Welcome back! Heads up everyone, my beta Arawn is taking a business trip to India, which limits the time he has to beta this. Chapter updates might slow down until he's back in mid March. Apologies. Anyway, I'm glad that most of you were pleased with last chapter. I was kind of iffy on it, so I'm glad it got a good response.

I feel I should clarify a point as there was some confusion in the reviews. This is not an "Evil Dumbledore" fic. Aye, Dumbledore pulled a massive dick move with Harry, but it was under the pretense that Harry was doomed to grow up a dark wizard anyway. He basically figured that since the kid was going to show up to Hogwarts evil anyway, he might as well obtain some information that could prevent similar evil people from rising up in the future. The Potters are not evil either. They are reasonable people with flaws.

Also, someone in a review and another in a PM suggested that I should get someone to make a "character reading" of this story. If this interests you in any way, send me a PM.

To clear up some other confusions, let me get down who I'm generally referring when I talk about the "Servants". When I say that, I generally mean both the maids and the spirits. From now on, when referring to the heroic spirits, I'll say spirits, and homunculi or maids for Leanna, Monica, and Joy. When I say Servants, I mean both.

Now, reviews

Im a guest: I meant to add a note about it last chapter, but I forgot. In this AU, Altrouge never tamed Prim. I mean, who would honestly be suicidal enough to try that?

camdawg: Humorous idea. Harry is generally going to keep the Spirits under wraps at Hogwarts though.

kilroy225: It generally only takes a couple of days for me to write up a chapter, and a couple more for Arawn to beta it. I don't have a schedule, but I try to aim for at least 1 a week

Edelhart: Nobody from Potterverse will be included in the harem I don't think. Won't be giving Voldemort magical steroids or anything either. No full on or tactless bashing either. Harry will bear a serious grudge against his parents and Dumbledore, but within the constraints of his character.

PhaseHand: That might still happen, just not with groupies. I'm fine with carrying on a conversation like this. Alternatively, you can PM me and I can write any relevant questions in these AU's

William Thunderion: I agree. Fate's Gamble was the fic that got me into this crossover section, so I take a lot of points from it. I try to branch out as much as I can though.

Thundramon: If you can think of a feminine word that means "armor", PM it to me. Still unsure about Lancer. I liked him in canon, also thought him getting killed would be a good demo on how powerful Harry is with the Servants. Harry already has two intelligent, immortal familiars in Prim and Midnight. Checked out that fic and was very impressed. Drawing some ideas from it, so thanks for the recommendation. Dumbledore thinks that the big battle with Voldemort isn't going to happen until Orion is in his twenties, meaning that he will be able to see how dark Harry is and if its possible to non-fatally purge the horcrux from him before that battle happens. Not to mention as he doesn't think Harry to be part of the prophecy, there is nothing saying that Harry has to die to have the horcrux removed. Fawkes is bound to Dumbledore and reliant on him for survival, so instead of leaving, he desperately tries to steer the man away from his more manipulative tendencies. Dumbledore isn't evil in this fic. See the underlined portion above. Aye, a top auror could probably stand even with a Clock Tower Research with a decent Mystic Code. Enforcers would kick their asses though.

Heika: Lorelei isn't in the harem because of her pride, yes. Christian women believe in God, but not all of them are nuns and married to him, get it? The head of a magus clan is passed down like a lordship, given to the eldest son, or in the absence of one, an appointed individual. Illya is ineligible due to her status as a homunculus. Harry is paying the homunculi generously because A: It engenders high degrees of personal loyalty, and B: He is just a kind person most of the time. He could pay them much less, or nothing at all, but he doesn't. Yes, ingrained and implanted loyalty doesn't simply go away like Harry thinks it will. He'll learn that the hard way. The reason they did something as bold as the party was because the Servants, Sakura, and Illya came to them with the idea, and they wanted to do something nice for him. Assassin's stats are heavily boosted due to Harry summoning her. She possessed C-Rank Charisma in life, but it got boosted to A by her summoning. Harry doesn't really need to worry about money at this point. Panzer doesn't cover his face because gleaming silver encasing his head would be pretty obvious. Instead, it's reactive, but now with the skin pigment added, he can make it move over his head permanently. Zelretch is running the pool with some of his alternatives and most of the DAA. The alchemical array works on pretty much the same principle. Wandless magic for wizards is kind of like in the early episode of FSN when Shirou was operating on one circuit. Prana was moving, but not enough to actually do anything. Muggles can't find the Leaky Cauldron. It's layered with Notice Me Not's. Dudley didn't drink the entire thing, just drank from a gallon jug. Divine Words don't work in modern Nasuverse, with the exception of Caster, who is a remnant of the Age of the Gods. They relied on the power of the gods, which the wizards managed to harness in Potterverse and release as raw, unbound magic to be shaped by wands and words. It's how things like transfiguration sustain themselves without drawing additionally on the wizard.

EternalKnight219: Sorry man. Harry would terrify most of Hufflepuff and lacks the temperament. Gryffindor would push the "golden boy" image too much, and he doesn't have the Gryffindor idea of "honor". He could do Ravenclaw, but Harry values knowledge for the power it gives, not the information itself. Harry fears powerlessness above all else. Slytherin really does fit him the best.

Guest: Assassin always did hold something of a grudge against Hassan.

EternityDragon2610: That scene was less bashing and more Harry being influenced by Mainyu and overreacting. I don't like Rin personally. Harry's justification is that she is a bit of a bitch, and Sakura absolutely despises her. Since Sakura is one of the most important things in his life, he shares her opinion.

Chapter 12: Hello Wizards!

As young Harry Emiya was celebrating his birthday with his loved ones, far away in another universe, another black haired youth was celebrating his own birthday.

"Happy Birthday, my little savior!" said Lily Potter as she set a large chocolate cake in front of the rather overweight boy at the table. He wasn't Dudley levels of fat, Root no, but were he to be taken to a pediatrician, they would immediately recommend a strict diet, as while not overly large, he was well on his way to being obese despite his young age, and despite his magic doing its' best to keep him healthy.

Other than his weight, the boy didn't really share many physical similarities with the Dursley child. He had messy black hair cut just above his eyes, just like his father, though he usually kept the bangs parted so that people could see his equal sign scar, to make sure he was recognized on sight. He wore round glasses on his pudgy face, covering his brown eyes, once again just like his father. In the end, had he not been so overweight, he would have looked like a younger James Potter, and even now, there were still more than a few similarities between them.

He was currently absorbed with blowing out the candles on the cake, and then taking a massive piece for himself. The rest of the cake was decided between his mother, father, and little sister; who was sitting across the table, idly picking at her cake.

"Mum, when are we going to meet Harry?" she asked, as her mother sat down across from her father. She had been dying of curiosity for a while now, as while her parents did take care of her, she would have liked to have an older sibling that actually paid attention to her.

"We already told you this Ivy," Lily explained patiently, "Harry is about to undergo a big change in his life with finding out that we're his parents. I don't know what wizarding family Dumbledore put him with, but I'd imagine that he'd like to spend one last birthday with them before all of this comes out and his life gets turned upside-down. We'll pick him up tomorrow morning and take him with us to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies."

Ivy looked aggrieved, but nodded her head. Due to her own... less than stellar brother Orion, she had long fantasized on the idea of her other brother, the one who had to go away. When she was younger, she used to leave an empty seat when playing Tea Party and pretend that he was sitting there with her, playing with her and just generally being the perfect big brother. She was aware that he might not be exactly like she expected him to be, but she doubted that he would be as bad as Orion anyway.

James on the other hand was also quiet, but for different reasons. Dumbledore had long warned them that during Voldemort's attack on their home, Harry had been tainted with a very dark and difficult to remove magic. He said that the magic would taint his soul, giving him a predisposition towards the darker end of magic. The old wizard feared that growing up as the unknown brother of The-Boy-Who-Lived would cause resentment to well up in the boy, further driving him away from the light. It was for these reasons that they had reluctantly agreed to turn their oldest son over to Dumbledore, and signed forms transferring his guardianship to Dumbledore, who transferred it to his new guardians.

The Potter patriarch just hoped whatever upbringing his trusted mentor had arranged would stamp out whatever evil was building up in his other son. What was even worse was that Dumbledore had sworn him and Lily to secrecy on the matter, leading to a rift growing between him and the rest of the Marauders. Sirius and Remus hadn't understood how he could simply disregard one son in favor of another, and then go on to have a daughter while still leaving a son in the hands of strangers. And he couldn't really well have told them anyway, as Sirius, while from a Dark family but working for the Light, still put family before all else, and would likely have suggested to keep an eye on Harry in case of him going Dark, but to keep him. And Remus, being a werewolf, had strong pack instincts, meaning that he would never agree to what he had done anyway.

Pettigrew's opinion didn't really matter considering his betrayal and imprisonment.

He mentally winced as he recalled when Molly Weasley had heard of Harry's fate, and responded by sending him a howler that still had his ears ringing whenever he thought of it. He was still at least civilized with his best friends from school, but something in their relationship had been lost, unable to be mended until Harry was recovered and deemed unharmed. Molly wasn't even on civilized terms anymore, instead choosing to deliberately shun and ignore him for what she saw as a betrayal of family. He prayed to every divine being that could hear him that his son was simply a normal, ten year old wizard. Preferably a Quidditch fanatic, but that was purely optional.

Lily Potter was humming a happy tune in her head as she set up breakfast for her little boy's birthday. It deeply saddened her that her other son wasn't here for this occasion, as it had saddened her for every prior birthday, but it was to be short lived. She would see him the very next morning, and bring him back into the fold of her loving family. She could just see him now, the same green eyed, black haired boy she had always envisioned. He'd be just as sweet and mischievous as Orion, and the two would get along like the brothers they had always been meant to be. She'd let her husband and Dumbledore talk her into parting from her son for his safety all those years ago, but the second she had him back, she'd never let him go again.

Orion was fuming as he dug into his cake. He could see that his entire family was absorbed with thought of his brother. It was his birthday; Harry wasn't even here! Instead his mother and sister were daydreaming and his father was distracting himself with the Daily Prophet. He did notice with pride that the entire front page of the newspaper was devoted to a multi-page article about himself, The-Boy-Who-Lived. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why anyone cared about his twin brother. All the useless sod had ever done was be in the same room while he vanquished The Dark Lord. He was just glad that Dumbledore had shipped him off to some random family to be raised instead. He just didn't know how he would be able to deal with some identical glory-hound for a brother. Ivy was bad enough with her constant fantasizing about Harry; he didn't need to be there in person.

As the Potter family all mused on their lost child, none of them knew that as they mused, he was formulating his own plans contrary to theirs.

-Break-

Sitting in his desk at Hogwarts, Dumbledore was digging through every book in his possession for a solution to his panic. The problem?

He had lost Harry Potter.

He hadn't thought it possible, but apaprently it was. He had dropped by the previous day to check on Harry, but instead found the entire Dursley family hospitalized, with attempts at Legilimency to determine what had happened had yielded only blackness. Someone had done an incredibly thorough obliviation on them, as a skilled legilimens could see through almost any obliviation, by recovering the slightest bits of memories missed by the spell, but in this case his search had been fruitless. The only possibilities he could imagine were that either Harry had had a fit of accidental magic that injured and obliviated his relatives and then ran away, or someone somehow got through the blood wards, savagely beat the Dursleys, obliviated them, and absconded with Harry. Both were worrying possibilities.

Even worse was when the boy's Hogwarts letter wouldn't send. The owl had picked up the letter and simply sat on the desk, the universal sign for an invalid recipient. The Hogwarts charter still confirmed Harry as living, much to his relief, but owls couldn't find him. The quill that automatically addressed the Hogwarts letters had simply written a "?" where the address usually went, which meant that he had to be under wards rivalling Hogwarts', but such places were rare, and unlikely as they were more often than not official buildings.

As he rooted through his library in search of locating spells that he hadn't already tried and came up blank with, he didn't notice the quill suddenly perk up and scribble an address down on the three letters on his desk that hadn't sent. He also didn't notice an owl sweep down from the rafters, pick up the letters, and fly out the open window.

He returned to his desk, not noticing the disappearance of the letters until a number of hours later, when the same owl flew back in, bearing three letters in its talons, before depositing them on his desk with an exhausted hoot.

Hands slightly shaking, he viewed the three letters, all written on parchment, with proper wizard quills. He noted the three names on the letters.

Harry Potter

Sakura Emiya

Illyasviel von Einzbern Emiya.

The latter two were something of a concern for him. He recalled being notified of two, somehow undiscovered, pureblood witches being registered for Hogwarts by their father. What he couldn't figure out was why the Hogwarts quill figured out where all three of them were at the same time, and delivered them with the same owl. He then noticed that all of them were addressed from a Gringotts dropbox.

That was truly worrying. The only people who ran their mail through Gringotts were the truly paranoid. For one, the dropboxes were incredibly expensive, and second, they were defended by the goblins with the same tenacity with which they defended a bank vault. The amassed army of wizardry could attack Gringotts and the goblins would fight to the last to defend a single mailbox. It was one of the greatest and worst things about dealing with them. Not to mention, the only explanation for all of them using the same dropbox was that they were living together, which gave into his second theory for the fate of the Dursleys. Hesitantly, he opened Harry Potter's letter, noting the high quality ink and elegant, formal handwriting, betraying his experience with writing with a quill, something no muggleborn or raised wizard should have experience with.

"To Whomever It May Concern,

I do hereby accept your invitation to attend your illustrious school. I understand that I will need to acquire most of the supplies at Diagon Alley, so I shall meet a school representative there as per your letter's instructions. It is rather unnecessary as my father has taken me there before, but I will accede nonetheless. Please do note that my siblings Illyasviel and Sakura shall be joining me there, and will be requiring school supplies as well. We will be arriving at the Leaky Cauldron at precisely noon tomorrow, and will meet your representative there.

Regards, Harry Emiya."

Dumbledore's heart sank as he read the letter. Evidently, someone, likely this Emiya fellow, had interfered in Harry's life. He racked his brain, trying to think if he'd heard the name anywhere before, but kept drawing blanks. From the wording in this letter, the man was an experienced wizard, but beyond that, he had no clue. What concerned him was the way Harry wrote. No ten-year-old, even a traditional pureblood, should write in such a clinical and unfeeling fashion. It reminded him greatly of Tom Riddle's writing. Evidently, the purpose of his upbringing had worked, even if part of it was carried out by somebody else.

The fact that he called this Emiya fellow "father" was not good. If Harry was to be turned to the light, his true family would be a pivotal part in it. He didn't know how he would work around Harry possessing another father and at least two girls he called sisters. He considered sending James and Lily to pick him up, since they taught Defense against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies, respectively, but he knew that gathering information was more important. He would have to send Severus to take them Diagon Alley shopping and see what Legilimency could determine. Neither he nor the Potters would be happy about it, but it was for the Greater Good.

-Break-

Harry, Sakura, Illya, and the maids sat at a dinky table in the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for the school representative to show. Harry wasn't really sure why it was necessary for him to attend the school, but Zelretch had insisted, claiming that it was always important to keep yourself anchored to your home dimension, and both Sakura and Illya wanted to study wizarding magic. Harry didn't really need to study it, as Tom Riddle had known more about magic than they would ever teach at Hogwarts, but he would rather die than let his sisters out of his sight in a society as prejudiced and backwards as the wizardry world.

The fireplace in the tavern flickered green flames, revealing a man. Said man had a shallow, bitter face; a hooked nose; greasy, black hair; and finely tailored black robes with a green tie. He looked around for a moment before his eyes locked on Harry, and upon seeing him, sneered almost immediately. He stalked menacingly over to the table, his robes billowing behind him, something that might have intimidated a normal ten-year-old, but only came off as needlessly dramatic to someone who have lived through a war with beings so above mankind they might as well be Gods.

"Potter!" he growled quietly, "Get up from that table. I'm to take you shopping. You will address me as Professor Snape at all times, understood?"

The maids tensed and glared, obviously not liking the rudeness of the man, but the professor didn't even seem to notice either them or the other girls. Either he was stupid, which Harry didn't think likely, or, and it was possible, he was so prejudiced against him that he failed to properly analyze his surroundings. Gilgamesh had been similar in that aspect, as his obsession with Saber had tended to make him overlook the other people present.

Harry looked up at the man in front of him, and as he made eye contact, he could feel tendrils of... something trying to burrow inside his brain. Thankfully, he immediately recognized the feeling from Tom's memories, who had quite a lot of experience with the Mind Arts found in them, and he mentally applauded the man. He'd read that it was much easier to perform Legilimency on someone if you got them angry or annoyed first, which had apparently been one of his goals when being rude with him.

Unfortunately for Snape, Harry possessed both Occlumency and a reality marble, making it virtually impossible to enter or even understand his head. If by some miracle his mental shields were breached, the person attempting to enter his mind would likely go insane when presented with it, since it was so alien their brains would fry before they could even properly process it.

He noticed the teacher's millisecond look of confusion, before he schooled himself, a feat that showed that while he was not used to be unable to read a mind, he was a good enough actor to put on a facade in record times.

Acting like he didn't notice anything, he stood up, with Sakura, Illya, and the maids doing the same. It was then that the professor seemed to notice them, and make eye contact with all five. The maids silently informed him that the man had attempted Legilimency on all of them as well, but their own mental shields prevented it from working. He'd ensured that anyone he knew that might come into contact with wizards was schooled in the art, as he didn't want either his or their secrets revealed by a skilled mind reader.

The bitter man motioned for them to follow and led them through the brick wall and into the alley.

This is going to be an interesting shopping trip, Harry thought.

-Break-

The professor that had picked them up led Harry and the girls through the alley, Harry figured that the tension might be broken a bit by some conversation. Now, he did not mind the silence, but he figured that the man might end up aggravating either Illya or Sakura, neither of which was advisable at the moment.

"So Professor Snape, if you don't mind me asking, what subject do you teach at Hogwarts?"

"Potions," the man replied, not even looking back.

Harry was intrigued. Potions had been one of the few subjects on the Hogwarts curriculum that had truly fascinated him. It was one of the only subjects that magecraft had no equivalent of.

"Really? Can I ask you to recommend a good beginner potions book? I read up a bit on the subject and found it amazing!"

This did get Snape to pause a bit, as he turned and gave him an odd look.

"You're interested in potions? Why?" he demanded gruffly.

"Well, most conventional wizardry does relatively mundane things, make items float, light things on fire, breathe underwater, and the like. Potions on the other hand, can do far more amazing things. The Felix Felicis potion literally bends reality around the user to make them appear lucky, the Polyjuice potion rewrites the drinkers entire body and DNA in order to make them take on the appearance of another, and even something as common as Skele-Gro can regrow an entire skeletal system in a single night."

"So you don't find the subject boring or a waste of time?" Snape demanded. Most wizards, especially Potters disdained the practice of potion-making as something for either sneaky poisoners or boring people, as it was one practice of magic that required true patience above all else.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Harry replied.

Snape scrutinized him for another moment, before something Harry identified as 'approval' flashed in his eyes.

"Most find potions to be useful, but not worth learning. Since a single complex potion can require a month to complete and still come out a failure, many lack the patience for it."

"It is said those who study the way of ambition learn patience," Harry muttered idly.

"What was that?" Snape asked, not believing his ears at a Potter stating something positive about Slytherin values.

"Huh, just something Grandfather once said," he replied in the way of an explanation.

"I see."

The group descended back into silence as they made their way to their first stop, Flourish and Blotts. Harry handed the list off to Leanna, Monica, and Joy; and they went out to search the shop for the required books.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Mr. Potter, but why have you brought three maids with you?"

Harry sat down on a bench inside the store, Sakura and Illya joining him.

"I understand the idea is rather unheard of in the wizarding world, but the three are actually my familiars. They may not look it, but they are actually magical constructs of a sort."

Snape was internally stunned, but held his composure. It was clear that these maids were all entirely sentient, which meant that they were far more complex than golems, which were at most able to process one or two, or in the best cases, five basic orders before they became too complex to manage. He had never heard of such advanced magic creations, despite the rather constant experimentation from the Dark Lord, who had hoped to find a way to create more foot soldiers this way.

"I see... and do you have any intention of taking your... familiars to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, at their own request."

"And why, Mr. Potter, would you require three maids at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"Protection, primarily. They may not look like it, but due to their nature as constructs, they're also extremely strong, and capable of magic. The original reason I got them was as bodyguards. They're rather dedicated to the role, so they insisted on coming along into unfamiliar territory run by the man who exposed me to the hell of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon."

The last part of that statement really caught Snape's attention.

"Aunt Petunia? As in Lily's sister? The one that hates magic with a passion?"

Harry nodded solemnly.

"Yes, that Petunia. I'm sure you can imagine the sort of upbringing that particular prejudice brought about," he muttered grimly.

Yes, Snape could imagine that kind of upbringing. He could also sympathize, as some of his most vivid childhood memories were of his father in a drunken rage, shouting at and beating both him and his mother, screaming about "freaks" all the while. Suddenly, instead of seeing a younger James sitting on the bench in front of him, he instead saw himself at the same age. As the image shifted, something 'clicked' in his head, and a plan started to form.

Never let it be said that he was the head of Slytherin house without reason. As he looked at the child in front of him, he mused on what a humiliation it would be to James if Harry preferred his arch-nemesis in school over his own father. Not only that, but if he managed to get close to the boy, he might have more occasions to speak to Lily, and hopefully, mend their rather strained friendship. She had never quite forgiven him for calling her a Mudblood, something he still regretted to this day.

He put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder.

"The Apprentice's Introduction to Potion-Making." he stated in the tone of a teacher. Harry looked up at him.

"Pardon, Sir?"

"Earlier, you asked if I'd recommend a good introductory potions book aside from the one for my class. That's the one I'd suggest. It has many more potions and ingredient variations in it, but is difficult for all but the most gifted of potion apprentices to understand."

And something tells me you are going to be very good at potions, he mused. Truthfully, Potions were not that complicated, although they were harder to understand than most wizardry subjects. The main reason few actually were good at the subject was due to the fact that few were willing to actually put in the effort to be great instead of merely good.

"Master, we found the books," came a smooth, feminine voice from off behind him. He turned to find Harry's familiars, each bearing a massive stack of textbooks for each of the three children. Fortunately, they were mostly alone in the store, as Hogwarts shopping had been done two days prior, otherwise, the three stunning women in rather revealing maid outfits might have caused some problems with the more conservative wizards and witches.

He looked at the sheer volume of books they were casually carrying and confirmed that Harry was not lying about their strength, and he made a mental note to not anger them. After picking up the book Snape had suggested, the maids carried their loads over to checkout, shocking the poor teenage wizard on checkout duty, either because of the sheer amount of books they were buying, or because of their uniforms, both was possible.

Harry paid for the books with money from a pouch inside his coat, along with a small case bearing space expansion charms to store them. The center maid picked the small case up and stood behind her charges.

As the shopping continued, the two girls with Harry opened up a bit. Apparently, they had been somewhat wary of him, but his gradual opening up had made them more outgoing. He found that they were actually very nice girls. Sakura, the one with the purple hair that was apparently natural, was an incredibly sweet girl, and seemed like she'd be a very intelligent witch. He thought she was a natural fit for Hufflepuff due to her nature, but something about her made him wary of that. Something about her just felt... off. It was like her shy nature hid an innate darkness. And the way she clung to Potter's child made it clear that she had something of an infatuation with him.

The white haired one, Illyasviel, was much more open about her darkness. On the surface, she acted like a slightly immature ten-year-old, clinging to Harry and calling him "Big Brother" incessantly. Every once in a while though, she would make a casual comment, the likes of which he would expect from a seventh year Slytherin in their ruthlessness and cunning. Potter's son clearly had strange company, between his maids and sisters, although he privately thought that they would be good influences of his Slytherins if they ever ended in his House. He just feared to meet this "Kiritsugu" fellow, who had apparently taken the three in, despite Illya being his only biological child.

After a while, he had learned enough details to piece together the abbreviated story of what had happened to Harry, from when the Potters gave him up, up to their meeting. Apparently, the Dursleys had raised him up to the age of six, after which an old man named Zouken, whom Harry and Sakura also occasionally called "Grandfather", had kidnapped Harry. It was after this abduction that he met Sakura, whom the old man had also abducted, although from the way it was told, it seemed her family had known about it and done nothing. From there, he subjected them to inhuman experiments in an attempt to make them more magically powerful for his own purposes. Neither Harry nor Sakura would say exactly what he did, but from the look that crossed Sakura's face, it was horrifying beyond comprehension. Then again, gaining more power through the Dark Arts was rarely pleasant, and he did not want to think what kind of twisted things had happened to them, as he remembered all too well the rituals undergone by the Dark Lord, and their prices.

Harry and Sakura had lived with Zouken for another five years, until about four months ago, when this Kiritsugu fellow had stepped in, killed Zouken in self-defense, and taken the two children living with him under his wing. After that, both of them were introduced fully into the wizarding world, where Zouken had only permitted them bits and pieces. The old man had likely not wanted them to know too much, in case they escaped probably, which would have made tracking them down easier.

Snape could see what had made the boy into what he was, at least.

-Break-

The group of six went from shop to shop in Diagon Alley, buying their supplies. Occasionally, Snape would suggest the purchase of additional supplies or other products, such as a six compartment trunk instead of a four compartment one; a large kit containing both the required potions ingredients and ones in the other potions book Snape had recommended; a copper cauldron instead of a pewter one, as while pewter was easier to replace if as a first year you blew up your cauldron, copper could handle more advanced potions; and so forth.

Eventually, the last item left on the list was wands. Harry didn't really see the point in it, as no self-respecting magus would be reliant on something as easily stolen or broken as a wooden stick, but apparently it was tradition. The group arrived at the ancient looking store, older than any other in the alley, and went in.

Snape got to see firsthand the prowess of the maids as Ollivander did his usual trick and appeared behind the group, only to immediately be pinned to the floor by three women, who were all scowling at him. He swore the floor dented with the force with which the maids slammed him against it. Obviously, Harry had not lied when he claimed that they served as very dedicated bodyguards.

After letting the wand-maker up, the girls all gave the man vicious glares for attempting to startle them, which he bore sheepishly, apparently unused to have his trick seen through. After explaining their need for wands, something that he noticed the three children seemed to care little about, Ollivander pulled out a tape-measurer and began trying wands out for them.

Sakura's wand was cherry wood and unicorn hair, although Ollivander noted that he suspected that some error had been made in this wand's construction, as it seemed unusually dark, especially considering the ingredients. Unicorn hair was supposed to be quite the Light material, yet he claimed that the wand would never have bonded with a Light witch, something that made Snape's eyebrows quirk in question.

Illya's wand was oak wood from the Black Forest and thestral hair. Ollivander was quite solemn, and his eyes bore deeply into the snowy-haired girl's own, when he said that it was quite the powerful wand, and one that would align much better with a Dark user too.

When it came to Harry's turn, Ollivander pulled out a box, seemingly at random, and handed it to him. He flicked the wand, not even activating his circuits; he needed a wand, not a smoking crater in the earth after all. He could feel his prana channel through the wand, but that it was a very poor conduit. The magic poured through the end, flying out and reducing a nearby table to cinders.

"Well, I've never seen that happen before, but there's a first time for everything," Ollivander noted, gingerly taking the wand away and replacing its case.

What ensued were several repetitions of the incident, until an idea seemed to occur to the old man, who ran into the back and came out with a wand Snape knew from Dumbledore's description, the wand being supposed to be the one to bond with the Chosen One, Orion Potter. Why he would even try giving it to Harry he didn't know, but he suspected that the old man believed Dumbledore might have made a mistake when he had declared Orion the Boy-Who-Lived. For why else would he have Harry try the brother wand of the Dark Lord?

"Holly wood and Phoenix Core. This wand will go to either you or your brother."

As Harry made contact with the wand, he could feel it align itself to him, ready to obey his command. Unfortunately, Harry already had an idea for what wand materials he wanted. So as not to reveal the wand's bonding to him, he purposely mischanneled his prana into the wand, causing it to shoot out a gout of fire that singed Ollivander's eyebrows. The wand-maker looked disappointed, but maybe that was just the lack of eyebrows.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I'm afraid that I don't have a wand that will work for you. None of the materials seem to react well to you. I'm honestly confounded."

"If I may suggest, Mr. Ollivander. I suspected something like this. I brought some materials of my own."

He reached into his black coat and removed a small case. Inside was wood from the Tree of Knowledge, and two hairs: one from Prim, one from Midnight.

"Let me see them," the wand-maker said, beckoning. Upon touching the case, his hand shook, nearly dropping the precious materials.

"M-M-Mr. Potter... where did you get these?"

"I'll tell you what. Make me the finest wand you can and swear a magical oath of secrecy. If you do both of those, I'll tell you."

"O-Of course. No charge for the other wands. Just being able to work with and study these materials is enough," he gushed.

"Nonsense. I always pay my debts," Harry replied, placing a small stack of galleons on the table, before turning and walking out the door.

"Come back in about four hours for the wand!" Ollivander called after him.

-Break-

Four hours later, after grabbing lunch at a small restaurant in the alley, Harry returned for his wand, leaving Snape to watch the girls.

He walked in through the front of Ollivander's shop. Fortunately, the odd man had not pulled his appearance trick again, and was simply sitting behind his desk, looking how most men would after a round of mind-blowing sex with a supermodel.

"Mr. Potter, I cannot tell you how much of a privilege it had been to work with these materials."

As he spoke, he pulled out a polished wand case, and open it reverently. Inside was a beautiful wand.

It was midnight black, with bone-white veins running through it. The polished wood seemed to just radiate power and ruthlessness. He tentatively reached out and grasped it. If touching the phoenix wand had been a rush, this was a torrent. Power flooded through his bones as the wand seemed to reverberate throughout his very being. He supposed using materials from your very soul did that to you.

"It is truly a masterpiece, Mr. Ollivander," he said, examining the wand. He gave it a cautious flick and one of the chairs before turned into an elaborate throne.

"Well, I'd say this wand has formed a bond with you better than any other wand I've ever sold Mr. Potter. Now, about how you acquired those materials?"

Harry gave a sly grin, "Well you see..."

-Break-

After picking up his wand, Harry and the girls had gone home. After saying his goodbye's to Snape, he and the girls had rounded the corner and used the Kaleidoscope to return to the Einzbern castle. As they walked to the bedroom, Harry made sure to greet the various maids he passed, an action that still seemed to startle them. They still held the same, slavishly loyal manner as when he had first ascended to Lord Einzbern, but he figured that it would fade in time. He noticed that some of them seemed unfamiliar, but he attributed that to some of them being pulled up from stasis after his "coronation" as it were. He didn't notice Assassin in the rear giving them significant looks.

Harry thought back on his encounter with Professor Snape. Zelretch had informed him that the man could be trusted, so Harry had given him a mostly true account of his life, with the exception of the war, magecraft, and parallel universes. Snape had been intrigued, and after Harry told him of his plans for revenge, was very interested. Most of the members on Harry's revenge list were on his own. He trusted that the man would not leak anything contrary to his plans to Dumbledore, and if he did, well Harry had more than a few ways to deal with him should the need arise. Apparently, the professor wanted to take Harry on as an apprentice, provided he made it into Slytherin. Perhaps he would have an ally to help with his plans.

At the bedroom, Harry laid down, and the girls crawled in after him, all clinging to him in some fashion. Saber was still the only one that opted for undergarments, but he noticed that ever since she had started gradually accepting her womanhood, they had been gradually getting smaller. The tiny knight was still incredibly self-conscious about her body, but the other girls were slowly helping her come out of her shell. It was something that made him glad.

-Break-

Snape flooed back to Hogwarts feeling drained. Harry Emiya was someone that was hard to believe existed. He was unfailingly polite, even when insulting someone; apparently possessed multiple, powerful, and sentient familiars; and from what was revealed had been the subject of abuse surpassing Snape's own. And that was saying something. He thought the boy would make an excellent apprentice if he made it into Slytherin house. He only said if because the boy also had a shot at Ravenclaw. It brought a delighted sneer to his face that Harry would be the first Potter in history that wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. He'd have to tell Sirius at the first chance he got.

After Voldemort's demise, apparently Sirius and James had undergone a big fight over his abandonment of Harry. The fight had nearly ended their friendship, and led to Sirius moving into the Malfoy manor with his cousin Narcissa and her husband Lucius.

If there was a living man today who embodied Slytherin house, it would be Lucius Malfoy. The man was ambitious, cunning, and powerful. He'd been one of the few dark families actually cunning enough to avoid being drawn into The Dark Lord's influence. Instead, the man had simply waited it out, and reaped the profits of his demise. The man had influence with nearly every member on the Wizengamot and the ear of the Minister. If Severus was to be pressed to say who truly ran magical England, he would most definitely say Lucius Malfoy.

Anyway, Sirius living at the Malfoy manor had forced some interactions between himself and Sirius. They had originally held a quiet sort of disdain, but their mutual anger at James Potter and a sincere apology on Sirius' part had mended quite a lot of fences. Soon, the two shared a sort of rival friendship. They primarily took potshots at each other whenever Severus ate dinner with the Malfoys and occasionally grabbed a drink together at Hogsmeade during the school year.

He also made a mental note to introduce young Harry to Lucius if the chance arose and the boy landed in Slytherin. Something told him that his blonde friend would see the same potential in Harry that he himself did. He shuddered to think how far Harry would go if he ever realized his full potential, and had the backing of the Head of the Malfoy family.

The best part of the entire trip though had been the little talk near the end. The boy truly was ruthless and cunning. He'd laid out a devious plan to get revenge on everyone involved in his placement with the Dursleys. Since Severus had hated everyone on the list with the exception of Lily, he'd agreed to be a partner to it. If the two met, he'd imagine that Sirius might get on board as well, if only because he would see it as a masterful prank. He'd make the suggestion to Harry at a later date.

Arriving at the Headmaster's Office, he stated the password and entered to deliver his report.

"Ahh, Severus. How are things with young Harry? Any problems?" smiled the old man, his voice jovial as ever, making him want to curse the old man, not for the first time either. How someone could be so irritating, he had no idea, but he didn't like owing the man, especially since it forced him to interact with him on a daily basis, when he would have been fine seeing him once a month.

After seating himself, he told Dumbledore a heavily edited version of his encounter with Harry, portraying him as a hurt, abused, and lonely child careful about trusting people out of a fear of getting hurt. He mentioned that after the Dursleys, a man named Zouken had kidnapped him and inhumanly experimented on him, and that even Harry didn't know the effect of the trials.

He was quite disgusted to see that the old man seemed relieved at the news. How he could claim to be working for the Greater Good and purposefully leave a child be abused, he had no idea, but he hoped that Harry's plan would see him getting his just desserts. He was far too used to getting his way to be allowed to continue supervising Hogwarts, not when he saw the students as expendable pawns.

"So Severus, in your opinion, what house is the boy destined for?"

"Slytherin or perhaps Ravenclaw. The boy isn't evil, but his upbringing seems to have left him with an ingrained suspicion that might draw him away from the two lighter houses. Rather bright though, irritatingly enough," came the unhesitating answer.

"Thank you Severus. May I also ask what your Legilimency uncovered? You didn't mention."

"I couldn't use Legilimency on any of them. I don't know how they managed it, but all six of them have complete Occlumency barriers. Trying to enter their minds was like hitting a brick wall. They said it was a result of some of the experiments that Zouken fellow preformed on them."

This deeply troubled the Headmaster. No child should be able to learn Occlumency, especially to that level. It was why he felt free to use Legilimency freely on the younger students without fear of reprisal, as even the most advanced ones rarely had more than very simple defenses he could simply work around.

"Thanks you. That is all. Remember, the term begins in two days, so be ready."

Severus nodded gruffly, spun on his heels, and stalked out of the office, preparing to get pissed in mourning at the commencement of another school year.

Once the door closed, Dumbledore visibly sagged in his chair. On one hand, his plan had worked perfectly. On the other hand, it had worked far more than expected, and yielded highly unanticipated results. Three sentient familiars? Such a thing was unheard of, and most certainly dark. He would have to ensure that the boy met his family soon, and see if he could talk the boy into severing the familiar contracts. After all, they must be unwilling on the women's parts. What woman, even an apparent construct, would voluntarily be the equivalent to a house-elf for a ten-year-old?

He would send the Potter family to pick the boy up tomorrow. If the boy was to be turned from his path, his family would be instrumental in it. He owled the two, informing them to pick Harry up the following morning to reconnect with them. They had been rather upset with him over his sending Severus to take the boy shopping, but given what he learned, he felt it was justified.

He just hoped it wasn't already too late to turn the boy to the light.