บท 225: 6
Before this chapter begins I'd like to promise you this isn't gonna become a politics fic- just a bit of speculation at the start about how post Voldie politics could turn out, and how that could benefit Harry.
XI. A Base
Not to be confused with a Lair, a base in this context refers to your power base- the people you draw recruits from. The downtrodden provide lots of recruits with real drive- they have every reason to see the system changed. On the other hand, appealing to reactionary elements gets you a base that's typically smaller, but richer. Either way, appeal to your base as best you can…
After his little misadventure in the Appalachians, Harry grabbed some live oak wood with the idea of possibly turning it into a staff before he left the United States entirely. Then he got back to business at the castle, building and writing and generally doing everything he possibly could to avoid wizarding Britain and her politics.
And oh boy, those politics had been shaken up recently (not that Harry cared). At the moment, muggleborns were no longer acceptable targets, at least not directly. Memories of Umbridge's reign of terror were still fresh, and no one wanted to start looking like the old regime just yet. That's not to mention the political coup that defeating Voldemort was for "Light" sides of the wizarding world. So you fell in line with 'light' proposals, or you looked very, very suspect.
Of course, this turn against all things Voldemort included his supporters, leading to the thorough ruination of the reputation of several houses, and a serious blow to the already poor public perception of magical creatures that aligned themselves with the dark lord, or even just seemed dark. So eventually, the wizarding world turned a suspicious eye towards werewolves, vampires, giants, and their ilk.
This one of the first votes in a while that wasn't completely unanimous- there was a significant faction that fiercely argued against draconian restrictions, citing Harry Potter's recent interview and claiming it would only alienate these creatures more.
The immediate response was something along the lines of "You expect sane, rational decisions from a man clearly under vampiric thrall?"
Unfortunately, Harry's recent reputation of going muggle, in addition to general (perceived) rakishness, didn't exactly lead people to believe in his political views. Yes, defeating Voldemort was unambiguously a good thing, but he was, in the eyes of the wizarding world, still thoroughly trapped in the horny teenager mindset.
So they passed legislation that, to put it mildly, placed restrictions on creatures like vampires, giants, and werewolves, and critically, on their spawn. Dhampirs, half giants, whatever the hell a werewolf and human would create together… well, the government would keep an eye on them, for the public good.
Harry Potter probably wouldn't have heard about it until it eventually got mentioned in the busy-body letters he enjoyed reading so much… except for the little letter he got from Andromeda Tonks, which he read immediately, that explained the law that would be impacting the life of Harry's godson.
If any of the vampires, Veela, or mermen were sleeping at the time, they were snapped out of it by an outburst of magic that made the castle and the ground it sat on rumble all the way down to the sea floor.
Andromeda slapped Harry upside the head when they met again, which Harry would admit he probably deserved for going off and engaging in this whole island escapade before checking in on his godson.
"Now if even half of the rumors I've heard about you are true, you're getting another one where that came from, young man!"
"Fair, fair." Harry conceded. "But before that: I've got an island, and I think it would be better if Teddy was raised there instead of Britain, you know?"
"An island."
"Yes. A boat, too. To get there, of course." She looked skeptical- Harry knew she had every reason to be, especially given that the Prophet was printing stories about him. Hmm, maybe he shouldn't have made that 'no comment' joke...
Andromeda was expecting something reasonable when Harry said a boat- a little fishing boat or something enchanted with enough magic to make a half decent bachelor pad (if such places ever counted as decent). What she was not expecting was a cargo ship haunted by a crew of ghosts- she held little Teddy close.
Before she could start asking questions, like where Harry got an entire cargo ship, a door opened to reveal what was undoubtedly a vampire. Andromeda took a step back when she saw that pale skin and those fangs, while Harry stepped towards it, not seeming to care about the upset look on the vampire's face.
"Andromeda, I'd like to introduce Margaret- Margaret, this is Andromeda Tonks and my godson, Teddy." The slightly dour expression cleared up, thankfully.
Margaret gave a smile that seemed warm- Andromeda's eyes were just drawn to her teeth. "I never knew the good master had a godson…"
Andromeda leaned close to Harry before hissing, "I swear to Merlin if this some weird sex thing I'm taking Teddy and leaving."
"It's not!" Harry shot back.
She clamped onto his shoulder. "Promise me you won't make my grandson dysfunctional." Of course, Harry nodded, even if he wasn't entirely sure if anyone raised in his periphery would ever be truly normal.
Of course, Teddy was received warmly by the other residents of the island, even if a few people needed to be informed that Teddy was Harry's godson, not his actual son. There were quite a few sour expressions while that rumor floated around, but Teddy tended to cheer people up- the Veela were all very flattered when Teddy managed to make his little tuft of hair a brilliant silver.
A wing of the castle was baby proofed, for rather obvious reasons- it seemed like Kreacher would be stretched to the limit, to the point that Harry wrote a letter asking McGonagall if he could borrow Winky- the poor elf would probably enjoy looking after someone.
Harry and Andromeda also had a bit of a row over the subject of snakes- for some reason, she found the idea of having snakes roaming the castle freely a little disturbing. Harry was certain they wouldn't harm a Technicolor hair on Teddy's head because they followed his orders, but Andromeda was very protective of what family she had left. Eventually, Harry managed to convince her to eventually let him teach Teddy Parseltongue- Harry wanted to see if a native speaker who wasn't born that way was possible- once he was old enough. Until then, the snakes would stay away from that part of the castle. She also found the kingsnake that Harry would sometimes tuck into his sleeve disturbing, for some reason… it wasn't like it was venomous, and Harry certainly wasn't going to let it constrict a baby.
Moving Andromeda and Teddy in wasn't really inconvenient- it wasn't like they didn't have space to spare- but it got Harry thinking. Even with the greenhouses and Quidditch pitch set up (Harry was unreasonably excited about teaching Teddy to fly a broom) they had a lot of space- and they were just going to keep on building. They had more rooms than they could reasonably need- so what if Harry offered some? If the Ministry insisted on screwing with people, why couldn't Harry do something about it?
Soon enough, Harry Potter took an ad out in the Quibbler, blatantly stating his disdain for the recently passed law- and inviting anyone who agreed or was affected by it to join him at the Hog's Head.
Aberforth was a little miffed at him, but there wasn't a half bad turnout. It mostly seemed to be werewolves, at least as far as Harry could tell. They were haggard looking and unhealthy, nothing like what he'd imagine a half giant would look like, and he could make that comparison because Hagrid was also there, sipping at some drink that looked comically small in his hands.
"Hello, everyone! I'm glad you decided to stop by- thanks, Aberforth." Harry received a glare.
"I figure I'll just cut to the chase- I've got an island, and there's enough space for all of you if you don't want the ministry breathing down your neck."
There was a moment of silence. "And you just want us to come with you to your mystery island, which no one else has ever mentioned?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to, but I'll point out that the secrecy has kept the Ministry out of my hair, so far."
"What's the catch? I mean, what do you get out of this?" One of the werewolves asked. "I mean, are you even accepting blokes?"
"The Prophet is a rag." Harry groaned. "But I promise, I'm genuinely interested in seeing werewolves- of all genders- not being treated like human garbage. If you don't trust me… well, that's fair."
A few people did walk out, but Harry had accepted that. He did sound a little loony. "Suppose we're off then…"
Hagrid sidled up to Harry as subtly as a half giant could and whispered to him. "McGonagall's gonna keep me aroun', but she said that the Ministry's gonna be checkin' in the cabin…"
Harry cringed. If the ministry barged into Hagrid's hut and its surroundings… the giant would be in no small amount of hot water. "You want me to take your... projects then?" Harry sighed.
The half giant nodded and lifted Harry into the air with a hug- he was fairly sure that the werewolves who stuck around were laughing. Before leaving, Harry and Hagrid quietly agreed on a date and time.
Of course, Harry wasn't just going to take the werewolves and immediately dump them in the castle- he gave them something like a tour, to show them why he hoped it would be a good place for them to move, if they wanted to.
One of the major quirks of the island was definitely the snakes- Harry had become something of a collector. He hadn't managed to get his hands on any magical ones (yet) but one of the big hurdles to settling in were the snakes, which slithered around on the floor or even through tunnels and pipes. It was definitely not a good place to be afraid of snakes, and Harry made that very clear to the werewolves- most of them seemed alright with it, thankfully.
If snakes didn't creep you out, there was a possibility that the Mermen would do the trick- these certainly weren't the pretty Mediterranean type (could Harry recruit some of those?) and the idea of eating food provided by Mermen tended to rub people the wrong way, at least when they weren't attractive.
On top of that, there was the matter of vampires- for some reason, there weren't many complaints about the veela- who also tended to be a little unnerving. Sure, the werewolves tended to be a bit more tolerant of so called "dark creatures" generally, but seven vampires, all in one place… Well, Harry reassured them that the only blood donor on the premises was him.
Still, Harry liked to think that there were plenty of reasons to move to the island, once you overcame those hurdles. An isolated location where the people minded their damn business, more seafood than you could ever possibly want to eat, and even jobs, if you felt like it. The castle did need to be built, after all, and it would free up Kreacher while Harry was on one of his trips.
Some of them seemed quite content with the idea of a quiet life spent gardening or building, some politely refused, and pleasantly enough, a few expressed interest in joining Harry on his adventures around the world. Of course, the sort of werewolf who would volunteer to join Harry on his adventures was usually brave enough to adjust to the whole ghost ship thing relatively quickly, so there weren't too many issues there.
Still, there were some projects that were better off done alone… or nearly so.
Smuggling was a strong word- it had implications, after all- but it could probably be used to describe the act of sneaking Hagrid's various experiments out of Hogwarts. Figuring out how to get them was a major trick- Harry had sent some letters to Krum attempting to learn the secret of the Durmstrang boat and how it got to the lake… but that was perhaps a touch too noticeable. He didn't know if the boat was attached to him quite yet, at least in the eyes of the public.
So Harry used ol' reliable once again: space expansion charms. Harry herded a number of creatures he recognized and some that he didn't into pens inside the cabinet he brought. He was certain that a normal person would almost certainly be eaten out of house and home by the number of creatures Hagrid gave him- including several Thestrals, which Hagrid was just giving him as thanks for taking the more eccentric ones.
Harry also received several stacks of scrawled out notes describing how to care for the creatures- every last one, down to the skrewt. Giving the list a brief once over, Harry realized that even with the magical hamper he had, these creatures were going to eat a lot, on top of whatever special things they might need to stay alive… Not to mention that Harry wanted to supply the werewolves with Wolfsbane… well, Harry was open to the idea of getting more funding, just to be safe- preferably, without going anywhere near a Goblin. For his own safety.
XII. Weapons
At the end of the day, a dark lord needs arms for his followers to wield. On the most basic level, this means wands for your wizards, and the rest kind of varies depending on your base. Werewolves come with the weapons pre-installed, while giants can use torn up trees, etc. Of course, those are the more conventional weapons- there are a number of more unusual choices which could help build your villainous brand, so to speak. Staves have a definite mystique to them, and if you or your followers are willing to use muggle means… a bullet will kill 'em dead. Not quite as certain as the Killing Curse, but with their own range of benefits.
Depending on how you define it, money can be a weapon as easily as a wand- economic warfare is a different beast, but a tameable one.
Before he went on a fundraising trip, Harry decided to work on his staff project. Unfortunately, the price it would have taken to commission Ollivander, the main wand maker in Britain, to work on a large, complex piece like a staff, when he could be making easy money with wands… well, the potential bill Ollivander sent Harry made his head spin, and Harry was used to dealing with large quantities of money. Thankfully, perhaps as a sign of gratitude, Ollivander did recommend a few texts on wandlore, on top of suggesting Harry could borrow some of the more survivable texts.
Harry made sure to get a good look at every page of every book Ollivander was willing to show him- a Pensieve would let them make copies, once he got his hands on one… sigh. Yet another thing to add onto the pile of expenses.
Still, Harry went into the intricate process of crafting a staff, with help from Mary- he found all the measurements she felt the need to take more than a little intrusive, but she reassured him that there were all sorts of important ratios that needed to be calculated, or something to that effect. He figured she did something with those numbers, given the obscenely accurate measurements she wanted for the pieces.
In the middle of the staff there was a long string of thestral tail hair, carefully plucked from a number of different donors and braided together… Harry was running a bit of a risk here, but he hoped to sort of even out the eccentricities of any individual thestral (something you couldn't do with a single hair, heartstring, or feather) to create something a little more general. The 'average' wand, if such an average could really exist for a staff that was as tall as Harry.
The wood was, of course, the live oak that he had managed to grab while in the Americas. Thankfully, it was large enough of a chunk that he could make a straight staff out of it- Mary nearly seemed to have a fit when he suggested even the slightest curve, and she started babbling about all the arithmancy such a change would require… Harry decided to put that idea to rest, and focus on the intricate measurements for each and every cut.
If Harry had to use a word to describe it, he would say that the process was almost personal- he liked his holly wand, yes, but this felt different. Perhaps Ollivander just tried to make a wide breadth of wands in hopes that there would be a wand to choose each wizard, but Harry felt like he was basically crafting a wand that would choose him- he didn't want to get too nutty sounding by saying he was 'having a conversation with the staff' or something… but his plans changed as he went along. Little subconscious gestures here and there that Harry had no intention of originally making, but just seemed so right.
The end result was a beaut, as tall as Harry, down to the centimeter (Mary had insisted) and intricately carved with patterns that made for a better grip, in addition to hiding the seams where any parts were joined. It was a much better job than Harry had expected- he had never done any carpentry before- and Harry was half convinced that there was something inherently magical about wandmaking.
Unbeknownst to Harry, he had made some powerful symbolic picks for his staff- thestral hair and live oak were diametrically opposed, in some ways: thestral hair was borne from a creature of death, and innately tied with it- Voldemort could never make the most of the Elder Wand because he denied death and tried to flee from it, denying a part of the wand's very nature. The live oak was, as the name implied, connected with life- with strength, with vivaciousness, a tree that was evergreen and produced sturdy wood and many shoots.
However, despite the seeming contrast between the two materials, they worked well together, the interplay of their natures creating something stronger than both. The hair was a recognition of death and destruction, perhaps even an acceptance of it, but the live oak was, in a larger sense, life's answer, the grit and determination of every living creature to persevere, to create legacies and produce offspring before their ends, the bold outcry against the creeping night. There was no better staff to build a legacy with, to make something that would last.
Of course, Harry didn't really understand the symbolism that underpinned his staff, but he could certainly feel it thrum with power in his hands. He couldn't exactly flick it around with the same ease as he would with a wand, and it required a weird grip, but there was an undeniable sense of strength to it. More generally, that seemed to be the relationship between wands and staves, at least as far as Harry could tell- the wand was something small. Reasonable. The hammer and chisel of the wizarding arsenal, allowing for adjustments down to the tiniest details… in this metaphor, the staff was a sledgehammer.
But Harry was building a castle- a project requiring no small amount of work- and he had people who could go over his broad strokes with their own wands. It was definitely a trick to get used to the staff, but once he was in the swing of things he got some significant work done on the castle. They would need to go over it, of course, but it more than made up for Kreacher was now too busy to do.
Dueling with a staff was… difficult. Harry's go to spell, Expelliarmus, still worked with the staff- in fact, it worked incredibly well, typically sending the target flying into the air just like their wand- but it was tricky to aim, what with the obscene length. Harry had no idea how anyone in robes would be able to ever use a staff of any length without it getting hopelessly tangled or caught in their clothes… maybe that was why people stopped using them?
Harry managed to convince several people to duel with him- mostly the bolder vampires, everyone else was a little too intimidated- and found that while they were a little lacking in practice, the vampires weren't too bad. Some experience definitely helped them, although Harry would admit that almost no one fought like he did with the staff- Harry couldn't aim quite as well, so he made up for it by using spells that had controllable effects: winds and gales, transfigurations, and conjuring snakes easily as thick around as his arm.
Really though, that didn't seem to be what it was made for, as the staff was especially good at shaping and changing things- large scale transfiguration and the like were practical with it, to the point that Harry almost felt like he could raise a ship without falling unconscious. No chances to test it quite yet, though…
Once again, Harry felt that urge for adventure in his gut… but at the same time, with all due respect, he didn't want to pull a Sirius. Harry loved and missed his godfather greatly, but it was hard not to think about how much better his life could have been if he had just reigned in his temper… Harry resolved himself to never bail on Teddy, so the reasonable question to ask was how he could go wandering off without dragging him along (and Harry was certain Andromeda would actually kill him before she let Teddy come along while Harry engaged in things that would definitely be dangerous for a small child).
Apparition wouldn't work, for obvious reasons of range, and just driving the ship straight back would kind of make the whole operation a little moot. Floo… well, he supposed that maybe if you were bold enough to stick your head inside a roaring engine… That particular idea was put on hold when Harry remembered a (nominally) simpler solution: a vanishing cabinet, or at least something like it.
Unfortunately, it seemed that cabinets of that sort were rare and their owners were very unwilling to part with them… but there was no reason Harry couldn't try something similar. With a bit of help from Mary, he found an interesting little spell that basically collapsed space between two places- and of course, there was no reason one of these places couldn't be mobile.
It was an interesting spell, a bit screwy though- extremely hard to wrap your head around, walking in ways that denied all logic… Harry did screw around a little with this spell, using it to make odd little passages through the castle that sped up travel greatly. He thought non-Euclidean might have been the word for it, but that was just part and parcel for magic, he figured.
It would certainly make bringing home any loot or new companions a lot easier, in addition to making check ins (or medical evacuations, some grim part of Harry thought) easier. Of course, he felt that making all of his adventures day trips would kind of detract from the experience… but it meant he could visit his godson and potentially go out even further than before...
It was quite exciting.
Their first destination was the Caribbean. It seemed like as fair a choice as any: a part of the world he had never seen, and hopefully, plenty to do. The colonial empires had bounced around there for hundreds of years, so Harry figured there had to be something.
To find that something, Harry now had a team of more than just ghosts and Margaret. The werewolves gave him actual physical backup and keen noses, while the Mermen brought along in a flooded hold provided an incredibly efficient way to scour the sea floor.
Generally, Harry tried to keep the ship distant from major cities and even the coast in general unless he was busy being dropped off. Other than bothering people with the fog, Harry didn't want to imagine what a bubble of space that the muggles just couldn't notice would do in the middle of a crowded area. What if there was a crash?
Still, there was interesting stuff away from the coast. There were splendid lagoons which were lit up by bioluminescent algae, or great dark sinkholes in the otherwise bright water and there were some creatures Harry suspected weren't on the brochures. There was a truly massive squid-like creature which resided in one of the sinkhole-like things- a blue hole, apparently?- but it seemed to share its temperament with the giant squid back at Hogwarts. That was to say largely harmless, at least when it came to magicians.
It was while off the coast of Colombia that the Mermen and werewolves caught something. The latter caught wind of it first, sensing a truly obscene amount of silver- "like standing over a Gringotts vault"- beneath them, which Harry obviously asked the Mermen to investigate.
The Mermen came up with coins- Spanish coins, marked with minting dates around 1707 and 1708… and Harry knew that he had found his fortune, or at the least a significant boost, one that Gringotts definitely couldn't keep him away from.
Cautiously, they made the ship descend into the sea- it was definitely nerve wracking to see the water rise up and up until it eventually covered the deck above them… but the ship held, and they sank further.
Harry did a bit of Bubblehead diving himself, and the sheer amount of gold, silver, and gems down there stunned him. He did try to leave a bit behind, in case the muggles ever happened upon it, and for the same reason he cast a few charms that would keep the ship in good shape- it was the least Harry could do while making out like a bandit.
The crew were particularly happy, not really because they could spend it, but more because it meant screwing with the Spanish, which was always a good thing in their books. The werewolves certainly had reason to celebrate when he gave them their share of the loot.
Harry was under the impression that he had chanced upon a truly remarkable find, but it did serve as proof that there was definitely something to this treasure hunting stuff… he'd have to look into El Dorado and stuff like that. Were they even real? Well, Harry would probably need to grab one of the other vampires first- he was fairly certain one of them was tackling Spanish.
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