Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars either people.
This chapter dedicated to those who gave me the names so I could introduce the Elite, and to HecateDeMort.
"Talking"
"Parseltounge"
Good! Nagini led Alex through the rooms and into the Master Suite Hall. She then led him into the Master Suite Common Room and pointed to a chord he had not noticed the last time he was there. Pull it Alex
Chapter 7: The Dark Lord's Elite
Alex reached up and pulled the cord, hard. As if far away, and above him, he heard the faint ringing of a gong, followed by the sounds of a people shuffling and moving around. In less than five minutes there were twenty people quietly standing at attention in front of him. They stood in two ranks of ten. They were all dressed in identical, long, blood red robes with black trim, red helmets with black and gold tassels. The helmets made it impossible to tell one man from another. (Think Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Emperor Palpantine's personal guards.) The only difference was their heights. After a small pause, the man standing in the front center stepped forward. He too was dressed exactly like everyone else, but if you looked closer there was gold threading running through the black trim.
He was obviously the one chosen as a spokesman. As soon as he stepped he forward he respectfully addressed Alex, "Excuse me sir, but who are you? And how could you summon us?"
"I am Alexander Riddle, son an heir to your master." The five-year-old was extremely grateful that Nagini was hissing in his ear, otherwise he might have not answered properly. Nagini's presence was also, probably the only thing keeping him from collapsing in fear at the sight of so many impersonal looking adults.
This reply shocked everyone present, but the man quickly regained his composer and bowed, saying with even more respect, "Forgive me my Prince, but is there any way you can prove what you say?"
Repeating exactly what Nagini hissed Alex replied much more calmly than he felt, "Why should I have to prove anything to you? But, as you asked, is my summons, and the presence of Nagini not enough?" The five-year-old was surprised at how calm he sounded and how well he was pulling of this act while feeling quite nervous instead.
"Your right my Prince, and I beg your forgiveness in my presumptions. "
Alex made a noise, which could have been taken as assent and one by one, all of the Elite crawled forward to kiss the hem of his robes. As the man who had first spoken came forward first, Alex shifted nervously and thought about backing out of the room, but Nagini, sensing his discomfort, hissed to him explaining that this was their way of showing respect, as demanded by his Father and ordering Alex to stand still..
He stood still, and allowed the Elite to pay their respects, then when they were once again standing at attention before him, he said, "I came here, not only to tell you that I am indeed alive and well, but that I will be living her and I would greatly appreciate it if you would tutor me while I stay here. Nagini has told me that you are all certified masters in your own area of expertise. The schedule is up to you. Now would you all please take off your helmets and step forward and introduce yourself and your mastery.
There was a flurry of movement as everyone removed their helmets. Then, once again, the center-one stepped forward. This time he said, "I, my Prince, am Damien Malfoy, also known as the lost Malfoy. I am a squib and an expert of politics, etiquette, and the psychology of human nature."
"A squib?" asked the incredulous Alex. He had learned that squibs were outcasts in wizarding society and generally looked down upon, but here was one standing as the apparent leader of his father's Elite.
"Yes, I am a squib. Although we are generally looked down upon, my father decided against disowning me, and instead, he disinherited me. He then taught me all he knew about politics and being a Malfoy I grew up with etiquette ingrained in my being. I then learned all I could about psychology in both the muggle and the magical worlds. He then used me to help him advance his fortune and accumulate even more power and prestige. My younger brother, the Malfoy heir, was to have a clause in his inheritance to make sure he always took care of me and provide for me, so long as I continued to serve him as I had served my father. But after the Dark Lord came to power, and while my brother was still young, I left my family to help him gain wealth and power."
"Although a squib, he comes from an old wizarding line and is very cunning. He is also the leader of the Elite and their representative to you and your father. You will be dealing with him the most," hissed Nagini as the lost Malfoy stepped back into line once more.
Alex nodded in understanding and watched as the man beside and two the right of Damien stepped forward. "My Prince, I am Jason Black. I am a charms master and I was at one point, named as your godfather. After your... kidnapping... my younger brother, Sirius, was named as your godfather. He is now wasting away in Azkaban."
Alex made a face of disgust at the mention of Azkaban and filed away the information about his godfather for later. The next to step forward was a woman who had been standing to the left of Damien Malfoy "My Prince, I am Courtney Darwin. I am a master of muggle sciences. The sciences, especially biology runs in my blood."
"Darwin? Didn't he invent evolution or something?"
"Yes, he... invented... evolution. I am one of his descendents, and thus I can still trace my roots back to its muggle origins."
"Oh, ok." Alex had learned about the so-called racial cleansing of muggleborn witches and wizards, but he did not agree that they should be killed. Second class citizens maybe, but not killed. He also thought that those who were particularly intelligent should be allowed to climb the social ladder.
After Courtney had stepped back she was replaced by Elaina Fortuer. "My Prince, I am a fine arts teacher. Fine arts include dancing, painting/drawing, an music."
Alex watched her step back to be replaced by Xavier Yammi. "My Prince, I am Xavier Yammi and I am an expert in Divination Theory. My mother was a true a seer and taught me all she knew hoping that I would inherit her gift. When I did not, I offered my services to the Dark Lord to help him interpret dreams and to make sure that he was not led astray by false seers."
"So you are not a seer?"
"No, I am not a seer, and I cannot teach you how to be one as it is not taught, only inheirated. I will teach you only theory; how to tell prophetic dreams from ordinary dreams and how to tell false seers from real seers."
"That makes sense."
Xavier was followed by Zander Worrington. "My Prince, I am Zander Worrington. I am an Arithmancy Master and an expert in muggle math."
"Arithmancy? What's that?"
"Arithmancy is the wizarding version of higher math."
"Hmm," was all Alex said before Zander had stepped back, only to be followed by Jake Upiliq. "My Prince, I am Jake Upiliq, and I am a Transfiguration Master."
Jake was soon followed by the Talley quartet. Four men stepped forward together and said as one, "My Prince, we are the Talley brothers. We will be responsible for your training in the Dark Arts, in survival skills, various hand-to-hand fighting techniques, both muggle and magical, and in all forms of weaponry." Then, one by one they stepped even further forward to introduce themselves individually.
"I am Wayne Talley and I specialize in the Dark Arts and how the light is taught to defend against them."
"I am Max Talley and I specialize in the customs of formal duals and in the handling, training, and usage of all types of weapons. Both magical and muggle."
"I am Rick Talley and I specialize in Martial Arts and hand-to-hand combat of all sorts."
"I am Brian Talley and I specialize in surviving in all conditions. I am also the youngest and would like you to know that, while we all specialize in a certain area we all are more than proficient in our brothers' areas. Often in your training, one of us might teach you another's specialty or we might all teach you at once."
That said, they all stepped back and Kellie and Rammie Lamore stepped forward. "My Prince," they addressed together, and then Kellie continued on alone, "I am Kellie Lamore, and this is my brother Rammie. Together, we know almost every language and are familiar with most cultures. We will teach you the languages of the world and about the people who speak those languages. We will also teach you to read and write dead languages such as, Latin, Ancient Greek and Hebrew, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and the study and usage of Runes."
They stepped back and were replaced by Shasha Naphtali. "My Prince, I am Shasha Naphtali and I am an Herbology Master. I will teach you about the various plants, especially those which are useful, those which are harmful, and those which are used most in potions."
She did not step back, but the man next to her stepped forward and said, "My Prince, I am Vash Naphtali, husband to Shasha, and I am a Potions Master. I will teach you the subtle art of potions making. How to brew glory, bottle fame, and stopper death."
He also did not step back, but the two of them were now joined by a third person. "My Prince, I am Persia Naphtali, the daughter of Vash and Shash, and I am an expert in the care and handling of magical creatures. I am also quite familiar with muggle creatures."
The three of them then stepped back to be once again replaced by another man who looked to be graying before his time. "My Prince, I am Romulus Lupin. I am a werewolf and an expert in both magical and muggle history. Don't worry though, I will not drone on and on, I will attempt to make my classes as interesting as possible."
"You are a werewolf?"
"Yes, my Prince, I am."
"Hmm." Romulus was replaced by three women. "My Prince, we are the English majors. We will make sure that you are well versed in all forms of literature, from all around the world, from both the magical world and the muggle world. We will also make sure you have a firm grasp and understanding of the English language and that in all your learning of other languages, you never forget your mother tongue."
"I am Natalie Cortan," said the first and she then stepped back into line.
"I am Hillary Cortan," said the second, and then she too stepped back into line.
"I am Mallory Cortan," said the third, and then she added, "you will also be taught to fly and then latter supervised by a rotation of us, but the three of us will be your most frequent supervisors." Then she too stepped back into line.
Finally, the last man stepped forward. "My Prince, I am Ian O'Malley, the tailor. I serve the Elite, yourself, and the Dark Lord alone by making and procuring the finest clothes in all of Europe and the rest of the world, for any and all occasions."
"Good, I am in need of an entire wardrobe."
Here, the tailor nodded and began to approach slowly, unwittingly interrupting Alex's train of thought. "My Prince, I am going to need to take your measurements." The tailor stated rather apprehensively.
Alex cocked his head and studied the tailor before nodding his assent. The tailor then proceeded to take Alex's measurements before stepping back into his place. Alex then proceeded as he had planned before he had been interrupted.
"I am staying in my rooms, in the wing across from this one. I would like my clothes as soon as possible. Nagini has also requested that I start my training next Monday." With that said, Alex left his father's apartments and went to the private dining room under the stairs where he found a portrait of his father. After having a short conversation with his dad, and learning that he was not the cold-hearted bastard the papers made him out to be, just a little cruel and vindictive towards his enemies. With the portrait's permission, he took it from the wall and moved it into his formal study where he could easily and often go and talk to it, but it would not be somewhere where it was watching him constantly.
For the rest of the week he continued to read material in the library and he began a ritual of eating breakfast and supper in his formal study 'with' his father.
On Sunday, Alex came back from his dinner 'with his dad' and found Damien Malfoy waiting for him in his private living room. When Damien saw him he gave an elegant, courtly bow, "My Prince."
"Yes Damien, is there something you want?" Asked Alex. Nagini had told him that as the Dark Prince, he should call the Elite by their first names and although he was slightly uncomfortable with the idea, he had agreed nonetheless.
"Yes my Prince, I have brought you the beginnings of your wardrobe," replied Damien, as he drew Alex's attention to the clothes in his hands, which he then gave to Alex. What he had was: two day robes plus long pants, proper dueling attire, potion resistant robes, one dress robe, some workout clothes, and a few pairs of shoes. "I have also brought you your schedule."
"Thank you Damien."
"You are welcome, my Prince." With that Damien turned and walked up the stairs and through the door connecting the rooms of the Elite to the set of guest rooms surrounding Alex's private living room. Alex on the other hand did not leave. After summoning a houself and giving it his newly acquired clothes, he sank in a chair to study his schedule.
0530 : Wake Up
0600 : Physical exercises (supervised by one of the quartet)
0700 : Training with one of the quartet (rotates and changes frequently)
0800 : Breakfast
0830 : 1st Class
1030 : 2nd Class
1230 : Lunch
1300 : 3rd Class
1500 : 4th Class
1700 : Flying/ Free Time
1830 : Dinner
1900 : Fine Arts
2000 : Free Time
Lights out no later than 2100
1st Class – a) Cultures b) Charms c) Divination Theory2nd Class – a) Science b) Math/Arithmancy c)English/ Literature
3rd Class – a) Potions b) Herbology c) Care of Magical (or Muggle) Creatures
4th Class – a) History (magical or muggle) b) Politics/ Etiquette/ Psychology c)Transfiguration
The languages portion of this class will be done by total submersion. There will be a charm placed on Alex so that everything he hears, except in his English class, will be in the language he is currently learning. He will also have to speak in that language as much as possible. In his culture classes, it is the only language he will be allowed to speak.
The class rotation:
Week 1: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – class a
Tuesday, Thursday – class b
Week 2: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – class b
Tuesday, Thursday – class c
Week 3: Monday, Wednesday, Friday – class c
Tuesday, Thursday – class a
AN: I know that in cannon and most fannon, that portraits are only activated once a person dies, but I think this portrait is more like Riddle's diary and was made after his wife was killed and his son was kidnapped.