I do not own Harry Potter nor World of Darkness
Great hall, Hogwarts, 8th September 1991 (Sunday)
Harry was sitting at breakfast, chatting with Theo and Daphne when they were interrupted by the hoots of multiple owls. As the group stopped their conversation, they soon noticed that they all had received letters. Well, Theo and Daphne had received letters. Harry had received a massive package that looked too heavy for the owl to carry. Yet, the red-eyed owl dropped the pack in front of Harry, causing a loud slamming sound that gathered the attention of most of the Slytherin table.
"That's one heavy package, Potter. What did you feed your owl?" asked Blaise.
Harry smiled, patting the owl as he grabbed the letter that sat on top of the package.
"Not sure. Probably the blood of the unclean or something like that."
A few people giggled, returning their attention to their own letters and packages.
Dear Mr. Potter,
We have received your letter and while we aren't sure what the significance
of being sorted into Slytherin is, we offer our sincere congratulations
for this achievement.
We are very pleased to hear that you continue your morning
exercises and daily prayers. To assist you in this admirable dedication, you will find
the first part of a weight set to help you in maintaining your current level
of physical training. Expect additional equipment every week for
the rest of September.
We are disappointed in hearing about your fight with Mr. Malfoy,
but since you only received a detention, we ought to
come to the conclusion your actions were at least partly justified.
We are exceedingly happy to hear that the provided discman
work within Hogwarts grounds. We have included a series of other
Fly's Electronics products for you to test: should they
work as intended within school grounds, we may begin the process
of opening a brand new subsidiary specifically tailored for
the wizarding community.
We are discussing possible names, but 'Power Potter's'
is the one that shows the most marketability potential.
Within the box you will also find your weekly dose of Vitae. Do not lose it.
We received letters from Professors Vector, Burbage and
Headmaster Dumbledore asking permission to analyze your
'muggle tools'. We have provided them with their own discmans
in the red boxes you'll find inside the package.
Lastly, we would ask you to remind your teachers about the fact that
the 17th of November is Founder's day and your
presence is requested at the Park Royal branch of Homogenity inc.
for the usual rites and subsequent celebrations.
Keep us informed and remember: you are representing Pentex.
Do us proud.
Yours sincerely,
Instructor David Charlston,
Homogenity Incorporated, Pentex subsidiary
representing
Sir Harold Zettler,
Pentex BoD
Harry opened the package, pulling out the three boxes and headed towards the teacher's table.
A few people turned their heads, and soon there were whispers carrying all over the Great hall. Harry handed over the first box to a curious headmaster, then raised the remaining two boxes.
"I was told to give those to professors Vector and Burbage."
The two professors extended their hands and quickly opened up the boxes, pulling out a brand new walkman as well as a colorful booklet that Harry recognized as the instruction manual.
"That is very considerate of Sir Harold. Are these brand new? Must have been difficult acquiring them with such a short notice." commented a blonde witch, clearly overjoyed at receiving the package.
"Considering Sir Harold's position, I'm fairly certain he could have provided multiple copies to every Hogwarts student if he deemed it necessary."
The witch's eyes sparkled "Really? Do you mind stopping by my office later to answer a few questions?"
"That would not be possible. - interjected Snape in a monotone voice. - Mr. Potter has detention with professor Hooch for his… altercation with Mr. Malfoy."
The Muggle Studies professor looked at her colleague. "Rolanda, do you think it would be a problem if I take over Mr. Potter's detention?"
Professor Hooch shrugged.
"Go ahead."
The blonde professor smiled. "Then, Mr. Potter, I'll see you in Muggle Studies class in the afternoon."
Harry nodded, returning to his seat.
"What was that?" asked Theo.
"They asked to see my discman. Sir Harold decided to send brand new ones each."
"If I were to ask, would he send me a new one as well?"
Harry smiled, handing him the letter. Daphne, Sally and a few other Slytherins leaned forward.
"'Power Potter's'?" asked Daphne, raising an eyebrow.
"It's marketable."
"Sounds pretentious."
"Why does it say they sent you weights for training?"
"What is Founder's day?"
"It's a holiday stupid, it says it right here."
"Hey, Harry, what's this Vitae thing you're not supposed to lose?" asked Sally.
"Medicine I need to take it every few days."
"Muggle medicine? Why don't you go to Professor Pomfrey instead?" asked Blaise.
"Why would I do that? So long as I take Vitae I'm fine, why would I need a Healer if I'm fine?"
"And what happens if you don't take it?"
Harry shrugged "Then I guess I'll have to visit Professor Pomfrey."
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, 8th September 1991 (Sunday)
"'Power Potter's'! How conceited can that boy be?"
"Calms down, Lucius. If this hypothetical shop opens up it will be owned by Potter, it's only expected for it to bear the Potter name."
"How come you are so nonchalant about it, Gerard? We are talking about exposing magical children to muggle nonsense." pointed out one of the other men.
"No, we're talking about magical products that look like muggle nonsense. Don't we all wear magical boots that look like their muggle counterparts?"
Malfoy stared at the man in disbelief.
"Gerard Nott, what exactly are you implying?"
The man shrugged. "I'm not implying anything. It's the way things have always been: muggles create something usable, spend generations to make it as good as they can, then wizards swoop in and make it thousands of times better. I say it was about time we showed these muggle their technology can't measure up to our magic. My only gripe is that the one to discover it is a foreign wizard, but there's little one can do about it."
"That man is not a wizard." pointed out another of the men.
"He might reject the term and not be formally trained, but he certainly isn't a muggle. Last time I checked, you need magic to bind spirits."
That gave everyone pause. A wizard that never went to a wizarding school was almost unheard of, but there had been situations in the past where that very thing had happened. It was difficult to believe, but the idea that a muggle had discovered how to bind spirits completely by accident was absolutely ludicrous. And if they had to choose between something improbable and something impossible…
"That… is an interesting theory. - pointed out a short man with curly hair - I'm not sure how likely, but it certainly has a… poetic flair to it. A prodigal son returning to the wizarding world bringing gifts stolen from the inferior muggle ilk as spoils of war. A younger me could have believed in it."
"And about the current you, Dolohov?" asked Lucius.
"The current me is far too jaded to believe this story without any evidence to back it up. I'm withholding my judgment until the man takes an inheritance test. If Gerard's story is true, we will certainly discover the man is the long long heir of a noble house. - He snorted - If he's that smart, he might be the Ravenclaw heir."
"You cannot possibly believe that!" almost shouted Lucius.
"Calm down Lucius, it was just a joke. Why are you so sensitive about that?"
"Leave him. He's still angry because Potter beat up Draco in front of everyone."
"I have every right to be angry at Potter! The boy had no right to punch my son."
"Curious. Theo told me that Draco wasn't acting right. I believe 'besmirching the honor of Slytherin house' was the description he used."
One of the other men snickered.
"I heard something similar. Apparently there was quite an extensive debate within Slytherin as to whether Potter's action was justified. Seems like Draco wasn't raised properly."
Lucius snorted. Clearly, his fellow Death Eaters didn't share his outrage at Potter's actions. "Potter's actions were not justified. Now, can we get back to a subject that's actually relevant to our meeting? Like the proposal for lifting the import ban on flying carpets?"
Manhattan Valley, New York, 19th September 1991 (Thursday)
"Why do I keep receiving orders from this so-called minister Fudge? It was amusing the first time, but now it is becoming quite aggravating. Especially after the man thought sending letters cursed to multiply themselves was a good idea."
The man swallowed. "On one hand, Mr. Zettler, they make for good fuel."
The vampire glared daggers at his assistant. After a second, the man clutched his head, screaming at the top of his lungs as he started convulsing on the floor.
"Do not try to play smart with me, boy. I asked you a question and I demand an answer, not a sarcastic comment to remind myself of my own greatness."
The assistant didn't reply, as he was reduced to a gurgling mass currently immobile on the floor.
Harold sighed. Why was it so difficult to find competent assistants nowadays? He really wished Germany won the last war. Sure, their humor was sub-par, but at the very least they were competent! He pushed a button, calling for his secretary
"Please, send someone to escort ex-assistant Winchester to the War Wolves den. Preferably now."
He sat down at his desk and picked up the last copy of Mr. Fudge's 'invitation'. After a few seconds of pondering, an idea came to mind.
Minister Fudge's office, London, 20th September 1991 (Friday)
Minister Fudge heard a knocking on his door. He was about to send this mysterious Sir Harold yet another summon, gently reminding that man that, as the designated guardian of a British wizard, he had a duty to show up when summoned. How exactly the man had convinced Mr. Potter's aunt and uncle to give up their parental rights was a mystery, but that just meant he had another question for the man once he finally stopped being stubborn and showed up.
The door opened, revealing a young man in a plain-looking robe carrying a large bag across his shoulder.
"You have mail, minister. From a certain Sir H. Zettler. I need your signature for the return receipt."
"Ah, finally!"
He pulled out a sickle, handing it to the boy. He was slightly impressed: nowadays not many opted to send a courier instead of using an owl, and even fewer people opted to pay five Galleons to have a return receipt. After signing the courier's delivery certificate, he reached for the letter.
Dear Mr. Fudge,
While I appreciate your eagerness to meet me,
I have to remind you that I am a very busy man in charge of
multiple businesses, each one requires significant
amount of time to be properly managed.
That said, I do not wish to offer the impression my duties towards
my charge, Mr. Potter, are any less important.
Unfortunately, I have very busy schedule and will only be available
to meet you on the following days:
September 20th, 02:14-02:15
September 29th, 18:07-18:08
October 7th, 00:05-00:07
October 31st, 19:59-20:00
December 15th, 12:03-12:04
December 25th, 11:00-13:00
December 31st. 23:48-23:49
December 31st. 23:58-23:59
January 1st, 00:05-00:06
January 1st, 00:09-00:10
Please, feel free to visit me any of the listed days
at my office in the 67th floor in at the number 136,
W 105th St, Manhattan Valley, New York City.
No prior notice will be required as I'll leave my schedule
open just for you.
Cordially,
Sir Harold Zettler,
Pentex BoD
Fudge's eye twitched. These times were absolutely insane. The only sane one was on the 25th of December, but… was this man seriously expecting him to give up his Christmas lunch for this meeting? He was about to write back when he noticed the courier handing him another letter and the same receipt.
"Mr. Zettler sent more letters, minister. ten thousand four hundred and twenty of them, to be exact. - he paused - If you need to make a withdrawal, I can come back later."
Great Hall, Hogwarts, 31st October 1991 (Thursday)
The months had flown by as Harry had settled into a routine. Every morning, he followed Professor Snape and helped the man carry the cauldrons for the first class of the day. Harry's help probably wasn't necessary, but it was Harry's only excuse to run back and forth in the corridors without pissing off Filch. Or rather, to give an excuse as to why he was allowed to run back and forth in the corridors and piss off Filch, since the caretaker seems to be ticked off by literally anything.
Headmaster Dumbledore had offered him the empty classroom next to professor Babbling's office to store his exercise equipment, on the condition that other students had the option to use them as well. The room had become quite popular with the various Quidditch teams and Harry was pretty sure that Crabbe and Goyle were also using it, even if the two would never admit to it, given how blindingly loyal they were to Draco.
Professor Binns had finished the tale of House Tremere halfway through October, but despite Harry's requests, the ghosts didn't go on to explain the history of other noble hermetic houses due to a lack of information about them. He knew that House Quaesitori was the original name for Susan's ancestors, mostly due to the fact he himself was a rather distant descendant of House Quaesitori, and over the years he had picked up some rumors regarding the connections between houses Tharsis and Malfoy, as well as houses Tytalus and Black. The scattered bits and pieces of information connecting the noble houses of the wizarding world with hermetic houses took less than half an hour to explain, much to Harry's disappointment.
After classes, Harry spent quite a bit of time in the library, usually in the company of Theo, Daphne, Sally or Hermione.
Hermione seemed to have bonded with the group and while neither Daphne nor Theo would ever admit she was a friend, they were willingly to admit that she was at the very least a very capable 'underling'. She was very eager to help them all with their homework, after all, and the two knew they had to keep her close, lest someone else snatched her away.
She had discovered an old student timetable in one of the books, showing that Hogwards used to offer classes on Dueling as well as a full Demonology course, although both subjects had been dropped from the list of electives available to the students nowadays. Worse of all, the manuals for those subjects were locked up and only accessible to fifth and seventh year students respectively, much to everyone's dismay. They would have had to make a note for the future if they weren't 100% sure that Hermione already had marked it down. Theo had even half joked that she would make an excellent secretary for the day Harry would become minister of Magic.
The group had become relatively close, spending the evenings talking about various subjects ranging from schoolwork to family to Harry's unusual religion, as well as testing out the many gadgets he received on a weekly basis. Apparently, there wasn't a dedicated spirit for making electronics work at Hogwarts, with each piece requiring its own dedicated spirit and although sir Harold, or more realistically, whoever sir Harold had tasked with this job, was trying to develop a system to figure out what spirit would be make a certain tech piece work properly, progress was slow. On one hand, however, it gave Harry's friends, professor Burbage and a select few Muggle Studies students the opportunity to familiarize themselves with various pieces of muggle technology that would no doubt find themselves in the shelves of Diagon Alley once the testing phase was completed.
On the upside, the extra work with professor Burbage had given Harry and his friends a solid basis in the first year's curriculum of Muggle Studies and would all but guarantee them a passing mark on the subject if they chose to take it as an elective in their third year.
Despite their budding friendship, even if born out of convenience, Harry could tell there was something wrong with Hermione. She didn't really have any friends in Gryffindor house, except maybe Neville, and the evenings spent in loneliness, since students were confined to their houses after dinner, were weighing rather heavily on her shoulders.
Notes
With this chapter we start to see Pentex starting to expand their reach toward the wizarding world. It starts as a charming, conevient, unconventional but with clear benefits, but... how long will it takes for it to evolve into something sinister? Fudge hasn't even met sir Harold and has already managed to piss off the Metuselah, which... considering Fudge's defining feature is his incompetence shouldn't really come off as a surprise.
For those of you wondering why Zettler pulled out a "I wish the nazis won" seemingly out of nowhere... That's because he's a nazi. Like, quoting from the wiki: Rumors abound of his having been a Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, a Hessian mercenary, a witch-hunter in Salem, a cannibal and serial killer in St. Petersburg and a cult leader in the Black Forest. I simply decided to make those rumors... not rumors.
And just like that... we reached Halloween. You all know what's about to happen, so stay tuned for the first fight in the serie
Answering PM/Reviews
While the idea of having Binns be a living (or un-living, I guess) encyclopedia was something I considered, I ultimately decided not to go that route. Sure, he might know more about ancient lore than your average wizard, but I'd like to avoid a character have all the answers, I think it makes for a more interesting story if Harry & co figure things out on their own.
Wizards do, in fact, have avatars. Most of them don't really pay as much attention as they probably should to them outside of very specific circumstances (like, say, when the avatar becomes visible during the Patronus charm).
regarding Psychic abilities... the answer is both yes and no. by RAW wizards, witches and even squibs can learn numina (ANY numina, not just psychic abilities) so long as they are dedicated enough, but for storytelling purposes I have somewhat restricted Psychic abilities to a VERY specific aesthetic (you'll see them relatively soon, I've already put 3 Psychics in the story) for clarity's sake. Having characters outside of that aesthetic use Psychic abilities would not break my worldbuilding, but will make it a tad confusing for readers that aren't familiar with WoD, which is something I'm trying to avoid