on the deserted world, when several ships started departing from the planet. Two were the original ships that Sorin had seen enter hours earlier, but the newest was a sight that shocked the Jedi Knight to the core.

The rounded form of a Sith Meditation Sphere exited between the other two ships, leading the way to the hyperspace point. Acting quickly, Sorin sped around in a wide circle to get behind the three ships, closing the Force around him and activating his ship's scanner. The Meditation Sphere had one occupant, as did the ship Zhar had taken in, but the other mystery ship had three passengers. Quickly deactivating the scanner so he wouldn't be detected, Sorin fired a long range tracer at the mystery vessel, the small device attaching and activate moments before the ship followed the Meditation Sphere into hyperspace.

The final ship departed as well, but Sorin recognized that it was facing a different direction. But he was no longer concerned with Quelmok or his threat. A Sith Meditation Sphere registered only one thing in the Jedi's mind. A Sith, possibly even a Sith Lord, may have survived the war, and have been living in secret preparing to bring chaos back to the Galaxy.

Powering on his long range communications, Sorin contacted Master Oprec, explained the situation, and was patched through to the High Council room, where many of the council members were in attendance.

"Masters, I have disturbing news in accordance to my search for Zhar Quelmok," Sorin began urgently.

"Knight Kress," responded Grand Master Fae Coven, her rodent like features revealing curiosity and her whiskers twitching. "What is your report?"

"Master, I perused Quelmok to the forbidden world of Ziost, former capital of the ancient Sith Empire," Sorin saw the reaction of grave worry on the many faces of the council members, "there I held in orbit, waiting for him to leave the planet, as I would not face him there where the Dark Side held so much sway."

"A wise decision, young Jedi," Master Aaro Cater interjected. The Bith motioned him to continue immediately, and Sorin hurried on.

"As I held orbit, another ship entered the system, strong in the Dark Side. Thankfully, from my training I remained hidden and the ship also landed on the planet. Hours later the two ships left the world, accompanied by what I fear was a Sith Meditation Sphere, all three departing for destinations unknown. I worry, Masters, that we may be dealing with a Sith resurgence, maybe even the survival of a Sith Lord who is attempting to revitalize their order…"

"Impossible," Master Cedmel Antross said, "The last Sith Lord was slain years ago after the butchering on Tython."

"Be that as it may Master," Sorin continued, pleading with the human Jedi Master, "I managed to plant a tracking beacon on one of the ships, and I request permission to follow these new suspects."

"Did the ship you traced contain Zhar or the mysterious Dark Side source?" the Jenet Grand Master inquired.

"No Master, I suspect it was either in the Meditation Sphere, or still on the planet." Sorin replied.

"We need to discuss this further," Master Coven said to the council, before returning attention to Sorin, "Return to Coruscant Knight Kress, we will need to investigate before we decide on our course of action."

"But Masters!" Sorin said urgently, but the communication had shut off. He seethed in annoyance slightly, but quieted his mind with the Jedi Code. He knew that his Masters had good intentions, but sometimes the Council decided too often to deliberate and pass up opportunity rather than take immediate action.

Sorin didn't like having to disobey a direct order, but felt it was necessary in this case. Setting his hyperdrive to the coordinates of the beacon, the Jedi Knight set off on the chase of the mysterious ships.

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Millennial piloted the Mediation Sphere with great ease, the ship reacting to his deep and powerful connection to the Dark Side. Listening to the mental communication of the Sphere, Millennial learned that it used to be a full warship, before whatever Master it had recommissioned it to be a training ship for Sith apprentices. It had eagerly accompanied Darth Millennial when he offered it to return to its duties, training the future of the Sith Order.

With the convincing of the sentient ship completed, that left for Millennial only to decide what to do with his new Dark Jedi friend. He discerned that the Jedi would be after him, and that bringing him and his ship to Earth wasn't going to be the wisest move, so he ordered the human male to depart for Dromund Kaas with his ship, to assist Supreme Prophet Dass'in with the reconstruction effort, with a holonote from the Sith Lord explaining the situation.

It took several standard hours at lightspeed, with a small handful of replotted jumps to reach the world of Veneficus' birth, and Millennial took the time to contact Dass'in in advanced, to inform him of the Dark Jedi's arrival, and advise him on what to do and train the human with. He also received a progress report from the Dorian. High Prophet Lotu'an had been very busy searching out new prospects for training, and they already had about two dozen new neophytes training and resuming the excavation of the ruined world. They had cleared much more space in the main Dark Force Temple, and were training all the Neophytes in the ways of the Dark Side and the fundamentals of the Sith.

Upon his and the three Neophytes in Millennial's infiltrator, the Sith Lord sent the coordinates of Blackmoore Manor to them, along with the key words to dispel the Fidelius charm for the three humans, allowing them to enter and leave as needed. Millennial made contact with the droids stationed in the manor, and learned that the subterranean complex was nearly finished, and the hanger was opened, allowing the two ships to land undetected by the rest of the planet.

The new two dozen droids were immediately set to work unloading the infiltrator, taking the collected supplies to their respective areas in the new base, and Millennial addressed his three Neophytes. "We have much work to do here, and time is of the essence. My apprentice, Darth Veneficus will be in several weeks time, and I would like this base finished in time for his return."

"Yes, my Lord," the three said in unison, before the two women set to overseeing the droids, and Kelrek took his place in the new communications array, watching and waiting for anything from with Dass'in or the Dark Jedi Zhar.

Millennial was about to set about exploring the contents of his newest Holocron, when he saw the letter waiting for him, delivered by owl post. Several were from the wizarding bank, regarding his and his apprentice's assists, but the one that capture Millennial's attention was one with the Malfoy family seal. Tearing the envelope open, a short letter fell out, inviting both Sith Lords to the Malfoy ancestral home in Wiltshire for the Yule gala they held yearly. Millennial just grinned at the letter. Integrating into the wizarding world had just gotten a lot easier.

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Albus grimaced at the report Severus had given him regarding the attack on Harry Potter, and the following discussion the Potions' Master had had with Professor Quirrell. While both Severus and Albus had their suspicions, Albus was planning to let things play out, and lead Voldemort into a false sense of security, until he made the mistake of trying to take the stone.

The gauntlet guarding the stone was purposely made so that even a first year could pass it easily, with the right information, and Albus had noticed that young Harry had increased his searching for information about what lay beyond the Cerberus of Hagrid's. Albus still planned to send the boy his father's invisibility cloak that Christmas, allowing Harry and his friends the ability to move about the school undetected, except by Albus. With some luck, and a bit of subtle guidance on the Headmaster's part, Harry would be able to defeat Voldemort once again, and ending the threat of the Dark Wizard once and for all.

But… even then Albus had his hesitations. He had still had no success in determining the boy's current living arrangements, and neither petitions to Gringotts or any other of Albus' normal methods had yielded results. It was dealing with an unknown entity, and Albus did not like it one bit.

Perhaps several contacts Albus had in the Ministry would have means of discovering the location of Harry's new home, or at least the name of his new family. It was the best that the old Headmaster could come up with at the present time.

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Jedi Grand Master Fae Coven closed her eyes as a sudden disturbance in the Force brought the meeting of the Jedi High Council to a standstill. The Jenet Jedi Master knew immediately where the origin of the disturbance was. Ziost…

"Jedi Knight Sorin Kress has decided to disobey orders and follow this mystery on his own." She announced to the council at large.

"Then, what shall we do?" asked Master Rar Lalsok. The Weequay was currently on an assignment in the Outer Rim, assisting the protection of a special dignitary to Galactic Center to ask the Republic for assistance in a rebellion.

"We should attempt to keep communications up as long as we can, and hope the Force will lead young Kress to the source of this mystery," Answered Falleen Master Ir Trangrin.

Jedi Master Isshaartu grumbled a question. Many had difficulty understanding the language of the Wookiees, but the council had learned the language to accommodate their comrade, and Grand Master Coven responded, "We shall send others to find Zhar Quelmok in Knight Kress' absence."

"Might I suggest," added Master Lanen Quelross, brushing her long hair aside as she spoke, "that we send Master Ta-Ras-Min and her Padawan, Septin Aranis?"

"I agree," Master Coven said, and around the circle, the twelve members of the Jedi Council voiced their agreement.