I do not own Harry Potter nor World of Darkness
Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Hogwarts, 2nd September 1991 (Monday)
Harry sat down next to Theodore Nott, chatting while waiting for the professor and the Gryffindor students to arrive.
"What do you mean the position is cursed?" asked Harry.
Theo shrugged "That's what my parents said. Every year something bad happens to the DADA professor and they have to either resign or be fired. I heard one time a professor died."
"And no one was able to counter the curse?"
"No one was able to find the curse. That's the problem. You can't break a curse that you can't find."
"To be perfectly honest, I'm fine with switching professor after this year. Have you listened to professor Quirrell's stutter?" interjected Sally-Anne Perks, who was sitting besides Theo.
"Professor Quirrel was a great teacher. - said Daphne Greengrass in a frigid tone while turning towards them from the desk in front of theirs - I'd like to see you after fighting off a vampire."
Harry leaned forward. "Vampire? Do you know what clan?"
After receiving a puzzled look, Harry continued.
"You do know there are multiple vampire clans, right? About a dozen major ones and… maybe twenty-something minor ones."
"And how exactly do you know that?"
"Sir Harold taught me. He only named clan Tremere, but I think he knows all of them."
Theo raised his hands in exasperation. "Who is this sir Harold anyway? He's a wizard that gets mad if you call him a wizard, knows how to make muggle technology work in Hogwarts and now he's also a vampire expert? Just who is this guy?"
"He's on Pentex's Board of Directors." said Harry, as if that simple description explained everything.
Before the others could ask further questions, the doors opened, letting in the Gryffindor students. Harry couldn't help but noticing the glare a few of them threw his way, Ron Weasley chief of them all.
As they sat across the room from the Slytherins, one single girl with long and bushy brown hair. As Hermione walked towards Harry, the class fell silent. Hermione took a deep breath and started to speak.
"Hello, Harry. I wanted to apologize for my rudeness on the train. I was so excited to finally be attending Hogwarts and learn magic that I didn't stop to consider my behavior towards the other students." She made a small bow toward him, in a manner that clearly indicated she had rehearsed the speech multiple times.
Harry smiled.
"Apologies accepted, Miss Granger. - he moved to the side - Do you need a place to sit?"
Hermione looked up, surprised by the offer, before silently sitting down next to him.
Shocked whispers spread among the classroom as Hermione sat next to him. and Harry felt a hand pulling him to the side.
"What are you doing, Potter!?- hissed Theo - she's a Gryffindor! And she's a mudb… a muggleborn!"
"And? The discman you played yesterday is muggle-made, you didn't seem to have a problem with that."
Theo flushed red, struggling to find a rebuttal, but was interrupted by Hermione.
"Discman!? But muggle technology doesn't work in Hogwarts!"
"It does if you bind a Rust Spider to it."
"What in Merlin's name is a Rust Spider!?" demanded an outraged Daphne Greengrass, who had overcome the shock of one of her housemates inviting a Gryffindor mudblood to sit with them.
"G-g-good m-morning c-class." said a very pale and sickly-looking professor with a purple turban, whose entrance had gone completely unnoticed.
"I s-see that M-mr. P-potter has in-in-invited another h-house m-member t-to his d-desk. G-good. F-five p-points to S-Slytherin for f-fostering int-int-inter h-house c-cooperation. N-now, m-my n-name is Q-Quirinus Q-Quirrel and I'll be your p-professor of D-Defense Ag-against the D-dark Arts.
The lecture itself was a chore. Professor Quirrel's stutter seemed to get better the more into the lesson he went, but it was still pretty distracting. As his friends left the room, he approached the professor.
"Yes. M-mr. Potter?"
"Sorry if this is a personal question, but I was wondering… were you ghouled during your fight against the vampire?"
Professor Quirrel did a double take, surprised by the question.
"I d-don't k-know w-what g-ghouls have t-to do with v-vampires, M-mr. P-Potter. M-my c-condition comes f-from an unf-f-fortunate m-mistake f-from my p-part. B-but v-vampires are s-seventh year m-material and g-ghouls h-have t-their own elect-tive f-for t-the same year. I h-have t-to ask you n-not to d-delve in the s-subject b-before your s-seventh year. V-vampires are v-very d-dangerous c-creatures and it's w-way too s-soon for you to s-study t-them n-now. "
Harry nodded, pulling out his quill and jetting down some notes for Sir Harold.
Wizards study vampires in the 7th do not know
what a ghoul is, but have an elective about them?
Slytherin common room, Hogwarts, 2nd September 1991 (Monday)
"Ok, now spill it. What was that?"
Harry looked puzzled at Theo and the other Slytherins glaring at him.
"Can you be a little more precise? I don't think I understand what I did wrong."
"You offered a seat to Granger!" shouted Theo.
"And? I got points for it."
"That's not the problem. She's a Griffyndor!"
"I know. That's why I got points."
"Her house and ours are sworn enemies! Always have been!"
"No one told me that. Besides, like I said before… I got points for it."
"But she's a mudblood!" shouted Draco, only for a Slytherin girl to slap her hand over his mouth.
"Shht! You know professor Snape doesn't like that word! Do you want to get detention?"
Harry looked puzzled.
"I have never heard the word 'mudblood' before in my entire life. Did you all forget I was raised by muggles?"
A few seconds of silence, a third year girl sighed.
"A pureblood is a wizard that comes from wizard parents. A halfblood is a wizard with one muggle parent. A mudblood, or muggleborn like professor Snape wants us to call them, is a wizard with two muggle parents."
Harry nodded.
"And they just… show up? No magical ancestors and are just… born with magic?"
"Yes."
Harry nodded, pausing for a second to consider it.
"I still don't see a problem."
"They shouldn't learn magic!" exclaimed Blaise, with many others nodding along.
"Then why do you even send them a Hogwarts letter? If you don't tell them about Hogwarts, how are they supposed to learn about it?"
There was a pause, followed by a low chuckle. The students turned their head toward the floating figure above their head, its elegant clothes stained by ethereal blood. The Bloody Baron, the ghost of house Slytherin, had followed the conversation with interest and had finally decided to chime in.
"Hogwarts accepts muggleborn for a very simple reason, Potter. Because trained animals make for better servants than untrained ones. While you might wrongfully believe that muggles, mudbloods and half blood are the same as pureblood wizards, I can assure you that they are not on the same level."
Some of the listening students started to nod in approval.
"They are inferior creatures, little more than beasts really, but even the most base of creatures can be trained to properly serve their rightful masters. Do we not train owls to carry our letters? Do we not train horses to pull our carriages? Do we not train dogs to guard our property? Do we not train house elves to cook our meals and clean our homes? Do we not train goblins to manage our money?"
Once again, many of the students nodded in agreement.
"Muggleborn are the same. Trained beasts to perform the basest of duty a proper wizard, a pureblood wizard, shouldn't concern himself with. Let the muggles tend to our fields, harvest our crops, let the mudbloods tend to our unicorns, chase away the gnomes infesting our gardens and let them die in our wars."
There was a second of silence.
"While I admire your cunning tactic of letting that mudblood think she is your equal, your friend even, I urge you not to fall for your own deception, Potter. As for everyone else…I suggest you learn to wear a better mask. We are the house of the cunning, you ought to start planning your actions better instead of leaping into actions like the house of lions does. Let the Gryffindor charge in first and die first. Then, send in muggles and mudbloods. The more bodies between you and your enemy, the less likely you are to get cursed."
Harry frowned. While he didn't like the way the ghost talked about muggles due to Edwin and Samuel being muggles, he couldn't fault his reasoning. Pentex had strict rules on how to deal with a Garou attack, and their first tactic consisted of baiting and scoping their capabilities with disposable security guards before sending in a First Strike team to properly dispose of the threat. A sad reality, but First Strike members were too few and too valuable to be sent in without a proper assessment of the enemy. The parallels between pureblood and First Strike members was obvious, but the big difference was… in Pentex, everyone understood their role and why it was necessary, while in the wizarding world people seem to just expect everyone to understand without bothering to explain it.
"I can see your point, sir. I'll reflect on my actions and adjust as necessary." finally said Harry.
The ghost smiled, leaving Harry and the others to ponder on his words.
Nott Manor, Nottingham county, 2nd September 1991 (Monday)
"Theodore was sorted into Slytherin." said Gerard Nott, stroking his beard.
His wife forced herself to sit from the bed.
"You don't sound happy."
Gerard looked at his wife. Despite the effects of her condition causing her hair to fall off in chunks and her skin to wrinkle, Gerard still found her to be beautiful. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
"Of course I'm happy. It's just that… Well, his roommates. Blaise Zabini and Harry Potter."
"Potter was sorted into Slytherin?"
"So it seems. Not only that, he's a Parselmouth."
His wife was shocked.
"And, apparently, he was raised by someone named Sir Harold Zettler. Someone who is most certainly not a wizard, yet has apparently helped wizards in some kind of war way back in the day."
He glanced at his wife. She was one of the very few, if not the only witch in all of their years at Hogwarts to actually enjoy History of Magic. If anyone knew about those wars, it was probably her.
"Do you know what the Massasa war was?"
The woman froze.
"Does it say Massasa? Are you sure it says that?"
Gerard raised an eyebrow and showed her the letter.
"Gerard… The Massasa wars were fought almost a thousand years ago, back when wizards called themselves Mages. We adopted the name 'wizard' after retreating from the war when we enacted the statute of secrecy. If this Sir Harold doesn't call himself a wizard…"
Gerard's eyes went wide.
"Are you suggesting that Harry Potter was adopted by a wizard who grew up in a family so ancient that it predates the word wizard?"
The question was left unanswered.
Gerard Nott took a few seconds to ponder about the boy and how he seemed to be the exact opposite of what he had expected. Harry Potter wasn't the perfect goody two-shoes Griffyndor he had been led to believe. Harry Potter had been sorted in Slytherin. Harry Potter was a Parselmouth. Harry Potter had been raised by a house that was, in all likelihood, more ancient than any other in britain.
Harry Potter… while his education was most certainly lacking in many areas due to the pollution of muggle education, there would be absolutely no way for him not to become great. He would join the ranks with the greatest of wizards, together with the likes of Grindelwald and Voldermort…
Nott's memory suddenly flashed back to that fateful night, when his master had declared that the Potter's son had to die. He, like everyone else in the room, had believed that the Dark Lord had gone into another one of his episodes. Tom Riddle had been a charismatic leader, a scion of pureblood ideology, who rejected his impure birth and sought to restore the wizarding world to his proper order, going so far as to use an ancient blood ritual to excise himself of filthy muggle blood. And yet, his muggle heritage had still managed to curse him. It wasn't noticeable at first, and it truly became evident only years after he had sworn allegiance to the man calling himself Lord Voldemort, when his appearance deteriorated and his previously meticulous, brilliant plans became more brazen and crude as his ambitions became more and more unhinged. And when the man started to whisper about a prophecy…
The prophecy. That had to be the key. He didn't hear it, only Snape had, but… What if Harry Potter wasn't destined to be the one to destroy the Dark Lord, but… succeed him?
After all, the similarities were obvious. Both were Parselmouths sorted into Slytherin. Both were raised among muggles. Both were from noble families, but while Voldemort was the illegitimate child of the disgraced house of Gaunt, little more than a pale shadow of ancient house Slytherin; Harry Potter was the heir of the noble and greatly respected house of Potter, who could trace their lineage back to the Peverell line, probably the only family whose nobility could match the Hogwarts founders.
Except, Potter had been taught by someone with even older and nobler blood. Unlike Voldemort, Potter already had the fame and notoriety to enforce his vision on the wizarding world. The civil war that Voldemort had enacted to seize power was… completely unnecessary for young Potter. He only needed to keep an eye out for the boy's first signs of madness. If Potter possessed a stable mind… All he had to do was run for the seat of Minister of Magic. Who didn't know of the boy-who-lived? How difficult would it be for someone of his status to slide his way into a position of power? He already had a reserved seat at the Wizengamot, and he was only eleven!
He smiled. While he read of Potter's stunt with the mudblood Gryffindor, the Bloody Baron himself had already taken steps to correct the boy's mistake. His plan of tricking muggles and mudbloods into service instead of forcing them was a novel idea, but one with potential. After all, Voldemort had tried for the direct approach and failed, it made sense for Potter to learn from the mistakes of his predecessor and adjust his plans accordingly.
While Gerard didn't appreciate lord Potter's fascination with this muggle technological nonsense, tools were ultimately just that: tools. Whether a stick was carved by a muggle or by a wizard, it remained a carved stick. And if this Sir Harold approved of them… they had to be worth something.
"I take you approve of Theo's roommates?" asked his wife, noticing his smile.
"For the moment… I think I do."
Potions classroom, Hogwarts, 3rd September 1991 (Tuesday)
Harry was now sitting down at his desk, in between Hermione and Theo. Theo and Daphne still weren't too pleased to have a muggleborn Gryffindor in their midst, but the words of the Bloody Baron were still resonating in their minds, and had decided to at least give Hermione a chance to prove her usefulness. Her presence alone had granted them house points and the explicit approval of every professor they met yesterday, after all.
Sally-Anne had actively tried to engage in conversation, but had found the lack of what she expected to be basic knowledge of the Gryffindor girl especially tiring. The girl didn't even know what Quidditch was! Granted, neither did Harry, but Harry at least had the decency to pretend he knew without telegraphing his ignorance for everyone to see. Was this muggleborn proud of her ignorance?
The Slytherin was, with little success, trying to explain to Hermione why the game ending when the snitch was caught made perfect sense when Professor Snape made his entrance in the classroom, silencing the whispers.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. - he began. - As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death… - he paused - …if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
Silence followed this little speech. Harry and Theo exchanged looks, while Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving herself.
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
The majority of the class looked stumped, while Hermione's hand shot up in the air. Professor Snape looked at her, motioning her to answer.
"Draught of Living Death, sir."
Snape nodded, staring at her.
"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
"The stomach of a goat, sir."
"What is the difference, Granger, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"They are the same plant, sir."
Snape snorted. "Good. Fifteen points to Slytherin for getting all three answers correct. I'm glad to see that at least someone has bothered to open their books, for once."
"But professor, Hermione is a Gryffindor!" shouted a boy from one of the other tables.
Snape glared at him.
"I don't remember giving you permission to speak. Are you so important that the rules do not apply to you, Mr. Finnegan?"
The boy turned red, looking at the floor.
"N-no." whispered the boy.
"Speak up!"
"N-no."
"No what?"
"No sir."
Snape nodded. "Good. For your lack of manners, Gryffindor will take no points. I hope you're proud of yourself, Mr. Finnigan."
Professor Snape waved his wand, levitating a cucumber in front of each student.
"I wouldn't trust you lot to know the difference between cutting and chopping, so that will be our first lesson. Pick up a knife and try not to kill yourselves with it. If you want to stab Mr. Finnigan for losing house points, please do so as far away from my classroom as possible."
Harry leaned toward Theo, whispering in his ear. "Did he take away the fifteen points he gave to Slytherin?"
Theo smiled "No he didn't."
Notes
So... about Hermione joining the group: It was my plan since the start to have both Hermione and Ron being part of Harry's new friend group, but there needed to be some sort of logical reasoning behind them. I think the way I ended up integrating Hermione is logical enough: she canonically isn't liked by her housemates at the beginning of the year, so she shouldn't be exposed to inter-house prejudice, and the same is true for Harry. Of course, the plan of pretending to be her friends won't last for very long: sheer exposure effect will ensure that the group will inevitably warm up to her (they are 11 year old after all), but that's something for the next chapters.
The scene with the Bloody Baron is something I'm not 100% satisfied with, but it's passable. The speech isn't enough to convince anyone, but should be more than enough to make them at least consider a different approach.
The scene with the Nott parents went through like 5 rewrites, but I think I accomplished my goals well enough. I decided to make Theo's mom sick because she canonically dies some time before 1994, while his dad was (still is) a Death Eater, but there's VERY little about him (we don't even get his name!). We know he went to school with Riddle, meaning he HAS to know about Voldemort's lineage, which in turns require some mental gymnastic from his part to justify being a pureblood supremacist while serving a half-blood. In regards to Voldemort's "excise muggle blood" ritual... is it real? Is it a lie? That's up to you, but Gerard sure as hell believes it's genuine. Same with Voldemort's supposed madness... wether it's real or not, Gerard is convinced it's something caused by his muggle heritage. Since it's a POV scene, it's a bit difficult to differentiate betweem what's true and what's Gerard doing mental gymnastic, so I hope it's not too confusing
You might have noticed Snape's class is a bit different. He still gives point to Slytherins for no reason, but at the very least he's cunning enough to not make it blatant. He knew DAMN well Hermione's not a Slytherin, but she was sitting with them, giving him an excuse (however weak it is) that he simply assumed she was a snake based on her seat. As to why I cnahed the lesson plan from brewing a simple potion to how to cut things... well, it's the first lesson, you gotta start from the very bottom.
Answering PM/Reviews
Holy shit, you got 99% of it correct. I didn't exactly go too into details yet, but pretty much everything you said about wizard concensus and wizarding society being a breakaway civilization is spot on. You're missing one final piece of the puzzle, but realistically I don't think you'll be able to get it until I drop hints about it, and that most likely won't happen until Chambers. But then again, maybe you'll surprise me again and fgure it out on your own
Coincidentally, that missing piece will also explain why the Technocracy doesn't do anything about the wizarding world.