Before you read it, I would like to inform you that I don't like this chapter. It is rushed, forced, and worst of all, short. But I had to get something out, before I took a fortnight long gap. If you dislike it, flame away. I don't mind. I think I'll take it down and replace it if I get enough hate.
22 August 1994
Potter Manor
Wales
Harry was busy. He'd been so for the whole of the summer, but this time was especially so. Just hours ago, he'd been informed by Cray that his computer was at last, finished.
So now he needed to arrange for a proper method to use it. Cray had said he was preparing something, but he didn't know what Harry had in mind.
Even after assimilating the man's memories, the man was still something of an enigma to Harry. Roger Seymour Cray had been born in the city of Teirm, in the heart of Wilmington estate.
By the time he was seven, it had become clear. He was a squib, but one with an unbelievable mind.
This had been noticed by Charlus Potter, who had appointed Cray as the chief researcher for new items and possibilities for the Potters' then bustling trade. Cray had excelled and worked hard at it for five years, from when he was twelve to when he became seventeen. During that time, he'd been responsible for rediscovering no less than three dozen wards, spells and potions, all of which had netted the family considerable wealth. A fair man, Charlus offered Cray one favour of any sort he chose.
Almost every time a lord offered this to their vassal, the choice was always freedom. Cray was different. He asked to be allowed to work on his own, finding a way to make technology work with magic.
Knowing that if anyone could do it, it would be Cray, Charlus granted it, asking just what he needed.
Cray gave him a list, and Charlus complied.
First of all, using his extensive influence, Charlus arranged for a completely new Muggle background to be created for Cray in the United States. For a new name, he simply swapped the first and middle names.
Then, he paid for a full Muggle education, supplying potions and spells that allowed Cray to learn amounts suitable for years in days. The final measure was to setup a supply of books, potions and enchanted items to be delivered to him whenever he needed them via house elves.
Anyway, coming back to the matter of computers, Harry had been assured several times that there was no possible way for anyone to surpass the sheer speed and power of the Thunderbolt I, or TB-1, as Cray called it, at least, not for the next fifteen years. Over five million processors, each with a DRAM going in multiple terabytes gave the computer an unsurpassable edge, and that was before one took the magical aspect into account. The materials that had been used to make the wires and the processors was an alloy of Mythril and living silver, allowing for a signal transfer speed far greater than any Muggle metals could provide.
That was just the barest parts of what Cray had told Harry about it, but it was the only part Charlus' grandson cared for right now. There would be time when he would devote himself to mastering technology, but right now the first priority was magic.
Speaking of which, Harry had finally identified what he needed.
Having selected seven of the best crystals, he left the storage vault, returning to the room he'd turned into a lab.
Here, he went over to the fixture he'd constructed such a long time ago, when he'd first told Cray to build him a computer. It was a six-pointed star, crafted out of pure Mythril, and covered in runes from almost every language on Earth. There were Japanese Kanji, Sanskrit letters, ancient high Atlantean, Lemurian, Greek, Scandinavian, the lot.
At each point of the star, there was a socket, glowing red from the heat supplied by the runes on it. Bending over the desk, Harry started a slow chant, while carefully inserting the crystals in the sockets. One by one, six of the crystals went in six sockets, Harry keeping his movements slow so as to keep in perfect tempo to the chant.
By the time he reached the sixth socket, the chant neared its end.
As soon as all six were done, Harry turned his attention to the central socket, placed exactly at the points where the two triangles creating the star overlapped. That one required special treatment, as he cut open a tiny nick on his forefinger with a mental command.
He used the blood to paint a very specific set of runes on the crystal, all the while continuing the chant. As he reached the crescendo, he placed the crystal in the socket, before uttering two words. At 'lock', the heat of the sockets soared, melting them slightly, just enough for the crystals to sink slightly. Immediately afterwards, they cooled off, leaving the crystals fixed permanently to the star. The next word was 'connect', at which the central crystal lit up with a brilliant glow, now connected to Harry via his blood.
Soon afterwards, the other crystals gained the same glow, gaining the power from the central crystal.
Next, Harry focused on the memories he had assimilated from the topmost computer experts in the world, both Hackers and the legit programmers. Keeping them fixed in his mind, he raised his wand to his temple, before pulling it away, taking with it a cluster of memories. These he pushed into the central crystal.
Again, they flowed from it along the runes to the point crystals, which was exactly what he intended. As the last of the memories seeped away into the points, the central crystal was once again empty.
This time, Harry focused on exactly what he wanted to do, turning his wishes into instructions, storing them away into the crystal.
Soon, he was done. Finally, he picked up the star, Apparating straight to Slytherin Manor.
There, he opened the door to another lab. It was a huge hall; circular, with at least a hundred computers along its circumference. They were all connected forming one huge processing machine. Another thing unusual was that all their key-boards and mice were covered with runes. Runes for linking, for strength and self repair, along with ones for remote control, they were all there.
Setting the star in the middle of the room, Harry projected his power at it, with a third word 'activate'.
Soon, the crystals glowed again, as they connected to the wards, setting up a supply of power. Harry's ring pulsed as he willed the wards to allow it, and to draw more power if needed from the ley-lines.
Finally empowered, the star gave a bright flash, subsiding to a slight glow. Then, it rose off the ground, floating some fifteen feet in the air. Harry gave a smile as he felt links of power form between the star and the computers. Within seconds they were all on, and in another, a number of program editors for a number of languages were open in their screens.
And then, letters started appearing on the screens, line by line appearing in seconds, appearing as if being typed by the fastest hands in the world.
Satisfied, harry Apparated back to his study in Potter Manor. His computer was ready, and soon enough he would have the world's first real AI.
In his study, Harry was sitting on his chair, while four quills scratched away, writing letters on his mental dictation.
Dear Lord Malfoy
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health. I have written this letter to tender a formal apology for the abominable conduct I displayed at the end of my second Hogwarts year, causing you the loss of your elf. Looking back, I can't say how obnoxious I found my actions.
I would also like to offer you full compensation for the elf, in whatever form you deem appropriate.
Apart from that, there is the matter of the Wizengamot. As you may be aware, I have just claimed my seats on that august body. Among the seats that are now mine, there is the seat for the House of Slytherin. Looking through the Lords' journal for that family, I found mention that the houses of Malfoy and Slytherin are ancient allies. I now write to you, hoping to resurrect that relation so that together, we may further the cause of the betterment of the magical world.
Yours sincerely,
The Duke of Parsellsia.
Another would go to the same manor, but to a different recipient, via a different owl, from a different person.
Dear Cousin Narcissa
I hope this letter finds you in the best of health and spirit. It is to inform you that the House of Black once again requires the presence of its daughter. You are invited to number twelve, Grimmauld Place tomorrow for a lunch. You may bring the Lord and heir of Malfoy.
Till then, I remain
Aries
Lord Black
Yet more were addressed to a number of Ministry employees.
Dear Mr -
It is hoped that this letter finds you in the best of your health. It is to inform you that your presence is requested at Potter Manor for this evening, to discuss the ramifications of the fact that the Earl of Wilmington finds himself owed a debt of - galleons by you. This letter shall turn into a Portkey at -o'clock, and it's strongly recommended that you come, so that we can avoid any misunderstandings.
Yours sincerely
The earl of Wilmington
Another went to the families of Abbott, Wood, Bell, and Howard.
Dear Lord -
This letter is to inform you that a new Lord of the house of Gryffindor has risen, and your presence is required at Gryffindor Palace to reconfirm your oaths, and to discuss the future of the House of Gryffindor. This letter shall turn into a Portkey at -o'clock, and you are requested to make sure that your whole families attend.
Yours sincerely,The Duke of Gryphonsworth
That had been the last of the letters. The ones to the Malfoys he'd sent with Hedwig and Lazarus (a black eagle owl he'd recently purchased). For the rest, however, something a tad different had been needed. It was a spell called the Nuntius Charm, and what it did was to create a magical construct, generally an avian of some type, that could carry letters much the same way an owl could.
It was not a common spell, requiring quite a bit of energy. A normal wizard Harry's age could perhaps create half a dozen, becoming incredibly drained, while an adult could go up to eighteen on an average. Harry, being Harry, had created thirty on his first go, without so much as breaking a sweat. They were all contained within gems currently, waiting to be used.
He would later have to setup meetings for the vassals of the Slytherin and Potter families, of course, but it would have to be the next day. There simply wasn't any more time today.
Not that all that much of the summer was left, even. It was barely a week to September, and then he would be at Hogwarts. He had no intention to be confined there, but still it was a drain on his time.
Unfortunately, it was a necessary one. He needed Hogwarts. He needed the students there. He would talk to them, laugh with them, all the while picking out the ones that he could consider recruiting to help him in his plans.
Turning on his heels, Harry Apparated to a chamber buried far below Potter Manor. He had to see the keystone.
It was a known fact that one of the most important considerations in choosing locations when magic was concerned, were ley lines. They were the veins of the earth through which magic flowed endlessly, relentlessly.
Endless wars had been fought for the right to control these ley lines, because apart from the core present in every magical person, they were the most important source of power in the magical world. Control over the ley lines was what defined control over land in the magical world. And that control was beyond precious.
The lines themselves were numerous, spanning across the globe in an interconnected web, but distinctions could and had been made. The lines were identified as three types, defined by size and intensity of the magic.
There were, exactly, forty two of what were called the primary ley lines in the world. They shifted and moved every few millennia, but the number remained same. Out of them sprouted roughly five hundred secondary ley lines, which in turn branched off into several lesser ones. Currently, one of the reasons Magical Britain was so powerful despite the corruption and weakness spread through it was that there were no less than ten ley lines passing through it.
Control over them was held by the ministry, and that was the backbone of its power. The number of secondary ley lines passing through Britain was one hundred and thirty five, and control over them was what gave the old families the enormous power they held. Out of them, Harry controlled nearly sixty, pooling together what was held by the individual families he was Lord of. They were what powered his factories, his wards, the other enchantments on the manors and castles and palaces that he owned.
Control was attained by keystones. They tapped into the power of a line, and most importantly, channelled a portion of that power into wards to prevent others from doing so.
It was possible for a wizard to connect themselves to the lines, to let their power flow unrestricted through themselves. Possible, but more dangerous than anyone could imagine. People had been known to explode trying that, or turn into a statue, burning from the inside out, or any of a thousand other things. If they managed it, they became more powerful than anyone could imagine, but the number was positively tiny compared to the list of failures.
Naturally, Harry was going to do it. He had no intention of destroying himself, and so he would be starting small, very small. Indeed, Potter Manor sat over a crossing of three lines. One secondary and two lesser ones. Using the secondary line so soon would be guaranteed insanity, so he would be using one of the lesser lines, one that was positively tiny.
The process wasn't all that complicated actually. The spells and runes were all already there, all that had to be done was to activate them.
He would have done it sooner, but the problem was that earlier, his core was bound so tightly he would have exploded if it was released all at once, which was a given when connecting to ley lines. But now the spells and potions had borne fruit, and the bindings on his core, at least, were weakened considerably. His arcane talents would take much longer, unfortunately.
Harry had also visited Shacklegrave Manor to increase the output from the Sharr lines, as he knew for a fact that there was another time compression chamber there, as in most of the properties owned by an eldritch family. By now it was fully charged, and Harry could lengthen his week into several months inside.
Of course, that didn't mean he was going to do it now, he had several meetings to attend, and being overloaded with power was not a state to have them in.
What he was going to do now, was to start charging the power crystals that had finally been delivered from the mines, so that he would be able to power the chamber's acceleration setup.
Speaking of which, the spells on his core weren't the only thing that were showing results. He had just received messages from the local leaders of his vassal populace, where he'd arranged an impromptu OWL exam. The results were extremely promising indeed. The lozenges had borne considerable fruit, and he could now start them on the more advanced magic.
Harry thought back to all he knew about his vassals.
There were roughly three hundred and fifty thousand people in magical Britain. Out of them, around two hundred thousand were 'free', so as to speak, although all it meant that it was that it was the ministry that controlled them. The rest were the vassals of the Noble families. The minor families didn't have many individually, with nearly seventy families having a sum total of sixty-sixty five thousand vassals. The rest belonged to the Great Fifteen.
The Nine Ancient and Noble families had around forty thousand to themselves, while the Eldritch families had about the same number.
There were exceptions of course, quite a few of them, but this was the rough setup.
All of this meant that Harry himself controlled roughly thirty two thousand people under the combined might of his families. Out of them, the numbers he could afford to show were around half, as the total coming from the Potter, Gryffindor and Slytherin families. A few weeks earlier, the number of educated among them had been in the lower hundreds, but with the distribution of the lozenges, it had swiftly risen to over seventy percent of the total number.
That would allow Harry to implement the next stage of his plans.
After all, he didn't intend to have thirty thousand scholars. He'd made another set of lozenges, this time of some of Voldemort's less ruinous knowledge, coupled with the training that he'd stolen out of all those Muggle soldiers and commandos. Of course, when it came to training for real fights, it was hardly enough to have their memories.
Harry had given them a portion of the weapons he'd collected from the dealers all over the world, to allow them some live fire training. For the magic, he'd enchanted golems to serve as training dummies, and arrangedfor a diet that would amplify and focus their magical powers.
In addition to that, he'd built several state-of-the-artfully equipped gymnasiums throughout the lands.
He didn't currently have the time to learn those skills. They did, and would.
And these weren't even the limits of what they would be learning. Once Harry had connected to the ley line, he would be rid of the bindings on his core. That would allow him to focus on weakening and removing the blocks that shackled his arcane talents.
After all, that was where the true power was.
All too soon, it was time to meet his debtors.
As the Portkeys came in one by one, Harry confirmed their names in his mind. Sir William Delaney, Auror Anthony Proudfoot, Derek Cresswell, Lord Timothy Dalglish, it went on.
'A very good haul.' Harry thought.
Indeed, there were seventeen Warlocks, six Aurors and nearly a dozen other Department heads and deputies here. But then, at one hundred and fifty thousand galleons, it had better be good, especially as that amount was spent buying debts amounting to barely a hundred thousand galleons.
Harry had bargained hard, but the sheer number of middlemen was tiring and expensive to buy off.
In a few minutes, the last of them had arrived, and Harry gave a mental command to Gelvis, the Head Elf for Potter Manor, to escort them to the guest dining room.
Reaching it himself via apparition, he sat on the head of the Table, and invited them to the scrumptious tea laid out for them.
"Come, gentlemen, let's have some tea."
They were all professionals, thankfully, and knew how these sorts of things went. For the next half hour, the only sounds were of people eating, and the small talk that such occasions naturally prompted.
This wasn't something Harry was doing out of the kindness of his heart. It was a biological fact that the mind of a person relaxed when their stomachs were full, and that was something he would take full advantage of.
He hadn't missed the discreet spells they had performed on the food to make sure that it was devoid of the usual tricks that were used to control them.
As if he would be so crude.
What they were looking for wasn't in the food. The whole manor's wards had a complacency element woven into them keyed to target everyone except Harry and his elves. Apart from that, there were a number of potions in aerosol form present in the air of the room. There was Unctuous Unction, wit-dampening potion, a weakened draught of befuddlement, the elixir of obedience, and so on.
By the time he started invoking the debts and asserting the pressure that would ensure that their obedience to him was complete and irreversible, they would be far too gone to even realize it. Because the magic he was using was different.
Normally a haze of sorts filled a person's head when under the influence of such magic. They felt rather like as if they were drunk. This would not be the case here. As far as they realized, their thoughts would remain clear, concise and reasonable.
Their decision making abilities, reasoning powers and long term planning would all be completely crippled, and they wouldn't even realize it.
There was also the fact that there wouldn't be a single trace remaining by the time they got back to somewhere they could check for it (he knew for a fact that at least half had made arrangements for full-fledged blood tests before coming).
Really, loaded dice were the only dice worth considering when playing a game of this sort.
Soon, they were fed, watered and drugged, and Harry clapped his hands to get their attention.
"So, my friends, let's get to business. All of you owe me debts that are currently beyond your ability to repay. I know that, and I understand that. So, as I am a reasonable person, let us consider alternative methods of repayment."
"Well, of course, Lord Wilmington. Please elaborate." One of them said. Walter Mankins, if Harry was correct.
"All of you have rather important positions in the ministry. With my support, you can get even more important ones. You know that, I know that. Also, money is a very minor consideration. After all, what is money except a tiny little tool? It comes, it goes, and it hardly makes all that much of a difference.
"On the other hand, people, loyalty, power, those things matter, don't they?" he asked.
At this point, they would've found it perfectly reasonable had he said that the sky was purple, so there was hardly any hope of them disputing his words.
"Yes, yes of course, my lord." Cresswell said.
"And you know that I'm a good person, don't you? You know that if I absolve you of your debts, I should get something in return, shouldn't I? Like, maybe your loyalty to me, so that I can count on you to do a little favour for me now and then?"
"Of course, Lord Potter, of course."
"Good. And we all know the best way to ensure loyalty, don't we, people?"
"Yes we do, Harry. May I call you Harry?" Another voice said. Harry glanced over at him. It was Jenkins, from the registry.
Harry snapped his fingers. Immediately, an elf appeared, bearing a stack of parchment.
"Now, these are magical agreements. By signing them, you and I accept a few terms. Y'know, I hold off on the debts, you do something for me now and then, that sort of thing."
After yet another concurrence, Harry handed out the agreements.
Once they had them, it was time for the slightly tricky part. As they read the parchment, he saw them nod slightly as they saw the part where it said that he would continue to extend the debts as long as they performed a number of tasks for him, he saw their eyebrows furrow slightly as they saw that there was no mention of just how many 'tasks' there would be, and finally he saw them ignore it.
After all, he was just a boy. No doubt he had just picked up a standard template and filled it out. It could hardly do any harm.
And then came the tricky part.
Once again this was a part where his extensive knowledge of mind magic had been priceless. Technically, such agreements had to be entered into willingly, without even the slightest influence of mind alterations. But all it had taken Harry was a strong confundus charm cast on the parchment, and it was ready to believe that they were, in fact, completely free of his influence.
And so it was done. In a matter of hours, Harry had acquired a host of well-placed agents in the ministry of magic.
Of course, it hadn't been anywhere that simple; he'd had to spend weeks preparing for those hours. Otherwise just any rich idiot would have been getting their own agents in the ministry. There had been so many plans to make, things to arrange.
First of all, there had been the matter of selecting the right officials. Too low placed, and it would have taken forever to get them to any position that could yield a profit. Too high, and he would be vulnerable to the regular scans the Unspeakables conducted on these people. That was the only reason why Bagman hadn't been among them today, after all.
Not that the Unspeakables would find anything in their minds even if they did scan them. But the fact was that the risk was far too great.
He would be taking them one day, but not before he'd arranged a cushion for the fall that could come. A cushion, like what he'd just started preparing, in fact.
That reminded him, he'd have to take another look at the blackmail material he'd just acquired from the minds of these people.
Blackmail was another consideration for Harry. He had a great deal of material on some very powerful people from a number of sources. A lot had been inherited from the information of the lives of Charlus Potter, Orion Black, and of course Voldemort, and the rest he'd taken himself, from the minds of those he'd visited in the ministry.
But it wasn't something he could use like he'd just used the debts. It would have to come suddenly and unpredictably. An anonymous letter here, a Floo call there, all designed to send them in a blind panic unable to do anything other than bow to his had to come as a thunder strike, something that would leave them shocked and crippled, not something they knew and were prepared for.
There would be a time for that too, but right now he had things to do.
The next item on his agenda was his meeting with the vassals. It would have to happen on wholly different lines, but at last he had a few hours to prepare.
First of all, there would be no need to use mind controls in Gryffindor Palace, not with the families already owing him their fealty. He would need to renew those oaths, of course, but it as something rather easily done. No, what could prove complicated was to turn them into something he could use in his long term plans. After all, they were firm, 'light' sided families, and would no doubt see his plans, and by extension himself, as 'bad' and 'evil'.
He scoffed mentally. That was the exact sort of thing he was trying to change in the world. There was no such thing as good or evil in the world. The only bad person was an incompetent one. He would have to act in front of them for now, but soon enough he would have them stained in his colours.
Albus was getting seriously worried now. Just a few days ago, he'd been notified that he had been removed as the proxy as the Gryffindor and Slytherin seats, and that the new Lord was going to be attending to them himself now. This worried him, as not only did this upset the current balance of the magical world, it also halved Dumbledore's own political power.
It was a well-known fact, that when Hogwarts had been built, the founders had all signed agreements investing several rights and privileges in the Headmaster of the Institution. When either of the houses went dormant, their voting rights in the Wizengamot would fall to the Headmaster of Hogwarts, to be used as he saw fit. This had been done to give Hogwarts some teeth, so that it could defend itself legally and politically.
Dumbledore had used those votes many times to further the light's agenda, even if the interests of Hogwarts were occasionally somewhat neglected. He had to, as after all when all was said and done, Hogwarts was just a school.
For example, there had been that pesky little Warlock that had brought up a list of Muggleborns who were regularly abused by their Muggle relatives. Dumbledore had known that such a news would do a power of no good to the light's just claims that the Muggles were just as good as wizards, and so he had used Hogwarts' votes to quash the whole matter in a closed hearing before it ever reached the paper.
Similarly, there was the matter of that seven year old witch raped and murdered by those six Muggles. Her parents had come to the Wizengamot, asking the authority to extract retributive justice on them and their families. He'd had them arrested on charges of Muggle baiting under Arthur Wesley's Muggle protection Act.
After all, it wasn't as if he could afford the embarrassment the light would suffer if it turned out that the Wizengamot had given an anti-Muggle ruling, could they.
Anyway, coming back to the matter in hand, the Thirty-Six votes that had formed the core of his powerbase were absolutely vital to him. And now he'd lost half of those to some upstart!
Albus threw his mind back to his memories, trying to properly categorize his votes.
There were Nine Ancient and Noble families, each controlling six votes. They were the Potters, Blacks, Malfoys, Notts, Morrigans, Bones, Longbottoms, Yaxleys and the Smiths.
Apart from that, there were the six Eldritch Families, with nine votes apiece. They were the Sharrs, Peverells, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and the Slytherins.
Out of them, Albus currently had the support of the Longbottoms and the Smiths, and voted directly for the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs. Peverell had been dormant for a long time, and no one knew just how the Sharrs worked.
So, he had about thirty votes that he could rely upon totally among the Greater families, and several more in the lesser ones. But the point was that he'd just lost eighteen votes!
Something would have to be done. Harry was already missing, no doubt getting up to all sorts of trouble. Now that he'd thrown off the protections Dumbledore had put on him so that he didn't hurt those poor Muggles, the evil boy was no doubt planning a catastrophe to destroy everything Albus had so lovingly built.
Severus had come back from Lucius's house completely empty handed, saying that the man had no way to find out anything about how Potter had gotten his Lordship.
No matter. Soon enough, the boy would be at Hogwarts, and would be under Albus's power. He would extract everything there was in his mind, and then he would take the appropriate steps.
Harry was sitting on a couch in Grimmauld Place. His meeting with the lords had gone well, with all of them renewing their oaths and swearing to follow his lead in all matters commercial and political. But then, it had never been the Gryffindor vassals he'd expected disobedience from.
No, the problems to come would come with the others, of that he had no doubt. Currently, he had to prepare for Narcissa's visit.
"Kreacher, attend me!" he said, snapping his fingers.
Immediately, the elf appeared with a slight popping sound. "Yes, Master? You's wanting something?"
"Yes Kreacher, come here." Harry said, as he palmed his wand.
As it did, Harry said "Now, Kreacher, you know mistress Narcissa and her family?"
"Yes, master. Kreacher knows."
"Good. They're coming here tomorrow. I want you to prepare this place for a formal luncheon, with all the usual attachments. If you need, use the wine and foodstuffs from any of my properties, but I will not tolerate any reduction in quality. Understood?"
"Yes, Master, Kreacher understands. Kreacher will make bestest lunch in Britain, with bestest wines and food."
"Apart from that, there is the matter that they are coming here under the belief that I am Aries Black, the third son of Lady Walburga, and brother of Regulus. I shall require you to act accordingly."
"Understood, master." It said.
For a moment, Harry was a bit surprised that it agreed without question. But then this was a house-elf of the Black family. If the elf had served in Orion and Walburga's time, then things like this were par for the course as far as it was concerned.
Immediately afterwards, Harry used the Black signet ring to order all of the portraits, statues and busts to support his deception, feeding the back-story he'd created for Aries into their minds.
Next, he took out a whole set of photographs, books, letters and whatnot that he had forged in advance, setting them up in their proper places.
With that, he was done. He would've done the whole 'complacency' and potions thing, but there was no telling just what all Lucius would be coming prepared for, and being found out at such an early stage would be nothing short of disastrous.
Now all he had to do was sit wait for a man who even Voldemort himself admitted was slippery.