866Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.
Hi all,
Welcome to my new HP story. This chapter is a prologue from Charlus Potter's perspective as I set up the events that lead up to Harry's present circumstances. Enjoy.
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Chapter 1
Nurmengard Castle, Austria.
Grindelwald stared out the window at the devastation below with a placid expression. He watched as a wizard lopped off the head of another wizard with a wave of his wand. A large amount of blood spurted from the slain's neck as his body fell to the ground. From this vantage point, it was difficult to tell if the man had been one of his own soldiers, not that it mattered at all in the end. Replacing him was easy.
Footsteps echoed behind him on the stone floor, and he turned his head to see who had disturbed his peace. Strangely, the figure was dressed in what looked like a Muggle soldier uniform, with a cloak draped over his shoulders. His face was concealed by a hood, and his waist held a sword sheathed in a scabbard tied to his belt.
"Are you planning to give me your name, friend?" Grindelwald asked curiously.
How did the man get past his followers? It did not matter too much in the end. There was no doubt in his mind that this man was here to kill him. Since he had been attacked so many times before, he developed a sixth sense as to when hostility was directed towards him. All those assassins that preceded him died at his hands. Was this his next victim?
"Call me Charlus."
"Is that a British accent? Did Dumbledore send you to kill me?"
Charlus removed his cloak and threw it to the side. Summoning his wand into his hand, he took a duelling stance, standing sideways so as to present as small a target as possible. He kept his wand pointed at the ground, waiting for his opponent to summon his own wand.
"How unexpected. A chivalrous assassin," Grindelwald mused before summoning his wand from his holster. The Elder Wand. He took his own stance, and there was a moment of stillness before the duel exploded into motion.
Grindelwald dropped to a knee as Charlus fired a jet of angry red light at him, and it passed over his left shoulder. In return, Grindelwald flicked his wand in a whip-like motion and sent a bolt of white lightning back at his opponent, followed by a series of incredibly fast curses. Charlus conjured a stone wall in front of him, and the curses impacted the stone, tearing large furrows out of it.
Charlus flicked his wand forward, and the stone wall separated into single blocks before being propelled forward at velocity. Grindelwald sent curses at the flying projectiles, destroying most and sidestepping the rest. Next, Charlus pointed his wand and sent a series of jet-blue lights that morphed into large bubbles that sought to entrap Grindelwald inside. Without pause, the Dark Lord slashed his wand in quick succession and split the bubbles in two, bursting them.
Grindelwald transformed the water into sharp spears of ice and sent them back at his opponent.
Charlus conjured a huge wall of fire in front of him, and the spears melted as soon as they made contact with the wall. Charlus dived to the side as a series of white lightning bolts pierced the wall, striking the ground with a sizzling sound. He transformed the wall into hundreds of small orbs of fire and sent them hurtling back at his opponent.
Grindelwald quickly cast a protective ring of black fire around his body as he was bombarded by small exploding orbs. Charlus rushed forward and unsheathed his sword. The wizard now held a wand in one hand and a sword in the other.
After the bombardment finished, Grindelwald sent a wave of black flames at the approaching wizard. Charlus slashed downwards with his sword, splitting the flames and allowing them to pass harmlessly on either side. Grindelwald suddenly started casting several lightning spells, one after another, showing off his incredible magical stamina.
Charlus summoned stone blocks from the surrounding walls and encased himself in crude bulky armour. He felt the incredible impact of the bolts hitting the stone, but he gritted his teeth and kept moving forward. Casting a feathering charm on himself, he rushed forward for the last few metres and confronted Grindelwald up close.
Grindelwald conjured swords that swirled around him. A blade was sent right at his opponent's head, but Charlus managed to slash his sword, slicing the projectile in half. Charlus ejected the stone armour from his body, sending numerous stone projectiles at Grindelwald, who hastily crouched down to avoid the bombardment. However, he got kicked in the head by his opponent. Disoriented, Grindelwald was helpless to respond when Charlus lifted him up and ran his blade through his stomach. The shock of the fatal wound brought him out of his stupor.
Grindelwald gurgled, blood pouring out of his mouth. A look of surprise was etched on his face as if he could not comprehend the fact that he had lost. Using all his remaining strength, he reached out and grabbed hold of the man's collar. "Who are you?" He rasped.
The man reached up and removed his hood, revealing a man with hazel eyes and dark hair in a tangled mess. "I suppose I should give you the courtesy of knowing who defeated you before Mother Magic takes you back into her sweet embrace. My name is Charlus Potter."
Grindelwald did not respond as the light had left his eyes, and his arm had dropped. Charles lowered him to the ground and stood over him for a moment. It had been a short and brutal fight. In just a minute's time, the Dark Lord who instigated the Global Wizarding War and the slaughter of countless lives was dead.
Charlus cleaned the blade with a flick of his wand before sheathing the sword in the scabbard. He stepped over to the window and conjured some fire that formed words in the air. As they ascended upwards, the words expanded until they dominated the night sky, visible to everyone in the surrounding area.
Grindelwald is dead. His body lies in Numerngrad Castle.
The sounds of battle below started to cease as witches and wizards on both sides of the conflict started to notice the words in the sky. Perhaps this would be the trigger that stopped the fighting from escalating any further. Charlus watched them for a moment before he apparated away. After such a necessary but distasteful task, it was time to get home to his wife and forget this ever happened.
He didn't see the man in the doorway who had just arrived and witnessed him leaving. Dumbledore stepped through the corridor and laid eyes on the body lying on the ground. "No, it can't be..."
Dumbledore rushed to the body of his former lover and crouched over the corpse, crying out in anguish. Taking Grindelwald's body in his arms, he slowly rocked him back and forth while softly keening. At that moment, he felt as if someone had reached inside his chest and grasped hold of his heart, slowly squeezing the life out of him.
While they had a falling out when his sister died, he never gave up loving the man. He always wanted to reunite with him and convince him that his methods were too extreme. There was a middle ground to their vision of the Greater Good. Obviously, it is not something that can be easily accomplished within a short period of time, and not through the wanton slaughter of magical blood.
That is why he came here tonight. There was a growing outcry from the magical community for Dumbledore to confront Grindelwald and end his madness. Despite that, he never once thought about facing the man in combat. He had come here to negotiate a ceasefire. As for the numerous crimes that Grindelwald had committed, they were of no concern to him.
Now that was a moot point as Charlus Potter had robbed him of the opportunity of reuniting with his love. Damn, interfering noble bastards who do not know when to stop meddling in affairs that are none of their concern.
"I hate you, Charlus," Dumbledore muttered, a crazed gleam in his eyes. "I promise you that I will destroy the Potter family, even if it takes the rest of my life. The process will be slow and drawn out, so you will suffer greatly before you die."
Dumbledore laid Grindelwald down and picked up the Elder Wand off the floor. Since he wasn't the one to defeat Grindelwald, the wand would not work properly for him. But he couldn't leave it here for someone else to find. As he stood, hurried footsteps came from the hallway, and a group of wizards entered the room. They stopped when they saw Albus Dumbledore standing over the dead body of Grindelwald.
"I have defeated the Dark Lord," Dumbledore declared.
He understood very well that Charlus would not take credit for the deed as it was one of those peculiar noble traits of the Potters. It was a weakness that he was taking advantage of now and would continue to exploit in the future. In order to destroy the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, he would need both public and political capital. It would be a long process, but he was a patient man.
Thirty years later.
"You wanted to see me, father?" James asked from the doorway, his voice rebellious.
James was almost identical to him in appearance, but that was where the familiarity ended. Unlike his father, he was mischievous and loud. He did not care much for his grades and would rather play pranks with his friends. Although he did share his mother's prodigious talent in Transfiguration and was top of the class in the subject.
Charlus despised the disrespect in his son's voice. In the last few years, they had grown apart. He was forced to spend more time in the Wizengamot due to the machinations of Dumbledore and the war with Voldemort. Despite that, he loved his son. Charlus just found it hard to express it.
When Dumbledore first claimed credit for Grindelwald's death, he thought about exposing his lies to the world. It didn't matter to Charlus if his role in Grindelwald's downfall was never revealed to the public. However, he also did not want someone else to claim credit for something they did not achieve falsely. He soon realised that it didn't matter. Even if he wanted to expose Dumbledore, it would have been futile. Dumbledore was at the scene right after he left, something he discovered later.
There were a couple of avenues that he could have taken to reveal Dumbledore's lies, but they were not very reliable. First, he could have used his memory of the events, but he would have been laughed at if he tried that method. Memories could be altered, and if you were skilled enough, the alteration could remain undetected. Hence, they are deemed unreliable and cannot be used as evidence or proof of anything.
Secondly, there was the magical vow. In spite of their usefulness, they had been outlawed after a number of witches and wizards misused them, resulting in a number of deaths. The wording had to be very specific, and if you got it wrong, you could lose your magic or your life. In the end, the only reliable method was an eyewitness account.
Charlus had to give Dumbledore credit for taking advantage of such a fortuitous event. He was not going to be an easy adversary to take down.
The other thing occupying his time was the threat of Voldemort and his followers. Charlus thought about confronting the Dark Lord, but the man was too smart to give away his base of operations. Whenever he ventured out, he could not be found without a bunch of his followers surrounding him. Furthermore, he was a lot stronger than Grindelwald, and he wasn't certain if he could take the man down. Besides, he was sick of placing his life on the line for others who would never know or appreciate his actions. Let Dumbledore confront the man, as he had already placed himself front and centre as Voldemort's opposition. If he were lucky, they would take each other out.
James came to stand next to his father, as Charlus' eyes were fixed on the family mural painted on the wall. In the image, a golden hippogriff stood on its back legs and its front hoofs balanced on a white sword with its blade planted in the ground.
"Do you know why our family magic is represented as a hippogriff?" Cahalus asked.
James walked forward to stand beside him, puzzled by the contemplative tone in his voice. As far as he was concerned, his father was an intimidating and powerful figure who was decisive in his approach to matters. He was not someone who was prone to self-reflection. "For their pride, nobility, courage and humility. This symbolises the Potter family's character traits as a whole."
"Correct," Charlus said, turning to look at his son. "There is one other trait, however, that is not so well known. They are also selfless to the point of stupidity. When they see injustice, they may very well risk their lives for a complete stranger if they feel they are worthy. It is the reason why the Potter family has so few members left. Countless numbers of Potters have died fighting against evil and injustice because we always felt obligated to do so."
"Obligated?" James snorted. "The Potters may be similar in personality traits, but we still have a choice in how we decide to live our lives."
Charlus didn't reply, returning his attention to the mural.
"What did you want to talk about?" James asked impatiently, which caused Charlus to smile. Impatience was a James Potter character trait of its own.
"I have been reading up on family magic. I realised that although it helped the family rise in prominence, it could also be the very thing that ends us as well."
"What are you talking about?"
"There is an excerpt from one of our ancestors in the library. It shares how family magic first came about. The thing was so well hidden that I imagine at some point a Potter decided to conceal that information rather than pass it on to their offspring."
Charlus began to pace as he shared the story. After reading it hundreds of times, he had memorised it word for word.
"This is a historical account that was handed down to me by my father, who had heard it from his father, and so forth. I write this down so future generations may know the truth about how family magic came about. The exact date is unknown when it first appeared, but we know that it originated from Mother Magic. In the distant past, a terrible blight rose that threatened the magicals, threatening to devour their magic and leave them no better than Muggles.
"Several wizarding families gathered together and marched towards Tigh Nam Bodach to perform a ritual and summon the avatar of Cailleach, the Celtic crone goddess who presides over the land and brings the changing seasons. It was uncertain whether or not they would be able to summon her or if she had the answer to their plight. However, they were desperate, and she was the only goddess they knew of that had a physical shrine for worship.
"They were surprised when it worked, and a woman appeared before them. However, it wasn't Cailleach. She referred to herself as Modor, which is Old English for Mother. They pleaded with her to help them. She granted their wish and gave them access to powerful magic that would help them with their plight.
"They didn't share as to what the blight was, only referring to it on several occasions as the 'darkness.' Regardless, with their new family magic, they were able to overcome it, and they rose to prominence in the magical world. The nine families were members of the founding Sacred Twenty-Eight and were the progenitors of the Wizarding Council. As thanks to Modor, they named her Mother Magic, and henceforth, she was considered a goddess in the magical world.
"Every one of those families had a spirit animal that represented their family's magic, a physical representation of their magical abilities. However, it had further meaning beyond that. It was only as the decades passed and new generations were born that they discovered that there was a price for their family magic.
"The Potter family was one of these families that received family magic, and their Spirit Animal, or Aspect, was a hippogriff. The family were gifted with enhanced speed and eyesight, which made them incredible duelists. However, after many generations, it was evident that it was not the only thing they inherited, as they began taking on certain personality traits of the hippogriff as well. In addition to being noble and proud, they were also humble and self-sacrificing. This was the price they had to pay for the gifts they received. The entire Potter family and their descendants were behaviourally modified to be a certain way. Because of this, their numbers started declining. They fought in numerous wars and battled several Dark Lords, but their deeds and sacrifices remained mostly unknown to the rest of the world.
"Another was the Greengrass family whose Spirit Animal was a Forest Spirit that looked like a deer but with several antlers and a human-like face. They gained the ability to grow almost anything quickly and their reputation for being masters of herbology spread far and wide. However, they were inflicted with a bloodline curse that randomly chose a child and slowly began to kill them. They would be lucky to see their twentieth birthday. There was no cure, no bit of magic that could remove the curse, although not for lack of trying.
"We should be grateful for the family magic that saved us all those years ago. However, we were not warned about the negative side effects of family magic, so why should we continue to pay the price for using it? This may sound controversial, but we should consider the possibility of shedding family magic altogether, as we have lost our freedom of choice. Also, there are enemies out there that may take advantage of our weaknesses."
He stopped and looked at his son, who had been engrossed in the story. James snapped out of his stupor as a dawning realisation occurred to him. "You are thinking about throwing away our family magic? Is that even possible?"
"I need to return to Tigh Nam Bodach and try to summon Mother Magic again."
"Are you crazy?" James exploded. "You would take away our natural advantages when we are already in a war with Voldemort and his followers. You are condemning us to death."
It was well known that James was an incredibly talented duelist. Considering his speed, accuracy, and Transfiguration ability, he would be a formidable opponent when he graduated from Hogwarts. However, how much of that would be taken away when the family magic was taken away? What measure of strength belonged to James Potter individually, and what was the result of family magic?
"Voldemort is not the only one we have to worry about," Charlus argued. "Dumbledore seeks to destroy us, and he uses our very obvious personality traits to do so. The Potter family is not one to pay much attention to Wizengamot, and I am no different. I paid no attention to it for the longest time, and it allowed Dumbledore to gain significant political capital in the past thirty years. Six families that were formerly affiliated with the Potter family have switched to the Dumbledore family, which is only an Ancient House. He is slowly undermining us until he is in a position to take us out."
James ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Do you know how crazy that sounds? Dumbledore is a hero. What reason would he have for going after the Potter family?"
Charlus patted his soldier's vest until he found his pipe. It was a military uniform that he saw a Muggle soldier wearing during the war, and he had his own sets tailored. Despite the fact that he was ridiculed for his eccentricity, he did not care what people thought of him. He liked the aesthetic, and the numerous pockets were convenient. Taking out his pipe he lit it with his wand and sighed in satisfaction.
It was a habit he picked up in the fifties, and he imbibed it whenever he was feeling stressed. Puffing a few times, he pondered if he should reveal the truth of the night thirty years ago. Eventually, he stepped around the desk and pulled some parchment out of a drawer.
"What is this?" James asked as Charlus handed them over.
"Dumbledore is not who you think he is," Charlus said. "There is no way he could have killed Grindelwald that night."
James' eyebrows rose in belief as he read the information that Charlus had compiled on Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's history. It certainly was illuminating and didn't paint the Headmaster in the most flattering light. "This raises some serious questions about the Headmaster. But since they had a falling out, it is still possible that Dumbledore felt it was his responsibility to take him down."
"It wasn't Dumbledore," Charlus said.
"How do you know?"
Charlus hesitated. He was afraid that James wouldn't believe him. Considering their strained relationship, he could hardly blame him. Maybe he should get his wife to tell him. James would listen to her. Shaking his head at his cowardice, he looked up and stared into James' eyes.
"Because it was me," Charlus said.
The silence that followed was unsettling, and Charlus didn't need words to know what James thought of his revelation. It showed on his face. First, there was disbelief, followed quickly by anger. Charlus looked away, unable to look his son in the face anymore. How had they become so distant that it was the first reaction that he got from his son?
"Have you lost your mind?" James finally said. A tirade of words followed, expressing his concern for his mental state and lambasting him for making such a bombastic statement.
Charlus rubbed his forehead, a headache beginning to form as he listened to his son. The insults got so severe that his temper flared, and he stood and placed his hands on the desk.
"Dammit to hell, how is it that I raised such a stupid son?" Charlus roared, stunning James into silence. "Why didn't I tell anyone about my fight with Grindelwald? That is the Potter way! Because of our family magic, we never seek accolades for our own heroic deeds. It's almost like a compulsion. And Dumbledore took advantage of the situation to paint himself a hero when it couldn't be further from the truth."
James stormed out of the office, deaf to his words. Charlus collapsed back into his chair and put his face in his hands. Where was he supposed to go from here?
Charlus heard footsteps walking across the carpet, and he didn't need to look up to know who they belonged to. Arms wrapped around his back, and she rested her head on his shoulder. His better half.
"What are you intending to do?" she asked.
"What I must," Charlus replied, turning and taking her in his arms. "I hope James will forgive me for my actions one day."
A few months later.
Charlus kneeled on the ground inside a cave in Tigh Nam Bodach, the original location where Mother Magic was first summoned. Isiah Greengrass stood beside him, determined to rid himself of family magic as well.
It had taken time to discover what ritual the original families used to summon Mother Magic. Of the nine families, only five remained. It had taken months to carefully probe the remaining families to see if they had any information on the ritual that was used. The Blacks were the only ones he did not seek out. This was because many of their members had aligned themselves with Voldemort, and Arcturus Black, was nowhere to be found.
Unfortunately, most of the families didn't recall anything and were completely ignorant of their history. However, he found success with the Greengrass family, who were the only ones who had the ritual in their library, although they did not know what it was for. Isiah Greengrass, the head of the Greengrass family, wanted to know what Charlus needed from it, so he shared his plan with him.
Isaac wanted to rid the family of their curse, even if it meant losing their family magic. They were so well established now that the loss of it wouldn't impact them too much. No, he was more worried about his family disappearing, like Charus himself.
"Are we ready?" Isiah asked beside him.
"Yes. I sure hope it works. It has been a long time since anyone has contacted Mother Magic. We don't even know if she will respond."
"There's only one way to find out."
Charlus placed his wand against the activation rune and poured his magic into it. Soon, sweat began to bead on his brow as the magic circle continued to absorb his magic. When his reserves started to get low, he began to worry that he would not have enough. Was the ritual supposed to be powered by more than one wizard?
Fortunately, the rune stopped absorbing his magic, and the entire circle shone briefly. Charlus collapsed backwards as a misty fog began to accumulate above them. The two wizards watched in astonishment as the image of a woman appeared in the fog, looking down at them. Her face was indistinct, so it was difficult to read what she was thinking at the moment.
"Why have you summoned me?" The voice wasn't pleasant but harsh and grating.
"Mother Magic," Charlus bowed to the figure. "My name is Charlus Potter, one of the original families that you gifted family magic to in the past."
"So your family line still endures?" Mother said with disinterest.
"Yes," Charlus replied, a bit disconcerted by her demeanour. "I summoned you here today to implore you to take back the family magic."
"You dare?" the image flickered briefly as her voice rose in anger. "Was the gift not to your liking? Now that you don't need it anymore, do you want to throw it away like trash?"
Charlus straightened, "Beg your forgiveness, Mother Magic, but you weren't exactly forthcoming about the drawbacks of family magic."
"It was not my fault that your ancestors took my gifts without even a thought," Mother replied. "But it is true that I added the drawbacks, so the nine families would eventually die out."
"But why?" Charlus asked, shocked beyond belief.
"Do you think I was planning to grant you such power forever? No, I only gifted it in the first place because there was a threat to all magic, not just within the borders of your own country. That would mean that my source of magic would disappear."
Source of magic? What did she mean? Is it possible that she got her magic from witches, wizards and other magical races somehow? The more he listened, the less he believed Mother Magic was some benign goddess.
"If you wished for our families to disappear, then why did you do it in such a roundabout fashion?"
"Because it was amusing," she replied, leaving him speechless.
"Mother Magic," Isiah Greengrass stepped forward. "My name is Isiah Greengrass, one of the nine families that received your blessing. I am willing to give up my life in return for removing the family magic from my family line."
He certainly had a brass pair. Despite Charlus sharing the character traits of the Potter family, he wasn't even considering sacrificing himself for his family. Not when he promised his wife that he would come home and Dumbledore and Voldemort were still out there. It may have been his stubbornness that allowed him to rebel against family magic and forge his own path for his family.
"Do you think it would be as easy as that?" Mother asked, sounding as if she was speaking to a child. "I will not simply kill you. Instead, I will make you disappear. Your loved ones will simply be left to wonder what happened to you. Oh dear me, I wonder what will happen to them in the meantime amidst the war."
Both men tried to retreat, but they were unable to move, held by an unseen force. Charlus struggled against the restraint, but it was useless. Then he felt family magic, something that had been a part of his life for so long, ripped from him, and he screamed in agony. The pain was excruciating. It felt like he was held under the Cruciatus Curse for several minutes before the pain finally faded.
The ordeal wasn't over. Charlus looked down to see that his feet were turning to stone, and it was slowly rising to engulf his legs. A look to his side showed that Isiah was suffering the same fate.
"For daring to have the temerity to stand against me," Mother said. "I will show you despair. Maybe I will revive you in a decade or two when your family has disappeared. Wouldn't that be fun to see?"
"Mother Magic, my ass," Charlus roared. "Who would want a mother as cruel and domineering as you? I spit on your spiteful face, you fucking hag. If I ever escape this, I will make sure that you are wiped from existence. Thus I swear."
The figure had already disappeared, not even staying around and watching the two men succumb to petrification. Before it overtook his body completely, Charlus was thinking of his wife and child. He was so confident in its success that he didn't even tell his wife where he was going. She would be so angry with him at this moment.
I"m sorry, love. I may have made a mistake.
Present Day.
As Charlus slowly became aware of the world around him, he felt physically and mentally sluggish. When he finally opened his eyes, he was greeted by darkness. There was only a small amount of light that filtered through the ceiling, which allowed him to see the tiniest details that were around him.
His mind whirled for a moment, not remembering how he got here.
Suddenly, it all came back to him, and he jerked up, his body protesting the ill-treatment. Ignoring the pain, he crawled around on his hands and knees, searching frantically for his wand. After a minute, his hands closed around the wooden stick, and he gave thanks that it was still there.
Casting a light, he looked around the small cave. It wasn't long before he spotted his friend, who wasn't petrified but lay unmoving. Touching his neck, he searched for a pulse. Finding none, he sighed. "Forgive me, my friend. I hope that your sacrifice was able to save your family. I will check in on them and see how they are doing."
Thoughts of his own family threatened to destabilise his mind. Did he still have a family? Charlus took a deep breath before casting the Tempus Charm to find out the current date. He waited anxiously as the words formed in the air.
23rd July 1993
"Well, fuck."
So what do you think? That is the prologue done. Next chapter, Harry makes his appearance.
Thanks for reading.