FicWad

Hello all, chapter up, faster then the last. Read, enjoy, review. On with the story. Chapter title is what it is because I couldn't think of anything else. Sorry.

-Omnis Potens



Chapter 12: Finances and Funds


"What can I do for you, sir?" was the voiced question from the obviously annoyed Goblin, who had been busy counting what looked to be precious jewels.

"I wish to speak with Silverhook," Seraph said.

"And what business would that be for, Mr.?" The Goblin queried.

"My name is of no concern, nor is my business. And to ask is against policy, Goblin. Now I suggest you do as I ask." Seraph ground out, finding he did not particularly like this Goblin, whose aura, though barely noticeable, felt of arrogance and greed. Probably not much different from any other Goblin, but at least they hid it well enough.

"Very well, follow me." It said reluctantly. Apparently Cheleb did not like the thing either, because he quickly lifted his leg and took aim at the goblin's desk and let loose as Seraph and the goblin went through the doors leading to the offices. Cheleb joined them again after a moment with a Cheshire like grin; Seraph could almost imagine a wheezy laugh coming from his companion. They were led through the maze of hallways and doors again, until they came to be in front of the one they had come to see. 'Silverhook, Black family Account Manager'

"Mr. Black, in business one does not usually show up unannounced, though, you are paying my wages, so I suppose exceptions must be made." Silverhook said, with a bit of a smile, showing a few pointed teeth. 'Goblin humor?' Seraph wondered for a second before grinning himself, trying to match the goblin's in inadvertent feral-ness, which made the goblin smile all the more.

"I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you, but I am sure that I can make up for it. I came because I have some more business to attend to. First off, is there anything left inside of any of the Potter Vaults'?"

"There is no money, if that is what you are asking; it was all transferred to the Black Vault. There are, however, the heirlooms and storage vaults which have not been moved. Generally, one wishes to keep family artifacts separate." Silverhook said.

"I thought as much. I need every vault that is under the name 'Potter' to be emptied and put into either the Black Vault in a separate section or in new vaults."

"That can be done easily, though if you wish it to be done immediately, it will cost a bit extra." The Goblin told him.

"Do it." Silverhook summoned a few papers, signed some, burned others, and yelled at a couple of underlings. Within two minutes Silverhook handed Seraph a key, telling him that it was to his new storage vault, accessible only from within the Black Family Vault.

"Now why, may I ask, was that so important?"

"Because, Harry Potter has, sadly, he has died just moments ago. Hit by a muggle bus. Poor bloke never saw it coming." Seraph said, as he wiped away a fake tear, Cheleb resting his head on his lap in mock comfort, which nearly made him laugh, but he fought it.

"Really now? Such a pity. And my brother spoke so highly of him. And with his death, so dies Albus Dumbledore's control over his weapon and Lord Voldemort's greatest thorn. You realize that when the Dark Lord is publicly recognized that they would look toward Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, correct? You were his down fall the first time, so they may believe that you will be his bane again, most likely with help from Dumbledore. With you dead, they will have little hope but what Dumbledore can provide for them."

"They can all bugger off for all I care. I said that I would do this for myself, not for them. I needed all of the Potter Vault's to be emptied so that Dumbledore cannot get his hands on them. I believe he may have been getting into the Potter Vault's before, would you know anything about it?" Silverhook looked around his desk for a moment, before finding what he was looking for, a large, flat, bowl looking device that held a clearish liquid that did not seem to be able to spill.

"I, Mr. Black, do not know anything about it. It is not my account to look after, well, wasn't. But the former manager of the Potter account would know about any and all withdraws or deposits. It will be just one moment, sir. Front desk, bring me DÃ¥rlig." The liquid that was in the bowl began shooting up, like a waterfall that went against gravity or a gyser, taking the shape of a Goblin with other Goblins working in the background. The Goblin nodded and the liquid dropped suddenly back to the bowl, never spilling or splashing a drop.

"DÃ¥rlig was the former Potter account manager. I don't particularly like him, but he has gotten the job done with no complaints from you. Though, I suppose if your suspicions are correct it may be because you were not aware of him." Silverhook looked pensive for a moment, before the door to his office was knocked on and a Goblin made his way in. Seraph wanted to groan. Not this goblin, of all goblins. Cheleb stood up and growled at the newcomer, who was sporting smelly wet shoes. Evidently Cheleb had had a full bladder.

"DÃ¥rlig, I want the account history of the Potter Vault's for the last sixteen years." The goblin, DÃ¥rlig, froze. His skin color losing a few shades. His eyes looked from Seraph to Silverhook rapidly. Whatever was keeping the goblin's aura from showing suddenly dropped and Seraph saw he felt cornered, like a wild animal. "Not boy..." he mumbled, looking at Seraph's forehead, or wear the scar should have been if it had not been moved to his chest when he had resumed his natural form. The creature was about to make a run for the door when Seraph whipped out his wand. In a few short seconds the goblin had been summoned and knocked out, then tied to a chair by Silverhook, and peed on again by Cheleb 'for good measure' the pup had said. The Black account manager called in some security, and several iron-clad guards quickly made their way into his office.

"Wake him up." Silverhook told one of the guards. The guard complied, by smacking the bound goblin with the butt of his weapon rather roughly, which by all means should have kept him from waking up, but didn't. Silverhook immediately placed both of his wrinkled hands to the goblins temples. Seraph could almost see the connection between the two, like a pale green line. 'Goblin Legilimencey,' Seraph thought. After a few moments Silverhook pulled away, a disgusted look on his face.

"Bring him before the Triumvirate. And may the deities have mercy on your accursed soul. Take him away." Silverhook nearly bit out. The guards promptly escorted him from the office to wherever they were taking him and Silverhook took a moment to collect himself.

"Awwww. I wanted to eat him. Can you call them back?" Cheleb asked, growling at the now closed door.

"No, I can't imagine goblin tastes very good. Perhaps we'll find that place in Knocturn again. They had good steak."

"Mmmmm...steak." Cheleb drooled a bit. They were interrupted by Silverhook clearing his throat.

"I must apologize, Mr. Black. Your suspicions were indeed accurate. Albus Dumbledore was appointed as you magical guardian and business proxy. This means that he was in control of any and all business decisions, in your best interests of course, until you reached majority. He came to us shortly after you were relocated, demanding the position as Magical Guardian and Business Proxy, but he was denied by the Goblin Council of Accounts. It seems that DÃ¥rlig was persuaded enough to appoint him anyway, allowing him free access to your vaults and monthly reports. DÃ¥rlig broke the cardinal rule amongst goblins, Mr. Black. He went against his own in favor of his greed, for a human. His case will be brought before the Triumvirate, and he will be disposed of accordingly. Gringotts takes full responsibility for the actions of its employees, you will be fully reimbursed for the..." He checked a note pad that he had scribbled a few numbers down onto. "19.24 million Galleons that have been taken since Dumbledore was appointed. And not all of it was taken by him either; DÃ¥rlig took a portion out every year for his 'bonuses'. Truly despicable creature. You said that there was, other, business to attend to?" Silverhook asked, as if throwing traitorous colleagues out of his office was an every day occurrence. Seraph retook his seat and nodded.

"Do you know where withdraws that were taken by Dumbledore were put?"

"I would assume that he put them into his own vault or a holding place outside of Gringotts. The only vaults mentioned are to a secondary vault belonging to the Weasley family and a Granger family. I'm not sure that the head of the family, Arthur Weasley is aware of the secondary vault though. He has never gone there. It has been accessed though, by a Ronald Weasley recently, however. The Granger vault is what we call a 'Muggle' vault. It only holds muggle currency but it can be exchanged for Galleons for less then the usual transfer rate. And though it was set up for the Granger 'family', all reports have been sent to a Hermione Granger." 'When does it end?' Seraph thought to himself sadly. 'I had hoped that Hermione was at least somewhat influenced by the binding potion, but it looks like she has been on Dumbles payroll all along. She must have had at least some real loyalty to me, though; otherwise Dumbles would not have bound her to Weasley. I wonder if I would have believed anyone if they told me that my 'friends' were spying on me for Dumbledore...not likely.'

"I'd try to press charges, but Harry Potter is dead and can't. I'd see if the money can be taken back, as I never authorized these withdraws, but their vaults suddenly emptying would look suspicious. So, Silverhook, what can be done?" Seraph asked, rubbing the goatee he had given himself when he resumed his natural form again. Silverhook thought for a moment, before getting a small grin.

"We can stop their interest, which along with an increase in their vault tax should put a nice dent in to their 'savings'. Most of the old vaults were created before the tax, and are therefore exempt from it. But the new vaults, such as the secondary Weasley Vault and the Granger Vault are not. The tax is generally 1.5 percent of the total in the Vault. The less that is in there, the less we charge. We can increase it slowly, along with the amount of times that we tax them so that over the next year or so they will lose nearly all of the money in the vaults. And, as they will be away to school during most of that time, it is not likely that they will try to do something about it, even if they were to notice."

"Brilliant, Silverhook. I love it. To the next order of business. I recently went through my coming of age and became the heir to several families whose lines had ended without appointing one. I wanted to know if this changes my standing with Gringotts at all."

"Well, first we would have to test you to see if you are truly the heir to any other families. If you are, then you will inherit whatever is left of their assets, and if not, you will have lost a lot of blood for nothing. Now, you will need a ritual dagger, unless you have something that you would rather use?" Silverhook asked, as he pulled out a gaudy looking blade and a yellowing paper and a pan slightly larger then the paper.

"Yeah, I have a blade that I would rather use. What do I have to do?" Seraph asked as he pulled out his tanto. The small black blade glinted in the light, casting odd reflections on the glinting jewels that littered part of Silverhook's desk.

"It is simple, really. Place the parchment into the pan, and state your full name. Then you must cut yourself enough to cover the entire document. We will know all that we need to know with a few moments after finishing." The goblin said, handing the items to Seraph. He put the parchment into the pan, and took a breath, placing his hand above the paper.

"Seraph Orion Black" He intoned, not meaning to slip into Grimtongue. In the same breath sliced his palm from just below his thumb to in between his pinky and ring finger. He felt the sting of pain and gasped slightly. The blood dripped freely from his palm and fingers to the paper, making it glow. It took another two minutes for enough blood to cover the paper, leaving Seraph feeling slightly light headed. When the last drop hit the paper, it flashed once, twice, seven times. The cut on his palm glowed for a second and healed itself, the ritual complete.

"Now, let us see..." Silverhook said as he pulled the now completely dry reddish parchment out of the pan.

Sirius Orion Black, blood heir
Head of Black: Assets and Magic
-Stealth Masters
-Assassins
-Masters of Martial
-Masters of Grims
-Vault holds liquid assets, heirlooms, Potter family heirlooms, and Grims (accessible only to certain Heads)
- Properties; #12 Grimmuald Place, Orion Island, Silver Estate (locations unknown or held in Vault)

Magical Heir;
Gryffindor/Potter: Assets and Magic
-Ward masters
-Transfiguration masters
- Vaults held heirlooms, now reside in Black Vault
-25 percent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
- Properties; Godric's Hollow, Cape Gryffin, and Dor Estates (location information held inside vault)

Slytherin: Assets and Magic
-Parsel Magic users
-Animation Masters
-Assassins
-Rare Snake Breeders
- Master of Serpents
-Vault holds heirlooms and Serpents (accessible only to Paseltongues)
-25 percent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
- Properties; Serpens Hall, Slytherin Alley, Eltanin Estates (locations unknown or held inside vault)

Ross: Stocks and Magic
-Potion Masters
-Ritual Advisors
-Ritual Designers
-Controlling interest in Flytr Apothecary

Creo: Stocks and Magic
-Master Architects
-Master Builders
-Inventors
-Entrepreneurs
-Controlling interest in Magic Creations, Lunar Alley
-Controlling interest in Creo Laboratories (muggle industry)

Macualay: Vaults and Magic
-Mind Mages
-Healers
-Vaults hold liquid assets and heirlooms

Linksys: Storage Vault and Magic
-Master Linguists
-Runic Masters
-Vault contains accumulated texts on Runes and foreign magic

"It seems that you were correct, Mr. Black. Very correct. The changes will be done immediately. Would you like all of the vaults to be the inside of the Black Family Vault? They vaults would be held within the Black vault, like the Potter Vault is. Also, I need to know if you also wish to begin combining the families like you did the Black/Potter families." Silverhook asked as he passed the parchment to Seraph, who nodded his consent. Silverhook again went through a pile of papers, calling for family rings and subordinates while Seraph read over the list. After a bit the goblin Silverhook had sent to get the rings, Claudham, -if Seraph remembered correctly- came back with a large polished oak box.

"Ah, and here we are..." Silverhook said, as he opened the box slowly to reveal several family rings on a plush cushion. Seraph, remembering the process, told his ring to return to its natural form.

"The process must be done one family at a time, Mr. Black. Choose one and put it on to begin." Silverhook told him. The first ring that he chose was a simple copper band that held no stone. As soon as he picked it up, however, small runes began to glow, giving the ring an ethereal quality. He put it on, and like last time, an image rose above both rings. The grim stared at the odd square-like rune that seemed to have feet. Seraph was trying to figure out if he had ever seen the rune before when a slight tremor ran through him, ending at his head and eyes, which were left aching for a moment. Looking at the rune again, he recognized it as Othola; rune of inherited property or possessions, spiritual heritage, aid in spiritual and physical journeys, source of safety... Seraph had to hold on to his chair, the foreign knowledge that had just jumped into his head making him feel dizzy. The rune suddenly flew towards the grim, flying around his head, sprinkling itself over the guardian until it was no more.

"We gain knowledge from Linksys, master." The grim said, as Seraph chose another ring, this one being silver, holding a large snake with glinting emerald eyes. The image that rose up was one that he had only ever seen once, and was not sure if he ever wanted to see it again. A large basilisk rose from the ring, curling around itself, killing eyes staring intently into the Grim's. The grim guardian disappeared, only to be replaced a moment later by the second guardian of Black, the black and silver Racer. The two serpents looked at each other, the Racer telling the Basilisk to bow before it and join the family, but the Basilisk was a proud and powerful creature, unmatched by any other reptile in the world. Seraph had to hiss at it before the basilisk finally bowed to the Racer, and lunged into it. There was a bright light and when it cleared, the Racer had grown a small amount, gaining a few green circular markings, and then it opened its eyes. They resembled Seraph's now, piercing emerald surrounded by the always present silver.

"The line of Slytherin makesss uss cunning, we can use such serpentsss to our advantage, Massster..." The snake hissed, before it receded back into the ring. The next ring was made out of a swirling cloud like material that held a round opal stone in the center, making the shell of the armadillo that was depicted on it. A large armadillo emerged to meet the grim guardian. The armadillo stared at the grim before nodding its head, and rolling into a ball. The ball was quickly sucked into the grim, making its fur look a bit harder and sharper, more like armor.

"The Macualay's make us the masters of our own minds, Master." Seraph nodded to it before choosing another ring, this one oddly segmented and black with a purplish sheen to it that held fiery topaz stones as eyes for a roundish shaped head. Holding it, a large ant-like creature emerged from it. It had bright crafty eyes and three large segments that made up its body, each holding a couple of twitching arms with hand-like appendages on them. The creature was known as a Fossura Veneficus, or Mage Ants, or sometimes War Ants, due to their tendency to fight other nests. They are giant magical ants that are native to the Americas and are believed to have made the grand canyons over thousands of years. It studied the grim, almost trying to find fault with it, until it nodded and placed a hand on the grim guardian's forehead and was pulled through the connection. The Grim shook its head and looked to seraph with its blazing eyes that now held the same sort of crafty yet mischievous glint that one would find normal to the Weasley twins.

"The line of Creo makes us ingenious, Master." The final ring was made of a light silvery material that held no stone but a simple design of an 'R' inside of a pentagram. A mist came out of the ring and it immediately was absorbed by the Grim, who simply gave Seraph a feral grin before it too receded back into the ring.

"Heir to seven families, Mr. Black. Seven is a very powerful number in our world, should you choose to use it, you will have considerable clout within the ministry. Though, you may not want to play your hand so soon?" Seraph nodded, thinking about what the goblin said, looking over the paper he had handed to him earlier.

"Silverhook, under the names, what does that mean?"

"Oh, lets see now... yes. They simply tell what the majority of the members of the families did as a profession or some ability that the family possessed. The abilities are almost always used to their fullest extent, meaning to somehow make money. Not all of the members of the families did or mastered what is said, but it is a brief overview, something that was related to them." Silverhook explained.

"And are these the complete listing of properties?"

"No, they are only the known properties. There may or may not be others, these are the properties that have deeds residing in the vaults.

"Can you tell me how much money is in the Macualay vault?" Silverhook pulled out a small ledger and looked over it for a moment.

"There was 8,506,010 galleons at the last withdraw in 1458. It has been sitting, collecting interest for the past 538 years. At 1000 years of a vault lying dormant and unclaimed, Gringotts takes over the vault and uses the liquid assets to upgrade security and heirlooms will go to pawn shops in Diagon, Lunar, and sometimes Knocturn's Alleys. The Macualay's were a fairly old and powerful family, so they were able to get the high interest option. The current vault total is... 523,666,186. Would you like that transferred into the Black Vault or keep it separate?"

"Actually I would like you to start a fund for me. Call it the 'Potter Memorial Fund', or something sappy like that. I want to remain anonymous. No, scratch that. I want to make a 'will' stating that all of the Potter assets would go towards a relief fund. That should clear up any loose ends. I would like to have the money transferred to a separate vault and have it used for the fund. The goal is to help with relief work due to Voldemort. A lot of families are going to be devastated by the end of this war, on both sides. I want to try to use this to help people when the kid gloves come off. I don't know how long this war will last, but it is not going to be pretty." Seraph said.

"Did you not say, just moments ago, that the Wizarding world could 'bugger off'? Why would you wish to give money to a fund that would help them?" Silverhook asked, looking at it from a monetary point of view.

"I'm cutting off any guilt I might possibly feel. Everyone will have something to lose from this conflict, some more then others. I'm not heartless, I would rather leave all this shit, truth be told, but I can't. This war will end the same way it did before, and no one else can do it, as far as I know. I'm a major player in this, but I'd rather work without the control, complications or expectations that everyone would put on me. I'm doing this for myself, the money will help for the wake that follows." Silverhook gave him a hard look, before nodding.

"That can be done, certainly. Your will can be taken care of easily. Just sign here and I'll take care of it. We will send you reports on how the money is being spent monthly." Silverhook said, making a not on his notepad and handing a paper to Seraph to be signed.

"Can my father's will be changed at all? There have been recent developments that have come to my attention that may have changed the way it was written."

"The portrait of your father, if he so wishes may change his will. It must be finished a week before the reading though. Instead of the echo giving the will, it will have to be placed in a portrait to give it. Your father's echoes will then merge, the older one retaining its memories and creating a new echo to read the will. Your father will then have two portraits that he has access to and can therefore move between them. Is that satisfactory?"

"Yes, very much so. I'd like to visit my vault quickly though." Seraph said, standing up. Cheleb also got up, stretching in his cat-like fashion.

"Very well. You have been charged 1,000 galleons for the movement of the vaults. You did wish it to be done quickly." Silverhook explained when Seraph raised an eyebrow. "The fund will be set up within the week."

The ride down the Black Vault was as wild as any other, Cheleb letting his tongue flail about in the wind. They entered the Vault and saw the new doors to the side, each labeled with their family symbol. Seraph went through each in turn, grabbing a few books that interested him on runes and foreign magic from the Linksys vault, A pensieve and a few a book on the history of mind magic and its uses from the Macualay vault, some magical tools and guides to basic to advanced magical building and design from the Creo vault, ritual items and moving representations of basic rituals and some potions equipment from the Ross vault and stepped into the Slytherin vault. Seraph grabbed anything that looked of interest, including a few journals of Salazar's great-grandfather that he had kept from the Guild on the creation of the Basilisk and development of Parsel magic, as well as a book on pureblood etiquette. He was about to leave when he saw a door towards the back. It was a door to another inner vault with an animated Ashwinder holding several glowing red eggs in its coils.

"What is held within the door, mother Ashwinder?" Seraph asked, hoping that the snake would respond better to a question then command.

"The nursery, speaker. It has not been visited for many years, not since that boy came through here, rude child that he was." The nursery guardian said, flicking her tail in annoyance at the memory.

"Riddle came through here then? I suppose he must have checked the vault before he attempted to steal the Black's. Do you know what he took from the vault, beautiful guardian?"

"He entered the nursery and left with the egg of a magical serpent, I believe he said that he would name it Nagini or something similar. He demanded to know about any ritual texts with an emphasis on preservation. There was only one that I knew of, Eltanin put a copy of it into a journal of his. He and his associate, Knox, created the ritual, though Knox wanted to destroy all knowledge of it after the completion. Eltanin convinced Knox to hold it within his own vault, so as not to let it become known, while he copied it. Eltanin had no intention of using the evil ritual, but thought that it had promise for immortality. The name and theory behind it escaped the vault, how, I am not sure. I personally believe that Eltanin got drunk one night and told somebody, but I will never know. Eltanin said that a book held its name and theory, but nothing more then that. The boy took the journal and left, I don't believe that he took anything else, master speaker."

"Thank you. Do you know what the ritual was called or what it entailed?"

"I only know of it's name, and how the master Eltanin spoke of it, Horcrux, he said. An evil and desperate thing, he had said. The boy did not listen long enough to heed my warning, though I doubt it would have stopped him. I believe that he sought power in any way that it came...Ambition is a family trait, but desperation does not suite the line well. Do you wish to enter, master speaker?" The ash grey serpent asked. Seraph thought about it for a moment, remembering what the snake on his ring had told him and nodded. The serpent hissed as the door slide open to reveal room that was filled with black heated sand. The eggs were divided into sections and descriptions were given in front of a group. A small podium stood in the center of the desert like room, a piece of paper on top of it.

Slytherin Nursery

Many serpents are housed here. All are frozen in time, to be released when they are to be sold or mated. Species separated by sections and subspecies separated into separate mounds. Each species has a description in front of it and subspecies further description. Sand is needed to keep eggs in stasis, otherwise they will hatch naturally.

Seraph began looking around at the different breeds that were half buried in sand. Ashwinder, King Cobra, Diamond Back, Pygmy, Blind, and a number of others that had no business being in Europe. A sudden pull brought his attention to a single egg that had cracks running down the side.

Experimental Breed: Basilisk bred with Russell's Viper, kept under an Augury until hatching. I hope to achieve a miniature version of a Basilisk that can be carried concealed on the body. Should have Basilisk's death stare or at least petrifying abilities, Previous experiments yielded several Basilisk sized serpents, non-magical, I've decided to call them 'Anacondas', and let them loose with a cousin in Africa. Other failed attempts came up with a Basilisk with more then one head but died shortly after being born, -somehow both heads swallowed each other during a fight- and a overly large Viper who had a potent poison, not as strong as a Basilisk, but more then the viper's and gave a prisoner a headache when forced to look into its eyes. Being hatched under a chicken was discarded and now I am hatching it under an Augury. Hopefully results will be successful.

-Eltanin; experiment A-0289
October 31, 581 b.c.

Seraph turned his ring into a trunk and opened it to an unused compartment and began filling it with the black sand. Once it was halfway filled up, he put the nearly hatched egg inside and covered it with some sand. He grabbed a couple of small eggs that were simply labeled Chameleon Snakes, male & female and put them next to the other egg. He was about to leave when he spotted a sign that said Basilisk and grabbed a male and female that looked to be frozen in the process of hatching and left the vault.

The next and final vault was the Potter vault. He spent a considerably longer period of time here then the others, looking at sleeping portraits, but not seeing any for his parents. He collected a good amount on books covering basic to advanced wards and a number of ward journals made by Potter's over the years. He also grabbed a book entitled 'Animagus, the full you' By Godric Gryffin before leaving the vaults altogether.


OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooXooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO


The atmosphere in the Order of the Phoenix headquarters was different depending on where you were at the moment. In a bedroom decorated in light blues, there was a young red-headed witch lying on a bed, crying hysterically, hating herself and everyone for the death of the one that she loved. She only ever wanted to love him, and be loved by him in return. Dumbledore had offered her that, and she readily accepted, even if she had to make him do things that may have been against his wishes or spy on him. Dumbledore assured her that it was for his own good, and it would have worked out well for her. She would have the one she wanted, forever. He wouldn't leave her for someone more pretty like Corner had, or tell her she looked too much like a boy to be with like Thomas had before the end of term. He would be hers. And all it would take was a potion, willingly taken. But now it was not going to happen. He was dead, and so was her dream. She held a still sharp but melted knife in her hand, Harry's knife that Sirius had given him, not sure if she wanted to cut herself or Dumbledore for suggesting the idea or Ron for encouraging her. She put the knife down and began crying again, looking at a waving picture of her love.

In a small potion's lab, a sallow skinned man hovered over a delicate potion, not sure whether he wanted to laugh at the idiot boy's demise or curse him for forcing his hand. He was preparing to join a side permanently. While the boy lived there was a slim chance that he would succeed and kill the Dark Lord, but with his death, no one would be able to. At least according to the 'prophecy' that that fool Dumbledore had told him. He already knew the beginning of it anyway; he was the one to inform his lord, after all, gaining much of his favor. The Dark Lord was not aware that he knew the full contents, however. That was his trump card, which he could cash in as soon as he told his Lord of the boys demise. 'Boy who lived indeed' the greasy man thought. 'Killed by a bloody muggle bus. Oh no, the Dark Lord cannot kill him for all his power and cunning, but make him cross a street, and he dies. I would feel insulted if I were the Dark Lord. I better inform him before someone else does...' Snape thought, before placing a stasis charm on the potion and walking briskly to the apparition point towards the back of the house, stopping for a moment to listen to the conversation that was taking place in the kitchen and smirked, before leaving.

In the kitchen, however, one could find very tense, depressed, and a couple of very angry Order members. Few people, in the man's 150 plus years of life had seen him irritated. Fewer still had seen him angry. Albus Dumbledore was not irritated or angry at the moment. He was seething, enraged, livid, whatever you want to call it. He had just lost his weapon. And it was all their fault. He would kill them now, where they stood, if there were not so many witnesses, and memory charms were tedious, best not to mess with so many.

"Tell me again, Mr. Weasley, how it is that you were confronted by Mr. Potter and then let him escape?" Dumbledore asked in a forced calm that was lost on the idiotic child.

"Well, you see he came up to us, all high and mighty saying-" Ron started, only to be cut off by a bellow.

"SILENCE!" Dumbledore shouted, the power from the voice once again nearly visible. "You let him get away. You were given explicit instructions. Should you see him, you were to force him to use the portkey. Instead you decide to banter and then fight him. A fight that distracted both of you long enough for him to get away. You made a scene in a public place -which will most likely end up in the 'Daily Prophet' in the morning- before chasing him into the muggle world, directly into traffic. Your privileges-" But he was cut off. Albus Dumbledore, most respected wizard of the age, and many after, he liked to believe, was cut off.

"So what, he was dumb enough to run into the muggle thing in the first place." Ron said, and was about to continue when a hand was put over his mouth by his girlfriend, but he threw it off.

"Why him, what is so special about Potter, huh? What is it that he can do that we can't? How was he supposed to bring down you-know-who if he can't cross a street? You can take him down, so what did we need Potter for?" Ron asked, having enough sense not to yell at the man before him as he would anyone else.

'Why does he question me? Insolent child. What should be done? Ah, that could work.'

"SILINCIO!" was the spell that finally shut him up. Shot by Dumbledore, the bright beam hit the Weasley in the head and nearly knocked him out by the sheer power behind it. It would take several adults to undo it, or several days to wear off, and none of the wizards or witches around him looked ready to help.

"I do not believe you understand the severity of the situation, Mr. Weasley. Voldemort has returned. The minister has not seen fit to tell the public about, but when he is forced to acknowledge that the threat is real, where do you think that people will look to? Whether they will admit it to themselves or not, the wizarding world at large sees Mr. Potter as their savior, their saving grace. I may be seen as the leader of the light, but many will expect Mr. Potter to take that mantle from me when he is ready. They would look to him, once again, to save them." He took a breath. "And because, Mr. Weasley, I cannot defeat Voldemort. Mr. Potter was the one destined to defeat..." But he trailed off, a sudden thought occurring to him.

'How is it that he is dead? Poppy's report confirmed that it was indeed Harry, but it should not have been possible. According to the prophecy, only Voldemort could kill him. By his hand... I suppose that any Death Eater who was ordered to kill Potter may have been able to, it would be an extension of his hand, then again it could be a literal meaning...Still, he is dead. I wonder...And he will mark him as his equal... It is a long stretch, but possible. He has shown no natural talent in, well, anything really, but perhaps he was marked in other ways? If nothing more, it will distract them until a better solution presents itself. It will look better if it were someone else who figures it though. I can place the blame on them, should, or more precisely when, the boy fails...' Dumbledore thought, a plan emerging.

"There was a prophecy made not long before the fall of the Potter's. It told of a Wizard who would be able to rid the world of the Dark Lord. While it may be void now, it is essential that you tell no one.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

Dumbledore finished, waiting for someone to ask the question.

"Professor, was Harry the only one who could have been the one? I mean, there must have been others who were able to defy you-know-who three times and lived to tell the tale." Hermione pointed out, and Dumbledore had to hold in a smile. 'Just a bit more...'

"Yes, there were. But there were only two couples who were pregnant at the time. One pair died October 31, 1981. The other pair resides in the long-term ward at St. Mungos." He said, sadness seeping into his voice.

"Longbottom?" an Order member asked incredulously. "You're joking, right?"

"This is no joke, Mr. Doters, nor is it a laughing matter. Mr. Potter and Longbottom were both candidates for the prophecy. But, as Mr. Potter was 'marked', I believed that he must be the one."

"But if he was, wouldn't that mean that he would still be alive?" An Order member asked.

"Yes, which is what is bothering me." Dumbledore said.

"Professor, are you sure that Harry was the one who was marked? Obviously he was marked, but could the prophecy have meant another type of marking? Like mental scars?" Hermione asked. 'And there it is...'

"Ms. Granger, you may be right... Harry survived the killing curse, a feat that is thought to be impossible, leaving physical mark. According the Auror reports, and correct me if I am wrong, Alastor, young Neville succeeded in surviving the Cruciatus curse, as an infant. Something that should not have been possible. He was made to watch his parents tortured to insanity and then tortured himself, longer then his parents were, correct?" Dumbledore asked, looking to the ex-Auror Moody who nodded, remembering the report that had been written with the help of a few healers, not liking what was going on but having his suspicions. He would have to speak with Poppy later; there was no way in the depths of Atlantis that the boy had finally succumbed to a damn muggle bus.

"Perhaps Mr. Potter was supposed to help Mr. Longbottom... pave the way, so to speak. Thank you, Ms. Granger, for bringing the possibility to my attention." Dumbledore said, a small smile making it to his face, though his eyes still did not hold their customary twinkle. 'These people are too easy'

"I will think on this more and speak to Mr. Longbottom soon. Perhaps it would be a good idea to move him here. Molly, if you would be so kind as to make supper? Thank you. I must return to Hogwarts and prepare. Tomorrow will be a long day, I fear." He finished, and flood out of the house. Moody looked with his eye, searching the house for a moment, before he spotted them sitting in the room that Remus was sleeping in nowadays. He made for the room and was actually beat there by the Weasley twins who obviously knew that something was up as well.

"Alright, tell me exactly what is going on here. And why do you have no wards up? Anybody could have walked in or over heard you. Constant Vigilance people!" The old grizzly man said before casting numerous charms and wards over the door and room.

"Happy now, Moody?" Tonks asked from her usual seat of Remus' lap. Moody just grunted.

"Poppy, what is going on? I don't believe for a second that the boy could have been killed by a damn bus. He had more sense then that. Something has been off from the beginning, and I want answers." He demanded, and got them, the discussion leading up to Seraph's escape.

"What made him leave like that, do you think?" A twin asked.

"He was speaking to Albus before he left; I saw them go towards the library. Something that Albus did or said set him off, and I doubt that it was Potter just 'reacting badly'. I'll check with Albus and see what he tells me though. Now I want to know about the body." Moody said, looking at Poppy.

"The body that was hit by the bus, was not Harry Potter, only a likeness of him. It wasn't even a body, really. I'd say more like a doll or a lifelike dummy."

"How real?"

"The skin was made of an elastic substance that I have never seen before, but felt like human skin just after death. The hair was real, just duplicated. The bones were real bones, just transfigured to be nearly identical to Mr. Potter's. Whatever this thing was, it would be ideal to practice healing spells on. The organs were functional, but not connected, except for the heart and lungs. The heart was connected to the veins and actually conjured small amounts of blood for a time after the 'body' was hit, resulting in too much blood to be normal. The blood was blood, but not human blood. The lungs were made to emulate respiration, but nothing more. There was also no 'brain' per se. It was simply a grey mass in the shape of a brain that was covered in runes. A muggle healer would never have known the difference, and I am the only medi-witch that Albus would let close to the body. The boy should have been in Slytherin." Madam Pomfrey told them almost proudly. She had been nearly bursting to tell them, knowing that Remus and Tonks were very worried about him, but she had assured them that he was not dead, but would explain later.

"That sounds to me like a training dummy." Moody said.

"Can they be made that real? I've used some that the Ministry has, but they are just animated wood basically." Tonks said, remembering the pitiful things she was forced to fight during her training. The lumbering blocks were used in hand to hand combat, something deemed usable in a 'worst case scenario' by her C.O. They were slow, weak, and ungraceful. Not something that would fool anyone with eyes.

"They can be as real as you can pay for them to be. The Ministry is just cheap. I have an old friend of mine who might be able to make something like that. I've seen them, just not nearly as highly developed as that. He sells them to people who can afford them, mostly to some of the old families in Asia when they don't want to take the chance of killing an opponent at the completion of training, and I heard a few wizards who hold muggle political positions in America use them as body guards. He's a good character, but you don't want to get on his bad side." Moody told them, rubbing his wooden leg, wondering if he shouldn't get an upgrade.

"This man, does he work in Knocturn?" Remus asked, thinking of Seraph's letter, 'old friend' jumping out at him.

"Aye, why do ya ask?"

"I think that Se-Harry has been in contact with him. He said that he knew an 'old friend who runs a fiery shop in the night alley' I was wondering if they could be one and the same." Remus told him. Moody laughed heartily at that.

"Best man the boy could have run in to, considering the folks about there. The old man runs an armory down in Knocturn. If the lad is smart enough he could probably learn a thing or two from him. I need get something better then this old peg with the way things are going, so I'll be going to see him soon. I'll take you with me; we can get some more answers then." Moody said, standing up and walking out the door. The others discussed how and why Seraph did what he did for a while, before the twins left to get to their flat above their yet-to-be-opened shop and Poppy went to check on something. As soon as they left, Tonks re-warded the door and conjured a picnic type basket and transfigured her clothing into a very short red cloak with a hood.

"Come here you big bad wolf..." She said, as she turned out the lights. A growl in her ear was the only response she got.


OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooXooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO


There was a loud knocking at his chamber doors leading to a place that few Death Eaters had ever seen, and few still had ever left alive. 'Why do they knock, you would think that they would learn by example.' The Dark Lord Voldemort thought. The last person who knocked on his door was quickly killed. Well, quickly as in he was ingested by Nagini. 'This had better be good...' he thought as he opened the door.

"Sseverusss," He practically hissed. "You had better be here to inform me of something of grave importance..." He left the threat hanging. He smirked as he saw his spy look a tad bit more nervous then before.

"My lord," He said, getting on a knee and bowing low. "I have two pieces of news that you will be very interested in, of this I promise you."

"Very well, Severus. Come inside my chambers. Should this information prove to be less then satisfactory, you will not be leaving them." Voldemort said almost pleasantly, opening the door wide enough to let the man through.

"Have a seat, Severus. Wine?" The Dark Lord asked.

"No, thank you." Snape said absentmindedly, feeling a bit off center at having been invited into the Dark Lord's private chambers.

"You are funny Severus, the wine, behind you." Snape realized his mistake and hoped that he would not be killed for it. He had practically insisted that the Dark Lord should serve him something in his moment of disorientation. He felt as if he was being played with, like a fly in a spider's web; one wrong move and he would be devoured. He poured a large glass of Château Le Pin Pomerol, and handed it to his lord. It was a little known fact that the Dark Lord had a passion for wine, something he picked up from his mentor before his defeat. The Dark Lord Grindelwald often made allusions to life from wine and chess, it made him appreciate the subtle flavors and learn to see beyond what was presented.

"Now, tell me. What is so pressing that you would attempt to barge into my private chambers to tell me?" The question came with a smile that promised pain.

"I know the rest of the Prophecy, my lord. I came to tell you immediately." Snape said.

"Indeed? And it is?"

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..." Snape finished.

"My, my. Marked as my equal, with a power that I do not know of, and only he can be my downfall... I have no need to fear the old fool then, only the boy. The boy should be my downfall, Ha! It is laughable, Severus. What power could he possibly have that I do not know of? He probably believes it is something daft like 'love' or some such nonsense. Tell me, how did you come to know the rest of the prophecy?"

"The old fool told me himself. He trusts far too much, my lord." Snape said with a smirk.

"Of course he is. You have pleased my greatly, Severus. And Lord Voldemort always rewards his followers. I will grant you a wish, Severus, for you have handed me that which I have sought after for years. What do you desire?" Riddle asked, almost appearing to be in a good mood. Snape was not fooled, however. Should he ask for something beyond acceptable, he would receive only pain. So he took the easy way out.

"I wish only to serve, Master." He told him. To which the Dark Lord smirked and laughed, inwardly of course.

"A fitting answer. You, Severus, my most loyal, will be my adviser and second in command. Do not take what I give lightly, Severus. You will finish my noble work, should I ever be unable to. You are too valuable as a potions Master to have you lost in a battle, but soon you will not have any fear of that. No other Death Eater has shown me the same loyalty as you have, giving me the prophecy and gathering information while I was...detained. I will need you capable of leading and fearsome enough to keep the Death Eaters in line. There is a ritual that I wish for you to perform. Should you succeed, you will gain power that you can only dream off. I cannot have my second weak, now can I?" He asked, smirking at the Potion Master's twitch at his jibe. "You had other news for me, my Severus?"

"Yes, master. The boy, Potter. He is dead." Voldemort stopped in the middle of his sip of wine and nearly spit it out. The prophecy ran through his head a few times before he sat his glass on the table made of ebony and emerald in front of him.

"The boy is dead? DEAD? And you don't see fit to tell me this first? CRUCIO!" The Dark Lord screamed, but let the curse up almost as soon as it was cast.

"I am s-sorry, my lord. I believed that you would want to know the prophecy before knowing his demise, to know that no one can stop you, not that there was any hope for them to begin with." Snape said, only a hint of waver in his voice.

"Yes, only the boy could have defeated me... and he is dead? Truly dead, my Severus? This is most excellent, but there is an inconsistency; if not by my hand, then how?"

"By a muggle machine, my lord. He was struck by a bus similar to the Knight Bus. The school's healer confirmed that the body was Potter's and that he was indeed dead."

"If Potter was the one the prophecy spoke of, how is it that he is dead?" Voldemort asked, leveling his wand at the man's face.

"I don't know, my lord. The prophecy is not overly specific, and I believe that he is grasping at straws, but Dumbledore now believes that the other boy could be the prophesized." Snape said quickly, hoping to avoid another cursing. His last had been short, but more painful then usual.

"The other boy? The Longbottom boy? Surly you jest, Severus. You yourself have told me that he is practically a squib! What is Dumbledore playing at?"

"He knows that when you are recognized, the world will look for a savior. With the prophecy hanging over him, he must find someone to fill the position, since he cannot. I believe that he is going to try to supply them with one while he looks for something better or a loophole of some sort."

"Conjuring hope, as the saying goes. We will simply have to kill the boy. I doubt he will pose as much as a problem as Potter did. He will most likely be protected by Dumbledore during the summer. I will speak to Lucius about setting young Draco on his first assignment in the coming term. I want you to take the Defense Against the Dark Arts position this coming term. I need you to gage the training needed for our young followers, and insure their loyalty. I will verify whether or not Potter is dead through the link... Come, Severus. We will prepare for the ritual immediately." The Dark Lord said, standing up.

"Yes, my lord. I live to serve." The red-eyed man-thing gave a cackle at that.

"Yes, yes you do." Riddle said. 'And there will be no doubt of that once the ritual is completed...'


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"Did it work then?" Vulcan asked from across the table. He rarely left his shop to travel Knocturn Alley, but there were a few places worth venturing out for, but Dionysus was one such place. It was a place of neutrality, doing business with Vampires, Werewolves, Humans, and the stray Goblin that came in from time to time. Good food, better wine and other beverages, and entertainment brought a multi-cultural clientele that worked well for the most part. Nobody messed with anybody else, though a death could be seen from time to time. Murderers were dealt with in the same manner. It helped that the owner, an old reveler going by the same name as his business, got along with everyone, or had enough dirt on the people who did not like him to keep them down. He was an old friend of Vulcan's and Clotho's, having the same ties as themselves to the old Guild. Meissa believed that if a servant was loyal and willing, let them live to serve the family through the generations. With the disbandment of the Guild, however, these semi-immortals needed something to do until they could once again serve the Guild. Many took their skills and went in to business, making a good living doing whatever it was that they enjoyed.

"O'couse it did, V! Your dolls and the boy's plan? I bet you a case o' me finest that it probably worked too well. Blood probably squirting over anyone who got near it!" Dionysus said, slapping his knee. Seraph just grinned, giving Vulcan all the answer he needed.

"See, I told ya! Now dig in boys, or your food will run away from ya." The small man said. Dionysus was a shorter man with golden hair despite his age and a circlet of grapes and vines around his head that he refused to take off for whatever reason. While he may have matched Vulcan in age, a muggle would think that he was no older then thirty. He had been running his restaurant for close to 500 years now, having spent a large amount of time in Greece and Rome, growing grapes and olives. He had returned for news and never left, preferring to stay where many of his old friends resided.

"Alright, here." Seraph said, as he put the extra steak he had ordered on the ground for Cheleb, who gave his thanks. "There was too much blood though, Vulcan. Hit some muggle reporter in the face, she nearly fainted, I think."

"Well at least it worked. So when do you plan on going to Black Alley?" Vulcan asked, breaking apart his steak with his hands. Dionysus could never understand why the man liked his steaks so well done.

"Later tonight, I think. I dropped some hints as to where my friends could get in contact with me, but I want to be settled before they come see me. I'm also going to need you to take me there; I don't know where Knocturn Corner is."

"That's fine, I'll take you as soon as we finish." Vulcan told him, still banging his steak on his plate. He had had to repair it a few times before but did not seem to mind.

"Vulcan, Dionysus, Clotho, Vesta. Why do I feel like I'm in some myth?" Seraph asked, the odd names and there choice of business had popped into his head at random, and something seemed off. Both Vulcan and Dionysus were set off into rounds of laughter. Seraph didn't see what was so damn funny, and neither did Cheleb apparently, as he began growling at the pair.

"Because sometime after the Guild was disbanded, everyone who was gifted with extended life by Meissa before he disappeared got together in Greece and Rome for a while. There weren't a whole lot to begin with, but a few started families. Their offspring ended up having extended life times also, about 200 hundred years more then they should have. Well, at some point Dionysus here gambled with a local High Lord -Very powerful wizard, lot of money, land, and servants- and won his property, all of Greece and Rome apparently, though I don't think the muggles knew it, and this huge place up on the tallest mountain in the country. He decided to name it Olympus. Well he gets drunk one night and stumbles into a muggle bar and starts spouting off about everything, his seemingly 'immortality', his 'brothers and sisters' who were like him, our specialties, hell, even our names. To muggles back in that time, it was a wonder that they did not kill him. Instead a scribe overheard it all and thought that he was a god, and convinced Dionysus to tell him all of his stories and that of his 'brothers and sisters', most of which were made up or highly exaggerated. By the end of the night, the muggle had written down a small book of stories and passed out from exhaustion." Vulcan explained, before Dionysus began.

"Yeah, I woke up and started reading what the scribe had written. I couldn't remember half the stuff that was in there, but the man had written it like I was some sort of divine and him a prophet. I thought it was hilarious and took the book, leaving a note to the muggle that I would return it when it was finished. I read the rest of it and began to rewrite it from 'our' point of view. I figured I would write some sort of meaning into the stories and see how the muggles took to it. I even did two sets. One had our names as they were and the other had the planets we were born under or something else of significance and a few of the stories were altered but basically the same. The titans represented some of our enemies, rival Guilds and what not; Chronus was Knox's father, not a nice man from what I heard about him. Zeus and Hades were actually both supposed to be Meissa, showing him both light and dark, as he lived in neither spectrum. Some of the other 'gods' were his allies and us. We made up the rest of the 'Olympians' and some of the 'lesser gods'. Most of them were all made up, some were the sons and daughters of those who made families, actually. So, imagine my surprise when I find out that the scribe has started preaching about my stories, and people are listening! I got friends together every so often and put on a show for the muggles. Most fun I've had for centuries. Not everyone was too happy about it though. I sent them some wine and olives to shut them up. The muggles stopped believing in the old stories a while back when Christianity got big, and I came here." Dionysus finished, taking a large gulp of his drink.

"You single handedly started a religion that lasted for centuries, and own all of Greece and Rome? On a gamble and a laugh. Unbelievable." Dionysus just gave him a wink and poured another glass.

"Don't forget, I had my own following too, the Bacchanalia. Everyone loves to drink and party, so I made it mandatory for them. They also believed that I was the god of wine, relaxation, and fertility to a point. What they did when drunk was not my fault though."

"Come on then, young master, we had best be getting to the Alley. If it is still light out, you should be able to remember the way." Vulcan said, and Seraph nodded. They said goodbye to Dionysus and left the establishment with full stomachs, Cheleb still liking his teeth. Vulcan led him through a couple of different side streets, passing some of the more 'colourful' residents of Knocturn, and a few shops of interest, most importantly Ledger's and Flytr's. He was tempted to go in just to see what was offered, but knew that there it would not be long before nightfall, and the alley would be lit up by lanterns, making things look different. They came to a large corner next to a old run down building were an old crone looked to be permanently attached. The wicked old lady gave him a lingering stare, clearly not liking the fact that anyone was in the vicinity of her stoop.

"Right here, young master. Look to the center of the wall." And he did, thinking of where the alley was located. A wide set of stairs appeared to push the wall apart, leading to a set of monstrous sized doors. The doors held the same crest as was on Silverhook's, and it stared down at him in the same way. His silver ring glowed before it turned back into its natural form, the crest standing proudly on the front of it. The crest on the door also glowed, and a faint light connected the two. The door finished glowing, and now resembled the ring more, that changes that had been made by combining the families apparent.

"Welcome Master, to Black Alley..." The Grim said, as the door opened up.



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End Chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. The chapter is up a little faster then the last one was, so that's good. Snape's ritual, Neville's reaction, Black Alley, and the Daily Prophet in the next chapter. Hopefully up soon, but no promises.

Omnis Potens