Facing Bad Tropes with Little Lady Potter 8 - (Harry Potter AU, SI)
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Albus 'Too Many Names' Dumbledore apparated in Private Drive with a bit of a concerned mindset.
One can never understate the fact that things had been particularly weird at Hogwarts due to a specific issue: a certain chosen one was missing from the ranks of new students.
While there had been cases where some students had been 'chosen' to come to Hogwarts at a latter date, this phenomenon's last circumstance was tied to a century or so ago. And within some specific factors.
Factors that Albus had reasonably taken care of during his rise to prominence.
Still, today was not a good day to think of the past. Not when a certain 'cunning plan' of his was turning out into a nightmare: where in the bloody hell is Rose Potter?
Maybe the Dursleys did a major mess. Maybe they went too far. Maybe they did something to actually 'beat the magic out of the child'. The mere thought, albeit somewhat good to his plans, disgusted him.
As much as Albus was a pragmatic believer of the Greater Good, he wasn't without his standards. A child of Magic should not be brutalized... too much.
After all, one thing is to be above Grindelwald and... another is being below in morality to those muggles that hurt his younger sister.
So, the Headmaster had tried to keep his calm and speak calmly with the Dursleys-
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT YOU NEVER HAD HER?!"
Albus was mildly angry. He was positively pissed, but he had some control.
Just enough to set up some sound-proof barrier over the house and then blast the cretins with a full-powered Sonorus.
He left with the fools bleeding from their ears. Their fat brat wasn't around to get subjected to this too, yet it wasn't important for him.
The adults had been served the punishment for slighting him.
Now? Now he had to find Rose.
He first investigated Privet Drive. The little street was fairly mundane, nothing had changed since his visit a decade earlier. It was an example of how plain muggles could be, even with the few decorations in some of those homes standing out from the rest.
He looked for anything telling, a sign that maybe one of the folks living in the area had unwittingly taken the child with them but... most of the adults were out for work or busy doing other things.
None had any red-haired teen with them. The girl was not in the area... and this very much angered Albus Dumbledore.
But while he would have been keen to leave the premises to return to his office and plan his next steps, Albus found himself focusing on letting his anger disappear. How? A glass of lemonade.
"Are you sure you want it so sugary, grandpa?"
The little child, a girl with white hair and yellow eyes, was definitely not a muggle. But while this should raise some suspicions on the matter, he ultimately conceded that the owner of the home had been there from before Rose was left there and that he was a squib.
For the man to find some magical children (children of the magical creatures-kind at that) was not truly that shocking.
Especially since they had been taken in quite recently after a 'business trip in Japan'.
Little Shirone was a chatter. Albus had heard of Nekomata in his early years as Supreme Mugwump, but this one was a rarebreed. Stronger in magic, but definitely unusually so.
Still, the kid didn't seem interested in learning. It was fair to assume that, due to her current denomination within the English statute, that she couldn't attend Hogwarts even if she wanted once she was old enough.
"It is very alright, Little Shirone. And please, don't call me 'grandpa'."
Shirone tilted her head to the side, a feline behavior that reminded him of Minerva. The woman used to be so responsive to her animagus' form, but she had long grown out of that attitude because it was 'too embarrasing'. A shame.
"Why not? You look like a grandpa."
The childish remark planted a smile on him, a bit forced on the topic considering that family was a sore spot for Albus. Abeforth still loathed him, Ariana was dead, and... that was it.
There was no one else.
Being a homosexual meant that Albus could hardly consider producing children. Adoption was ruled out even though a few times it came up. It would be even fair to say that being the holder of multiple important roles meant not having a proper private life.
His public life is his private life.
Still, the child was forgiven due to the notion she was ignorant of his many woes.
"I see... how about another cup?"
The girl beamed, giddiness dancing as Albus found himself once more reminiscing how long since he had taken a glass or two of lemonade. Maybe when his mother was still alive. Or even later... when Grindelwald had not strayed from the light.
His smile faltered a little bit at the thought, and Shirone took notice of that.
"A-Are you alright, grandpa? Too much sugar?"
His smile was back, even more forced into the right position. "None of that, child. I was just thinking of... stressful things."
"Oh. Well, dad told me that if you feel stressed, then it's fine to take a break and then get back at it."
It sounded like a smart plan but... Albus can't stop. Not with how pathetically weak the others under him were without his leadership.
"Your father is... a smart man, little Shirone. Still, I think I will get going and-"
"Ah! You haven't paid!"
The kid was correct. He was about to forget to pay. And while a quick Confundus would spare his wallet, Albus was feeling particularly merciful today.
A quid soon found itself on the table, the girl squeaking as she took it but-
"W-Wait, this is too-" And she paused and frowned as she realized Albus was gone with another Apparition. "T-Too much, grandpa..."
Albus didn't care for the reactions. All he was for was one thing: order, balance, and the Greater Good.
And only he can have all of that happen. No one else, not his own Order of the Phoenix, not Grindelwald, not that foolish Tom Riddle - only him!
Today was the day.
Years and years of waiting, planning, adapting to new circumstances and claiming more Horcruxes had ultimately given Tom the chance to finally be free.
It's been a week since Rose had started studying in Mahoutokoro, and... Tom loved the place. She had loved Hogwarts too, but this? This was different.
While Mahoutokoro lacked the mystique left behind by the far older school, it had such a refined structure and a far more extensive library that she found the place to be more of her liking compared to the one in Scotland. The curses and hexes- she could drown in the paper and ink stored within this place!
Hell, it would be fair to say that Tom would have loved to have studied here, without any questionable manipulation from nosey power-hungry old bastards and without being pitted against racism for stuff she had no control over.
Mahoutokoro was, of course, not devoid of issues. There were some power-plays in regards to species. The Devils, a species she had only heard in the passing, were the most worrisome.
Rose's roommate, Latia, was one of those entities. Powerful in magic, extremely versatile in spells, and... quite a dying breed.
Devils couldn't produce babies as fastly as other species. The reason behind such phenomenon was unknown, and Tom cared not as her plan took precedence - she had to get her new body tonight!
After making sure that Latia was asleep on her own and having put little Kuroka on a new stronger sleep with a spell, Tom took over Rose's slumbering body and carefully made her trip from the dorms to the library.
In there, she had set up a small unused section for the ritual, having taken this week to get all the material she had recovered through the years in preparation.
She was so excited as she made it to her little secret dungeon and then, after drawing some fresh blood she quickly replenished from Rose, she started the ritual.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your daughter." With her father long dead, that wasn't a problem as he looted his grave two years ago.
"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will revive your master." Ah, Pettigrew. Always the cowardly but loyal rat. She found him hiding low by the Weasleys, sleeping in bed with the youngest son in his rat form- she always thought of him as that sort of monster, so tricking him to give away his left arm for preservation and then killing him off felt like a much-needed situation.
"Blood of... the sister, tenderly taken, you will resurrect your new sibling."
The blood she drew from Rose entered the ritual seal and soon Tom forced her spirit out of Rose's body, but not before using a small feather-weight spell to slow the redhead fall to the ground.
Her spirit entered the array, coated in the essence channeled by the ritual and she felt the 'Life' restored bend to her will. Soon a frame akin to Rose was produced, with similar facial traits and overall petite built. The only differences were, due to her soul, her dark hair and her red eyes.
Once the ritual was finished, her face displayed a smile as she softly landed her toes on the cold stone ground of the ritual room.
A snap of fingers, and she conjured flawlessly some clothes fitting with today's society here in Japan and... she felt delighted to see that her tinkering had been correct - her current powers were as high as Rose's were with the Horcruxes absorbed.
She was now stronger than she used to be in her previous life.
Tonight- she did it. She became her own individual, and she looked at Rose, her sister in blood and smirked some more. Now, now she could finally make sure that they would both be happy together and-
"Wowie, you're flat."
"KYAH!" Tom wasn't sure where the hell did the bastard came from, but he sure was fast when her multiple Avada Kedavras failed to land onto him. "A-A pervert!"
"Girl, I like women but you are too young and too flat for my tastes," the man mumbled in the shadows, then stepping out of those as Tom felt her annoyance melt into dread.
After all, the light of the candles soon showed his identity and it was... Azazel.
"H-How? How did you-"
"Saw you moving your little buddy's body for the week while I was checking on her. Kind of surprised you still live Voldemort but... I have a feeling Dumbledore lied about your tale."
"Obviously!" She snapped, shifting in a protective manner over Rose's unconscious body. "What do you want?"
"A deal. One that is mutually acceptable to our goals."
...
"What?"
"You help me build up Rose to be capable of standing up to Dumbledore if he finds out what is going on and... I guess I can start giving you a proper legal documentation to stay here without having to kill or mind-control students and teachers."
That sounded... incredibly suspicious. But Tom was in a tight spot. She could, theoretically-speaking, go on to do what Azazel had described: snatching the right people's minds and get the right paperwork that 'barely legal' method. But what guaranteed Azazel would let her chose that? What if it was a test?
Ever since she had heard her dad's views on Dumbledore, Tom had feared this sort of conversations. After all, Azazel sounded like that kind of manipulative but... not as intense or as delusional as Dumbledore. She knew that this wasn't a choice at all and... she bowed her head.
"Fine."
"Great! Also... what's going to be your new name? I doubt you want it to be 'Voldemort-chan'."
She huffed at that disgusting twist of her fearful name, then grinned as she had the right one in mind after several weeks of pondering that identity.
"Nazo Tomoko."
AN
A new student in Mahoutokoro, Rose can't understand why but... she feels like she is tied to her somehow. Both in magic and... blood?!
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