On a hot summer evening in July, in a mystic study on a hidden floor of a certain apartment building in downtown London, the Grand Arcanum, Master Sorcerer, Arching and chief Encantor of the London Grand Circle of the Stag, the Rose, and the Serpent closed his grimoire and sighed to himself. Here he was, ten years old in just a few days, and he already was more powerful than anyone he knew. To be fair, he was a genius, and he had created the Order by teaching all of its members about their magic, but he had rather hoped that, one day, he would be able to find another warlock, sorcerer, mage, enchanter, witch, ensnarer, binder, sealer, or, really, any other magic user to help him with his craft, and to teach him secrets he didn't know. At this point, he would even take a divine cleric, a druid, or even a wand user so that he could finally find out what it was like to be not the most powerful and most learned person in the room.
Heck, at this point, he would take an immortal madman trying to kill him.
As it was, today was this month's Recruitment Day for the Order, and a Bibliophile he favored (he was a talking cat! What's not to love?) was taking on an apprentice today for the first time, not to mention a certain moon princess he had been eager to meet would be allowed by her father, a skilled Wordsmith Harry owed a couple of favors to, to enter the Circle. As the Archmagis of his Clan, he was required to be there for the Testing, the Initiation, and the Invocation anyway, but hopefully the bookish chick would be interesting, and the princess was practically a promise of power and oddity. Maybe these ones would be good enough savants to give him a challenge or to surpass him. After all, they were eleven and nine, respectively, and younger people seemed to have a stronger affinity for natural magic, as opposed to the book magic you mastered as you got older.
Grabbing his bodyguard/cousin Dudley 'Burning Fist' Dursley from his apartment across the hall, and a few tomes for backup firepower and entertainment from his library, which took up the next twelve floors, Harry made his way to the Library Arcana of the Circle, the First Seat of his clan, ready for a new initiate, and, hopefully, a challenge. Or a jester. Honestly, at this point, he'd be good either way.
--HP--HP--HP--
Harry sighed as he sat on his throne. He wasn't much of one for the theatrics, normally, but people needed to understand the proper order of things, and nothing said 'boss-man' like a huge stone chair. As the Head of the Circle, he was responsible for everyone under him, and he had sworn on Grand Magic that he would govern them well. The Oath and the Throne were tools used to keep him in check, and make sure that he did his job. In return for this, he was given the Right to Rule. Each of the lesser Maguses, in turn, were given the Precept to Follow, making them subservient to his justice and judgment, but, in turn, were given the Right to Wander, leaving them with less responsibility and more freedom, even with the ability to leave, if they wanted to leave his protection. Some were happy about it, some were angry about it, but in the end, everyone obeyed it, even him. It gave them order, a place to be, a sense of power, and of place, and, moreover, really cleared up any issues relatively quickly. As he himself put it: "I am not a ruler, I am a steward. My oath is to you, and I must keep it. Your oath is to me, and you must keep it. That way, we are all happy, and comfortable. I just wish my oath came with a little more freedom."
Still, the throne got him some strange looks.
Then again, as an almost-eleven-year-old prodigy and Herald of Nightmares, he got those anyway.
He slumped back in his chair and opened his first tome with a smile. He had been all of six years old when he made this book, and, while it showed great promise, most of the theories and ideas were… rather dangerous. Back then, he only really understood sacrificial magic, that is, to give something in exchange for what he wanted. It was highly stable and rather predictable, but the cost had to be equal to the gain, and as such, it wasn't really that practical. For example, if you wanted two tons of gold, you would need to find something WORTH two tons of gold, and sacrifice it in exchange for the gold. Predictable, yes. Useful? Not so much. Still, it was a good read, and the principles of sacrifice were integral to ALL magic. After all, it wasn't really… magic. Newton's laws still applied, and matter and energy were ALWAYS conserved. The only difference between what he did then and what he did now, was a matter of cost efficiency.
For example, in his early days, he had attempted to revive his parents by sacrificing his aunt and uncle. Not that he killed them, of course, that would have been wrong. No, his spell was designed to FIND his parents, wherever they were, and trade his aunt and uncle out for them. The spell was perfect, but the Face of Death, the Majordomo of Paradise, and the Lord of All Hells had showed up instead, and they were PISSED. Then, they realized that a six-and-a-half-year-old was the caster of the magic that had temporarily messed up ALL the Temporary Rests. They found that HILARIOUS. One (relatively) brief (fourteen hours, to be precise) explanation of the physics of dimensional barriers, high-energy transfers and their side effects, the cost of revitalizing necrotic flesh in a resurrection ritual, and the mental effects of bringing someone back from the dead followed, then they had let him off with a (very severe) warning about the THOUSANDS of owners of the various heavens and hells that people could be shuffled into before the final judgement that he had pissed off, and what they would do to him if he every tried that again, and they let him go; he was just a kid, after all. That being said, the spell was basic. Take Mass A (Vernon) and Mass B (Petunia), and trade for Mass C (his father) and Mass D (his mum).
Now, he knew, it was easier to gather the necessary ingredients for the bodies, as well as mementos of the persons life, including bits of items belonging to (or just bits of) people important to them over the course of their lives, the more the merrier, and fuse them together with magic to pull them from their mortal rest. Less expensive, all things considered, and far easier that sacrificing two people, no matter how worthless. Less morally dubious, as well. Not that he would be dumb enough to do that. A human-turned-representation-of-death, human-turned-representation-of-condemnation, and human-turned-representation-of-divine-care showing up and threatening you with… those things… was more than enough to keep you from practicing true necromancy, no matter how powerful you became. Oh, he still dabbled with the dead, of course, but he just animated corpses now, not summoned the dead. Much safer, that.
The biggest thing any 'magic' user had, and their defining trait, was the ability to take entropic waste energy, like excess light, heat, friction, or whatever else happened to be around, and convert it into usable energy. Not everyone had this ability, so some people couldn't access the free-form magic that was the bread-and-butter of the adventurous casters, wizards, and mages, but, in the end, Harry could teach anyone magic, so long has they had imagination, and affinity, and were willing to work for it. Some people, like him and his crazy-cat-lady neighbor turned beast tamer, Arabella Figg (she was quite skilled, but needed to be taught how to be more efficient with her energy collecting before she could do any magic), had an internal reserve, giving them a small (or large) amount of power always at the ready that recharged itself from surrounding waste energy over the course of time; others needed to access the surrounding energy and internalize it through meditation, sacrifice, or visualization, like Peer's gang, the Magus's Arm, that Harry had been using to take over the gentleman's smuggling in London; or they could used it on the fly, either by directing it directly or shaping it through words or symbols like a runaway ex-hobo by the name of Al Taylor and his partners, the Kane Twins; while still others couldn't do squat with this energy and relied on enchanted objects, like Harry's own cousin Dudley and a pair of American brothers by the name of… Colt? Remington?... Eh, some kind of American gun, who kept asking for enchanted objects to kill demons or gods or crawleys, or whatever. In the end, however, it didn't matter. Anyone who came, and could learn, would learn under Harry. Those who couldn't, or wouldn't, payed for magical items. Hopefully, one day soon, someone would come along who knew something he didn't, so he could take a turn learning. There were a select few in his acquaintance that knew as much as he did, but none who knew better… yet.
He gave a petulant sigh and closed his book. Such works were good for the occasional 'eureka moment', but, other than that, they just stirred up nostalgia and regret, and he really didn't need more of that. In exasperation, he got up and started wandering the hall, staring at the various enchanted tapestries and carving that surrounded the room as he waited for the ceremony to begin. One of the greatest things he regretted about leading the Circle was the amount of time he spent waiting for other people to show up, when he could be doing more research. He really didn't need more time with his books, of course, and a break never hurt, but still. Though the pieces of art in the hall were really quite good.
He was jolted out of his art-induced reverie after several minutes but muted mutterings. A frizzy-headed pre-teen girl was chunnering away under her breath a mile a minute while her parents looked on, and around, in barely concealed concern and uncertainty. Harry smiled as he walked over to them. This part of the job was one he loved. Also, it was going to be funny.
"Hi," he said brightly, "Are you here for the initiation, too?"
The girl's parents looked pleased with the distraction, though the girl, who was, as it turned out, muttering facts and figures at a blistering pace, didn't even flinch. The man spoke up. "We are. I must admit, I have no idea what we are doing here, or what we are supposed to do. Do they normally induct kids as young as you?"
Harry smirked. "Well, I can't say much in that subject, but I do know I heard that children do better with magic that adults. Overactive imaginations, ya see. You all joining up?"
"No, unfortunately." the mother spoke with a sigh. "We, my husband and I, that is, wanted to join so we can keep an eye on our daughter, the one who is being recommended for recruitment by a… Bibliophile? … I think that's right… by the name of Ashes, but he said something about him 'not being the right path for us,' which sounds like rot to me. After all we have heard about the Head of the Circle, we aren't sure if we are even willing to let Hermione join! The way he describes things around here and the layout of this room is more in line with a cult than a society of scholars! And the things he says about magic? It sounds too good to be true, especially since he wouldn't give us a demonstration. Heck, because he didn't want to 'disturb us with his appearance', we haven't even met the guys face-to-face! He always communicates with us by letter. Hermione has met him, but besides describing him as a cat person, she hasn't told us anything else!"
Harry chuckled. "Your concern does you credit, but it really isn't that bad. What Ashes meant is that you aren't the bookish type like he is, but your daughter is. If you can find a sponsor, I'm sure you can join, but honestly, we have dozens of mage-less that attend for the fun of it, so you can probably come and go as you please. Also, when she said he was a cat person… well, let's just say you should write that title with a hyphen instead of a space. It makes him a little shy. As for the Head… well, I have my own doubts about him leading the Circle, but he has the best interest of all of us at heart. You will hear his Oath to Grand Magic tonight, and that oath could keep the most crooked of politicians in line. Relax, it's not as bad as it seems at first. We don't do any Devil's Bride ceremonies, or Black Masses, or any other such things. We do have a few necromancers and demon summoners, but they are harmless. The two classes of necromancers we permit only drive off bad spirits, or animate corpses, none of this 'bring them back from the dead' garbage, thank you very much. As for the summoners, they summon what are called beast demons, one of several types of monster, or human demons, NOT the real deal. We wouldn't have anything to do with a real demon if you payed us.
You'll find that we are somewhere in between a secret society for the fun of it, a church potluck of information and friends, an adventurer's guild, a Diogenes club, and the National Academy of Sciences. We operate with complete transparency, and, for a certain tax, we even operate with approval from the Crown! As it is, Prince William and the Queen are both expected tonight (they always come for the Induction, if they are free), and you can even chat with them, if you would like!"
This got their daughter's attention. "The… the Queen! I have to take a test in front of the QUEEN?"
And now, she looked ready to pass out. Great.
"There isn't going to be a test, Emie. The Testing is just a process where we check you for enchantments or possessions, make sure you won't have an allergic reaction any form of magic, make sure you are in good health, that kind of thing. The Initiation is just where we announce who you will be training under, what your greatest skill is, how you do magic, and stuff like that, as well as registering you in the… em, Registry. I know, we really need to get some better names. Anyway, then we move on to the Invocation. That will be where you take a binding oath before the Court to Follow its Head, to keep its law (don't kill unless you must to survive, and don't steal another man's research), and to be responsible with your magic. The Head will then swear to not break the law, to teach you as best he can if needed, and to act with your best interests at heart. That's it. No need to worry unless you are a demon in disguise."
"How… how did you know the name I am entering under?" the girl asked in shock.
By this point, the Hall was full, and it was getting time to start. Harry just smirked at her as he got ready to leave. "I'd say 'magic', but that wouldn't be it. Look, we have to start now, so I have to go to my seat. You try to figure it out by the end of the meeting, and, if you can, I'll give you a book of mine. Deal?"
She HAD been looking uncertain, as had her parents, particularly her father, but at the promise of a book, her parents relaxed with a smile, and she practically vibrated with excitement as she eagerly nodded her head. Harry returned her smile as he bowed to them and made his way into the crowd, arcing around in a (successful) attempt to make it to the front of the Hall, up the stairs to the Dias, and behind the Throne without anyone noticing. After all, an Archmagis had to make an entrance, and it will be SO much funnier when they see him on the Throne if they didn't see him walk there. He cast a quick Wispy Shadow over the Throne to make it harder for them to see him as he took his seat, barely able to restrain his cackles. The looks on their faces were going to be HILARIOUS!!!
With a flash of lightning and a loud peal of thunder (because… why not?!?!) Harry appeared in his throne, shrouded in the shadow he had conjured. In a booming voice, Dudley shouted out the opening call to order, and the meeting got underway.
--HP--HP--HP--
Nine-year-old Ginny Weasley had been having a bad year, but right now, things were looking up. Her mother, in her usual form, had been treating Ginny like a child. Her father, as was usual, wasn't around enough to help her at all, not that she blamed him for wanting to get out of the house. The twins were nice, of course, they had even designed several of the little trinkets she was using to make her life better, but even the two of them didn't dare stand up to her mother. Percy and Ron were being… difficult… but given Ron's near-single-digit IQ and Percy being the eldest at home, thus the one who Molly placed the highest expectations on, she couldn't really feel it in her heart to hate them for it. Bill and Charlie being gone sucked, but again, she really couldn't fault them for leaving. And her mother was being… difficult. VERY difficult. Indeed, she was being UNBEARABLE difficult.
When you took the twin's meddlesomeness, Ron's stubborn stupidity, Bill's recklessness and lack of tact (which set him in VERY good standing with the goblins, go figure), and added all of those to Percy's dedication to the rules times TEN and an unusual corruption of Charlie's love of the unlovable, you had a recipe for Molly Weasley. If Ginny were to be honest, she would have to add a large helping, but not quite all of, her temper to the mix to make an exact copy, but right now, she didn't want anything to do with her mother. That was why… she had run away.
Now, when the average kid runs away from home, it is an exercise in futility and stupidity. When a magic kid runs away, due to the fact that they have almost NO idea what they are doing in the regular world… well, they normally end up dead, especially if, like Ginny, they are to young for a wand. Ginny, however, had access to two of the most brilliant inventors currently alive in the magical world and a master chess strategist (Ron couldn't use his chess strategy for anything else, but Ginny didn't have that problem), as well as what passed as an expert in muggle affairs for a father and a banker/tomb raider for a doting older brother (yes, the muggle world didn't have magical traps, but it still had traps and dangers that had to be dealt with in much the same way a magical trap would), combined with a genius-level IQ to be able to use them, mix them together, and/or learn more on her own, not to mention years of practiced sneak-thieving and stealth due to involvement in a HUGE family, Ginny was doing very well.
True, she had only been away from her home for a week-and-a-half, now, but in that time, she had earned (stolen) one thousand pounds! She… didn't really know what that meant, per say, but it seemed important. She also had stolen enough food and water to survive, but that was a minor thing. When one of your brothers is a food pit, it pays to be able to sneak the occasional snack out from under watchful eyes.
Tonight, however, her luck had run out. She had started with a simple heist, just a wallet snatching, really, but the target had seen her and caught her. She had managed to get away without getting taken away to Scottish Yard, the muggle version of the MLE that her father had warned her about, but it had definitely thrown off her rhythm. Some snatched cart food later on ended up giving her a sick stomach, which was lovely as she had unfortunately failed to locate the muggle equivalent for bathrooms up to that point, using the 'camping method' instead. That, however, had made it a priority, so one talk with a crazy cat lady (they never were believed by ANY type of auror, thankfully), had led to the needed knowledge, and all in all she had been rather impressed. Unfortunately, the cat lady DID call the police, they BELIEVED her, and they had followed the description of the advice she had given straight to Ginny, which cost Ginny another trinket the twins had made her to get away. She was glad the proof-of-concept had worked, but those things were not limitless! After that, she had tried breaking into an empty home for some trinkets, food, and necessities, only to discover (AFTER she got inside) that it wasn't empty. She had gotten away without detection, but it had been WAY to close. Then, in the middle of BLOODY LONDON, she had seen the damned MALFOYS! Just Draco the Ferret and his worthless pureblood Death Eater father, but the last thing she needed was for them to see her and recognize her, or, worse still, see her and decide to 'muggle-bate' her to death.
That lead to a spontaneous warehouse break-in. Now, this was not the first warehouse she had broken into over the course or her brief, but shining, criminal career, (they made such great sleeping spots!) but this one ended up being… different. It had started rather oddly, with the building… for lack of a better term, calling to her. Like a siren song, or a pile of gold, it had just seemed… irresistible, like it had its own gravity that was drawing her in. Now, if she had had a moment to think about it, she would have stayed away and scoped the building out for several days before going inside; after all, a building calling out to you is suspicious as HELL, especially given the day she was having, but she didn't have time to think about it, so she had tried to break in.
Then, the windows had resisted her knife, cordially dubbed 'The Opener' by the twins. It was designed to be able to open ANYTHING, but the cheap muggle windows that the warehouse, the type she had jimmied with her BARE HANDS previously, had resisted the ENCHANTED knife her bothers, the genius inventors, had designed to open ANY lock, enchanted or not. Then, she had found the side door. The unlocked side door. She, now thoroughly suspicious carefully slipped past it, closing it with a click behind her. The second she did, she started cursing. What if it had locked behind her, trapping her here? In a panic, she instantly tugged on the handle, only for it not to budge. After a few seconds of panic more, she suddenly deflated, cursed a little, and pushed on the door after turning the handle. It opened easily. Now vastly more relaxed, and feeling rather sheepish, she closed the door again and started exploring.
It wasn't an ordinary warehouse. Not even close to one, in fact. The hall she was in, which was typically used as an access hall for the staff, had several rooms off each side. One, the first on the left, was full of knives, swords, and axes, all of which looked used, which was concerning. The next had magically circles painted on every available surface, in blood, which was even more disturbing. The final room was mostly empty, with just a single magical circle. Oh, and a demon.
AN HONEST TO GOD DEMON, COMPLETE WITH HORNS, GLOWING RED EYES, AND A CLOAK MADE OF DARKNESS WAS FLOATING IN THE MAGICAL CIRCLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, JUST LOOKING BORED! What kind of mad-house was this? She was about ready to dash out of the building and risk the outside world, when she saw what looked like her good friend Luna Lovegood appear in the other end of the hall, smile and wave, and then walk on.
Now, Ginny was not an idiot. When a friend shows up in a weird place that has a DEMON floating in a magical circle in on off-room of the entrance hall, particularly if they do something strange like that, it is probably a bad sign, and you should turn and run. Unfortunately, Luna ALWAYS acted like that, so it was quite possible that that was actually her. Ginny had no idea WHAT she would be doing here, but it was very… Luna-like of her.
Of course, Ginny wasn't sure if it WAS her, but she was confident enough that any tempting demon would take the form of her father or one of her older brothers that she only re-drew her knife before continuing onwards, as opposed to TURNING AROUND AND GETTING THE F*** OUT OF THERE! The Opener, as it turned out, opened animated things as well as inanimate, so she was relatively sure it would do the job on any monsters she ran into, and if Luna WAS here, then it was probably safe.
Probably.
Still, the biggest shock was yet to come. The room full of… cultists? Weirdos? whatever they were, was almost expected at this point. Luna in the crowd was odd, but she was with her father, so that was ok. The Throne was weird, as was the talking cat that presented the bushy-haired pre-teen bibliophile as his apprentice, as well as several of the attendants, but that was manageable. The bloody QUEEN being there was a shock, but she got over that. the biggest issue, however, was when the man (boy) on the throne had stood up and let the light hit his face. First, he was young, a year older than she was, at the most. Second, he had messy black hair, an impish smile, and eyes that glowed an eerie green. But then, just barely, she could make out a very faint scar on his forehead, little more than a slight discoloration, really. However, it was in a very recognizable shape.
It was in the shape of a lightning bolt.
It was Harry Potter.
Unfortunately for her, and her final jinx of the day, was the fact that she was so shocked she gasped out his name.
Out loud.
Just when the whole hall fell silent.
And then, as one, the whole room, cats, queens, weirdos, preteens, Harry Potter, and all, turned and looked at her.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
A.N. Alright guys, there is your Intro! This ain't much of a story, just a fun AU I came up with where I totally overhaul the magic system made by Rowling.
I hate her magic. It is SO WEAK!!!
So, I did this. I hope you enjoy, but don't expect to much out of it, because it is just for fun. I do plan on finishing this at the end of DH, but will see how long it takes to get there.
That being said, R&R and let me know what you think!
This is vaguely inspired by a dozen different fics, but not any one in particular, so I would say my rec for this one is Harry Potter and the Hermetic Arts by HaikenEdge. Great story, if a little harsh and dark, but the magic is SO much better. Cannot WAIT to see where he goes with this.
Also, if you like this, I have two more HP fanfics available, one complete short story and one partial long one. Hope you enjoy.
And, as always, see you soon!