Welcome back all! Neolyph here again with another chapter for all you beautiful people. I'd also like to announce, 1000 followers! Whoooo! Legit, when I first started this story, I expected it to bomb so hard it was registered as a WMD. You don't understand how much this means to me, so thank you. Now lets aim for 1000 favorites! If I reach that, I'll have to put out a special chapter or a lemon or something. I'll think on it. In honor of my 1000th follower, this chapter has an OMAKE! Written by Xamusel.
Also, in case anyone has missed the announcement, this story now has a forum which can be found here:
forum/A-Broken-Wizard-and-a-Broken-Magus-Discussion-Forum/188670/
or on my profile
Review time!
AbaddontheDevourer: Yeah, midterms are a bitch, but I'm glad I could ease the pain. I think you'll find the meeting as interesting as I do. Would be very interested in reading omakes.
deathstalker982: I'm kind of playing fast and loose with book and movie universes. I've seen and read both, so I just generally write what I remember from them when I think of a particular scene. Other times, I just make shit up.
Lupine Horror: Man, everyone always hates Molly Weasley, but I've always liked her. I will not deny that Assassin is my favorite character to write, which is funny since the whole worshiping Harry thing was something I came up on the spur of the moment as I was writing her summoning.
MWRANDOM: I felt it was the most apt comparison, not ideologically, but methodically. Harry views racism as illogical, but he is essentially going to use Slytherin's poverty to unite them under his banner and turn them into soldiers willing to kill for him.
Mangahero18: Yes, Dumbledore has crippled the Death Eaters, but he has also made himself a feared public figure rather than a beloved one. He now faces opposition from people like Madame Bones, who are light, but believe in a representative system, not a dictatorship of light.
Thundramon: Yes, the pacing is a bit slower because now I'm in familiar territory, and can take my time. I just can't help myself when I write Assassin. I thought about how hentai Devil's Snare seemed and just had to make Assassin go full pervert, as with the mirror. Harry has the stone, but nobody else really knows that, so the plot goes on. Homunculi technically possess artificial souls, which are odd enough that, like with the Servants, the wards don't pick up on them. Other houses might see him as weak, but not Slytherin. They all get the shit kicked out of them by their parents, so it actually warrants a measure of respect and camaraderie. Voldemort knows that one of the Potters is responsible for his death, but not which one, so he believes the media that it is Orion. His memory prior to his death got a bit messed up due to dying while splitting his soul, so he knows that he has another horcrux, but not what it is. James is the DADA teacher, but let's just say Voldemort has a clever plan to get in to the school anyway. I mentioned their jobs briefly in chapter 12. Sirius is pretty much just an unemployed playboy. Draco was sorted into Gryffindor at Dumbledore's orders to the hat, to make the house turn light. He's pretty much the same as in canon, as he doesn't quite understand his father's beliefs. Lucius is a brilliant politician, but adopts a Darwinist approach to child-rearing. If Draco can't make it on his own beliefs and merit, he isn't worthy to succeed the Malfoy family.
Heika: Death Eaters would think Hassan was a muggle and disregard her. Dumbledore's only real defining moment of his childhood was his sister being attacked and crippled by muggles, which might have the opposite effect on Orion in making him hate them. He views Pettigrew as the exception, not the rule. Dumbledore focused entirely on the magical aspect of WWII, and didn't really care how Hitler gained followers, just that Grindlewald was pulling the strings. The displaced purebloods are granted a certain degree of mind magic to use on the landlords so that not too many questions are asked. Assassin might be able to work something out. Don't know how muffliato works. I thought it simply silenced an object? With D.O.N, the two terms are virtually interchangeable. Bit too late for the A.I. Harry wants smart armor. As far as F.S.N is concerned, Gaia is one of the only true remaining gods, and she could kick Harry's ass.
Have a Little Feith: Thanks for the offer, but Arawn is coming back this week I think, and will be available to beta more. I will keep you in mind though if he's ever in a position where he can't beta.
PhaseHand: Dumbledore has a reason for acting how he does, and that is all I will say on the subject.
BBWulf: I just couldn't stop thinking about how hentai Devil's Snare sounded, and then thought about what Assassin would desire most. Giggles ensued.
Zathol: The Einzbern maids are essentially his "Army-in-a-Can" that he's going to bust out should he ever need to preform a hostile takeover.
Joe Lawyer: Harry hasn't taken that step because he lacks the biological capability or urges to do so. Around Prisoner of Azkaban, you will likely see that change.
harlequin320: Precisely. Harry is now in a perfect position to create a shadow organization to start pulling strings.
Ashzaroth: Time of the various years may vary, depending on what I want to write. I don't want to portray any characters in this story as completely stupid, except for ones that are portrayed that way in canon, and are children. After all, some kids are really just irritating little shits.
Anomamon: I've always subscribed to "Show, don't tell." I generally try to write out a scene rather than write exposition. Perhaps this leads to needless length or wording, but it doesn't take much time, and I enjoy it.
Chapter 15: Show of Force
As Harry, Sakura, Illya, and the triplets walked from the Great Hall to Charms class, guided by Harry's memories of the school from Voldemort, they were followed by the majority of the first year Slytherins, who seemed to have realized that he knew where he was going. They were kept back slightly by the maids, who formed a barrier between the girls and the rest of the house, as was their duty. The first year Gryffindors, who had apparently already been brainwashed by their older housemates, refused to believe that the "dirty snakes" knew where they were going and had gone off to find their own path. Harry had nearly snickered as he watched them go down a corridor that led to the dungeons. While he could understand them being prideful, it was clear that in addition they weren't the cleverest bunch, since just swallowing their pride and following their group at a distance would have saved them a lot of time. Still, if they wanted to humiliate themselves because of a silly notion like pride, it was their call.
After a few minutes of walking through confusing hallways, he and the rest of the house found themselves at Professor Flitwick's classroom. Entering, they found themselves in a nicely sized and decorated room, with the Ravenclaw Head sitting at his desk and reading a book on dueling. At the sound of the door, he looked up and seemed startled at their appearance. He pulled out his pocket watch, looked at the time, looked at the students, looked back at his watch, before finally finding his voice. Obviously it was highly unusual for new students to find his classroom so fast, which just served to point how moronic wizards were. Had nobody ever had the simple common sense of asking an older student to show them the way?
"First years here on the first day, and fifteen minutes early? That's the earliest I've ever had. I'm impressed..." at this he paused for a moment, before making up his mind, "Take fifteen points for Slytherin. One for every minute early. Now where are the Gryffindors?"
At this, Harry shrugged, drawing the professor's eye towards himself and the maids standing impassively behind him. As at breakfast, he seemed to want to ask about them, but his politeness prevented him from doing so, at least publicly. The man really was a good choice to lead Ravenclaw: curious, but polite about it.
"They didn't seem to believe that we knew where we were going. I tried to convince them otherwise," he lied through his teeth, "but last I saw, they were headed towards the dungeons."
The Charms Professor sighed. It was clear that he understood what Harry was trying to say. The clear animosity between the House of Lions and the House of the Snakes was something that bothered more than a few teachers, or so he had heard, yet nothing was done to curb it. In fact, Dumbledore seemed perfectly content to subtly encourage it, allowing the Gryffindors to get away with far more than the Slytherins, which only served to fuel the shared hatred for each other.
"That's to be expected. First year Gryffindors usually don't show up on time for any classed in the first week. We'll wait until ten minutes after class starts and if they're not here yet, we'll start without them. Until then, please take your seats."
Given permission, the students all filled out the seats on the right-hand side of the classroom. Harry and the girls sat in the very back of the university-style seats. With Sakura on his right and Illya on his left, he removed a book from his robes and began reading it silently. Sakura pulled out her wand and began fiddling with it curiously, eager to try out wizard magic. He'd offered to teach her some spells prior to coming here, but she refused, stating that she wanted to learn in a classroom environment. That had surprised him, as she would usually have jumped at the opportunity to spend some time alone with him, but he guessed that she could always ask later.
The homunculi stood submissively at the back wall, mentally communicating that if Dumbledore was to interrogate them, it would be best to put on a subservient front, so that he would not view them as a threat. While they could probably neutralize the Headmaster easily if it ever came down to it, it would undoubtedly alienate them to the entire British magical community, as they all seemed to believe the Sun shined from the man's behind. Even the diehard Death Eaters had a grudging respect for him, as he had the power and the cunning required to establish himself as a major power not only in Britain, but on the international scene. So it was in their best interest to appear as non-threatening as possible, as too much scrutiny would not end well for either them or Dumbledore.
Agreeing with them, he turned back to his book on the Gandr Curse. He could use the curse just fine, but he was trying to figure out why Sakura and Rin could perform the spell better than him. He suspected that it was something genetic, as the two were sisters, or maybe it had something to do with their Origin and Element, although that notion was flimsy at best, as they had different Origins and Elements. The spell was very useful, particularly at higher levels, and he wanted to perfect it. While usually not that dangerous, with the amount of power he could push into it, he would likely be able to punch holes through the Great Hall's doors.
On the edge of his consciousness, he heard a small 'fuuuuuu' noise growing slightly in volume, coming from his left. He glanced over and saw Illya with cheeks puffed and pouting, looking on the verge of a tantrum as she emitted her noise of unhappiness. Evidently, she had neglected to bring a book to entertain herself and was very unhappy about it. She was not the most patient person when it came to anything other than magecraft research, since she had been rather spoiled ever since she had become Berserker's Master. She was not used to sit idly, so he needed to find something to distract her with before she started throwing a tantrum.
Not wanting his younger sister to get upset, he put his hand under the table and projected a book he'd read on fairy tales. Adorable little psychopath she may be, but deep down Illya was still a little girl. She snatched the book up happily and began digging into it.
Crisis averted.
His consciousness was dragged away from his book again by a feeling of growing frustration over his mental link. He went through the links one by one to identify the source. The maids were fine, content to observe and watch over both him and the girls. Berserker maintained his ever-present, furious, and generous offers to slaughter every living thing in a fifty miles' radius from the dandelions on upwards. Archer was making sarcastic commentary that he had long learned to simply block out at this point. Rider was expressing minor irritation at her inability to freely interact with him as she used to, but was more miffed about it than frustrated. She satisfied herself by reading his book over his shoulder. Saber was in her Servant mindset, and was simply standing behind him, watching the class warily. Assassin was at his other shoulder, mentally devising plans to kill everyone in the room in case she needed to protect him. He supposed that everyone had their hobbies.
Finally, he checked the link to Caster and found her to be the source of the overlapping frustration.
"Caster," he mentally communicated, "is something wrong?"
As soon as he said this, the feeling from her snapped off, as if she had caught herself doing something embarrassing.
"Nothing Master, nothing at all. Why do you ask?" came her hurried response.
"Come on Caster, you know you can tell me," he prodded. He felt her waver slightly, before giving in.
"I can't figure out this stone Master. I've never seen anything quite like it. I can gather its general concept, but not its usage. As best as I can tell, it's formed from pure, refined souls. It has enough raw energy in it to power a Servant for a couple of decades if they were conservative with it, but the strange thing is that it seems to refill itself. Were it not a foreign concept to this world, I would suspect it to be some hybridization of the first and third magics."
"Are you serious?" he couldn't help but ask. The sheer idea of a wizard having developed such a powerful mystic code was mind-boggling. The fact that someone had found what was usually a magus technique of harvesting souls and storing them in object as a power source rather than a shoddy attempt at immortality was as interesting as it was concerning. It was times like these that made his really wish that he could master his link to the Akashic record. If he could find out what this stone was or who made it, his job would be much simpler. Unfortunately, unless he wanted to learn more about some entirely random subject, he'd have to do this the old-fashioned way.
"Keep working, Caster. I'd say don't strain yourself, but you're such a talented magus that I don't think you could if you tried," he said, feeling the brief rush of happiness that his words elicited from the witch.
"Of course not Master. I'll inform you immediately if - no when I make further discoveries."
With that, she cut off the mental link and resumed her work. Harry looked back up just in time to see a very cross and out of breath Neville Longbottom storm into the room. Looking up at the clock revealed that the boy was only thirty seconds from being Flitwick looked up from his book with a look of surprise.
"A Gryffindor on time for his first class, well I suppose it's true what they say about broken clocks," he muttered under his breath, "Your name, young man?"
"Neville Longbottom, sir," the red-faced boy gasped between breaths.
"And might I ask why you are the only one of your house to be on time for this class?" the professor continued. Neville took a moment to get his breathing under control before answering.
"I realized that nobody had any clue where they were going and were just following Orion, so I asked a ghost for directions and ran for it. Almost missed the stairs."
Flitwick sighed in exasperation at the house of the brave.
"Well, take five points for an intelligent solution to a problem. When did you last see your house? I may need to send someone after them again."
Neville grimaced before admitting sheepishly.
"Last I saw them, they were pretty deep in the dungeons, but I don't know exactly where. When I realized that class was fifteen minutes from starting and Orion had no idea where he was going, I tried to convince everyone to ask for directions, but Orion just said that he knew what he was doing and they followed him. When I ran off, I didn't pay too much attention to the route back."
Flitwick just nodded and sighed again.
"I'll inform the Headmaster and he'll send some ghosts to track them down. Congratulations Neville, was it? You'll be the only one in your house to attend this lesson. I'm not going to reteach this today's class, so if anyone else in Gryffindor wants to learn it, they'll have to ask you."
Neville suddenly looked a bit afraid at the prospect of his entire house asking him for help, but steeled himself and took a seat next to Illya. Harry glanced over at him and gave an encouraging smile and a nod. It had the desired effect as the nervous boy straightened his back and faced towards Flitwick, who, after sending a Patronus to the Headmaster, began the lesson.
"Alright class, welcome to Charms. I think it would be nice to begin with a practical lesson, so you'll be learning your first spell ever right here. Now, the incantation is Wingardium Leviosa."
-Break-
After Charms, Harry was surprised when Neville walked up to him briskly, pausing as the maids blocked his way. Harry mentally told them to stand down and they parted to allow the boy passage, although they were clearly ready if they ever needed to intervene. Neville gave them one last wary glance before walking up to Harry. The two looked at each other for a while, before the usually shy Gryffindor finally opened his mouth to speak.
"Uhh, Harry, Illya, Sakura... I... I think I owe you three an apology. I know that we were friendly on the train and I wanted to be friends, but I got cold feet when you got sorted into Slytherin. I...assumed the worst and that you being nice to me was just some way to trick me into something. It was why I tried befriending your brother Harry, but all he does is spout on about how evil and dark you're going to be, and it made me think. I don't want to be like him, judging people off a sorting alone. I mean, he's known you for only a day, it can't be enough to know much about you, and being Sorted in a House doesn't mean everything. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry for not talking to the three of you since the sorting, and if you'll accept it, I'd like to be your friend."
Impressed at the boy's candor, Harry considered it for a moment.
"You should befriend the boy, Master," came Saber's gentle voice in his head. He intended to accept Neville's offer anyway, but was curious as to his usually quiet Servant's reasoning.
"Why is that, Saber?"
"I recruited many knights in my life. I know certain qualities when I see them, and this boy possesses all the virtues of Gryffindor. He's chivalrous, brave, and loyal. He will be a good friend. Not to mention, he obviously questions the system around him when many others do not. All he needs is someone to help him get some confidence, and he will become a fine young man, of that I am sure."
"I concur," he told Saber.
Having agreed with his Servant, he extended his hand towards Neville.
"I don't mind that you made a harmless mistake. So long as you keep an open mind about the three of us."
Neville looked down at the hand a moment, before straightening himself out and grasping it firmly.
"That's perfectly alright. Now I have history of magic next, but then we have herbology together. You want to meet up there?"
"Sure Neville. See you there."
The two boys exchanged nods while the two girls waved at him, causing him to blush slightly in embarrassment. The maids gave him nods of their own and followed their charge to Transfiguration.
-Break-
Transfiguration was mostly uneventful, with the exception of making the acquaintance of one Hermione Granger from Ravenclaw. McGonagall had made them partner up to master their first transfiguration, a matchstick into a needle.
Hermione seemed fairly agreeable, though she kept incessantly uttering questions throughout the class, some of which were borderline intrusive. Her questions ranged from his experience with magic to his maids, which she seemed to disapprove of, despite the subject being absolutely none of her business, but he guessed she was just a very opinionated person. He answered these questions as best he could, except when she strayed into too personal areas. When that happened, he gently reminded her that while curiosity was a valuable trait, it was best tempered with respect and politeness. She looked a bit abashed, and apologized. Sakura and Illya seemed to like the bushy-haired girl well enough, though they still shot her suspicious glares when she wasn't looking. He almost pitied the Ravenclaw, both Magi girls were very possessive of him, and were not going to be very open to her until they had deemed she was not a threat.
McGonagall had tried to have the three homunculi removed from the class, pointing out that they were distracting the other students, but he'd countered by citing the Hogwarts charter, which forbid the separation of Master and Familiar, except in cases where a unanimous vote from the Board of Directors declared that the familiar presented a present danger to the Hogwarts students, and that the Master was incapable of controlling them. Thus far, the only time that had ever been enacted had been in 1243, when a student's bear familiar had mauled three students before the student could bring it back under control.
When her prudish attempt had failed, she'd asked the girls directly if they were here against their will. Offended at the notion, they'd coldly informed her that they were perfectly alright, and that it was none of her business. Shut down, she returned to teaching her class, only turning once in a while to glare at both him and the maids, obviously displeased with what she saw as both a lack of respect, and something distasteful. It was easy to see that she disapproved of him having three "human" familiars, and that it was not the last time she would be trying to push her opinion on them, since she believed that she "knew better".
He found that she was a fair instructor, just rather opinionated, prudish, and biased against Slytherin. In her defense, she had given him five points when he was the first in the class to manage the transfiguration. He'd already seen her take twenty points from Orion for refusing to admit that he was lost and causing his house to miss one and a half classes. He figured that through careful and slow manipulation, he'd be able to win her over to at least amiable terms. All he'd have to do would be to make some public display of Gryffindorism to make her think that perhaps he'd been sorted wrong. After all, the Hat had been wrong before. Besides, it was hardly a secret that his "parents" had been two of her favorite students, and that the right actions would have her eating in the palm of his hand.
The class itself was interesting enough. Tom Riddle was a wizard rivaled only by Dumbledore, so he knew all of the information anyway; but he figured that if he was new to wizardry, he'd have enjoyed the class. Instead, he paid attention just enough to be aware of what was going on. The rest of the time, he coordinated with Caster to work out the nature of the stone he'd stolen.
The trouble was that the stone was far too advanced for any known wizarding technique. If a magus had made it, it would have been understandable, as certain alchemical processes could make something to this degree, but those techniques required the control and power granted by an array of magical circuits. If only he could figure out who had made this stone, then he could work from there, but all of the staff had too advanced Occlumency for him to slip in undetected and pry the information out.
"Except Hagrid," Caster chimed in suggestively. Now that was something to consider. According to Zelretch, Hagrid had been the one to deliver him from his parents to the Dursleys. The Headmaster obviously trusted him, and the man didn't possess the mental discipline for Occlumency. Perhaps some subtle questioning or Legilimency would yield the desired answers. He didn't think that the half-giant would know too much information about the stone itself - Root, he didn't think even Dumbledore knew the stone's true nature - but perhaps he'd be able to at least tell themwhere the old man had gotten it. At this point any lead would be helpful.
With their spell mastered, he and Hermione made polite conversation for the rest of the class. He asked her about her family, and learned that she came from a family of dentists, who were very shocked to learn that their bookish daughter was a witch. It had taken Professor McGonagall briefly transfiguring their mother into a rabbit to convince them that she wasn't some kind of elaborate con-artist.
In turn, he shared some of the more amusing and less revealing stories of his childhood with Sakura. He didn't mention things like magi or the Grail War, though he did share details like their abduction by Zouken. She expressed pity and nearly wept at certain parts, like learning that they had been painfully experimented on. At one point, she abruptly hugged both himself and Sakura, prompting a scolding from McGonagall. This girl wore her emotions on her sleeve too much to fit into Slytherin, Harry concluded. Still, she was a nice and intelligent girl. With a couple of lessons in the norms of Wizarding society, she'd make a brilliant witch. Her only real problem was her lack of knowledge on how wizards as a whole interacted, as well as her very strong headed nature.
Finally, the period ended, and with a promise for the four to meet up again later, Hermione went to her next class.
-Break-
In the next class, Herbology, Harry, Sakura, and Illya met up with Neville again. Apparently, Orion's journey to the center of the dungeons and subsequent loss of points had not won him many supporters in his house. His reputation as the Ponce-Who-Lived was still carrying his popularity in the house, but he was sliding downhill, fast. Just the thought of Orion becoming a loser in his own house nearly brought a smile to his face, which he quickly repressed.
In the actual class itself, he learned the Professor Sprout was an extremely cheery and pleasant woman, who reminded him somewhat of Mrs. Weasley. She began by telling them that while not necessary, teamwork would help in this class to make things more efficient. Evidently, her Hufflepuff nature of friendship, loyalty, and honesty carried over into her teaching method. Taking her advice to heart, he formed a group of himself, Sakura, Illya, Neville, and Daphne Greengrass. The blonde girl seemed a bit wary of partnering with a scion of a known light family, but seemed to trust Harry's judgement, or just wanted to see if he knew how to pick good friends and supporters. When Neville ignored the typical prejudice Gryffindors possessed for Slytherins and introduced himself warmly, she seemed to once again approve of Harry and introduced herself.
Professor Sprout seemed pleased that a large, interhouse team had formed, even though only one Gryffindor was in it, and awarded both houses five points. Immediately after, however, the points from the house of lions were lost when Orion and Draco got into a shouting match, which devolved into a fistfight. While Orion and Draco were fighting, Ron was getting pummeled by Draco's two vassalized thugs, Crabbe and Goyle. Honestly, the two looked better suited for trolls than students. After breaking it up, a very cross Sprout deducted ten points each from them and assigned them detentions with herself.
At this, Draco had loudly threatened to inform his father of this development, only to be instantly shot down by Sprout, who told him that points loss and detention were the minimum punishment for a physical confrontation on Hogwarts grounds, and that he was only getting off that easy because it was a first offense. Orion had sneered at Draco's humiliation, only for the irate professor to whirl on him and mention that his father would be informed of this, and verbally wondered as to his reaction that his son had lost his house thirty points today, and that it wasn't even lunch.
Harry's twin had spluttered, before countering that the Headmaster was on his side, and wouldn't let him get detentions and would invalidate the lost points. The collected students shivered as the room seemed to drop a couple of degrees to emphasize the glare the plump professor shot Orion. Apparently, Professor Sprout was not one to be crossed idly. After keeping the glare on the now shaking Orion for a full thirty seconds, she snapped at him to go report to the Headmaster, sending a Patronus to both inform Dumbledore as to the situation and lead him there.
With the interruption gone, Sprout apologized for all of the unpleasantness and resumed teaching as if nothing had happened. Slowly, the class got back on track, but none of them forgot the fear that an angry Professor Sprout had engendered in them. Except Harry, Illya, and Sakura, that is. After a Grail War, there was very little that could truly shake you after all. Heck, Berserker was scarier just by breathing.
-Break-
After Herbology came lunch. As Harry, the girls, Daphne, and Neville made their way to the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick caught up with them. He delivered a missive from the Headmaster, requesting a meeting with Harry's familiars. After a brief mental conversation, the triplets followed the diminutive professor to Dumbledore's office. He made sure to keep in constant communication with them, not trusting the Headmaster to not try something. Due to their nature as homunculi, they were all but immune to wizard spells, but it never hurt to be safe.
He felt Sakura and Illya draw closer, each taking an arm as the protection afforded by their homunculi bodyguards was stripped. Keeping them close, the group went to eat lunch. Inside the Great Hall, they all sat at the Slytherin table, drawing eyes both from Harry's housemates and some glares from Orion and Ron at Neville's 'betrayal'. Neville studiously ignored them and started up a conversation about Herbology, which was his favorite subject. Apparently, his family owned an expensive greenhouse, which he managed. He was hoping that his knowledge of plants would give him a leg up in Potions, as he'd heard horror stories of Professor Snape's distaste for Gryffindor and his no-nonsense teaching style.
Harry assured him that Snape wasn't hateful, only strict. This seemed to calm the boy down a bit, as he visibly relaxed. While the quickly forming friendship conversed, Harry monitored the meeting between the maids and Dumbledore.
-Break-
Leanna, Monica, and Joy were slightly apprehensive as they followed the half-goblin professor to meet the Headmaster. The last thing they wanted to do was draw suspicion to their Master, and it was only his comforting presence in their minds that permitted them to remain calm. Monica could handle herself well enough, but Joy still suffered from near-crippling social anxiety whenever Harry wasn't around and Leanna didn't trust herself to not blurt out something vital.
Arriving at the Headmaster's gargoyle, Flitwick said the password, 'Lemon Drops', and they marched up the winding staircase that emerged. They found themselves in a spacious, tastelessly decorated, and cluttered office.
"Well, this is where I leave you," said the professor that led them there, before he nodded and exited through the same staircase.
The maids exchanged a glance, before standing side-by-side and walking in perfect unison up to the ornate desk situated in a large alcove at the top of a small set of stairs inside the expansive office. As they came into view of the desk, they witnessed the Headmaster's bearded visage looking grandfatherly as always, flanked by Snape and James, both of whom looked nonplussed at being in proximity with each other.
"Ahh," the Headmaster said as if he'd just noticed them, "Welcome you three. Please, have a seat." With a quick wave of his Elder Wand, three seats appeared out of thin air before his desk. A brief flash of structural analysis revealed that the seats were practically coated with trust charms. It was no doubt Dumbledore's attempt to overcome their magical resistance.
With a look of reproach, Monica replied, "If it's all the same to you, Headmaster, we'd prefer to stand."
The twinkle in the old man's eyes briefly dulled and hardened, before returning to its former glory.
"Well, if you insist. Now, I'm going to get right to the point. As best I understand it, the three of you are fully sentient magical constructs with free will, but are bound to young Harry, correct?"
"Voluntarily bound," Monica clarified, "but other than that, yes."
"May I ask precisely why three obviously intelligent women have reduced themselves to a boy's servants?"
"I think you misunderstand the mindset that comes with being a magical construct. We were created to protect Master Harry and assist him in managing his... unique magical core. It is our calling in life and greatest aspiration. It is literally our reason for being. If you had been born and possessed an instinctual knowledge that you were made to be the Headmaster of a school, would you question it?"
Dumbledore looked perplexed, but nodded.
"That being said," Monica continued, and the three suddenly shifted into a much more intimidating and threatening stance, "I would remind you that our prime directive is Master Harry's protection. If you or anyone else in this school act against his best interests, there will be repercussions," she hissed out. James fingered his wand inside his robes while Snape just looked on, amused. Dumbledore put his hands up in an attempt to appease them.
"I assure you that everything I do is in the interest of the Greater Good."
The maids noted the evasion, but didn't comment. The man may think he was skilled at word games, but he was only a beginner compared to the Clock Tower's Magi, who breathed those kind of games from the moment they were old enough to speak. And one did not become a Magi without a clear understanding of every subtle nuance of speech.
"Now, as the Leader of Light, I'm afraid I'm obliged to ask. Exactly what manner of magical construct are you three?"
This they knew how to answer. They could absolutely not tell him they were Homonculi, as unlike Magi, wizards' Homonculi were created through extremely cruel rituals, and were more often than not ugly parodies of human beings. The moment the Headmaster was aware of their nature, he would use it to portray their Master as the next Dark Lord, despite nothing "Dark" being involved in their creation. They knew, Harry had explained everything to them, just so to show them that their life didn't come from the sacrifice of a child or any other living being.
"We don't exactly know. When we were created, we were ingrained with certain information, but we weren't given the details of our precise nature. Zouken simply made us and then passed us off to Harry."
Dumbledore nodded sagely, "I understand. I suppose that the only remaining question is whether you would like me to fix you. Evidently, that Zouken fellow toyed with your minds to force you into obedience. If you so wish, I can undo what he has done and free you from your servitude. You three can be free to pursue your own lives and careers. If you even wish, I can even arrange for you to receive jobs here."
"I'm afraid we'll have to decline your generous offer," Monica replied, barely restraining herself from lashing out at this man who wished to separate her from her Master, from Harry. Looking aggrieved, Dumbledore slowly stood. James drew his wand and took a ready stance.
"Then I fear that you leave me no choice. I can't have the brother of the future Leader of the Light keeping three women as slaves. Whatever foul magic that Zouken used is influencing your thinking. You'll thank me after this is over." He drew his own Elder Wand, aiming it at Monica, a stunning spell on his lips.
In a flash that betrayed their prowess as physical-combat model homunculi, Leanna and Joy lashed out with their batons. Within a second, James and Snape found themselves painfully pinned against the wall, completely disarmed. Dumbledore's own casting was interrupted when a metal staff beamed him upside the head, stunning him. His barely-coherent senses were further upset when this woman, with her bare hand, levitated him and slammed him against the ceiling.
"Let me make our position a bit clearer," Monica growled, "we will continue our service to Master Harry, and you will do nothing to interfere with it. We will treat any attempt to separate us from him as an attack on his person. He is the kindest person I've ever met, and I have no desire to be apart from him. As I think we've demonstrated amicably here, you do not want to be the subject of our ire. Ensure that you are not."
Their piece said and the faculty sufficiently threatened, the maids dropped the three, though they weren't exactly what one would call 'gentle' about it. Not desiring a hex in the back, Monica collected their wands and dropped them out the nearby window.
None too worse for the wear, the three departed from the Headmaster's office to join their creator for lunch.
-Break-
Harry had difficulty keeping a straight face as Monica mentally relayed an image of the Headmaster's shocked face as he was pinned against the ceiling. That image alone made him consider purchasing a penseive, just so he could watch the memory over and over again, perhaps make watching it a Christmas tradition with Sakura and Illya or something. He was sure both of them would like such a tradition very much.
He figured that some of the subtlety had been lost by the maids' show of force, but first of all, the security of the maids' position at his side outweighed keeping Dumbledore in the dark about their power, and second, as magical constructs their strength was within the realm of possibilities as far as wizards were concerned. Checking his schedule, he was pleased to learn that he had Potions right after lunch. He regretted having the maids rough-up Professor Snape, but it would have aroused suspicion regarding their alliance if he hadn't been.
Potions with Orion, himself, and Snape in the same room.
This would be fun.
-Break-
As young Harry's three 'maids' left the room, Dumbledore fell from the ceiling and landed roughly against his desk, scattering the papers on it. He looked up just in time to see his wand, the precious Elder Wand, dropped out the window. He scrambled up, ignoring the pained moans of James and Severus, and ran to the window. Fortunately, despite the 150 meters drop, the wand seemed to be intact. He attempted a wandless Accio, but lacked the power to do it at this distance.
As he thought back on the meeting, depression welled up inside him. It was worse than he had feared. Those things were not only dark creatures, but powerful dark creatures. The had attacked him, him, the Leader of the Light! In his own office! He would have to deal with those three somehow. Perhaps... perhaps if the maids would not abandon the boy, he could make the boy abandon the maids. It could be his first step towards coming to the light! It was brilliant! He just prayed that those three creatures didn't discover his intentions until after the fact. Any magical creature with enough power to levitate a grown wizard against a ceiling without a wand was a creature not idly trifled with. At least his possession of these constructs proved that young Harry had followed in Tom Riddle's footsteps. Merlin, if anything, he'd surpassed Riddle at this age. Intervention would have to come earlier than anticipated.
The Potter boys just kept causing problems since they came to this school. Orion had been in his office earlier, having lost forty points from his house and received a detention. Now obviously, the Leader of the Light couldn't lose points for his house, as it would make them resent him. The Gryffindors were the house of the Light, and Orion would need their support in the future. Detentions at Hogwarts showed up on a student's permanent record, so Orion couldn't receive any of those either. For those reasons, he'd used his administrative powers to give the points back, plus ten, and waive the detentions. Sure, some students from the other houses might be a bit bitter about it, but it was all for the Greater Good. After all, he was Albus Dumbledore. How could it not?
"Ugghhhh," came James, "did any of you guys get the model of the bludger that hit me?"
Omake by Xamusel
DM Omake 01: I challenged you to a Wizard's Duel, not a Children's Card Game!
#
Orion Potter, while marching down the corridor to Potions class, was absolutely livid... again, for more than the third month straight, all to the week before Christmas holidays. It was a humongous surprise to those who knew him that he was able to keep it all simmering well below a boil, but it was also a huge concern to his parents and little sister, the former having raised him with love to make sure he wasn't neglected in any way, shape or form, and the latter because she didn't want him to be mad at the exact person he was livid about... and they were all related to him.
Hadrian had managed to outdo him in everything that he had done so far, even making it to being Slytherin's Seeker in Quidditch! They were the same age, and yet it was Hadrian who managed to become the Youngest Seeker at Hogwarts in over 100 years! Of course, having been raised as a Noble Wizard, he knew better than to let this get to him. Hadrian was going to be disinherited from House Potter soon enough, anyway, if things managed to go in his favor. He just needed a valid excuse for a Wizard's Duel, where the stakes were set at the beginning of the duel, before he could initiate th—
All of a sudden, Orion crashed into someone while rounding the corner, knocking both of them down to the floor.
Orion, being the idiot he is, automatically assumed that the person who he collided with was a guy, even though his eyes were closed in pain. "Ow! Watch it, you bloody git!" he yelled, getting everyone's attention to see who he ran into, even when it was clear that the other person had his head in a book and wore glasses, which now lay broken on the ground, for one reason or another. The person's personal maids were also... about... to... everyone else gulped in shock and horror.
Orion opened his eyes wide at that. He just ran into his older twin! Of all the possible... he didn't mean to run into him literally! If that wasn't bad enough, he was about to be killed by the maids... wait, that's it!
"Oi, what's the big idea, Orion?" Hadrian, holding an arm outstretched for some reason, questioned his little brother in annoyance. "Don't you know that Potions is somewhere back the way—"
"Hadrian Potter, I challenge you to a Duel!" Orion yelled in interruption, pointing an outstretched finger at him without his wand.
#
Harry was annoyed by the rude interruption from reading his book on engineering that he managed to acquire from an acquaintance of his for a short time. Of course, said acquaintance was from an alternate Japan, but it wasn't like the Wizards in this Magical Britain were able to put that together. Still, his interruption was due to the fact that he ran into someone quite by accident, even if it seemed that the other person was going faster than normal.
When he felt the danger the other person was going to be in, he was about to call off his maids with a verbal command when he heard the other person yell, "Ow! Watch it, you bloody git!"
That had the undesired effect of him recognizing who he had run into... his little brother from his birth family. Of course, it seemed like the crowd that had gathered also put two and two together, as they gulped in horror and shock. Noticing that his maids were going to kill the idiot for hurting Harry, he stretched his hand out to prevent them from doing so, causing them to stop. "Oi, what's the big idea, Orion?" he questioned in annoyance. "Don't you know that Potions is somewhere back the way—"
"Hadrian Potter, I challenge you to a Duel!" Orion interrupted him, pointing an outstretched finger at him.
Harry was silent for a few seconds, before he chuckled at his brother.
"Wh-what? What's so funny?!" Orion demanded.
"I just didn't expect you to know the correct pass phrase for playing Duel Monsters, little brother," Harry answered, pulling out a deck of cards with brown backgrounds and black ovals on the back from a card holder on his left leg. "It's all the rage in the gaming circles, after all." What went unsaid was that the game was all the rage in the Muggle gaming circles, but Harry didn't want to ruin the surprise for the other students of Hogwarts, or those who didn't know him nearly as well as his true family. "Very well, I accept your challenge, although the Duel will have to happen on Christmas Eve in Japan," he said, pocketing the cards in the card holder.
"Wha... wait a—" Orion started to yell, before Harry pulled out a few boxes of what he assumed to be cards.
"Make sure to read the rules of the game, on the off-chance you don't actually know the game all that well," Harry said, handing him the boxes of cards. "Also, play a few dozen games with your housemates, to make sure you know how the game works as you read the rules for these games." With that, Harry picked up his book and the remains of his glasses, before walking on down the hall to class.
#
Orion was thoroughly confused with what he had witnessed. Before he could go after Hadrian, he decided to look at the boxes to see what the fuss was about. While the images of the different playing cards was nice, he didn't quite get what the deal was with the 6 rating on it... wait, hold on, that was the minimum age rating!
Putting the cards in his bag, he then rushed over to class, beating Professor Snape inside and exclaiming, "HADRIAN! I challenged you to a Wizard's Duel, not a Children's Card Game!"
