War against Magiterran E. C. R. Potter
Summary: two years after the defeat of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, a new threat arises from across the ocean to challenge the four-kingdom alliance: specifically, the Gryffindor Royal Family. Their homeland in danger, the Mage Knights once again take up arms to fight an all too familiar enemy.
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Inc., Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Raincoast, and any other affiliated party.
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Chapter 1: The Royal Twins
In the days long ago, there was once the great continent of Magiterran, home of a great gathering of people gifted in the arts of war and of magic. This continent was divided into four kingdoms, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
In the northwest was the Kingdom of Hufflepuff, land of the common worker. Indeed, the Kingdom of Hufflepuff prided it self in having the greatest of farmers, artisans, blacksmiths, merchants, craftsmen, anybody who worked with their own hands. For the citizens of Hufflepuff were the backbones of the four kingdoms.
On the other hand, the Kingdom of Ravenclaw, in the northeast, was the home of the scholars of Magiterran. Ravenclaw was the home of many a priest or scholar who wished to delve into the art of study. The northwest kingdom boasted the greatest religious activity and think tanks in all the lands.
A completely different matter was the Kingdom of Slytherin in the southeast. Run under a highly elitist system, the Kingdom of Slytherin was the kingdom of nobility. In Slytherin, the nobles had the final word and class structure was very strict. Yet, it was in this kingdom that the class structure constantly changed for those of the lower classes always strived to advance their ranks.
Yet, by far the greatest of the four was the southwest Kingdom of Gryffindor. A highly military state, the ideals of the Gryffindor kingdom were chivalry and valiancy. Gryffindor soldiers were admired by citizens of all four kingdoms, for their legendary bravery where they would charge into battle to save the lives of others without thought to one's own safety. Despite the prominence of the military, the common muggle was always treated most fairly in Gryffindor. This was the kingdom of equality and perhaps that was what made the Gryffindors so great.
The four kingdoms were gathered together in an alliance of commerce, religion, politics, and military. The symbol of the four-kingdom alliance was Hogwarts castle, located in the center of Magiterran where the borders of the four kingdoms met. Hogwarts was the home of the Mage Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in Magiterran. The Mage Knights wandered around the kingdoms freely without political problems. They flew to anywhere where there was trouble to help those in need. They were undeniably the greatest warriors in all of Magiterran. Yet, even with the Mage Knights, not all times were happy and peaceful in the great continent.
There was once a time of darkness when the dark lord Voldemort raised a following of fanatical extremists, called Death Eaters, for the sole purpose of ruling Magiterran. For twenty years of constant warfare, Voldemort waged war against the Alliance. So great was the terror that he brought upon the lands that people were afraid to even speak his name, preferring to call him You-know-who. Yet, in the end, the Death Eaters were crushed by the Alliance, and Voldemort was defeated by the Mage Knights. Peace returned to Magiterran.
This story starts two years after the fall of Voldemort. It was a day of celebration as the citizens of Godric's Hollow, the capitol city of the Kingdom of Gryffindor, crowded in front of the gates to the royal palace. There was much rumoring and gossiping amongst the folks as Prime Minister Seamus Finnigan stood in the balcony over looking the front gates where the crowd could see him. Behind him were other members of the royal court: Dean Thomas the valet, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil the ladies in waiting, and a few others. Dean nudged Seamus as Lavender and Pavati started giggling. Seamus took a deep breath and spoke out to the crowd:
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Gryffindor, I have a very special announcement to make…"
"Well! Is it a boy? A girl?" yelled someone in the crowd. Other people followed suit and soon the entire crowd was shouting the same question at Seamus. Lavender and Parvati exchanged alarmed glances as Seamus tried to shout to the masses.
"Everybody! Calm down! Please calm down!" Unfortunately, the crowd continued shouting and didn't seem to be calming down when suddenly, what sounded like a very loud canon blast sounded through out the court. The crowd immediately calmed down.
The blast had come from a man standing right behind Seamus: a tall red headed man with rusty armor and a scarlet cape and a drawn sword. Sir Ronald Weasley was a Mage Knight and the high commander of the Gryffindor military. As soon as the crowd had calmed down, Sir Ronald sheathed his sword and said, "You may continue Minister Finnigan."
Seamus gulped and hesitated for a moment. He, along with a good many citizens of Magiterran had a small fear of the Mage Knights. But he immediately composed himself and spoke out to the crowd again, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that on this day of the second year of the reign of King Harry the first that just one hour ago our beloved queen has given birth to twins, a boy and a girl."
The cheers that were issued from the crowds that day were louder than any sound that had been heard in the Alliance for a long time. The people celebrated for days about the births of the new prince and princess and nobody had ever been happier in the Kingdom of Gryffindor since before the days of Voldemort.
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While the citizens of Godric's Hollow were celebrating with a lot of noise, there was another more silent celebration going on in the west wing of the royal palace. A young man dressed in elegant scarlet robes was looking out of the window at the cheering crowds. He was tall, had messy raven black hair, emerald green eyes, and a scar on his forehead that was shaped like a lightning bolt. He was Harry Potter, the king of the Kingdom of Gryffindor.
"Can you hear them?" he asked. He turned towards the king sized four-poster bed behind him, a small smile on his face. "Hermione?"
Lying on the bed was a beautiful young woman with long bushy brown hair, cinnamon brown eyes, and a loving smile on her lips. Lying next to her on the bed were two babies wrapped in swaddling cloth. They both had their mother's hair color. Though pale, weak, and exhausted from the laboring process of childbirth, Hermione still managed to sit up just a little and take the twins in her arms. It is said that a woman whom has just given birth is the most beautiful thing in existence and as Harry looked at his wife holding their children he couldn't help but agree as he fell in love with her all over again.
"Yes I can hear them," she said. She looked up at her husband and smiled. "They're celebrating our children, Harry. Our children. Can you believe it?"
"Its still a little hard to believe," said Harry. He sat down next to Hermione and brushed away a strand of hair away from her forehead. He kissed her in the same place and looked down at the twins who had just woken up. Two pairs of emerald green eyes looked up at Harry and Hermione.
"Look Harry, they have your eyes," said Hermione. Harry grinned as he took his daughter in his arms and kissed her on the forehead. He then bent over Hermione and kissed his son on the forehead as well.
"What are we going to call them?" he asked.
Hermione smiled and turned toward Harry. "James and Lily."
Harry was absolutely stunned. "You mean it?" Hermione wanted to name their twins after the parents Harry had never known.
Hermione leaned toward Harry and whispered, "Ever since I've been old enough to consider becoming a mother I wanted to name my children after the former king and queen. Of course, at the time I never expected that I'd end up as their daughter in law." She giggled.
Harry looked about ready to cry. "Thank you. Thank you so much Hermione. You don't know how much that means to me." He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "I love you."
"I love you too, Harry."
Harry lied down on the bed next to his wife. Hermione also lied down and placed her head on Harry's chest. They stayed in that position for a while just gazing down at their twins still in their arms.
"When will you be leaving for Beauxbatons?" asked Hermione after a few minutes.
"The day after tomorrow," said Harry with a sigh. Hermione dug her face into the nape of Harry's neck. Harry started stroking her hair.
"I wish I could go with you," she said.
"I wish I could stay here," said Harry. He kissed the top of Hermione's head. "As a king, its my duty to go meet the delegates but I'd much rather stay here as a husband and a father." It suddenly hit him that he was a father. He chuckled softly from the sheer joy the realization brought to him.
"I'll miss you."
"I won't be gone that long, it's only a few days."
"Hold me." Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione, their babies in between them. Hermione allowed herself to melt in Harry's arms, the exhaustion finally catching up with her. Slowly, her breathing became steady and she drifted off to sleep. Harry smiled and kissed her on her cheek. He pulled himself out of bed and picked up the twins.
As he carried them to the nursery right next door, Harry gazed down his two children in his arms. HIS children. A part of him still couldn't believe that he was a father. But the two pairs of emerald green eyes that looked up at him were enough proof. Eyes identical to his and his mother's. No one else had eyes like that. Little James had fallen asleep and little Lily was following. Harry chuckled as he laid the two in their crib. He softly stroked their hair.
"I spent my life denied of all forms of love. Since then, I promised myself that when I have a family of my own, I will give them all of the love that I have been denied." He kissed the two on their foreheads. "Now that I have my own family, I'll renew that promise. I promise you two that I will give you all the love that I have denied. There is no way that I am going to let you two have the childhood that I had. I love you two." He kissed them both again before he left the nursery.
He got back into the master bedroom, changed into his nightclothes and climbed into bed. Almost by instinct, Hermione snuggled up to her husband. Harry smiled as he wrapped his arms around Hermione again. He kissed her softly on her lips, hoping that she wouldn't wake up. Hermione made a small smile in her sleep. Harry also smiled and whispered, "I love you," into her ear.
"I love you too," she mumbled in her sleep. Harry grinned and pulled her closer to him. He soon drifted off into a steady slumber.
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A/N The sequel, its here! So how did you like the first chapter? Please R/R it. I sure hope that this story will live up to the prequel and everyone's expectations. OK, so the first chapter has major fluff, but the plot will come in effect from the next chapter. It's a lot more serious than the prequel. So just sit back and relax and on with the show!