Seven figures stood in a half circle in the musty basement of number 12 Grimmauld Place. Most of the cleaning in the past couple of weeks had been focused on the upper floors to prepare the building for habitation. Conjured lighting lit piles of old stored goods that had been shifted along the walls to make room in the center for an elaborate chalk circle. A crisscross of lines terminated at the far northern edge over which a newly formed blue portal hovered. From the left where Sirius stood, he could see how its blue flickering played with the shadows on the faces of the others.
Dumbledore, in the center position, was watching the portal, waiting for the slightest hint of life. Others, such as Molly and Arthur, seemed more nervous. They'd been unsure if using a spell found in a library filled with such dark magic was a good idea in the first place. Privately, Sirius had agreed with them. Memories of his family's darker tendencies had kept him from looking too closely at many of the books they were sorting out. The consequences of dark magic were usually not worth the price.
Snape and Moody looked much calmer in contrast, but he could tell they were both wound up like a spring, vigilant and ready to fling spells at any second if this went wrong. Moody had been called in specifically for this. The year he had spent in a trunk had not done him any favours, but he had recovered enough to be involved in Order business. In fact, he had insisted on being involved. In most of the recent Order meetings Moody had been quick and eager to propose plans and shoot down ideas that wasted time. Sirius supposed that being stuck in a trunk for that long was pretty motivating.
As the last member of the half circle made eye contact with him, Sirius tried to give him a reassuring smile. Thought Remus had been hesitant about the idea as well, he understood just how desperate the situation had become.
Concern within the Order was rising as time passed and no evidence of Voldemort's plans had been found. They knew he was plotting something, but with no news or strange movements from suspected Death Eaters, they were getting desperate for results. The ministry had been ignoring and publicly condemning anyone who supported Dumbledore and Harry's claim that Voldemort had returned. The upcoming school year was a pressing point as well. With no Defense against the Dark Arts professor located yet, it was only a matter of time before the ministry stepped in and selected one themselves. It was possible the school could become compromised and there was nothing they could do about it.
Light flashed suddenly as something in the portal moved. Sirius snapped his gaze over just in time to see what looked like a rolled-up piece of parchment being waved through the portal from the other side before it retreated. A couple of seconds passed before the seven individuals turned to face each other, bewildered.
Somewhere completely different, 30 seconds ago.
"You are not sticking your hand in that, we have no idea where it leads."
Outstretched fingers paused, inches from the blue portal that had formed in their office a minute ago.
"OK, fine, hand me some parchment, we'll see if it comes out intact."
"It seems the spell is working as intended," Dumbledore mused, a slight smile in his eyes. "There is someone on the other side, but they are cautious enough not to jump through immediately."
Moody snorted. "Seems we got lucky that it's someone with half a brain, but whether they actually come through is another story." He took a more ready position, wand half up and primed to take action should their visitor prove to be hostile.
Suddenly, a rat was thrown through the portal, skidding to a halt a few feet from it and immediately trying to scamper off to the right side of the half circle. Molly jumped and muffled a shout, but quickly recovered once it became clear that the rat was unable to move much further from the portal. Looking closely, Sirius noticed that a thin string was tied around it, almost like a leash, to prevent it from running away.
Movement from Snape drew his attention as the professor crouched down to inspect the rat more closely. "It looks like a common rat, possibly being used as a test subject to determine if this side of the portal is safe to-". He broke off as the rat was suddenly dragged back through the portal by the string.
Somewhere completely different, once again. 1 minute ago.
A squirming rat was floating in the air, fetched from the adjoining kitchen storeroom that hid the entrance to the Knights of the Shield office they worked from.
"Hold it still." Grey fingers struggled to tie a string around the squirming creature.
"When I suggested testing the effects of the environment on the other side of the portal on biological matter, this is not what I had in mind."
Dumbledore nodded. "Our visitor should be coming through soon then, if this last test if any indication".
They waited another minute, and just as Sirius' anxiety was beginning to rise again, a pale grey finger cautiously poked its way through the portal, before being pulled back. Another round of looks was exchanged, but before anyone was able to say anything, a figure finally stepped through the portal.
Somewhere different, for the last time. Seconds ago.
"Can I take a look now?"
A long suffering sigh. Healing potions clinked in clawed hands. "Yes."
The first thing Sirius noted was that the colour of the individual's skin was indeed a grey tone. He had thought that it was a trick of the light that caused the finger to look grey, but upon being confronted with the figure in full, he realized that their assumptions about the recipient of their summoning may have been a bit misplaced.
The man standing in front of them was nearly as tall as Dumbledore, with long white hair. The similarities ended there. Pronounced facial features and lilac eyes surveyed the room. His posture was relaxed, but Sirius could tell he was scanning them for threats. The gleaming armour worn by the man was elaborate, although small dents and repaired sections showed that it had seen action in the past.
Almost everything he wore, from his boots to his gauntlets, was a monotone mix of blacks and greys. The pale gold embellishments on his armour stood out sharply and almost glowed in the dim light. A tall staff was in his hand, ornamented at the end with a brassy metal sculpture holding two glowing yellow orbs in place. The larger orb at the top was accented with elegant points that grew from the metal, and the detailed head of some sort of feline or draconic figure.
The man finally looked directly at Sirius, having completed his scan of the inhabitants of the room, and Sirius saw a flash of a winding tattoo flowing through the man's left eye, almost hidden behind the curtain of freely flowing white hair. The other side of his hair was braided back along the side of his head, revealing a pointed ear. Sirius had enough time to note the resemblance to depictions of elves in muggle fantasies before Dumbledore spoke, bringing the rooms attention to him.
"Greetings, I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I must apologize for this disruption to your life, and thank you for taking the time to meet with us."
White eyebrows rose, and their visitor cleared his throat before speaking with a musical accent, a slight rumble punctuating some of his words. "This is certainly a new one for me. School of Wizardry you mentioned? Are these your students then?".
A sigh of relief was let out by some who had previously voiced concerns that there may be a language barrier to complicate communication with whoever they would end up summoning. Dumbledore smiled and continued, "Some have been my students in the past. At the moment we are not acting on official Hogwart's business. This is a more… personal matter. This summoning," he gestured around at the circle and portal. "Is designed to call upon a 'champion' from elsewhere to assist in times of need. I must admit this is our first time attempting it. We discovered it in an old family library, and the description was missing some parts."
The man sighed. "So, this is totally random? You didn't target me or anyone else in particular?"
Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "We were not even sure if this would work." He began a rehearsed explanation of their situation, starting with their current problem, the Ministry's lack of belief in Voldemort's resurrection. The headmaster only got a few sentences in before the man held up his hand, indicating for Dumbledore to pause.
"Give me one second, before we discuss this further. I need to let my partner know that I'm alright, He's waiting for me to check in with him." He stepped back to the portal and leaned forward on his staff to push his head through. After some seconds, he turned back around with a smile on his face. "We're willing to hear you out; he'll be joining me eventually," he indicated the portal with a jerk of his head. "Right now he's calculating the planar coordinates that this portal connects to so we can open another one if we need to. Or something like that. Not my strong suit really." He waved his hand dismissively. "Please let me know if it's on a limited timer. if you close it on purpose, well," his smile sharpened. "We would have to assume this is a kidnapping attempt, and that would not go over very well."
The threat hung in the air for a second before Dumbledore nodded. "A wise precaution to take. I assure you; we have no motivation to force you to help if you do not wish to. We will keep the portal open."
"Wonderful! I will have to check back again in ten minutes or so, but I am eager for that explanation now. Based on what we've deciphered so far, wherever this is, it is not a plane of existence I am familiar with." He stepped forward to shake hands with Dumbledore. "Sorry for not introducing myself earlier by the way, I am Kronnis Teken'rret, Hero of Baldur's Gate."
Kronnis looked around the room expectantly, and Sirius realized that no one else except for Dumbledore had given him their names. They had agreed that the headmaster would lead any potential 'negotiations', but given that they had no way of knowing how the interaction would go, they had all been observing with bated breath. Anxious and hopeful that the headmaster would be able to gain the support of this so-called champion, and afraid that one wrong comment would ruin their chances.
A round of introductions followed, and Kronnis nodded to each member in turn. The atmosphere of tension in the room began to dissipate at the more casual conversation.
When they finished, Dumbledore spoke up again. "Yes, I believe we may come from very different worlds indeed. I must admit, I am well versed in the magical creatures and people on our planet, but I have never heard of one such as yourself. Forgive an old man's curiosity, but what manner of creature are you?"
"I'm a drow. I admit, we're not commonly seen on the surface. Perhaps you may be more familiar with the terms deep elf or dark elf?" Seeing their blank looks, he continued. "It's possible your plane does not have a population of drow." Kronnis shrugged.
"The only elves we have around here are house elves, and they're much smaller, only about two to three feet tall." Sirius chimed in, showing with his hands roughly how tall Kreacher was.
A raised eyebrow. "Interesting. That raises just as many questions as it answers, but I think an explanation is in order first, before I derail this conversation further to compare our demographics." He laughed.
Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed, I am sure we will have time to compare notes in the future."
Sirius watched Kronnis curiously as Dumbledore restarted his explanation, covering the course of the last war and the return of Voldemort. The drow's face had shifted into a frown, and he had interrupted with some questions to clarify certain points, such as what exactly a muggle was. Sirius had no idea what a lich was but from how concerned the man seemed to be about the potential of Voldemort being one, it didn't seem like a good sign.
After Dumbledore finished, Sirius exchanged nervous glances with other order members. Kronnis was taking some time to contemplate what he had been told. Hope was palpable in the air, as their ritual seemed to have been successful, but there was no telling if this stranger would be able, or even willing, to assist them. Did he have a family to get back to? Some other crisis to deal with at home? And there was still the lingering question: he may have been a champion and hero chosen by the ritual, but could they trust him? Sirius' thoughts shifted darkly to Pettigrew.
He was broken out of his brooding when Kronnis spoke up again. "It sounds like the first problem you need to address is getting proof that Voldemort is back. Once your Ministry has proof shoved in their faces they'll have to react. Best to provide the information to the public as well so the Ministry doesn't have a choice. It's possible there are Death Eater agents embedded in the Ministry to prevent a response, or to sabotage their efforts."
Sirius found himself nodding along, thinking about his own botched trial. There were so many suspected Death Eaters still walking free that he would be surprised if none of them were currently involved in Ministry matters, and it was likely that some had been left free due to supporters working behind the scenes in the Ministry.
"I'm not sure if playing bodyguard for this Harry Potter boy would be the best use of my time, but that can be discussed later. I assume you have some plan in mind." Sirius must have missed that part of the conversation while he was lost in his thoughts. Protecting Harry should be his job. He ached to ask the headmaster again to let him go to Hogwarts during the school year, even if just in his animagus form. Dumbledore had denied him every time the subject was brought up, and had made it clear that the risk was too high for Sirius. They were both well aware that he would be given the kiss if caught.
"Investigating and figuring out how to permanently kill Voldemort is definitely something we can do though. I've dealt with undead before." Kronnis smiled. "Killed this one guy who came back to life after a hundred years, he had bound the immortal daughter of a goddess to himself, resulting in his own functional immortality. Watched him pull an axe out of his neck one time, pretty potent stuff. Not sure how Voldemort managed to come back but I have some ideas on how to figure out."
That was… surprising. And a bit suspicious that Kronnis seemingly had experience in a frighteningly similar situation. But perhaps the summoning spell really did have a way to hone in on a champion that could actually help them.
Kronnis continued. "I'm a powerful sorcerer myself, but wielding magic seems to be a common ability here, and I'm not sure how our magic would interact exactly. I also have some skill in the mind arts, do you have similar practices here? It's possible this won't work if they're not as compatible as I hope. I could peer into the minds of individuals that you suspect are working with Voldemort, use that to gather proof, and track down the rest of his network, following the breadcrumbs so to speak, in order to lead us to someone who knows how he came back to life." Sirius had been getting more hopeful, but deflated upon hearing this. He noticed Snape shaking his head.
"I doubt that will work." Snape drawled dismissively. "Voldemort is a powerful Legilimens and is skilled in Occlumency as well. Legilimency is the practice of reading minds, Occlumency is used to shield the mind against intrusions through Legilimency. These are not common skills, but I doubt Voldemort would entrust any valuable information to a Death Eater that is not talented in these arts."
Kronnis looked thoughtful. "That would make this a lot harder." He looked at Snape, then swiveled his gaze around the room. "How many people are trained in these arts? I could try it out now to see how our abilities match up. My partner is actually much better at this than I am; the best in the city by a long shot."
Snape exchanged a hesitant look with Dumbledore. "I am skilled in both. We can put this matter to rest now. Try to enter my mind and we will see if this works." As much as Sirius hated to admit it, Snape was an accomplished Occlumens, second only to Dumbledore himself in those of the Order.
A brief stare down ensued. Both Kronnis and Snape had gone completely still.
"Blue. A potion. Some sort of flaming bird. Seven. A broom. A woman with red hair." Kronnis suddenly began speaking, with each phrase Snape seemed to grow more frustrated. Sirius realized with surprise that Kronnis appeared to be calling out what Snape was thinking about.
Abruptly, Snape held up his hand. "Enough. I see our methods have some… slight disconnect. You are able to get past my shields somehow, but I could still feel the touch of your mind." He seemed thoughtful. "This could be helpful in gathering information, but it would be difficult to do so undetected. We can test this further with others of varying skills to determine the limits, but your idea does seem to have some merit." Sirius privately thought that it must have pained Snape to say that.
Kronnis seemed satisfied. "I'll take it as proof of concept. My partner can test it further at a later time, his touch is much more precise than mine will ever be." He turned back to Dumbledore. "I should update him again. If he's willing, I think we could stay here and help out. To be honest this seems like it'll be a fun break. I'm getting a bit sick of playing politics back home. We've spent the past 5 years getting the city back in order after taking care of the Absolute, long story that I'll have to share later, so I think the politicians can deal without our help for a while. I'll see if Wyll can look into some of our affairs while we're gone." he seemed to muse to himself.
"Oh, and obviously we're going to need something in exchange," he focused back on Dumbledore, "but given that this is a whole new plane, I think having access to, and being taught about your system of magic would be enough." His gaze turned to Snape. "Your potions seem fascinating as well, ours are not as complicated as yours seem to be." Snape did not look nearly as enthused as Kronnis appeared to be about this.
As the drow turned back to the portal to speak with his mysterious partner again, Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. He had tempered his expectations, not expecting someone to drop their own life just to help them, but it seemed Kronnis was getting more excited about this with each new piece of information he learned.
Kronnis only spent slightly longer than before with his head through the portal before he turned back to Dumbledore. "My partner is packing up some of our supplies now. We'll probably have to go home a few times to make sure our affairs are being handled. Need to make sure Duke Portyr isn't going to try to pass a ban on wine from his competitor in Watergate again, you know how it is." He seemed to find his inside joke very amusing.
"Excellent! I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude, and I believe I have a solution for your request to learn about our magic." Dumbledore beamed at Kronnis. "As headmaster of Hogwarts I can invite you onto school grounds. With the school year is starting in a few weeks, you would be able to sit in on classes and have full access to our library. It is the most extensive in the British Isles. In the meantime, I am sure Sirius would not mind you digging through the Black family library here. We are currently cleaning it out but you are welcome to keep any books we intend to get rid of." He offered, catching Sirius' eye.
"Oh, yeah, that should be no problem, I was probably going to throw out half the library anyway. Too much dark magic for my tastes, and I don't want the kids getting into some of those books." Last week Sirius had found a book containing some very detailed descriptions of a flaying curse. Anyone willing to get books like that out of his library was welcome to them. "Unless Dumbledore has other plans, I think you'll be staying here with me for a while?" He asked tentatively.
"Yes," the headmaster nodded, "I believe that would be best. We use this building, number 12 Grimmauld Place, for our Order meetings. It belongs to Sirius and is protected against intrusion by powerful magic. Until the school year begins, Harry and his friends are staying here as well."
Kronnis nodded knowingly, a wry smile on his face. "I see, I suppose it will be good to get to know Harry, seeing as you seem to have talked me into those bodyguard services after all. We'll make sure to keep an eye on him while in Hogwarts."
The surprise arrival of a wooden crate floating through the portal and falling to the floor silenced the conversation. Kronnis quickly strode over to pick it up and moved it off to the side. "That would be some of our supplies. Not sure how much he's going to send through, but he's probably almost done packing by now."
"Of course," Dumbledore continued. "We can prepare some rooms for you; I believe it is almost time for dinner as well. You can take some time to settle in tonight and then we can have an Order meeting tomorrow to introduce you to everyone else."
Molly straightened up. "You're right, I should finish preparing dinner! Arthur, dear, could you set up two rooms for Kronnis and his partner? I set up laundry in the third bedroom on the second floor."
"Actually, we'll be fine with one room." Kronnis interrupted them before they could make their way to the stairs. He was carrying another box that had arrived as Molly was speaking.
A pause, then Arthur nodded and confirmed which bedroom to prepare before he and Molly left the basement.
Some sacks were… tossed? Levitated? Through the portal next. Kronnis suddenly stopped and turned as he was carrying them to the side. "You know, we totally forgot to discuss demographics. You don't have drow or many types elves here, and you're all humans as far as I can tell. Does your secret wizard society only let humans in? Do you have orcs? Tieflings? Halflings? Gnomes?"
Looks were exchanged between Sirius and Remus. "Wizards and witches are humans, with the exception of some mixed individuals like half-veela. I have never heard of tieflings but I don't think we have orcs or halflings in our world. Gnomes are garden pests here." Remus explained. "As far as muggles are concerned, only humans are intelligent. We know that there are other magical species that are intelligent, such as centaurs, but they mostly keep to their own societies. Aside from goblins and house elves, we don't have many other species that mingle with us."
Sirius saw concern spread over Kronnis' face. "Really? In Baldur's gate there isn't a single race that dominates the majority. There might be more humans and half-elves than most others, but even tieflings make up about 6 percent of the population. Halflings another 9, gnomes maybe 8. Some races like hobgoblins are a bit rarer but you'll still see a couple." He dumped the bags. "I suppose that explains why you were so curious about my race, it might be a bit harder to blend in here than I thought."
Unsure looks were passed around as they realized the problem. Moody spoke up. "We would have had to figure this out eventually. If you walk around in the middle of Diagon Alley you'll be the center of attention. We didn't have any solid plans because we had no idea who or what this spell was going to try to summon. A foreign diplomat of some sort might still work, but you speak English almost too well."
"English? I thought we were speaking common."
"We call this language English here" Sirius commented.
Kronnis hummed. "I can see how this may be a problem." Hesitation flickered over his face, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know if he should. "Out of curiosity," He started, and Sirius could tell he was feigning casualness. "Do you have mind flayers or illithids here?"
Sirius did not like the sound of anything that was called a mind flayer.
"I don't believe I have ever heard of a creature with that name." Dumbledore offered.
"I guess that's probably the better answer. My partner is a mind flayer, but I think I'll leave that for him to explain."
No one said anything. Another box was sent through the portal.
"Mind flayer. Is that name connected in any way to his supposed skill in reading minds?" Sirius dared to ask.
Kronnis shook his hand from side to side. "Ehhhh, not really. Maybe? I'm actually not sure where the name originated." He walked back to the portal. "If you don't have much variety in races mingling in your society, I better go tell him to make sure to bring his disguise, it'll still be obvious that he's not human, but not much you can do about that. Should at least make him seem more like a curiosity and avoid some questions."
As he stuck his head back into the portal Sirius took the opportunity to mumble to Remus. "He needs a disguise back where they come from as well?"
Remus shrugged helplessly. Their attention turned back to Kronnis as he backed away from the portal with an armful of scrolls and parchments. These were swiftly piled up on top of one of the boxes. "He'll be through any minute. Told me he was just speaking with Duke Ravenguard about upcoming meeting dates to see when they might need our input on things."
"Ah, yes, in fact, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to accompany me to the Ministry next week." The headmaster inquired. "Harry has a hearing coming up and I believe this would be a great chance for you to see the Ministry building, as well as meet and potentially scan the minds of suspected Death Eaters. I would also like to arrange a meeting with the Minister for you. I think our best plan at the moment would be to pass you off as foreign visitors from a very secluded magical enclave. The Minister will surely be interested in meeting with you, if only to make sure I am not gathering allies to act against him."
"Excellent idea, I would love to see this Ministry building myself, and I'm sure we can pull a lot of information from the Minister. Maybe figure out a way to influence him into working with us." Kronnis seemed about to say more but something in the portal moved again.
A large figure floated through, towering over everyone in the room. Sirius thought Kronnis' armour was elaborate before, but what this creature was wearing dwarfed it both in size and detail. Spikes grew from the shoulders to arc into the air. Every inch of the surface was covered in an organic looking pattern of divots filled with a purple substance. The bottom half morphed into a robe that opened in the front for mobility. Magenta-colored gems studded the armour and shone in the light. But what drew his attention most were the four coiling tentacles, each longer than his arm, that erupted from the bottom half of the creature's face.
Sirius stared in horror, taking a step back in shock. The spikes of the armour framed an elongated head, lilac in colour, and the creature's glowing purple eyes looking around the room. Eventually they settled on Dumbledore, still standing in the center of their now broken half circle.
"Greetings, you may refer to me as the Emperor."