Author's notes:
Filled with rage. Going to strangle this chapter. Throwing it out the door. Actively obsessed with some parts but I'm disinheriting the rest.
Actually, I feel better now because I went back to work on chapter 8 and I'm having a great time giving Kronnis a mortal enemy in the form of a slightly pissed off owl. Putting my guys in so many situations.
I write these authors notes at 1 am in bed in various installments. They're very disjointed and unhinged.
I have several weekend appointments this month so the next chapters might be delayed. Hopefully only by about a day or two at most. They're already written, I'm just not sure if ill be able to finish editing in time for my Monday goals. Will update here if something comes up.
Beta read once again by Circade.
Curious faces met Kronnis after breakfast the next morning. Order members slowly filed into the dining room, which doubled as the preferred meeting place for the organization.
It quickly became clear that the subject of their arrival hadn't been common knowledge among the group yet. A small man by the name of Mundungus Fletcher had amusingly let out a strangled shriek at the sight of the Emperor and eyed him with a shifty look for the remainder of the meeting.
The reactions of others varied. Nymphadora Tonks, who preferred just Tonks, showed a great deal of excitement at their presence. The young witch almost stumbled over a chair in her rush to sit next to Kronnis. She soon surprised him with her peculiar ability to change her appearance at will, reminding him of Orin's Doppelgangers. While they waited for the meeting to begin, she entertained herself by mimicking his features, letting him critique the colour of her hair and the shape of her ears until she got them just right.
Dumbledore eventually called the room to order, and explained how Kronnis and the Emperor had come to assist them, for the benefit of those who did not seem to be aware of yesterday's plan to summon outside help. He turned the floor over to them, and the Emperor took charge to launch into an explanation of who they were and what they brought to the table. In contrast to the tale they'd told in front of the children the previous night, this time they didn't leave out any unsavory details, opting only to censor irrelevant private moments.
Starting with a crash course on the true nature and diet of mind flayers almost brought the entire endeavor to an early end. Luckily, Sirius and the other adults living at Grimmauld Place were willing to vouch that they'd behaved themselves with no problems so far, calming the room enough for them to continue.
Kronnis subtly dispelled the prepared casting of Fireball he had been ready to launch into the middle of the room, had things truly gone beyond their control.
Expressions of horror and disgust had morphed to include some level of pity once the Emperor explained illithid culture in more detail. Hivemind control was strategically likened to slavery, which was seen as a barbaric practice in this world. Although, Kronnis couldn't help but be reminded of the house elf that Sirius mentioned he had 'inherited'.
They managed to avoid an additional ethical argument by reframing the illithid tendency to dominate the minds of others as being a tradition of Elder Brain colonies. The Emperor's unfortunate history with Stelmane was only mentioned in passing as a close business relationship.
Over the past five years the Emperor had opted to change his own personal methods, rarely stooping to the convenience of enthralling individuals. A subtle charm, suggestion, or illusion tended to be enough to gain the upper hand in most negotiations, with mundane threats serving their purpose as needed. They preferred to maintain an amicable relationship with those few in the city that knew the truth of the Emperor's presence and identity. Gratitude for saving Baldur's Gate certainly went a long way to smoothing over certain perspectives.
A comprehensive and clinical explanation of the process of ceremorphosis followed, with emphasis placed on how none of the hosts typically selected to undergo the process were willing participants.
By the time the Emperor finished explaining his personal struggle to retain his freedom, the Order looked ready to accept him as an ally. A victim of circumstance, rather than a monster liable to attack them at any moment. There remained, understandably, a healthy amount of lingering suspicion, but Kronnis could see this alliance working out in the long term.
Remus in particular had again professed words of solidarity with the Emperor's situation. Words that, outwardly, he was thanked for, but Kronnis' private connection with the emperor buzzed faintly with the mind flayers indignation at being pitied for what he considered to be an improved state of being.
After that, they spent several hours regaling the group with their story of adventure, answering questions on customs and clarifying context as they went.
Eventually, a discussion to explain the differences between their magic was brought up. Demonstrations were performed by both sides. Being mostly combat-focused, Kronnis stuck to cantrips and simple spells like Darkness. Favorites such as Fireball and Chain Lightning were only explained in as much detail as was possible without actually casting them.
The Emperor had then tested his skills in thought-probing. Snape had only briefly been able to feel his touch, commenting on the subtle alien sensation of a foreign consciousness reaching deep into his shields. Dumbledore, on the other hand, claimed to have felt the Emperor's mind brush against his several times. His shields stood strong against attempts to subvert his defenses.
Given that they had been prepared and on the lookout for intrusions to their minds, it was decided that anyone besides Voldemort himself would be unlikely to notice anything amiss. The Emperor was given the green light to rummage to his hearts content, so long as he stayed politely out of the heads of other Order members.
Once the group felt comfortable working with them and had a basic grasp of their skillset, a plan of action was debated. Ideas were brought up, shot down, or planned out. Politics were explained, light research was done, and arguments were had over secrecy. Kronnis felt as though he had never left Baldur's Gate, although at least no one was arguing about some tax legislation currently being drafted by the Parliament of Peers.
It was decided that their best move would be to get the Emperor into contact with some well-connected people, and start siphoning information out of them. The Order could look into leads on Voldemort's plans and followers, and hopefully they would eventually find enough proof to rally the magical world for another war.
A falsified backstory was crafted over the course of the afternoon. They would pretend to be from a secluded enclave of magic users that went into hiding centuries ago. Blending information from their actual background, they had located an extensive cave system, the Optymistychna Cave in Eastern Europe, to act as the home of the civilization they were inventing.
It would be easier to keep track of half-truths rather than outright lies, so the Underdark was being used as inspiration for details on daily life. Their cover story would paint them as ambassadors from a culture that was looking to make contact with the outside world again, chosen due to their influence and renown in their fake version of Baldur's Gate.
Their reasoning for spending the school year at Hogwarts would be that they had heard whispers of a magical tournament during their initial exploration into the surface world, and turned their eyes towards the school where it was being held. The fact that Harry had won the tournament, bringing honor and glory to Hogwarts, helped strengthen the idea that they were interested in Hogwarts in particular.
They had then contacted the headmaster, who agreed to host and assist them with navigating Wizarding Britain, in the lingering spirit of international cooperation. The school would be an ideal place for ambassadors to learn about wizarding history, culture, and the differences between how their magic developed.
The Emperor drafted a letter to send to Cornelius Fudge, requesting an audience with the Minister for Magic under their new guise as ambassadors. The prospect of manipulating the man to further their own goals was tempting, as his cooperation would open doors and solve several of the Order's problems.
Dumbledore had warned them that they would have their work cut out for them. Apparently, the Minister held quite a bit of animosity towards the headmaster, being under the assumption that he was out to steal his position. They'd have to tread carefully, coming across as neutral as possible to avoid giving any indication that Dumbledore may have already managed to sway them to his side.
In the coming days they'd be accompanying the headmaster to the Ministry, hoping to be allowed into Harry's disciplinary hearing. Something about how he'd used magic outside of Hogwarts, which was illegal for underage wizards. A load of rubbish, in Kronnis' opinion, but who was he to question another worlds laws. Dumbledore seemed to have a plan, and the old man was cunning enough that Kronnis wasn't particularly worried for the boy.
Their proposed meeting with Fudge would hopefully be scheduled after that, and they anticipated that their presence during Ministry affairs would tempt other political players into reaching out. Through these people, they could filter through political and personal connections to find potential targets that might hold knowledge about Voldemort's current activities.
It was late in the evening by the time Kronnis opened the door to let them into their room. The Emperor immediately moved to the desk, intent on penciling in a rough schedule for them, planning ahead for when they would need to return to Baldur's Gate to manage their affairs, and whittle down the criminal population.
Kronnis himself flopped down onto the two single beds they'd pushed together, grumbling about how this was starting to look less like an adventure, and more of an infiltration mission.
"I am glad you convinced me to go along with this," the Emperor's voice caressed his mind, distracting him from his thoughts on the day-long meeting he had just suffered through. "After dealing with Voldemort we should have a powerful new ally in the wizards of this plane. An exclusive trade agreement between us should be easy to arrange, once we determine what would be worth trading for."
Kronnis laughed. "Of course, you know my intentions all along were to enhance our commercial endeavors." A light-hearted, mocking tone had entered his voice halfway through, mimicking the Emperor's speech pattern.
The mind flayer chuckled at his sarcasm, shared mirth bubbling in their minds. "You will have your chance for excitement, I suspect defeating Voldemort will not be as easy as simply locating him." The bed dipped next to Kronnis as his partner joined him, sitting on the edge. "His supposed return from the dead is concerning. We do not know enough about this planes magic to determine if he will simply rise from the dead again if we eliminate him. Dumbledore said that the ritual Harry described was not familiar to him."
"We should have a chat with Harry," Kronnis suggested. "There has to be some link between him and Voldemort, and from what they told us about the last couple of years, I'd say that curse scar is pretty damn suspicious."
A hum thrummed through his head. "I agree, a good place to start while we wait to speak with the Minister. We can see if he is available tomorrow."
Kronnis sat up. "I'm pretty sure they've just got the kids cleaning and doing homework until the school year starts. He'll probably jump at the chance to do anything else."
Their conversation died down, a comfortable silence settling into their minds.
"It is exciting, being somewhere new," Kronnis admitted after some moments. "Extremely new. From the sound of it, no one's ever been to this plane before."
"We could be the first." The thrill the Emperor felt at the prospect was undeniable, leaking through to Kronnis' thoughts.
He looked up, watching with delight as ambition brewed in his partners eyes, slick avarice burning in the mind behind them. The Emperor's scheming tendencies had always been one of his most attractive features. "What an opportunity…" Whispered words trailed off as he swiveled his body to plant a leg on the other side of the Emperor's thighs.
From Kronnis' new position, balancing on his knees, he was almost able to meet heated purple eyes on the same level. "The world is at our fingertips." A feather-light touch on the mind flayers chest punctuated his words. The tentacles he'd gently pushed out of the way twitched, spreading to climb his arms and wrap them in a tight grip.
Leaning in, Kronnis pressed himself into his partners mind, breathing into the crevices of an alien brain. "See what's yours and take it."
Sharp claws settled possessively on his hips, clenching dangerously at the way his words stirred the Emperor's thoughts. "Are we still talking about the same thing?" Patient teasing was betrayed by the underlying desire shared in their consciousness.
Kronnis barked a laugh. "Indulge me." With a sharp push, they found themselves falling into bed, tentacles dragging him down with his partner.
The library seemed to contain endless clouds of dust. No matter how many shelves they cleaned, the next one they touched was sure to unleash another plague into the room.
Harry figured that Hermione was probably having a fantastic summer vacation, sorting through centuries old books. After Kronnis' demonstration a couple of nights ago, she'd been looking for any material on the subject of wandless magic.
A creaking noise coming from the old library door drew his attention. Two sets of footsteps sounded on the floorboards. Someone called his name, and he recognized Kronnis' musical voice echoing through the shelves.
"Yeah? We're over here." He wondered what the drow wanted with him. Dust was patted from his pants as he stood from the pile of books he'd been sorting through.
"Ah, there you are. We're wondering if you have some time?" Kronnis strode around the corner of the shelves the trio was working on, the tall figure of the Emperor slowly trailing behind him. Some books were floating in front of the illithid, his eyes scanning them for anything of interest. "We wanted to take a look at your scar and see if we can figure out what's up with it, apparently it causes you pain sometimes?"
"What happened to your face?" Harry blinked, distracted. An inch long scab slashed through Kronnis' upper lip, and several other small cuts and pinpricks were scattered throughout his face.
Grey skin darkened. "…accident," he evaded, his normally confident tone faltered. "Nothing a healing potion can't fix once we dig them out of whatever box they're in."
The Emperor settled a heavy look at the back of Kronnis' head, causing the sorcerer to freeze for a second before blindly swiping behind him to smack at the towering figure. Harry found it difficult to decipher the illithid's emotions, given his inhuman facial structure, but the crinkled eyes and distinct lack of outrage indicated that he was probably amused by whatever silent exchange they had shared.
"Alright… I'm going to help finish this shelf and then we can talk?" Harry suggested, wondering how much they'd been told about his history with Voldemort for them to be asking about his scar.
"Perfect. You know where our room is, right? Just come over when you're done." Kronnis flashed him a smile before turning around to leave.
Lingering, the Emperor spoke up. "Would any of you happen to know where the discarded books are being kept?"
"We usually pile up anything that looks dangerous in the corner by the door, and then Sirius or someone else takes a look to see what to get rid of and what might be useful," Hermoine advised.
"Ah, thank you. I will have to speak with Sirius then." He then followed Kronnis out, the floating books discarded to telekinetically zip back to their places on the shelves.
The trio looked at each other once the door closed behind their retreating guests.
"I swear, they get weirder every day," Ron muttered.
"Sirius told me that they can talk to each other with their minds, like a private conversation. It seems really convenient actually," Harry said.
Hermione took that as her cue to jump in. "It makes sense. Being able to read each other's minds would give them a two-way connection for responding to the others thoughts." She hesitated. "They do seem really familiar with each other."
"Reading people's minds is still creepy." Ron halfheartedly flipped open a book on the history of an old goblin war. "Do you want us to come with you Harry? Sounds more interesting than sorting all these dusty books."
"Thanks, I think I'll be fine though." He picked up the stack of safe-looking books they had collected and lined them back up on the freshly cleaned shelf. "I'd better get going, should be back soon."
"Don't worry mate, always more books to sort here," Ron called after him as he stepped out of the library.
Harry had barely waited a second after knocking before the dark door was opened, and Kronnis waved him in. "Come in! It's a bit of a mess at the moment, haven't had time to really unpack yet. I set up some chairs in the corner."
He remembered when he had helped clean this room, shortly after his own arrival. It looked to have since gone through quite the rearrangement since.
Kronnis pointed him to a circle of three mismatched chairs, one of which appeared to have been stolen from the kitchen. They had been placed next to two single beds that were pushed together into a corner of the room. The space was rather cramped, and he had to carefully step past by the boxes that were piled next to the door. Sheafs of paper were stacked on the floor and covered the surface of the desk where the Emperor was working. He looked up at Harry and quickly sorted his work, tucking the pages into some sort of ledger, before moving to join them in the corner.
"Dumbledore told us your scar has a history of hurting when you experience visions or dreams about Voldemort," the illithid began once they were all settled in. "Would you mind describing the experiences in your own words? Our abilities being so different from your own, it is possible we may have a new perspective on the matter."
Harry nodded and explained how he'd had several intense dreams involving Voldemort last year, waking up afterwards with searing pain in his scar. It also flared up at the Quidditch World Cup, when the Dark Mark had been cast. a
With some hesitation, he eventually reached the events that happened during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. Speaking about Cedric was difficult, but they listened patiently as he struggled to relive the events.
Kronnis looked to be deep in thought once he finished. "I think Dumbledore is on to something. It sounds like there's some sort of connection that formed between you and Voldemort, and the scar might be a conduit or tether linking you, in a way."
A jolt of alarm shot through Harry. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
The Emperor raised his hands to placate him. "It is only one possibility of many." A wave of his arm brought a scroll of parchment over to them from one of the open boxes. "Scrolls such as these store spells to be used at a later date. Anyone can activate them," he explained. "This one contains a spell that can detect magic. We could narrow down our suspicions if we can determine what type of wizardry is affecting the scar - if it is magical at all. Do we have your consent to cast this spell on you?"
Harry's mind still reeled from Kronnis' comments. The thought of being connected to Voldemort terrified him, were his dreams really visions of what Voldemort had been doing? And if he could see what the dark wizard was up to, what was Voldemort able to see in return?
He nodded his consent, wanting desperately for this experiment to show that there was no link between him and the man who had killed his parents.
Kronnis grabbed the floating scroll, chanting words in an unfamiliar language. His eyes and hands glowed with power that soon washed over Harry.
The drow stared at him for several long seconds, pale eyes studying the faint light that now emanated from Harry. A frown formed on his face, grotesquely stretching the cut on his lip, as his searching gaze repeatedly stopped on Harry's forehead. "It's definitely picking up on your magical ability, that's why your whole body is glowing," he began. "And your scar… I can see a small pocket of necromantic energy contained within it."
"What does that mean?" Harry's eyes shot between the two of them, looking for clarification.
"Necromancy in our world is a school of magic that deals with the manipulation of life and death. Draining energy from opponents, creating undead, that sort of thing. Some spells can be helpful, I know of one that could be used to sacrifice some of your own health to heal an ally, for example," Kronnis explained. "Though, this isn't exactly a good sign."
A wave of nausea swelled in Harry. That sounded like extremely dark magic. "Can you get rid of it?"
"We should figure out what it is first. Attempting removal before we know the exact nature of the magic involved could result in any number of negative outcomes." His attention was brought to the Emperor's intense gaze. "If this is the source of a connection between you and Voldemort, I could investigate it for any signs of harm to your psyche. Would you permit me to look into your mind?"
He hesitated at the suggestion. The idea that the Emperor could read their minds had been an unsettling revelation when they were first told about it. The illithid's reassurances that he would respect their privacy helped ease everyone's discomfort, but the possibility had lingered in the back of Harry's head, an abstract concept that he had tried his best to ignore. Faced with the reality, he wanted to say no, but his desperation to know what was going on in his head won out.
"Please."
The Emperor nodded. "You should not feel a thing, stay calm and breathe."
The room went silent. Harry tried to calm himself as he continued to stare into the Emperor's eyes, the lack of any sort of tangible activity nurturing a roiling ball of unease within his chest.
As time passed, the illithid's prominent brows began to furrow. "There is… something. I have never seen a mind like this before… it is almost as if there are two people, two separate minds…" he trailed off, his attention focused elsewhere.
"What do you mean, 'two people'?" Harry's unease was quickly eclipsed by panic. Voldemort couldn't be in his head right now, could he?
"It is not quite another person, more like… a sliver. I can sense your mind. It looks normal enough." Harry supposed that was intended to be reassuring. "But this other mind, it is like a bundle of negative emotions orbiting your thoughts. I can tell it is separate from you, not natural to the environment in your head, yet attached and embedded nonetheless…" The Emperor sounded like he was very far away. "I can try to look deeper. It appears to have some level of agency. If I could determine its orig-" He broke off suddenly, jerking back, tentacles swaying with the motion.
Harry shouted and pressed his hand to his scar as his forehead began screaming in pain. The sensation passed after some seconds, however, and he looked up again, panting. "What was that?"
Kronnis and the Emperor exchanged a concerned look. "I believe… you may have a piece of Voldemort's mind in you." That was the last thing Harry wanted to hear. "There was a link, leading far away from you. Further than should be possible. Minds are usually self-contained within a creature." Clawed hands began gesturing, illustrating his point. "I have seen entities with strange body plans that might cause their minds to be more spread out, so to say, but never a mind that seemed to be connected to another point so far away."
There was a pause whilethe Emperor gathered his thoughts to explain further. "When I tried to follow the link, I did not realize it would lead so much further than I anticipated. The strain of stretching my awareness to follow it so far past my normal range was too much. I was unable to retain my focus on maintaining a light touch in your head. The foreign mind sensed my intrusion and retaliated with a burst of emotion. I apologize for the pain this caused you." A regretful tone bled into the rumbling voice in Harry's head.
"This… sliver in your head. Given that it stems from necromancy, it is possible that it may be a piece of Voldemort's soul. It does not think like a fully sentient being would. It has no coherent thought process, just a churning sea of emotions. If I am correct, then it is not his complete self, but still a part of him. We will have to discuss this with Dumbledore, given that we are still unfamiliar with how necromancy and soul magic is wielded by wizards here."
Harry nodded. An odd feeling of numbness had crept over him during the illithids explanation. He felt hollow, as though he were floating away from his body. It took him some moments to gather his thoughts. "I want to be involved. Whatever this is, it's obviously dangerous, and I'm right in the middle of it. They keep saying we're not allowed in Order meetings, but this is different. If Voldemort is in my head…" He broke off. "I need to know what's happening in my head," he begged.
"I understand. We'll let you know as soon as we figure anything out," Kronnis agreed. "Come to us if you ever feel strong negative emotions that seem out of place, or if you have another vision or strong dream about Voldemort." The drow smiled reassuringly. "I'm sorry that we didn't have any good news for you, but at least now we have some information to start with."
Harry nodded, not trusting his voice.
"You might see us in the library more often. With any luck, we may be able to find related information hidden away in the dark books Sirius intends to get rid of." As he left the room, the Emperor's voice echoed through his mind.
True to their word, Harry and his friends were soon joined by Kronnis and the Emperor in sorting through the library shelves. The next few days were spent cleaning the remaining bookracks, a task that went by much faster with the assistance of another two pairs of hands, as well as the convenient telekinetic powers of the Emperor.
The only book they'd found offering so much as a hint on soul magic was an old, tattered thing titled Magick Moste Evile. Kronnis had located a small blurb mentioning something about 'soul containers,' but the author was seemingly afraid to go into further detail on the subject, frustrating their search.
Hermione, on the other hand, had amassed a small collection of tomes on the history of magical research and the use of wandless magic. Sirius had already given her the go-ahead to borrow them during the school year.
The extraplanar visitors had left one day to speak with Dumbledore about their findings, but even he didn't have concrete answers for them. Kronnis assured Harry that they would continue looking in the Hogwarts library once they had moved to the school, which at least somewhat settled his anxiety.
However, unease continued to linger in him. And soon enough, the day of his hearing had arrived.
Harry spent that morning pushing his breakfast around on his plate, stomach churning. The house bustled on in the background, but not even the headmaster popping in to transport their guests to the Ministry roused him from his dread.
Eventually, Mr. Weasley arrived to escort him. They made their way through London to the visitor's entrance - a bright red muggle phone booth. As they were lowered down to the entrance, Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the energetic buzz permeating the crowd.
"Strange," Mr. Weasley commented as they fought their way through groups of gossiping wizards and witches. "I don't usually use this entrance, but I've never seen a crowd such as this before! Last time I was here there were a lot less people standing about." His grumbling words were said for Harry's benefit, but were angrily directed at a quartet of elderly witches planted in the main pathway. "The etiquette is to move away from the entrance as fast as possible, so it's not blocked off like this." His well-placed elbow opened a gap for them to slide through.
Harry caught snippets of conversation as they continued through the masses clustered in the entrance.
"Did you see?"
"Bunch of half-breeds no doubt. Can't say I'm surprised to see Dumbledore leading them around."
"With clothes like that? Finer than anything I've seen Lucius Malfoy wear. Handsomer too."
"Those muggles in the old country wear veils like that, think they're foreigners?"
"Can't believe I missed them; I heard the cloaked one was three meters tall, and had glowing eyes!"
Once they had finally squeezed into an elevator, the thought occurred to Harry that the crowd must have formed earlier when Dumbledore brought Kronnis and the Emperor to the Ministry. He was well acquainted with how quickly gossip spread in the wizarding world.
Not a lot going on here besides finishing plot set up. I swear these guys are going to be Up To Things next chapter. Gonna rattle their jar and let them loose in the Ministry for some enrichment.
I realized while I was writing chapter 8 that this is secretly a romantic comedy, and not the planned political intrigue I was supposed to be writing. Too late to change what I just wrote tho, I'm obsessed with it now. But on god, they are going to do political things. I swear. I have it all planned out. Like 30 sticky notes. A whole timeline in tiny handwriting. An additional word document timeline. Notes on my phone that I had to write down as ideas come to me while I'm trying to sleep. I realized yesterday that I'm going to have to start yet another document to keep track of Investments and Business Gossip.
God I wish the Emperor had different hobbies.