What's crackalackin internet? Neolyph here again, with more of A Broken Wizard and a Broken Magus. Wow, I really did not anticipate how much everyone would like last chapter. I mean, I thought it was a pretty good one, but damn. Also, 1000 FAVORITES! This is my first milestone, and in celebration, I'm going to put out a special chapter soon. Anyway, I love writing this story and I love getting positive reviews and responses. You guys are my motivation to keep writing.
Review time!
xYuukito: I'm trying to write exactly what would happen if you put a talented and powerful magus in Hogwarts. He'd fucking take the place over. As for Arawn, he said he's working on his next chapter, and that he's aiming to put it out early-to-mid this month. It takes him longer as he doesn't have as much free time as me, not to mention he has to put a lot more work into his chapters than me.
Elquenodebesernombrado: It's something I've been considering, but Rider has no knowledge of Wizarding history. I was thinking of having Caster replace Trelawney.
BijuuDamaBomber: They have a bit more dignity than that, but yeah, essentially.
harlequin320: Precisely. He's just getting started.
FuZzvKiNgZz: I wanted to portray exactly how a magus would operate in Hogwarts. He not only managed to orchestrate all of that, but he did so almost entirely anonymously. The only things he did publicly were talk with Hermione and defend himself against Orion's baseless accusations. Only the Slytherins and Snape really have any idea of his involvement.
Raidentensho: Harry is very much an opportunist when it matters. He's not even finished pounding this nail in.
Akuma-Heika: I suppose that it would be fair to say that Wizards are spiritual, if not religious. I mean, they literally have the dead employed as teachers. I don't really know about the TYPE thing. I don't have the time or patience to go digging through the Nasuverse to find out either. I think a childhood with Zouken would fuck up a kid's developmental cycle, at least until Harry fixed himself and Sakura. Puberty's gonna hit him like a ton of bricks. Aye, Snape was clever, but he was more brave than he was cunning. I think at the end of the Deathly Hallows, Harry calls Snape, "the bravest man I ever knew." I mean, the guy was a double-agent for Voldemort and killed his mentor for the cause. The man had balls. I think Snape only seemed more clever than other Slytherins because they were JK Rowling's personal bash-house. Like I've said before, with D.O.N, terms like "projected" and "copies" and "created" start becoming pretty interchangeable. Magic is all about intent. Monica wasn't ordered to attack Dumbledore, so it didn't register. If I have a gun in my house and a guy breaks in and accidentally shoots himself with it, I'm not a murderer. Or if I have a lion in a zoo and a guy jumps in to its cage, I didn't kill him. If I sic a dog on a guy, however, and it kills him, then I am a murderer. Wizard textbooks are much thicker than regular ones. Due to the duration of Snape's tenure at Hogwarts, he'd found a single book that can cover the students up to OWLs. It essentially saves both him and the students time and money. Harry just performed the instructions incorrectly while Ron did basically the exact opposite. I'm honored to hold that place in your favorites.
Soaring Midnight Raven: While the Slytherins were all portrayed as mini Death Eaters in canon, I always wondered how cool they could be if they were truly the ambitious, clever, and cunning. This was the result. I update as fast as I can, but writing is hard. :-(
Caelleh: You see some of the Slytherin reaction in this chapter. Lily's comes next.
Lord Jace: Glad to know I'm one of your favorites.
NakedFury: I don't know. I really like studying psychology, so I guess manipulation just kind of comes naturally to me, which I guess plays into my writing. Proper manipulation and scheming is kind of like setting up dominoes. You just have to pick an individual's most likely reaction to a specific stimulus and plan from there.
Mangahero18: Have you read the Harry Potter series? Most of the characters in the early books are caricatures, especially Ron. Not to mention, if you've ever spent close proximity to a bunch of eleven year old, some of them are massive pieces of shit. I just write Orion how I would write a combination of Draco and Dudley in canon, but were he the BWL.
AbaddontheDevourer: Thanks, it's good to know that. I think this sort of thing comes a lot more naturally to me than, say, writing the FSN arc.
AnimeA55Kicker: ...To unite all peoples within our nation
Gabriel Herrol: He knows their identities from the Dream Cycle, but he mainly refers to them by class because it's their preference. Most of them still see themselves as Servants, even if the war is ended. For that reason, they prefer their class title over their name.
Thundramon: I'm focusing less on the schooling itself and more on his political machinations and the reactions to them. I always hated how the Slytherins were basically used as JK's chew toy in canon, particularly since I think they're my favorite house. I understand the concept behind the stone, and agree with it. Thanks for the advice.
Anomanom: As I told Mangahero18, JK didn't exactly make realistic characters in her first books either. I'm just sort of keeping the spirit until they grow up a bit. For example, in the later parts Orion may start getting tired of having his ass handed to him by Harry, and start taking some proactive measures.
Wingd knightL: Quirrel is not at Hogwarts because James teaches DDA. Voldemort has still infiltrated the school, but I won't say how. Dumbledore doesn't check the mirror, so he doesn't know it had gone missing yet.
Ashes of the Dragon: Well, Daphne gets introduced in this chapter, and I have some ideas at least. I intend for him to vacation to other universes over his breaks, summer or otherwise.
GeassDragon: The screen time problem is something that's been brought up before, and don't worry, it's a valid complaint. I'm trying to give them adequate screen time, but at the moment Harry has just arrived at his home dimension, and between his need to quickly establish himself and the general structure of having to hide his familiars, it makes that difficult. I'm still working out a way for them to be able to do that, which trust me I will.
Chapter 17: Extra! Extra!
After a rather eventful dinner, Harry and the girls made their way back to his dorm room. Unfortunately, they would not be staying. Orion had essentially just committed political suicide and he'd be damned by the Root before he let the git get away with it, as was bound to happen should he leave things as they were. Dumbledore would do absolutely everything in his power to try and avoid the public being made aware of what had happened, and he had the political power to do so, as well as the control on the school required to screen the letters sent from Hogwarts.
Unfortunately, further exploitation of his little debate with Hermione would require him to go off Hogwarts grounds, and for that to happen, certain precautions would be needed. He'd originally intended to go alone, but Sakura, Illya, and the Servants quickly shut down that notion. Given what they'd seen of wizardking so far, they were not impressed, but they were not stupid enough to think that Harry was safe, even with all his power. Wizards played dirty, using spells with effects that differed greatly from each other, making it hard to guess what they would do. All it would take was a single mistake to cost them their love interest/Master/Big Brother again, and they all refused to accept that.
Instead, he wove enchantments over himself, Sakura, Illya, and the maids. He made himself take on the appearance of Kiritsugu, while Sakura shifted into a facsimile of an older Rin, much to her chagrin. Illya ended up looking like Irisviel, and seemed delighted at the idea of having breasts. The maids, he simply tweaked their appearances and put them in muggle suits. They were rather displeased to be out of their maid uniforms, for reasons he couldn't fathom. He suspected some of Zelretch's "talks" with them, the man would undoubtedly try to corrupt them, if only to have some fun. If he could convince them to act like stereotypical maids, Harry wouldn't be very surprised.
Once they were all properly disguised, Harry and the girls used the Kaleidoscope to teleport to Diagon Alley. The first stop would be Gringotts Wizarding Bank, for some financial consultation. It was time to see what political advantages his two lordships granted him.
-Break-
At the bank, a quick inquiry with a teller had the group of six led to an office, which contained the manager for Harry's accounts. The goblin, Griphook, was originally skeptical of the group until Harry dropped the illusions and revealed his true appearance. Once his identity was verified, thanks to a simple blood test that would have most Magus drooling due to the interest of being able to tract their line up to its' origins, he was presented with his family rings.
He had one from Slytherin, which was pure mithril, inscribed with a great number of runes in Parselscript, and had a large emerald set into the metal that practically glowed with magic. He was told that the ring was the ultimate defense against treachery. It would filter the food and drink of him or anyone he felt a strong attachment to of poisons and harmful potions, neutralizing the effects, as well as warning him of what was happening. Additionally, it would alert him should any who had claimed loyalty to him try to act against him. It was the ultimate tool for a leader of men. Had Voldemort possessed this, perhaps he might have won the war.
Rowena Ravenclaw's ring was less showy, but more magical. It was a simple ring of mithril as well, with a sapphire set into it. Archaic runes covered the entire surface of the ring, and even some of the gem itself. Ravenclaw being who she was, its primary purpose was as a research tool. It would accelerate the rate at which he processed information even more than his occlumency, mental partition, and thought acceleration already did. He'd be able to just quickly flip through the pages of a book and absorb the entirety of its information. The majority of the spells woven into it however seemed to be designed to act as a search function of sorts for libraries. What intrigued him about this wasn't the library part, but the magical ability to search for information or keywords. Something like this was exactly what he needed for his Akashic Reality Marble. Of course, he'd need a greater knowledge of runes before he could start tweaking this design for his own use, but it was a possibility.
Great, now he had another research project.
After the two heir rings for the founders, he also received a ring marking him as the heir to House Potter. While not as impressive as the other two, it was a pretty bit of jewelry. Due to it only being the heir ring, and not the lordship ring, it did not contain any enchantments. Normally the ring would have been presented to him in a much more elaborate and official ceremony by his father, but the man was still attempting to ensure that Orion became the next Lord Potter. Even if it was with the best of intentions, in his eyes Harry was still a Slytherin, and no Lord Potter in the past had been from any house but Gryffindor. Fortunately, he was still entitled to the ring whether or not James agreed with it. If the man asked, he could always claim that the Gringotts goblins owled it to him.
With his three symbols of power firmly fastened to his right hand, he consulted Griphook about potential assets. Apparently both families possessed massive vaults, the oldest and largest in this branch of Gringotts as a matter of fact. Not that he really needed them of course. With the Denial of Nothingness, he could simply create galleons if he needed them. Regardless, the money would be useful. Just creating money would have been boring, plus he risked collapsing the economy if he wasn't careful in how much he created, as well as possibly making himself the Goblins' enemy, since they seemed very good bankers, which meant they had to keep traces of the money circulating. And while he was certain that any conflict with them would be won by his side, it was better to not make enemies unnecessarily.
You see, the next step in keeping the momentum from Orion's outburst going would require outside support.
That meant press.
The problem with that however, was that there was only one real newspaper in Wizarding England, The Daily Prophet, and they seemed firmly attached to the constant headline that was The-Boy-Who-Lived. A few minutes of searching on Griphook's part revealed the reason. The newspaper company was publicly traded, and Albus Dumbledore owned a thirty percent stake in it, making him the majority shareholder. He used a combination of this and political intimidation on the other shareholders to ensure that Orion's public image was maintained.
Of course, all of this depended on one thing to continue succeeding: that nobody would come along with enough capital to offer the shareholders an out at a profit. And with the way the old man had handled things, he had little doubt that it would be easy to convince them about sharing the news of Orion's outburst, if only to stick it to the aged wizard.
At Harry's instructions, owls from Gringotts went out to every shareholder but Dumbledore offering double the value of their stocks. Within an hour, every single owl returned bearing an official seal authorizing the sale of them to either Lord Ravenclaw or Lord Slytherin. Nobody liked holding stock in a company with someone like Dumbledore preventing them from influencing any of the decision-making. When an offer was made to give them an exorbitant profit on them, it must have seemed like a godsend.
With seventy percent of the stock held in either of his lordships' names, he essentially had control of The Daily Prophet. The plan now was to ensure that they were writing the correct stories.
-Break-
At the Daily Prophet offices, one reporter was working the graveyard shift. Rita Skeeter was a talented writer and understood the value of a political piece, but this was not what she had signed up for. Hour after hour, day after day, all she did was write promotional pieces for Orion Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived. Of course, she understood that Albus Dumbledore essentially had the entire newspaper company by the balls, but that didn't mean she didn't try to slip things past his censor at every turn. Nobody liked the status quo, but they were powerless to do anything about it. Now, if someone could just give her the opportunity to show the world about the true Orion Potter…
It was as she sat at her writing desk, pumping out yet another propaganda piece centered on the younger Potter boy, this one in particular focusing on his trip to Platform 9 3/4 and schooling at Hogwarts, that her door opened and her editor practically skipped in, with a slightly manic grin on his eyes. The way his eyes were glinting told her that whatever had happened, she was going to like it. Very much so.
"Whatever you're writing Rita, throw it out."
-Break-
After his late-night excursion to the Daily Prophet, Harry laid in bed with the girls, contemplating his next step. Apparently, The Daily Prophet hated the position Dumbledore had them in, which meant that he now had a very enthusiastic propaganda machine under his control ready to steer the general public at his whim. When he'd marched into their office in his Kiritsugu disguise and announced that they were under new management before instructing the head editor to turn out a piece on Orion's mistake, the tired man had leapt to his feet like Christmas had come early. He'd been a bit surprised, until a very happy secretary had explained to him what it was like under Dumbledore's regime. Using intimidation was only effective when your target had no other choice but to obey, after all. And when they were given an alternative, one that allowed them to not only print the truth, but to basically stick it to the one who had all but threatened their jobs, suffice to say that they were quite enthusiastic about it.
What he needed to do now was continue his political machinations. Purchasing the newspaper company had revealed to any interested parties in Wizarding England that Lords Slytherin and Ravenclaw had returned, both formed in an alliance. Of course, they would assume that rather than it being a single individual because the alternative would seem preposterous to anyone but a Gringotts genealogist. Wizards were funny that way.
In order to keep anyone from digging too deep, he needed to put a face to the two lords that people could associate with them. His plan for this was to take someone and make them a regent hold both of their seats on the Wizengamot under the claim that due to their alliance only a single representative was required, and that the two lords were only using a regent because they wished to remain anonymous due to the fame of their positions.
The tricky part of that was finding someone who would not only represent his interests, but remain loyal, anonymous, and be capable of calling out Dumbledore or Fudge whenever they tried to slip something dubious past the Wizengamot. His original consideration was Kiritsugu, but he didn't want to involve his true father in the mess that was the Wizengamot. After that he considered Zelretch, but he genuinely feared what the old man would do with the near-complete power his two seats afforded him over England's Wizarding Council.
Then Archer chimed in, offering to take over the job, and Harry only kept from bursting out laughing due to the knowledge that it would disturb the sleeping girls. That would be perfect. He'd had enough conversations with his sarcastic Servant to know that he was just what the Wizengamot needed to stir up some chaos. Though not exactly politically-minded, his mental link with Harry would ensure that he could dedicate one of his mental partitions to monitoring the assembly and instructing him when needed.
Archer's natural... charisma would carry him through the rest.
-Break-
Meanwhile, Daphne Greengrass had once more retreated to her dorm room, head reeling. She had severely underestimated Potter. He was everything she had thought him and more. She'd originally thought that he would simply make a fair and decent lord, with the capital and cunning to navigate the particular brand of politics that came with being a Slytherin lord.
Now though, that changed. For the first time since she met him, she truly experienced his gravitas. It was just a hint of it, but when he'd stood to confront his pig of a brother, she had seen it. She saw the brain, the power, the authority. Some men are born to command, some achieve the ability to command, and others have command thrust upon them.
Harry was most definitely in the first category, and if there was one thing that attracted her, it was power. She needed to be his, and she would do anything to make it so. She would stand at his side and they would conquer the world together. While she had been trained for this, it was not the only reason for her choice. As a Slytherin, she was ambitious and cunning, which meant that she wanted the best for herself. And by Merlin, Harry Potter truly was the best. He had a nice power base, the cunning necessary to be more than just a stupid, mindless husband, he was intelligent and charming, and had also the promises of a truly attractive man in the making. In a word, he was perfect.
Already, whispers were starting that the council was preparing to unite the house under him. She couldn't let that happen, not before she got to him first. If she was to secure the position she craved, she would need to be the first to approach him. She'd intended to wait at least until the end of the week, but these rumors were forcing her hand. It did help that her mother had already given her permission to take the necessary steps.
She needed to act now.
-Break-
Harry's rest was disturbed by a light knocking on his door. Curious, he roused himself and went to check it out. Looking back, he saw that Assassin had already stepped out, dressed herself, and taken a position behind him. Evidently, she was still maintaining her habit of foregoing sleep in favor of watching him. At this point he'd honestly just gotten used to it, even found it somewhat endearing. Besides, it wasn't as if he could do anything about it.
He checked the wards he'd layered all over the dorm to discover the identity of his late-night visitor, and was amused to find that it was Daphne Greengrass. It seemed that his little demonstration with his brother had finally won her over to him, and that she was ready to take her oath. Of course, it could also be because he'd sent Assassin to spy on the prefect meeting and disseminated the information amongst the rest of the house. His original intention had simply been to accelerate the house's actions.
By giving the impression that the council had already decided to swear the house to him, they wouldn't be able to do anything but that without taking a serious hit to their credit, nor would they be able to wait for very long before doing so without looking indecisive and flighty. Evidently, this sudden information had unintentionally spurred Daphne into action.
If she was to take a magically-binding oath of loyalty, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to make her privy to his power. For this reason, as he approached the door he sent Assassin to rouse the girls and have the Servants astralize.
After a brief minute, Illya and Sakura were both dressed, as were the maids while the Servants had astralized and scattered themselves around the room. With everyone in position, Harry opened the door to admit his soon-to-be first witch lieutenant. If she was surprised at how quickly he'd dressed and answered the door, she didn't show it through the mask of impassiveness her rudimentary Occlumency afforded her. For once though, her mask seemed to be fidgeting a bit, as if she was keeping a particularly tight hold on her emotions.
He heard the maids line up behind him as Sakura and Illya took their places at his sides. A quick burst of Legilimency revealed that... she was turned on.
Oh dear Root.
-Break-
At Harry's door, Daphne was fidgeting in nervousness. Fortunately, her Occlumency gave her enough self-control to clamp down on it for the meeting, but only just. What she felt, for the first time in her life, was lust. In all of her lessons in seduction from her mother, she'd thought she had pretty good understanding of the feeling, but she was woefully unprepared for the real thing. Granted, she was only eleven, but that meant that she had yet to experience the full brunt of her hormones screaming at her to reproduce, which would likely have made the feeling much, much worse.
Had she not already checked, she'd suspect that she'd been slipped a love potion, but such was not the case. The burning feeling she was undergoing was genuine. She would become Harry Potter's Dark Lady, his loyal Servant, his silent executioner, and hopefully, his love. Her house was a traditionalist one, which meant that such things between children their age were seen as common. Merlin, some of her ancestors had even practiced polygamy. though that was slightly less common, but still accepted.
She took a moment to compose herself before knocking on the door of her future Lord and Master. This was the most critical moment of her life, the product of all her training. If Harry turned her down, her family would be ruined. She feared what her mother would do to her. She might even be disciplined with the Cruciatus curse again, like she'd been on occasion when she made a severe mistake in her training.
She idly wondered if this was how Bellatrix Lestrange had felt before she swore loyalty to Voldemort. The woman had been the perfect example of a proper Dark Lady, if a bit insane. There was a reason that even one as infamously paranoid as Voldemort had kept her by his side at all times as his most elite guard and agent of death. The woman was fanatical in her devotion to her Master, even in Azkaban. Hopefully, her service to Potter would not lead to the same fate.
It wouldn't though, she just knew it. She'd seen pensive memories of the previous Dark Lord, and had not been very impressed. Sure, the man had presence, but it shriveled in comparison to the magnitude of Harry when the moment struck him. And by the end of the war, the Dark Lord barely resembled a human anymore, stupidly sacrificing his humanity for more power. Harry wouldn't have such a problem though, from what she had seen and felt, he had more power than some seventh years, at eleven. It was clear as day that when he would reach his peak, he would be an unstoppable powerhouse, a good-looking one at that, if he had inherited his birth parents' good looks. Was it surprising that she was deathly aroused by the idea of serving the perfect Lord?
Finally, the door was opened to reveal an expressionless Harry, flanked by those two "sisters" of his. She'd had enough lessons in seduction to recognize the carefully hidden signs from the purple-haired one showing that she was deeply in love with her future lord, and had recognized the same thing from those maids of his, whom had lined up behind the boy like dutiful bodyguards. She could deal with that, though. As she'd stated before, polygamy was something she was prepared for as a traditionalist family. And it would certainly be better than being Malfoy's wife. Harry, while a bit of a loner, clearly cared not only for his sisters, but also his maids, when other wizards would treat them as little more than animals.
She nearly shivered at the power the boy radiated, even at having just awoken. Already he had the makings of a strong power-base, between his two incredibly talented adopted siblings and his unnaturally strong familiars, he already had more powerful supporters than Voldemort had started off with. True, the Dark Lord had had at least a dozen people on his side at the very beginning, but most of them simply couldn't compare to what could be found in Harry's followers: talent, power, ambition and cunning.
She concealed a nervous swallowing, before beginning as confidently as she could manage.
"Heir Potter, I am aware of the late hour and apologize for it, but I have urgent business I would speak with you about. May I come in?"
Harry looked her over for a brief moment, before nodding his assent and standing to the side, permitting her entrance.
"Please, be my guest."
The maids parted to allow her past, keeping a watchful eye on her. She calmly stepped past them, though with no small amount of trepidation. She'd seen what they'd done to Theodore Nott and his cronies, and was highly wary of them. And given their obvious infatuation with Harry, she'd have to tread very carefully, lest she wish to experience a lot of pain. Her mother had warned her that some women could be terribly vicious when defending the man they loved from what they saw as competition, and she didn't want to end in the infirmary, or dead, because she had made a poor choice of words.
Once she was inside the spacious dorm room, Harry closed the door before striding to an ornate but comfortable chair on the far side of the room with the air of a king granting audience to a supplicant. Given the nature of the meeting, it wasn't that far off, and Daphne couldn't help but superimpose an image of a throne room over the elegant dormitory.
The three triplets completed the image as they stood at the side of the throne like knights on-duty to defend their Lord. She had to suppress the mental urge to prematurely kneel. There would be time for that, but not before the offer was made and considered. Any show of submission before that might give him the wrong idea, or give away her position, which would be disastrous.
Harry sat himself down lazily in the chair, and Sakura daintily rested herself on the arm of it, wrapping an arm possessively around Harry's shoulder. Reciprocating the show of affection, he looked at her expectantly.
"So, Heir Greengrass, what can I do for you at this hour?" he opened innocently, although the way he spoke, and the way he held himself, told her that he was aware of the likely topic of conversation. Seeing that he had deliberately taken the only chair in the room, she was forced to stand before him respectfully as she replied.
"Let us drop pretenses, shall we, Potter?" at his nod of agreement, she continued, "You are fully aware of the financial state Headmaster Dumbledore has left House Slytherin in," another nod, "It is for this reason that I am acting so prematurely. As I am quite sure you have already gathered, I have been assessing you for the position of the Lord and Master of House Greengrass, and I have found you an individual worthy of our loyalty. Should you accept our offer, in exchange for granting us the necessary finances to regain our former status, House Greengrass shall give its full service and obedience to you and your descendants. Are these terms acceptable?"
She was incredibly nervous as she finished her rehearsed speech. This was the moment that would decide not only her own future, but that of her entire family. Should the offer be declined, they would be destroyed completely, with little more options than to beg the Light, which their pride would not allow, not when the Light had been responsible for their current state. Everything rested on the boy in front of her, who was giving her a look of deep contemplation from his throne-like chair.
After what seemed like an eternity, he rose, Sakura standing as well and taking a place at his side like a queen, before gazing straight into her eyes. With the soul-searching stare he gave her, were he older she'd have suspected him of using Legilimency. As he was only eleven though, even if she wouldn't put it past him given his magical prowess, it was highly unlikely that he'd learned or mastered the art enough to use it without tripping her Occlumency barriers.
"Very well, Heir Greengrass. I, Hadrian Potter, Heir of House Potter, Heir of House Ravenclaw, and Heir of House Slytherin, do accept your offer of vassalage." he intoned, greatly reminded of when Saber had sworn her loyalty as a knight to him. Apparently, he wasn't the only one to notice the similarity, as Saber blushed and began scolding him for the comparison.
Daphne's eyes widened almost comically at the mention of his other titles. Even her Occlumency couldn't protect her from such a bombshell being dropped. Deciding that she'd question him about it later, she shakily knelt before him in a show of respect to deliver the oath.
"By the laws of magic, before whom this sanctuary is sacred, House Greengrass swears that it will to Lord Hadrian Potter be true and faithful, and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns, according to the laws of magic and the order of the world. Nor will House Greengrass ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him, on condition that he will hold to us as we shall deserve it, and that he will perform everything as it was in our agreement when we submitted ourselves to him and chose his will. So mote it be."
As she pronounced the end of the oath, Harry could feel the air in the room thicken with magic, enforcing the oath. Daphne reached into her robe and withdrew an ornate box, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. Opening it, she revealed a golden ring with a green diamond set into the gleaming metal. She held the box up to him, prompting to extend his hand.
"Please accept this as a token of our loyalty, my Lord," she said as she gingerly took his hand and slipped the ring onto it, noting with shock the confirmation of his other titles in the form of the Ravenclaw and Slytherin rings. With the ring on, she resumed kneeling where'd she been before, waiting for him to speak. Seeing that she wasn't going to ask the obviously burning questions she must have, Harry decided to take the initiative and ensure her continued loyalty.
He explained to her his lordships, how he had obtained them, and his status as the slayer of Voldemort. Because she was literally incapable of treason or revealing his secrets, he also explained his true magics, including the Kaleidoscope, the nature of his maids, his plans for the destruction of Dumbledore, his plan to remove Fudge from office and take over Wizarding England, and his various relationships.
By the time he was finished, she was nearly struck dumb at his power and brain. She'd simply though him a mighty potential Dark Lord, not a being who stood head-and-shoulders above most gods. A very small part of her brain was screaming at her to get a grip on herself, but she could barely hear that voice over a much louder part of it broadcasting the same feeling she imagined Bellatrix Lestrange had felt when she'd looked at Voldemort.
Worship.
She was a woman attracted to power, she had been raised for that, and she'd just sworn herself to quite possibly the most powerful individual in the world. What had been desire was now devotion, what had been devotion was now obsession. He was a man worth killing for, and she'd ensure that she was at his side to do the job for him. While that Sakura girl might have a slot at his right, she'd be on his left.
She didn't care what she had to do to get it.
Once he'd explained everything, he said that she should meet her comrades in his service. She was rather confused at that, as while he'd explained that he had powerful spirits in his service, getting them past the Hogwarts wards would be next to impossible. Then she remembered who she was talking about: her near omnipotent Master. Getting some powerful spirits inside Hogwarts without triggering the wards would be a walk in the park for him, especially since he was the Heir of two of the Founders.
Around the room, people suddenly appeared out of thin air. Perhaps calling some of them people wasn't entirely accurate if what her Master had told her was true, but it was the closest approximation she could get.
Four of them appeared on Harry's sides, two on each. The one closest to his left hand was an enchanting woman, with blue hair, pointed ears, and a face so serene that she couldn't be anything but a Master Occlumens. Just looking at her, she could tell that the woman had either received similar training to herself, or was lucky enough to possess the natural predisposition for the art of manipulation.
At the blue-haired one's side was a short, blonde woman in an armored dress. She had the regal bearing of one born to rule, similar to her current Lord. Between her armor and the truly magnificent sword she had sheathed at her side, it was clear that this woman was a swordswoman of some sort.
At Harry's right hand stood an ethereal purple-haired woman in some sort of fetish outfit. What struck her was the aura of danger that the woman gave off. Sheer proximity to the woman informed her that she was something ancient, powerful, and deadly. If this woman saw her as a threat to her Master for even an instant, that would be all it took to end her life. Fortunately, she had no intention of doing anything but serving him as best as she could, and conquering the world for him if that was what was what it took to please him.
Perhaps most unnerving was the black-haired woman who had recessed herself in the shadows next to the purple-haired one. Her face was cold and calm, but her eyes bore a devotion for Harry that made Bellatrix's loyalty to Voldemort look like a mild infatuation. Those eyes were currently looking straight at her, with a contemplative expression in them. Not only were the woman's proportions positively ludicrous, even with a metamorphmagus's talents, but the way she casually showed them off in her low-cut black and hooded dress made it clear that she had even more competition for her Lord's affections.
As a matter of fact, all four of these women had looked at Harry with less-than-pure intentions written on their faces, with the exception of the swordswoman, but even she had something akin to love in them.
No, he couldn't be...
It made sense though. He seemed perfectly alright with his maids being in love with him, what were four spirits apparently capable of taking corporeal form? It was larger than most traditional polygamist lords usually took, but it was not out of the ordinary.
Her Lord had a harem.
That made her plans simultaneously easier and harder. On the upside, it would become easier to enter the realm of his affection, but on the downside she would have to fight number of other fully-grown women for the number two position. Beautiful women, who had lifetimes of experience on their side, as well as powers beyond anything she could offer. The only good thing was that they lacked knowledge on the Wizardry World, knowledge that she could provide, and it would likely be her best bargaining tool in gaining her Lord's affections. That, and her hopefully good looks, although her mother had assured her that she would be just as beautiful as a Veela when the time came.
But didn't he say that he had six Servants though?
A feeling of dread and terror struck her like a physical force, coming from right behind her. She could barely breath from the pressure of whatever this thing that had taken shape behind her was. Tentatively, she turned and was forced to look up to see its face.
It was tall, that she was sure of. An easily nine-foot tall giant with ebony skin barely fit in the spacious dorm as he loomed over her, growling. She couldn't bring herself to look it in the eye though. She thought that the purple-haired one had been scary, but this one terrified her to the point that she almost forgot to breathe. How could something like this even exist? And how had her Lord acquired its service? It seemed more inclined to smash anything and everything to pieces, than to accept serving someone.
"Berserker," came the bemused voice of her Lord, "she's a friend now. Be nice."
Oh, thank Merlin. As soon as he said that, the feeling of death receded and the giant backed off, though he looked unhappy about it. She couldn't really tell though, as he still looked incredibly angry. And she had absolutely no wish to pry into the matter, not when whatever Berserker was could crush her head like an overripe fruit if she ever gave him a reason for it.
Finally, at the giant's side stood a relatively handsome gentleman in a red coat, with white hair crowning his tanned skin. Out of all her Lord's familiars, he looked the most... human. All of the others had either physical features or personality traits that betrayed their inhuman natures, but this one just seemed like cynical adult. He gave her a nod of acknowledgement from where he was leaning against the wall.
Once the introductions were exchanged, and she learned their very strange titles, they made some very brief plans before parting ways. The meeting had gone on for quite a long time, and they would require rest for the next day.
After all, tomorrow he would have to further build his power-base.
-Break-
The-Boy-Who-Lived Reveals True Colors?
by Rita Skeeter
Shocking news comes from Hogwarts sources late last night. According to our trusted and valued sources within the school, a vicious confrontation occurred between Orion Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived, and Hermione Granger, a well-respected muggleborn student of the same year. Though the causes of the argument have yet to be verified, sources indicate that the argument arose when the intelligent Ravenclaw student Granger confronted young Orion Potter on the Headmaster's clear favoritism of the boy.
Yes, you read that right readers. Albus Dumbledore, Leader of the Light, Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W, Chief Warlock, and Headmaster of Hogwarts, has been waiving absolutely any disciplinary actions taken against his favored pupil and protege.
"He assaulted a fellow housemate before mouthing off to Professor Sprout," testified one student, "and he didn't lose a single point or get a detention, despite Professor Sprout assigning both. He just went to Dumbledore and the man dismissed all of it without cause."
It should be reminded that Pomona Sprout is the head of House Hufflepuff, and is seen as one of the kindest and most respected professors at Hogwarts. What does it say that young Orion Potter was able to so grossly violate the rules and wave his status in the face of such a beloved teacher, and have all of it ignored by the man who's very job it is to ensure that discipline is kept within the school?
As stated before, when the Ravenclaw student Hermione Granger expressed disapproval of such a violation of academic honor, Orion Potter became enraged in the middle of the dinner feast, violent and hateful slurs spilling from his mouth.
What is perhaps most shocking out of all of this is the particular brand of insult he armed himself with in his quest to thrust as much hate and hurt as possible upon his fellow first-year. According to witnesses, he managed to string together in a single violent slur, derogatory comments towards young Granger's cleanliness, virginity, and worst of all, blood status. I'm sure many of you readers can imagine the particular insult he drew up against the muggleborn student.
To have such filth not only uttered within the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but by The-Boy-Who-Lived of all people, raises unfortunate implications, not only about the state of the administration, but about the boy himself.
Can we, as concerned and responsible citizens of Wizarding England, tolerate a school Headmaster that not only allows such slurs to be used within the school, but also continues to refrain from disciplining the student spewing such hatred and racism? That's right, according to school registers, despite the boy's countless and horrible offenses, Headmaster Dumbledore has yet to take a single point from the boy or assign him a single detention, even after this horrid affair. This reporter recommends that we write to the Board of Governors, demanding that action be taken. These children are the future of Wizard-kind. Do we truly want them growing up under such irresponsible authority figures?
In addition to this, it raised questions about the student in question. It is well known that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named had very clear views regarding muggleborn witches and wizards. Does The-Boy-Who-Lived share these views? Did he perhaps inherit more from the man than a scar and hyphenated title? Is he the future Leader of the Light as Albus Dumbledore would claim, or is he perhaps heading towards a darker path? This humble reporter wonders.
-Break-
Dumbledore placed the newspaper down on his desk with a sigh, reaching up and massaging his temples in a futile attempt to stave off a coming migraine. How could this have happened? He had the newspaper in his pocket! He owned by far the largest majority share, and had the other shareholders in a similar position to the Wizengamot: so intimidated and cowed that none of them would even think of acting against him.
So why was he reading such an inflammatory and harmful article about the heir to his legacy?
Evidently someone had gotten either to the newspaper itself or the shareholders. His daily correspondence from Gringotts giving him updates on the states of his stocks would be arriving soon. Perhaps that might shed some light on these dire circumstances. Already, plans were being drawn up in his mind on how to properly mitigate the damage this would inflict.
The first step would of course be finding out what exactly what had happened. After that, he would need to find the party or parties responsible, and then ensure that they ceased to be an issue.
A fluttering of wings drew his attention to the window, where a large and regal owl was bearing a letter marked with the Gringotts seal. After retrieving the letter, he almost ripped it in his haste to find out what treachery had occurred overnight. He nearly dropped it after reading its contents, his hand shaking violently.
Lords Ravenclaw and Slytherin had emerged once again.
The odds of something like this happening were so astronomical that he hadn't even considered the possibility, but here it was in plain black ink. Two individuals had emerged, apparently in an alliance of some sort, and together they held more political power than he did. The only recourse at this point would be to discover the identities of the two lords and win them over to his side. He doubted that Slytherin would be amendable, but the Light often appealed to the more compassionate Ravenclaws. Perhaps he'd be able to drive their partnership apart and play the two against each other.
No, that wouldn't do. With even a single one of the lords on his side, he would finally be able to rid the Wizengamot from the influence of Lucius Malfoy and the like. He couldn't afford to have the two destroy one another. Perhaps though this Lord Slytherin didn't hold the traits of his ancestors. If he was only recently discovered, it meant that he was likely only a distant relative of the original line, and would likely not inherit the Slytherin darkness and mindset.
Really, it depended on the individual personality of the two lords. If they were making their debut together at the Wizengamot together, he'd be able to meet them there.
He just prayed that they were reasonable, and amendable to the Light. After the Gringotts owl came another bearing a letter he dreaded.
It was addressed from the Board of Directors, headed by Lucius Malfoy.
Over the years, the two had arrived at something of a stalemate, with Dumbledore unable to remove Malfoy from the board, and Lucius unable to find grounds for removing Dumbledore as Headmaster.
With his attempts to keep Orion in the Light revealed, however, that tentative truce had broken. Reading the letter, he could see that Lucius had practically written his smug grin of victory into the parchment as he informed him that due to the sudden influx of angry owls and howlers from concerned parents, all disciplinary actions that had been waived for Orion were to be returned in full-force, with additional actions to be taken dependent on whether Orion straightened up his act. Unfortunately, that seemed unlikely.
Additionally, he was being placed on probation as Headmaster of the school, and any further infractions would result in his termination and subsequent replacement by a representative from the board.
Three guesses as to who that meant, and the first two don't count.
Dumbledore angrily crumpled the letter and hurled it into the fireplace. It was times like these that made him wish he still had Fawkes to calm him down, but his beloved companion had simply disappeared some thirty years ago, shortly after Grindlewald's demise. He'd searched high and low for the bird, but it had turned up fruitless. It was a mystery that still troubled him to this day.
Fortunately, he at least retained mastery of The Elder Wand. He'd been very concerned after his defeat at the hands of young Harry's familiar that the wand would switch its allegiance to either the maid or her Master, but it seemed that either the wand didn't register his disarmament as a defeat, or simply didn't register the maid herself as a combatant, since she'd not been ordered to attack him.
Sighing at the knowledge of what it would do to Orion's view of him as his mentor, he signed an order that reassigned the point deduction and detentions Orion had received since his start at Hogwarts, as well as sending around a mandatory memo that he would not interfere with any disciplinary actions taken against Orion.
Worse, he just knew that Severus would have a field day with this. While the man was an excellent Potions Master, his grudge against James Potter was still legendary, and it seemed to have carried over to Orion. Fortunately, at least young Harry was being left alone by the man. Perhaps when they'd gone Diagon Alley shopping together, they had reached some sort of accord.
Regardless, he was already preparing himself for an angry Orion marching his way up to his office for a confrontation, even if he knew that he'd be able to pacify the boy with whatever platitudes were necessary.
Perhaps... perhaps it would help if he could give the boy an enemy to blame it on? He originally thought of Hermione Granger, but any further antagonism of that particular student would only result in the school turning against Orion. Harry could work though. He was a Slytherin, and a Gryffindor starting a fight with one wouldn't be seen as anything strange by his peers, and would allow the Chosen One to blow off some steam. Afterwards, he would simply wave it off as sibling rivalry. It would be easy to convince the masses that Orion was under a lot of pressure, and that he was jealous of his brother for having friends, and being able to relax while he was forced to "train".
Also, hadn't the boy been there every time his brother was humiliated? It wouldn't be too hard to convince the young Orion that he was responsible for it, especially since he was in the house of schemers.
Not to mention, having antagonism from the future Leader of Light would make Harry consider his obviously dark nature. He'd talked to James and Lily about their confrontation with their errant son, and though Lily was accepting of him, he and James weren't quite as convinced.
Lily's theory that the boy's familiars were some sort of hybrid of humans and house elves was interesting though, and he'd have to give it further thought. If it were so, there were certain rituals that could alter the allegiance of a house elf, which might be useful here. Dark creatures that they were, but they'd also disarmed himself and his two most experienced professors when it came to combat. If he changed their loyalty to himself, he would have three very powerful tools at his disposal.
After all, leaving such beings with a child just seemed like a waste.
-Break-
Lucius Malfoy sat at his dinner table, glass of wine in hand. Sirius sat on the far side of the table, animatedly chatting with Narcissa, but Lucius didn't feel like getting himself involved in it. Someone was making moves within British Wizarding politics, and he didn't know who it was.
If there was one thing that he hated, it was an unknown variable. He was a man that dominated political circles, and having someone he didn't know trouncing about and successfully stripping the likes of Dumbledore of their power amused him as much as it irritated him.
So far, all he'd gathered was that someone within Hogwarts was making power-plays. He knew this because Lord Ravenclaw and Slytherin had bought up The Daily Prophet and published an article in Orion Potter's little indiscretion within hours of it happening. That meant the one who did it had to have been there for the news to reach him as fast as it did.
He also knew that Lord Ravenclaw-Slytherin was a single individual, because he'd had his suspicions and done some digging into the genealogy. The Malfoy family might not have been true nobility in England, but they had enough family tapestries to trace a family as old as that. He'd found where the two lines had merged, making the two families into one.
Under normal circumstances, he'd suspect a professor, but he'd sat on the Slytherin Prefect Council and knew that even a first-year Slytherin could do something like this if he had the assets of two founders behind him.
It was with this that his suspected candidate came to the forefront of his mind.
Harry Potter.
Severus had stopped by for dinner the night before the year started, and had advised with the air of someone "in the know" to keep an eye on the Potter heir. Knowing that his friend wouldn't make such a comment idly, he'd dug up everything he could on the boy, magical and muggle.
On the muggle side, apparently Albus Dumbledore had dropped the boy off with his muggle aunt and uncle after the attack on his home. Muggle police and hospital records indicated not only that the boy had been heavily abused, but that someone, likely Dumbledore, had interfered to ensure that no legal action was taken. After the age of six, however, police reports are filed by the school that the boy had gone missing.
Police looked into the relatives, but were forced to declare him "missing" rather than "murdered" due to lack of evidence, despite being fully aware of the abuse his relatives had inflicted on him and the likelihood that they had simply taken it too far and killed him.
After his disappearance, which was not registered with the Ministry or Aurors, he dropped off the radar for five years until he suddenly showed up at the Leaky Cauldron under the guardianship of one Kiritsugu Emiya, a pureblood wizard.
At this point, Severus took the boy shopping at Diagon Alley, though what interaction the two had was a mystery. All he got out of Severus was that the boy was someone he should pay close attention to. He didn't really understand what his friend meant, but Severus was far from being a fool, and for him to give such advice meant that there was something about the Potter Heir that truly interested him. Still, he had found nothing truly remarkable about the boy.
Not until the boy was sorted into Slytherin anyway.
Suddenly, things started making sense. The boy had been abused heavily by his relatives, and obviously knew that Dumbledore was responsible for it. He'd also been there at Voldemort's demise. If he was there at the death of the man who claimed to be the "Heir of Slytherin", there were any of number of magical means with which he could have inherited the man's supposed title.
That meant that if he was clever enough, a very rich and politically powerful eleven-year-old was in the middle of the tattered House Slytherin, poised to take it over. If he had the political power of two of the Founders' families for him, as well as the charisma and intelligence required, he would easily be able to gather followers, especially given how Dumbledore had ruined their families in a bid to make them "see the Light". Stupid fool. That would only throw them to the first person able to oppose him instead of swaying them to the old man's views. And Harry had everything needed to be that exact person.
Someone to keep an eye on indeed.
And the boy was clever enough if the actions he'd taken so far were true. He'd bought out The Daily Prophet and used it to attack Dumbledore and his own brother, and if he was clever enough to do that, it was also entirely possible that he'd orchestrated the entire confrontation. The Boy-Who-Lived had never stroke him as someone particularly intelligent, so it would have been easy for him to manipulate his every move until he was exactly where he wanted.
Of course, this was all conjecture. To truly confirm his suspicions, he'd need to meet the boy in person. He didn't trust Draco to get an opinion on the boy. His sorting into Gryffindor had been bad enough without him getting a detention on the first day of perhaps this was the shock his son needed to understand that money and influence did not mean anything when they weren't complimented by a sharp mind and a hefty dose of cunning. And who knows, if Draco managed to get his head out of his behind, he might even have a spy in Gryffindor.
Calling a house elf, he dispatched it to retrieve a quill and parchment. With it, he penned a letter addressed to the Potter heir, inviting him to dinner over the weekend. Such things were permitted for the pureblood heirs at Hogwarts, as they were expected to be politically active even during their education.
It was time for a meeting with young Potter.
