Harry Potter Morgendorffer:
Ripples from a Vision
What if Minerva McGonagall had been able to persuade Professor McGonagall to place baby Harry Potter with different blood relatives instead of with Petunia Dursley and her husband: the Morgendorffers from MTV's Daria?
DISCLAIMER:
Daria is the creation of Glenn Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling and Warner Brothers, as are its characters and situations. I don't own them, and neither expect nor deserve financial compensation for this story. I am writing for my own amusement and for ego gratification.
Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer*Harry Potter Morgendorffer
Albus Dumbledore was forced to set aside the problem of finding and destroying Tom Riddle's horcruxes for the next several days to deal with other matters: his duties as head of the International Confederation of Wizards, as Chief Warlock in the Wizengamut, and with running Hogwarts. That didn't mean he'd forgotten the matter: it only meant that he hadn't made time to deal with it.
If Albus Dumbledore had not made time think about Voldemort and horcruxes, other people had. A raven flew in on Thursday with an envelope clutched in its claws. It dropped the envelope, then opened its mouth. "Priority!" it said, then spread its wings and flew away. The headmaster grinned.
Dumbledore didn't waste much time trying to guess the identity of who sent him the letter. Very few witches and wizards used ravens to deliver letters and packages these days: the few that did tended to be from older, darker, tradition-minded families. After he used his wand to flip the envelope over and to check it for curses, he used his letter-opener to open it and started reading the enclosed letter.
As he'd thought, the letter was from Arcturus Black. That was unusual: even on the edge of extinction, the Black family remained one of the major adherents of the dark faction in the Wizengamut. Black's path had recently crossed with his and Mrs. Morgendorffer's at Godric's Hollow when she and young Harry came to see the monument to Harry's parents. He thought back to his conversation. Arcturus had mentioned that he needed to meet with him about something he'd learned. By the tone of his voice, it sounded important.
He opened and read the letter. The gist of the letter was that the two of them should meet and discuss matters. Albus wrote back, suggesting that they meet at his office early the following week, using the excuse that he was vetting Lord Black for a place on Hogwarts' Board of Governors.
On Tuesday, the Black patriarch apparated just beyond the school gates, then walked to the base of the staircase leading to Dumbledore's office, escorted by a pair of prefects who belatedly realized that the very important but dark visitor should not have to walk through the halls of Hogwarts alone.
At the base of the stairs he was greeted by Professor Septima Vector, a Dumbledore hire he'd never before, who escorted up the stairs to the Headmaster's office.
Dumbledore was already standing near the front of his office when Vector escorted the head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black into his office.
"Lord Black," said Dumbledore. "Welcome."
"Thank you," said the Black family patriarch.
"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked politely.
"No thank you," Arcturus Black replied. "I would have some tea. Green tea would be satisfactory." The two of them took seats. Dumbledore summoned a house elf, who made and poured a cup of tea and presented it to Lord Black.
"Your letter said that we had matters to discuss," said Dumbledore.
"We do," said Lord Black. "I recently became aware of an artifact that one of our family house elves had in his possession. It was a dark object with a very interesting story behind it. I took the artifact to Gringotts and had their curse-breakers examine it. Would you be interested in learning what it was?"
Dumbledore's eyebrows went up slightly. "I might," he said, feigning disinterest. Lord Black saw Dumbledore's facial expression and the way his hands moved. The old wizard was definitely interested.
"The object was a Horcrux," said Arcturus. "It was a Horcrux made by the Dark Lord." Dumbledore made to reply but Arcturus waved his hand. "It was a Horcrux my grandson learned about and retrieved. It cost him his life."
"So what happened to it?" asked Dumbledore.
"The curse breakers at Gringotts examined it and destroyed it, destroying a soul-fragment cached within it," Arcturus continued. "Would you like to know whose soul-fragment that was?"
Dumbledore could see that the old wizard's emotional control was slipping and that his true emotions were showing. Beneath his outward façade, Lord Black wasn't just angry, he was furious.
"It was the Dark Lord's," said Arcturus. "My grandson and heir died finding this object. He was dragged underwater by Inferi, but not before he charged the house elf to take it and destroy it."
Dumbledore let slip his air of detachment. "If so, this is a blow against Voldemort, but I don't see the necessity for calling on me," he said.
"I believe that the object is not one but one of several Horcruxes that the Dark Lord made and stored around Britain," said Lord Black. "I had one destroyed, but I've heard tell of others. I'd like to see the rest destroyed. I think that we ought to work together to do so."
"You may have heard of the Order of the Phoenix, but it disbanded at the end of the war," the Headmaster said lightly.
"I don't care about your order, Dumbledore," said Arcturus. "I have no intention of becoming one of your followers. We would be allies, allies with a common goal."
"And what would that goal be?" asked the headmaster.
"The destruction or permanent neutralization of Tom Riddle and the prevention of his ever returning to life or power," said Lord Black. "Whatever objections I have to your faction's threat to Wizarding tradition and culture here in Britain are far less important than removing the Dark Lord and preventing him from ever coming back."
Dumbledore looked at the Head of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and suppressed a scoff at the other wizard's pronouncement.
"And do you think you'd find many followers for your faction?" said Dumbledore.
"Yes," said Lord Black. "I'm certain there are more than a few who would ally with us. We wouldn't dare be open about it, of course: too many traditionalists still believe that supporting the Dark Lord is supporting the traditions and culture of Wizarding Britain, but I can believe that I can find supporters out there."
"And why do you believe that?" said Dumbledore.
"Because the Dark Lord and his followers surreptitiously and sometimes not so surreptitiously abducted or slaughtered more than a few traditionalists who either saw through him and merely disagreed with his ideas. They have survivors: oftentimes people coerced into supporting him after he'd murdered their friends and kin, but also people who still remember their friends and family and who really killed them. They still remember, even if they are not part of the light."
"You know, vengeance is a poor reason for forming a faction," said Dumbledore. "Vengeance leads to the grave as the old saying goes."
"Mayhap," said Arcturus. "But I already have one foot in the grave and vengeance can provide kindling for a movement. The old songs and stories talk much about heroes and their noble motives. I'm no Gryffindor. I want revenge. Revenge for myself and revenge for my house."
"Your house?" Dumbledore said skeptically. Several prominent Blacks supported Tom and had been among his death eaters.
"Yes," said Lord Black. "I have come to believe that the Dark Lord recruited members of my family not merely tp gain supporters but to ultimately weaken it while he was attempting to overthrow the Ministry. And thanks to our foolishness, he almost succeeded in destroying us."
"Your grandson and Bellatrix joined willingly," said Dumbledore.
"And both my son and my daughter in law have since died of grief," said Arcturus. "Our bad choices may have had part of it, but I blame the Dark Lord."
"And why do you think your faction would be of any assistance should the Dark Lord return?" said Dumbledore.
"We can talk to people you could not hope to approach and we can go places where erstwhile member of your Order could never hope to gain entry," the Black patriarch said with a smile.
"And if I decline your offer of assistance?" said Dumbledore.
"Then we'll do it without you," said Lord Black.