Chapter 28: start of the second year
As the start of the year approach, Neville, Hermione and Orion had to make a quick trip to the Alley.
As the island was completely shut down from the rest of the world, no owls could enter, he had created a small concealed house for the owls to leave the mail. As he wasn't lacking common sense like the rest of them, the mail would be washed of any magic, before being sent to them.
It had proven itself useful as there have been some attempts on his of the families living under him. Of course, some of the nastier one had made his return to the island to properly thanks them, personally.
It was also that way that he had knows that Dumbledore had been back in the game. The meddling old man had sent no less three dozen letters, urging him to cease his indiscriminate mass murder, that he was still time to return to the light path.
He wouldn't know any of this as he burns them directly, without reading them. What anger him was the sample of mind-altering potions he sends to Hermione and Neville. Seeing the low potency, he was surely thinking of dozing them through the year.
Had it be anyone else, he would have already killed them, but the old man was hiding in the castle and was an experienced wizard. All this doesn't matters, as long as he was able to protect his charges, he had all-time in the world to plot the old man end.
With him back, he knows that he would attempt to force them to follow his less than stellar curriculum, but as long as the ICW didn't change their international laws, he would be powerless. Even if they do, he would simply vanish to the island. They would be only of them outside the island from now on, and each of them had pre-made portkey that would send them their the moment foreign magic invade them, amount other security features.
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Like the previous years, he would still be in charge of their potion, DADA; seeing who had to be nominated, astronomy and transfiguration. With the other course, they would be unable to make any progress, if they follow their timetable, but he had a simple solution.
As only the O.W.L and N.E.W.T exams count, they have long since stopped to do the homework, only copy-paste text from books to have the required length and content. Even if they could give them T they can't punish them as the work was done. They had tried to take points, but when they see that, not only they didn't care but would also strike back when they Housemates would let their displeasure know, even if they hadn't any proofs of the assaults, they had abandoned.
Thank this and the hours free for them to go through the material, they had neared the end of their second year of education before the first year stop. At it would have taken only a week or two max, Orion decided to continue once back, to make them start on three years material at the start of the new year.
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In Hogwarts, the professors were reunited to discuss on the nearing year. Starting with the seven years and going down, they rapidly work through it, until they arrive at the incoming second years.
It was easy for Dumbledore to see that the subject was sensible. While he had caught up at most as he could, he was still in the dark about certain matters.
"Can some of you shades some light on what could we expect this year from our second years?"
Dumbledore gentle and happy words had the effect of a cold shower on his staff when those students where mentioned.
"Minerva?" Ask him.
After awaking, he had rapidly used his newly risen influence to re-integrate the woman as Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor. It had been simple for him to bullshit his way in, and as none of the lords in the Board of Governor was ready to crack open a book, they had trusted him when he says that it was the headmaster privilege to nominates who he wanted, that neither the Ministry nor the board had the right to interfere in.
While he was right on the first, it wasn't for the second, but like any good sheep, they had followed without a word. Of course, there was still some against him, but it would have been unwise to voice their thoughts, with him just awaking, without earning a backlash from the rest of the community.
"I was quite sad that I didn't have the opportunity to encounter the young mister potter, I sure he must be reeling to have missed me in the library." Pompously say Lockart, letting a bright smile appear on his face.
More than one shiver at the name, while the others, less Dumbledore look at him as if he was dumb, well perhaps it wasn't just as if he was. Hearing this, Dumbledore put his best-disappointed sigh.
"True, it time for him to return, he had been misguided from the past years, but there is still time from him to return to the right path."
"Misguided?! The boy is an insane mass-murderer that had sell schoolmates to the highest bidder! The ministry had still found the poor five girls, Albus! You can't decidedly want him to return!" Shout angrily, McGonagall.
With the return of her position, she cowered spirit had been rousted and ready to fall as hard as possible on the boy the moment he slips if he returns.
"While it true that this loses pain me, but I sure he regret his wrongdoing, it a necessary lost for him to understand that what he had done his wrong." Respond to him, looking kindly at the crowd gathered.
The near year of unconsciousness must have diminished his skill, because, rather than seen agreeing to peoples, he receives some indignant shout.
"Necessary lost?! The boy, no, that monster had murdered another 186 wizard and witches of all age! He didn't even spare old of young, and a wiped out 39 House in Britain since the last year and 10 other in the mainland! You call it small lost?! If he returns this year it won't be long before blood flows in this school!..." Continue here, only to be cut by his still, impassible calm words.
"And if that the case, I will be personally sending him to Azkaban, a few weeks stay there would surely be enough for him to understand what will wait for him, should he continue on this path."
"Even then, I refuse to have him in my class!"
She was the only one to voice her thoughts since Slughorn was still torn between exposing him too and keeping him to know his secrets. Flitwick and Sprout were of a different mind as they never had a problem with the boy. While he was bored out of his skull in their class, he was quiet and do what asked. It was evident that he didn't put any effort into his schoolwork, but they know why.
Lockart, him, wanted Orion in his class, still fixed on the fact that he was Harry Potter, and the fame he could hear by staying near him. Professor Sinistra, her, was waiting the year with impatience, she had been promised some fine books and tool on the subject from the boy.
The rest of the professor hadn't any interaction with him, so they stay quiet.
What they seem to forget was they couldn't force him to came or not in their class if he never showed to them first.
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The train ride had been peaceful, the locking and notice-me-not charms, helping them to stay alone.
"What will do Nymphadora now?" Ask Neville suddenly." I mean, she is graduated from the school, but she can't found work here."
"And I wouldn't even allow here. She Is building a team with Sirius and four other, they will roam around the globe once their ready, in search of either, endangered, magical or undiscovered creatures to bring them on the island, as well as looking for plants. The elves would transport the founds beasts, while the write a report for me to create biome for them to live freely and without fear of extinction."
"Won't they, in a few years? If magic seeps into them like your suspecting, wouldn't the stop to being them?" Ask the puzzled 12 years old.
"Yes, you would be right, that why I will create an island in the middle of our closing land. Once I create an interior sea, I will be able to create an island in the middle. Since it won't be linked to the 'mainland' lay lines would difficulty reach them, if they ever were able? If they do after all of this then so be it, I not in any position to judge who or what needs to keep or evolved, it not my role, what is, is to safeguard as much as possible species before radioactive fires fall on the earth."
Neville became depressed at that, he had been educated on the mundane progress and more so on the devastating effect their nuclear warhead leave behind, a radioactive zone killing anything in his active radius for decennaries.
All of them had seen how Orion seems to be constantly stressed. He was trying to gather as much as living samples that he could before the clash between magical and mundane destroy the world. That why he was actively goading any wizard and witches he can, who possess the land he could take under the right of conquest. They have seen the island expend slowly from his effort, encroaching into the pacific ocean while he was trying to enclose an immense amount of land.
He had explained to them that the moment he would be able to connect the two side, everything within would fall under the wards, but, as he was aiming to millions of miles squares, it was only a thin band of earth, barely a meter thick, spreading. It was merely a tendril, but the moment he would be able to connect it, he would obtain a body of water able to house most of the aquatic creatures. That would only leave biomes to be created to simulate the different environments.
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He knows that this plan would greatly perturb millennium of tradition, break established route for whales, turtles, or even birds, but it was a small price to pays to safeguard them. He was hoping that they would rapidly accommodate and create new roads.
Is plan would have repercussions on the global scale but he know that very little would be left once nuclear missiles would be launched. All know points would be razed to the grounds, soil, water and air polluted by the aftermath of their greed. All he was hoping was that he was able to be ready when it happens.
For now, the wards weren't strong enough to resist nuclear fire, as they were spread thin by the evergoing expansion, and after then they would need an enormous amount of energy to stabilize and strengthen for covering all the surface. He was already planning to construct at least three other plants. If in place before the nuclear fire strike them, they would feed on the radioactive waves to power the wards, and accelerate the processes, growing stronger the more they were bombarded with.
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As new students follow Hagrid and older one join the castle via the carriage, Neville, Hermione and Orion suddenly receive the visit of an elf.
He was about to ask what he wanted, until seeing the frantic expression of saying elf and his appearance. His pillowcase was dirty, more of a sick yellow than the white his had been one day. If fingers were bandaged and what little of skin visible had scars. His eyes seem even more disproportionated with his thin and starved figure. He could also see in his craziest gaze that the elf must be a few bricks short of a complete house.
"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is finally able to find you! But Dobby doesn't have a lot of time before castles elf found Dobby. What to do, what to do?" Start to whine the poor creature.
"Dooby, stop!" The elf froze at his firm tone, turning his head to him. "You came here to deliver a message?"
"A warning, Harry Potter, sir! ..."
"First, it Orion now, and second, a warning? For me or the students?"
"For you sir, but students be in danger too, master been thinking of a nasty thing."
"So a threat from the pureblood, surely so angry from my action, so the dark side. Does your master give it to his heir to bring it in the castle?"
"No, Harr... Orion, sir, Master been given to others."
"Who?"
"Dooby can't say, master, made Dobby swear..." Start the elf, before reaching to slab his head on the door. Only to froze at Orion rising voice.
"Stop! I understand, does the student know?" He shakes negatively his large head. "IS it an ally of you master?" Again he shakes his head. "So a light House, I don't think he would stupid en..."
"Orion?" Ask tentatively Neville when he sees him froze for a second.
"Your master needs to be someone of great standing, to give such a dark artefact, he is from the dark side, but to target me, it may be a Death Eater. I don't see much checking the criteria, other than Malfoy."
Looking from the corner of his eyes, he catches the elf' eyes widen, but since he didn't speak to Dobby, his oath didn't force him do react, leaving him enough proof that he had the real culprit.
"If it Malfoy, then he wouldn't use the heir of the child of someone important but still close do create mayhem between them... Neville, you are a Hufflepuff. Who Is near to Susan Bones?"
Orion Question shaken Neville and both him and Hermione Whiten when they think of the consequence it would lead shall it happen. By targetting someone near Susan, It would force her Aunt to react, if it someone her niece his near, she would know the students, even her or his parent. If she sweeps the story under the rug, Malfoy could use it to destabilize the woman spot in the ministry, if she goes with the charge, it would create a breach in the light block, and perhaps even the grey one. This would open the dark block, roads.
"... Ha-Hannah Abbot, a childhood friend of her, their parent and her Aunt have been the centre of the opposing block of Dumbledore in the light side. If something happens between them, it will allow the old goat and the other block to act on it. Orion, this could destroy the status-quo that had held since you had whipped the dark side of its majority by cutting off supporting houses!"
"Calm down Neville." Say him, while giving the boy the special cookie. Without a word, he starts to munch on it and slowly calms down.
"Dobby, I thank you for your warning, Since Neville is in Susan and Hannah House, he will be able to keep an eye on them." Say, Orion, while giving a side glance to Neville, who readily nod." At the first opportunity, we will take care of the threat."
The house-elf was torn between two states of mind, but finish to give a short nod, after being startled and vanish. He was missed by a hair breath by the two elves of the castle that had poped, invisible inside the carriage when the feel him since they had ordered from Dumbledore to keep an eye on them.
While they had been invisible, he knows what had startled him. He also knows that useless ordered, the castle elves would never appear to look for a particular situation.
Climbing out of the carriage, he made sure that the three of them are just at his side before saying in low voice.
"The old goat had louse watchdogs on us, don't let a single opening."
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