The Surrender remains among the most significant days in history, not just because of the seismic shift it caused, but for the way it came to pass.
The Statute of Secrecy was long since dead by the time the emperors turned their sights on Britain. With America and much of Asia under its heel, Europe became their next target.
It was decided that many lives could be saved if they first conquered Britain, the hope being that the colonies would smoothly fall in line.
The fighting began in the summer of 1940, but the emperors soon realised that this was unlike any challenge they had yet faced. August marked the first time both emperors fought on the same front since their conquest of America eleven years prior. But still, Britain — a nation famed for fending off feared dark lords — endured.
The tides changed on September 7th, 1940, when the Order of Merlin weaponised muggle forces against the British Empire. Muggle weapons of mass destruction pelted London, and muggle forces strategically targeted areas that would demand the British magicals' attention while the emperors left the field of battle.
The country's wards shattered when they returned in late October with the Rings of Dominion.
London was held captive under the first ring's power once it was used to disable the wards. Now unable to defend themselves with magic, wizards and muggles alike suffered helplessly under the Blitz's wrath.
The Order of Merlin's magical forces swept through the rest of Britain while London remained helpless against the muggle onslaught.
On December 26, 1940, the Surrender took place. The Muggle leader, Winston Churchill, and the Minister for Magic, Leonard Spencer-Moon, pledged their loyalties and those of their people to the Order of Merlin.
This conflict is notable for being the first in which muggles and magicians waged war together, something that became a hallmark in future battles. This was also the first conflict in which a Ring of Dominion was employed — a dangerous foreshadowing for the destruction of Russia two years later.
Harry read the passage again. The Rings of Dominion? Never had he heard that name. And what does it mean 'London was held captive under the first ring's power'?
Familiar voices floated down from up the stairs and he looked up from his book. The fire had gone out since he had last looked up; the hearth was now filled with nothing but ash and sunlight poked vainly at a thin layer of clouds outside where before, the sky had still been purple.
A presence loomed overhead and he looked up to see Marlene standing over his chair. "Do you ever sleep?"
"Sometimes," he said, stowing the book away.
Being back at Hogwarts was surreal. If I'd landed here first, I would never have realized anything was different. A cold fist closed inside his stomach. Not until I saw Riddle. Glimpses of his chiselled face and too pale skin were like something from a nightmare.
I could almost mistake him for the horcrux I met down in the chamber, he thought as they entered the Great Hall for that morning's breakfast. Almost.
"Harry," Lily asked as they sat, looking between him and Riddle , "are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Just got a bit distracted."
"Ooh, Harry," Marlene cooed, smirking, "I never knew you swung that way." She and Mary burst into peals of laughter.
Harry clung hard to the exercises shown to him by Aberforth and stabbed down at a plate of eggs. "Sorry, but he's not my type. No one's skin should be that pale."
"Suit yourself," Marlene said. "I guess I'll just keep him."
Lily gasped. "Marlene!"
"What?"
"Headmaster Riddle is at least thirty years older than you!"
"So? Look at him, Lils! He's gorgeous! And besides, I'll be an adult in June." Harry's breakfast no longer held any appeal, but he forced himself to continue eating.
Hundreds of owls flapped in overhead, a sea of brown and grey against the morning sky. A screech owl landed next to Lily's plate with its leg outstretched.
She placed two aereums in a pocket on the owl's other leg and unrolled the paper.
"Where do you get the money for that?" Harry asked.
"The haven has a program," Lily explained. "You can apply for small grants that cover things like the Daily Prophet. They like us to be informed, but they hold back those sorts of grants for gifted students. We can try having you apply once some high test scores come back; maybe after the end-of-first-term exams this winter."
Harry nodded as she smoothed out the morning's paper, then sucked in a breath when he caught a glimpse of the front page, choking and coughing on a mouthful of half-chewed eggs.
Marlene laughed and slapped his back. "Is one of those two more your type?" His spluttering worsened and she became doubled over with giggles.
He soon recovered enough to steady his breathing and look back down at the paper's front page.
Dumbledore's familiar face smiled out at him, blue eyes twinkling as he shook hands with a man who looked remarkably like James.
Emperor Welcomed Home With Open Arms
By Barnabus Cuffe
"Who's that?" His voice came out rasping, so he took a sip of water. "He looks a lot like James."
"He looks a lot like you," said Mary.
"Weird, that," he murmured.
"You don't know who he is?" Marlene asked with a puzzled frown.
"Keep your voice down!" Lily hissed across the table. "Amnesia, remember? I think Harry prefers the whole house not knowing, so don't go shouting things like that."
Marlene blushed. "Oh. Sorry, Harry."
"It's okay. Seriously, though, who is he?"
Lily scowled at the paper. "That's Charlus Potter. He's the brat's father, and our Lord Governor."
A bright ray of hope pierced his veil of gloom. If the Potters get on with them, the empire can't be that bad.
He threw a glance back up at the staff table and scowled at Riddle, who was too absorbed in a discussion with pale-faced Antonin Dolohov to notice. I still can't believe he made that twisted fuck a teacher.
Harry crushed down his emotions. No getting attached! This is all temporary.
Harry studied his reflection in the handheld mirror. Seven rough and ragged years had been wiped away, but still his eyes possessed the look of someone who had seen too much. I guess time can't heal all wounds.
"Do you understand the assignment?" Lily whispered in his ear. "Is there a hole in your memory? Do you need help?"
He saw that she had yet to succeed herself, then glanced around the classroom. They were supposed to be making feathers sprout all along their forearms, but no one was having much success. Sirius had gotten rid of his arm hair, and the tips of several feathers poked out of James's wrists; no one else had matched them.
Harry set down the mirror and concentrated. His skin tingled and a shiver ran through him when he felt his hairs retract and watched dark plumage sprout up where they had been.
Chatter slowly died around the room as everyone turned their heads to look at him.
The professor — a tall, dark-haired man named Cadmus Caine — strolled over and inspected him. "Perfect. Fifteen points to Gryffindor. Now, restore your normal skin." Harry reversed the transformation. "Good. Take another five points."
"How did you do that?" Marlene hissed once Professor Caine was out of earshot.
He shrugged. "I've always been good with transfiguration."
"Someone's not as impressed as Marlene," Lily said with a smirk, jerking her head towards James and Sirius, both of whom were glaring.
That evening, Harry and his three friends claimed places sitting in the shadow of a large oak tree on the water's edge. Setting sunlight spread across the Black Lake's surface until it shone like polished crystal. Groups of students had clustered around the muddy banks and basked in the day's weather, but as the hour aged, more and more streamed back up towards the castle.
A cool wind blew off the water and rustled the oak tree's branches until wine-red leaves floated down, rendered stark and striking in the fleeting rays of daylight. One caught the wind and skipped off behind them, whilst another landed on Lily's outstretched palm.
I should be back in my own world fighting. Harry looked out across the water and forced himself to relax. Already he had spent countless hours shut up in the library; the respite would be good for him.
"How do you do that?" Marlene was asking. Harry blinked and looked up. The leaf on Lily's palm was curling, then uncurling, over and over.
"I don't know," said Lily. "I've never really understood it, but it's one of the first bits of magic I performed when I was little."
Mary looked from Lily to Harry. "I feel slow around you two."
The leaf stilled on Lily's palm. "Don't say things like that. You do just fine for yourself. Life isn't all about essays or flashy spells."
Marlene winked at Harry. "If Potter keeps reacting the way he did this morning, I could do with some more flashy spells,"
Harry leant back against the oak tree and shifted side to side in hopes of quelling a sudden itch. The bark was rough but soothing. "I noticed that in class," he said. "What was his problem?"
Lily flipped her hair back over her shoulder and let the leaf drift off her palm. "Potter's an insufferable braggart and transfiguration is his best subject. I bet he couldn't stand being outdone and for someone else to be the centre of attention."
"Ah, come on, Lils," a voice said from behind them, "you know me better than that."
James stepped out from behind the tree, flanked by Sirius and Pettigrew.
"Thank you for proving my point, Potter." Lily's glare could have cleaved the tree in two. "And don't call me Lils ."
"Sure thing, Evans, but let's get one thing straight — I don't care about being the centre of attention, only the centre of your attention."
"Then I guess you'll live a long and disappointing life pining after things you'll never have."
Sirius whistled. "Ouch! She's got you there, James."
The Head Boy mussed his hair. "For now."
Sirius's eyes found Harry's and narrowed. "What are you staring at?"
It was like something sharp had plunged into his heart. Hearing Sirius snap like that had cut deep.
"I could ask him the same," Harry said, jerking a thumb at James.
"Haven't you been paying attention?" James asked. "I've been staring at Evans, I thought that was obvious."
Marlene huffed. "Have you ever considered that she doesn't want you staring at her?"
James tilted his head. "Nah. She'll come around."
Lily crossed her arms. "Where's Remus?"
"Off doing prefect duty, but forget about him. It's impolite talking about other men when one is here in front of you."
Why is he so insufferable?
"If I do it more often, will you take the hint?" Lily batted her lashes at Harry. "Say, Harry, you've been a great friend and you're so wonderful at transfiguration. Much better than some others I could name."
"Is it a competition?" James sized him up. "I'll happily punk the new kid. Will you go on a date with me if I do, Evans?"
It felt as if someone had driven a bludger into Harry's stomach. He's hardly better than Malfoy.
Lily drew her wand and James took a swift step back. "Get lost or curse me. Those are your options, Potter."
James held up his hands. "You win, Evans, we both know I could never do that." He glared at Harry. "You take care of her, you hear? You might be the next best-looking bloke around, but if anything happens to her or I hear you're acting like Snivellus, I'll have no trouble cursing you ."
Harry watched the three boys leave and tried ignoring the deep ache in his chest. It was almost worse than seeing Riddle.
The stone head of a serpent hissed from its place hanging above the lone entrance ahead. " He approaches. "
Clever. He paused before the door and gathered up his thoughts. I avoided him for more than two weeks. That has to be a record. There was no avoiding him now, not when Harry had been so directly summoned.
"Enter." Skin crawled up and down his arms as the voice came faster than he could knock.
Not Voldemort's voice, but not teenage Tom Riddle's.
The office that greeted him was like a distorted reflection of the one he remembered so fondly. Gone was Fawkes and all his master's trinkets, replaced by serpentine statues and other rich decor.
Gone too were the portraits depicting old heads of Hogwarts. In their place, a strange picture hung behind Riddle's desk — a black triskelion beneath a silver moon, both enclosed by a soaring murder of crows.
What the hell is it supposed to mean? Harry forced himself to move on; too long studying any one thing might attract suspicion.
Opposite the window, a green snake coiled atop a tapestry of woven silver. More than a hundred names were scrawled beneath in a tall, elegant hand.
The topmost name was that of Salazar Slytherin. Harry ran his eyes down the tree until they lingered near the bottom.
There was Tom Marvollo Riddle, son of Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr, and beside him was…
That's impossible!
Riddle's name connected to another — Andromeda Black.
And below them…
Carina Riddle
The shock struck hard enough to conjure bile that burned up the back of Harry's throat. Below the bile, anger reached out burning claws and grasped his heart. What did that bastard do? Seduce Andromeda back when she was at school?
Unbidden, a smiling Tonks's hair changed colours a hundred times inside his mind's eye.
She's gone.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
He turned towards the soft sound of Riddle's voice, his hands shaking in his pockets.
The bile choked him when he swallowed, but he forced it down and nodded a response.
"Sit," said Riddle, gesturing to the chair opposite his own — a monstrous, throne-like seat with a serpent's head rising from its back. Harry sat, fists still clenched inside his pockets. "Is everything well? Would you care for a drink?"
"No." Harry would never understand how his voice sounded so calm. "No, I'm okay, thank you."
"If you're sure." Riddle folded his hands atop the desk; they looked even paler against the polished oak. "How have your first two weeks treated you? I was told you had a long and trying summer."
A cloud of panic joined the churning storm of emotions roiling inside him. How much does he know? "It's been all right."
Concern twisted Riddle's features. "Only all right? Most of your professors rave about your work. Is there anything troubling you? Anything that can be done to ease your transition?" Riddle leant forward. No meeting his eyes. "I know this must be hard for you, given your condition. My job is to make things the easiest they can be."
Or is it to spy on me and report back your findings? "Everything's all right." Harry lied.
Something below the window sill caught his eye and he turned his head to look at it.
He spied clustered rubies glowing against a silver hilt, a badger stark against a smooth gold cup, and a sparkling tiara wrought from what looked like liquid moonlight .
Harry's breath grew laboured and uneasy. He has them all.
A wand that could only be Slytherin's rested on a velvet cushion, dark and with a serpent's head carved into its grip.
Why would he show off his horcruxes? Was it possible they weren't his horcruxes?
Harry's world flipped upside down. This changes everything.
His mind reeled. Riddle's position as headmaster, his unexpected wife, their child, and now a potential variation in his approach to horcruxes?
What else has the bastard changed?