Many thanks to those who continue to review the chapters as they roll out. Your support is most appreciated. the final act of the Earth arc is about to begin, and while I'm sure many of you want it over as soon as possible, just as much you are looking forward to what will happen within the climax of this section, so I urge patience. There are exactly ten chapters left of the arc, so it will go by faster than you think. in the meantime, please enjoy. ~F
Chapter Forty Two
Subterfuge
Nobu'tan knew he had little time to spare if he was going to make it to the wizarding marketplace and travel about unnoticed among the throng of other wizarding youth. The window of that opportunity was closing as quickly as the first of September approached. Which was why upon returning to his room in Malfoy Manor and finding a strange House Elf there, a golden locket in hand and a wizened, battered look in its bulbous eyes, was a most undesired turn of events.
"Master Potter, known as Lord Nobu'tan," the elf said in a croaky voice, flourishing into a deep bow. "Of the line of Dorea Black, an honor it is to meet one so powerful and so Dark."
"Um, yes…" Nobu'tan replied, at a loss of what to do in this situation, but the elf apparently had his own ideas of what was going on. Presenting the locket, he continued, "A treasure of the house of Black, which would otherwise have been thrown out and lost by the current heir, rotten boy that he was, breaking his mother's heart…" the elf said, his voice growing soft in his mutterings toward the end.
Normally, Nobu'tan wouldn't have cared about such a trinket, but the shard in his pocket leapt at the sight of it, and the warlock marveled at the stroke of luck to find another receptacle of soul in a matter of hours, not even a single day yet.
"This is an honorable gift," he said, striding forward, eager to take yet another piece of his foe's soul for himself. Hands like claws, he cast a few spells to levitate the object into the air, and withdrew the pulsating crystal from his robes, "However it seems that this object has been tainted, and I will remove that darkness from it now…"
The elf, which had yet to give his name to Nobu'tan, watched in awe as the warlock began, lightly throwing a handful of spells at the locket to weaken its defenses, before plunging in with draining magic, ripping the soul fragment in the roughest and most direct manner he could conceive of.
Was it just him, or was the piercing shriek that radiated from the stone more real than it had been for the other objects? No one came to investigate however, so Nobu'tan had to conclude that that was not the case. The locket dropped to the ground with a dull thud when the task was complete, and Nobu'tan watched in fascination as the shard grew yet again, and still it was not finished.
The warlock marveled at just how many possible places that wizard had his parts of his soul… it was staggering that at least seven receptacles were used, plus or minus his own body, wherever that was or was not… "You have done me a great service elf…" he said as he turned, but the creature was already bawling to itself, fat tears flowing freely down its ragged face.
"Great Master Potter fulfilled Master Regulus' wish to destroy the locket. My master's death is avenged!" and suddenly Nobu'tan had the small creature wrapped tightly around his knees, embracing the warlock as tightly as a small child would a beloved relative. "Kreacher is forever in your debt great lord," the elf muttered over and over, before opening its eyes and looking off into the distance, seeing something that the warlock could not.
"Kreacher must go, but he will come whenever the great master has any need of him, just call for Kreacher and he will come, no matter what master wants him to be doing or not doing…" he said, before disappearing as rapidly as he had appeared in the first place.
Nobu'tan was at a loss of what just occurred. There was clearly some massive story behind what had just happened, but now was not the time for him to ponder over it. There were preparations to make, and a disguise to assemble. Weaving Arcane and a minor touch of Fel magic, he concealed his normal features, and even more importantly those altered by heavy use of demonic magic, not to mention that scar, which had mostly faded since he removed the fragment of soul that had been affixed to it, but it was still not going to heal permanently.
Changing from his Warlock garments into more casual human wizard apparel, he cast a few more of the wizarding worlds spells, to make himself seem at one with the background of wherever he was, only to be broken if he spoke to someone directly. As much as he'd enjoy wandering Knockturn Alley again at this time, if he was to visit the goblins, he had to dress the part.
He still was going to open a portal however, as it was by far the only method of travel that was worth it. Leaving a small note to be delivered to Lucius that he was going, out of minor courtesy as the man had been concerned for his safety, Nobu'tan stepped through the gateway into a small side street between two close set buildings, about midway through the marketplace.
Only a few small animals saw him appear, and they scurried away without incident, so Nobu'tan, appearing bright faced and looking about like any normal fourteen year old teenager, exited his secure arrival point and started wending his way through the crowds towards the bank.
As he had suspected, there were many Aurors present, not so much in a show of force, but hidden away from the public's eye to prevent any undue stress on the citizens, but still, Nobu'tan could sense them. Moody's handiwork no less, as though the man presumed that this would happen, but with a more visual appearance of the warlock boy-who-lived… as though he was that bold and stupid to just appear in his normal form when he was effectively a wanted person. Although what the Ministry's desire to find him and those at Hogwart's goal were likely vastly different, neither outcome of being discovered by either party was acceptable.
The same shops were just as packed as they were two years ago when Nobu'tan had last investigated the wizarding market place, Books, Robes, Apothecary, and Quidditch stores booming with customers outside waiting for their turns, and many young children, some Nobu'tan's age, bustling about with their things for school.
In due time he arrived at the bank, navigating around a long line of people waiting to meet with a teller for their trivial needs, and flashing a wicked grin at the guards, which seemed to be the easiest way to summon some of their workers to escort him down to the primary meeting area of the goblin leadership, as not several minutes into his arrival, a goblin approached him.
"Mr. Potter, this way if you will." He said without preamble, and Nobu'tan followed closely as they moved through corridors of offices for those wealthy enough to do investment through the goblins, and down a long flight of stone steps. The goblins had to be bringing him different routes to show that they were capable of defending themselves if he turned on them; the warlock was convinced of this.
Shows of strength were common among such people, and while he had no desires to sever his ties with the goblin nation at this time, he felt less inclined to do so every time they showed off how elaborate their fortress was.
Director Gotts Ironbane was waiting for him in a long office, not the massive throne room that they had met before in, but something more along the lines of what one holding his title would have, and somehow Nobu'tan couldn't help but approve.
"Ah, Lord Potter, you have returned to us yet again." Director Ironbane said, gesturing for the other goblin to depart and for Nobu'tan to have a seat. "What can we of Gringotts do for you on this visit?"
"Actually, I have come to do something for you and your people…" Nobu'tan said, which caused the Director to pause in his paperwork and look at him.
"The time draws close that the Legion will come to this world, and to be prepared, I am willing to offer the gifts of both Arcane magic, and that of the Fel to your people, to use and train those as you will to become powerful Mages and Warlocks to aid us in the times ahead. There are too few of those I can count as allies that possess these skills, and I know that you will make excellent use of such resources."
The greed was palpable in the Director's eyes, if the steely sheen was anything to go by. Clearly the goblin was calculating what power that they would possess with a handful of his people that held a fraction of Nobu'tan's strength.
"And what is the price of this bargain," he asked suddenly, and Nobu'tan almost laughed at the pragmatic question of the banker, "As allies, I would only wish to see out alliance grow every stronger together. I expect nothing more to be given to myself in exchange for these gifts of knowledge. If you but summon a selection of your most magically attuned people, I could start immediately, and get a group of each magical art started, so that they could begin to learn rapidly and teach others."
From within his robes, Nobu'tan produced scrolls, and a pair of small tomes that he himself had created, which detailed many of the early stages of training for both Mages and Warlocks. "These will help greatly, once I am gone dealing with other business, but I will return often to check on their progress and aid where I can."
The toothy grin was almost feral from the Director as he shouted in his own language for another goblin warrior to fulfill the request. "They will meet in one of our conference rooms below this level, do you want to separate who learns what yourself, or will it matter?"
"With goblins, I doubt it will matter, but I will divide them based on what aptitude I can sense when I meet with them," Nobu'tan confirmed, standing and given a partial bow of respect, "Your wisdom and wealth ever increase, Director…"
The goblin nodded back, "May your enemies fall before you, great teacher…" he said, even as another goblin came to escort Nobu'tan to his new pupils.
If he was surprised by the Goblin Director's immediate acceptance of his tutelage, then Nobu'tan was floored by the number of goblins that had been gathered. Sitting in rows of seating in a conference room, all watching for his arrival, were thirty goblins, all with rapt attention to the Warlock's every move as he entered.
Stepping to the center of the room, which was set low in the floor with rising tiers of seating all around, aside from the aisle to the door, Nobu'tan smirked as he flicked his fingers at each of the braziers, lighting them with different power that he channeled effortlessly, alternating between standard fire, arcane power, and Fel flames that glowed green in the gloom.
The goblins were suitably impressed. Stretching out his magical senses, Nobu'tan began to make swift calculations. There were far more suited to be warlocks here than mages, but the numbers would suffice to make a start, "Many of you are more matched for powers of the Fel," he commented to the group at large, "I will therefore separate those who contain more aptitude for the Arcane, so I may teach you differently, and the magic will not forcibly collide…"
Seven out of the thirty were selected, and Nobu'tan set their chief to be a female goblin named Naglig, moving them to a side that was encompassed by arcane and standard fire braziers, while the other twenty three clustered nearer to the Fel flame torches, and Nobu'tan set a trio of leaders for the significantly larger numbers, selecting another female, Arrat, as well as two male goblins, named Urnar and Ragrast.
It was actually rather gratifying to see an entire room filled with those connecting to the greater powers that be, and Nobu'tan felt the surge of pride knowing that he was, quite literally, changing the fate of a nation. These new warlocks, and their mage allies, would become a powerful source of future servants and warriors for when they struck out through the Twisting Nether to return to Azeroth, and he looked forward to seeing their full potential unleashed.
The goblins were persistent, unwilling to allow for breaks or even pauses as they absorbed every scrap of tutelage that Nobu'tan could think to impart to them, progressing in several hours what had taken the human warlocks weeks to learn. It was a true joy to be their mentor, and Nobu'tan was so focused on instructing them that he barely registered when Director Ironbane made a surprise appearance to see the progress.
"I am most impressed with your work, Mr. Potter…" he said, even as Nobu'tan turned at his approach. "The things that my people can already do after a few hours of training under you are simply astounding."
And it was the truth. Every member of the goblin warlocks had successfully summoned an imp, as well as mastered all the basic fire and debilitating spells that made up a warlocks basic arsenal. And the mages as well were nothing to scoff at, already mastering completely those spells that paved the way for a specialization.
Nobu'tan personally was pleased with his choices of leaders, as each of the primary affiliations were covered, while the lead for the mages, Naglig, was seeming to tend much like Hermione Granger toward the pure power of the Arcane.
"Your people have a devotion to success that I have not seem anywhere else on this world," Nobu'tan admitted with pride, "they strive to progress, even when I myself feel the need for a break, and they continue to practice…"
"It is the goblin way here at Gringotts." Ironbane said, smirking to reveal his many sharp fangs. "I have another potential route that you may wish to consider for allies, if you are willing…"
"Oh," Nobu'tan said, watching as a pair of goblin warlocks started pitting their imps against each other, and the rest joining in on the sport.
"Yes, if you were to approach the werewolf communities, I suspect they would greatly relish the opportunity to break free of Ministry oppression, much like you new friends among the Centaur tribes…" the goblin said knowingly.
"Ah, you heard about that I see…" Nobu'tan replied, brushing off the unsaid accusation.
"Many people heard about that, and how the Ministry is still searching for their whereabouts after getting news of their departure into wizard control lands." The Director clarified, "I trust that they won't be found so easily."
"Assuredly." Nobu'tan affirmed, "Where would I go to contact these werewolves then?" he asked, watching the mages as they continued their practicing. The fact that the goblin spell casters had intentionally continued to work without eavesdropping on their leader was astounding, a true testament to their loyalty to their leaders.
The Director nodded, "Knockturn Alley would be a good place to start, but I would further warn you that not all of the packs will be amiable to your promises, as they fought on the side of the Dark Lord a few years back, and are fanatically loyal to one Fenrir Greyback, who enjoys turning young people into monsters like himself."
"I will take care then, to avoid or eliminate him if I encounter this pack leader," Nobu'tan replied, "It would be best, while I have the cover of the crowds, to go now. I will return to further their progress in time, but have them continue on their own, and begin teaching the fundamentals to others that you find among you people in the meantime."
"It has proven to be a worthwhile venture to deal with you Mr. Potter," Ironbane stated, giving a short bow of respect as the warlock departed, "may it continue to be so as we move into these uncharted waters."
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Severus was more than grateful to leave Black's presence when the man was finally satisfied with their practicing, and return to his important work deciphering those items that Potter had left behind at Hogwarts.
Returning to the comfortable darkness of the Hogwart's dungeon offices that he had claimed so many years ago, Severus locked the door with a spell and turned once more toward the little side table where he had been running his experiments from Potter's notes.
It still astounded him how pure of a form of magic this method of potionmaking was in comparison to that which Severus had mastered over years of study and perfection. Currently simmering on a very low flame was a bubbling greed potion that was marked in the notes as a minor troll's blood elixir, which contrary to the name had nothing to do with trolls, merely granted supposedly a limited form of the creature's regenerative abilities.
Severus had yet to try such a thing, but he was still bottling it just in case someone had need of such a thing with the madness that Potter threatened to bring upon their world. it didn't hurt to be prepared, and thus far into Potter's notes there had been no mistakes or intentional misleading, so Severus had no reason to doubt the effects of these potions.
It was important also, before the school year started up again in a few days, that he clear all the excess remnants of these potions away so that the dunderheads that he had to teach didn't get into it and ruin something that was beyond their level of understanding.
Using his wand to spell the last of the potion into the vials, Severus cleaned out the cauldron with a wave, and banished the cauldron back to join his personal collection. There were only a few potions left in these notes, and a few more which appeared to be incomplete, so it was apparent to Severus that the boy was in the process of copying them from memory, or working out the possibilities in his own mind, having more intimate knowledge of these plants and their capabilities with his system.
However, now that Severus was capable to creating the same potions, he would be able to pick up where the boy's notes left off, and continue wherever Potter may have been meaning to go. The potions were simple enough, being comprised of mostly raw magic with minor substance to add direction, which it was easy to speculate what might have what effect.
It was a challenge that actually appealed to Severus' methods and intelligence, far more than directly challenging Potter by forcing him to participate at the castle's tournament this coming year, but that was the Headmaster's decision, and not one that Severus himself could influence.
Still, he had added several layers of wards to his office and all his personal effects, just in case the worst did happen and Potter tried to level the castle.
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The day had arrived, September the first, and Albus waited at the center of the head table as the newest students were sorted into their houses. The great wizard could sense that many were on edge and brimming with anticipation as to the speculated news of the tournament, and that many more had no idea what was going on, but he would wait until the meal was finished to make his announcements and send them all off to bed.
Curiously, he found himself watching the two sides of the hall as new student were sorted, specifically the figures of Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy. Both were paying keen interest in the new students as well, almost sizing each of them up and their potential worth. Miss Granger would smile every time a new Gryffindor Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff was sorted, while Mr. Malfoy had eyes only for the new Slytherins.
While normally this would seem as nothing but polite children, Albus knew that these two represented the powerful sub factions of the school, known to only a few of the students, and even less of the staff.
The Mages, along with Miss Granger were preparing means to propel their world forward into a new age, one that Albus would gladly see happen, a redefinition of magic as they knew it, while on the other hand, Draco seemed to be following in the footsteps of Nobu'tan, willing to sacrifice their entire world for something else, possibly a new life on a world far from their own.
Why the Malfoy's would so willingly agree to such a cause Albus wasn't sure, but as it seemed they had. He could speculate that it was to escape the punishment that they would undoubtedly accumulate from their former lord when he rose to full power again, which according to Severus the man had been building his strength back up for weeks on end now.
Coupling that with the disappearance of Pettigrew, which he had learned of only through Alastor, as the Ministry was keeping everything to do with Sirius' lack of justice a secret, down to the forbidding of Amelia to even question Peter until it was too late to do so.
Tom would be most wroth with his followers when he learned that they followed another, especially if it was the boy that had defeated him so many years ago. The price they hoped to pay for that level of treachery was high indeed, something that the sort of serpents that Lucius Malfoy and the other Purebloods would want to slip out of without a catch, which was what Nobu'tan had offer: free power given to them from the Legion in exchange for their world, and another that they could flee to and rebuild their lives as they so chose, a seductive temptation if ever there was one to be had.
A pitiable scenario if Albus had his say regarding it. To allow others to pay for your own mistakes and flee somewhere else to hide from it solved nothing, but such was the view of the weak and the corrupt for ages past.
Only time would tell, once Nobu'tan was summoned by the power of the Goblet of Fire, what was to become of these two groups of magic users, an alliance between them due to their mutual progenitor, or rivalry for his attention leading to conflict.
When at last the meal was concluded, and the last of the puddings had vanished away, Albus rose slowly to his feet, suppressing the smirk as all sound in the hall died away, all the children eagerly awaiting news of the Tournament. "So!" Albus started, smiling around at them, "now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices."
Briefly, he went through the usual announcement, regarding Mr. Filch's ever increasing list of banned joke products and other things used for the sake of fun, that which the man greatly detested, as well as the Hogsmeade weekends and the dangers of the forest.
Then the moment arrived at last to drop the news that they had all been waiting for, "It is also my painful duty to inform you all that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." One could have heard the sound of a pin dropping in the hall, the mixture of expectation and horror from the students at that announcement only met with what was to follow.
"This is due to an event that will be starting in October," Albus continued on, wanting to ease the children of this deathly silence as quickly as possible, "and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy… but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely," that is, if they all managed to survive it, Albus thought bitterly. "I have the great pleasure therefore in announcing that this year at Hogwarts; we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event, one that has not been held for over a century: The Triwizard Tournament!"
"You're joking!" yelled out Fred Weasley from the Gryffindor table. Everyone in the hall, student and teacher alike, laughed at the outburst, breaking the stony silence that had so thoroughly gripped them all moments before. Even Albus had to restrain himself to a brief chuckle at the boy's response. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley, although now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…"
Minerva cleared her throat loudly, having also heard that same joke, and reminding Albus of it's less than child friendly content. "…but maybe it is not the time for… no," Albus said wistfully, returning to an aura of near seriousness.
He knew that most of the students had probably stopped listening as he explained the technicalities and other things that were taking place to allow the Tournament to proceed, and when the other schools were to arrive, but there was one further point that he had to make while they were semi-listening to him.
"Eager though I know all of you would be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, calming their excited chatter, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year, for safety concerns. Therefore, only students who are of age, that is to say seventeen years or older by this October, will be allowed to put forth their names for consideration."
Lots of angry muttering followed that, but Albus drove the point home, "I will be personally ensuring that no underage students hoodwink our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champions, therefore I beg of you all that will not be of age to not waste your time trying to submit yourselves unless you are of the correct age."
With that, he dismissed them all to bed, and sat amid the cacophony of sound that returned to the children filled hall. He knew it was rather unfair of him to give them the false hope of being champion regardless, when Albus knew they were using the Tournament to lure Nobu'tan out of his hiding place, but when resting the fate of their world against the fairness of a small inter-school competition, the choice was clear.
Turning to Alastor, who had been announced earlier as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Albus spoke, "And so it begins…"
The grizzly man nodded, "two months till all hell rains down on the school, do you think that's enough time to get all the extra precautions ready for the boy?"
Albus nodded, "I believe so." He had already been getting ready for Nobu'tan's arrival, setting special wards that could detect the use of the Fel magic throughout the castle. Naturally he expected that the others under Draco Malfoy would be triggering them by the end of the week, or sooner, but he set them in such a way that Albus was able to determine the level of power that was put behind a specific spell, and he suspected that that would make the difference telling between Nobu'tan and one of his followers.
With that and Alastor practically becoming the boy's shadow whenever he could, that had to be a significant start to what they hoped to do in nullifying the boy's ability to be deliberately destructive when the time came.
As for the Tournament itself, Albus had a few ideas that he was sure the rest of the judges would appreciate in order to keep a better watch on their champions.
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Hermione was very glad to return once more to Hogwarts. It was starting to seem like she was losing a bit of her connection to the Arcane while she was away from the powerful ley lines that rested under the school. Although, once seated in the Great Hall for the duration of the feast and Professor Dumbledore's announcements regarding the Tournament, she was able to sense a palpable darkness that clouded the room, and with her ability to see through the Arcane, she had been able to tell that it emanated thickly from those Slytherins that had also studied under Harry.
Whatever magic they had learned, not only had it soured within them over the course of the summer, but now it was significantly stronger than before. True, she herself had trained and practiced on her own, as she had encouraged her fellow mages to do the same, but those darker magic users had expanded greatly, and there were not significantly more of them than mages among the three other houses.
That was why, when they were all dismissed to their common rooms to prepare for the following day, Hermione sent a pointed look toward her fellow Gryffindor Mages, especially those who had been with her from the beginning, and therefore were the most advanced, namely: Colin Creevey, Ginny Weasley and Fay Dunbar.
Hanging back in the common room when all the others went up to bed, they gathered in the plush chairs by the fire, speaking in low voices. "Did anyone else sense the great malevolence that wafted over the Slytherin table?" Fay started, commenting on just the thing that Hermione had detected.
"Yeah," Colin agreed, "it was weird, like our magic, but cold and uncaring about those around it…"
"It's dark magic… somewhat similar to what I experienced from him…" Ginny said, and they all paused. Ginny was one of the newest of their higher mages, and she had had firsthand experience with dark magic due to the situation with the Chamber of Secrets. It had been reported, and confirmed by her when asked, that a powerful dark object belonging to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had possessed her into releasing a monster into the school, but that was besides the point. The long and the short was that she indeed knew what Dark Magic felt like, and if she said that these Slytherins had something similar, but also akin to the Arcane, then this was bad.
"Why have we not sensed this before?" Fay asked, turning to Hermione in confusion, "Even when we worked with Malfoy and his lot to try and located Potter, their magic just seemed different, not so blatantly evil."
"Perhaps it always was?" Hermione mused, to the other's disturbed silence, "and only now do they have no reasons to hide what they truly are. Or they've grown too powerful to effectively hide it from the rest of those able to sense it?" she held up a hand to ward off further discussion.
"In any case, they strongly outnumber us now, despite our efforts in three houses and their limitation to just one. We need to step up both training and recruitment if we are to make sure that they can be held in check. Somehow I have a bad feeling about this Tournament. We have no mages that seek to enter yes?" she asked, turning to Fay.
"No," the girl responded, "none of us are old enough even if we wanted to."
"Good, I don't want to broadcast our powers for the Ministry and other schools to see yet, it's too soon for our unveiling." Hermione explained, and the others nodded. They could sense that this power, the arcane magic that filled the entire world, was something that would fundamentally change their society forever, and if introduced at the wrong time, or in the wrong way, it could easily destroy everything.
"Then Malfoy's group is a threat to us…" Ginny said.
Hermione didn't want to admit it, but she was right. Draco clearly had no desires to remain hidden any longer than he had to, and with their power in equal opposition to their own, it would mandate their exposure to counter them if things went awry, which seemed likely to be the case, if anything to do with Sirius Black's escape was even remotely true.
Hermione had done her research and discovered the lack of evidence that had held the man prisoner, as well as the lackadaisical searching that the Ministry had adhered to. Something was rotten at the top of the Ministry, and it was not a situation that Hermione was willing to introduce her new magic into, for fear of its immediate abuse, or worse exclusion and labeling as Dark Magic.
"So, what do we do in the meantime to halt Malfoy and his dark mages?" Colin asked, which Hermione mentally agreed was a needful concept to give much thought to. They had to do something immediately to stifle the Slytherin group's progress towards revealing them too soon.
But finding something that would distract them would be difficult to say the least. "I do not know," Hermione answered for the time being, "There are many variables, and I don't want to set off the possibility of open hostilities between us. We're the only Gryffindor and Slytherin groups that are tolerant of each other, and if we fall into distrust, then the rest of the school may devolve even further."
"You mean, actual fighting might start?" Fay asked, horrified.
"It's downright possible." Hermione affirmed. She had studied the effect of their magic on those who did not know how to harness its power. Even to an untrained witch or wizard, the Arcane could be sensed on a subconscious level, and when it was excited, such as in use by a mage or other powerful caster, the wizard or witch would react accordingly, sometimes without their full conscious approval of their actions.
It was frightening that they could, in fact, potentially control the school through innocent things like conjuring muffins. If the Mages therefore went to open hostilities with Draco's Slytherins, then the rest of the school would unknowingly follow with the saturation of Arcane magic throughout the building.
"So we keep to ourselves, build up our people, and wait to see if this tournament has any negative consequences to it, before acting." Ginny said astutely. It was the most sensible thing after all.
"Yes, I agree," Hermione said, stifling a yawn, "but for the moment, we should retire, there is much ahead of us, and not just another year at Hogwarts it seems."
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Draco could sense a palpable change in the air around the school for the start of his fourth year. Already things were moving in a direction he was not sure would be productive for the Order of the Black Harvest. Both Dumbledore and Mad-Eye Moody were at Hogwarts, as well as this Tournament that had for so long been opposed by the man, according to Draco's father, suddenly being allowed to happen at long last, it didn't add up to something that the warlock liked.
Quickly writing a private missive to his father regarding these turn of events, as well as reporting their swelled numbers, as other Slytherins were flocking to the others now to learn the ways of the Fel, Draco felt more than assured that, should some conflict occur within these walls, that they could at last hold their own for a time. Let the staff or the Ministry try and stop their progress now, at the worst, the others outside the castle could summon them out and that would be that.
Professor Snape gave his same start-of-term speech, primarily for the sake of the new first years, but Draco was past listening to the man. He was a servant of Dumbledore, and therefore his enemy anyway, placed here to spy on them, likely from the beginning.
The others from the innermost circles of the Order had gathered in their dormitory at the close of the day, but sleep was the last thing on any of their minds.
"What do you think Draco?" Theodore asked, "Dumbledore is planning something, but I get the feeling you have an idea as to what."
"I'm not sure what it is specifically," Draco admitted, glancing around the room at his four closest allies in this school. "But it has to do with the Tournament. Whether it is some sort of scheme to lure our Nobu'tan I do not know, but we had best be on our guard."
"According to my father," Crabbe spoke up, which caused each of them to pause. Both he and Goyle did not speak much, but that was not necessarily due to a lack of intelligence, but rather a lack of need to add their opinion, which clearly was not the case now, "the Champions for the Tournament were always chosen by the Goblet of Fire, a very powerful artifact that bound the competitors with an oath to compete if they were selected."
Blaise looked thoughtful at that, "I can see what a form of this plan would be, force Nobu'tan to return to Hogwarts under the pretense of competing in the Tournament, but then what? We know what our leader would do in response to such a dramatic demand from the old Headmaster."
And Draco had no doubts that they did all know specifically the amount of damage and chaos that Nobu'tan could rain down in revenge for any slight that the old man might make against him. "No, there's something else that the old man is up to, but I do think that this is part of it," Draco said, feeling that the idea had merit.
"Dumbledore must think he has some means of preventing Nobu'tan from laying waste to the school, us perhaps?" Theodore said, but already Draco was shaking his head, "If it were merely us, then we would be summoned right out of the school under their noses. No, I sense that Dumbledore feels that he has something over our leader that will prevent him from harming the other students in his… of course…" he said, stopping as he realized it.
"What? What is it?" Blaise asked, leaning forward from his bed.
"Has Nobu'tan ever gone out of his way to harm an innocent in all the time you've come to know him?" Draco asked, seeking confirmation from those around him. For a few moments they all stared off, deep in thought, before each returned a negative response, "No, I didn't believe so either. And why would he, there's nothing to gain from it. That is what Dumbledore is banking on, that Nobu'tan won't intentionally harm the innocent in the school just to get back at the old man. He's effectively using all of us as human shields."
"So," Theodore commented, "what can we do to make sure that this plan fails?"
"I do not know," Draco admitted, turning back to Crabbe, "How does this Goblet of Fire know who has submitted themselves for the Tournament?"
The boy thought for a moment, "Candidates would write their own names on parchment and place it into the goblet, so that it could get a sense of their magic."
"So, any piece of parchment with Nobu'tan's' name upon it, either name for that matter, and they could submit him without his own knowledge." Draco asked, seeking clarification.
"One would presume so," Goyle said, nodding his agreement, "Quite a dangerous flaw if you ask me…"
"No wonder they kept cancelling the Tournament," Blaise added, "people were likely getting submitted against their wishes since the beginning, trying to get them killed…"
"But is that what Dumbledore is playing at?" Theodore argued, "To kill Nobu'tan, it doesn't seem like the method that the old man would use."
"No, it most certainly doesn't" Draco agreed, staring hard into the covers of his bed as he sat back, "but whatever the man's motivation; we have no means of stopping him. They have two years worth of Nobu'tan's name on parchment, and I doubt that his magic would be weak enough, even then, to not be considered the most able to compete in the Tournament out of all Hogwarts."
"So, what shall we do?" Blaise asked.
"We prepare for Nobu'tan to make his arrival here at Hogwarts come October, and do everything in our power to shield him from the machinations of Dumbledore and Moody, if possible." Draco replied, standing and returning to his desk. There was much more to add to his letter now. Draco had no doubts that Lord Nobu'tan would formulate a cunning plan once he learned of this plot against him, however, and Draco would be prepared to do whatsoever was required of him.
