Author's Notes:
Oh this starts off so funny actually. I think I'm hilarious, My ego is as big as the Emperor's.
And then it gets... a bit more... Sirius.
Beta read by Circade and Nibenay.
Kronnis watched Ron stare at the Emperor over his half-eaten sandwich. The boy wasn't doing a great job of being subtle about it. People-watching had always been a favored hobby, and Kronnis had perfected the art of figuring out when someone was about to do something interesting. As the minutes passed, he wondered how long it would take Ron to work up the courage for whatever he had to say.
Molly had served ham sandwiches and a hearty potato soup for lunch, fussing over how much to prepare to ensure no one went hungry. Two sandwiches still remained on the platter. Flipping his attention back in her direction, Kronnis caught her stealing another glance at the Emperor. He didn't need to probe her mind to tell that she was torn between knowing that the illithid was not going to eat anything and feeling the need to provide for everyone at the table anyway.
Ah, today was truly a grand day for people-watching.
Sitting next to him, and for all appearances entirely ignoring the tension around the table, was the Emperor. Kronnis knew that he was incredibly absorbed in the large book he was reading, something about the history of Occlumency, but the slight writhing of tentacles hidden just under the edge of the table told him that an awareness of the room occupied several of his partner's multi-faceted thoughts. Over the past half-hour, the Emperor had occasionally questioned Sirius about historical facts and figures referenced in the text, making notes on further material to look into.
When he wasn't distracted by the Emperor, Sirius' attention was focused on reading today's copy of the Daily Prophet, with the paper being shared between himself, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. Front and center, taking up the entire page, was the interview that Kronnis and the Emperor had given at the Ministry yesterday.
Kronnis had taken great pleasure in pointing out the nuggets of truth they had woven into their cover story, clearing up falsehoods with more information on his actual background when asked. His ties to drow nobility in Menzoberranzan meant he had years of experience in acting the part he was playing, not that he had used those skills much in the decades following his departure from the Lolth-worshiping cults of the Underdark. His flippant summary of drow culture had shocked his audience, who had been dismayed at the chaotic revelry, backstabbing, and rampant murder that was expected of his kind.
There may have been some slight manipulation in how he portrayed the facts, painting himself as a sympathetic victim of the persecution that plagued male drow. It wasn't quite a lie, but given how the whole brain-eating thing had gone over, he figured it was probably best to keep some things to himself. Such as the fact that, in his youth, he had eagerly backstabbed with the best of them. He had instead shifted to his conversion to the goddess Eilistraee, the lady of dance, song, and moonlight, and patron of good-aligned drow. He was still working on some parts of that. It was mostly her elegance and the freedom from the endless conflicts that those drow remaining in the Underdark were embroiled in which had drawn him into her circle of influence.
He had never held any love for Lolth, and secretly admired those few drow that left the Underdark to live on the surface. His House had enrolled him in a school to master his sorcery, but he had slipped away to follow the call of the Lady of Dance after a particularly violent altercation. Kronnis still found himself bitter at the blame that had been placed at his feet. How was he to know that his Wild Magic Surge would poison the prominent high-born daughter of a rival House! She had been perfectly fine after the first bout of vomiting, fit enough to drag him kicking and screaming to the floor to roll around together in the puddle of sick.
The Emperor, on the other hand, had declined to clarify much of his personal past, keeping the details on his exact relation with the founding of Baldur's Gate to himself. Understandable, since it wasn't really relevant to their current situation, and Kronnis knew that his partner didn't like to talk about his previous life if he could help it.
A short discussion had filled the room after Kronnis finished sharing acceptable personal details about their home plane; explaining to the children that, officially, the only information they were to know about Kronnis and the Emperor was the public knowledge they were making available through the paper, hence their current review of the interview. In public, they would have to pretend that they had never met.
As conversation lulled, Ron put down the remains of his sandwich, and Kronnis saw him steel himself.
"So… I mean… me and Hermione were talking the other day. And I was wondering, I guess…" he paused, almost afraid. "Do you have a beak?"
Everything stopped. Kronnis paused mid-sip, soup spoon awkwardly held in his mouth. Hermione, after running through several horrified expressions, began glaring daggers in Ron's direction.
Tentacles gave an involuntary, half-aborted twitch before the Emperor himself froze. His eyes stopped scanning the page, and a brief spark of indignation was stifled by a disciplined mind before it could leak too far through their connection. A faint warning to Kronnis' incredulity was sent instead, cautioning him not to say a word, no matter how tempted he was to comment on the matter. Slowly, the mind flayer's attention focused on Ron, glowing purple eyes shining out from under his black hood.
Sneaking a watchful and desperately curious eye into his partner's mind, Kronnis was amused to witness that, true to form, mental fingers were rapidly plying apart Ron's thoughts, the Emperor's predilections showing. Very obviously a flippant misuse of his abilities, not that the boy would ever know.
The book clapped shut. The sound pierced through the silence of the room, causing someone on the periphery to flinch, but Kronnis was too preoccupied with the impromptu staring contest to take note of who it was.
Ron opened his mouth again, words flowing out as if to form a barrier, or to prolong this uneasy peace. "Well, we were just discussing, totally unrelated, how squids and uh, octopi... octopuses… have beaks. You know, in between their tentacles." Another pause. "As mouths."
The book was now being placed on the table, discarded in favour of unnerving the room. Slowly leaning forward, the Emperor's elbows came to rest next to it, fingers lacing together, and head hovering over them in turn. "You think I am an octopus." The words, projected in the minds of everyone present, were neutral. Toneless. Contrasting greatly with the complicated and conflicted emotional maelstrom that the line of questioning had stirred up within the Emperor's mind.
Kronnis struggled with the soup in his mouth. Some dribbled out and stained his shirt as he held back the explosive laugh that threatened to disrupt the tension. A choking noise across the table indicated that Ginny had not been so fortunate. The shaking coming from Sirius spoke volumes in the silence.
The Emperor continued after it was clear that Ron had realized that if he spoke any further, he would leave no more room in his stomach for sandwiches, as it would be full of the foot he had swallowed. "Gryffindor must truly be the home of bravery. This is a question I have never been asked before. Although, perhaps that is because no one would dare ask an illithid such personal questions where we come from."
Molly looked ready to squeak out either an apology or a scathing admonishment of Ron's behavior, but the Emperor continued, seemingly unbothered. Kronnis could tell that this level of… was it... comradery? Unabashed personal conversation? Whatever it was, it seemed thrilling and novel to his partner. Never would a citizen of Baldur's Gate have addressed him like this. The Emperor was not one to keep casual acquaintances. "I do not, in fact, have a beak." His tentacles shifted, almost teasing. "I suppose such a young mind must be burning with questions, and I am not one to curb the curiosity that leads to expanding one's knowledge." His words were beginning to drip into their minds with a slow, lighthearted tone, and Kronnis could see a dangerous smile in his eyes, unrecognizable to anyone not intimately familiar with the Emperor.
Hermione's face transitioned from apoplectic rage and embarrassment to shy inquisitiveness in a way Kronnis had never seen before in his life. Her hesitation was only brief before she asked, "Then… what do you have? We've never seen you eat, and, well, obviously you're not using a mouth to speak with us. Actually, I guess I'm not even sure if you have a mouth, that's an assumption on my part." Her tangent, which had quickly picked up speed, trailed off towards the end. She started looking a bit unsure of herself.
Sirius had shifted uncomfortably partway through her line of questioning, but stilled himself as the Emperor's eyes and attention shifted to him for a half-second.
Tentacles wavered from side to side, almost as if thinking, before he responded. "I may use it… a bit differently from how you use yours, but I do have a mouth." Shifting to the sides, muscled appendages revealed a hint of dagger-like teeth, before those spread as well to allow a brief glimpse at the circular maw that was usually hidden away.
Harry's face paled, while Hermione's mouth formed a small "O". Sirius leaned to the side for a better angle and shuddered, rubbing his head with a troubled expression. Then, with a coiling of tentacles, the view was hidden once more, and the Emperor leaned back. "Does that satisfy your curiosity?" he asked casually, picking up his book once more.
A spoon, having been dropped on the counter seconds previously, signaled Molly's approach to where the children were sat. "I think that's enough of that. There's been enough personal questions asked today." She avoided looking directly at the Emperor and was focused on drilling her disapproval into the top of Ron's skull, who hadn't said another word and looked rather green himself.
Watching her hover menacingly over the boy's head, Kronnis thought with twisted glee that her poise was very reminiscent of an illithid preparing to dine.
"Don't you all have summer reading you need to catch up on? School starts up again in a week you know, and I heard you complaining yesterday about the 12-inch potions essay you still have left to do." The last bit was directed at Ron specifically, but it was clear she intended to prevent further questions on the matter, rather than motivating her son to complete his homework.
Ron's wide eyes finally left the Emperor and looked fearfully up at his mother instead. He nodded and swiftly gathered his things, uncharacteristically forgetting the remains of his sandwich. "It's almost done, I swear, just need to add a third point on the use of dittany or something," Ron said with a grimace. The other children followed his example and soon they were bundled out the door and up the stairs.
On their way out, Kronnis had noticed Hermione's attention fall on him. Specifically, on his upper lip. Yesterday, before their trip to the Ministry, a healing potion had erased proof of where he had, perhaps a bit too eagerly, let himself fall onto the Emperor's face during their tryst a few nights ago.
"Well." Sirius was the one to break the silence this time, jolting inelegantly out of his seat. "I think I'm also done hearing about this. I'll get out of your hair before I have to start drinking to forget."
"Ah, actually, we wanted to ask if you could show us where you keep the books you are discarding, and if you had any rules for which ones we could take or look at," the Emperor mentioned as the man prepared to leave.
There was an awkward pause as this was considered. "Sure, yeah. They're being stored in the drawing room for now." Sirius motioned with his hand for them to follow him up to the first floor.
Unable to resist one last parting shot, Kronnis turned to address his partner, keeping a close eye on Sirius in his periphery as he did so. "I think we need to talk about boundaries later, you can't just go showing off the goods to anyone who asks!"
Unimpressed purple eyes side-eyed him as Sirius almost tripped on the first step. The wizard continued in a much louder tone, reminiscent of how one would speak to a friend to drown out loud, unwanted background conversation. "The dangerous stuff has already been taken out of the house, so it's mostly just books we were going to sell or give away. You're fine to take whatever you want."
As they walked behind Sirius to ascend the stairs together, the corners of Kronnis' mouth curled into a self-satisfied smirk, reveling in his ability to unsettle.
They'd been on the first floor before but hadn't explored much. The door that Sirius opened revealed a dusty room with high ceilings, large windows, and a fireplace that clearly hadn't seen use in decades. Unruly stacks of books were pressed against a corner close to the door.
"You'd best stay away from the curtains over there; we haven't gotten around to clearing out the doxy infestation yet." Sirius pointed to where said curtains, green in colour and pattern, framed the view of the street, fabric buzzing angrily upon closer inspection. "We're cleaning this room next, once we get the library put back together."
The Emperor strode forward, picking up one of the topmost books. "Thank you. I assume these are not sorted in any particular manner?" Several more began floating up to his eye level, pages flipping as they bobbed and jockeyed for his attention, fingers conducting them like an orchestra.
A shrug. "I don't think so, they were likely just brought down and put on whatever stack wasn't about to fall over yet," Sirius said, watching as Kronnis joined his partner's perusal.
He had already spotted some interesting topics for later review. All sorts of books on curses had been discarded, along with a particularly macabre series containing detailed dissection diagrams that appeared to be instruction manuals on the best ways to butcher various magical creatures for valuable potions ingredients.
Sirius made a face as he saw the spread Kronnis was currently paused on. Splayed across both pages was an artistic medical diagram of a centaur, flayed in order to clinically point out its biology. "Better you get that one than Snape," he commented dryly, distaste obvious in his tone.
The books floating around the Emperor suddenly dipped in the air, his telekinetic hold evidently losing concentration for a brief second. When Kronnis looked up in concern, he saw that his partner stood stock still, body twisted to shift the intense focus of his purple gaze to one of the cabinets next to the fireplace. A quick check on the Emperor's mental state revealed shocked curiosity ringing in his mind.
"Do you remember what we found in Harry's scar?" he finally asked, his eyes briefly meeting Kronnis'.
The abrupt change in topic threw Sirius off for a second. "What? What were you doing with Harry's scar?" he demanded.
As the mind flayer began moving to the cabinet that had caught his attention, books discarded haphazardly, Kronnis rushed to explain. "We took a look to see if we could uncover any new details on whatever he's got going on with his scar. The only solid information we were able to turn up is that it's linked to necromancy, and the Emperor was able to find a fragment of another mind within it. We think it might be a link to Voldemort but haven't found any further answers on the cause or what side effects it might have on Harry." The grim news only agitated Sirius further. "We've already talked to Dumbledore about it, and we're going to see if we can find anything similar mentioned in the Hogwarts library when we get there."
Some creative swearing graced the room until the Emperor interrupted them. "I can feel another such connection coming from something in this cupboard. It feels almost identical to what I found attached to Harry."
At this, Sirius marched over to throw open the cabinet doors, wand in hand. Peering over his shoulder, Kronnis eyed the various display pieces and random junk stuffed into the corners. Was that a shrunken head?
A sharp finger poked between their heads, pointing out a rather ugly necklace on the second shelf. "This is it."
This time, the object of their attention was levitated by Sirius. Beckoning with his wand, the necklace floated out of the cupboard to hover between them. Three sets of eyes focused on it.
"Do you know what it is?" Kronnis asked Sirius.
A shake of the head. "I've no idea. It could be some dark artifact, or something of Voldemort's that my family acquired at some point." Disdain colored his words.
"The mind sliver I am sensing is coming from the locket itself. The only difference between it and what I can sense in Harry is that this one is several times larger, but still much smaller than a normal intelligent mind."
"Does it have that same connection leading away from it?" Kronnis asked.
"Yes. It extends past my range, just as before. I am loath to attempt to follow it after last time."
Sirius eyed the two of them. "And you have no idea what this mind thing is supposed to be?"
"No, I have never seen anything like this before. Which is curious… why would I sense the same thing in both Harry and this locket? They must be related in some way," the Emperor mused.
With sharp movements, Sirius cast several spells on the locket, his eyebrows furrowing with each wave of his wand. "It's extremely dark magic, whatever it is."
"Since its related to necromancy and mimics a mind or some sort of intelligent consciousness, our best guess is that it has something to do with souls," Kronnis offered. He felt a bit out of his depth, wishing he at least had the basic magical education that other people in this plane had. Starting from scratch was going to severely hinder their progress in researching this effect.
"That's dark alright, I don't even want anyone touching this," Sirius sneered as he began summoning some materials to wrap it up. "I'll put it somewhere safe and contact Dumbledore, perhaps he can figure it out."
The Emperor nodded. "If he keeps it at Hogwarts, we will be able to investigate it further once our search in the library turns up new information."
Sirius grunted in agreement, the newly bundled-up locket still levitating before him as he moved to the door. "I'll leave you to those books then."
Kronnis watched the wizard leave, a man on a mission. Sirius obviously cared a great deal about Harry, his behavior this past week being a mix of overprotective instincts and desperate attempts to connect with the boy. They probably should have told him earlier about the information they had discovered about Harry's scar, even if just to keep Sirius in the loop. Considering the circumstances, he had been a more than welcoming host during their stay.
"I agree, Sirius would be a valuable ally, and likely desperate enough to accept any help offered."
"A bit ruthless, don't you think?" Kronnis turned to the alien eyes of his partner, who had evidently been receiving an echo of his emotions. Or perhaps the illithid was skimming his surface thoughts at the moment, it was hard to tell sometimes. "He could make a good friend as well. Allies of convenience or desperation wouldn't be as loyal as those helped in good faith. If we're set on working with them, we should court these people for long-term partnerships."
A pause. "You are right, I apologize. Emotional connections are still… difficult for me sometimes," the Emperor admitted.
Kronnis reached up to pat his partner's shoulder in a self-important manner. "Don't worry, I'll go find him later and put my charm to good use. And then before long you'll have to deal with another friend harassing us about visiting them or taking a break from micro-managing the city's economy." His smug tone made him the target of the Emperor's driest look, which was the desired effect.
"As long as you exercise restraint and do not impulsively adopt another child."
"You know that was a one-time thing! She just showed up! The only reason I let her stay was because of the cat!"
"Of course," the Emperor drawled patronizingly, before striding back to the books they had abandoned earlier.
Following with sharp steps and narrowed eyes, and unwilling to let his partner have the last word on the matter, Kronnis muttered into the macabre book he had once again snatched up. "You never let me keep them anyway."
Kronnis had been shown where Sirius' room was, but had yet to have a reason to seek the man out for anything. Nevertheless, he found himself standing at the door now, hand lowering from where it had knocked a greeting on the wooden finish.
It had been several hours since Sirius left them in the drawing room. They had opted to keep most of the books, even if they might not find the time to read the ones that didn't seem as important. You never knew when random information would come in handy.
A creak accompanied the opening of the door. Sirius' face peered out, but his expectant grey gaze initially did not quite match where Kronnis' eyes were. Clearly anticipating - or hoping - that someone else, about half a foot shorter, was seeking him out. The wizard quickly refocused his attention, eyes shooting up to meet Kronnis', but the slight tugging at the corners of his mouth betrayed his disappointment.
Kronnis made a tremendous effort to quench the tiny spark of indignation growing in his chest. "Hey, we didn't really get to talk about the thing we found in Harry's mind earlier. I thought you might like a more detailed explanation?" he ventured before Sirius had the chance to say anything.
"Oh." The wizard's eyebrows rose from their confused scrunch. "Yeah, how did you even get the idea to look at his scar?"
"An investigation has to start somewhere!" Kronnis took an intentional step forward, prompting Sirius to retreat in order to recover personal space, the resulting gap wide enough to grant access into the room. Faded red and gold posters hung on the walls, framed by both moving and unmoving pictures. Few things looked like they were younger than one or two years old. Some belongings had been sorted into piles in a corner, and a wardrobe on the far wall was thrown open, half of its contents strewn across the bed. "We're looking into Voldemort, right? Not much we can do at the moment until we find people we can pump for information, but when we were brought up to speed on things you mentioned Harry's problems with his scar. We have nothing to really do besides researching and learning about your culture until we get to Hogwarts, so we figured taking a look couldn't hurt."
Kronnis snuck another couple of steps deeper into the room as his rambling distracted Sirius, roaming eyes finding an old chair that was quickly rotated into the perfect seat for him to command the room from.
The wizard's attention followed him, and he soon brushed some faded shirts from the edge of the bed, making space for himself to sit down opposite of where Kronnis had strategically situated the chair to face. "So, what did you do exactly? I'm sure Dumbledore must have cast diagnostic spells on it before, or had the matron at Hogwarts look at it."
Kronnis leaned in conspiratorially. "We have a spell back home to detect magic, and identify which school or branch it belongs to. That was step number one. Harry certainly lit up brightly - I assume all wizards and witches will show up as being magical to the spell - but there was an additional pocket of necromantic energy contained in his scar."
Taking on a more subdued tone, he went over their investigation into Harry's mind the other day. Everything was shared; from his usage of the scroll of Detect Magic, to the Emperor's failed attempt at following the connection that the mind sliver had to some unknown location, including the adverse effects Harry suffered during this.
Sirius certainly didn't look happy about the situation, sporting a faintly disturbed expression. "And you're sure there's nothing from your world that might be able to fix this?" His request seemed almost hopeless.
"Unfortunately, we can't even begin to guess at what we might be working with," Kronnis said apologetically, "not until we familiarize ourselves with how your magic works. I don't want to just tear it out or something and end up hurting Harry." They had some ideas, but collecting wild theories without solid information wouldn't get them far. "We were hoping to send a message to a wizard we're friends with back home, see if he can look into necromancy for us and maybe come up with other things we can try."
Sirius nodded. "Thank you, truly. I don't know what I'd do myself. We wouldn't have even known this much if you hadn't decided to take a look."
The man seemed to have been chewing on regretful thoughts throughout their conversation. Kronnis opted to let their talk fall into a lull, waiting for Sirius to break the silence on his own once he had gathered himself.
"I should've been there for him." The quiet admission swam with emotion. "I wasn't there when he needed me. I should have focused on Harry, instead of following that rat bastard Wormtail." The last words, tainted with vitriol, accompanied spittle on their way out of Sirius' mouth. "We told you Harry currently lives with his relatives. He hates it there, and it's my fault. I'm his godfather, I should have taken him in and raised him myself when James and Lily… when his parents died."
Another pause punctuated his confession. Sirius was hunched over, staring at his hands. Kronnis shifted his own body to a more open and welcoming posture, but stayed silent, inviting Sirius to continue his lament.
Eventually, the man roused himself out of his memories. "Wormtail was one of our closest friends, and a traitor. He was the Secret Keeper for the location they were hiding in; no one should have been able to find them unless he told them. We thought we could trust him. People wouldn't have expected him to be the Secret Keeper, they should've targeted me as the first choice. But he was working for Voldemort, and we never knew." A hollow laugh broke through his story. "By the time we got there it was too late. Voldemort was dead, but so were James and Lily. Harry was there, I saw him. Dumbledore had made arrangements to send him to Lily's sister, Petunia, so I let him be taken to that horrible family instead of stepping in as godfather. I was so…" Sirius paused, searching for words, before his final admission betrayed his rage. "So filled with anger that I could only think of wringing that rat's neck." His pale hands clenched, as if fantasizing just that. A neck between fingers, convulsing as a body's last breaths were wrung from its throat.
"They found me laughing in the street, with twelve muggles lying dead in a crater, and Wormtail's severed finger damning me for all thirteen murders. I was thrown into Azkaban without a trial. Wormtail screamed that I was the traitor, and that was enough." His next words were a whisper. "Everyone thought I betrayed them, even Remus. And in a sense, I did betray Harry. He should've been my first concern. I escaped from Azkaban, but now I'm a wanted man, and Wormtail is still scurrying around as a rat somewhere."
Sirius sighed, the weight of his story diminishing him. "All I can offer is this house. I can't go out in public. I can't provide a home for Harry. Dumbledore won't let me go to Hogwarts to help protect Harry or even just be there for him. If I get caught it's the kiss for me, worse than a death sentence."
Kronnis was glad that the Minister had explained the horrors of Azkaban and dementors yesterday, if only to save Sirius from being asked to elaborate on the fate that awaited him. He had known the broad strokes of the story, being briefed on the wizard's status as an innocent man who had escaped from prison. At the time, the Emperor had uttered some choice words about the handling of Sirius' imprisonment, being tasked with preventing this very situation as part of their arrangement with Wyrm's Rock Prison.
He leaned even further into Sirius' personal space, two pairs of pale eyes staring into each other. "Even though you might not be able to go to Hogwarts, we'll be there. I can't promise that I can be there as a friend to Harry, but we can do a damn good job of protecting him." Kronnis let a dangerous smile show on his face, illuminated by the sparks he had let erupt from his fingers. The pleasure of plucking the first strings of his favorite pattern of the weave tingled through his body, and he mourned the elation that would normally come with fully casting the spell. "I've been waiting ages for an excuse to fry someone again."
Trepidation colored Sirius for brief seconds, before being replaced by hard steel. "I'll hold you to that," he promised.
Kronnis held his gaze for another moment before letting his grasp on the prepared Chain Lightning spell fade. He regretted that they wouldn't be able to take Sirius to Hogwarts with them. The wizard seemed like he would be easy to work with, now that he appeared mostly over his issues with the Emperor's nature. What was a little brain-nibbling between friends after all? Kronnis himself certainly didn't mind being wrapped in the Emperor's tentacles, and frequently delighted in the thrill of resting his head dangerously close to the sharp teeth growing at their roots.
"Best be careful with words like that," he purred. "Almost sounds as if you're giving blanket permission for us to get rid of anyone we need to."
"If it's to protect Harry, it's worth it." A much less black and white answer than Kronnis would have expected after their first evening here.
"I'm glad we're in agreement. I hope we can resolve this without a fight at Hogwarts," he lied through his teeth, "but war is messy and unpredictable. It's best to be prepared."
Sirius snorted. "You don't have to tell me twice; Hogwarts isn't as safe as it seems. Even ignoring the tournament last year, Harry told me that a troll managed to get into the school during his first year, and a basilisk was hidden below the castle for centuries. Killed a student a few decades back, as I understand it."
Well. Kronnis had imagined that the most dangerous thing he might face at Hogwarts would be untrained witches and wizards, or an ill-thought-out attack by Voldemort. This certainly blew his expectations out of the water. "You're joking. They were totally unaware of a basilisk in the basement? Who the hells is in charge of security?"
"There are wards to keep things out, but apparently the basilisk had been there since the founding of the school. The plumbing led to the hidden chamber where it lived. No clue about the troll though, I think Harry mentioned someone might have let it in."
Hidden chambers? Monsters to kill? This was sounding more and more like the adventure he had been looking for. Excitement bled into his tone. "Are there a lot of hidden rooms?"
Sirius laughed and shook his head. "Kronnis, Hogwarts has so many hidden rooms and passageways that I doubt anyone has ever found all of them. Back when we attended, James, Remus and I made a map that showed all the secrets we could find. Harry has it now, he could probably show it to you. There are some really useful passages for getting around the castle quickly, and a couple leading to the neighboring town of Hogsmeade."
"Discovering hidden rooms yourself is half the fun, but I wouldn't mind cheating a bit in case we need those passageways."
They shared a grin, childish delight shining on Sirius' face as his eyes unfocused, likely reliving old memories. "I wish I could come with you; I miss Hogwarts." His grin slowly faded into a sad smile; jovial reminiscence replaced by a mournful melancholy. "I think you would've fit right in with our little group. We called ourselves the Marauders, believe it or not."
"Maybe once we kill Voldemort you can spend some time with us in Baldur's Gate. You wouldn't believe the secrets hidden away in the tunnels and sewers beneath the city."
Sirius hummed wistfully. "Getting away from here for a bit would be nice. Who knows when I'll be able to walk the streets again as a free man."
"Is there no way to prove your innocence? Does your legal system depend on witness testimony and material proof, or can you bring other evidence forward? Dumbledore seemed to have been able to just walk a random woman into Harry's hearing as a witness, and it really looked like no one else knew about that evidence before he presented it."
"It depends on the case. The Ministry got away with throwing me into Azkaban without a trial, so it would set a bad precedent if they rescinded that decision." He sounded reluctant to admit this.
The beginnings of a plan were forming in Kronnis' mind. "Fudge wasn't Minister at the time, was he?"
Sirius shook his head. "No. I think he was actually one of the first on the scene when they arrested me, but he wasn't Minister yet."
"That could complicate things, but I think it might still be possible to talk him into giving you an actual trial, as long as we're sure you can win it."
A bewildered stare formed on Sirius' face. "How?"
Sitting back in a lecturing pose, Kronnis explained his thinking. "First of all, the Emperor and I are working to get on Fudge's good side. Seems like a simple enough task so far. Eventually, we could bring up how we heard you were on the run. After actually looking into you, we realized that you never had a trial! An utter miscarriage of justice!" Dramatically feigned shock had Sirius laughing again, engrossed in his proposal.
"We've already told Fudge that the Emperor works closely with our own judicial system, so we have motive to be concerned about the situation. We'll then ask him to organize a trial for the sake of fairness, and hint that fixing the mistakes of his predecessors would show great character, give him good publicity, stuff like that. He'll eat it up," Kronnis' tone was dismissive, as though this would be the easiest thing in the world. "We just have to figure out how to get you to the trial safely and how to present enough evidence for them to declare you innocent."
"You really think that might work?" Sirius questioned, looking as though he had never seriously considered the idea of receiving a fair trial.
Kronnis shrugged. "We won't know until we try, but if you give us a couple months we'll see where we stand with Fudge and if it looks like he'll listen to us. That should give you some time to figure out how to get your proof and present it."
"I could volunteer to take Veritaserum, it's a truth potion. And with a Pensieve I could show my memories. The only other evidence we could bring would be Wormtail himself, but I have no idea where he is." Sirius sounded hesitant, but his words were becoming increasingly excited at the prospect.
Kronnis' brows furrowed. "Why don't they use those at every trial? Seems like an easy way to figure out the truth, but I don't recall any mention of them at Harry's."
"Pensieves are rare. Dumbledore supposedly has access to one, it belongs to Hogwarts as far as I know, but I haven't a clue where any others might be. A lot of wizards are afraid of the power that Pensieves hold over memories, I'm not sure if they'd even allow it to be used in a courtroom." Uncertainty replaced the excitement in Sirius' voice as he thought deeper into the matter. "Veritaserum can be resisted by some people, so its unreliable, not to mention expensive. If we manage to use both we might have a chance, but I think our best option would be finding Wormtail. It would be solid, physical evidence that I didn't kill him."
A jolt of inspiration struck Kronnis. "Wait, Wormtail was there when Voldemort was resurrected, right? And if we bring him before the court, it would certainly unravel some narratives and have people questioning what's going on. Pump him full of Veritaserum and figure out a way for a Pensieve to be used, and we could get some proof that Voldemort is back as well."
"I'll admit, that sounds pretty good, but we still have to find him first." Sirius pointed out.
"If he's skipped town to the next country over, we might have a problem. But I think there's a good chance we'll be able to find him if he's still involved with Voldemort here." Kronnis leaned forward again, as if to share a secret. "You're forgetting that we're planning to pull as much information as possible from the minds of Voldemort's supporters. One of them must have some knowledge about Wormtail. We already have an invitation from Lucius Malfoy to visit his manor." His favorite smug smile was back again. "He phrased it as a simple, friendly evening soiree, with the implication of helping us get situated in Wizarding Britain, but clearly the intention was to scope us out as allies and gain some influence over us."
Distress colored the wizard's response. "And you're going to go?" He sounded incredulous, as if the last thing he could imagine anyone wanting to do was visit Malfoy Manor.
"Of course!" Kronnis cried. "This is the perfect opportunity to get into their good graces! Even if Malfoy doesn't end up introducing us to more of his Death Eater allies, we'll have a chance to root around in his mind for the locations and identities of others we can approach."
"When did you even meet him?"
"At the Ministry. He was talking to Fudge close to the courtrooms. Very convenient, actually."
Sirius shook his head. "I can't believe he just invited you like that."
Kronnis scoffed. "In my experience, at least in societies where you aren't expected to get ahead by literally backstabbing someone else, politics is all about who you know and how much power they have. And bribes, but we're going to try to play this honestly, as upstanding examples of the underground city of Baldur's Gate." His last statement drew a bark of laughter from Sirius. "We're the hot new commodity on the block, representing an entirely new magical society, with unknown strength and a willingness to ally ourselves with the outside world. We have the power to pick and choose who to work with, because people will be throwing themselves at our feet to get something out of us. The first ones to manage that and maintain positive relations will be riding a boost of political power, and others will flock to them for a chance at a connection with us."
He paused to take a breath; his explanation having become more animated as he went. "Trust me, I've been through this before. Getting catapulted from being a nobody in Baldur's Gate to being the hero that saved the city did wonders for my political standing. I might not be a duke, but the Emperor and I have quite a bit of influence now."
"This is why I never wanted to get involved in my family's politics," Sirius groaned. "Isn't it a bad thing that you're publicly allying yourself with Malfoy then? You're just making him more powerful."
Kronnis waved a hand dismissively. "He's already a respected and wealthy lord. Sure, we're providing some more soft political power, but he's never going to see the actual benefits that he should be getting out of it." Back to lecturing mode again, he explained their hideously precarious act. "Let's say we were telling the truth about our motives and origins. Malfoy would be in a good position to have influence over us, and then Baldur's Gate through us. We would be sharing magic and ideas in an attempt to foster long-lasting friendship between our societies. He would have opportunities to invest in a whole new sector of commerce, likely before most others from your society. And," he paused to put weight behind his next statement, "he could subvert or convince us to join the war on Voldemort's side, promising Baldur's Gate power and influence in the greater world if Voldemort were to win the war."
Sirius was listening with rapt attention, horrified fascination evident on his face. Kronnis suddenly remembered that the man had spent nearly his entire adult life in prison, and had never gotten the proper education in politics that his family should have provided.
"Malfoy has many motives to ally with us. Unfortunately for him, we're just using him to get the information we need. Like I said, he's never going to see the long-term benefits of investing his time and effort into building ties with us because many of those benefits simply don't exist - at least, not in the form we've presented them. And, also, because we're probably going to have to kill him or get him arrested later anyway." He punctuated his last sentence with a careless shrug.
"Oh, that's a dirty trick. You're getting everything you need out of this deal and he's going to be sitting there with nothing." Sirius grinned with him.
"Exactly. Normally there would be serious political repercussions for betraying allies like that; no one wants to play along with someone they can't trust. But we really don't have to worry too much about the lasting consequences, because once we finish what we came here to do we could just vanish without a trace back to our home plane. After all, we aren't tied to this society's rules like everyone else is. Admittedly, we're not too fond of that option. If we can figure out a real way to maintain connections here, we'd like to. It would depend on how this whole situation gets resolved, but it'll be a shame to lose access to this world." Exchanges in technology and magic could revolutionize Baldur's Gate, not to mention the commercial prospects this opportunity presented them.
"This sounds way too complicated; I don't envy this balancing act you seem to have in front of you." Sirius had begun rubbing his temples partway through the explanation.
Broken out of his thoughts, Kronnis picked up where he left off. "We're trying to stay as neutral as possible in the public eye. Acting like we need to feel out the political and cultural landscape helps buy us some time. We'll have to see though, plans can change depending on how things work out, and we may have to play our hand at some point and make a public move. The hard part will be stringing people like Malfoy along without delivering too much from our side."
"The Emperor will be planning most of it anyway," Kronnis continued dismissively, "I just have to sit there, look pretty, and whisper sweet nothings into the ears of influential figures." An understatement, but Kronnis often found being underestimated in a political environment to work in his favour. He gave his best charming smile. "Can't look too much like an easy target. We're supposed to be some of the best Baldur's Gate has to offer after all. But if people think they can get something out of us, they'll be more likely to approach us and try to get on our good side."
Oh, and how he looked forward to watching them try to manipulate him. He had always thought it amusing when some unfamiliar politician approached him at an event, offering honeyed words, trying to justify their requests for this or that, never realizing that behind trusting lilac eyes his black-veined brain had already wrapped them around his own fingers.
"Just thinking about having to play nice with Malfoy and whoever else he hangs out with is already giving me a headache," Sirius moaned.
Kronnis laughed, his next words taking on a playfully threatening tone. "Don't worry. If I get a chance, I'll fill you in on all the devastatingly interesting politics he brings up."
"You better not or I'll kick you out of my house." The empty warning and mock glare cut through the air between them.
"The hospitality here leaves much to be desired," Kronnis sniffed in fake offense.
Grey eyes rolled, almost audibly. They exchanged a few more barbed jokes before Kronnis, having judged his beguiling complete, excused himself from Sirius' room, leaving the wizard to continue sorting through clothes and knick-knacks that hadn't seen the light of day in over a decade.
Writing chapter 10 right now (or maybe 11? might do some timeline shuffling). It is almost exclusively gay shit. There is barely any plot development. But I also think its very necessary to include this ridiculously romantic (in a fucked up way) nonsense. Obsessed with this weird date they're on. They could have fucked freaky style like 5 times already in my current draft, I'm really having to hold myself back.