The house elves brought me home. I felt like an addict at the height of withdrawal, and it was only going to get worse.
Escaping Diagon Alley filled with Aurors took precedence over health. The initial weakness and spasms were tolerable, but now I could no longer deny the obvious. Using magic was getting increasingly difficult… and painful. Pulling my bed closer with the telekinesis spell I've always used almost unconsciously now felt like it was ripping out my fingers. A full-fledged battle spell would probably kill me before succeeding.
I should stay far away from battles for at least a month as well.
Upon arrival, I ordered Tony to hurry back to Elena and tell her to stay inside and keep her head down. What a fine joke if she was seen elsewhere while I was razing Diagon… I'd have blame everything on a time-turner. She was supposed to sit at home every time I went out wearing her face - I made her schedule for training at the Lestranges myself.
The second house elf popped off to the Lestranges with a message that my student overestimated herself and miraculously escaped, and I was busy reviving her after potion intoxication. And that I did not need help.
Now what? The right way would be to rest it off at home. But I must regularly showcase my eminence and prove my status as the strongest wizard. Authority was hard to gain and all too easy to lose.
Then, the decision was obvious: take today off to recuperate, dedicate tomorrow to paperwork, then call a meeting the day after. At the meeting, give a worthy, plausible explanation of my future unavailability - nefarious plots, Dark rituals, healing my failure of a student… I also needed to think of what to actually do all this time when I am magically handicapped. And find a way to not to faint from pain in front of the servants…
Potions overdose… There were many ways to cure or abate it. But with the quantity and the combination I drank, I could only wait for it to run its course. Memory suggested several solutions involving piles of sacrifices in runic circles… I would need multiple assistants… Imbeciles could not participate in the ritual, and knowledgeable people would quickly put two and two together. Ten years of life was not worth the risk of being discovered. When I am immortal, shouldn't I be able to drink mixes like that without consequences? Subtracting ten years from eternity left eternity…
With these thoughts, I drank the only potion I could safely consume: a muggle emetic. The sight I made was something any journalist would sacrifice their hand to witness and Dumbledore could use for his anti-Dark propaganda: the Dark Lord hugging a toilet…
The house elves soon returned: Lily stayed home, and the Lestranges were informed. Snape knew about my conducting business as Elena since the very beginning. And the rumors of her death… Lily did not participate in operations, and if he was concerned about the Lord's health he needed only check his Mark to see that I survived.
Having finished with all urgent issues, I went to bed. This was the very first night I simply slept and did not review any memories.
I woke up early to a feeling of high fever, hangover and aftereffects of a beating all at once. Everything hurt. Well, not intolerably like the Cruciatus - I could still move and think. It was beyond aggravating to be unable to use spells or potions to treat it. But at least the pain could be somewhat dulled with a mental effort… Everything would be completely bleak otherwise.
Then came the most miserable part: defensive charms. Strictly speaking, I had magical exhaustion. A little got replenished overnight, but I was still weaker than a fifth year. It was back to casting with blood and no replenishing potion… I found a knife, cut my hand and began. The olfactory defense charm felt like a Firestorm. After the anti-scanning charm, I had to lie down for two more hours… No, at this pace I would faint before finishing…
I had no choice but to limit myself to masking my condition and two defensive charms: universal and mana shield. I'd be surprised if they held off one average hit. From the outside there appeared no indication that I was barely alive. The house elf confirmed. I ordered him to follow me disillusioned and ready to take me home if I smelled trouble.
The house elf apparated me to the Lestranges. Edward and I walked to my study at their house, and he put up privacy wards.
"My Lord, the house elf delivered your message. If you wish, your servants are ready to assist you with any rituals or prepare potions. Unfortunately, your message did not say whether we must inform the others of Elena's survival. And so, we did not say anything. Because of the Prophet extra in which the Ministry puffed up their "victory," the others think Elena is dead. Your received stacks of letters of condolences from the Inner Circle. I took the liberty of checking them for curses and potions. Everything is clear. Rosier wrote an especially lengthy epic. He asked me to relay to you that he wishes to meet you personally and express his deepest condolences. Also, I dare say, my Lord, that Bellatrix has been acting very strange lately. Perhaps you should speak to her."
"We will have a meeting soon. Everyone will learn Elena is alive there," I waved him off.
I'd talk to Bella as soon as I think of what to say and how to rationalize it. She would not react too well to "Don't be jealous, I merely changed my appearance to be more attractive, found a witch younger and stronger than you, made her my student and gave her one of your old houses." But I would give her a clear, direct order: no killing, no attacking. Let her think whatever she wants. Besides, Elena damaged her magical abilities for who knows how long, so the Lord would be no longer interested in the "half-squib." Hopefully, it would buy me enough time to solve this problem.
I sat in my study with only nagging ache for company. Time to get to work…
A stack of letters with condolences. Nothing but vague hints, unclear who wrote to whom and regarding what. If this got intercepted by the law enforcement, they would all be off the hook.
" Esteemed Sir, my deepest condolences for the situation that has befallen you " could mean anything from a funeral to losing an owl.
And then, the Prophet extra edition.
" The End of Cursed Manticore
… in a carefully planned operation personally led by Alastor Moody, the DMLE succeeded in eliminating the Death Eater known as the Cursed Manticore, who resisted arrest. The end of the criminal cabal is near! The grand victory over You-Know-Who's right hand…"
And more of suchlike propaganda. Black, my right hand, eliminated. Elena, my right hand, eliminated. What am I, Shiva? How many right hands did they think I have?
Skeeter also wrote an article on the same subject. She may not serve us directly, but money persuaded her to make waves in the right direction.
" Grand Failure of the Ministry
… while the Aurors search for their secret lairs, the Death Eaters confidently stroll around Diagon Alley and order drinks at the Leaky Cauldron without attacking anyone. Rather than set up surveillance to follow them to their bases, the DMLE initiated a groundless impromptu operation.
It began when five Aurors asked a woman to submit to a complete scan. In return, they received five spells that temporarily incapacitated them. No Aurors or civilians had been harmed in this initial altercation. The suspect merely wanted to leave. Clearly, even the Death Eaters realize that starting a fight in Diagon Alley is too reckless due to the high risk of stray spells hitting accidental victims. But the Aurors did not. After calling for backup, they cut off a portion of Diagon from all travel so thoroughly that several people were stuck in fireplaces.
And now, a qu estion: what will happen if you pit famous Alastor Moody, five Hitwizards and 25 Aurors against one Death Eater? A quick victory for the DMLE? But the guardians of law and order once again managed to surprise us. First they gave a haphazard order to take off all defenses in an area of open hostilities. Then they failed to protect the public from area curses, accidentally hit multiple fleeing civilians with Unforgiveables, and showed an overall inexcusably low level of combat preparedness. Namely, they lost twenty of their own! The enemy failed to break the ward and escape only due to the efforts of additional squads outside the ward dome who never engaged in the fight!
Does it mean we must call Albus Dumbledore to confront every Dark wizard? Is Alastor Moody's fame exaggerated?
A number of civilians were killed and many were taken St. Mungo's in critical condition. The emergency responders faced unexpected difficulties evacuating the victims after the battle. It is a national disgrace that…"
Outstanding. I liked it.
I picked up a freshly published, Ministry-approved book with Edward's notes on the margins. The author argued that necromancy was a fabrication. Next they would say the Unforgiveables did not exist, either…
All right, leafing through all that lifted my spirits a little, time to get started on the paperwork…
Financial reports, expenditure reports on prisoners, artifacts, potions, wands… Results of the first operation using the newly turned werewolves: no survivors among the werewolves, but they made quite a mess. I had to make an outline for tomorrow's meeting, including the latest events and news… For instance, I had two reports on the Weasleys' home inspection: from Malfoy and Rookwood. Well, Malfoy's was undestandable, they had some kind of blood feud… While in the old days they would try killing each other, the modern humanist times called for dirty tricks. But what did Rookwood have to do with anything?
The Weasleys received an unannounced inspection. They initially refused to let the committee in, Molly Weasley threatened to sic a pet ghoul on them. Then the Order arrived. Everyone had enough sense not to start a fight and confirmed everything with the superiors. A pity…
The search yielded nothing Dark. The most dangerous thing they had was a horde of garden gnomes. But the committee searched thoroughly and found something very interesting: a functional flying motorcycle and a disassembled, half-charmed flying Ford Anglia. Next to that, a couple of charmed muggles trinkets looked insignificant. Considering that Arthur Weasley's job was to prevent and control this very thing… He was fined and issued an official reprimand. If it weren't for Albus's intercession, Weasley would have been fired. Now he will have another inspection in two months.
But all that was trivial… The legendary idiot brought home a flying motorcycle! Judging from the photo, the very same one I rode with Black! He was lucky the committee confiscated it without figuring out what it was. But we would enlighten them. Who could have guessed, Weasley played a devout Orderer and secretly had a personal item of You-Know-Who's right hand! I'd think of a good way to plant its description.
So, my servants' comments. Malfoy was outraged with the new depths of the blood traitor's disgrace, thought that this individual was unworthy to be called a wizard and should have his wand broken, then be sent to live with muggles he loved so much… Nothing relevant.
Rookwood managed to find copies of the official reports with descriptions of the found items. He was very interested in the Weasleys' clock that had their family members' names in place of hands, their house ghoul and the mirror that gave fashion advice. He was asking to somehow procure them for research. Rookwood, Rookwood… The clock was curious, but if we had the same one for the Death Eaters, it would probably show "mortal peril" all the time. The mirror was likely ordinary save for its vocabulary - rude mirrors usually got broken. And the ghoul was worthless. For such an intelligent wizard, Rookwood missed the most important discovery: the flying motorcycle and the half-done flying car…
Magic and technology… The ludicrous ban on charming muggle items… There were so many possibilities: dummies with firearms, flying tanks, helicopters with self-replenishing fuel and missiles… Or a charmed spacecraft with unlimited autonomy and expanded space inside… I should figure out what exactly Weasley and Black did. If the charms were self-sustaining… If they took it apart and charmed separate details… It would open up a tremendous opportunity: muggles create golems, and we animate them… I needed to talk to Black about his motorcycle and the Marauder's Map. Who could have thought a disowned Auror would prove so useful?
Compared to that, all other news were predictable. The day flew by. I summoned Barty Jr., enquired about his progress and warned that he will soon become an orphan. I also ordered him to go to the small ritual chamber number three and draw a mind modification circle for a person I would soon bring.
Lily has been practicing with her new wand for three weeks. They did not match each other at all. I regularly checked her progress from her memories.
At the first lesson, it took her six tries to cast Stupefy. Snape thought the wand did not work and tried to use it himself. In his hands it worked impeccably, only second to his own. He returned it to Lily. She squeezed out Light magic (lesser healing and undead repelling charms) after thirteen tries, Expelliarmus after seven. But the targets received a minor rotting curse on her first try. Then Lily realized it was Dark magic and refused to continue. Snape asked her to conjure a Patronus. It used to be a doe. With the werewolf heart wand, she only produced silver haze. With the mandrake wand, she shot out a torrent of maggots that attacked Snape and burned in his shields.
From then on, all their training sessions proceeded in the same fashion. Lily cast one thing, something completely different appeared- for example, a spit of acid instead of Lumos. Snape practiced surviving it. Amazingly, none of the botched spells was dangerous to Lily, even fire burned everything except her. She must not be altogether hopeless for her wand, then. She begged me to replace it, but I was adamant.
My initial strategy used Lily as a figurehead for diverting attention and bait for Snape. It could have been easily done with the Imperius, hundreds of different love or subjugation potions… But Snape showed very un-Slytherin scrupulousness in this matter. I didn't insist. What if cruel treatment of the boy's mother activated that accursed prophecy? Nonsense? The entire magical world was nonsense. And in my opinion, prophecies were far more likely than splitting the soul. Therefore, Lily's freedom of will was in no danger. And I already had other ideas for her…
Today, my plan was simple. A disillusioned house elf sprayed the potion I gave him, and Lily went to bed early. Then she received additional sleeping charms, a sip of polyjuice with a random man's hair and a quality anti-scanning charm. Crouch Jr. was already waiting on me.
In the ritual hall number three, I told Barty to cast privacy wards and took out Lily's body.
"Barty, because I value your ability to keep secrets, I chose you to assist me with an experiment you must never share with anyone. This man needs to be put under weak, slow but cumulative compulsions. The goal is loyalty to the ideals of Albus Dumbledore and Gryffindor."
"My Lord, could you please repeat that? I thought I heard…"
"Loyalty to the ideals of Albus Dumbledore and Gryffindor. You heard right. I value your initiative, but this is a magical experiment. You must do exactly as I say and keep quiet about it."
"How do I apply them, my Lord? Apart from occlumency, my abilities in mental magic are below average."
"Don't delve into his thoughts and don't take off the anti-scanning charms. Apply messily, he must be able to discover and remove them himself."
Not good enough to pass for the work of the great Albus Dumbledore… A different signature? He disguised his own, that devious bastard. Weak compulsions? I have been grinding them down for two months! Why did I not say something? What would be the point?
Crouch cast charms on the body sprawled in the ritual circle. A mediocre job. I praised him, said I knew he was the best choice, and sent him home elated.
My turn. I pulled out my wand and started breaking Crouch's compulsions and muddying up the author signature. I was in terrible shape and could not spare much energy. But now, Snape's superficial scans would show that someone powerful placed compulsions of loyalty to Albus in Lily's mind, then less powerful manipulations from the Dark Lord broke them in multiple tries- I cast and rested, cast and rested… Since I was temporarily weaker than Crouch, I might as well take advantage of it. Who was stronger than Voldemort? Albus. Who benefitted from these compulsions? Albus. Sure, everything could be revealed by a complete scan… But I'd either not let it happen or perform it myself.
The house elf took Lily back home. Tomorrow would be a very special day for her. Who could have thought Albus fell so low?
And I better rest too.
New day, new problems. Having activated my defensive charms, I went to Lily.
"We have a Death Eater meeting today. I will be giving a speech on the glory of purebloods. You must attend. Stay quiet. If anyone asks you any questions, say "I can't deal with this right now." The Death Eaters demand you participate in raids. To avoid it, I created a legend: you accidentally poisoned yourself with experimental potions, so you will be out of commission for a while, with Snape healing you. I will set everything up for it to be convincing. Here is your werewolf heart wand. Put on your uniform and cast Protego Maxima till magical exhaustion - this is necessary for the poisoning story. Today, no speeches other than what I dictate and no spells other than defending from a direct attack."
An hour and a half later she was empty. I covered her with anti-scanning charms, the universal shield and a high quality system of illusions around her head. She would now see and hear only what I want. At the moment, this pushed the edge of my abilities. Time to go… Through Lily's mark, I announced the meeting at the Lestranges'.
We walked into the same chamber. My "loyal servants" were awaiting… Everything matched the last time. But now I was much more prepared, and they would receive "special assignments." Too bad I had to do everything with the yew wand… It wasn't time yet. Some day everyone would see the Lord can do Light magic as well as Dark. Yes, Albus was getting older, and I was only getting stronger.
The entrance of "miraculously resurrected" Elena caused some glances and whispers. Poor Rosier was especially miserable: he arrived on a floating chair and still looked rough. His left arm was back in place but did not yet function, and the burn on his right would probably never fade. And instead of an opportunity to "personally express his condolences," he saw the girl looking better than him: she came on her own two legs, all limbs present, not a single scar…
Scanning charms again flew at Elena but read nothing except for the fact of very recent magical exhaustion… Snape was demonstrating a perfectly dispassionate face. Good job.
And now, my speech.
"My loyal followers, I am pleased to welcome you! This year, the true witches and wizards achieved many successes, and our victory draws near!"
This was where the discrepancies began. I activated the sphere of illusions on Lily. From this moment, she would see her own version of the meeting.
"Blood purity," I said in Lily's illusion, "is the very essence within us that grants us power. The cult of blood purity is first and foremost the cult of the self and thus is the only true doctrine. Dark magic flawlessly reflects the indifferent and amoral Universe we live in. Dark magic is eternal and immutable. It manifests in an endless variety of ways…"
No one should see through the charade - none of the others would try to get under Lily's defenses, and without magical sight she had no way of knowing she was under illusions. Not when I included a picture with corresponding lip movements and approving comments from the Death Eaters. Allowing another to cast spells on you was never a good idea…
I prepared a very different program for everyone else.
"As you can see, the newspapers were wrong. Elena survived the carnage at Diagon, though at the price of severe potion intoxication. We will speak about it in more details at the end of our meeting.
On to the most important matter. The Ministerial elections are fast approaching, and Barty Crouch Sr. must not live to see them. We have been unable to organize a search of his house - he did not shy away from using his authority to thwart it. But now we have a probable cause: he facilitated Elena's escape. Thanks to Barty Crouch Jr., his home is full of illegal drawings and will soon hold "victims of Dark Magic."
The plan is as follows: the committee arrives when they learn that Elena is alive and escaped with Crouch's help. There they find Dark manuscripts and ritual victims. They are immediately attacked by the house elves who are following Barty Jr's orders. The committee members defends themselves, which triggers the manor's defenses that protect all property, including the elves. Then the guards and the DMLE members join the fray. Barty, you send your father a Patronus message that your manor is under attack by the Death Eaters. He arrives with backup, ready to attack. If they suddenly gain enough sense to stop the fight, we portkey in several giants. However, the plan still needs to be fleshed out, which we will do together."
"My Lord, it is going to be a grand all versus all battle. Dumbledore and the Order will come. When will I know the full plan of attack?" Dolohov asked.
"Very soon, Antonin. Yes, it will be an all versus all fight. But without us. Dumbledore will be on the committee and is going to personally subdue Crouch Sr. And while he is busy containing the source-powered defenses, we will retake Crouch Sr. from the Order."
So incredibly simple. Snape would give Dumbledore vital information that Elena is alive. Albus would use his authority to push for a search of Crouch's manor and by doing so personally lay us a path to victory. It would be a far-reaching operation, especially if we manage to capture Crouch alive and correctly set up his wife's death…
I already knew how to further develop this…
"Lucius, I reviewed the plans for whitewashing our organization that you developed on my orders. Not bad: "the phrase Death Eaters is morally obsolete and triggers consistently negative associations in the minds of British magical citizens," while " Knights of Walpurgis is too complex. Mugglification has gone so far that some wizards no longer know what the Walpurgis Night even is. You proposed new options: British Freedom, Our Choice and more. I especially liked the Shining Path. Good job. But this is not enough. We are going to keep our old name. Because what is the antithesis of life? Death. Our motto is " the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. " We, the Death Eaters, are saviors, Light wizards, healers, keepers of peace and so on. We eat death, we eat evil. The snake on the Mark is a symbol of medicine."
If there ever was a competition for the greatest substitution of notions, I would be the expert judge.
"But sometimes we are forced to defend ourselves. Merlin made wizards great. Avada Kedavra made wizards equal. We stand for equality and against the Ministry's despotism. Of course, a certain kind of equality: equal rights to use magic and follow traditions."
"My Lord… I don't see how we can prove that…" Edward interjected.
"Very simply! We fight the terrible Order of Death, "black mages" who want to murder everyone. Barty Crouch Sr. is one of its Magisters. There will soon be abundant evidence that he is a Dark wizard. He does not support Voldemort- he killed too many of my people. But he has hurt multiple innocents! His exposure and saving the unjustly imprisoned innocents will be our next move against the Order of Death!"
One of the innocents would be Morfin Gaunt. I think he'd happy to name me his heir before death. There were ways to accept a half-blood into the family. And if he didn't agree, I always had my trusty Cruciatus. Why did I need that? It would be better to officially be Marvolo Gaunt, purely for political PR reasons.
"Frankly, killing Albus and his idiots is too simple, practically Gryffindor-like. It would bestow them too much honor. Anyone can kill. We must make it so even mudbloods spit at the sound of their names. We must turn them not into martyrs but into disgraces," yes, this was exactly why we were delaying our act. To defeat them prettily.
Excellent, I got their attention. Plus, it would make crushing any future opposition so much easier: no heroes to emulate, no resistance.
"For those of you who haven't figured it out: the leader of the Order of Death, more commonly known as the Order of the Phoenix, is Albus Dumbledore. There will soon be sufficient proof. Who could have thought that he butchered his entire family for Dark rituals? His brother lost his mind and now serves Albus under Imperius. In his youth, Albus was friends and probably lovers with Grindelwald, another Magister of the Order of Death. They had a partnership: Albus seizes power quietly, Gellert- demonstratively. Now in lieu of Gellert he has Crouch Sr. I am perfectly aware that right now not even Skeeter can make this into a story. We must improve on it. So, when Gellert realized his defeat was imminent, he transferred leadership to Albus. By the way, theft and attacks on muggles are punished by Azkaban; a single Avada earns life of feeding Dementors. But Gellert Grindelwald sits in prison without Dementors! After everything he's done! Unprecedented mercy! I am sure he doesn't even have a cell and lives in a luxury hotel with concubines!"
In truth, Albus probably did not trust Dementors… I must continue and make sure no one falls asleep…
"But something can be done right now. Here are the initial angles we will promote. First. No one has ever heard anything about Albus's children, wife or lover. Look at how he dresses! He is obviously a deranged pervert, and he spends all his time in a school full of children! This should tarnish his reputation. No need to test the students for obliviations, love potions or sexual contact. On the contrary, the pureblood Board of Governors must be firmly against all such tests and defend Albus! It is going to be suspicious, and you will eventually confess you acted under threats. But spreading rumors at pubs is another matter… Someone says he didn't send his son to Hogwarts because of disturbing rumors about a bearded old man in a colorful dress… It will be enough. No staged rapes! Only hints, so the DMLE has no reason to intervene. The sponsored press will blow the stories up at the right time, but we must begin working now.
Second. The hubris of this wizard knows no bounds! Everyone calls me the Dark Lord, but I sit on an ordinary chair. He sits on a golden throne, elevated above everyone every time he eats at Hogwarts! Moreover, look at his names. "Albus" is most likely a variation of "Alba," the ancient name of Scotland. Is this a claim to rule over Scotland? Also, the Latin word Albus means "white," the color traditionally associated with divine power.
"Percival." A legendary knight of King Arthur's Round Table, connected to the story of the Holy Grail. Perhaps this is his private way of mocking everyone while hiding his true Dark identity behind a noble facade.
"Wulfric" is an Anglo-Saxon name that could represent England. Wulfric literally means "wolf's might" and resembles another famous name, Beowulf, which means "might of bear-wolf." The legendary hero Beowulf defeated the monster Grendel in his youth. its name resembles the name of Gellert Grindelwald, whom Dumbledore defeated in his early years. Dumbledore's life appears to directly parallel this story, so everything else could not be a coincidence, either. It also suggests Albus has no pure motives in his helping Lupin. It is more likely because he is Wolf-rich. Maybe he was himself a werewolf, found a cure and refuses to share it.
Brian is the name of the legendary Irish king Brian Boru who defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf. Dumbledore himself is a veteran of more than one magical war against the Dark. What if he also covers for his secret allies? What if he gives the enemy a safe passage to survive?
Third. We have Ollivander. He compiled a list of all the owners of his wands. Burke did the same. With the aid of Cruciatus, Jimmy Kindell also shared his. We now have data from all the primary wandmakers in England. I know everything about Dumbledore's first wand: rowan and phoenix feather, made by Garrick Ollivander's father. Ollivander says no Dark wizard can possess a rowan wand. I remember that wand from my school days. The wand Albus uses now looks nothing like it. Moreover, I showed the memories of his current wand to our prisoner. Ollivander cannot determine the core without holding it, but he is absolutely certain the wood is from an elder tree."
Everyone gaped at me. Actually, elder was not an uncommon wood, approximately one in 50 Ollivander's wands was made from it.
"Therefore, I propose we spread rumors that the Rowan wand stopped obeying Albus because he became a Dark wizard. And that his current wand is the legendary Deathstick. I am sure it will motivate many to try killing him. Power-hungry fools, Aurors and victims of terror who think they can find a better use for the Elder Wand."
"My Lord, are you sure it is the Elder Wand?" Amycus Carrow asked greedily.
"I don't care," I said as indifferently as I could. "I am a powerful wizard without it. We need to spread rumors that Albus is nothing, that all his power comes from the wand and from the fact that he attached himself to Hogwarts like a leech."
"My Lord, I know the rituals, a weakling cannot become Headmaster… And all the student archives confirm he was the best…" Selwyn began.
"I know. This is the story for "others." Let the old man drown in problems. Of course, we must do everything intelligently. We can't have Goyle waltz up to him during a Wizengamot session and ask "Do you really have the Deathstick?" But if a muggleborn makes a wrong turn at Diagon and overhears wizards rant about the jumped-up nobody Headmaster who is useless without his Elder Wand, it will be just what we need."
"My Lord, but what if he really does have the legendary Elder Wand?" Amycus did not relent.
Who cares?! He can have ten elder wands! I plan on poisoning him anyway!
Poison… Gryphon blood and stinking hellebore, veratrum and cerberus saliva, nightshade and blood of a drowned man, yew shavings and crushed human skull, hemlock and nundu hair, cyanide and dementor's bile, lady's glove and crushed dragon tooth, aconite and werewolf's eye, extracts of several poisonous mushrooms with black rooster feathers, great burnet and kelpie hair, blooming lily and basilisk venom… Tom always wanted to brew this but had no occasion to spend a year at it. This poison should kill even Albus. The only problem was delivery…
Weeks of studying Bathilda's memories yielded a lot of worthwhile information. Gellert wanted to build a better world. And to gain power, he planned to climb on the shoulders of the titans… He searched for the Hallows. The old woman did not believe in them and considered it an exotic hobby. But if Gellert succeeded and then was defeated by Albus… Albus had the Elder Wand. I really did not want to fight him. But siccing the entire world on him was appealing… And if it turned out not to be the Elder Wand? He hid it and was using a copy.
I will find a use for the wand… Take it apart and craft myself a new one, weaker but more loyal. Or try to sacrifice it. Or implant it into my body. Or into the Slytherin altar. I'll think of something.
"Albus will die. I do not need the wand," I answered.
None of its owners became immortal or even lived long enough to die of old age. I was not going to use it. At least not in its original from. Why would I want the strongest but also the most traitorous wand? It would be stupider than marrying the most beautiful prostitute- unlike death, syphilis was treatable. Although, perhaps gathering all three will make them work better…
"So, my loyal servants. We, the Death Eaters, fight the Order of Death. The insane black mage Albus Evil Heart uses the Elder Wand to murder everyone who learns his horrible secret or could be a potential rival. Namely, all purebloods. He is the one behind all the "outbreaks of dragonpox." And he robs them blind- he is trying to claim the Potters' money as we speak! But we, the Death Eaters, will put an end to this outrage."
I laughed like an ordinary human. Tom laughed like a madman. Laughing may cause you to miss something potentially dangerous, but this room was as safe as it got, and Lily's illusions worked flawlessly. I could laugh. To hold up the image…
The meeting room got filled with Voldemort's laughter. Cold. Metallic. And not at all merry.
"Our next order of business will be whitewashing our organization at the international level. The problem lies in the fact that we, as Dark wizards, need material, but material usually does not want to be sacrificed. The solution is obvious: we will be very benevolent. Within our own borders. We will not kill British magical citizens without weighty reasons. Or at least try our best. Start with Imperio instead of Avada Kedavra. Mudbloods are disgusting creatures, no better than house elves. But we enjoy the labor of house elves, so why should we reject mudblood slaves? Of course, dealing with them is demeaning, so we are going to control them through intrigue and loyal half-bloods."
That should sound sufficiently arrogant. And the fact the genocide was canceled still hasn't sunk in.
"We will pacify the foreign Ministries, make treaties of mutual non-aggression, agree on borders. And we will honor them. We are going to do everything we can to avoid damaging our relationships with nearby countries. We will have our fun in Africa and get material from there. We also need to present ourselves in the right light before youth. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are close and rank within the world top ten schools. Karkaroff, I have an assignment for you. You must become the headmaster of Durmstrang. The organization will help you. Their current headmaster has a positive view of Dark magic and is neutral toward us. I am sure that a large sum of money will convince him to retire and name you as his replacement. You have connections in Durmstrang, correct?"
"Yes, my Lord," Karkaroff answered, bewildered.
Karkaroff… He would not make a good teacher. He was the epitome of politeness towards his superiors and favorites, but as soon as anyone else asked for the smallest thing, he trampled them into the mud. The main issue was ensuring he worked well without showing his true face. But if he did not want Crucios, he will find a way to be kind an polite to everyone and excel at his job…
"I do not expect results tomorrow. But you must begin now. Lucius, help with the money. Edward, as I recall you know the Durmstrang blood master. Ask him what their headmaster loves - paintings, wine, women, men? Sebastian, I understand you are in bad shape, but drop a line to your chimerologist friend in Durmstrang. If it comes to election, Karkaroff must get the majority of votes. It is hard to overestimate the usefulness of a school that taught the Dark Arts from the first year. But we will not change anything in their ways- neutrality towards us will be enough. For a start."
If having a Death Eater as Headmaster made absolutely no difference… British newspapers must be all lies…
"With Beauxbatons, everything is more complicated. We have no agents of influence and occasionally conduct business in France. Nonetheless, there is a solution. The school recently appointed a new headmistress, Madam Maxime. She is a half-giant but tries to hide it."
That prompted some spitting at the floor and disgust on the faces of those with very active imaginations.
"But we are not going to tell anyone. Even without blackmail. We will merely share with her how giants are treated in England. Poor Rubeus Hagrid… He was expelled, his wand snapped all because his acromantula allegedly killed a girl. But we will prove that she was not killed by an acromantula, and it was so obvious that Albus could not have missed it. Hagrid was framed as a convenient scapegoat. Abus kept him as a groundskeeper despite having the means to prove his innocence. While in France giants are respected members of society and headmistresses of Beauxbatons, ours are marginalized drunks with broken wands who mysteriously disappear. Additionally, France has a large community of veelas who are legally equal to humans. We must remind them that in England veelas have no rights in the eyes of the law."
I looked around the table. Hopefully, my plans were sufficiently cunning for a Dark Lord.
"We will draft a new legislation under which everyone other than humans is trash. Evict centaurs from their lands, banish merepeople to beyond continental waters, goblins are our house elves, werewolves are imprisoned sources of ingredients, veelas are sex slaves."
I saw unhidden surprise. Everyone knew waging war on everyone at once was insane. Only two people did not react with rejection: Bellatrix and Lily. Bellatrix would agree to anything I said, and Lily was listening about "blood purity as Salazar commanded" and trying not to fall asleep.
"My Lord, I dare say this is not feasible. At least not within the foreseeable future. It will never even make it to a vote," Edward warned me.
"I know. Which is why we will not be the ones writing it. We already found the pefect person: Dolores Umbridge. This legislative proposal will be found among the possessions of this dead member of the Order of Death. And we will come forward and say that we killed this scum pro bono, as a gesture of good will to stop the law oppressing non-human magicals. I think this will calm the French down, and veelas and the rest will become a little more loyal."
"My Lord, I see two problems. First, no one would believe this law was proposed by the Order of the Phoenix. Second, no one would believe that Umbridge, famous for her racist remarks, is a member of the Order…" Edward began again.
Oh, what would I do without you… But don't worry, I'm saner than I appear.
"The proof of her membership in the Order will be incontrovertible. Do we all know how Dumbledore keeps contact with the Orderers?"
"Phoenix feathers," Rodolphus answered.
"Exactly. Any expertise will prove that the feather found in Umbridge's pocket is an authentic Fawke's feather."
Yes. Because it will be authentic. I happen to have two - I could not make those wands work for me, anyway. Thus, the holly one will be taken apart, and its core will have the honor of serving as the beginning of Albus's fall. And if Albus suddenly said that his familiar's feather was in the Dark Lord's wand… It will cause another grand scandal. Because I will demonstrate that wand whole and intact…
"My Lord, you truly have access to feathers of Dumbledore's familiar?" Macnair asked.
"Yes."
I was slowly growing in my servants' eyes.. Global politics discussion was over, time to move on to more local matters.
"We need potions and artifacts. Selwyn and Burke, I am satisfied with you, but stay behind after the meeting. I want to discuss something."
I kept pondering the Marauder's Map. It felt like I was missing something. Maybe the artificers could explain how it was created?
"But we do need to improve the potion supply. The local potions masters all agreed to work with us, though they charge exuberant prices."
Thankfully it did not apply to Snape.
"However, one potions master declined all our offers. Horace Slughorn. Why has he still not been captured?"
"My Lord, he is hiding very well. We traced him in the muggle world, but those were all apartments he abandoned weeks prior.." Mulciber reported.
Cue the Death Eaters' outburst about another disgraceful muggle-lover.
"Perhaps you could guide us to him, Master?" Mulciber asked.
Now, this was bad, despite the outward politeness. The meaning: you gave us an impossible task, so do it yourself or prove it is possible before punishing for failure.
Disregarding the itching in my head from the illusion sphere and my overall lousy feeling, I decided to punish the troublemaker. Mulciber got struck with wandless nonverbal Cruciatus. To be honest, I doubted it hurt him more than it did me: the Unforgiveables were much easier than a full-fledged battle spell, but not so much wandlessly. And in my condition, its difficulty rivaled a powerful curse…
How fortunate that I was sitting down and could close my eyes, as if savoring Mulciber's scream. With this on top maintaining Lily's illusion, my energy was rapidly depleting… I stopped the curse after a few moments.
"Must I, Lord Voldemort, do everything? Should I search for ritual victims myself too? Do not disappoint me again, Mulciber. If you are unable to locate Slughorn, then I will find someone else who will. For example, Elena. I believe that even in her current condition, she will manage to perform a quality search ritual and find him."
Everything sounded logical. A flare of anger (good thing he didn't hit back or he would have won…) and an assignment for my student. If she succeeded, great. If not, I would punish her slightly, to make sure she does not die. The only downside was that I would have to do the work myself, again…
"Malfoy and Rookwood. You are now working together on a new project. You must import anything and everything that could be of use from the muggle world. The new economy of the magical world will benefit from receiving everything non-magical from muggles, then redistributing it amongst ourselves. For example, food and building materials for our mudbloods. Also, raw materials for golem building. Yes, nothing legendary could be built from that, but we still use basic disposable golems. At the same time, the prospects will attract everyone with a scientific mindset into our ranks. But be inconspicuous- we don't need a million tons of steel all at once."
It was a good plan. Rookwood would decide what we need, and Malfoy would acquire it. Lucius was capable of managing the economy all on his own. Hurray to honest deals under Imperius, love potions and legilimency. But if a muggle was very valuable, we could heal cancer, bring back estranged spouses, regrow limbs lost in war… And not to forget the most important:
"The law forbids charming muggle items. But I think it would be amusing if muggle things came alive with magic and killed their owners. Rookwood, search for people dissatisfied with this law at the Department of Mysteries, people who would be interested in developing a charmed tank. Or a battleship. I'm certain muggles will have fun. But take care not to break the Statute."
In the seventeenth century, wizards showed what could be achieved with charming a single sailing ship. That was how the Flying Dutchman came to be. The magical world was stagnant, but we will achieve a lot by standing on the shoulders of muggles… And not only on the peaceful front…
I did not plan on animating technology for my own amusement. After seizing power, I will need an army. Purely for self-defense. Wizards were great but too few in number… An army of undead? It eroded the morale and would turn the rest of the world against me. And they were vulnerable to Light magic, could attack the owner if he lost control…
This way, it would just be a novel type of transfiguration and golem-building. The Statute? Yes, I knew all about it… Muggles must think that magic does not exist, so no flying tanks. On the other hand, flying saucers… Let muggles believe in aliens- we could modify the design of some of their inventions, widen the functionality with magic… Of course, this won't result in a giant unstoppable army. But in a few years they should put something decent together, establish new branches of magical science, sway Ravenclaws to my side… I had no plans to wage war on everyone.
"I am dissatisfied with the size and combat potential of my army. We, Slytherins, should not fight dragons. We should sic dragons on Gryffindors. When a dragon is dead, we task Hufflepuffs with butchering it and Racenclaws with creating items from its organs and skin. Slytherins will take the posts of leaders, government officials, diplomats. Gryffindors will make up the front lines of dangerous battles. Ravenclaws will craft spells and golems. And Hufflepuffs will feed everyone."
My words met silence. The unspoken question was obvious: how do you force such different people to work together?
"Slytherins are already mine. We will lure Ravenclaws with new research prospects, lack of restrictions, freely available materials from the muggle world and so on. The other two are more complicated, but nothing is unsolvable. Gryffindor will fight evil. Free of charge. And we will create evil to keep them busy. The evil is not us, it is Albus Dumbledore Evil (or Black?) Heart with his Order of Death. And Hufflepuffs… Once we cease attacking everyone after our victory, they will understand we are the "good guys" who were "slandered." Furthermore, we already killed many political opponents. I propose not to take their properties."
Silence again. What, leave the Prewett lands alone just like that?
"Non-neutral sources are difficult to subdue, even if the family is extinct. The ritual has around 80 percent mortality rate. Waiting decades for a source to turn neutral is too long. To get around this problem, we will seek out "gifted muggleborns," make them our vassals and have them do it. If they survive, we will secure servants who are better than house elves. If they don't, good riddance. It is time to stop playing games. Mudbloods must be found long before they turn eleven, then taught at least the basics of our world. Their attempts to "enlighten" us would be amusing if they were not so stupid. Just yesterday, Edward showed me a book by a Hufflepuff mudblood. The idiot argues that creating a magic-wielding corpse is nonsense and a fabrication! Though it remains unclear how these fabrications successfully fought in every magical war. I realize that the twentieth century conflicts reaped the lives of many knowledgeable wizards, but at this rate they will soon declare Reducto powerful legendary magic!"
Yes, this was my strategy of integrating muggleborns into the magical world. Or more precisely, the "Death Eater perspective" side of it. Get them early, teach everything necessary to make them a better version of house elves, and put them to use… The plan was still on the drawing board…
But no one will give up money based on reasonable words alone. Greed… I needed to offer a first-rate bait.
"You are all aware that I am more than human," Riddle loved repeating "more than human." In my opinion, he was less: a piece of soul in a mutilated body. Everything else was nothing more than magical parasites in antiques, not even mentioning the risk of permanently destroying his soul. "But you are not. It is time for me to take care of my followers. We need the Philosopher's Stone."
Once again, stunned silence. Even from Bellatrix. Lily did not care: she was listening about "the only proper path" and seeing listless faces of other Death Eaters.
Nobody wanted to go against 600 year old Flamel. He could have spent centuries drinking wine and watching operas, but if he practiced even an hour per day… And personally knew some ancient wizards… He must be a titan. If he was not the strongest, he was certainly the most skilled.
"For a start, we will nicely ask to buy it, with more than mere money. Try to make a deal, ask him to teach, shower him with gifts.." if I only knew how to contact him… How did Albus meet him? "Or try to make the Stone ourselves. I suspect that he worked with Albus due to Albus's research of dragon blood. We must repeat the experiments with all 12 uses he discovered, then search for ways to use and crystallize human and magical creature blood. Rosier and Macnair, you will do that, respectively. Keep me updated. If nothing works, I will crush Flamel."
A couple of Dumbledore's dragon blood uses were promising… But we could also search for four uses of nundu blood, seven uses of thestral bile… We already had the methodology and access to the material… It was unlikely to result in the Philosopher's Stone, but we would no doubt discover something interesting.
Now no one would want to usurp my throne: I either deliver them the elixir of life and money or die like a fool. I was going to soberly assess my strengths and not try anything risky. Stealing the Stone was plan B, I wanted to make my own.
It appeared logical: Magic was blood, blood was life, the problem of preserving it was crystallization… I should question vampires about blood… Unicorn blood was another fascinating subject. An unbreakable curse… Would it affect a vampire?
Unicorns highly concerned me. In magical sight, they looked like sacks of Light and life magic. I should find a way to use it, without experimenting on myself… Perhaps a long chain of Imperios where the last one kills the unicorn?
Their most intriguing feature was that adult unicorns preferred women to approach them. Especially virgins. And to a lesser extent, virgin males. I did not give a damn about virginity, but… how did they determine it? They were not deceived by polyjuice, not even by possessing a new homunculus body. Apparently, I found a second candidate for my soul detector position. I was very curious about how they would react to me. Technically, in this life, I had yet to have sex - matters of life and death came first. Did Riddle's or my own previous life count? I'll need to check…
Next questions on my agenda were dicey ones: how to increase the number of my servants and how to divide trophies after the victory. With our longevity, increasing the birth rate will have a significant effect in only a couple generations. Unfortunately, even in magical nature everything was balanced and interconnected: longer life spans and fragile inherited magic meant more reproductive problems. In my opinion, weakening the bloodline was preferable to its extinction. And I needed more servants. Hence, muggleborns will come in handy. But my current servants would not understand this reasoning… Except, maybe, Crouch would run to do my will at brothels or rob a sperm bank… And Bellatrix would see it as an elaborate punishment. I had another plan.
"Your faithful service will not be forgotten. You will receive rewards commensurate with your efforts. But part of the material benefits will be distributed based on the number of your family members loyal to me."
Soon we would have a boom of births and charity initiated by so-called terrorists. What could possibly be a better proof that "evil purebloods" was nothing but slander?
I saw some winks. Lucius looked crestfallen - how was he supposed to father children with his one-child family curse? He should have asked me. I won't be deterred by the International Convention of 1736 that forbade raising homunculi for sacrifice…
The only detail that worried me was financing it all. Riddle's memories advised ordering the servants to pitch in for the righteous cause - Malfoy will be no poorer. I disagreed. They would rather suffer Crucios than loss of money. Then, the first steps will be financed by drug profits. Given the muggle population, even a one or two percent rate of addicts will yield us a substantial amount of muggle money to buy items valuable in the magical world, which we will then sell under the guise of international trade. And the inspectors will be either get a cut or be directly controlled.
Besides, there were some very wealthy muggles… Most would gladly exchange a part of their capital for an extra ten years of life. The Statute of Secrecy? We are not wizards. We are God's messenger angels. Or demons. Or aliens. How would they stop ghost messengers? Or me coming to them in a dream?
"We must also not forget about current operations. Our next target is Amelia Bones. I already killed her father, mother, brother and his family. The only surviving Bones' are Amelia and her baby niece. She refuses to understand hints and made her choice clear. We will kill her as soon as we find a way to corner her alone. Do not attack without my direct authorization."
I had no idea what to do with the little half-blood girl, Susan. Give her to someone to raise?
"I also do not understand why we have not found any traces of Augusta Longbottom."
"My Lord, it seems she went crazy. Never comes out of the manor and constantly orders ritual supplies. All her purchases point to various methods of searching by blood," Burke answered.
"Blood searches are illegal. Turn her in to the DMLE. And complain to the DMLE about actions of any vigilantes, including the Order of the Phoenix."
They will either kill each other or provide us with proof of "criminal use of office or position" and "selective enforcement of law." It should carry some weight with foreigners and international courts. But her searching by blood was bad news. Did she believe Neville was alive? The manor was warded… We must kill her soon, before she blabbed to Albus… She will be easier to reach in prison.
"Lucius, you have been dragging on the acromantula problem prohibitively long. I hope you finally found where to move them?" - I regretted being unable to break into his mind.
"Yes, my Lord. How do you plan to control them?"
"Through their oldest male and the creature they could not deny."
"You have a basilisk, milord? They will be terrified and scatter."
"No, not a basilisk."
They would respect zombie-Hagrid.
"Macnair, you have a new assignment. Do what you will, but I need a live and healthy phoenix. Studying a specimen will help me understand how to kill Albus's familiar or block its apparition."
Or develop a poison that could not be cured with phoenix tears.
At long last, the mandatory part was over. Time for recreational activities.
"This concludes our official business for today. Bring in the guilty."
Next up: the Dark Lord's justice.
A recently marked Death Eater. Charge: petty theft and ripping off his colleagues when dividing the spoils. He got off easy, with a couple of verbal Crucios and an order to pay everything back.
Next, a teacher of Muggle Studies from one of small English magical schools, whose diploma was too embarrassing to show to anyone. He knelt and stared at the floor. What was even the point of teaching mudbloods about muggles? His sentence was obviously death, but my condition made the killing curse too costly. I used a wandless fire-making spell. And grossly miscalculated. Normally, the target would have immediately burned to ashes. But today my magic was all but a shallow puddle in place of the usual ocean, so the target burned like a live torch, spinning and screaming… What is he ran at me? I hit his legs with an air whip, but instead of cutting off the legs it gave him two open fractures. The target fell and continued howling. The Death Eaters' laughter flooded the room. Bella sounded especially joyful, like a little girl who got a new toy… The screams soon died down. Lily only stifled a yawn and continued gazing at me, imitating devotion - the illusion was working perfectly.
Well, I knew I was in bad shape, but this was ridiculous. Luckily, my performance was attributed to deft control and sadism… I called in the next guest.
A Death Eater squad ran into some Aurors. This Death Eater surrendered without a fight. However, his squadmates fought off the enemy and managed to escape along with the coward. Logically, he must be either killed or subjected to long torture. But I already tired myself out… and had a much better idea.
"State your name, blood status and family status," I told him.
"David Hume. Pureblood. Married. One son, Slytherin fifth year."
I did not remember that name from the list of purebloods… Where were all these new purebloods coming from? Falsified documents? Or son of two mudbloods thought he was now a "first generation pureblood"?
"Bella, cruciate him," I ordered.
The target screamed, thrashed and fell unconscious. Shouldn't Hogwarts be out for Christmas right now?
"I devised a worthy punishment for him. He and his wife will become our hostages. His son will receive the Mark and an order to kill Albus Dumbledore. Bring him to me, he should be on winter holidays right now."
And Snape will get a perfect smokescreen. Talking to house elves? Just making sure this dimwit doesn't poison the other students. Searching the entire castle? Who knows where and what Hume Jr. is brewing and when it would go off…
It was time to wrap up. With a monumental effort, I entered Elena's mind.
" Lily, be ready to repeat everything I tell you word for word ."
I would not last in her mind for long. It felt like walking against strong wind… Damn weakness…
"And now, after we have discussed the main points, let us remember the events of the day before yesterday. Elena was hunting Moody with live bait, but the paranoid old man came with backup. There was a fight. She took down 20 Aurors and escaped," - listen carefully, servants. My student killed four squads of trained Aurors by herself. If she is this strong, what does it say about me?
"She succeeded thanks to potions and now needs time to heal. I personally stabilized her, but I am busy with other matters, so Severus will be ensuring her recovery. Elena, what potions did you take?"
"I drank the following: Felix Felicis, Delayed Pain, Delayed Rebound, Universal Antidote, Temporary Antidote, Foreign Sacrifice, Great Acceleration, Flesh Transmutation, Divine Reflexes, Pestilent Blood, Owl, Sacrificial Tears, the Draught of Omnipotence (unfortunately it didn't grant omnipotence, only improved some magical abilities), the Elixir of Life, the Draught of Magic Resistance, Dragon's Breath, Mopsus's Solution, the Fire Resistance potion, the Guardian Elixir, the Wit-Sharpening potion, Raffard the Black's potion, and several experimental ones," she repeated after me.
"Are you certain you drank Raffard the Black's potion together with the potion of Pestilent Blood?" Nott asked.
Good question. Raffard the Black's potion combined with Pestilent Blood resulted in an explosion from the inside. That was why I did not drink it.
"A combination of my experimental solutions prevented the explosion," Lily answered.
"Severus, you have an important task. Sort out Elena's potions and brew a cure. If she dies, you die. If she loses her magic, so will you. You have a month. If she is not healthy in time, you will be tortured for as long as her recovery is postponed."
This was an excellent solution. It would explain why Snape is spending time with Elena and why Elena is not participating in operations. I might as well accelerate her education and double her training times with Snape. And lengthen the healing process. Snape's torture will be me working on his vows…
"I will now explain to Snape the details of her treatment. You are going to flesh out the plan of Crouch's inspection that will end in a battle. And send someone to fetch Hume's son," I gave out the remaining orders.
"Severus, Elena, follow me," I said, getting up.
" My Lord, are Death Eater meetings always this boring? " Lily asked.
" Yes," I said, severing the connection and dispelling the illusion sphere as we walked out of the room.