Douchiesnacks
It wasn't for Lockhart really it was for Damien she admitted as much.
Tylermech66
Oh that's not going to happen Snape is now just a resource for Damien to exploit.
CookieMonsta1233
Well he had his mind wiped and then spent over a year having his mind rebuilt no one could be IC after that. Also don't forget that I mentioned the Memory Enhancement potion Snape no longer has so many bad memories to keep reliving so he's bound to be more happy.
Well maybe my story followers are just lazy but given that insulting people is easier than writing positive and I get very few negative ones so I guess it balances out.
Still as long as people are enjoying my stories I'll keep writing them.
Guest
I don't normally answer guest reviews but your Loving it remark made me smile so thanks.
Hypnosis Writer
Do you mean something like Visual Power Replication like the Amazo robot in DC? That machine mimicked the powers of the Justice League by scanning the heroes and modifying himself.
Spark Gothic could do that since he can alter DNA it would only work for biological based abilities but if he went to say Marvel he could gain god like power just following superheroes around.
Heck maybe I could make a Mutant Gothic and have being able to learn mutant powers and abilities via observation. After spending a few weeks with the X-Men and he'd be talking out villains next before replacing them all as one unstoppable bad guy! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha!
(calms down)
Anyway I'm glad you like my Snape idea. I set it up ages ago and kept it a surprise to amuse my readers.
The First Gothic. Book One. A Wizard In Training. Part 24.
The Hogwarts Express. The Wizarding World.
With a huff of annoyance I threw the book I'd just been reading back into the expanded bag and heard a thump as it hit the pile.
"There's nothing in these books" I said with frustration "its as if Wizards only think to do a quick fix with a wand or potion and never think about permanently solving problems by enhancing either themselves or with something they can wear ".
Ginny, Luna, Neville and I had spent about half the trip to Hogwarts looking for ways to use magic to make ourselves more powerful be that physically, mentally or magically but there was nothing like that in all the books I owned.
"As I said before" reminded Luna "stuff like ritual magic hasn't been practised in a long time. For the most part enchanted objects are just seen as things to show off to friends or useful tools to make life easier. There are a few useful objects a person can buy like Foe Glasses and Secrecy Sensors but after Voldemort was defeated the demand for there production stopped".
She was right most enchanted items were little more than amusements or tools to make life easier for lazy short sighted fools.
All of the good stuff I already had. Like a Mokeskin Pouch which could only be opened by the owner and a Pensieve which was highly useful but extremely expensive.
There were still some very useful even and powerful ranging from Time Turners to Sneakoscopes but there wasn't anything that offered a power boost to the user of the item. That was the kind of thing that I was looking for.
Stuff like that the really powerful artefacts out there had been made of hundreds of years ago like the ones made by the Hogwarts Founders (one of which my group had and the rest were Horcruxs) or the Deathly Hallows.
Sadly no one could make stuff like that any more the knowledge had been forgotten long ago and it would take a whole time to begin the recovery of such lost arts. So that meant finding the useful artefacts out there.
Of the Hollows I could get the Resurrection Stone without anyone knowing but Potter's cloak was passed down from Father to Son and Dumbledore had the Elder Wand which meant I'd have defeat him in a duel or murder him to get it. Tempting but Voldemort had to die before Dumbledore.
As for the Founder's Artefacts well we had the sword. I'd destroyed Ravenclaw's diadem. I couldn't use the locket as I lacked the power to speak to snakes. And Hufflepuff's cup was locked up in Gringotts.
"A Hand Of Glory sounds useful if a little gruesome" offered Ginny.
"Got one" I replied
I'd brought before the World Cup on a whim but it could be handy as a gift for Necromancer counterpart should I ever end up visiting him. Which wasn't in my plans as of yet but it could happen if I needed something from him.
"Well we could back to that Skyrim place" suggested Neville.
I'd already done that. I'd gone to the The Tower Stone located in Skyrim and acquired the power to open any lock figuring that it could come in handy should I ever be locked up somewhere without a wand.
The problem was that the power only worked in Skyrim. I suspected that the reason behind this was that each of the Standing Stone had a connection to a star constellation none of which existed my world's night sky.
This might be because all magic in Skyrim came form a realm called Aetherius and the stars were direct portals to Aetherius. So while I was cut off from those stars the power granted by the Standing Stone no longer worked for me.
However the spells I'd gained while in Skyrim still worked here on Earth. That might be because spells were just a way of channelling magical energy in order to perform a certain function. It didn't seem to matter where that magical energy came from the spells didn't care any more than an electrical appliance cares if its electricity was generated by a nuclear power station or on a wind farm.
"There are objects there we could make use that in Skyrim" I said to Nev "but Luna could recreate many of them easily enough and ones she couldn't make are tied to those Daedric Princes I warned you about".
That wasn't actually true but I was pretty sure that the Necromancer version of myself would of gotten his hands on most of the artefacts as quickly as possible. I know I would have.
"There are lots of artefacts in the Department Of Mysteries" mentioned Luna "but which ones they have and what they do no one outside the Department knows. They wouldn't tell because their Unspeakables".
No much help really. The study of such objects is years of work and I just didn't have time for that, the war had already started.
"Well if can't find any rituals or artefacts we could try armour" suggested Neville "the Goblins make silver armour that's light and strong".
And expensive as well. I didn't have access to the family vaults of either the Masons or Malfoys yet. I two trust funds and some gold stashed but that was no were near enough to equip all the outcasts with Goblin made stuff. Plus those horrid creatures I had no desire to deal with any more than I had to.
"The only people who even wear magical armour any more are the Dwarves they sell it too" mentioned Neville "but they don't get much business these days because if Wizards only buy weapons and armour so they can display them. Goblin silver is more prized for that".
That made sense. Wizards, even 'light' ones were bigots they just didn't kill people over it but they were also show-offs and so if they did buy something from another race they'd buy Goblin silver or nothing because silver was more expensive.
"Goblins work with silver, bronze and gold" Ginny explain further "only they can mint coins and they make the best jewellery from those metals. You can transfigure something into silver and then sell it but it can be turned back. But Goblin silver can't be transfigured and it doesn't tarnish or even need polishing".
Wizards were lazy so Goblin stuff that didn't require any cleaning or polishing would appeal to them naturally I understood that.
"But Dwarves work with iron mostly" informed Nev "they make it so it doesn't rust. Their iron is lighter as well but it still needs polishing and cleaning".
To me that sounded like they made steel tools and weapons which Wizards didn't use much off because of the expense.
Steel wasn't used that much by Muggles either until the 19th century as it was expensive to until then then but new methods and technology made it very easy to produce steel. But given that Wizards had cut themselves off from Muggles in the 17th century then they might not even realise how easy steel was to make these days.
"Let me guess Muggles were the Dwarves main customers"
Neville nodded.
"My family history books mention some of my ancestors acting as salesmen, well quartermasters really. Gran would never admit that of course but the Longbottoms come from a long like of warrior-wizards who used Dwarf weapons when fighting along side Muggles. That included selling weapons to the side they fought and the recovering them from the dead so they could sell them again. It was highly profitable".
I didn't doubt that for a second. Neville was a warrior at heart it had been buried deep down until I brought it out but there was a reason why the sword had chosen him. He was also good at making money".
"Well that explains why Lockhart was able to employ them for Valentines Day" I said to the group.
"They are a fallen race" concluded Luna "Current Daddy once wrote a story about them. In side their mountain holds there are factories of Dwarves making all our dragonhide gloves for mere knuts a day".
Muggles in poorer parts of the world were exploited in much the same way. Most people don't realise that their clothes are the product of near slave labour.
"Wizards don't do mass-produced" I said thinking out loud "but we all have dragonhide gloves so it makes sense that someone is making them in the numbers we need".
Dragonhide is highly reistant to magic even when not on the dragon so special tools would be required to cut and shape it. If the Dwarves of this world were the craftsmen many works of fiction claimed that they were then they would be well suited to supplying products made from dragonhide.
"So the Goblins get richer everyday and the Dwarves get poorer" I commented "but Goblins are dark creatures even Muggles know that".
"They do?" asked a startled Ginny "but there are laws to stop Muggles from finding out!".
I calmed her down by explaining.
"The Muggles of today think that Goblins are made up but they're used as bad guys in lots of stories even now. You have to remember that the Secrecy Laws have only been in effect for a few hundred years but Muggles have known about Goblins and how evil they are for thousands of years you can't erase that much history completely. The proof that Wizards, Goblins and exist was removed but the stories remain and people told their kids who told their kids and so until only the stories are left".
I then recited a poem I'd heard in an episode of Doctor Who.
"We must not look at goblin men, We must not buy their fruits: Who knows upon what soil they fed. Their hungry thirsty roots?"
I had no idea if that was actually about real Goblins but it sounded good and helped to make my point.
"Most people now think the stories that warn people to avoid Goblins were actually warnings about talking to strangers who might led you astray but now that I think about maybe the Muggles back then did have bad dealings with actual Goblins. Passing on information like that through word of mouth like stories was important before books became common. Muggles call it Oral History".
The group thought about what I'd said and I added some more information for them to ponder over.
"Goblins are always the bad guys in those kind of stories but Dwarves are often portrayed as being noble warriors, craftsmen and to have a strong love of beer".
"Which is true" supported Neville "the only reasons Goblins run the bank is because they got given the right after a nasty Goblin rebellion. That and the Mithril mines ran dry".
Binns had taught us the truth but it had just been in the worse way possible.
"Seems as if The Lord Of Rings got a lot of things right" I muttered.
"That book is actually quite accurate" stated Luna "at least about the different races anyway. There were a lot more Wizards around back then but the Elves did leave around that time".
I sort of stopped for a few moments before asking.
"Wait so Hobbits are real?"
Luna nodded.
"They have a large population in France" she told me "but you won't find any Hobbits in Britain they don't like our food, but there are a few Dwarf holds left in Wales".
Welsh Dwarves. I so had to meet some.
"Mithril exists on other worlds you know" I said to the group "its rare but you can buy Mithril armour the lands south of Skyrim".
Two people in the room went slack jawed Ginny didn't
"Bloody hell" swore Ginny who seemed to be channelling her brother for a moment.
"No one has had any Mithril since Grindlewald and his vest was destroyed in his duel with Dumbledore" said Luna "its one of the reasons why he was so successful its highly reistant to curses its also the one type of armour that can stop the Killing Curse".
"Really?" I asked in surprise.
"Oh yes but only the Elves knew how to make Mithril armour and they're gone now" reminded Luna "The Dwarves could mine and purify the metal but there was some sort of magic they couldn't do involved with forging it into armour".
"But we could get a suit and test it" I pointed out "if Mithril in armour form does block the Killing Curse all we need is a practice dummy. It shouldn't matter if armour isn't covering a living thing if the armour is a barrier. It might not work but its worth trying".
It really was worth a try.
"Hold on a second" I said as I realised something "if Grindlewald was wearing the armour when he was beaten by Dumbledore how it was destroyed when Dumbledore beat him?"
"No one knows" informed Luna "the duel wasn't witnessed and Mithril blocks direct attacks but we know Dumbledore won because he locked Grindlewald in his own prison".
Dumbledore must have it. He could easily hide it under all the robes he wore. Heck he could have a layer of Mithril covering everything but his hands and head, he was always covered up from the neck to his feet.
"Well we could ask Grindlewald" I suggested.
"He's got to be dead by now" insisted Neville.
"No he's still in the same place he has been since 1945" I assured my friends.
I stopped talking to think things over. Dumbledore had beaten his former love interest despite the fact that Gellert had both the Elder Wand and a Mithril vest.
The Elder Wand was suppose to be unbeatable in battle and the vest (or possible even full set of armour) protected from direct attacks. So perhaps Dumbledore slipped the last Dark Lord a potion or had surprise on his side. They were old friends after all Dumbledore could of gotten Gellert's guard down.
Grindlewald might tell me it depended on which version he was the book version wouldn't tell me but the film version would in a heartbeat.
My thoughts went back to Mithril and I wondered if the metal was actually magically enchanted platinum. Goblins could make really good armour and weapons from silver and platinum was even tougher than silver. So was this Mithril actually platinum given the same treatment as Goblin crafted silver?
Platinum was much heavier than silver but Mithril wasn't heavy when worn as armour as Frodo wore it easily. However reducing the weight of something is easy with magic. My expanded bag for example doesn't seem to weight much at all despite being full of books. Platinum is also rarer than gold which is even rarer than silver. Gold isn't used by Goblins much aside from minting coins due the limited supply. Gold doesn't make for good armour and weapons as its rather soft for a metal.
Silver is a bit better but platinum is much denser so its also tougher. If the same sort of enchantments were added to platinum as they were to Goblin silver you could get Mithril something so tough that even the Killing Curse could be stopped in its tracks.
Physical barriers do stop the Killing Curse but such barriers can explode if hit by a powerful Killing Curse but if a material was strong enough to stay intact when hit by the curse it could protect you.
If the process to make normal silver into Goblin silver were similar to making platinum into Mithril then it should be possible to get the Dwarves to make it. Wizards had no chance they couldn't even produce steel but Dwarves who could produce steel so they would stand a much chance a chance made better if their knowledge of Mithril had survived.
Goblins controlled their magical silver due to a law but the actually method of altering the metal should be known to people but they would lack the skills needed to use such knowledge the Dwarves should be able to. But they couldn't due to the law.
Mithril was rare in Skyrim if there was any at all but it was more common in Cyrodill that might explain how the Imperials kept conquering everyone they had access to platinum which was worth more than gold and whoever can better fund their army will win an otherwise even war.
So I needed platinum a lot of it (which would be pricey but not impossible to acquire. The secrets of Goblin silver. And Dwarves willing to work.
At least the last requirement would be easy to sort out if they would work for Knuts a day and I gave them something better than gold they'd work for me.
My trail of thought ended as Granger opened the door and asked for me.
"Damien can we talk?".
"Leave us" I said using a commanding tone of voice that seemed to allow my powers of leadership to influence people.
Doing as they were told the Outcasts who piled out without a word they were getting used to following my orders rather than just going along with my ideas.
This change in attitude was because I was now more than the groups leader I would be their future Dark Lord and they would start acting like that from now.
I'd brought these changes about after leaving Saint Mungo's due to Luna's corruption by the Daedric Prince. After explaining the dangers of what we were dealing with. I'd told the group that if they wanted to keep working with me then they would have to obey me for their own protection like minions of a Dark Lord should.
But informally when alone they could express their opinions and discuss their concerns freely. Only when dealing with the outsiders and the danger they brought did we need me to act like a tyrant.
Granger seemed a little put off by that display as even the Snakes didn't act like that around they're leaders while at school but the Outcasts were different.
"Sit down" I told Granger using my commanding voice again.
It worked and she sat down as if I was somehow compelling her to.
"Drink" I offered.
She only nodded in reply.
As I took out the cast iron kettle I used to make tea and heated it up while pouring milk into tea cups I thought about how my power of enhanced charisma was growing. I seemed to be getting more charismatic and even more persuasive by the day.
I could so easily get other people to do my bidding as long it didn't involve them doing things their morals and beliefs wouldn't allow. This meant that I couldn't get Granger to say perform a striptease for me as easily as I could make her sit down and drink tea with me, but over time I could get to a point were a person would support me as I became a Dark Lord.
Perhaps one day soon it would get to the point were someone would even kill at my command. It was just a matter of getting them to spend time with me and my charismatic power would change them until they agreed with everything I said and did as they were told.
It was however possible to resist the effects of my power if a person had enough strength of will. This is why Dumbledore would never be swayed by my words nor would Potter ever became a true follower of mine as long as followed the Headmaster's path.
The power didn't make you immune to other Wizard's Charismatic Power otherwise Potter wouldn't be led around by Dumbledore but if one became aware of it that made it easier to resist which was why I wasn't a Dumbledore supporter.
Also since they had this power they could undo my work if they were willing to put time and effort into it but they never would as the Outcasts went unnoticed by Dumbledore who favoured his attentions on those he felt would of use to him.
As for Potter well if he started the DA that could cause problems but since I taught magic to the Outcasts they had no need to join such a group.
Voldemort could do this too it was less effective as he became less human but they then fear kept his minions in line far more strong leadership did.
This was because Enhanced Charisma relied on appearances. I wasn't Cedric Diggory level of handsome but I looked like a human being rather than a snake man creature. Before becoming a monster on the outside as well as the inside Riddle had been able to charm everyone but Dumbledore just like I could and we even looked a little alike so appearances did matter.
The Kettle boiled and I poured the tea while asking.
"So what would you like to talk about Hermione?"
Her answer was no surprise.
"What you said about Dumbledore. I've been thinking about it and well it started to make sense a lot things don't add up. But I can't figure out why. Do you know?"
"Do you know what utilitarianism is?" I asked.
"So no quid pro quo today then" she joked weakly due to no being in a happy mood.
I smiled and said.
"Answering my question will allow me to answer yours" I explained "besides you owe me a freebie".
Now she was smiling back.
"No I don't know utilitarianism is, but it doesn't sound like anything to do with Wizards".
I gave her a look of approval.
"Your right there its not. Utilitarianism is a Victorian Muggle idea and when we last spoke we both agreed that this society seemed to stuck in that age in many ways, so it stands to reason that an out of date Victorian idea could still be thought of as valid here".
She seemed to be keeping up so far.
"Someone who believes in Utilitarianism believes that the moral choice
is the choice that ensures the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. While that sounds good in theory that means that a choice that makes a lot of people very happy at the expense of making one person very unhappy is the moral choice to make".
Granger was not called the brightest witch of her age for nothing she figured out what I was getting at very quickly.
"So the reason Dumbledore is letting Harry suffer is because it makes other people happy"
I felt clarification was needed.
"Yes Harry suffering ensures other people don't suffer. That utilitarianism in action".
I hadn't quite convinced her yet so I kept going.
"Think about Harry and the Muggles he lived with. Now from what I've found out Blood Wards protected Harry while he lived with his Aunt and Uncle which kept him safe from any remaining Death Eaters. So to Dumbledore the abuse Harry suffered is acceptable because it keeps Harry alive. Harry needs to live in order to beat Voldemort like he did when the Dark Lord went for the Stone. Harry beating Voldemort ensured the most happiness for most people as it prevented Voldemort from returning".
She understood now and was horrified
"So Dumbledore is evil!".
I snorted and said.
"Evil is a point of view Granger. Voldemort is evil because everyone views him as evil that's justified because of the things he has done. Dumbledore is seen as good because that's how he is viewed by most people. Do you think Voldemort sees himself as evil?"
Truthfully Voldemort didn't think good or evil even existed. For him it was all about power and living forever. I doubted that he even really cared for Blood Purity at this point. Perhaps once he had as people often hate others for seeing in others what they hate about themselves.
Maybe that was I hated Dumbledore so much he did things I hated myself sometimes for doing.
"Look my point is that Dumbledore has a moral stance that allows him to let Potter suffer for the Greater Good. To you and me that sounds like an poor excuse but when Dumbledore was growing up utilitarianism was quite popular. Our morals and world views are shaped by the people we grow up with Dumbledore grew up in a time when utilitarianism was enjoying it hight. If everyone followed utilitarianism we'd all agree that Dumbledore is right and many Wizards do but you and I are the product a very different society so were seeing this from an outsiders perspective".
Of course this was just my theory it made sense to me but unless I time travelled I'd never know for sure but I felt that it was right. Grindlewald's Greater Good was utilitarian thinking and that Dark Lord had heavily influenced Dumbledore so my theory did have some merit to it.
Granger sighed and said.
"I wish you'd explained it that way when I visited you".
"Well its hard to think in big words when a girl is flirting with you" I pointed out "besides you needed to be shocked enough to take me seriously".
She nodded before saying.
"But its not just Dumbledore all the Purebloods are either stuck in the past or evil".
A simple but not inaccurate way of looking at it.
"Sorry Granger but nothing short of rebellion leading to a change in leadership will make things better. Maybe your situation will improved over time if Harry beats Voldemort and the current leadership is swept away in the coming war but even then things might just become bearable. Your only options other than Harry saving you are going Muggle, joining a rebellion or making a magic door to another world were you forge your own destiny".
She saw my last suggestion as a joke but one day I might actually give her that option.
"A rebellion doesn't sound so bad if your starting on" she remarked "but we'd need a Luke Skywalker"
"I paint a sword green and practice my wandless magic" I kidded.
"Should I get myself a gold bikini this summer?" she teased.
Now that was a nice image but jokes aside I had important things to ask.
"If I did led a rebellion to overthrow the Purebloods or at least force them to treat Muggleborns better would you follow me?".
Her answer would decide if she ended up with a quick memory wipe or if she would join the Outcasts but she wasn't quite ready to decide.
"It wouldn't be easy" I told the teen "we would be fighting an evil empire yes but it might require you to fight and maybe even hurt people who aren't evil".
Her answer was honest if incomplete.
"I support Harry I owe him that much"
"Harry isn't my enemy" I assured her "he's one of the people I want to protect.
A little more was needed
"I want to make a world were you don't to have to marry your second or third cousin in order to keep your parents approval. I want to make a world were a bright witch like yourself could be Minister Of Magic one day. But most of all I want to make a world were a teenage boy doesn't have to fight a Dark Lord to protect people who should be able to take of themselves!".
For a second I wondered if I went to far but no I'd gone just far enough.
"If it helps Harry I'm in" was the answer I got "I'll be a rebel".
My power of Enhanced Charisma worked its wonders yet again. It hadn't turned her into my minion or even made her that loyal to me but it had won her over to my cause just enough that over time she would become another member of the Outcasts if only to protect her friend.
"We call ourselves the Outcasts" I told Granger letting her in one of many secrets I would share with her over time "we all have amulets but the one I gave you isn't enchanted".
I handed her a real one as I had a few spare now that Luna could copy the enhancements.
"It shields the mind from Dumbledore he reads people's surface thoughts all the time".
Had I said that a few days ago she wouldn't of believed me but she knew differently now and I had enough of her trust that she put the fox head amulet on without question.
"Can you get more of these?" she requested "Harry should...".
I stopped her.
"No that's a bad idea" I insisted "the Headmaster reads Potter's mind all the time in order to better control him, but he if he can't read yours he won't care as much. Try to avoid eye contact with Dumbledore as much as possible but otherwise act normal. Harry's loyal to Dumbledore as is Ron's entire family so don't tell anyone about this. I'm asking you to lie to a friend but as you said the other day 'what people don't know won't kill them' but knowing about this could".
It was getting dark outside now which meant soon we'd be at the school.
"You'd best get going" I told the teen.
"Answer me one last question" she requested "and I need an answer for this".
I nodded and she asked.
"If Dumbledore is a bad person even it is just from our point of view then why would a light magic creature like a Phoenix serve him".
Good question and I had a good answer.
"You assume that a Phoenix is a light magic creature. But I'll give you a better answer if you again answer a question from me. Did you know that Harry's wand shares a core with Voldemort's?".
"Yes he told me once its a feather from Dumbledore's phoenix "
"Remember the wand chooses the Wizard. So here's a question that you don't need to answer. Why would a wand with a core from a supposed light magic creature chose a Wizard like Voldemort to wield it?".
I wondered if anyone had ever asked that question. Riddle was evil before he ever got a wand so it made no sense that the core of light magic creature would be suitable for him. Unicorn tail hair cores made it very hard to use Dark Magic and Unicorns were light magic creatures so why would the core supplied by another light magic creature not only allow the user to easily use the Dark Arts but actually chose to used in such a way.
"But Harry's wand the same core" countered Granger rather weakly.
"So what" I replied "That could just mean that Fawkes is neither good or evil. Maybe Fawkes serves Dumbledore for another reason".
It could have something to do with Harry needing to have the wand that was brother to Voldemort's perhaps fate demanded it but still something about that answer felt wrong.
Granger got up to leave but before she closed the door she asked a question she wouldn't get an good answer for.
"Do you know why Harry has the same core in this wand as Voldemort?"
All I said was.
"Yes" And then I closed the door.