Albus Dumbledore

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin (first class), Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, also known as the the most powerful wizard of his time, looked nothing like his usual self. Instead of whimsical bright colors, he wore a dark navy robe. His beard was tied with black ribbons and lacked his favorite chimes. He may have still looked extravagant, but compared to his normal clothes this was an undertaker's outfit.

Albus was attending a funeral at the Godric's Hollow cemetery… His dear relatives rested here. But today, he didn't come here to pay them respects. He was looking at a fresh grave.

An Auror Honor Guard. All the right words. Heartfeltly crying Peter… This grave was only two rows from Kendra and Ariana. The headstone was made of white marble, just like Albus wanted for himself. The Potters would've liked it too. His charms gave it a beautiful glow. Albus didn't need to read the words, he had engraved them himself…

James Potter. 27th of March 1960 - 31st of October 1981.

Lily Potter. 30th of January 1960 - 31st of October 1981.

Harry Potter. 31st of July 1980 - 31st of October 1981.

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

Burying empty caskets made it all the more heartbreaking…

Albus thought back on the time he faced Grindelwald and won. Back then, he ingenuously believed there would be no more conflicts of this magnitude. But the magical world plunged into war once again. More and more people were dying. The Ministry struggled to keep up. He thought creating a counter-terrorism organization was a good idea and he would do it again in a heartbeat. But it still weighed heavily on his aching soul… Damn that prophecy…

On October 31, 1980, the Order of the Phoenix suffered unfathomable losses… He offered the Potters to hide at Hogwarts or at least provide them with guards. But James was adamant: the enemy would stop before nothing, and when curses start flying innocents would die. The Longbottoms shared this sentiment. Their idea was simple and graceful: hide under the Fidelius rather than behind people's backs.

But Tom was cruel and cunning. The Logbottoms' secret keeper got captured. Albus saw the remains. He hadn't witnessed anything like it since Grindelwald's era… Hard to believe it was once a human. Albus' reason demanded him to blame the secret keeper for giving up the Longbottoms' location, but his feelings vehemently protested. If humans had a limit, the keeper's was exceeded many times over.

And then? Alice and Frank were gifted Aurors. He and Alastor personally trained them. They held their own against Tom for a good while, but it hadn't changed the outcome: multiple traces of the killing curse and Fiendfyre. And Neville… Tom was used to killing every potential threat, only a naive fool could hope he spared the child.

Augusta remained the last surviving Longbottom. Overwhelmed by grief, she accused Albus of her children's and grandson's death, organized a separate funeral at the cemetery next to their family manor, then shut herself in and was refusing visitors.

And the Potters… Again, no leads. Again, traces of Killing Curses and Fiendfyre. Everyone was dead. Tom probably killed them and burned everything down to mock the prophecy, laughing in the face of fate… The Potters also hid under the Fidelius, but who could have possibly guessed Black was a traitor? Albus did not want to believe it. Black seemingly cut all ties with his family… But facts were stubborn things: bloodbath at the muggle office building, over 20 dead bodies… If Black didn't get preoccupied with the sacrifice, Peter would never stand a chance… Albus suspected deception and checked him. There was nothing. No Dark Mark on his forearm, no suspicious thoughts. It truly was extreme luck…

And poor Hagrid. His body was never found, but he most likely perished as well… What wrong did the kindhearted groundskeeper ever do to the Death Eaters?

Severus came back in gruesome condition, with signs of torture and very odd magical exhaustion. He said Tom never intended to spare Lily and tortured him with newly invented curses before showing him Lily's mangled body. Then ordered him to personally burn it… Albus already had two nightmares about this…

Severus barely restrained himself from lashing out at Tom and dying in vain. Now the young man was burning with thirst for vengeance: he offered to help Albus improve his occlumency in exchange for spells and potions capable of defeating the Dark Lord. Naive child, Albus thought. Snape had nothing to teach Albus Dumbledore. As for spells and potions… Albus knew plenty, but they wouldn't solve the problem.

Albus had been searching for Horace Slughorn. That modified memory… He feared Tom had a horcrux. Or worse, several… Killing him had to wait before destroying the anchor… or anchors. If Tom lost his body and was resurrected, it would lead everyone to believe in Lord Voldemort's omnipotence, bolster his ranks and cause mass hysteria. Although, it probably made more sense to imprison Tom and continue searching for his immortality insurance… But this was clearly a task for Albus, not Snape.

The news of the Lord's new fanatic paled in comparison. Her Cruciatus caused Severus to miss half of the meeting, and he regrettably didn't learn of the attack on French mercenaries or Tom's plans for the Potters' funeral.

The Board of Governors kicking up a fuss only aggravated Albus further. First they couldn't spare an extra knut, then suddenly began pushing initiative after initiative! Albus only just finished testing all the new brooms they had purchased for curses. All of the Board's ideas were suspiciously benign, even praiseworthy. Why was Lucius Malfoy installing heating charms throughout the castle instead of trying to oust Albus from the Headmasters' seat? Was he preparing an underground entrance for the Death Eaters? Or planning to sneak in an assault team under the guise of workers?

He was not paranoid like Alastor. The Potters' funeral had Aurors and Hit Wizards in attendance. Alastor, as always, was lying in ambush with two elite squads, expecting an attack that wouldn't happen. Tom may be a psychopath, but attacking such an obvious target was plain stupid. In addition to the Ministry forces, most of the Order came to pay their respects.

Therefore, Albus was incredibly surprised when his scanning charms registered an impeding attack that everyone else had yet to notice. That innocent-looking cloud was a steadily approaching cleverly disguised pestilence curse. Another cloud carried two dozen ball lightnings. Several golems were digging deep underground, probably to plant explosives. And six miles in the air, above the anti-apparition wards, appeared improvised bombs. Erumpent horns delivered by portkey were falling straight at them, now guided only by gravity. Everything had been no doubt set up to hit simultaneously.

The others could easily fend off these mediocre attacks. But since Albus was present, he had to help. One wave of his wand crushed the underground golems and deactivated the explosives. The next sent a ribbon sparkling in magical sight at the cursed cloud, instantly dispersing it. Two more jabs vanished the horns and the lightning bolts.

The lackluster attack addled him. Where were the Death Eaters? Dementors and Tom's Antipatronus? And Tom himself?

Everything cleared up in short order. Through his two-way mirror, Albus started receiving reports of simultaneous Death Eater attacks all over the country.. Aurors needed immediate backup. Albus felt apprehensive about leaving the cemetery: what if the raids were a distraction? But it was all right. If anything happened, the Aurors would notify him, and he'd promptly return. Albus hurriedly added several powerful protective charms, called Fawkes, and disappeared to one of the emergency signals in a flash of flame.

Norfolk. Dozens of figures killing muggles. There were no Death Eaters, only muggles under Imperius shooting a panicking crowd with automatic weapons and shouting "Freedom to Ireland!" Terrible aim, but their numbers and the crowd's size still led to a high number of casualties. Remaining invisible, Albus transfigured all the guns into water and cast self-guiding stunners at the cursed muggles. The stray bullets that reached his shields turned into air. He bandaged all the wounded with another swish, then sent a message to the DMLE and called the muggle police. Legilimency on one of the Imperius victims showed they were nothing more than random muggles placed under Imperius and ordered to attack at the given time.

Albus moved on. Leeds, another large city. Several bus explosions via Imperio'd muggles strapped with conventional muggle bombs. After casting medical charms on the survivors, Albus continued to the next hot spot.

London. A skyscraper filled with pixies. A negligible problem if it wasn't for the fact that they all carried vial-shaped artifacts that continuously transfigured air into poisonous to humans but harmless to pixies gas. Dozens of deaths. And when pixies were surrounded by corpses, they flew in search of more humans to prank… The dead were not coming back, so Albus could only vanish the gas, destroy the artifacts, stun the pixies and send them packed up to the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures. Without delay, he disappeared in the Phoenix flame.

So many innocent lives lost… Albus had to fight the temptation to use his Time-Turner. Playing games with time never ended well…

He didn't get too far down this perilous train of thought before being interrupted by a new urgent message: the Ministry is under attack! All reserves had already been sent out, and the Ministry's two-way wards prevented all direct apparition - security in wartime was paramount.

What was Tom playing at? Yes, he could show up at the Ministry with his lackeys and kill loads of people. But he had not nearly enough forces to seize it and would hardly escape alive…

Fawkes carried Albus to the Ministry Atrium. The picture that greeted them belonged in a muggle horror film. Gory, half-eaten bodies sprawled across the floor. A crowd of witches and wizards trampling each other in blind panic. Chaotically flying spells. People accidentally landing hits on each other, spurring on the stampede. And not a single Death Eater in sight.

The cause of chaos was much worse. A terrible beast raved and dashed all around the atrium with the speed of a racing broom. Elephant-sized, with a lion's head, a goat's body, a dragon's tail… Chimera, a vicious and bloodthirsty rare beast of XXXXX-class, native to Greece. Albus vividly remembered the description from Elphias's letters.

Of course, the number of wizards present in the Ministry on any given day should be able to subdue a chimera even amidst mass panic. But this animal wore a collar and bracelets packed with magic resistance charms. The bright glow surrounding the Chimera in magical sight plainly showed it had been force-fed a cistern of potions and didn't have long to live. But it had more than enough power to demolish everything in its vicinity.

The Aurors on wand-weighing duty already perished. Twenty others who'd arrived as backup were only able to shield themselves. The fireplaces had been cut off from the floo network, no doubt by the enemy.

Albus raised his wand at the Chimera and fired an overpowered modified sleeping charm. It tried to dodge, but the spell connected, breaking a bracelet off its paw. The beast reacted like a bludger meeting a bat: it jumped backwards, then resumed its attack, this time charging straight at Albus. A hail of stunners from the Aurors affected the Chimera like ordinary hail did humans: only angered it. Dozens of cutting curses accomplished no more than scratching its body.

The beast launched itself at Albus, who threw it back with a blasting curse. He pointed his wand at it, pouring extra power into a stunner. The red ray pressed the beast into the wall but failed to knock it out. Still maintaining his previous spell, Albus moved his wand in a circular motion. The Ministry may have been charmed against transfiguration, but not absolutely. Suddenly liquefied walls swallowed the Chimera up to the snout, then hardened just as abruptly. The beast thrashed in a frenzy, trying to break loose. Cracks began to spread from the corner, and the dragon tail was about to burst from under the floor…

Albus enveloped the Chimera in golden flames. It finally stopped moving but remained alive, bubbling with overflowing potion energy that needed an exit. He cast a Shimmering Shield around it not a moment too soon. In total silence, the animal's body exploded into chunky red paste held inside a sphere.

Horrifying diversion tactics… Horrifying atrocities. Albus realized he once again underestimated Tom's malice. And the cemetery stayed quiet…

He hurried to triage the wounded and help with their transport to St. Mungo's. Then he had to investigate whom Tom used to plant the chimera and whom he bribed, threatened or put under the Imperius at the Department of Magical Transportation…

St. Mungo's received many victims from the Ministry mayhem. It did not take us much effort to obtain survivor memories and copies of official reports. I was immersed in the pensieve, watching first-hand witness accounts of the operation over and over.

In their native range, Chimeras were controlled with highly specialized stationary repelling charms. Not even we wanted to release the Greek magical creature to ravage the middle of London. We took a more sensible route and delivered it to the Ministry atrium via a freight portkey, with the help of an inside man under Confundus.

How did wizards usually fight Chimeras? The simplest solution was flight- pelting it with spells from a safe distance. But the Ministry had no space for broom maneuvers needed to outfly a swift beast that jumped up to 60 feet. Option two: transfigure the surface under it into a swamp. Land-bound Chimeras could not beat physics, but charmed Ministry floors made creating a large deep swamp very difficult. Option three: use specialized charms. But a team of magizoologists or Chimera tamers was very unlikely to wind up at the Ministry. Option four: resort to High Dark magic. Even if those paper pushers knew any, no one would risk a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Option five: overwhelm the beast with a barrage of simple spells like stunners. But good luck landing enough concurrent hits on a chaotically dashing target, especially in a crowd of hysterical civilians.

The Aurors were away responding to other emergencies, the nearest backup at least thirty seconds away. The on-duty patrol barely counted as a snack, so the Chimera would tear apart many more. Still, we took precautions: dressed it in magic resistant artifacts, gave it aggression and defensive potions…

But Dumbledore spoiled the fun. He dealt with all the diversions incredibly fast. Personally, I wouldn't have been able to subdue a Chimera so quickly… Even more astounding was how he did it - not a hint of Dark magic. How did he transfigure such a large portion of the heavily charmed floor and walls? And what was that golden flame? How could I learn to wield it or at least defend from it?

Ultimately, the operation had brought mixed results. I lost any remaining desire to face Albus. Maybe I and the entire Inner Circle could take down one old man… But I better throw in a couple dozen ordinary Death Eaters. And Dementors. And giants. And poison him before the battle. And make sure he comes wandless. Dreams, sweet dreams…

But that was all right. Regardless of his power, no single wizard could stay on top of everything at once. We would suffer much bigger problems if he used harsh legilimency and Cruciatus on suspects or decided to forcefully interrogate all purebloods. Albus's virtue will be his death.

On a more positive note, the Chimera killed nineteen wizards, including seven Aurors. Dozens were injured, ranging from bleeding to torn off limbs. We certainly caused enough terror to make the Potters' funeral a memorable day for years to come.

Pity we couldn't retrieve the animal's body. I would have to buy another in Greece. The enemy was unlikely to fall for the same trick twice, but I needed the extra necromancy practice… Undead magical creatures lost all their magical properties, essentially becoming animated chunks of meat, hence no one bothered with them. But I was still going to try. Experiments demanded sacrifice.

Lastly and most importantly, this stunt had fulfilled my evil deeds quota. I could now fully focus on education without worrying about anyone connecting my idleness on the terrorist front to the Samhain night. Why the idleness? The terrified enemy increased security measures through the roof, so the Lord was obviously busy preparing new brutalities! Why, didn't you notice the steady stream of corpses carried out of the Lestranges' manor?

"My Lord, Ollivander is at last ready to cooperate," Rodolphus interrupted my thoughts.

I had many questions and requests for Ollivander, far too many for one visit. After several days in the dungeons, the wand master looked pathetic: bruised, scraped, dirty… He flinched at the sight of me. But legilimency showed he was hiding something even in this condition… No matter, a couple of chats would remedy it.

"I have questions about wands and wandcraft. Tell the the whole truth and nothing but the truth or else you will be punished. Behave and you may earn a better cell. What are the capabilities of wands? How much more efficient is using a wand relative to casting the same spell wandlessly? Why are wands only made from certain materials? Answer me."

"This is in immensely complex subject. Answers to your questions fill multiple book tomes," he replied. "Early in my career, as I watched my wandmaker father wrestling with substandard wand core materials such as kelpie hair, I conceived the ambition to discover the finest cores and to work only with those when my time came to take over the family business…"*

"Crucio! Be more concise. Write down a list of relevant books with brief summaries. You have a wife and two adult children, do you not? Draft a letter telling them what books to send to the location we will give you. Now, I want short and clear answers to my previous questions."

"Some wands are more powerful in transfiguration, some in charms and so on. The wand's propensity usually matches its owner's. On average, the coefficients of power amplification and magic cost reduction in my wands reach up to ten. Children are able to cast a wandless spell about once a month during so-called spontaneous discharges. Most adults are capable of several average or one powerful wandless spell per day, but very few have the necessary experience and level of control. The difficulty of wandless magic makes it almost entirely useless for civilians. However, a very powerful wizard can cast simple wandless spells with zero loss of efficiency."

He seemed to be telling the truth. Although Ollivander was not skilled in wandless magic, his knowledge made sense: what else to use as a standard for his creations? Like the majority of wizards, a wand master had no practical use for wandless magic. Forgot your wand? Come back for it. Broke it? Buy a new one. In trouble? Call the Aurors…

"What are the abilities of other wand masters, for instance Gregorovich?"

"His wands are marginally more powerful and perform slightly slower."

"Make a list of all the wand masters, their strengths and specialties. Next: are all wands suitable for Dark magic?"

"Any wand may be used for any magic. The key lies with the owner. The wand acts as focus and amplifier."

"What criteria are used to find a matching wand?"

"Each wand has a proclivity for certain types of magic. If the wizard shares it, the wand chooses him or her."

"What do you mean by choosing? Is it alive? Sentient? Be more specific or you will receive another Crucio."

"Ideally, the wand's flow of magic supplements the wizards' own energy. Synergy and resonance. When the wand does not match, these energies conflict and completely block each other. A partial match limits the owner's potential."

"During my very first visit to your shop, you said the wand learns from the wizard, and the wizard learns from his wand. What does it mean?"

"The wand becomes accustomed to its owner's style - habitual gestures and energy transfer. It aims to help and corrects small mistakes."

"What types of mistakes? If wands are capable of learning, why are they not used for centuries by multiple people? Such wands wold be immensely powerful."

"A wand is not intelligent. It is a magical symbiote that can only be attuned to one owner. Wands are sometimes passed down through generations. They can get used to a new owner, but the adjustment process begins anew each time."

I was thinking… Self-learning… Apparently, wand crafters discovered the concept of neural nets.

"Would killing someone allow me to use their wand?"

"Killing is not necessary. An enemy wand taken in combat will obey you. Yet it will never work as well as one you have used for years."

"Tell me about wand cores."

"Dragon heartstrings are most suited for battle and Dark magic, unicorn hair - for Light and healing magic, Phoenix feathers are unpredictable. Hair or body fragments of other magical animals are rarely used because they tend be unstable or result in unpopular combinations."

"Describe the woods."

Ollivander pattered on an on… Nor even Cruciatus diminished his enthusiasm for wands. But I only needed the information to help me learn more about myself, not compete with his family business.

"Write down everything you just said. How many wood types do you use?"

"Forty-four common types of wood. And regarding cores, I prefer the best three but occasionally experiment with others. I also sell leftover wands crafted by my predecessors."

"Now tell me about my Phoenix feather wand. Succinctly and without philosophy."

"Yew wood, phoenix feather core. Powerful and temperamental. Most attuned to Fire, Death, and combat Dark magic."

"The Ministry allows you to sell that?"

"Any wand may be used for any spell."

"You will make a list of every wand you have ever sold along with the names of their owners. Begin with wands inclined to the Dark Arts."

It seemed I found a list of potential recruits.

"Give me a very detailed description of my wand. Is there anything special about it? What yew tree did you use? What phoenix feather?"

Maybe this would shed some light on my differences from Riddle and why the wand stopped obeying me…

"I crafted your wand using the standard process. The result was as excellent as all my other products. I used an ordinary yew branch and an ordinary phoenix feather."

I felt a distinct lie at "ordinary phoenix feather."

"Crucio! Do not attempt to deceive me or lie by omission. What kind of phoenix feather? A rare specimen? An endangered breed?"

Ollivander remained stoically silent.

"Crucio! Legilimens!"

He was decently skilled in occlumency. Part of the memories, no doubt secrets of his craft, were protected by something else. I very carefully wriggled into the memories of my wand. Ollivander usually received Phoenix feathers from Egypt. But here he received two feathers. From Dumbledore…

"My wand's core is a feather of Dumbledore's familiar?! Crucio! Can a wand be traced through a familiar bond with the animal whose body parts are in that wand? Is it possible to explode the core or stop it from working?"

"No! The process of wand creation severs all ties between the core and the donor animal! You cannot be traced, your wand cannot be affected."

His words felt truthful, but I went on to verify them with legilimency. Phew… For a moment, I thought I was Dumbledore's puppet he can blow up at any time. Seeing conspiracies everywhere was a distinct side effect of the Dark Lord profession. Still, I'd have to read the books and scrupulously cross-check everything again in my "night pensieve."

"Where is the other feather? Who bought that wand?"

"No one yet. You likely captured the wand along with my other shop contents."

Wonderful.

"What are its proclivities?"

"Any magic may be done with any wand."

Right. Only with different energy cost. And whereas for simple spells it was negligible, attempting High Magic…

"Crucio! What are the proclivities of the other phoenix feather wand?"

"Fire, Life and Death…"

"Life and death. Are opposite schools normal?"

"Rare, but it happens."

"How many is normal?"

"Usually one or two. Three is less common but far from exceptional. I have never seen a wand with four."

I wonder: would it match me? I quickly searched through his mind for an image of the wand and its box, cast a courier charm and told Rabastan to bring it.

"Does anything unusual happen when these two wands interact?"

"Priori Incantatem…"

I suddenly felt nauseous and heard blood pound in my ears. It would be child's play to duel me, trigger the reverse spell effect, and finish me off while I am disarmed… I could keep throwing wandless stunners for a very long time, but ten or so true combat spells would bleed me dry. Maybe it truly was Albus's plan? Both of these phoenix feather wands must be kept in a secure place!

"Tell me about the wand I am holding."

"Frank Longbottom's wand. Cherry and dragon heartstring. A potentially volatile combination. Inclined towards Dark and battle magic."

"Does it have a pair or contain parts of anyone's familiar?"

"No."

Legilimency confirmed it was true. I could continue using it, then.

"I need a wand worthy of my greatness. You will craft it for me."

"I would need you to remove your defenses. It is the only way for me to see what you require…"

I'd have one of the Lestranges cover me.

"Later. Right now, tell me: why do wandmakers never use metals? Goblin steel? Gemstones? I have come across bone wands in my travels. Can blood be used as a core? The owner's blood or someone else's? Body parts of powerful magical creatures? A Nundu? Chimera heart? Basilisk fang?"

"It is technically possible to craft a wand with metal or other non-living material, but using it will be more difficult than performing the same magic wandlessly. Bone and blood… Their use in wands is forbidden by law. Such wand are powerful but virtually useless for anything other than Dark magic. Powerful magical creature parts leave a magical trace so overwhelming no wood can handle it. I once tried to create a wand with Nundu fragments. Every wood crumbled into dust at the very first attempt to use it; steel and bone failed to work at all. Dragons appear to be the only exception."

"And Basilisks?"

"No idea. England has not seen a basilisk in 400 years, and the Indians refuse to export their body parts."

I'll find you a Basilisk for experiments.

"Why can we not use more than one wand simultaneously? One in each hand would be very efficient."

"The wands connect to the core, not hands. Several wands conflict and begin to explode starting with the most incompatible ones. However, nothing is stopping a wizard from carrying a backup wand in case of disarmament. Most Aurors do. But the magic performed with it is always noticeably weaker."

"What about two wands with cores from the same phoenix?"

"I… I don't know…"

And now, the most important question.

"Tell me about the Elder Wand."

Ollivander's already ashen face somehow turned even whiter.

"Legends speak of an incredibly powerful wand that changes hands through murder. It most likely originated from a cautionary tale about human greed and cruelty. According to the stories, the wand is as powerful as it is treacherous."

"If the wand is so powerful, how are its owners defeated?"

"Usually through deceit or theft. Or murdered in their sleep. If it exists, I doubt it is all-powerful. It probably has an equal inclination to all magic schools and the maximum possible coefficients of spell power amplification, reduction of energy cost and simplification of spell structure creation. I very much doubt it has its own energy core and channels. It would be useless in the hands of a muggle or a wizard with magical exhaustion."

To be honest, the perfect wand sounded very alluring. But it brought misfortune to all its previous owners… Still, I needed it, if only to keep it from the enemy. And to collect the full set of the Hallows… And see what happens. What if I truly became the Master of Death? This was the magical world, stranger things have happened… I already had the stone, though I never did find a use for it. The wand probably existed as well. The cloak… I was going to search for it. Hopefully it ouldn't be a replay of the stone story.

"What does it look like? What would be the best place to begin the search?"

"The only known fact is that it is made of elder wood… Core unknown… Because of the numerous con men and braggarts, its appearance is also unknown. The only common link seems to be its owners' fame and power."

"Crucio! Be more specific! Do you know anything specific about any of the Elder Wand's owners? Any pertinent rumors?"

"There were rumors… Long time ago, at the beginning of the century… that Gregorovich had it… He most likely spread them himself… Good for business…"

Then, Gregirovich would soon take up residence in the adjacent cell. What if he still had it? The Lestranges could watch my back while I visit Gregorovich with new golems and liches… Although, maybe it would be more prudent to go for his family and take them hostage?

Ollivander looked ghastly - I got a bit carried away with the Cruciatus. Time to finish up for today.

"You will write everything you know about the properties and potential of wands. In clear and precise language. Then, an additional detailed report on the two with Fawkes' feathers. And another on Frank's wand. And Dumbledore's. And Moody's. Then put together a list of all your customers and what they bought, starting with those whose wands are most suitable for Dark magic. Lastly, you will craft me a new wand. If you need rare materials -Basilisk parts or my blood- you will receive them after thorough legilimency and vows. And you will only work in my presence. Understood, Ollivander?"

"Yes…"

I called in Rabastan, who had been waiting outside the dungeons with a box. The one with the second Phoenix wand. Well then, there was no other choice but to give Ollivander information about me. I bound and paralyzed him, then scanned the room.

"Rabasan, I am taking down my shields. Cover me."

I picked up the holly wand and waved it. Weak. Better than Alice's but worse than Frank's. Then waved the yew wand. Much better. Waved both at once. Strange feelings… They did not seem compatible, and yet… I'll have to do some thinking, a lot of thinking… But first, go through Ollivander's thoughts. He didn't understand what happened… I partially loosened the paralysis to let him talk.

"Is it normal for twin wands to behave this way?" I asked.

"No… Only one should have responded. But both responded partially. It is very strange."

After Ollivander finished observing me, I left his mind and began reapplying my shields.

"I will be awaiting results, Ollivander."

We left his cell. I held high hopes that Ollivander would make me something worthy. And I needed to find Gregorovich… The Lestranges can search, and I'd participate in his capture… If I forced Ollivander and Gregorovich to work together, would they create something interesting?

Meanwhile, I could use some rest. And Lily needed to see the Lestranges' training hall. I apparated to her.

"Put on your uniform. I will show you the training room and teach you to use the dummies. You may practice weak spells here, but take care not to kill yourself or blow up the house. At the Lestranges', the wards can spot you."

As always, her thoughts were a mess: imagining a public beating with further torture. What would be the point?

"What about the operation? Did any of the prisoners survive? My Lord?"

"Thirty-six muggles."

"Will they be released, my Lord?"

"No. But while they are alive, Mulciber won't go searching for more."

"Is it normal that I had the power to shatter that ward dome? My Lord?"

"You were able to do it because I made you stronger. Do make an effort to live up to your new status. We are leaving."

The Lestranges' training hall resembled a miniature soccer field. I began a chain of basic confidentiality charms.

"Even though no one is going to spy on you here, you must learn these charms. This is how you control the dummies. Channel your energy here. They can't fight, only fire some stunners powered by a basic accumulator. Don't forget to choose their behavior. I recommend the barest minimum and starting with a single dummy."

If the wand chose the wizard, then knowing the wand would tell me the owner's predispositions…

"What is your wand made of?"

"Willow and unicorn hair."

What did Ollivander say… Considering the unicorn's power, we'd soon have a new healer.

"You will come here twice a week. Do not badger anyone, especially not Bellatrix. In case of emergency, feed energy through your Mark to call me. Do not kill anyone. No foolish nonsense like trying to steal Neville- he is in good hands. No gallivanting around the manor: you enter only the apparition platform, corridors, and the training hall. This is an order. Understood?"

"Yes, my Lord."

"Now show me what you can do."

Lily could perform most of the school program, from the tickling hex to Bombarda. Confidently hit still targets, not so much anything moving. Produced silver haze instead of a Patronus. Did not attend the dueling club at Hogwarts. Knew no Dark magic. Had a repertoire of four defensive spells, the strongest one being Protego. In short, she had absolutely no combat value.

But maybe I was nitpicking? For an average Hogwarts graduate and a civilian housewife, it did not look half bad…

Next came the Air Whip, sometimes called invisible whip. It was technically visible - in magical sight. Lily's inability to handle it was glaringly obvious. That won't do. If she used a blood whip, she would kill herself or her allies in two swings.

"Practice until you can hit a moving target while moving yourself. Then you may learn self-guiding charms. Study concealment and defensive charms, at least one of each: Blinding Shine and Universal Shield. Now show me your whip again, after I conjure water that will help you see its trajectory.

A good fighter felt the whip as an extra appendage, minus the pain. But unfortunately, I only had Lily.

With a visible whip, she progressed notably better.

"Change of plans, Elena. You will keep working with the water whip. But do not even think about increasing its pressure, heating the water or imbuing it with magic. Now, repeat everything you just did without holding yourself back."

This time around, the situation looked more redeemable. Her simple spells were rather powerful. Far from Bellatrix's level, but Lily could defeat a low-rank Death Eater… if he stood still… and refrained from Dark magic… Who was I kidding? The only silver lining was that she barely used up half of her reserve in three hours of casting, which would have left an average wizard empty of magic and blood.

"Enough for today. When you leave, remember to erase your spell traces. Until you learn astral cacophony, carefully channel energy into this support beam, and it will do it for you."

"My Lord, do you do act this way with all your servants?"

Insolent girl. But Tom wanted to kill the two children without knowing the full prophecy, and where was he now? Keep your enemies closer… And increasing her power was the most foolproof way to hide her- such a drastic change gave her a completely different signature… And she made an ideal hostage for Snape, who held the key to Hogwarts and a bonus elite occlumency package. And in addition to their money, the Potters were a family of artificers…

"A witch as powerful as you cannot remain neutral. You either learn or be a danger to yourself and others. Magical strength must protected. Our numbers are few as it is."

"I never noticed any special talents in myself. If magical power could be increased like you said, the world would be full of Merlins. Why me?"

"The ritual is extremely obscure, complicated and works for very few people. You are lucky. I tested it on you, and it worked."

"And how many people did you kill for that, my Lord?"

"For that, none. As you witnessed yourself, I know far more than Dark magic."

"Maybe you don't use it at all?"

"I do. Imagine you are attacked by a hundred Aurors. You cast Incendio - they shield with Protego, you continue trading "safe" spells. Take a guess who is going to run out of energy and lose every time. I use spells unavailable to most to take out the maximum number of people with every hit and have a chance at winning. The Ministry bans all spells that make it harder for them to control the herd."

Well, not exactly. Unlike the killing curse, Incendio left a chance at survival. It paralleled the distinction between chemical weapons and conventional bombs in muggle warfare.

"It's not like that at all. And what about human sacrifice?" she continued nagging.

"Sometimes the enemy has an unfair advantage in numbers, magical sources and so on. Then we have no choice but sacrifice something. Our blood. Blood of others. It is simply an additional energy source. If we had a chance to win, we would have never resorted to it."

"It's disgusting!"

"I will bring you Ministry reports from the Department of Mysteries. They dabble in everything, including powerful Dark magic. They simply have more opportunities to hide it and less reasons to use it. In our place, they would do the same."

The Unspeakables did have a Dark Arts department, how else would they get aquarium brains? It was steadily downsized for the past two centuries. The Ministry has not authorized a single human sacrifice in the last decade, and the Unspeakables in that department spent their time collecting dangerous artifacts that were too valuable or too dangerous to destroy. That was where I recruited Rookwood. I should set up Lily to talk to him. And show her the official reports, with slightly modified dates…

"I don't believe you!"

"Believe anything you like. I'll show you their reports and find an Unspeakable to answer your questions. I understand your feelings, but my patience is not unlimited. It is time for you to get started on the werewolf integration project."

Why was she so stubbornly suicidal? I wasn't made of steel.. I'd have my revenge… No, not the Cruciatus.

"I will introduce you to Charles Nott. He is a sane, reasonable man, not at all like Rosier. Be very polite. Have dinner with him and chat a bit. Ask him about his life, work, hobbies. Tell him your legend. Ask about his wife and son, his son's abilities. And in the very end, right before leaving, tell him about the werewolf project. You are forbidden to disclose any information about me, to destroy his property and to attack anyone at his house. It is an order. You have more polyjuice in ampules, correct?"

Lily's thoughts were spinning, fruitlessly searching for the catch… I covered her with double-layered defense charms… With the second layer triggered by a keyword.