Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/7462029. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage Category: F/F, F/M, Multi Fandom: Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling, Fate/stay_night_(Visual_Novel), Tsukihime Relationship: Harry_Potter/Illyasviel_von_Einzbern, Harry_Potter/Medb_|_Rider_(Fate/ Grand_Order), Harry_Potter/Multi, Harry_Potter/Medea_|_Caster_Lily Character: Harry_Potter, Illyasviel_von_Einzbern, Medb_|_Rider_(Fate/Grand_Order), Medea_|_Caster_Lily, Altrouge_Brunestud Additional Tags: Pseudo-Incest, Servants, Crossover Stats: Published: 2016-07-12 Chapters: 3/? Words: 12067 ****** Black Blood the Rewrite ****** by DalkonCledwin Summary On the night of Voldemort's attack against the Potter's, something occurs which sets Harry on a path to a destiny which no one could have seen coming. - Largely AU to both of the series that this is drawn from. Notes Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Author's Note #1: Okay folks… so apparently when I was writing this story the first time, I made some mistakes that I just hadn't anticipated. As such, I am now going to be redoing the story to try and fix those mistakes. The thing about this is, that I will probably be changing a great deal of what happened in the story to make the story work better with the actual canon of Fate/Stay Night. As such, do not be too disappointed if what you remember from the original story does not happen exactly the same way in this version of it. Author's Note #2: For those of you who are interested, I am providing full in-depth character profiles that utilize the Marvel FASERIP system over on Blogger. You can find the character profiles for this, and hopefully all my other stories at the following website: cledwins-aerie.blogspot.com I will be providing updated profiles for the characters based on each milestone they reach, starting with the end of the prologue in this story, rather than the beginning of the prologue. This work was inspired by Black_Blood by Myself ***** Arc 00: Prologue / Ch. 01: Princess ***** xXx Godric's Hollow xXx xXx Saturday, October 31st, 1981 xXx xXx 2345 Local Time xXx It was a dark and cold night as a lonely figure wearing a long violet silk dress with a black thigh length bodice which had red accents covering it wandered through the streets. Her hair was raven black, and she had the most startling crimson color eyes. This individual appeared to be no older than thirteen or fourteen years of age. Suddenly her attention was caught by a man in a hooded cloak over by one of the houses exclaiming "BOMBARDA!" She cocked her head to the side, 'Odd, that house is clearly protected by one of my Fidelius Contracts... how is he even able to see it?' The woman contemplated this for a moment before making her decision 'Well as the Mistress of Contracts, it behooves me to investigate this matter!' Allowing her presence to fade so completely that she was imperceptible to all humans, the young looking woman followed the hooded figure into the house. Upon entering she paused momentarily to take in the sight before her. On the floor was a man who appeared to be in his early twenties, bleeding from multiple wounds inflicted by several large nail like structures that were lodged in each of his limbs and through his eyes. 'Geeze, not even Nrvnqsr Chaos is that gruesome with his victims,' the woman thought to herself. Continuing her journey up the stairs, she watched in curiosity as the man in the hooded robe confronted a stunningly beautiful red haired woman who was desperately trying to protect her child. "No! Not Harry! Anything but Harry!" the Woman exclaimed while throwing her arms wide and interposing herself between the hooded man and the crib in which her child was sitting. "Stand aside woman and you may yet live." the man hissed out as he brandished his wand at her. 'Oh, so these are Wizards then,' the young woman in the hall thought to herself. "No! Take me, but let Harry live!" The woman screamed out desperately, maintaining her position between the man and her child. "I will not tell you again woman, stand aside NOW!" the man stated harshly. "NO! I will not let you harm my son!" the woman shrieked. The red eyed woman in the hall smirked and whispered almost inaudibly "By the Crimson Moon and my Black Blood, I, Altrouge Brunestud, accept your contract. Your child shall not be harmed by this man!" Unseen by both the red haired woman, and the hooded man, a magic crest flared to life in the bottom of the crib beneath the blankets, sealing the contract that Altrouge Brunestud had just enacted. "Avada Kedavra!" The man yelled causing a green bolt of energy to erupt from the tip of his wand which proceeded to hit the chest of the red haired woman, causing her to fall to the ground a lifeless husk. "So much for that Prophecy. You will die here, boy, alone, as an infant and in a state where you can't even defend yourself! Avada Kedavra!" The man cast the curse again sending out another bolt of green energy. This one was aimed at the forehead of the toddler in the crib. As soon as the bolt of energy hit the toddler, the crest in the bottom of the crib flared, and the bolt of energy rebounded at twice the speed, hitting the man in the chest before he even realized what was happening. Much to Altrouge's surprise and shock, the man exploded causing a rather impressive hole to be blown out of the roof of the Nursery. Unsurprisingly the toddler was now crying. Sighing to herself, Altrouge allowed herself to become visible to the world around her once again. She then walked over to the toddler and bent to the floor to pick up the wand that the man had dropped upon exploding. She looked at it curiously for a moment before placing it between her index fingers and thumbs; she then proceeded to snap it. "This is going to be a headache; I just know it is," Altrouge stated as she dropped the pieces of the wand and bent over the crib. She then started cooing at the child, trying the best she could to calm him down. That was when she heard the sound of a roaring motorcycle. Curious as she was, she cautiously walked over to the window, or what was left of it, and looked out. "Huh, it's not everyday that you see a flying motorcycle," With her curiosity sated she went back to trying to comfort the child. A few moments later she heard someone vomiting. A few minutes after that a man burst into the room pointing his wand this way and that, he then exclaimed "Oh god! Not Lil's too!" pausing momentarily he blinked before asking, "Wait… hold up! Who the ruddy hell are you?" Altrouge turned to regard at the man, which resulted in him gasping at the sight of her eyes. This caused her to roll her eyes, knowing perfectly well that her eye color was considered a sign of evil within the Wizarding community. Not that she would openly deny the fact that she was widely considered one of the most evil entities in existence, but the sad fact is that Red eyes were exceedingly common within the world of Magi. After all practically every female in the Einzbern clan had red eyes for crying out loud! "Oh, hello... I don't suppose you happen to know the little ones name? All I was able to get from the conversation between his mother and her murderer was his given name of 'Harry.'" Altrouge inquired. The man rolled his eyes before saying "Err… right… his full name is Harry James Potter; and you still didn't answer my question. Who are you?" "Hmm? Oh, I go by many names. The one most relevant to tonight though is 'Master of Blood and Contract.' My true name however, is Altrouge Brunestud," Altrouge stated as she performed a perfect curtsy. The man's eyes bugged out "Oh wonderful. Not only do I discover my Godson's parents dead, but I also find the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor in his Nursery with him. So what are you waiting for, get on with killing us already..." Altrouge bit her lower lip, and furrowed her brow before saying "I really didn't come here for that. I was merely curious why a hooded man was battering down the front door of a home protected by one of my Fidelius Contracts..." "Contract? I thought the Fidelius was a charm?" the man inquired while furrowing his brow in obvious confusion. "It's a charm that creates a contract using my powers," Altrouge explained before she added, "You know, you haven't introduced yourself yet either..." The man blinked for a moment, opened his mouth, before closing it and promptly putting his wand away, "You know, you're right. Sirius Black at your service," He said with a mock bow, "Do you mind if I ask what you intend to do with my Godson?" Altrouge looked at the man for a moment before turning back to Harry and scooping him up into her embrace, she then explained, "Well, I am afraid I can't just leave him here. You are welcome to come with me if you want. But be warned, I take no responsibility for your life. I only hold Prim's leash, I don't tell her who she can and can't kill. Though I will be stopping her if she tries to harm Harry." "Prim?" Sirius asked with a frown creeping up onto his face. "My pet wolf, Primate Murder," Altrouge stated in a bland tone of voice as she turned towards the door out of the room. "Primate Murder? As in the Beast of Gaia?" Sirius asked with a tone of fear edging itself into his voice. "Um… yes, I believe that is what most people call her," Altrouge responded. "Oookay, well I think I'm going to go track down Peter. I need to make sure he is handed over to authorities for giving the secret of this house over to Voldemort," Sirius declared. Altrouge frowned as she mentally scanned the contract for this residence. "Peter Pettigrew? The Potter family signed a marked Death Eater as their secret keeper when they are apparently enemies to the leader of the Death Eaters?" Suddenly a large man with a scraggly beard entered the room. "Sirius, who's tha, and why's she got Harry?" "Hagrid, it's alright. At least I think it is. I am letting her look after Harry, as I doubt that anyone will be able to harm him while she is around," Sirius said in a reassuring tone of voice. "But 'Eadmaster Dumbledore said I got ter bring Harry straight to 'im," Hagrid argued with what appeared to be a frown marring his face, though it was hard to tell with all that hair. "I am afraid that won't be happening," Altrouge stated matter of factly. "Now you look 'ere, young lady…" Hagrid began and reached over to try and place one of his overly large hands on her shoulder. Much to his shock Altrouge reached up, grabbed him by the wrist and twisted his hand in a way that rather bloody hurt, "I don't believe I introduced myself. Hello, my name is Altrouge Brunestud, The Eclipse Princess of Black Blood. You may be a Half-Giant, but I have enough raw physical strength where I could spar with bloody Heracles and not really be injured. Now as I was saying, you are not taking Harry anywhere as I have a contract with his mother to make sure that he is not harmed. Which means that until he is old enough to look after himself, I am his new Guardian." "Oww, oww, oww…" grumbled Hagrid in obvious pain. Altrouge took pity on him and released his wrist with a slight shove away from herself. "Hagrid, I think it best if you returned to the school," Sirius said looking at the Half-Giant. He paused momentarily before turning to look at Altrouge and saying "I would warn you that Headmaster Dumbledore will try to locate you and retrieve Harry from your care." "He does so at the risk of his own life. Prim does not take kindly to intruders into my territory," Altrouge stated coldly. "Right, maybe I will come with you to the castle, Hagrid. Best to make sure the old man doesn't do anything that might end up getting him killed," Sirius grumbled, and with that he led Hagrid out of the building. Sighing to herself, Altrouge made her own way out of the building a few minutes after the two men had left taking Harry with her. xXx Einzbern Castle, Germany xXx xXx Sunday, November 1st, 1981 xXx xXx 0700 Local Time xXx Altrouge walked into the castle with Harry in her arms, completely unconcerned by the various homunculi guards that all went on edge by her sudden appearance. "Milady Brunestud, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" the voice of Jubstacheit von Einzbern called out from the top of the grand stairwell. "Lord Einzbern, I was hoping that I could acquire one of your Homunculi to act as the Nurse Maid to my new ward. I will of course still be serving as the child's mother in most capacities, but alas, I am unable to fulfill some of the more necessary requirements a mother holds for their child," Altrouge directed her voice towards where she saw the elderly but still physically fit man standing. Jubstacheit laughed at Altrouge's predicament before saying "I have just the individual. I will allow you to take Leysritt, one of my new granddaughter's caretakers, for your purposes. Be warned though, she tends to not have a filter on her mouth." "That shant be a problem. As such I thank you for your courtesy." Altrouge stated as she did her best to dip a curtsy despite the precious cargo in her arms. xXx British Ministry for Magic xXx xXx Wizengamot Chambers xXx xXx Tuesday, November 3rd, 1981 xXx xXx 1000 Local Time xXx Altrouge sat in the back of the room. She was rather irritated with how these people managed to blunder things up so easily. "Now, is there any business that anyone would like to bring to the Wizengamot's attention?" asked Albus Dumbledore from where he sat in his rather ornate stylized golden throne. Immediately allowing herself to be perceived, Altrouge stood up and declared "Yes, actually there is a rather big issue I would like to bring to the attention of the Wizengamot." "Your name young miss?" Dumbledore inquired in a bored tone of voice, barely bothering with the courtesy of paying attention to her. "Oh… I have many, many names and titles. I have in been called among other things, the Eclipse Princess of Black Blood, the Twin Heiress of the Crimson Moon... " she saw several people in the Wizengamot suddenly sit up and pay her rather close attention, including Albus Dumbledore, as they recognized those two titles, but she wasn't done, "The Vampire Princess of the Dead Apostles, the Ninth Dead Apostle Ancestor…" At that point just about everyone in the room had gone a deathly shade of white, "And most relevant to today's discussion, the Master of Blood and Contract. I am Altrouge Brunestud!" Suddenly a toad-like woman stood up on the Wizengamot side of the room and positively shrieked out the words: "Aurors! Seize her!" Alastor Moody glared at the toad-like woman from where he sat while growling out "Are ya daft woman? She'd slaughter em. Not even the Dark Lord in all his malignant glory was stupid enough to try and tell one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors what to do, their Power is just too huge to comprehend. And she's in the top ten out of twenty-seven of 'em. Trying to stand against her would be as good as committing suicide for our boys. We'd best hear her out." Altrouge chuckled a little bit at this acknowledgment of the facts of the matter before saying "Ahh, it's good to see that at least one of you Wizards knows who holds the power in this room." "Here, here!" an older gentlemen on the other side of the room chorused. Altrouge looked in that direction and noticed the older gentleman was a man with short spiky grey hair, a short beard and red eyes. This sight caused her to groan and exclaim, "Oh for the love of... Gramps! What are you doing here?" "Oh, you know me. I can't resist watching when something entertaining is happening," the old man stated with a chuckle. Sighing she turned to the rest of the room and said "Allow me to introduce my adopted Grandfather, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Clocktower's Wizard Marshal, also known as the Fourth Dead Apostle Ancestor." "I'm here too Sis!" a woman's voice chorused from a few seats beyond Zelretch. This statement caused Altrouge to facepalm, "And that would be my baby sister, Arcueid Brunestud, the White Princess of the True Ancestors…" Altrouge then turned to look at her sister and grandfather and pointedly asked "Okay, seriously... what are you two doing here? Is my life really that entertaining to you?" Arcueid just grinned happily saying "Oh… I just got word from one of my descendents that something entertaining might be happening here today." "Your descendents?" Altrouge asked in mild confusion. "Well… I kind of had offspring with a Wizard about three centuries ago, so I have a descendent that is currently keeping tabs on Wizarding Society for me," Arcueid said airily. "And I just happened to be perusing the Kaleidoscope when I noticed some slight deviations springing up in this universe centered on the events of October 31st, so I thought I would investigate," Zelretch stated. "As interesting as all that is, you said you had business to discuss with the Wizengamot?" Dumbledore inquired, his tone of voice a lot more pointed, and his eyes now sparkling with interest in the Wizengamot's unexpected guests. Altrouge tore herself away from her family and looked at the Wizengamot, "Er… yes... I want to know why Sirius Black was arrested and thrown into Azkaban without so much as a Trial?" "He's the Death Eater who betrayed the secret of the Potter's location to the Dark Lord. He then proceeded to kill twelve Muggles along with Peter Pettigrew." Bartemius Crouch Sr. stated blandly, not even bothering to look up from the newspaper he was reading, he had pointedly been ignoring the entire Wizengamot, though he listened to all that was said. Altrouge scrunched her nose in disgust. "Okay that first charge is completely false." "What do you mean? It is common knowledge that he was the Potter's secret keeper." said Bartemius Crouch, finally deciding to pay attention to the proceedings as he put his newspaper aside. "Okay, first off, what is the good of having a Secret Keeper if everyone knows who it is? Second off, if the person who holds the records of all Fidelius Contracts in the world doesn't know who the actual secret keeper happens to be, then we are all in a lot of trouble, aren't we?" Altrouge stated haughtily. Several members of the Wizengamot blinked at that statement before quickly trying to parse it together. Augusta Longbottom was the one who reached the obvious conclusion before anyone else, "Merciful heavens! That means that we are practically handing the keys of our homes to a Dead Apostle Ancestor whenever we utilize that charm!" "Got it in one!" stated Zelretch rather smugly as he laughed uproariously. "Oh please, it practically says as much in the incantation. What did you think the words 'Qarmizi Alqamar Brunestud' in the incantation were a reference to?" Altrouge griped. "Well it could have meant me," Arcueid said helpfully. "Not helping sis," Altrouge muttered. Altrouge sighed before looking at the assembled Witches and Wizards and saying "At any rate, Sirius Black was not the Secret Keeper for the Potter's. Peter Pettigrew was." "That doesn't change the fact that he is guilty of killing twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew!" Bartemius Crouch countered. "Just to check… is there a law on your books that says a private citizen is prohibited from killing a known terrorist?" asked Altrouge confusedly. "There is no such law," Albus Dumbledore stated as he began getting a bad feeling about where this was going. "Gramps, how many of these good Witches and Wizards are marked Death Eaters?" Altrouge asked of Zelretch. Zelretch hummed thoughtfully before saying, "If I answered that this wouldn't be entertaining anymore." "In other words over half of them," translated Arcueid. Altrouge smirked seeing that several people had rapidly paled once more. "Okay, different question Gramps. Which one of these individuals is the new ringleader now that their precious Dark Lord has been discorporated?" Zelretch smirked and said "Oh, that would be the smarmy blonde git known as Lucius Malfoy." Suddenly a blonde man stood up and thrust his wand at Altrouge while screaming out "Avada Kedavra!" Altrouge grinned wickedly and allowed the bright green beam of energy to hit her smack dab in the middle of her modest chest. There were gasps of horror when people noticed that Altrouge had not fallen to the ground as a lifeless corpse like she should have. Altrouge laughed "Really? Is that the best you can do?" "How are you not dead?" asked the man who had fired the curse to begin with. Altrouge laughed again. "Please, that spell is barely a C Rank Curse by Magus standards. Even if it is technically enough to kill anything you Wizards are used to dealing with, it would take something of at least a high tier EX Rank to so much as dent me, and to have a shot at actually killing me, you would at least need to be the Eighth Dead Apostle Ancestor or better. And that is assuming you can get past Prim to pull it off." "Who or what is Prim?" Asked one of the other people in the room. "Oh, that would be her pet wolf, otherwise known as Primate Murder, the Beast of Gaia, and the First Dead Apostle Ancestor," stated Arcueid in a happy singsong. "Coincidentally, Prim is also very protective of my new ward," Altrouge stated in an offhand manner. You could hear the fact that several people had just fainted and / or pissed themselves at that statement. Clearly they knew who her new ward was. "Out of mild curiosity, are you guys going to arrest that fool for using one of the spells you classified as Unforgivable?" inquired Altrouge. "Why should we? He was cleared of all charges for being a Death Eater, and using that curse on someone who is clearly not a human is not against the law," sneered the toad-like woman from before. Altrouge sniffed the air, "Can you smell the hypocrisy in this room? How on earth was a marked Death Eater cleared of all charges? You are aware that you have to be one hundred percent in control of your actions in order to be able to be branded by that type of mark, aren't you? In other words the 'I was under the Imperious' defence doesn't work in regards to marked Death Eaters." "Nonsense, we would be aware of it if that were the case," stated Barty Sr. "How could you know? The Dark Mark is not a common piece of spellcraft. I only happen to know because I have seen similar types of spellcraft used in the centuries since I was born. Each time by a Dark Lord or Lady." Altrouge explained to the assembled Witches and Wizards in a rather handy manner. She then tossed her hair while leveling a pointed glare at Barty Sr. practically challenging him to argue her point of view. Seeing that no one was arguing with her statement on that matter, Altrouge sighed before asking the obvious "Did Sirius Black have a Dark Mark?" "What does that matter?" asked the toad-like woman with yet another sneer marring her… ugly face. "If he lacked the mark, then he wasn't a Death Eater. Whether he was a supporter of the Dark Lord or not, I wouldn't be able to say, but that Mark is much like a Cattle Brand. It marks the bearer as the chattel of the one who crafted the design. All rights, property, spouses, children, titles, and just about anything else you could care to name subsequently belong to the creator of the Mark from that day forward until such time as the crafter of the mark permanently dies." Altrouge explained. Albus Dumbledore frowned before saying "Miss Brunestud, I couldn't help but notice you said that Voldemort had been discorporated before, and just now mentioned that he would retain the titles and rights of those he marked until such time as he permanently dies. Could you explain?" "I could, but I doubt most of you would believe me considering how hard headed you are being." Altrouge commented dryly. "Humour me," Albus said. Sighing Altrouge looked at the assembled Witches and Wizards before turning to Albus and saying the single word "Horcrux." Albus gaped at her before exclaiming "DAMMIT!" "Whatever is the matter Albus?" inquired Augusta Longbottom with a touch of concern in her voice. At that point Zelretch and Arcueid both burst out laughing. Zelretch was the first to regain his composure, "Oh, this is rich, so the old man there is the only one in this room who even KNOWS what a Horcrux is. That is hilarious. Bad, but hilarious. For the sake of expediency, six currently exist." Dumbledore looked horrified at that information, as he exclaimed "Bloody naggering fucking hell in a handbasket!" "ALBUS!" several of the women in the room exclaimed. "Well… to be fair… that is a reasonable reaction to this kind of information." One of the men on the sidelines stated, "Saul Croaker, Chief Unspeakable at your service. For those who are unaware, a Horcrux is a Dark Artefact into which a Witch or Wizard places a piece of their own Soul that they have managed to fracture off of themselves by committing the murder of an innocent soul, usually in the form of an infant or toddler. So long as the Horcrux exists, then the Witch or Wizard is incapable of passing through the Veil. What this means is that despite no longer having a body to inhabit, Voldemort is still very much alive… if this information should turn out to be true that is. That said, the fact that our new 'Savior' has gained the attention of THREE Dead Apostle Ancestors, along with a True Ancestor… I think it is a safe bet that Voldemort's followers should consider reevaluating their allegiances." You could see how the Wizengamot was divided between both supporters and adversaries of the man who calls himself Voldemort just by the faces people were making in response to this information. "I will put this out as a blanket warning to you all. If Voldemort finds a way to regain his body before my ward reaches his fourteenth year of age, then I will not hesitate to bring Primate Murder to Diagon Alley on a Letter Week with the instruction to 'go have some fun,'" Altrouge said while leveling her best glare at the Wizarding Government. Both Arcueid and Zelretch winced upon hearing that threat. If she did that… London as a whole, not just the magical portion, might end up a lost cause. There was a very good reason why Altrouge's personal territory was in one of the most absolutely desolate portions of Siberia, and it had nothing to do with the girl liking her privacy. While Altrouge is probably the least bloodthirsty of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, next to Sumire who prefers to spend her time drinking alcohol instead of killing people and Zelretch who tends to be more of a prankster than a murderer, that didn't mean that she was above committing mass slaughter just to prove a point. "Now, since it is clear I will be incapable of getting you to be reasonable enough to release Sirius, much less deal appropriately with known Terrorists, I think it is high time I left, as I have a child to raise," Altrouge stated as she got up and left the chambers. xXx Chapter End xXx Translation Note: "Qarmizi Alqamar Brunestud" is Arabic for "Crimson Moon Brunestud" ***** Arc 00: Prologue / Ch. 02: Germany ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Author's Note #1: I will from this point on only be providing a referral to my blog at the start of each story arc to remind people that there might be new information posted in the blog. Author's Note #2: Please Note, I changed around some of the dates at which certain events in the Type-Moon franchise would have normally occurred to make them better fit with the story I have in mind. Also, I am unrepentant in that some of my characters are OOC from how they behave in the canonical series that they are from. If you don't like it, then don't read the story. There is a reason I am having them behave in the ways that they do, so just deal with it. Author's Note #3: Starting from this chapter going forward, this story will now be on my regular update schedule. Meaning that I will only update it on Mondays from here on out. Please do not pester me for updates earlier than that, as it will not speed the update process up. I will try to have an update for this story and Moirai's Wager every Monday, but I will not guarantee that I will always be exactly on schedule. xXx Einzbern Castle, Germany xXx xXx Sunday, September 8th, 1985 xXx xXx 1135 Local Time xXx Irisviel von Einzbern had a huge smile on her face as she watched her beloved daughter Illyasviel play with a raven haired young man a little ways from her. The two children, four and five years of age respectively were just unbelievably adorable together. She turned her head as her husband Kiritsugu and the boy's adoptive mother entered the room. "Hello Kiri, Alt, how are you two?" Altrouge waved happily at Irisviel without saying anything. It was Kiritsugu who voiced his feelings "I am ticked off. Here I am, in the same room as a Dead Apostle and I am forbidden from doing anything to harm it. I used to make my living killing these abominations!" Altrouge snorted in amusement. "Please. You've never had to deal with anyone even remotely close to being on my level, and while your little Servant might be able to keep me entertained, she wouldn't dare with Alaya watching her every move. Something about a prophecy hanging over my son's head..." Saber from where she was standing in the corner watching the children swivelled her head to look directly at Altrouge, "Please tell me you are joking?" "Not even in the slightest bit," Altrouge said with a knowing smirk. "Sorry Master, but I would be forced into inaction, even if you were to use a Command Seal on me. A Servant endangering the parent, even if she is only an adoptive parent, of a child who is the subject of a prophecy before the child can fend for themselves is grounds for immediate termination of the Servant by Alaya," Saber explained. Kiritsugu sighed in defeat, "Fine." "It's not like she's evil or anything, Kiri…" Irisviel stated in follow-up. "Oh really? What would you call threatening the entire population of London with Primate Murder then?" Kiritsugu inquired. "A bluff," Altrouge stated blandly. "Wait… what?" Kiritsugu asked, blinking in confusion. "Okay first off… you are ignoring the fact that I was addressing an audience largely composed of known terrorists who aren't afraid of committing murder, rape, and any other crime you could care to name. Second off… they were contemplating ways to try and revive a criminal sociopath who is just too stubborn to die properly. And finally. Primate Murder weighs in at over one metric ton of raw muscle. How exactly am I supposed to get her from Siberia to London? I can't exactly apparate that much mass, and Portkeys aren't graded for things of that size." Altrouge explained. Harry ran up to his mom and tugged on her dress saying "Grandpa Zel!" "Well, yes, I suppose Zelretch could pull it off…" Altrouge said off handedly. "No Mum… Grandpa Zel!" the kid pointed over to where an older gentleman was handing a small object to a curious looking Illyasviel. Altrouge's eyes widened dramatically, "Illya! No! Don't…" But it was too late the girl touched the object and in a bright flash of light her sundress was replaced by a frilly magical girl costume. Meanwhile Zelretch had already vanished from whence he came. "Wha… Momma?" Illya cried in panic. "The heck?" Saber and Kiritsugu asked simultaneously. Iri ran up to her daughter and started fussing over her in mild confusion. Altrouge could only facepalm at what had just happened. "Damn old man, he did the same thing to me a quarter century ago. I think he also got Arcueid as well at one point." Irisviel turned and looked pointedly at Altrouge, "Okay, explain. What is this?" "Gramps has something of an obsession with magical girl anime…" Altrouge began. "What like Majokko Meg-chan?" Kiritsugu asked. Altrouge scrunched her face up in confusion for a moment before saying "No… more like Sailor Moon. But I can see how you might be confused. Sailor Moon doesn't debut officially in this world for a few more years. Only reason I know about it is because Gramps forced me to sit through the entire series… both of them." Altrouge paused a moment before looking curiously at the object Illyasviel was still holding "Oi! Wake up you damn pervert!" "My, such atrocious manners on such a beautiful young lady. You would think your parents never taught you proper etiquette," a voice said from out of nowhere. "The hell?" Kiritsugu, Saber, and Irisviel all exclaimed at the same time. "Which one are you?" Altrouge asked of the voice. "I am Kaleidostick Ruby," the voice exclaimed. Altrouge facepalmed yet again, "Joy, he gave the single most perverted one to the four year old girl. I do not envy you two, or your father Iri." "If it makes you feel better Master Zelretch said he was developing a Kaleidostick variant that boys can use," Ruby stated in what the gathered adults could only assume was supposed to be a candid voice. Altrouge shuddered before getting out "No… no that does not make me feel better…" She paused momentarily before addressing Irisviel and Kiritsugu, "You guys may want to find a way to seal that thing before it unduly corrupts your daughter. I managed it by tossing mine into the Veil in the Department of Mysteries in London. Zelretch was suitably horrified when I told him where I put it, said something about how he should have added a counter to things created using the Fourth True Magics into the devices." "So I take it doing that probably won't work a second time?" Irisviel inquired. "Probably not, no," Altrouge confirmed. "I could always hit it with Excalibur..." Saber offered. "As amusing as it would be to hear Ruby scream in horror, I doubt it would actually work. Those things were designed with the intention of allowing humans to fight on equal terms with Heroic Spirits," Altrouge stated. "We may need to get your father involved in solving this problem, Iri," Kiritsugu stated in concern. As much as he despised the man, he wasn't willing to ignore the fact that the man was much more learned in Magecraft than any of the people in that room except for Altrouge. And if Altrouge was stumped, then they needed to outsource. xXx 1158 Local Time xXx Jubstacheit von Einzbern looked down at his granddaughter and the floating bobble that hovered around her head incredulously. For one thing the outfit she was wearing was absolutely ridiculous. For another, he couldn't even begin to guess how he was supposed to seal that bobble away. "I am sorry Irisviel, the old pervert somehow imbued that… bobble... with the ability to use the Kaleidoscope. Even if I were to try and seal it away, it would hardly be a permanent solution," the old man explained. "So she is stuck in that gaudy outfit?" Irisviel pouted at this realization. She may look like a fully grown woman, but the reality is that she wasn't all that much older than her own daughter, which resulted in her experiencing the occasional bout of emotional immaturity. These bouts only became worse when Kiritsugu imbued her with a reason to feel her emotions instead of being an emotionless doll. "Well… that depends… have any of you tried asking Ruby if she would mind letting Illya change back to her normal clothing?" Jubstacheit inquired. Irisviel, Kiritsugu, Saber, and Altrouge all opened their mouths to protest… before they all promptly closed them and facepalmed themselves as they realized that not one of them had thought to do just that. Sighing to himself, Jubstacheit looked at the Kaleidostick and asked "Ruby, my dear, would you be so kind as to allow my Granddaughter to resume her normal clothing, and only transform her into a… magical girl… if she personally requests it of you?" Ruby laughed before saying "Sure, no problem," and in another flash of bright light, Illya was back in her original outfit, much to everyone's relief. xXx Frankfurt Airport xXx xXx Wednesday, November 1st, 1989 xXx xXx 1300 Local Time xXx About a year ago, Harry had begun learning Magecraft from his Mum. Almost immediately upon beginning those lessons, Harry and Altrouge made the startling discovery that Harry had at his disposal what seemed like infinite reserves of Od. After consulting with Zelretch about this discovery, Altrouge hesitantly asked for Jubstacheit's opinion on the matter. The man was well and truly flummoxed by what he had found. Somehow, without ever having reached the Root, Harry was able to utilize the Third True Magic, Heaven's Feel. To make matters more confusing to the old man, he saw within Harry many signs that indicated he had unlimited potential as a Master for Heroic Spirits. However, it was agreed that Harry was much too young to partake in a Grail War anytime soon. So with that in mind, Zelretch and Jubstacheit began putting their heads together to plan for Harry's introduction during the eventual Fifth Holy Grail War. The same war that Jubstacheit was beginning to realize he would be forced to send Illyasviel into. Jubstacheit was many things; cold, arrogant, aloof. But he was NOT heartless. And if he could send his granddaughter into a hostile situation with someone she could count on to watch her back, then he would do so a hundred times over. After all that was the very reason he had married Kiritsugu into his family and had him stand in as the Einzbern Master in the current war. Irisviel was far too gentle to be able to properly handle being a Master. As it was, Harry stood alongside his mother and Illyasviel as they bid their farewells to Illya's parents who were about to head off to Japan for the purposes of fighting in the Fourth Holy Grail War. "Now Illya, you behave for your Grandfather and your Auntie Altrouge, okay?" Irisviel stated as she hugged her daughter farewell. Kiritsugu suppressed a grimace. He still couldn't quite believe that they had somehow managed to become so close with the Princess of the Dead Apostles as to name her Illya's Godmother. But then again, Illya and Harry were practically twins in all but blood and age given how inseparable they happened to be. It was even more mind boggling because Jubstacheit had actually consented to allowing Primate Murder to take up residence in the forests surrounding the Einzbern Castle so long as the beast stayed away from the villages, which she was more than happy to do so long as she got to cuddle with Harry and Illya from time to time. Kiritsugu still couldn't figure out what Illya did to win the Wolf's affection. "O-Okay M-mum!" Illya sobbed through her tears. Kiritsugu kneeled down and ruffled Illya's hair, "Now Illya, you know we'll be back, right?" "Uh huh…" Illya mumbled out. "I will personally make sure he keeps that promise," Altrouge spoke up from the sidelines. To herself she mumbled out 'Even if I have to pry them away from the grip of Alaya herself.' "You heard your Aunt, so cheer up! We'll be back before you know it!" Kiritsugu pulled Illya into a hug. He then stood up and turned to leave with Irisviel, Saber and Maiya. "DADDY!" Kiritsugu paused and turned to look at Illya. "You promised, you have to keep it." "Yes sweetheart, and I will," Kiritsugu smiled fondly at his daughter as he turned to follow Irisviel into the terminal. xXx Altrouge's Office xXx xXx Friday, December 1st, 1989 xXx xXx 2045 Local Time xXx Altrouge opened the scroll that had been placed on her desk by one of the Homunculi servants in the castle and scanned its contents. As soon as she finished reading it she cursed "Oh fucking hell! Ortenrosse really doesn't know when to leave well enough alone… but seriously… the Aylesbury Valesti? Damn maniac is going to kill the planet if he pulls that one off, and the fact he is inviting me to attend alongside of Solomon and Blackmore? Oh yes, that would be fun!" Taking out a quill she penned her 'no thank you' response and sent it off. After that she penned another letter, this one anonymous, and sent it off to the Burial Agency informing them of the date and location that Ortenrosse intended to enact the ritual in question upon. Sucks to be him. If all went to plan, then she might luck out and be able to free herself of four nuisances in one fell swoop. xXx Einzbern Castle xXx xXx Sunday, April 1st, 1990 xXx xXx 0800 Local Time xXx Altrouge stormed into Jubstacheit's office sending Homunculi scattering every which way in her blatant fury. "Ah… Altrouge, to what do I… um… wow… what happened?" Jubstacheit inquired in not a little bit of fear at the palpable killing intent radiating off of the woman. "You happened! Why do I only just find out that you have standing orders that should Kiritsugu not retrieve the Grail, that he is to be forbidden access to the Castle from that point forward and is to never lay eyes upon his daughter again?" Altrouge screamed at the man causing him to quake slightly. Jubstacheit tried a meek laugh as he replied "You found out about that, did you?" "Yes I found out about it. Kind of hard to miss the fact that every time he shows up in the area Illya and Harry are ushered into the most heavily defended section of the castle while most of the Homunculi go out to dissuade him from entering the structure," Altrouge stated sternly. "Good point," Jubstacheit admitted. "As it happens I left the castle after the last time it happened and followed him to a nearby village where he was drowning himself in liquor. I cornered him and got him to tell me what happened. Did you know that the Grail has been cursed?" Altrouge asked. Jubstacheit winced. No, no he did not know about that, but honestly it wouldn't surprise him given what happened during the Third War. "I see you didn't know that. Well, as it turns out, Kiritsugu has only a few years left to live as he has been infected by that curse and has an untreatable terminal illness because of it. Illya also has a younger adoptive brother in Japan that she has never met before. Do you really want to be the cause of her wanting to kill her brother because she thinks her beloved father abandoned her in favor of him?" Altrouge asked pointedly. Jubstacheit sighed, she made a very valid point, however, "My dear, there is just one small problem. I need her to be willing to kill in the Grail War. Yes, the Grail may be tainted, but that doesn't change the fact that we need to retrieve it if we are to correct the problem in any sort of permanent fashion. And in order to do that, Illya and Harry both need to be capable of killing the other Masters and Servants. I could not realistically order them to attack each other… but they MUST deal with the others." Altrouge sniffed disdainfully, "You are working off the assumption that her brother will be one of the other Masters?" "Odds are incredibly high in favor of that assumption," Jubstacheit stated. Altrouge frowned, "Why?" "For one thing, due to the fire from which Kiritsugu rescued the boy, Avalon now rests inside of the boy," the old man explained. Altrouge groaned, "Which means the kid automatically has a catalyst with which to summon Artoria. That alone raises his odds of being chosen rather dramatically." "Then, and this is something neither the kid nor Kiritsugu are aware of, there is the fact that the kid has the inborn potential to generate a Reality Marble," Jubstacheit stated with some distaste. Altrouge blinked a moment before saying "Could you repeat that please? I don't think I heard you properly. I could have sworn you just said the kid can create a Reality Marble. But I know for a fact that is impossible as no human has achieved that in over five hundred years or so..." "Well actually… there is another with the talent. Satsuki Yumizuka, a friend of that kid your sister is currently gaga over," Jubstacheit explained. "Oh well that figures..." Altrouge groaned. "Probably doesn't help that hers is a bloody menace to anyone who uses Prana in any sort of manner," Jubstacheit stated. "Explain." Altrouge asked. "Her Reality Marble is called Depletion Garden and it drains the prana from the world around it." Jubstacheit stated through narrowed eyes. "I suddenly do not envy my sister in the least bit." Altrouge said with a knowing smirk. "Anyways, yeah, someone with that sort of talent would be an obvious candidate as a Master." "Yes well… your Grandfather and I have recently come to the conclusion that Harry can summon servants outside of the confines of a Grail War and maintain them without the assistance of the Grail should he, or you, desire to do such a thing. Zelretch has even managed to procure a handful of catalysts that he wants Harry to try using." "Wait… Catalysts? As in more than one?" Altrouge asked. "Yes, that was actually something that surprised the two of us. Harry could theoretically summon the full set of seven Servants, and potentially maintain that many or more. We are currently unsure of the exact number of Servants he is truly capable of maintaining at any one time," Jubstacheit stated. Altrouge frowned as she considered this information, "I think we had best start him off with no more than two for the moment. Any more than that and it might overwhelm him on an emotional level. Plus, I have been getting letters from England insisting that I allow Harry to attend Hogwarts. If he has some Servants to watch his back, I won't feel as worried by that prospect." "Oh yes… Dumbledore has been sending me letters asking if I might allow Illya to attend Hogwarts as well. On one hand, I don't really want to let her out of my sight. On the other hand…" "You know... she is likely to end up in Slytherin House," Altrouge stated with a smirk. "Yes… and that is what I am afraid of. It would be like releasing a basilisk into a viper nest." Jubstacheit groaned in frustration. Pureblood wizards were incredibly arrogant and self assured. The problem is that even an untrained magus is several orders of magnitude more powerful than the average witch or wizard of the same age. Harry and Illya were both in the beginning stages of their magi training. Which means they are both many orders of magnitude stronger than an untrained magus would be when compared to a witch or wizard of their ages. "Of course, summoning a Servant or two also means we can send them to the school and not have to worry about who we will send to continue their education as magi. Especially if we get the RIGHT type of Servant in the process," Altrouge stated. "A Caster then?" Jubstacheit inquired. "A Caster would be ideal, yes," Altrouge agreed. "Well we may just have the perfect catalyst for that. But with this particular caster we have a fifty-fifty chance that it could end up completely biting us in the arse," Jubstacheit stated. "Do I want to know who you have in mind?" Altrouge inquired. "Probably not, no." xXx Chapter End xXx ***** Arc 00: Prologue / Ch. 03: Summoning ***** Chapter Notes Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Author's Note #1: It is in this chapter that things will really begin to diverge from the original story, as it was in this chapter that I made the largest blunder in the original story which I now find myself needing to correct. What may you ask was that blunder? Well read and find out :D xXx Einzbern Castle, Germany xXx xXx Wednesday, October 31st, 1990 xXx xXx 2400 Local Time xXx Harry stood in the middle of a large runic array holding a bizarre looking ritual dagger aloft. He glanced momentarily back at his mother, who smiled encouragingly at him, before beginning the incantation. He still wasn't sure why his Grandpa Zel had given him this particular incantation when it was clearly a slightly modified version of the one that was utilized by the Tohsaka family when summoning their servants; still he wasn't exactly about to protest the fact. "Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg…" As he began the chant, a soft wind kicked up in the small room emanating from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. "The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate. Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)." By this point the wind had become much stronger and was causing the hair of Illya and Altrouge to be blown all over the place as they stood in the corner watching. "Repeat every five times. Simply, shatter once filled. - I announce. Your self is under me, my fate (doom) is in your sword." Upon stating that portion of the ritual, the runic array began glowing a fierce red color as the magic in the array began reaching a crescendo. "In accordance with my Will, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer. Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead. You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of balance -!" At this point it was as if someone had opened a crate full of dry ice and dropped a bucket of boiling water on top of it inside of the room, as there was a massive amount of fog that billowed out from the middle of the runic array. From inside of the fog, two lyrical sounding female voices simultaneously spoke out… "Servant Caster answers…" the first voice stated. "Servant Rider answers…" the second voice called out. "I ask of you, are you my Master?" the two voices said simultaneously. Altrouge groaned, "I thought we all agreed on only one Servant at this point in time?" The smoke cleared to reveal that the first young woman was wearing a long white dress that clung to her figure as if it were a second skin. In her outstretched hand she was holding a rather ornate looking staff. She had long purple hair and lavender eyes, and upon her head was a rather delicate looking tiara. The other young girl, was wearing a white fleece shawl over what appeared to be rather ornate white armor. She also had white knee high armored boots. She had long silky pink hair, brown eyes, and upon her head was another tiara. The two servants were now engaged in appraising each other. Finally, after several moments, the one with pink hair spoke up, "So, how is it that I was summoned by a single master, alongside of the Witch of Betrayal?" "Er… um excuse me… but… I am the more innocent aspect of the Heroic Spirit commonly referred to as 'The Witch of Betrayal,' so you don't need to fear betrayals from me," the purple haired girl spoke up in a hesitant tone of voice. "Oh, well that is good then," the pinkette said laughingly. She then rounded on Harry and sashayed her way up to him, "Sooo, tell me, Master, what can your sexy little Riderdo for you?" Altrouge and Caster both groaned at that sexual innuendo. There was a palpable eroticism in the tone of voice Rider had used, too. "For the love of… He's only ten years old. Can you at least wait another two years before trying to jump him?" Altrouge groaned out. Zelretch from where he was standing, couldn't help but laugh, asking "You wouldn't happen to be Queen Medb, now would you?" "Aww… I'm touched, I have a fan…" the now identified Queen Medb said in a husky tone of voice as she eyed Zelretch. She then wrinkled her nose, "No offense, but you are much too geriatric for my tastes." "Wait! Queen Medb? From the Ulster Cycle? Really? I so enjoyed reading that! It was one of my favorite stories!" Harry stated excitedly as he suddenly glomped onto his new Rider Servant in joy. This surprised Medb who looked down at the young man who was only a few centimeters shorter than her in height, as she stood at 154 centimeters to his 150 centimeters. "Aww, you're cute!" she cooed. "Well, on the plus side, these two Servants are small enough, and… underdeveloped enough, that with the robes that Hogwarts Students are expected to wear, and baggier civilian clothes, it would be relatively easy to pass them both off as eleven year olds," Altrouge stated after a few moments contemplation. "Still, we should probably register them with Gringotts and the Ministry as Harry's familiars. That will alleviate some of the headaches that are sure to arise from the situation." "You can file the papers with Gringotts, and they will in turn file them with the Ministry," Zelretch stated. "Yes, thank you," Altrouge said. "Hogwarts? Gringotts? Ministry?" inquired the purple haired woman, who everyone now realized was a younger incarnation of Medea of Colchis. Medb sighed saying, "Hogwarts was a school in what is today known as Scotland founded by some of my contemporaries. Though it was actually founded about five centuries prior to when my info download is saying the modern day Wizards believe it to be founded." "And how come you got an info download to inform you about the School and I didn't?" Medea questioned. "Probably because I was already aware of the existence of the school?" Medb questioned haughtily. Harry pulled back from his glomp on Queen Medb, so that he could better appraise his two new Servants. As he did so, he noticed something peculiar about his new Caster, "Um… not to be rude, Miss… but are you an Elf or something?" At this the eyes of everyone in the room began to roam Medea, and they all noticed rather quickly what Harry was referring to. Altrouge groaned as she palmed her face before saying, "Those ears are going to clash rather horribly with Pureblood Wizarding society…" Medea blushed as she muttered the words "Kánte ta aftiá mou kanonikí" under her breath in what sounded like Greek. As soon as she finished speaking those words though, her ears seemingly reformed themselves into picture perfect human ears. "I assume you just cast some sort of illusion over your ears?" Zelretch asked curiously. Medea nodded her head in confirmation of this fact. "Well… fortunately we won't really need to do anything about either of your hair colors. There is a student currently at Hogwarts who is usually seen with even odder hair colors than what the two of you currently have. I think last week she was sporting spearmint," Zelretch stated humorously. "Metamorphmagus?" Medea questioned. "Indeed," Zelretch responded. "So when are we going shopping for their civilian clothes?" Illya asked innocently. This caused both Harry and Zelretch to develop sweatdrops. Zelretch waved to everyone as he said, "Excuse me, but I fear I left a bunsen burner on back at my workshop. I had best go and make sure I turn it off. Ciao…" and with that the old man disappeared in a multi-faceted light. xXx Diagon Alley, England xXx xXx Sunday, August 18th, 1991 xXx xXx 0900 Local Time xXx "The hell?" Medea and Medb both uttered upon stepping foot into Diagon Alley. For Medea it was because she couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing here. For Medb on the other hand, it was because she was utterly disgusted by what she was seeing. "What's wrong?" Harry asked with a tone of concern edging his voice. "I feel like I just got hit by the déjà vu beatstick," Medb complained as she looked back and forth at all the shops in something of a dazed horror. "I feel much the same," Medea muttered, as she looked around at the shops. Altrouge smirked, "Yes… well… suffice it to say, but the Wizarding World never really progressed beyond the early to mid 1800's, unlike their Magi Counterparts who managed to progress to the early 1900's, in terms of socio- technological evolution." "Do they still use wands?" Medb asked. Medea looked at Medb in absolute horror at this question, "Wands? Please tell me you're kidding?" "Not in the slightest bit. Back when I am from the magicals pretty much all used wands. Only people skilled in runes didn't really bother with such flimsy foci," Medb explained. "Yes, well I am sad to say, that they do indeed still use wands," Altrouge admitted. "I happen to have a wand myself, but usually prefer my Magecraft to Spellcraft." As she was saying that, Altrouge had pointed in the direction of a very specific shop in the alley. This caught the attention of the two servants, and Medea narrowed her eyes, "Oh wow… just how is that family still in business?" Altrouge smirked, "You'll love this ladies; follow me everyone!" She then led them over to Ollivander's Wand Shop. Upon entering the shop, everyone was treated to the sight of an elderly man suffering what looked to be a minor case of cardiac arrest upon laying eyes on Medea. "No way… how are you still alive?" Medea questioned the old man. Having recovered somewhat, the old man stuttered out, "Princess Medea, I had hoped to never lay eyes upon you again…" Medea frowned at the old man momentarily before saying, "I am the Medea from before Jason cajoled me. Although I do remember those days, I am unable to feel or act upon the emotions that such memories would ordinarily engender in a person. Though I will note that you did not answer my question… how are you alive?" Ollivander sniffed before replying, "I happen to be one of the last two remaining True Ancestors. Only Arcueid Brunestud and myself remain." Altrouge smirked before replying, "And if you know what is good for you, you will stay behind these wards I created for you. The others are still hunting for you." The man sighed in defeat, yes, the bloody hunt for the True Ancestors. Arcueid could get away with being out in the open by virtue of the fact that she is also Archetype-Earth and pretty damn near invincible, but other True Ancestors aren't nearly so lucky. There are only a handful of places in existence where he could go which would hide his presence from the other Dead Apostle Ancestors. Hogwarts, this shop, and some of the more heavily warded Pureblood homes. Other than that, not much else. "Did you really come here just to mock me?" "No, we came for wands." Harry said. Medea sniffed saying "You can have the wands if you want. I don't particularly need them." Illya and Medb shared a look before Illya reached over and bopped her on the head, much to Altrouge and Harry's amusement. "Wands are essential to your disguise Dea," Illya chirruped happily. "OUCH! Okay… geez you are mean…" Medea complained as she rubbed her injured head. In response Illya simply stuck her tongue out rather immaturely at the Heroic Spirit. "Oh, real mature," Medea said as she rolled her eyes at the young girl. And so the process of choosing wands, or in Medea's case a wand blank as she really didn't need a finished wand, began in earnest. Medb ended up with a wand crafted from Yew wood with a dragon heartstring for its core. Illyasviel's wand was made of Red Oak with a core made from a braid of her own hairs. Harry's wand however, ended up being especially peculiar. "Curious," Ollivander stated. He was about to continue that statement when he was cut off. Altrouge rolled her eyes saying "I am half expecting you to start some long winded spiel about that wand being the brother wand of the one used by Voldemort. And while that is indeed a curious bit of trivia, it is also largely a pointless bit of trivia as well." Ollivander blinked and looked up at her in confusion before asking "Whatever do you mean that it is pointless?" "I snapped Voldemort's wand on the night I retrieved Harry from the home of his biological parents," Altrouge stated. "You do realize that now Harry won't have the protection granted by sibling cores?" Ollivander inquired. Altrouge shrugged, "Harry please pump Prana into your command seals for just a moment, don't speak however." Harry sighed and did as asked. He practically lit up the room as he glowed from the light emanating from the tribal designs covering a large percentage of his body. The light was so bright that it was clearly distinguishable despite the clothes over the vast majority of the designs. "My word…" Ollivander muttered in disbelief, "Just how many does he have?" "Our best guess is somewhere around 60. We still haven't been able to isolate all of them as they are completely invisible unless he is actively pumping Prana into them," Altrouge explained. "And these girls," Ollivander said while indicating Medb and Medea, "They are his servants, are they not?" "Medea you know, but also Queen Medb of Connacht," Harry introduced. "Fascinating, truly fascinating. I look forward to great things, from all four of you," Ollivander said in a cheerful tone of voice. And with that Harry and his family left the shop to continue their shopping trip. An hour or two later found the group in Madame Malkins. Medea and Illya had gone and sequestered themselves on one side of a privacy divider. Meanwhile, Medb was doing her absolute best to try and embarrass Harry as she decided to get fitted for her robes on the boys side of the divider. That said, when a skinny young blonde boy walked in, Medb quickly decided that she would let her Master do all the talking so that she could determine just how much she had to teach her young Master on courtly procedure. Medea would have done it, but she was a little bit more out of date than Medb was. Plus, Medb's mental download included an update on Pureblood Politics. Without even waiting to be introduced, the blonde pompously drawled out, "So… which house do you suppose you'll be in?" Harry frowned before replying "I suppose that depends on the hat..." "Hat?" The blonde inquired in a confused tone of voice. "Oh, I guess that means your parents failed to inform you of how the sorting is performed. I suppose I probably shouldn't divulge that info since they obviously wanted it to be a surprise." Harry drawled out. The blonde's smug expression faltered "Tell me." Harry smirked, "What are you offering me in exchange for such information?" Medb smirked upon hearing her Master ask that particular question. She took a quick glance at the blonde and almost burst out laughing at the expression on his face. The blonde hesitantly asked, "What is it you want?" "Oh no, that isn't how this works. You make an offer, and if I decide the offer is good enough and agree to it, I tell you the information. Then you make good on the offer. Simple as that," Harry stated haughtily. "How about the friendship of House Malfoy?" the blonde asked hesitantly. "Um… no thanks," Harry said in an offhand manner. "What! Why?" "Because your dad tried to kill my mum," Harry responded. "Huh?" the blonde asked in confusion. "Ask your dad about the Wizengamot session for November 3rd, 1981," Harry responded. The blonde's eyes suddenly grew as round as saucers. This prompted Harry to laugh saying, "Oh, it seems you already heard about that particular session, then? She's in this shop with us, you know." Harry's smile grew even wider, "Allow me to properly introduce myself, I am Harry Potter, but I am generally referred to by those outside my family as 'The Eclipse Prince of Black Blood,' it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance; and you are?" The blonde visibly gulped before saying, "I um… I think I will come back for my robes later…" as soon as he said that he gathered his things and fled at high speeds. xXx King's Cross Station xXx xXx Sunday, September 1st, 1991 xXx xXx 1030 Local Time xXx "Okay, explain to me again why we came to the Mundane side of the Train Station this morning?" Illya inquired tiredly. "Gramps said something would happen that we just had to see for ourselves," Altrouge stated. That was when they heard it, "Packed with Muggles of course! Come on, this way to the Platform." Almost as if they were all a singular entity, everyone in Harry's group turned and stared incredulously at the dumpy woman who had the brass to defy international law in such a public location as this. "It is such a shame I couldn't bring Prim with us today. People like that just don't deserve their lives," Altrouge opined. All of her kids giggled as they had all met Prim and the Wolf liked all of them. Of course, none of them with the possible exception of Harry truly qualified as human, so they weren't really at risk from the Wolf. And Harry was protected by virtue of the prophecy hanging over him. This was largely because Gaia and Alaya were squabbling like old maids on whether to allow Primate Murder to kill Harry or not, which resulted in the Wolf pointedly ignoring both of them in favor of Altrouge. That was actually largely why humanity still exists, Gaia and Alaya couldn't agree on whether to kill it or leave it be, which resulted in the Wolf ignoring them both in favor of some other powerful individual. The powerful individual currently just happened to be Altrouge. Altrouge intercepted the woman and her brood as the Potter group followed her, "Hi! Just curious, but are you insane?" The woman blinked at Altrouge, before declaring in a rather loud voice "Now look here young lady, I will not be spoken to like that by someone who hasn't even finished her Hogwarts Education." "I think that confirms that you are indeed insane, my, my, look at the crowd that is gathering to stare at us," Harry mocked. "The fact that she assumes Auntie is a student just because of what she looks like also proves she isn't very smart either. I mean if she were, she would have noticed the eyes right off the bat before insulting your Mum like that," Illya said with a smirk. It was the little girl who tugged on her mum's arm getting her mother's attention, "Mum; dad showed me a picture of her… that is Altrouge Brunestud… which means…" the girl's eyes focused on Harry. Harry smiled at her as she clearly figured out the relationship. "FIEND! MONSTER!" The woman shrieked at Altrouge as she hastily tried to draw her wand and aim it at Altrouge. "Okay… she just went from insane to completely retarded… no offense to anyone who is legitimately disabled in such a manner," Harry groaned. Suddenly Caster, and Rider appeared at the woman's side and each grabbed one of her arms proceeding to pin the woman to the ground. Caster also surreptitiously sent a wandless and silent stunner into the woman, knocking her unconscious for the next six minutes. "Auntie, the Aurors…" Illya stated as she pointed at a group of five individuals making their way towards them. Altrouge sighed before saying "Give her to me. Harry, I want you to take your 'siblings' and cousin along with this woman's children through the portal to the platform. I have a feeling it might be a while before I am able to escape the presence of the Auror's… not that it would be at all difficult to do so, but I find it is generally easier not to destroy a nation's law enforcement agency if at all possible." "Okay Mum," Harry responded as he started gathering the other students to him so that he could lead them through to the platform. "Um… Ma'am… I'm not supposed to be going to Hogwarts this year," the young girl said, though she was clearly upset about not being able to go. Altrouge sighed before saying "Then you had best come with us. I am sure the Aurors can get in touch with your father." And with that the two groups went their separate ways. xXx Harry's Compartment xXx xXx Sunday, September 1st, 1991 xXx xXx 1105 Local Time xXx Harry and the girls had just settled in to enjoy a nice relaxing train ride when their compartment door slid open to reveal one of the redheads from earlier, "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full…" Harry frowned looking at the decidedly cramped compartment before looking straight at the purple haired girl. She nodded and closed her eyes while muttering the words "Deíte to aórato,"She then looked up at the redhead and declared, "The compartment three doors down in the direction of the front of the carriage on the left hand side has no current occupants. There isn't even any luggage in it." The redhead just stared stupidly at her clearly not having heard or comprehended what she had just said. "Wow… that is just sad." Illya declared, clearly unnerved at just how easily Medea had managed to effectively lobotomize the redhead. It wasn't just Medea that had the redhead drooling though, he was also staring at Medb as well. Medea and Medb turning their attention away from Ron seemed to rouse him from his lobotomy and he mumbled an apology before leaving the compartment. Suddenly the compartment door slammed open and a brunette with a bossy sounding voice asked "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one." Harry grinned before holding out a hand. "Oh come on, that is hardly fair, you asked Zel for spoilers," Medea complained. "A bet is a bet, now pay up ladies," Harry said smugly, Grumbling the girls in the compartment begrudgingly handed over five Galleons each. Meanwhile the incredibly confused Brunette asked "Um… excuse me?" "Right, sorry about that, no, we haven't seen the toad. You might ask one of the Prefects for assistance though. Barring that, I am sure one of the Household Brownies will find him and return him to his master," Harry explained to the bushy haired brunette. "Household Brownies?" the brunette asked in confusion. "Most Wizards mistakenly call them House Elves and treat them like indentured servants. But they are really fae who exist solely to take care of magical homes, ideally without the owners of the homes being aware of their existence. Clearly they failed in that goal," Medea explained. "Wait… so Wizard's own slaves?" the brunette asked incredulously while glaring at Medea. "Did I say that?" Medea asked the other's in the compartment who all shook their heads in the negative. "You said Wizards treat them as indentured servants, which is little better than slavery. It was in point of fact indentured servitude that led to the enslavement of both the African Colonists as well as the Indigenous People in the Colonies," the brunette countered in an authoritative tone of voice. All of the occupants of the compartment blinked at that argument before Harry chuckled and said "She's got you there Dea" Medea had to blush at being caught out like that. "Even still, they aren't technically enslaved. They can stop doing their jobs at anytime they want and nothing that Wizardkind says to the contrary will make any difference," Illya explained. "They just like what they do for the most part." "The only drawback to their existence is that they cannot speak ill or blab the secrets of the family whose home they are in charge of taking care of. It's a security measure put in place by the combined efforts of Gaia and Alaya. One of the few times the bints got along on any subject." Medb explained. The brunette frowned saying "Gaia? As in the Greek Titan of the Earth? But… who is Alaya?" Harry smiled saying "Ah, you must be a First Generation Magical?" The brunette blinked before parsing what he just said "Yes, I suppose that would be an accurate statement. The Professor who came to my house to explain everything to me described me as being a Muggleborn though." Medea clicked her tongue before saying "Are they really still using that terminology after all these centuries? I would have assumed they would have thought something better up by now." "Wizards… they lack any imagination at all," Medb muttered. "Not to mention that they are completely and irrevocably inbred to the point that genetic abnormalities are exceedingly commonplace," Illya commented. "If it weren't for the fact that I know for a fact that Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, and Mordred WERE NOT Wizards despite what the actual Wizards want you to believe, I would write the entirety of British History off as a farce," Harry said disdainfully. "Wait… what do you mean that Merlin wasn't a Wizard?" the Brunette inquired with her face scrunched up in confusion. "Ah… forgive me, I think we have failed to properly introduce ourselves to each other. My name is Harry Potter. My friend with the white hair is named Illyasviel von Einzbern. The girl with the long pink hair is named Medb. And the young lady with the purplish-blue ponytail is Medea," Harry introduced the girls and himself. The brunette opened her mouth to respond before immediately closing it as her eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled to the floor. "Harry, I think you broke her," Medb said while chuckling. xXx Chapter End xXx Translation Note: "Kánte ta aftiá mou kanonikí" is Greek for "Make my ears normal" "Deíte to aórato" is Greek for "See the invisible" Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!