"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go"-William Shakespeare-Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3.
"First come smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire"-Stephen King-The Gunslinger
"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;… And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?"-W.B. Yeats-The Second Coming
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts
"What news?" Augustus asked, taking a seat and scowling at the Phoenix on its perch in the corner.
"We've received confirmation. Portugal has decided to surrender"
"Cowards" Augustus growled.
"Just so. And he is targeting the militia leaders. He wants to push them into pulling out"
"And?"
Albus sighed. "For now, they are still with us. I've managed to convince them. They all want to drop back and secure their own borders"
"Fools"
"Are they? After what is occurring in Japan? Voldemort is already reaching out to similar groups in other countries. In all the countries of the coalition, in fact. So are they truly foolish?"
"Do not, Albus" Augustus hissed. "Do not defend their desire to abandon us. Or when you abandon us too, we will be entirely alone"
"I will be leaving Britain in capable hands," Albus said, perfectly calmly.
"Mine"
"Just so. I sometimes think that I am not the right type of person for this war. It requires a ruthlessness that I do not possess"
"So you tell yourself. I have not forgotten your ruthlessness, though you may be bent on it"
"Perhaps age has tempered me?"
"I doubt it"
Augustus' eyes narrowed. He leaned forward, intensely focused.
"What aren't you telling me?" He whispered.
Albus just smiled.
"Albus. What are you keeping from me?"
Albus inclined his head, just an inch.
"If there is something that I keep from you," he said, "it is for a good reason. I swear to you, all will be clear in time"
"Will it? When? Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are lost to us, Portugal has abandoned us, and where they go, Spain goes too. Germany will fall soon, no matter how hard the coalition fights. Switzerland will soon belong to the Inferi, France to the werewolves and giants. When are you planning on telling me? When Hogwarts is all that is left?"
Albus' calm didn't change, didn't vanish.
"If that is the correct time, then that is when you will be told. Trust me, Augustus. I trusted you. Enough to free you"
"In time for a lovely war"
"Trust me"
"You string me along, giving me bits and pieces, hints of further information, and expect me to just follow your plan once you are dead-"
"No. I expect you to fight as once you did"
Augustus paused mid-rant, raising an eyebrow and staring suspiciously.
"I expect you to unleash the terror that was Gellert Grindelwald"
"He died in Nurmengard" Augustus whispered.
"And none of his prodigious abilities remain?"
"I had the Wand, then"
Albus rose suddenly, drawing his wand.
Elder and Thestral hair. 15 inches.
Augustus' eyes focused on it, twitching slightly.
Albus reached into a drawer under his desk. He pulled out another wand, one made of a darker wood, and slightly shorter than the Elder Wand. He placed it on the desk, and tapped it with the tip of the Elder Wand, muttering under his breath.
After a moment, the wand on the desk looked exactly like the one in his hand.
"Well?" He asked. "Disarm me. Reclaim it"
"Albus," Augustus said, speaking reverently. "No. It's-challenge Voldemort. Why haven't you?"
Albus shook his head sadly. "He would never accept a challenge. Not truly. It would be an ambush. I could defeat him, that is true. But I would not be able to defeat him and ten of his followers"
Augustus swallowed. "I-I see. But you cannot. Do not give up this advantage. It-it-"
"It is only an advantage if it is used. You will make far greater use of it than I. Do it"
Augustus' hand snapped forward, faster than the eye could track.
A red light flashed.
And the Elder Wand flew into his hand.
The illusory charms flickered, and Gellert Grindelwald's face flashed instead of Augustus Shriner's. Shining bright with unholy triumph, looking thirty years younger, he held the Elder Wand aloft.
' And I unleash yet another monster. One gamble leads to another'
Severus Snape's Office
He watched, a pleased smirk twisting his lips, as the door closed behind Draco and Theo.
It was good to see that the boy still had friends. That his friends still had faith in him.
It gave Severus hope that indeed, he might be salvageable.
Over the years, Severus had looked into many a mind. He'd seen the thoughts of most of his students, at one point or another. From the depressives to the anxious. From the sex-crazed teens to the homesick first years, he'd seen much.
He'd once looked into the sightless eyes of a former friend who had experienced the Dementor's kiss.
He'd gazed into the empty mind of Alice Longbottom.
But never, never had he seen anything as profoundly disturbing as what he found inside Potter's mind.
He'd only stayed in for several seconds. And still, the non-stop barrage of thoughts and emotions had nearly been enough to make him scream.
Most people had a few thoughts occurring at the same time. They thought about what they were doing, they had thoughts in the background, and perhaps one or two errant ideas floating through the background.
Some people had particularly orderly and focused minds. Miss. Granger, for example. She only thought about what she was doing at the time, and any other thoughts floating through her head were related to that.
Potter-Potter used to have a relatively normal thought process.
Oh, there had been intrusive thoughts. He had seen in Potter's mind, when first he started teaching the boy Occlumency, how memories of his muggle victims would arise every few minutes and would be automatically combatted by memories of his, Lucius', and Quirrell's words.
It had been rather gratifying, actually. To see that Potter viewed him as equal a father figure as he did Lucius Malfoy and the Dark Lord himself.
But now. Now, Potter's mind was totally different.
The only reason he had even stayed inside it for so long was that he hadn't understood what he was seeing at first.
A barrage of images, thoughts, and memories. Most centered around Black. Split roughly equal, with half of them painting Black as a beloved hero, while the other half portrayed him as evil.
And each thought carried a hundred emotions along with it. Guilt, and fear, and pride, and joy, and rage, and love, and loathing. All of them attacking Potter's mind, pushing him far beyond the edge of insanity.
It bewildered Severus totally, that Potter had been able to function. That he hadn't simply gone on a murder-suicide spree.
And it terrified him as well.
It terrified him that a boy with a true talent for the Dark Arts, a boy who reacted strongly to them, a boy who enjoyed causing pain and murder. A boy he loved. That boy was completely insane.
At least he had the potion. At least he had successfully tested it on himself.
It would help Potter. Not totally. Not all of Potter's madness was due to Black. There was a fair amount of guilt that had nothing to do with the dog, and the potion would do nothing for that. And there had been damage done to Potter's mind, damage which the potion would not heal. And Potter would still remain a sadistic, powerful murderer with no true concept of limits.
But he would be able to control himself.
Severus hoped.
' And at least, if it works, I will be able to congratulate him for ridding the world of Black's befouling presence'
The Room of Requirement
Draco pulled her close to him, her naked body squeezing up against his own.
It had only been their third time, but Merlin. It was better every time. Every, single time. He would happily give up everything, just to run away with her to an island somewhere. They could live the rest of their days out on a sandy shore, with palm trees waving behind them.
And fucking all day.
"That was amazing. How did you know how to do that-that thing with your legs?"
She blushed, and buried her head in his shoulder, nipping at his neck gently.
"Daphne told me" she muttered. "She takes far too much pleasure out of telling me these things"
"Why? What else did she tell you?"
"If you must know. She told me about-how to-do it. With my mouth"
"I should thank her" he murmured.
"And I should thank whoever taught you that"
"Mostly Harry," he said with a shrug, almost dislodging her arm off of his chest.
She shivered.
"He scares me"
Draco nodded.
"And-and Daphne scares me too, sometimes. Was-was it really that-how you said it was? At her initiation also?"
"Yeah. She-she's like Harry, Tori. They-they react strongly to Dark Magic. It feels-Harry says it feels like sex, for them"
"And-and for you?"
He shrugged again.
"It's good. But it's not like, life-changing. For them it is. They can't help it"
"He scares me" she repeated. "Since he got back. He's just so-so crazy. And his eyes" she shivered
"Snape's got a potion. He says it'll help him. But you've got nothing to worry about anyways"
She looked at him doubtfully.
"Look. I'm his best friend. And he loves your sister. More than anyone else. You've got nothing to worry about. He's only dangerous to people he doesn't care about"
"I hope you're right" she whispered. "Because if you're wrong…"
She let the words hang in the air.
Involuntarily, Draco shivered, goosebumps rising along his arms.
Gryffindor Common Room
"Still thinking about it?" Ginny asked quietly.
Neville nodded, face drawn.
"Neville, stop. He's-he's not right in the head, ok? And I know what he said was rough, but you can't dwell-"
"How do I just stop?" He asked her, still not lifting up. "I mean. He's been through it. Obviously. The way he spoke. It was from experience. And I've-I've always known it was terrible. But to-to hear it said, so matter-of-factly. I just can't stop thinking about-about what they went through"
Hermione opened her mouth, but Ginny quickly waved a hand.
"You know," she said, still speaking as if to a frightened pet, "when-when I-after Lockhart. I-I spoke to McGonagall a lot"
"Really?" He asked dubiously.
"Really. She isn't our Head of House just because. She really cares, Nev. and she's good with this stuff"
Neville still looked unsure. Ginny continued. "P-Percy convinced me to go to her. And-and he was right. Do me a favor, Nev. talk to her"
He nodded.
"How's Luna?"
He looked up finally, a smile pulling at his lips. "She's amazing. You know Luna. She's actually forgiven him. But I'm gonna tell McGonagall. He-he needs help. And I don't-I don't think you should be around him. Any of us. He's not-he's not stable"
Ginny snorted. "I've been saying that for years, Nev, do you really-"
"No, no. I mean, he's-he's scary. You saw what he did, last year. But now he feels more-more dangerous."
Ginny nodded, not letting her terror show up on her face.
Sometimes, in her deepest dreams, the ones she could barely remember, she saw Harry. Talking to her from within a book. Making her do things.
But his name wasn't Harry in those dreams.
"We'll be careful. But you need to clear your head, Nev"
"Thanks," He said, standing up. Looking more confident than he had the last few days. "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you"
Lord Voldemort's Manor
"And they have been accepting of our desires?"
"They have, my lord" Lucius said, looking proud of himself. "Most accepting"
"Well done Lucius. Thank you"
"It is my honor to serve the cause, my lord. In every way that I can"
Voldemort smiled while Lucius preened. They all made themselves so easy to manipulate, that it would be an absolute waste not to.
But Lucius had given him good reason to be pleased.
"On my word, they will attack New York. Tell them to be prepared"
"It will be done, my lord" Lucius said with a small bow, and backed out of the room.
Lord Voldemort rested upon his throne, thinking of his victories.
With Portugal's surrender, it would only take a small push for Spain to surrender as well. And once those two were out of the way, it would only be a matter of time until Italy fell.
Within another few months, Europe as a whole would be his, leaving only Britain in a state of war. Depending on when exactly Dumbledore died, that is.
And with the actions of the Japanese, and now the Americans, it wouldn't be long until the coalition fell apart.
If he played the cards right, he'd have control of the world within five years.
' And then we can begin the exterminations'
And even better, Snape had a way of improving Harry's madness.
Soon his most reliable tool would be unstable no longer.
And then Dumbledore would fall.
' I give them a month after Dumbledore dies until they come crawling to me, begging for mercy'
And he had narrowed down the spy's identity to one of five.
Truly, it was a most wonderful day.
Truly, he was blessed by fate, kissed by destiny.
Truly, he would soon be acknowledged as the world's rightful owner.