Awakening of An Empire by SilverDagger Rating: PG13 Ship: Harry & Hermione Canon: Books 1 - 5 Genre: Action/Adventure, Mystery Status: In progress Length: 20,181 words in 5 chapters Published: 21 Oct 2003 Last updated: 4 Dec 2003 Chap. 4 up! HP LoTR - Set in the HP world - A ring is stolen... A man is thought to be dead... A war begins... An ancient Empire reawakens... All Hell breaks loose... Victory over the Dark is near... Action, Adventure, Romance, Horror and much more... HHr pairing From the Unofficial Portkey Archive: https://portkey-archive.org/story/1162/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Prologue - It Begins This may be read at your leisure on FanFiction.net and Portkey.org. To find it, search for SilverDagger on the search engines for each site. Disclaimer: I do not own any trademarked character names, ideas, or any other owned merchandise. All characters, ideas, etc. associated with Harry Potter, The Lord of The Rings, Star Wars, or any other trademarked books, movies, TV shows, etc. are not mine. I own nothing except any original characters, ideas, and the plot in this fic. I have not intentionally plagiarized any characters, ideas, etc. from any source. If you feel you have ownership of any idea, character, etc., speak with me and we can work it out. No plagiarism or copyright/trademark infringement is intended, and no money is being made from this work. Story info: Title: Awakening of an Empire Author: SilverDagger Chapters: 1 of ? Rating: PG-13 for violence and cursing. May be raised later in the story Chapter Summary: A magical artifact is stolen... A man disappears… A war breaks loose… The beginning of a great tale begins… Story Summary: HP/LOTR crossover - A ring is stolen… A man is thought to be dead… A war begins… An ancient Empire reawakens… All Hell breaks loose… And yet there is still hope, though Darkness may be on the horizon… Action, Adventure, Romance, Horror, and so much more… Look on and read, as I tell this wonderful tale… And now, on with the story! -- Awakening of an Empire -- SilverDagger -- Prologue It Began -- A bolt of lightning struck the building, shattering the weather vane that topped one of its many towers. The boom that followed jolted Jonathan Winters out of his slumber for the fourth time that evening. The building in which he happened to be in, the Demetrius Building, was completely quiet. It is necessary for you to the importance of this place and the occupation of Mr. Winters in order to understand the significance of this simple fact. The Demetrius Building was the location in which the Ministry of Magic kept it’s most important magical objects. A sort of magical Fort Knox, if you will. And Mr. Winters was the security guard for the hours of 1:00-4:00 am. The time was 2:35 am by his watch, and he had been asleep. Quite suddenly, Mr. Winters was startled to hear a small tapping noise from one end of the hallway. He rose from the spindly chair he had been sitting on, and walked slowly in the direction the noise had come from, pulling out his wand as he went. Another sound rent the air, this time a soft clicking noise. As he neared the end of the corridor, he stopped, listening intently, wondering where to go next. He had to wait for only a moment before his hopes were rewarded by a soft creak and thud, the unmistakable sound of a door opening and closing. He hurried along the corridor to his left until he spotted a door on the left that was ever so slightly ajar. He pointed his wand at the wall next to the door and muttered a spell. “Pellucidus!” he whispered urgently. A silver white beam of light escaped the wand held in his hand landing on the wall. But instead of lighting it up the area it fell on, the wall itself seemed to melt under its beam. He thanked his lucky stars for the Pelluca Charm, a spell used to see through solid objects, though only the caster can see. As he looked to the see-through area, he saw a figure in a black cloak moving slowly around a large steel vault door, presumably contemplating on how to get past it. As he watched, the figure moved to a bag he had left near the door, opening it as he got to it. He pulled out what looked like a hand-sized, thin, black pad. He pulled what looked like a cord from the bag and plugged one end into the pad, the other into a small black box at the edge of the vault door. He pushed the pad in his hand a few times before pulling out the cord, picking up the pad, and putting both into his bag. He walked back to his previous position by the door, and punched a code into the box. The doors many locks clicked and the door opened slowly. He picked up his equipment-filled bag, and walked calmly through the door, shutting it behind him. Mr. Winters was getting frantic now. Only the high clearance Ministry Officials where allowed in that particular vault, the highest security vault in the building. Slowly, he pulled a small cylindrical object from his back pocket. He held it up o his mouth and pressed a small button on the side before speaking into it. “This is Winters, requesting Auror assistance immediately. This is a code red emergency. An intruder has gained access into vault 13, over.” A slightly distorted voice answered him as he released his hold on the button. “This is the Department of Magical Law Enforcement speaking. Auror assistance, code red, intruder, and Vault 13. Correct, over?” “That is correct, over.” “Request is granted. Expect 10 minute mobilization time. 10-4.” “10-4.’” He put the communicator back in his pocket and waited with baited breath for a few minutes before he heard a low swishing noise to his left, and the unmistakable displacement of air as a portkey’s destination point activated. Five Aurors in red combat robes knelt beside him. One of them, obviously their leader, looked over to Mr. Winters, and, after giving him a quick once over, spoke to him in a low, quick voice. “What in the life of Mike is going on here?” “I don’t really know. I heard a disturbance in this end of the corridor, so I came to investigate. When I got this far, I saw a tall man in a dark cloak walking around in the vault in the Chamber with the vault door. Somehow he opened it, and that’s when I tried to get hold of you.” “Right, then what do you think we should do? You know the lay out of this place better than we do, so you’ll need to tell us how to get into the vault before we can formulate any sort of a plan.” “The only way in is the vault door. There are no others, and I haven’t a clue as to how to get in.” “We’ll just have to wait until he comes out and then ambush him. Winters, you walk along the hall like you’re patrolling the building. Jake, Fritz, you two take the left end of the hallway incase he tries to leave that way. Alex, you’re with me. We’ll take the right end. Ok?” Various noises of accent greeted him and Mr. Winters and the Aurors all moved off to their separate stations, to wait. Mr. Winters, who had been left in the middle of t he hall way, completely unguarded, was beginning to feel rather jittery. He calmed himself and then walked purposefully to one end of the hallway and then back to the other. Very suddenly, as he walked for the fourth time past the vault door, it creaked, and began to open slowly. He ran to one of the suits of armor that lined the hall and hid behind it, aiming his wand at the door leading to the vault room, where the intruder would inevitably walk out. He had to wait only a minute or so before the vault door had been opened completely, and who ever had been in there stepped out into the open. He wore a thick black cloak, the hood pulled down so that only his mouth could be seen. He turned towards Mr. Winters, and walked slowly towards him, not making a sound except a slight clink every time he set a foot on the marble floor. As he passed Mr. Winters’ hiding place, he stopped and turned slowly to face him, almost as if he had sensed him there. Mr. Winters looked up into the shadows under the hood, and was frightened to find that his eyes were glowing. They radiated a bright blue, almost neon in color. He spoke in a deep voice that echoed throughout the hallway. “Get up. I won’t hurt you.” Mr. Winters rose slowly, still pointing his wand and the man in front of him. He spoke in a shaky voice, trying, and failing, miserably, to hide his fear of the figure in front of him. “Who are you? What have you stolen from the vault?” “I took naught but was already mine. The ring. As for whom I am, all you need to know is that I am its master. The rest is not of your concern.” I quick succession, six things happened that Mr. Winters would remember for the rest of his life. The Aurors who had been hiding a both ends of the corridor both ran out from their hiding places, all four heading towards the cloaked figure standing in front of him. Whoever was under the cloak slipped his right hand out from under his cloak and raised it in warning to the Aurors heading for him. The one thing that he remembered was that the hand was clothed in a heavy gauntlet, and on his ring finger resided a small gold ring. “Stop now or you will regret your actions!” he yelled at them, but the kept running. He muttered quietly “Very well.”, and raised his hand to them. The ring on his finger lit up as words glowed suddenly on the band. A blue flash went off at both ends of the corridor and the Aurors were knocked clean off their feet, out cold. The man turned back to Mr. Winters, and spoke quietly to him. “When the Daily Prophet interviews you later this morning, tell them that Lord Sauron has risen, that the Second War has begun, and that anyone who wishes to take a stand against Voldemort should join me. And now, I bid you good day.” With that, He vanished into thin air, leaving a shocked security guard and four unconscious Aurors behind him. -- PLEASE READ Authors Note: That would be the Prologue. Since it was only meant to show you first hand what happened before the first chapter, the actual writing was only around 1.5K words. If you were hoping for more, I’m sorry to disappoint you. I ask all of you readers out there to please REVIEW. I want to know what all of you think about it so far so I know were to branch off from here. This fic will eventually be an H/Hr fic, but that will come in later parts of the story. Just wait till I tell you who was under the cloak… Next Chapter should be out in about 1-2 weeks. Expect the latter. If you are reading from FanFiction.net and you are an Author, just put this fic on your Author Alerts List and an e-mail will be sent to you upon the arrival of another chapter. Also, if you review me with any questions, I will try to answer them at the end of the next chapter if they aren’t already revealed in the text of the next chap. SilverDagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. A Turn In Events This may be read at your leisure on FanFiction.net and Portkey.org. To find it, search for SilverDagger on the search engines for each site. Disclaimer: See the Prologue if you wish to read this. Story info: Title: Awakening of an Empire Author: SilverDagger Chapters: 2 of ? Rating: PG-13 for violence and cursing. May be raised later in the story Chapter Summary: The Daily Prophet reports the Rising of Lord Sauron. Hermione finds out about the legend of the Ring. Harry has a revalation. Story Summary: HP/LOTR crossover - A ring is stolen… A man is thought to be dead… A war begins… An ancient Empire reawakens… All Hell breaks loose… And yet there is still hope, though Darkness may be on the horizon… Action, Adventure, Romance, Horror, and so much more… Look on and read, as I tell this wonderful tale… And now, on with the story! -- Awakening of an Empire -- SilverDagger -- Chapter 1 A Turn In Events -- Hermione Granger woke up on the morning of the 20th of August in the same manner she had every other day of the summer. She showered, dressed and proceeded down stairs quickly. As she walked into the kitchen, she found her parents sitting at the table, her mother looking at the morning’s mail, muttering things like ‘More bills…honestly.’, ‘Catalog… that can go in the bin…and that…’, and ‘Alistair, you have jury duty again…’. Her father, on the other hand, was reading the Daily Prophet. He had taken to doing this recently, as he was proud of being part of the Wizarding Community (however distantly), and therefore liked to stay on top of the current events. He looked up as she came in, setting down the Prophet next to his eggs and bacon. “There’s something in there that should interest you. It’s on the front page of the World Section.” She picked up the A Section containing the world news, and carried it over to her place at the table as he began to look into the Metro Section for the ‘Current Events In Wizarding London’ column, an area of the Prophet that he perused frequently as well as the humor column and comics (He was delighted to find that they had some variations of the muggle comics he liked – and they moved). She set the paper down, and moved off to the countertop next to the fridge where her mother had set out the breakfast. She took some for herself and sat back down before glancing at the headline on the page her father had given her. She gasped as she saw it, not believing her eyes. Her Father looked up from his meal. “What is it? Read it aloud, will you?” She calmed herself before beginning. She read it slowly, so that her father could hear every word of it clearly. Her mother looked up soon after she began, listening hard. Magical Artifact Stolen From Demetrius Building Valuable Ring Is Stolen From Top Security Ministry Vault Early This Morning By Gregor Edwardovich Staff Writer Ministry Officials released a statement this morning to the public saying that a ring of some kind was stolen by a mysterious intruder early this morning. The Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Edward Michaels, 52, said that an ‘Intruder wearing a dark cloak of some kind broke into the Demetrius Building early today. He has taken a very valuable Ring from one of The Department of Magical Research’s vaults in the building. The artifacts name is the Ring of Sauron. A Security Guard under our employ contacted our Aurors at about 3 am this morning. Winters allegedly spoke to the intruder. The Guard, a Mr. Jonathan Winters, said that the intruder named himself as Lord Sauron himself, that he had taken only his own ring, and that he wished to pass on a message through Mr. Winters. Mr. Winters will now speak with you.’ The guard then took the podium. He spoke of the encounter, and said that ‘He told me to tell you reporters that, and this is a quote, mind you, ‘Tell them that Lord Sauron has returned, that the Second War has begun, and that anyone who wishes to take a stand against Voldemort should join me.’’ Winters then left the podium. Michaels then said nothing more except that ‘Four Aurors were immobilized by the intruder, supposedly by using the ring. No more details were given. An unnamed expert on the subject of the ring said that ‘The ring will only answer to Sauron himself, no one else. It is my belief that whoever was under that cloak was the Light Lord. He has not been seen for over 15 thousand years, nor has his Ring been mastered. At one time, Gryffindor himself took up the ring in arms against Slytherin in the Great War of 500 BC. He could not however control its power, and he, too, died after being overwhelmed. It is said in many ancient script that the master of the ring is the true heir of The Light Lord. Who that is, however, is unclear.’ It is unclear whether or not the Ministry will conduct an investigation into the rings whereabouts. Many suspect they will let it go due to the rising dark presence of the recent weeks since the Ministry released that the Dark Lord has returned last month. ‘A Light Lord may be in order,’ said Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School. ‘I will try to get in contact with him soon,’ he said, before resisting further questions. For more Information on the Ring, see page A 25. She stared at the page, an incredulous look gracing her face. Her father, on the other hand, was looking completely unfazed. “What on earth is that supposed to mean?” he asked, “I know the importance of a break in, but what does the rest of it mean?” His wife nodded vigorously behind his back. She looked into his face for a moment, wondering what to say before she remembered. She had to have at least one book in her vast collection that mentioned something on the artifacts of the Demetrius Building. “I’ll be right back. Then I’ll tell you.” She said to him, before running hurriedly from the kitchen and upstairs to her library. She had convinced her father to put this room in after her first year at Hogwarts. It was a vast room, bookshelves lining the walls, and some small ones in the space in the middle of the room. One wall was all Muggle books, and as for the rest, she had proudly filled this space with books she had bout from the Wizarding world. In the very center, there was a large desk with a lamp and large computer (a Sony, her favorite electronics company). She went to it and put in a keyword, and clicked on ‘find’. The desktop hummed quietly for a second, and then a hit came up on the Excel database. It read, ‘Artifacts of Legend – Sventon, Mark, 1994 – Case 21, Shelf 9, Column 4’. She prided herself on her organizational skills. Every book she ever bought was entered onto that database, the only one of its kind. She walked to the area the computer had indicated, and pulled down a black covered book with scarlet binding and gold scripted cover. She retraced her steps, sitting back in her seat next to her patiently waiting parents. She opened the index of the book and son found what she wanted. She turned to the page before speaking slowly to her parents. “There are a few pages in this book about the Ring, if that’s what you would like to hear about. Shall I?” They both nodded and looked on expectantly, so she continued. The One Ring of Sauron The legend of the One Ring goes back into the Golden Age of Magic, back in the days of Lord Cesar of the Romans. Legend tells of a continent inhabited only my Magical humans and creatures called Mordor, referred to in Muggle literature as the Lost continent of Atlantis. The Continent, supposedly residing in the Pacific Ocean, was ruled over by a man bearing a Ring with extraordinary Magical Powers. This man is referred to as Lord Sauron. Mordor was said to have possessed vast armies of Part-Human/Part-Demons such as Orcs and Uruk-Hai. He is said to be a Part-Demon himself, as he spoke their language, and had some of their qualities. Then again, this could have been part of the power of the Ring. The Ring is said to have been forged by the Light Lord himself in the firs of a monstrous volcanic mountain, named Mount Doom for its constant restlessness. The Ring is said to have been able to grant it’s bearer with extended life, and powers beyond imagination. Control of the Ring has been attempted many times over the centuries, but all have tried, have died soon afterward. The Ring has not been seen for over a thousand years, but it is thought that the Ministry of Magic has it under wraps, so to speak. An inscription is said to have been carved into the side of the Ring itself, but ancient scrolls only give part of it to us, the rest is shrouded in mystery. Reliable sources tell us this much of the Ring’s inscription, the rest is shrouded in Mystery: ‘One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, And in its power bind them.’ This part of the inscription is said to hold the key to unlocking the Ring’s true power, but many parts of ancient literature tell that though some may be blinded by illusions of controlling its power, they all have eventually died after being overwhelmed by the power itself. It is not, however, the entire inscription found on the ring, but merely a part of it. What the rest says, however, is shrouded in mystery. There followed a brief copy of the rest of the inscription in unfamiliar writing. She looked up at her parents expectantly, waiting for something to be said. “Is this true?” her father asked, breathless with interest. “I don’t know. I don’t know at all.” *~* Harry Potter sat in his bedroom at Number Four Privet Drive, staring at a newspaper absent mindedly. He had known the article would contain what it had long before it had even been printed. He turned the ring he had taken from the Demetrius Building that morning over and over in his hands. So many times he had tried to find out what the Prophesy had meant when it said ‘But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.’ And finally, this summer he had found out what it was. He had had a vision. A vision so clear he had trouble not thinking that it was real sometimes. He remembered it vividly… *{ Begin Flashback }* He walked alone through the forest. He did not know where he was, but he kept walking. A…he did not know what it was really, but a…force…yes…a force was calling him forth through the forest. As he neared the edge of the tree line, he heard it. A noise. Some sort of noise. Yells. Grunts. Cries of War. He began to walk faster until he suddenly broke out of the trees and stopped, not of fear, but of wonder. Standing before him was a valley, a glorious valley. In its center was an immense tower. It was tall, with a jagged look to it. At the very top, he saw a huge electric blue eye. You could see the bolts of magical energy that made it what it was. It seemed to be made of some sort of blue magical fire, emanating from the slit that was its center, rather like a cats eye. It seemed to stare at him as well, as he realized with a start, as everyone else in the valley. An army of what looked like humanoid creatures stared up at a figure at the top of the tower, who looked down upon his army with no expression on what you could see of his face. The creatures wore what looked like steel armor, and carried spears, swords, and other weapons of war. The man at the top of the tower was armored also, though he wore a long black cloak, so that only his mouth could be seen. Harry, who began to wonder how on earth he could see the man from this distance, found that he was no longer in the forest edge, but on top of the tower with the man, though to his left and slightly behind him. The man spoke to his army with a booming voice that carried to the far ends of the valley. “A new power is rising! Go my soldiers. I and my Riders shall meet you at the front lines. Fight in the name of Lord Sauron! This war will end soon, and you will be the victors! Go now, and may luck be with you!” A roar of approval rose up from the crowds below, and they began to run from the valley at alarming speed. The cloaked man turned to Harry and spoke softly to him. “You and I are one in the same, Harry. A war on our hands. No other way to settle it than between two Lords, one dark and one Light. Take my Ring. Use it well. When you wake from slumber you will know what to do. Trust your instincts, my son, and may god be with you.” As he finished speaking, the world around Harry began to fade, until only blackness surrounded him. He awoke with a jolt, and information began to flood his mind. *{ End Flashback }* He was mystified as to what had given him the vision that night. All he knew was that he needed to act on his newfound powers before possibility of it slipping through his fingers arose by way of confiscation by Albus Dumbledore came his way. He could not for all his life figure out how to escape and make a few moves on the chessboard that is life without appearing to be gone…or…dead. That was it! All he had to do was appear to be dead. After that he could act from the side lines without being scrutinized to closely by the Ministry or the Order… ‘But how…’ he thought before it came to him. The Death Eaters. If they attacked the village, and he appeared to be dead after the attack, it would remove him from the suspect board even if someone decided to take a good look at the identity he could eventually fashion himself. All he needed was some time to make a plan… *~* -- PLEASE READ Authors Note: This was the first Chapter. I don’t find it that bad, but I wrote it, so who can tell? For the bit with the Prophet, I based it on the format of The Washington Post. If it is a bit off, please forgive me. The next chapter should be up in around 1 week. I’ll need a bit of time to collect reviews from both FanFiction and Portkey in order to write my responses. I have some below for people who reviewed the Prologue. Also, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW. I value your comments for this fic. Please review for all chapters, and, if you are reading from Portkey, please include a rating. Again, If you want to get an e-mail when the next chapter comes out, here’s what to do: *If you are on Portkey of Fanfiction and are an author, use the Author Alert function when putting through signed reviews. On Portkey, you can use this even if you aren’t an author. *If you are not an author, please become one and use the function above. Otherwise, just check every so often. Review Responces: Check to see if there is one for you if you reviewed me on the last chapter. If you did and there isn’t one for you, sorry but I probably didn’t catch you when I was writing this chapter. FROM Portkey Harryherm84 – Thanks for the praise. I hope I don’t disappoint you. shawnpickett – I haven’t the slightest notion of what on earth you mean, but thanks anyway. bamaslama29 – As you have found out from this chapter, Harry is Lord Sauron. How else could he have used the ring? The person who did not enter their name – You have effectively called me a conceited Bastard. My response is this: I do try to help along writers by telling them that they are good authors, but they could do better. That is, of course, if I like their fic, writing style, idea, etc. Even if I don’t like their work, I try to point out the faults so that they can watch out for them in the future. I know I am not Ernest Hemmingway (though I hate his work anyway). As for the insult, my response is ‘Go into the woods and play Hide and Go Fuck Yourself.’ perenelle – Thanks for the review. I really don’t know what most of that was about, but thanks anyway. Perenalle (again) – I’ll have to ask why you reviewed twice, but hey. Thanks for the advice. I did pick up on the fault in the Prologue, but it’s a bit too late to change it. This will be in Hogwarts year 6. Thanks anyway. FROM FanFiction Nimohtar – Thanks for the compliment. alphabet-psycho – Sorry if it was a little vague. Just remember, it was a Prologue. It is only meant to tell the reader what has happened to cause what will happen in the first chapter. As for the Sauron evil thing, this is an AU fic to some extent, so in this fic, he happens to be on the side of good. This is mainly as I want the ring on the side of good. This would mean that, since the ring can only be controlled by Sauron himself, Sauron has to be on the side of good. SSD – As you have found out, no it is not Dumbledore. Anonymous – Will do. NEXT CHAPTER: The Death eaters meet. Harry ‘dies’. The sixth year at Hogwarts begins for Ron and Hermione. That’s it. Be off with you now! SilverDagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Escape This may be read at your leisure on FanFiction.net and Portkey.org. To find it, search for SilverDagger on the search engines for each site. Disclaimer: See the Prologue if you wish to read this. Story info Title: Awakening of an Empire Author: SilverDagger Chapters: 3 of ? Rating: PG-13 for violence and cursing. May be raised later in the story Chapter Summary: Hermione arrives at Grimmauld Place, London. Harry is kidnapped and ‘killed’...or not. The Death eaters meet. Story Summary: HP/LOTR crossover - A ring is stolen… A man is thought to be dead… A war begins… An ancient Empire reawakens… All Hell breaks loose… And yet there is still hope, though Darkness may be on the horizon… Action, Adventure, Romance, Horror, and so much more… Look on and read, as I tell this wonderful tale… -- Awakening of an Empire -- SilverDagger -- Chapter 2 Escape -- Harry Potter stood in his room at Number Four, Privet Drive, finalizing the plans he had made earlier that week. He pulled out his school trunk from under his bed, putting into it all of the spell books, parchment, quills, ink bottles, and all of the other stuff he had pulled out of it during the summer to try and occupy himself with. He pulled out his invisibility cloak and draped it over his bed before closing and locking the trunk. It was just as he was doing this when he remembered Hedwig. He turned to her and pulled her gently out of her cadge so as not to startle it. “Meet me at The Leaky Cauldron tonight, ok girl?” She hooted quietly before flapping out of the window and into the horizon. He pulled out a pen and a piece of writing paper from the desk in the corner, writing a letter to his relatives. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley~ I have had enough. I am leaving this house and never coming back. All I charge is £ 20.00 so that I can get away from here and into London. Have a nice life. ~Harry He left the latter on the desk, thinking that they would probably find it sooner or later, he didn’t really care. He shrunk his trunk to the size of his thumb, dropped it into his pocket, pulled on the invisibility cloak, and walked slowly and quietly down stairs. As he went into the front hallway, he found his uncle’s wallet. He pulled out a twenty pound note, stuffed it into his pocket and set the wallet back on the table he had gotten it from. He was lucky the Dursleys were al in the back yard; he didn’t want them to see any of this. He opened the door, and walked out of it before closing it slowly, and walking down the path and out onto the road. *~* Twenty minutes later, he sat behind a large evergreen tree in the village park wearing his invisibility cloak, watching the street in front of him. He did not know how on earth they could not resist his bait. He did not know how any self respecting Death Eater could not take what he had laid out for them. His plan was simple, but never the less effective. Much of it was based on what Professor Dumbledore had said to him in a letter earlier that summer. ‘Harry, I must remind you that, however desperate you would like fresh air or merely a walk through the muggle neighborhood, please promise me that you will never stray from the Dursley’s residence. The Order and I feel that Voldemort may be watching the village, and I for one think this is a strong possibility.’ And that is precisely what he had done. Using his knowledge of Transfiguration, and the power of his newly acquired Ring, he had transfigured a small part of the pavement into a living replica of himself. He had dictated that the ‘clone’ to appear to be asleep in the village park. He now hid in the center one of the many large evergreens that cluttered the area. He could see the area clearly from one of the cracks in the foliage. And now he waited… *~* Hermione Granger exited the ministry car with her parents in front of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London. Molly Weasley stood at the door, a wide smile on her face as she received them. “Hello, Hermione dear. Oh and you must be Hermione’s parents. It’s nice to meet you. I know we saw each other in Daigon Alley a few years ago, but I’m afraid we really didn’t talk to each other. My name is Molly Weasley. I’m Ronald’s Mother.” Hellos and greetings where exchanged between the Grangers and Mrs. Weasley for a while before Mrs. Weasley turned back to Hermione. “Ron and Ginny are waiting for you in Ron’s bedroom. You can go up. Dobby will take your things.” “Dobby! Since when are you here?” she said as she noticed the small elf standing near the door. The elf looked up at her, a wide grin spreading on his small, round face. “Professor Dumbledore says that Dobby can work for the Order, miss. He says that it would be a pleasure, and he is paying Dobby and Winkey 10 Galleons a month each and weekends and holidays off. We loves our work here, miss, and we are happy to tie ourselves to this house.” “Winkey’s here too?” she asked to the happy elf in front of her. “Yes, miss. May I show the both of you into the drawing room Master and Miss?” he asked the Grangers. “And you, miss Hermione, do you wish to be assisted in any way?” “No, I’ll be fine, Dobby. I can go upstairs by myself, thank you.” She walked into the house quietly, careful not to wake the portrait residing on the wall next to the door. It was of the late Sirius Black’s mother, and it had a way of waking at the slightest noise and insulting anyone who wasn’t a pure blood witch or wizard. As she ascended the stairs, she heard Ginny voice speaking quietly to Ron, who didn’t seem to be talking. “Ron, you can’t do this. I know where she stands on the issue, and believe me, she thinks differently on the matter. If you don’t believe me, ask any of her dorm mates. She won’t like it at all, so don’t do it. She belongs to someone else, not you on that matter. Please?” This time she heard him reply. By this time, she was at the door, but stopped to listen. “I’ll act how I see fit, Ginny, so stay away from the subject. I don’t care what you may have heard her say and misinterpreted, but I know differently.” At the end of the sentence, she opened the door, and the conversation stopped abruptly. “Hi, Ginny. Ron.” The nodded and smiled at the greeting, and she went and sat down on the end of what would have been Harry’s bed, had he been present at the time. “So, what’s been happening?” “Nothing much. The Order’s been much more active than it was last year.” Ginny said slowly. “They have more members too. Fred and George were inducted just over two weeks ago. They’re very happy about it. Mum isn’t though. She tried to keep them out, but was out voted 36-1.” Ron grinned. “They said that they would be a good asset because they can make weapons that can be disguised as sweets, so if an Order member was ever inspected, and they found this stuff in their pockets, they could just pass it off as stuff bought in a sweet shop.’ As he finished his sentence, there were two loud cracks and the twins appeared in front of them. Fred sat down as George said, “We couldn’t help but hear what you three were talking about down here-” “’Bet you could.” said Ron grumpily. “Anyway, we both decided to come down here and have a talk with you, and to welcome Hermione to Number 12, of course.” They talked for a while until Mrs. Weasley came up to tell them that it ‘Is lunchtime’ and that ‘You had better come down and wash if you want anything to eat’ or that ‘It will all disappear because Tonks is very hungry today and might just eat all of your food too if you don’t hurry.’ After that, they walked from the room quietly, leaving their discussion behind them. *~* A man walked slowly through the alleyway, making sure to be absolutely quiet, so as to avoid suspicion. Muggles, the stupid creatures. It’s not like they would get suspicious of anything beyond his clothing. He wore a long black cloak that was pulled low over his face, so that his face was in shadow. He wore a white mask on his face. It was shaped as a skull, white as white and stained in places as an old bone would. In the place of a tong, however, a snakes head protruded. Though the mask was painted, it looked oddly lifelike. Lucky for him, it was verging on dusk, so many of the Muggles where returning to their homes. Some gave him odd looks if they passed by him, but by, many he was ignored. He walked down a side street, which eventually came out onto the village square, and, just across from him, the park. He walked onto the grassy area in front of him. Looking around him carefully he looked for the landmarks his master had given him earlier. ‘A tree, a small pond, the forest edge…where is it…Ahh!’ he thought to himself. He walked over to the area he had seen, pulling out a wand from his cloak as he went. He approached with caution, and then he saw it. A young man was lying under a large fir tree. He was sleeping, his chest rising and falling slowly. He walked slowly over to the boy, pointing his wand at the boys’ chest. ‘Locomotor Mortis’ he whispered. The boy went rigid and rose slowly into the air as though he where on a wooden stretcher. After the boy had been raised to about waist height, the man had reached into his pocket and pulled out another Death Eater mask. He held t and toughed it to the boys hand before saying in a slow and clear whisper, “One…two…three!” At the end of the last word, the man, and the boy as well, vanished. *~* A thin man wearing a dark robe walked slowly through he hallway, the torches flickering as a cold breeze swept lightly through, most likely let in by a window in the room he had come from, the only one the tunnel led to. He had a fast pace, and a determined look on his disfigured face. It was thinner that the average human, and skeletally white. His eyes were what your own were drawn to. They had no iris or white, and almost no pupil. Instead, the entire eye was the color of blood, with nothing other than that but a slit that passed for a pupil, though it was like a snakes. Purpose was in his step, as would anyone’s who was about to complete a lifelong goal. His name was Lord Voldemort, and he was about to destroy Harry Potter… *~* Just as the Death Eater vanished with his clone, he vanished as well, though he, unlike the Death Eater, used the Ring to go rather than a portkey. He found himself outside the entrance to a grand castle, majestic in the mountains it resided in. The mountains were ice capped, high and foreboding. The castle was the same, with tall turrets with spiked ramparts stood menacingly above their main counterparts below. The doors in front of him where strong, made of cider, with an iron gate standing before them. He walked up to them and touched one of them lightly with his right hand. They were cold to the touch, but felt oddly soft. He pushed slightly, and found his hand moving slowly through it. He grinned at this. However protective they might be against normal creatures, he had a ring like no other. He pushed harder and his whole body slid through the great doors. As he came out on the other side, he saw that he was in an immense court yard, stone columns lining the sides, and buildings lining the open area. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. If I were Voldemort, where would I hold a Death Eater meeting? As he thought this, he instantly wondered how he could be so dense. Riddle, was a Slytherin in his Hogwarts years, right? He would be in the dungeons. It didn’t take him long to find them. All he had to do was look for the dankest and most disgusting place in the castle, and there it was, a long stairway leading into darkness, another iron grate lying over the opening, though this time it was open. He supposed they must have thought that anyone else couldn’t possibly get through the gates but them, so why lock anything else that isn’t that important? ‘Stupid thing to do, really.’ He thought blandly. He walked slowly down into the passage, which, he assumed, must lead to some kind of dungeon. The stairway was dimly lit by candles residing in sconces set in the wall itself, and gave off a low, white light. They gave only enough light to find ones way, and nothing more. As the stairs ended, they gave way to a long hallway, a few doors leading off from the sides. Down here, however, torches gave off a bright glow from the walls, making the hall completely visible. He walked down it cautiously, careful not to reveal his presence to anyone who may be in one of the many rooms off to the sides of the hall. As he neared the end, a slight noise rose over the stillness, as though many people were talking. He crept towards the noise, and, at the end of the hall, looking out from beneath his cloak, glad that he had brought it with him, glad of his lack of visibility. At the end of the hall, there were a pair of heavy oak doors, both open. Behind them lay an immense, high ceilinged chamber. It was filled with Death Eaters. They stood in rows around a circle in the center of the room, with a small break in the crowd for a sort of aisle. Through the door, he saw the Death Eater who had taken his clone walked up a break in the crowd, the stretcher in front of him. Lord Voldemort stood in the center of the circle, his arms raised. “My faithful Death Eaters,” he cried to in a cold, high voice. “Today, I have gathered you to witness the destruction of my greatest foe, once and for all!” The room rang with cries of approval. He smiled coldly down at the thing he thought was Harry in front of him. “How do you feel, Potter? Do you feel brave? Do you feel confident? No…You quake in fear of what I am going to do to you, don’t you, Potter?” He laughed coldly. The real Harry walked into the room, pulling off his cloak. The Death Eaters stared at him, perplexed. “You know, I can honestly say I don’t.” he said to the shocked crowd around him. “Finite.” He said, pointing his want at his clone self. It vanished instantly. Voldemort turned to him, drawing his wand in a quick, fluid motion. He pointed it at Harry, spiting acidly at him, “Potter!” He pointed his wand at him, yelling the curse that had neutralized his parents. “Avada Kedavra!” He countered this with one of his own. “Stupefy!” The spells met in mid-air. They seemed to fuse together, before disappearing with a flash of gold light. “Remember, Tom, remember. Brother wands…” he said scathingly. Voldemort seemed to stiffen at these words. “Don’t you dare call me by my filthy muggle name, you disgusting half blood!” “Don’t kid yourself, Tom, you know as well as I do that you are no more of a pure blood than I am.” He walked closer to the center of the room as he said this. Voldemort raised his wand and sent another Killing Curse at him as he spoke, but he countered it as he had before. Voldemort swore loudly. The Death Eaters were silent, no longer laughing or moving, but waiting to see what their master did next. He walked closer until he was right in front of the now stunned Voldemort. He watched as the Dark Lord’s eyes scanned the room, trying desperately to think of something he could do to kill the teen who had cursed his life to set back after set back. At last he said slowly, “You can’t win, Potter, you know that…” “I don’t know about that, Tom. The Prophesy seems to think so…” He let this statement hang in the air, watching its effect on the man in front of him. Voldemort looked at him for a moment, a cryptic expression on his face. He seemed to be studying Harry, sizing him up. “You know, don’t you Potter?” he asked slowly. “Yes, I do, but that’s not why I am here. I have come to pass on a message, and then I will leave.” “Spit it out then, Potter!” “Sauron says, ‘Don’t mess with me, Riddle.’ That’s it, so I’ll be going.” The air around him seemed to ripple momentarily, and with a blue flash, he vanished. *~* He reappeared behind a large clump of bushes and trees in London’s Hyde Park. The sun was sinking under the horizon, the sky glowing oranges, reds, purples, and yellows, the trademark sun set of a clear summers day. He watched it for a moment, before walking slowly down the gravel path back to the road side. He waited for a moment before hailing a taxi. I pulled over and he opened the door. The driver turned to him and spoke gruffly, “Wair can I take ye’?” “The corner of Oxford Street and Maple Avenue (A/N: I don’t know if there is one, but bear with me), please.” “Right o’.” The taxi pulled out from the curb into the afternoon rush of traffic, jostling for a spot in the flood of cars, busses, and trucks that swamp the city twice a day. Twenty minutes later, the taxi pulled up at the corner of a curb, the streets filled to bursting with shops of all kinds. The driver leaned over the front seat. “That‘ll be £ 9.80, sir.” He pulled out the twenty pound note he had taken from his aunt and uncle that morning and gave it to the driver. He received his change and walked slowly through the hustle and bustle of the packs of London shoppers. He found the place he was looking for soon enough. The Leaky Cauldron. It sat between a large Muggle bookshop and a food store called ‘All Days’. The Muggles’ eyes passing the pub seemed to slide from the bookshop to the food store, not seeing the old Wizarding pub that sat in the middle. He walked into the pub, closing the door behind him. Inside was a dimly lit room filled with small tables and chairs, an assortment of men and women sat at t he tables, though some did not seem to be human… He walked across the room to the door at the back, and walked through it into a small, cobbled, back area. Crates littered the walls with a few trash cans at the back. He pulled out his wand and moved to the second trash can on the left. “Three up and two across…” he muttered as he pointed his wand at the wall before taping the brick sharply. It wriggled for a moment before moving into the wall. The others followed its example, wriggling out of the way, rearranging themselves into a broad archway. Behind it lay the bustling Diagon Alley. He walked down the street until he met the towering building of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He walked through the great Silver and Gold doors into the long hall lit by the many chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. He walked up to one of the many counters manned by the Gringotts goblins. “Can I help you, sir?” asked the goblin as he walked up to the counter. “Yes, you can in fact. I would like to make a withdrawal of 500 galleons from the Potter vault. I would also like to have 200 of those 500 converted into Muggle currency. Also, can I have the entire Potter vault put on a checking account?” The goblins eyes widened. “Are you sure about that, sir? It is quite a transaction to make.” “Yes, quite sure.” “Very well. Do you have your key?” He handed it to the goblin, who took it and examined it carefully. “Everything is in order. Do you want the money to be brought up to you here, or would you like to retrieve it yourself?” “If you wouldn’t mind, could you send someone down to get it?” “Of course, sir, of course.” He clapped his hands twice and another goblin soon appeared by his side. “Frucknock, please retrieve 500 galleons from the Potter vault. Bring them up to the Vault Plan Adjustment Office.” The goblin saluted before moving through a door behind the counter. The goblin at the counter turned back to him. “If you would please come with me, we can adjust your Plan here.” They moved of down the hallway and the goblin led him through a door at the end of the main hall. It led down a stone corridor, doors lining the walls every few feet. The goblin led him down the third door to the left. Inside was a small office with a few filing cabinets, an oak desk, and a few chairs. The goblin sat down behind the desk, motioning for him to take a seat as well. He sat down and the goblin pulled a small file folder out from one of the cabinets behind him. “Let’s see, Mr. Potter…Currently, you have a savings account with 7% annual gross interest. The entire Potter Trust is valued at Э 727 million (A/N: I will be having Э as the symbol for galleons as I don’t want to write it all the time, and currencies all have a symbol, right?) and growing every year…” He flipped through the papers in the folder as Harry sat shocked at the table. He knew his parents had been rich…but that rich? “There are three possible Checking Account Plans available for you, Mr. Potter. The first is the CACA Plan. It means that your vault will be sealed at all times and you will only be able to withdrawal money using the checking system. The interest rate will be lowered to 6%, and the plan will cost Э 350 a year. The second is the CBCA Plan. It dictates that you will be able to use the checking account as well as withdrawal here if necessary as the vault will be open to you. The interest rate will be 5.4%, and the cost Э 400. The third is the CCCA Plan. It is essentially the same as the CBCA Plan, but you will also be sent a monthly statement on your vault value, and the vault will be managed by the goblins here at Gringotts. The interest rate will be 4%, and the cost for services and management at Э 700 per year. Do you have any questions?” He thought for a moment before replying that he did not. “Ok. Which would you like to have?” “CCCA Plan, please.” “Very well. Sign here on this contract and the change will be activated immediately.” He did so, and, just as he was dating the signature, the goblin called Frucknock came in holding two sacks. He handed one to Harry saying that it was the 300 galleons he had requested and the other to the goblin behind the desk saying it was the other 200 that needed to be changed into pounds. After he had done this, he left the room, closing the door behind him. “Ok, Mr. Potter, now that that is in order, would you please come with me back to the front counter, and I can convert this into Muggle currency for you.” He nodded and followed the goblin back to the front room. When the goblin had settled himself behind the counter, he looked up at Harry. “Would you like this changed into British Pounds, or Euro Dollars?” “Pounds, please.” “Very well. With the current exchange ratio of 1 galleon to 10 Pounds, that comes to £ 2000.00. We have an exchange interest of 2.5% percent, so your total comes to £ 1950.00. Here is you check book for you new account plan. Will that be all of your business here today, Mr. Potter?” He handed Harry the roll of muggle bank notes and a small red check book with the gold Gringotts seal imprinted on the front. “No, it won’t. I would like to move all but 1 million galleons to a new account. A checking CCCA Plan just as mine under the name of Alexander Seleftzkie Sergetov. I wish to have control over both accounts. Also, I must have this transaction under wraps. I don’t want anyone but you and I to know what has gone on here. Can you do that?” The goblin looked at him for a moment before pulling out another checkbook, sliding his hand over it, and giving it to him. “Of course, Mr. Sergetov.” He smiled at Harry, before asking again whether that would be all. “Yes, thank you. Good day to you.” He said before picking up his things, putting them into his pocket and walking out of the door. He had a lot of things to buy, both in Muggle and Wizarding London. *~* Two hours later he was walking into the Leaky Cauldron from the Muggle entrance carrying an assortment of bags from the shops in the area. He walked up to the counter and got his key from Tom, the innkeeper, and went up the stairs to room number 11. He walked into the room and deposited his things onto the bed. He pulled out his wand and put a small ring onto the wood near the grip. It was a Bandits Ring. It masked the magical signature of his wand so that the Ministry would not detect any underage magic on his part. It did this by changing his signature to that of the eighteen year old named Alexander Seleftzkie Sergetov, a Russian immigrant who had moved to Britain after completing school at Russia’s prestigious Moscow College of the Magical Arts. That would be his new identity. He had already taken care of his money problem at Gringotts. But the had some things to do first. First, he had to change his appearance… *~* Twenty minutes later he looked at himself in the mirror on the wall in front of him. He thought it was enough. His hair was now a sandy blonde color with blonde and brown streaks, shorter, and tame for once in his life. His scar was gone, and instead, he had a thin scar running from just over his right eye to the middle of his right cheek. His face was more defined than it had been, and his face more square. He had also changed his eye color from their original emerald green to an clear, icy blue. He had also found a charm to fix his eye sight. No more glasses! Moving on from his face, he had broadened his shoulders slightly, and made his chest and arm muscles larger and more chiseled. He had changed his height from 6’2” to 6’7”, 1 inch taller than Ron. He had lengthened his hands ever so slightly, as well as his legs and feet. He had also strengthened the muscles in his legs. He stood back to admire the effect. He looked like a completely different person. Instead of his original scrawny and slightly short exterior, he now looked like a hardened athlete who had spent time on weight training. He could say he had spent time on a Muggle soccer team in Russia when he was in school. That would be good. He pulled on some of the clothes he had bought at a muggle shop, a black muscle-T, a pair of plaid boxers, and a pair of blue jeans. Over this he pulled on a pair of black combat robes from an Auror gear store in a part of Diagon Alley he had not previously ventured into. He was just packing the rest of his things into his trunk when he heard a light tapping on the window and turned to see what was making the noise. Hedwig was at the window, tapping lightly at the glass window panes with her beak. He got up and moved to the window. He opened it slowly, and she flew in, perching on the head board of his bed. “if you don’t mind, old girl, can I change your appearance ever so slightly so no one knows it’s you if the see you?” She bobbed her head slightly, which he took for a yes. He waved his wand over her slowly, and her feather color changed slowly from white to a light brown with gold streaks here and there. “Better. Much better.” He finished packing his things into his trunk and shrunk it back to the size he had made it that morning. He put it back into his pocket and sat down at the small table in the corner of the room. He was just about to pull The Daily Prophet towards him when he was interrupted for a second time by a tapping noise at the window. He looked up and saw a small barn owl flitting just outside the window. Again he went to let it in. It landed on the bed and held out its left leg, waiting for it to be relieved of its letter. He untied it and broke the seal on the back. It was intricately made, depicting a flaming phoenix surrounded by linked wands. A capital letter ‘P’ lay underneath. He pulled out the letter. Lord Sauron~ The Order of the Phoenix requests your presence at 8:00 PM on Saturday, August 3. The address is as follows: The Order of the Phoenix may be found at 12, Grimmauld Place, London. ~Albus Dumbledore, Lead Light He turned the letter over and wrote quickly. Albus~ I was wondering how long it would take. I already know the address. What do you take me for? I will be there. ~Sauron He gave this back to the owl in front of him and checked his watch. 7:45. He had better be going if he was expected at 8. He turned to Hedwig. “Meet me at Grimmauld Place, old girl, ok?” She hooted dolefully and flew out of the still open window. He shrunk her cadge and put it into his pocket with the already shrunken trunk. After doing this, he walked out of his room and down the hallway. When he had gotten down stairs, he hailed Tom over the din. The innkeeper walked over to him. “Can I help you, Mr. Sergetov?” “Yes, you can. I would like the check for my room so far and top cancle my reservation for this week.” “’K. ‘Comes to Э 16.3.8 (A/N: there will be three places on prices from now on. Can’t forget the sickles and knuts, now can we?).” He paid and walked out of the door into Muggle London. He walked into a small alleyway behind the All Days food store that was next The Leaky Cauldron. He concentrated hard on the armor he had worn in the Demetrius Building two days ago. His clothes seemed to fell suddenly heavier. He looked down and saw that under his cloak he was now wearing heavy armor. A large sword was strapped to his back. He pulled down the hood on his cloak so that it was hanging over his eyes. He closed his eyes and pictured the front of 12, Grimmauld Place. The image seemed to burn upon his eyelids. The air around him shimmered, and with a blue flash, he vanished. -- PLEASE READ Authors Note: I am very sorry to all of you who expected this out earlier, but I had a bit of writers block for about a week. Also, I decided not to move on to the beginning of the school year for Ron and Hermione. I thought it might make the fic move a little too quickly. Also, I can have a chapter about the goings on at 12, Grimmauld Place during the summer. No worries, though, that’ll be in one of the next few chapters along with some other excitement. Also, on the subject of the disappearing, instead of staging his own death, I thought that would be less distressing for the characters and for you readers, as well as the added bonus of more mystery in the plot. Review Responses Check to see if there is one for you if you reviewed me on the last chapter. If you did and there isn’t one for you, sorry but I probably didn’t catch you when I was writing this chapter. FROM Portkey harryhermione84 – Harry will be on the side of good, hence the name of ’the Light Lord’. In fact, in this fic, I will be disregarding the fact that Sauron was evil in the LoTR books completely. Afiz – Thanks. shawnpickett – I haven’t a clue of what you said in the beginning. I have never read the full series. I merely studied the general plot of LoTR before writing this fic. Thanks for the compliment. rainbow star – Thanks for the compliments. Don’t worry, I won’t give out too much. As I said above, I have only studied the general plot, but never read it. bamaslamma29 – Hello again. To answer your question, no not as in god. I changed the chapter and replaced the old one just so people don’t get the same thoughts. I was only referring to the fact that Sauron was reputedly Almighty in the art of War, so to speak. Nathan – Will do. LadyMagi – Thanks. I hope you like it. No name – I know that, believe me. I am only using the subject of LoTR in this fic because I want a few things in the fic. Sauron, the Ring, the armies, and Mordor. I am disregarding EVERYTHING ELSE. No history of Mordor, I will formulate that as the story progresses. No Meklor crap. NOTHING EXCEPT WHAT I PUT IN APPLIES TO THIS FIC. NOTHING! So now you can all stop annoying me. LunaLovegood – Thanks. I try my best. E. C. R. Potter – Let’s get something strait here with all of you. I don’t give a monkey’s ass about the mythology, plot, or any other bit of effing LoTR. The only relevance to the LoTR books in this fic is the ring, Sauron, and a few other ideas or names. I don’t give a crap about any of the rest of it. The history of the ring and Sauron in this fic is totally different from the history from the Tolkien trilogy. I create the past, present and future in this fic, not Tolkien. I suggest you all remember that. No offence to you personally, but I had to get that off my chest. FROM FanFiction Nimohtar – Harry is not going to the Light Lord. He is the Light Lord. And if the Master of the Ring is good, so is the Ring. alphabet-psycho – Thanks for the advice…sort of. I’ll try to stick the characters as true to themselves as possible, but I might need to change a few things for the plots sake, or the changes will evolve through the story. I might read your fic, but I don’t know if I’ll have enough time, what with this to do as well as all of my work during the time I don’t use to write this fic. NEXT CHAPTER: The Order of the Phoenix meets with Harry as Sauron attending, Hermione will meet Harry’s new identity, and sparks will fly between Ron and the visitor. Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, read another fic…review them…read another…review them…you get the idea…blah, blah, blah…etc… SilverDagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Order Meeting This may be read at your leisure on FanFiction.net and Portkey.org. To find it, search for SilverDagger on the search engines for each site. Disclaimer: See the Prologue if you wish to read this. Story info Title: Awakening of an Empire Author: SilverDagger Chapters: 4 of ? Rating: Rating has been raised from PG-13 to R for violence, cursing, and mild sexuality. May be raised later in the story Chapter Summary: The Order of the Phoenix meets with Harry as Sauron attending. Story Summary: HP LOTR crossover - A ring is stolen… A man is thought to be dead… A war begins… An ancient Empire reawakens… All Hell breaks loose… Darkness is on the horizon, yet hope remains… Action, Adventure, Romance, and so much more… H/Hr pairing -- Awakening of an Empire -- SilverDagger -- Chapter 3 Order Meeting -- Hermione sat at the large dining room table with, Molly, Arthur, Ron, Ginny, Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George Weasley, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nimphadora Tonks. Many of them had arrived that evening, saying that they would be coming that evening for an Order meeting, and that Mrs. Weasley had invited them for dinner beforehand. Just as the meal was coming to a close, Professor Dumbledore stood and tapped his wine glass lightly with a spoon. The talk between the various people at the table immediately ceased. “First of all, I would like to thank you, Molly, for the excellent meal that you have provided us all.” Mrs. Weasley fumbled with her fork, trying and failing miserably to hide the grin that was crossing her face at these words. “And now, down to business. Tonight is, as many of you already know, a meeting for the Order at which many of you will be present. Therefore, I expect the three of you,” he pointed to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, “to be out of the way while the meeting is underway. The only reason I am bringing this up is that I wish to bring something to your attention. Tonight, Sauron will be present at the meeting-” A gasp went up from all present at the table except Dumbledore himself, and Remus looked questioningly at the old man in front of him. “-so I would like all of you to be here to welcome him when he arrives at eight o’ clock. That will be in…” He looked at the watch on his wrist. “…twenty minutes, so I suggest we all help Molly here clean up all of our dirty dishes, after that, we can all wait in the hall until he, and then the other Order members, arrive.” They nodded and left the table carrying their things with them to the kitchen. They took up a sort of assembly line, one of them cleaning, drying, putting things away, storing extra food, etc. It took no more that a quarter of an hour and Mrs. Weasley was pleased by their effort. The adults stayed in the kitchen afterward, while Hermione, Ron, and Ginny left to go and wait in the drawing room until they were called. They sat down on one of the large couches by the fire before looking at each other, wide eyed, not saying anything. Ron finally broke the silence. “Why is he coming here?” Hermione thought for a moment before speaking up. “Dumbledore must have asked him to come. I mean, he is the Light Lord. It makes sense to have him at a meeting of people working for against Voldemort.” Ron flinched at the name. “Oh, Ron, grow up. When are you going to say the name?” Ron gave her a ‘what-the-hell-do-you-mean’ look before looking down in shame. Ginny got up from her seat and went to look out of the bay window, checking her watch as she did so. “7:55. ‘Started raining to.” She stared out of the window for a moment more before beckoning them over to here frantically. “He’s here! Look!” *~* With a flash he appeared in the trees across from Number 12. He walked over to the curb before thinking of what the Muggles might think if they saw a robed and armored man across the street that had appeared out of nowhere. He quickly raised his right hand and pointed it at the nearest transformer on the many telephone poles that stood by the road. A flash of blue light went off from the ring on his hand. The transformer exploded with a sound like a gun shot, sending a shower of sparks down onto the street below. The lights on the street and in the houses immediately went out. He saw that in the bay window on the first floor, three people watched him, he did not know who. When he looked over at them, they quickly disappeared. He walked briskly across the street, his metal boots clanking when the met the hard road surface. He walked slowly up the walkway, and knocked sharply on the door. He heard a flurry of movement inside the room beyond and stepped backward a few feet waiting for the, noticing vaguely that the rain and wind had increased, making his cloak billow out to the side and his hood drip slightly. The door opened and he heard a scream and a few intakes of breath. He heard Mrs. Weasley comforting Ginny, who he supposed was the one who screamed. As soon as he did, however, a shrill cry of ‘BLOOD TRAITORS. FILTH. SCUM OF THE WORLD. GET OUT!’ met his ears. He walked into the house and turned his head slowly to the painting of Sirius’s mother that was hanging on the wall near the door. “SILENCE!” He yelled at the painting, but she continued to scream. Remus began to move forward to close the curtains, but he kept him back. “No need.” He said before moving over to the painting and forcing one of his clawed hands (A/N: remember, the armor he is wearing include gauntlets. The tips of the fingers are clawed) into the top of the paintings frame and the other on the bottom, before pulling. The entire portrait ripped from the wall behind it, pulling some of the plaster with it. He through it out of the door before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the canvas now face down on the side walk outside of the house. “Incendio!” he whispered. A jet of white hot flame shot from the end of his wand and ignited the portrait. It crumpled under the heat before the paint burst into flame. In a matter of seconds, all that was left it were a pile of smoking ashes. He lowered his wand and slammed the door before turning around again. He pocketed his wand inside of his robes and concentrated for a second. His armor glowed dark blue for a split second before dissolving into thin air. The ring on his right hand glowed for a second longer before fading as well. He pulled off his cloak and hung it up by the door before turning back to the silent crowd behind him. “I’m sorry about that, but I got the feeling you didn’t like the hag hanging there. Am I right?” They nodded before Dumbledore put out his hand in greeting. “You are forgiven. To be honest, we never thought of using brute force to get it off. I am Albus Dumbledore. Who, may I ask, are you?” “My name is Alexander Seleftzkie Sergetov, otherwise known as Lord Sauron, but you may call me Alex. It is a pleasure to meet you all. May I ask who you all are?” Dumbledore smiled. “Well Alex, these are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and there sons Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George. Also, there are Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, and Remus Lupin. They are all members of the Order.” He shook all of their hands quickly. “Also, the other two Weasley children, Ron and Ginny, are here, though they will not be present at tonight’s meeting.” He shook their hands as well. “Ah. Two of the six at the Department of Mysteries last month.” They grinned nervously at him and he smiled. “Also, we have Hermione Granger, a friend of the Weasley children.” He smiled at her and she giggled nervously. “No need to be nervous. I’m only a few years older than either of you.” He said, pointing at her and Ron. Dumbledore spoke up quickly. “We should proceed into the kitchen. Many of the Order members will be here soon.” He led Alex into the large kitchen at the end of the hall, followed by all of the Order members present. Mrs. Weasley stayed behind to greet other members. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all directed up stairs. *~* Twenty minutes later, all of the order members had arrived and were sitting in the kitchen, all of them eyeing the new comer sitting next to Dumbledore with apparent interest. After they had all filed in and taken seats, Dumbledore stood and banged a small gavel on the table. “I call this meeting of the Order of the Phoenix to order. Tonight we have a distinguished guest with us. I would like to introduce you all to Alexander Seleftzkie Sergetov, i.e. Lord Sauron, who has agreed to attend tonight’s meeting and may offer some suggestions or help, and, of course, may ask for some of his own.” At the mention of his name, there was an out brake of muttering at the many tables and chairs in the room. After a few moments, Snape stood, and Dumbledore acknowledged that he had the floor. “Many of us here,” Snape said in his oily voice, waving his arm around at the rest of the people in his vicinity, “would like to see some…proof…that he is who he says he is.” Alex stood to face him. “What kind of proof do you want, Severus?” Snape did a double take at the sound of his name. “How did you-” “That is not the point. Answer the question.” Snape looked at him for a moment, and said slowly, “Tell us something that only four of us know in this room.” He looked at Snape and concentrated. The room around him darkened. A flash of images and names sped before his eyes. Snape’s hands gripped the table hard, his knuckles growing white. He clutched his forehead suddenly, before falling into a kneeling position on the floor. Dumbledore looked at him with surprise bordering on horror. Snape let out a howl of pain before it came before him. Five names and a subject. Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, James Potter, Minerva McGonagall, and Alastor Moody The Prophecy He looked away from Snape and looked straight at Dumbledore. He turned slowly from Dumbledore and straight at McGonagall, then Moody, and finally at Snape again, who had seated himself back in his chair. He turned back to look at the room in general. Snape spoke up suddenly. “He didn’t get it, Albus.” Alex shot a malevolent look at Snape before saying slowly, “Didn’t I? The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives… The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...” He looked down at the pale form of Snape sitting at the back of the room, and at Dumbledore sitting next to him. “Didn’t I, Dumbledore? Have I proved who I am Snape? Good.” He sat down while the other members looked at him with amazement, horror, surprise, or just blank incredulousness. Dumbledore looked at him for a long time before finally turning away from him. “It seems that all of you know, now, what I have refrained from telling you for almost 18 years. Alex, here, has told you the Prophecy.” More muttering. “As you all know, the Order of the Phoenix was created during the first rising of Voldemort.” A collective intake of breath occurred from around the room at the sound of the name. “As you know,” he repeated, “the Order was founded for one purpose. That was, as you all know, to protect, aid, and help the Defender.” Many nodded, while others watched Dumbledore intently. “This Prophecy, which until today only four of you knew, told me who the Defender was and is. It told me that our Order would be devoted to none other that Harry Potter.” At these words, more muttering. Mrs. Weasley stood and the room quieted. “Albus, how could you? He is just a child! He is no older than Ron or Hermione. How could you let him bear a weight like this when he already has so much to cope with?” It was his turn to speak, and he spoke quietly. None the less, everyone heard him. “Mrs. Weasley, he has been through mush more that any of you have ever been through. He has faced Voldemort five times and he has always escaped leaving Voldemort without a plan, and each time, fewer followers. He has known what he must do for a few months now, and he can cope. Kill or be killed, you must agree, is not the best destiny for one to have in life, but it is the only way. As for his being a child, I expect you to remember that he is much more experienced than any of you, and that, considering his past, he has more of a right to call you a child in comparison to him than you will ever have of him. You need to give up this petty image of him being you child. He is not, and never will be. What Albus sees fit to do is good enough for me, and it should for you as well.” He turned back to Dumbledore, who smiled at him half heartedly. “Thank you, Alex. I could not have said it better myself. I do not know how you know what happened between him and myself at the end of the last school year, though. Please tell me.” “Afterward. Carry on with the meeting, please.” Dumbledore studied him for a moment before turning back to the room at large. “William, could you report on the goings on at Gringotts, and after that, your progress on trying to ally them with us?” Bill Weasley stood and the many people in the room turned to watch him. “I spoke to their union leader today. They are, unfortunately, a little against humans in general at the moment because of Willy Fabershom’s little trips there on behalf of Fudge. Apparently, the Ministry’s funds are hitting rock bottom. Fudge wants to confiscate all contents of vaults whose owners are in Azkaban on life sentences. The goblins don’t want to do that, of course, because it goes against some of their banking laws. They did say, however, that they will meet with a representative of ours as well as Sauron, if we could get hold of him. No idea why, really. That’s all.” Alex raised one of his hands, “That would probably be because I made a few transactions there early this morning. They seemed rather impressed with me. I was in disguise, of course, but I think they saw this.” He pointed at his ring. Dumbledore nodded. “Ok. Kinsley, Tonks, could you two please tell us all what your progress is with recruiting Aurors from you department?” Kingsley stood. “We have been working lately on collecting recruits. So far we have gotten six to agree. One of them is John Gatwick, the second in command of the entire force. We told them we would notify them of when to attend a meeting for initiation.” He sat down and Dumbledore nodded. “Keep up the work. Tell them we can swear them in next meeting. Severus, could you update us on the insides of Voldemort’s inner circle.” “I was, unfortunately, late for today’s meeting because I was working on a rather complex potion at the school. When I did arrive, however, the Dark Lord seemed to be furious about something that had happened earlier that day. He was putting memory charms on all of the Death Eaters. By the time he was finished, he had made sure that no one remembered what happened before I came in. I was unable to find out what had happened. Other than that, there hasn’t been any Death Eater activity to speak of.” He sat down and Dumbledore nodded. “Very good. Next up…Amelia, would you please tell us what is going on in the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, and, after that, do you have any possible recruits for us?” “Nothing is going on of importance at the moment except some Auror recruit training next week at the Academy. No Order recruits to speak of, either.” “Ok. Next on the agenda is to find one of you to fill this years Defense Against the Dark Arts post. Any takers?” He raised his hand. “I’ll do it. I need to have access to the Hogwarts archives to find out how to raise my…assets…again. It would give me a good cover, and, of course, a chance to teach the students a little something for when they graduate. Who knows? It might give me a few future members…” Dumbledore looked at him for a moment. “If you’re going to be covering the DADA position, would you mind giving special training cessions with our three student residents? They have been among the most active against Voldemort in the last few years, do I think they could use it.” He pondered the request for a few moments before nodding. “Alright.” “Could you begin tomorrow morning?” He nodded. “Would you mind if I stayed here then? It would be easier if I did.” “Of course. Is there anything else? No? Ok. You can all pick up this weeks assignments by the door. Alex, could you come up to the drawing room to talk for a moment.” He nodded before standing and following Dumbledore out of the room. They walked up the stairs and into the drawing room. Dumbledore closed and locked the door before sitting down across from Alex. “Could you please tell me how you knew?” He looked at Professor Dumbledore for a long moment before answering slowly, deciding carefully on what he should say. “Because someone I know told me a while ago.” “Who?” “You.” He said simply. “I did no such th- Harry?” He concentrated for a moment and his face reverted to its normal look. “I thought you were a little suspicious at the meeting. I tried to give you hints. First, my reply to your note. Second, my comments just now. And third, I thought you might get a little hint by the looks I was giving you.” “How?” “A few days ago, I had this dream, and suddenly, I knew how to get hold of it and why, so I did. When I put the ring on, I was flooded with images, information, everything. And after that, I could feel this…electricity…going through my very veins. All of a sudden, if I wanted to do something, it just seemed to happen. The one thing I do know is this: I need to raise the empire. It has all of the resources we need to finally take down Voldemort before he takes control of the Wizarding world. I don’t know of any other way, Professor. If we don’t use Mordor’s resources to combat Voldemort’s ever increasing army, we’ll never survive.” Dumbledore was silent for a moment before saying quietly, “Harry, now that you seem to have asserted yourself inside the Order, please call me Albus. As for your situation, I am prepared to commit the entire Order’s resources to completing your goal. Is their anything you know you have to do at the moment?” “No, I don’t think so. It may come to me at night, though.” He massaged his temple and yawned. “What I need right now is sleep, that’s all.” “Go on up to one of the guest rooms on the third floor. The second one on the left is free at the moment. It really is a good thing that this house has so many bedrooms. Thank you for getting rid of that portrait. She hasn’t been giving us any peace lately. Good night.” He shook Harry’s hand before standing and leaving the room. He sat on the couch for a moment before sighing. He got up and went upstairs. When he got up to his room, he pulled out his wand and flicked it absently at the trunk he had pulled out of his pocket. It enlarged itself back to its normal size. With another flick it opened and its clothing contents organized themselves and put themselves away in the various cabinets, drawers, and closets around the room. The books then soared across the room and settled on the large bookcases at one end of the room. He shut the trunk and shoved it under his bed irritably. He looked over at the mirror on the door of the large wardrobe and noticed he still had his Harry features on. He quickly changes them back to that of Alex’s. He turned back to his bad, and, after stripping down to his boxers, got into bed, falling into a slumber that would eventually reveal something to him that would put him on a path that would change his life forever… -- PLEASE READ Authors Note: I hope you liked the chapter. Sorry I’m a little late on this, but I had a bit of writers block. That and I have a lot of work to do lately. I will be referring to Harry as ‘Alex’ in this fic while his is assuming that identity in front of Ron, Hermione, etc. When he is eventually discovered, I will revert to ‘Harry’. Obviously, Dumbledore already knows, but I’ll wait until everyone knows. Review Responses Check to see if there is one for you if you reviewed me on the last chapter. If you did and there isn’t one for you, sorry but I probably didn’t catch you when I was writing this chapter. FROM Portkey James – Were you reviewing me, or just passing on a message to E.C.R. Potter? Thanks for saying it shows promise, though. shawnpickette – Thanks for the rating and the history thing. I am still standing by what I have said, and disregarding all LoTR history, people, events, etc. except what I want in the story. This, I am afraid, is not one of them. Nathan – thanks. Will do. harryherm84 – Thanks. Next time you review though, please put in a rating. Tristen – Thanks. flaming aussie – The galleon sign is actually the Cyrillic capital letter E. I just thought it looked like a backwards G with a bit of a change, so I put it in. I won’t be changing it, so bear with me. FROM FanFiction Virusgod – You spelled interesting wrong. Will do. Nimohtar – You’re welcome. To answer your question, yes, he is just going to assume the identity of Sergetov a.k.a Sauron for a while. Hermione will, of course, find out while Ron is blissfully blank. I may have Hermione smitten with Sergetov, have them get together, and then him reveal himself to her, but I don’t know. You’ll see how it turns out. AJaKe – The ring is not evil. It is only as evil as its master who wields it. If Harry is not evil, then neither is the ring. Besides, in this fic, I am having the whole history of the ring thing on the side of good. alphabet-psycho – Sorry about that. I’ll try to explain that for you here. The ring, as I said in…what was it…the first chapter that with his vision, he gained some simple knowledge about magic. I did not, however, explain what it was. What it was is basically this: The ring passes on an extensive knowledge of magic in all of its many forms. Therefore, he would know how to do these spells. The ring will also amplify magical ability in certain areas by far, namely wandless magic. Since he knew how to perform the spells, and that they are relatively simple, he would be able to do them, and they would come naturally. Does that explain it? Tell me whether or not it does in your review and I can explain further later if necessary. NEXT CHAPTER: Alex begins his training with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny talk about Alex. Sparks fly between Alex and Ron. Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, read another fic…review them…read another…review them…you get the idea…blah, blah, blah…etc… SilverDagger ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Number 12 This may be read at your leisure on FanFiction.net and Portkey.org. To find it, search for SilverDagger on the search engines for each site. Disclaimer: See the Prologue if you wish to read this. Story info Title: Awakening of an Empire Author: SilverDagger Chapters: 5 of ? Rating: Rating has been raised from PG-13 to R for violence, cursing, and mild sexuality. May be raised later in the story Chapter Summary: Alex begins his training classes with Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.Plans are made to go to Egypt to collect the Book. Sparks fly between Alex and Ron. Story Summary: HP LOTR crossover - A ring is stolen… A man is thought to be dead… A war begins… An ancient Empire reawakens… All Hell breaks loose… Darkness is on the horizon, yet hope remains… Action, Adventure, Romance, and so much more… H/Hr pairing -- Awakening of an Empire -- SilverDagger -- Chapter 4 Life At Number 12 -- The dream he had that night would put him on a path that would change his life forever… *{Begin Dream Sequence}* He was walking through a long corridor. It was made of solid stone, torches standing in brackets every few feet. The floors, walls, and ceilings were made of stone, and the only furnishings were the many portraits and tapestries that lined the walls. Doors were every few yards. He walked and walked for what seemed like hours. Finally, he heard voices near him. He walked to the end and came upon a door. He bent down and listened at the key hole. Sure enough, the voices came from the other side. He opened the door slowly and walked inside. It was a room. A huge room. It was like a opera hall. The walls were very high. The ceiling was covered in chandeliers. A balcony stretched around the rim of the ceiling. He happened to be standing on the balcony. He walked to the edge and looked down. What he saw made him gasp in amazement. Stretched below him were hundreds upon hundreds of wizards. All of them wore black combat robes, different colored ^ marks on their right shoulders. Some had more that one as well. He supposed this was for ranking. In the rear center of the room stood…himself…no…it couldn’t be. He was standing here. So…it must be…him. The original Sauron. His ancestor. He wore armor, just as nine men behind him did as well. Before him stood a large group of people. They were not dressed as the hundreds around them, and he assumed they must be here to be initiated. As he was thinking about the magnificent place he was in, a voice spoke quietly beside him, making him jump and spin around. “It’s outstanding sight, isn’t it?” Standing next to him was the same man standing down in the room below. The original Sauron. “In my time, this was the greatest army in the world. Fifteen thousand fully trained wizards from around the world, and another two hundred thousand Orcs and Uruk-Hai from my land of Mordor. We had infiltrated every Wizarding organization in the world. We were in the middle of a war with Klor-Tzar, though, so it’s understandable. We won, but the world was left in ruins. 4 thousand years later, you, as my heir, are about to take up all of what I left behind to embark on your war with Voldemort. I knew what was to happen, of course. Seers predicted what would happen. It was foretold that it would encompass the earth in darkness for 2 years, and that the Ring Master would come victorious, but at a terrible price. I do not know what that will be. “I have come into your dreams to tell you something that will aid you on your journey to victory. You will find in the Egyptian Ministry of Magic Wizarding Library of Alexandria, Egypt a text entitled Master of the Ring by Lycander Potter. Me. Read it. It is charmed so that it can only be read by the true heir. It will tell you what you need to know in order to raise your mighty Empire and all of its assets. “Afterward, collect you followers and raise your Empire. Go now, and do not fail, my son.” His vision faded slowly to black, before he snapped awake. *{End Dream Sequence}* He woke with a start and blinked furiously to clear his vision. He sat up slowly and looked around him. He sat thinking for a few moments before getting up out of bed and moving of to the chest of drawers. He pulled out a clean pair of jeans, a white A-shirt, a plaid button-up T-shirt, and a pair of boxers. He then showered, shaved, dressed, and went down stairs. (A/N: This is just the morning ritual, you know? As for the A-shirt, they’re just the white T’s without sleeves. That’s just what I’ve seen them labeled. Just in case you were wondering…) As he entered the kitchen, he saw Remus sitting at the table with the newspaper and a cup of coffee. He went to pour one for himself while murmuring, “Morning, Remus.” “Good morning.” He said, looking up. “Albus left a note for you when he came in earlier this morning. It’s on the corner of the counter, there.” He pointed. He picked it up and slit the back of it while taking a sip of his coffee. He opened it, pulled out the slip of parchment inside, and scanned it quickly. Alex~ After I spoke to you yesterday evening, I began to research a spell that I had heard of before. I feel it may help us in your situation. It is used to conceal a secret by making it so that the person who was the object of the spell cannot say what they mean to say. They are forced instead to say another person, place, or object, etc. rather than the person, place, or object. If you were to use this charm on a person who you reveal your secret to, you could fashion it to conceal your true name. Then, if they were trying to say ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘Harry’, they would, instead, say ‘Alex Sergetov’ or ‘Alex’. The charm is called the Contra Revelare Charm. The incantation is contratorus revelento, and all that is required for the spell is a desire to conceal a certain secret with another. Use it as you may wish. On another note, I would like you to begin the training of Ron, Ginny and Hermione as soon as possible. Teach them what you feel is needed. I know you did well with the DA last year, so I trust you know what to do. Also, on the second floor, fourth door on the left is a Room of Requirement. You should find it useful. It is password protected, however. A small black box is on the wall near it. Push the red button and say the password along with the number of people entering and you use for the room. A green light will flash when it is ready for you to enter. The password is ‘Seventh Tower’. If you need to speak with me any time son, send an owl my way and I will come to Number 12 as soon as is conveniently possible. See you soon, ~Albus He set down the letter after he had read through it a few times. He pocketed it, and moved over to the stove. He took down a plate and filled it with the various things piled in the many pans that littered the area. He sat down and picked up the main section of The Daily Prophet. He read a few of the articles before putting it down and finishing his meal. He drank another cup of coffee before talking with Remus for a few minutes. Just as he was going to leave the room, Hermione, Ron and Ginny walked in talking animatedly. When they saw him, they stopped. “I was wondering when you three would be down. Albus wants me to give you some extra training effective immediately. Meet me upstairs in the Drawing room at 9:30. Don’t be late. I will be talking with the three of you before deciding on what to teach you. See you later.” He walked out of the room and upstairs to pull a few bits of information out of the upstairs library to use in his contacting the Egyptian Ministry about the book kept in the Alexandrian Wizarding Library. *~* At 9:30, he left the library, dropped the papers of in his room and went downstairs into the Drawing room. He walked in and saw Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sitting in the corner by the fire. He went and sat down across from them. They cut short their discussion and looked at him expectantly. “I want to know what you believe you need help in on the subject of you DADA skill and Dueling prowess. If you feel you have nothing that needs perfection, I will make a few suggestions that you may consider. If you feel you are alright in these as well, I will be happy to give you instruction in any other branch of magic, so long as it won’t be used to harm a rival at school. I will work with you individually if need be. After that, you will be learning some more advanced DADA material than is usual with me at Hogwarts this upcoming year.” Ron looked up. “You’re giving us extra tutoring at Hogwarts besides usual classes, Sir?” “No, Ron, I won’t. I will be teaching. And call me Alex, will you?” They nodded. “Well, what do you think that needs honing in your magical or dueling skill?” They sat for a moment in silence, thinking. Hermione’s brow was furrowed in thought. “Well…we need three main things: our knowledge and execution of spells, our dueling skills, and our physical fitness.” Ron bristled. “Are you saying I’m fat?” Ginny giggled. “No, Ron, she’s saying you eat too much, and therefore you’re plump, which means you have no muscle or reflexes, which means you would not be very useful in a duel.” He smirked. “Well put, you two. Ron, from what I can see, she’s right.” He scowled. “Who asked you? It’s none of your business.” “I’m the one teaching you, so yes it is my business. So. Spells, dueling and fitness, right?” they nodded. “Right. I’ll be working with you for six weeks before school starts, and after that, I’ll be doing the same with the rest of the school. Two weeks here for each. We can use the Room of Requirement upstairs for everything instructional and the library for any research I might have you do. We’ll start tomorrow morning. We’ll have two weeks first for magical study, then another two for dueling, and finally two for physical work. Tomorrow, I want to see all of you in the kitchen when I come down tomorrow at 8:00 sharp. You can have breakfast and then I’ll take you up to the Room of Requirement at 8:30. Today, you can all research some spells for tomorrow’s study and practice. I don’t have anything else, though you, Ron, should cut down on the food today.” They nodded, Ron more grudgingly than the others. “Anything else? Questions?” They shook their heads. “Good. Dismissed.” *~* The next morning, he rose from slumber that was, this time, free of odd dreams, went through his morning ritual, and went down stairs for breakfast. As he walked through the door into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Hermione sitting at the table reading Witch Weekly. He looked at his watch. 7:30. He sat down across from her and clicked his fingers. A mug of coffee and a plate of food appeared before him. “You’re up early.” He said. She looked up. “Actually, I was waiting for you. I wanted to talk to you about something.” He stopped eating and looked at her for a moment. “Shoot.” “I know you’re on equal footing with Professor Dumbledore, so I thought he might listen to you if you talked to him for me. I tried earlier this summer, but he…well…he blew me off.” He set down his fork. “What is it?” “Harry.” She said simply. He groaned inwardly. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to come to this subject for a while. “What about the boy?” “I want to know why he won’t be able to come to Grimmauld Place this summer. If he doesn’t, we won’t be able to see him until Hogwarts starts, and-” He thought he might as well get this over with, so he interrupted her. “He won’t be studying at Hogwarts any longer, Hermione.” She looked at him, incredulous. “Why not?” “I’ll tell you on one condition. You must not, under any condition, tell anyone. Even now only Albus and I know about this. Do you agree?” She nodded fearfully. He watched her carefully. A blue aura flashed suddenly around her before disappearing. She wasn’t lying. He sighed. “He won’t be coming here because he already is, and he won’t be studying at Hogwarts because he will be teaching.” She looked at him, and a look of recognition flashed across her face. She frowned. “Harry?” He nodded and reverted his facial features back to their original look. “It’s a good thing you asked me so soon. I didn’t know how I would tell you if you were kept in the dark for all of his school year. So now our minds are at rest, right?” She nodded. “I’m glad you told me, Harry. Are you going to tell the others?” He changed back into Alex before answering. He shook his head. “No. Ginny s nice and all, but she’s easy to control. She doesn’t really seem the one to keep a secret, either. Neither can Ron. He would get too jealous, too. Not a good two people to tell a valuable secret to. As for the Order members, I’ve decided that it just isn’t very wise to tell them. They won’t listen to me if they know I’m Harry, but the will if they think of me as Lord Sauron. While you’re here, why are you reading Witch Weekly?” She blushed, and stuttered for a moment, a very un-Hermione like thing to do. “No reason, really…jut reading some of the articles. None of your business, Harry.” He smiled for a moment before becoming serious again. “I can’t have you saying my real name while there are other people around, but Albus gave me a way to solve that. Are you familiar with the Contra Revelare Charm?” She nodded, smiling. “Go ahead, then.” He pulled his wand out of his pocket and pointed it at her. He concentrated before muttering, “Contratorus revelento.” A blue jet of sparks erupted from the tip of his wand and hit Hermione in the chest. A flash of light went off before the room darkened and time seemed to stand still for a moment. Before him were two words. Names, in fact. Harry Alex He moved his hand over to the name ‘Alex’ and plucked it out of the air. It came off into his hand as a sort of wooden sign. He moved it quickly and placed it over the name ‘Harry’. They glowed in a soft golden light for a split second before the spell ended, and everything went back to normal. She looked at him as if thinking very heard. “Let’s test it.” He nodded. “Who was your best friend besides Ron ever since Halloween of you first year?” “Alex.” “What was his full name?” “Alex Sergetov.” She smiled. “Good. It’s working.” “Wonderful, bring Ron and Ginny up to the Drawing room at 8:30. I have someone I need to send an owl post to. See you later.” He went swiftly from the room and headed up to his own. Once he had settled himself down at his desk, he pulled out a piece of parchment, ink and quill, and began to write hastily. Albus~ Hermione has found out about the secret. I told her myself. No one else is on my list of who to let on. See you soon. ~Alex He tied this quickly onto Hedwig’s leg and let her out of the window. This done, he went over to his trunk and pulled out his books on the properties of magic. He studied them for a moment before putting them away and heading down stairs to the Drawing room. Ron, Ginny and Hermione had not yet arrived, so he sat down on the corner of one of the two heavy oak tables that stood at one end of the room. He had only a few minutes to wait before they walked in through the door, evidently in the middle of a conversation. He quieted them with a look before speaking. “If you would follow me, we have some work to do.” They nodded expectantly and he led them up the stairs and along the hallway. He stopped at the door Dumbledore had told him about and pressed the button on the box near the door. “Seventh Tower. Four. Magical study.” He released the button and waited for a moment before the light flashed. He grasped the door knob and pushed. He walked in and the others followed. Inside was a large paneled room. The walls were covered in books, except for one at the back where a magnificent chalk board stood proudly. There were three desks and a teachers table, parchment, ink and quill waiting on each. They sat down and looked expectantly up at him as he sat down at his desk. “For the two weeks we’ll be devoting to Magical study, I have decided to teach you about how magic itself works. I will be re-teaching this to you as well as expanding on it when you get to school, but it ties in with what you will be learning after these two weeks are over. Can either of you tell me how magic works?” Hermione raised her hand and he nodded to her. “Magic is the use of a special type of power that we can use to control the world in front of our eyes.” She smiled, happy at getting the question answered before anyone else. He shook his head. “Sorry, but that is not correct. Anyone else?” Her smile faltered and she frowned. “Yes it is. I read about it in A Certification of Magic by Keto Heroshi.” “Well, Mr. Heroshi is wrong then. Magic is not a power possessed merely by witches and wizards. Muggles have made artificial magic which does not often fail to complete its task. Tell me, are you familiar with muggle physics?” She nodded. “Then you will know of M Theory?” Again, she nodded. “Do either of you?” He asked the other two. They shook their heads, so he resolved to explain. “The M Theory is a complex physics theory that states that strings, small, vibrating, segments of energy make the universe the way it is. The pattern of their vibration gives the element they make up its respective properties. They also have small gravitational particles called gravitons that help dictate how they move. They can’t be seen, of course, because they are 15 units smaller than a quark, one of the parts of a proton or neutron which is another 15 units smaller than a human. “Magic corresponds with this. Magic is merely an electrical charge that changes the vibrations of certain strings in or on its target. Therefore, when the magic changes the string vibrations, it will change the atom structure of the element resulting in a complete change in the element. Basically, magic is just the forced transformation of the energy around us that makes the world what it is.” After he had gone through this a few more times and answered questions, he let out the class. Over the next two weeks they were studying magical theory, he took two days to explain how the branches of magic worked using the theory he had outlined on the first day of study. On the last day, he held a test to see f they had learned it properly. He found that both Hermione and Ginny had captured the idea well, though Ron was a bit sketchy. During the two weeks afterward, he began to teach them the theory of how to break down a spell into its various components and then disband the spell completely. Again, by the end of the two weeks, Hermione and Ginny had absorbed the theory while Ron was beginning to flounder with all of the information. To be honest, he was beginning to think that Ron should not be given these lessons if he would not be able to understand and use what he was taught. He kept his worries quiet until an Order meeting late one night in the second week of August. Dumbledore had gone through all of the important information before the subject of the training of the three younger residents of Number 12 came up… “Alex, can you tell me what the status is on your three trainees here at head quarters and any trouble you may be having on locating that book you spoke with us about at the last meeting?” “Yes, Albus, I can. I’ve gone through the basics on what makes up magic itself and carried that on into teaching them the theory on what you need to do to break down a spell and then disband its effects so that it does nothing. The two girls have grasped the two ideas very well and I think they understand it thoroughly. My only problem has been with the boy. He is either not trying, or he is merely too weak-minded to grasp these concepts. I have been trying to get him to put more effort into it, but he is, unfortunately, a slacker by name and by nature.” He heard Snape chuckle at this. “Severus, has he shown this sort of behavior in his classes with you at Hogwarts?” “Yes, Alex, I am afraid he has. He has never shown that much effort or prowess in potion making during the five years that I have already taught him. He has not really shown that it is worth my time to teach him anything at all. To tell the truth, I am looking forward to next week when his OWL results reach me. Maybe I won’t have to put up with him or some others this upcoming school year.” He nodded. “Albus, would it be too much to ask that he be removed from my classes if he shows any more behavior of this nature? He should be notified of this, of course, but it needs to be done.” Dumbledore sighed and nodded. “I had hoped he would show some effort. He would have made a valuable asset in this war. Do what you see fit, Alex.” He nodded and sat. The meeting had ended soon after that, but he had stayed afterward to talk to Dumbledore in private about the book. They had scheduled a visit to Egypt the next week with some Order members and possibly either Ginny or Hermione to come too. *~* Today, he saw as he woke on the following Monday, was the 18th. He would be beginning their fitness training today, and he had set his alarm to wake him early. He got up, showered, shaved, and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a button up plaid shirt. He walked downstairs and saw Ron, Ginny and Hermione sitting at the table with Remus eating breakfast. “Morning, everyone.” He said, stifling a yawn. “Morning.” Remus. “Hi.” Ginny. “Hey, Alex.” Hermione greeted him with a smile. Ron scowled but grunted in greeting. He sat down at Hermione’s end of the table and sipped his coffee for a moment before speaking. “We would have started your fitness work today, but I have a trip I have to be making to Alexandria, Egypt. Remus and Hermione are going to be coming as well as Kingsley, Tonks, and Rupert. You two will stay behind. We’re only taking Hermione because we though the prospect of a day at the biggest library in the world might be a good birthday gift for her, seeing as how it is next month. You too get the day off.” They grinned and Ron cheered. “No more complicated work!” He frowned. “It really isn’t that heard to understand, Ron.” “Yes it is! I don’t really get any of it at all. Hermione and Ginny ‘ve tried to help me, but I don’t get it.” His face hardened “Meaning you didn’t pay attention, doodled on you paper about Quidditch plays, or are you just too damn stupid to take it in, boy?” Hermione scowled. “That was a bit hard, Alex.” “I don’t give a damn. At Hogwarts, I will be your friend or whatever outside of class, but inside of the classroom, I will be one damn hard ass, understand. What I teach you could save you life, and-” He turned back to Ron. “-you had better get what I tell you through you thick head. If you don’t pick up, boy, you won’t be taught by me much longer. Understood?” They nodded, and he walked out of the room, calling behind him, “10:00 for Egypt, you two. Don’t be late.” After that, he swept up to his room to get ready, still fuming slightly over Ron’s ignorance. -- PLEASE READ Authors Note: I hope you like it. I am getting into the habit of posting late, aren’t I? Thank god I had Thanksgiving to do a bit of writing. After that, I was sick f almost a week, so I used my sick time to work on this. I hope I got all of the physics M Theory correct. Point an error out if I’ve made one. Thanks. The next chapter I will make an effort to get up quicker than these last two. Any Questions? Review. Comments? Review. Criticisms? Review. Applications for Governorship of Nebraska? Review. Any Reviews? Review. Wait…Hold on…That can’t be right…Isn’t it implied? Um……… Review Responses Check to see if there is one for you if you reviewed me on the last chapter. If you did and there isn’t one for you, sorry but I probably didn’t catch you when I was writing this chapter. FROM Portkey James – Thanks. I liked the legilimency scene as well. To be frank, it was even more enjoyable to be writing it than it probably was reading it. Alex and Hermione will get together at some time or another. It’s no secret. You’ll see what happens between Ron and Alex, and I hope you like it. It’ll be in the next chapter.I’ll definitely keep writing. perenelle – Thanks. To be honest, I’m surprised that someone appreciates my getting hacked of at practically everyone who reviews me. shawnpickett – Your quite right about that, to be honest. As the story goes on, there will be more and more LoTR elements introduced into the fic. As for the explanation of Harry’s absence, that will be near the beginning of the next chapter. They’ll have to figure it out for themselves. WingedWarrior – Thanks. Will do. harryherm84 – Thanks. wolfboy – Thanks, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that. Nathan – Thanks. Will do. KypDurron – Thanks for reviewing all of the four chapters. I’ll respond by chapter. Chapter 1 review – I should hope you’ve found out who he was. Chapter 2 review – Yes, that was him. Chapter 3 review – You’ll see. No ATMs, though. Chapter 4 review – Thanks. An assertive is always good. FROM FanFiction BipolarGirl – Thanks. I’ve been getting that a lot lately. Thanks for that little editing issue. I don’t mean to be rude, but are you a perfectionist? Cherry Wolfe – Thanks. Will do. Fangboy – Ok. I will explain this one more time. You’d all better get it this time, or I might have to strangle each and every one of you. The ring is only evil in LoTR because it was made and is wielded by a master who is the Darkest of them all. In this fic, its master, Harry, is not evil, and it was made by a man who was later named Lord of the Light. Harry is the heir to the original Sauron, so he is now master of the Ring. Darth Kottaram – Thanks. Glad you like it. Will do. Therefore, the ring is not evil. Of course the ring is bound only to Sauron. Harry is Sauron. Next time, get you facts strait before you annoy me. Lastly, if you read more carefully, you wouldn’t be confused. Jeez… NEXT CHAPTER: The group arrives in Egypt and collects the book. Alex takes a look at it. Ron tries to do a little thing he shouldn’t with Hermione. There are repercussions. The confrontation between Ron and Alex occurs, and Ron finds out a secret or two. Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, read another fic…review them…read another…review them…you get the idea…blah, blah, blah…etc… SilverDagger