Chapter 20: Unforeseen Problems

(July 20, 1992)

 (Savrin POV)

 Early Monday morning found Savrin in a luxurious manor along the coast of Somerset near the town of Watchet. Normally he would be doing something at the school at this time of week, but Arcturus had gotten a letter to him before the Sun had even risen, and Savrin knew Arcturus wouldn't call him to waste his time, so he decided to come and see what the situation was.

Making his way down the long hallway, Savrin noted the extravagant artwork and the suits of armor lining the walkway, and he couldn't help but come up with a few ideas to better protect Hogwarts, at least from the students. Any outside threat he was sure he could handle on his own.

 After climbing some stairs and going down another hallway, Savrin finally arrived at Arcturus' office where the man was sitting at his desk with furrowed brows. When he noticed Savrin enter the room his frown disappeared as he rose to his feet.

"What took you so long? You usually just appear out of thin air." Arcturus questioned in annoyance. "I've never been here before, so how was I supposed to know where to enter?" Savrin asked plainly.

"You didn't have a problem with that in Grimmauld Place." Arcturus stated. "You're assuming the first time I teleported in front of you was my first time there." Savrin said, at once his words causing Arcturus to freeze in place. "I see. You make a good point." Arcturus agreed, deciding it was in his best interest to not ask questions he wasn't sure he wanted answers to.

 "Now tell me, what was so important that I had to come right away?" Savrin asked, bringing Arcturus out of his dark musings. "Lord Albert Avery of House Avery is blackmailing me." Arcturus answered as he held out a letter for Savrin to read. Taking the letter, Savrin looked it over once before passing it back to Arcturus.

"So you tried to bribe him and he didn't go for it. So what? You can't be the first person who has tried to bribe someone." Savrin said, not seeing what was so important about it.

"That is just a copy of the first part of the letter. There was more to it, but it lit on fire and disintegrated as soon as I read it. What you are holding is just what I wrote down to try and recreate it, but I gave up after realizing that it wouldn't be written in his own handwriting. Anyway, what that letter doesn't say is that he has proof of me trying to bribe him as well as proof from a few other people in the Ministry. He also said he has the support of a few Board members, though the letter didn't say which ones." Arcturus explained, only this time Savrin was frowning as he thought it over.

"What does this Lord Avery want?" Savrin asked. "He wants gold, and lots of it. As well as for me to keep my nose out of certain matters. If I don't, he will report what he knows to the Daily Prophet and to the Ministry. They can't fine me for anything, and with how much I've been donating to the Ministry they wouldn't do much, but there is a good chance I could be removed from the Board of Governors if the Ministry gets involved or because of public outcry. They could see it as me trying to control the education of the next generation and oust me, and seeing as how I didn't exactly make any friends during Sirius' trial, it is a very real possibility that they would do it." Arcturus said, then released a big sigh as he sat back down at his desk.

"Of course I can't pay him. He would just keep coming back for more and more until he bleeds me dry. I don't know how he found out, but he knows the Board of Governors is important to me, or at least to you, which is why he went along with this. For some reason, he knows I won't just quit the Board, because if I did then he wouldn't have a leg to stand on, though it would tarnish my reputation somewhat."

 The room was quiet for a few seconds before Arcturus looked up to gauge Savrin's expression, and it was only then he saw something he didn't expect. Savrin was smiling. "Do you know where Lord Avery lives?" Savrin asked while still smiling.

"I do, but he said in his letter that if he disappeared then he had people that would know it was me." Arcturus said, though his words did nothing to remove the smile on Savrin's face. "Not to worry. I can deal with it. I just need some names and locations." Savrin said, only this time his lips curled up to an inhuman degree and his eyes seemed to shine a bright red, and when Arcturus saw him, he couldn't stop himself from recoiling slightly.

He knew that by giving Savrin the information he wanted all of his problems would be solved, but at what cost? How many people were going to die? But with his life on the line, he deemed his was more important, so without hesitation he began to give Savrin all of the information he wanted.

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 It wasn't until hours later when the sun was just dipping over the horizon that Savrin arrived in Montrose, a small town with a high wizard population in Scotland, and just like Arcturus had told him, there was a large mansion a mile away on a large hillside.

Knowing that was where his target was, Savrin moved forward with his plan. Making his way to the large mansion, Savrin ignored the wards protecting the place and let himself inside the building as if he owned the place. Letting out a small wave of magic, he found that there were three life signatures, two wizards and one house-elf.

Ignoring the house-elf that was most likely somewhere working, Savrin went to the parlour where the two men were. Hiding in the shadows, Savrin listened to the two men talk.

"-said this would help us regain our power, but this will only work if Lord Black doesn't care about the Governors. Father, what guarantee do you have that he won't just quit? If he does, we have nothing, while at the same time we'll have made an enemy out of Lord Black and anyone who supports him." The young man said to his father, Lord Albert Avery.

 "Lucius told me how hard Arcturus worked to become Chairman of the Governors. The money he threw around was no small matter, and then immediately he began reforming the school. Everything he is currently doing is for the school. We don't know what his goal is at the moment, but he has invested too much into Hogwarts to be shut down now. He will pay the price, at least for the time being. I plan to get more in the future, at least enough that we won't have to worry about wealth for a while. I'm sure that Arcturus will eventually remove himself from the Board and we will lose our flow of gold, but by that point I plan to have acquired enough for it to not matter anymore." Lord Avery explained, and though his son didn't know everything, he seemed satisfied with the explanation. 

 Savrin listened in for a while longer, hoping to learn more of their plans, but after twenty minutes and not learning anything useful, he made his move. Appearing between the father and son, Savrin waved his hands, causing green vines to rise up from the ground and ensnare the two wizards.

Moving in a calm manner, Savrin plucked their wands from their wrist holsters, then smiling wickedly he mimicked the voice of Lord Avery when he called for the house-elf to appear, which it did without hesitation. Scarcely had it popped into the room and seen the state it's masters were in before it was suddenly engulfed in bright blue flames that turned it to nothing but ash in less than a second.

Once he finished breathing fire on the poor helpless house-elf, Savrin turned his attention back to the father and son duo. "Well, gentleman. I would say it was an honor to meet you both, but that would be a lie. It also wouldn't matter, seeing as how you won't be alive long enough to really appreciate those kind words." Savrin said cruelly as he stepped towards Lord Avery.

 "I-I know you! You're Savrin Kincade! You work for Arcturus Black! He sent you here to stop us, didn't he?! I wasn't lying when I said I told people that if I disappeared then it was because of him!" Lord Avery cried out after he realized who Savrin was.

Smirking at the man, Savrin began to chuckle darkly as he towered over the man, the chuckle soon turning into maniacal laughter. When he finally calmed himself down some, Savrin looked into Avery's eyes before he spoke, "You seem to have your information a little twisted. I don't work for Arcturus Black, he works for me. In fact, he didn't send me here, I came here all on my own. You are threatening to ruin my plans, and I will not allow that to happen."

 Moving away from Lord Avery to the man's son, Savrin stood behind the man as he looked at Lord Avery. "Tell me, how much do you love your son?" Savrin asked, but before he could receive an answer from the bound father, Savrin reached forward and plunged his thumb into Avery Jr's right-eye socket. Avery Jr screamed in agony, but he couldn't move for the vines binding him wouldn't allow it.

"STOP! I'LL LEAVE ARCTURUS ALONE, JUST DON'T HURT MY SON!" Avery Sr cried out, but Savrin didn't seem to care. "Did you stop when the muggles you tortured pleaded for help? Did you spare the muggle-born witches and wizards your master commanded you to strike down? Tell me, Avery. Why should your life matter more than theirs?" Savrin punctuated his last question by grabbing each of Avery Jr's ears, then ripped them off his head.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! NAME YOUR PRICE AND IT'S YOURS, JUST PLEASE STOP! Avery begged, but again his words fell on deaf ears. Or no ears in the case of his son.

 "There is nothing you have that I want. Or at the very least, nothing you have that I simply cannot take from you. Besides, I wouldn't worry too much about what I'm doing to your son, but rather what I'm going to be doing to you." Savrin said, ignoring Avery Sr for the moment as he tortured the man's son right in front of him.

 For hours Savrin went back and forth between father and son, torturing, breaking them to the point where they should have died many times over, but he made it a point to heal them up after it looked like they were going to die. Savrin had already ripped into Avery Sr's mind and found where he stored all of the letters he had obtained about Arcturus bribing people, so that wasn't a problem.

As for dealing with those who would suspect Arcturus in the case of Avery's disappearance, Savrin wasn't worried about them, though he did make it a point to get their names for later in case Arcturus felt like dealing with them.

 With less than two hours before sunrise, Savrin decided it was getting close to when his fun would be over. That thought had just crossed his mind when he heard the roar off in the distance, which signaled that it was time for him to finish up here. Looking down at the mindless living corpses on the ground in front of him, Savrin stepped past them as if they were rubbish as he moved to the door on the other side of the room.

Walking outside, Savrin looked up into the sky, though if not for his excellent vision and magical perception he wouldn't have been able to see the giant figure of the Hebridean Black dragon flying overhead.

'Honestly, how wyverns are classified as dragons is beyond me.' He thought sadly to himself, though if he was being honest with himself, he sort of expected it at this point. The creatures and beings of this world were so far below Genesis that it was ridiculous. Still, though he thought of them as weak creatures, the witches and wizards of this world feared these dragons, which was all he cared about.

 Using his magic, Savrin made the mansion look like a beacon for the "dragon", and before long a pillar of fire engulfed the place and killed the two men inside. Savrin let the dragon unleash its fire for a few minutes before he decided to deal with it so there weren't any other casualties.

Changing his appearance in case any witches or wizards showed up to deal with the thing, just in case anyone tried to connect him with Arcturus, Savrin picked up a small tree branch before he shot a dozen powerful spells that lit up the sky, however the first spell had killed the dragon instantly, but he did need to put on a show in case anyone was watching.

Which just so happened to be the case as Savrin noticed someone approaching from the trees not too far away, and seeing as how he was brandishing a wand, it was safe to say he was a wizard.

 Looking at the wizard approaching, Savrin saw a very good-looking man with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes that shone even in the early hours of the morning. "Hello there! I see you've already dealt with the dragon. It's a shame I didn't get here sooner. It would have been child's play for a wizard of my caliber." The flamboyant man said coolly as he surveyed the still burning mansion and the dead dragon beside it.

"I bet you would have." Savrin said sarcastically as he stared at the man who by all accounts seemed like a moron. "Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. Though of course, you've no doubt already heard of me." The man now known as Gilderoy said, but Savrin only frowned.

He hadn't ever heard of the man before, and he wasn't sure why he should have. "I've never heard of you. Should I have?" Savrin asked, finding the man in front of him to be a bit of a puzzle. By all accounts he was below average except maybe in appearance, yet this fool seemed to believe he was magic's gift to wizard-kind. 

 "Oh, my good man, where have you been all this time? I'm only one of the most well-known wizards in this generation! Haven't you read any of my books? Break with a Banshee. Gadding with Ghouls. Wanderings with Werewolves. Those are just a few of my more popular works, all of which were based on real events that I accomplished." Gilderoy explained, though Savrin could tell immediately that what he said wasn't entirely true. Particularly the last part.

"I'm afraid I don't usually get the time to read stories in my spare time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see if there are any survivors while I wait for the Ministry of Magic to arrive. Someone most likely saw the dragon, and they'll want to remove its body." Savrin explained, though in actuality he was more interested in this man.

When he turned to head to the still burning mansion, Gilderoy stepped up beside him and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what spells did you use to kill the dragon? From what I saw, it didn't take you much to deal with it."

 Glimpsing the man's surface thoughts, Savrin got the answer as to why he was so focused on the man in front of him. 'He wants to wipe my memory.' Savrin thought internally as he realized just what Gilderoy' goal was.

Deciding to play along, Savrin explained, "I only used one spell, though I had to cast it twelve times just to be sure the dragon was dead. Of course with the proper skill and technique it is entirely possible to kill something of that size with only half that many spells, but you know what they say, 'better safe than sorry', right? Anyway, the spell is of my own creation, called 'Mori-Draco'. The effect of the spell is to solidify the blood in whatever it is used on, so after enough uses, it essentially stops the heart entirely. Quite ingenious if I do say so myself."

Sometime during his explanation Gilderoy had pulled out a quill and paper and began to take notes, which Savrin suspected the man to do if he was going to try and take credit for something he had done.

 As they passed by the corpse of the dragon, Savrin made a small ball of light appear that momentarily blinded Gilderoy long enough for Savrin to make an illusion of himself while he in turn disappeared into the shadows. He wanted to watch this play out, if only to confirm what he already knew.

Sure enough, when they reached the burning mansion, Gilderoy gestured for him to go ahead, and as soon as his back was to the man, Gilderoy pointed his wand at Savrin's illusion before calling out, "Obliviate!"

There was some light from his wand that passed through the illusion, which only seemed to confuse Gilderoy as he watched the illusion slowly fade away. Savrin took that moment to appear behind Gilderoy before whispering into his ear, "You humans are all the same."

With that said, Savrin unleashed enough magic to turn Gilderoy Lockhart inside out, though he still looked the same. Rather than kill the man, Savrin plunged into his mind like a fat kid would into chocolate cake.

Lockhart's memories were laid bare before him, though nothing really interested him, at least not until he saw how wealthy the man was. Figuring Lockhart was going to destroy his mind to prophet off of his accomplishment of killing the dragon, Savrin decided that turnabout's fair play.

 Still holding onto Lockhart, Savrin sent one final burst of magic into his skull, killing him instantly. With that done, he once more began to morph his appearance until he was the spitting image of Gilderoy Lockhart. Savrin didn't have to wait much longer after changing his appearance before Aurors and Ministry officials arrived on the scene, and it was only then that they took note of him standing next to the dead dragon.

He gave some fanciful rendition of the battle, of how he killed the dragon as it attacked the mansion, and how he regretted not arriving soon enough to save whoever it was inside the building. One thing to say about the Ministry, they did quick work, and in less than an hour Savrin was on his way, though he said he would make sure to visit the Ministry of Magic to tell more if they needed him to, but that was a lie. He had no intention of being Lockhart longer than a few hours.

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 (Arcturus Black POV)

 Two days after Arcturus had met Savrin to discuss the potential problem about Lord Avery, Arcturus was reading his issue of the Daily Prophet, and it was then he saw something that didn't surprise him or at the very least it shouldn't have.

'How he got a dragon to kill Avery is beyond me.' Arcturus thought after reading over the article about Lord Avery and his son dying in the fire. There had been a number of reports about people seeing the dragon spewing the fire off in the distance, then someone cast a barrage of magic at the dragon and killed it.

Arcturus was surprised to read how Gilderoy Lockhart actually killed the dragon, but he was even more surprised when he learned of how Lockhart had died that morning. Apparently he had suffered some unknown attack from the dragon and died of the illness. The Prophet made sure to give Gilderoy a few honorable mentions, while also stating that all of Lockhart's wealth and the rights to all of his books went to the only man he ever respected, Savrin Kincade.

 'I wonder what Lockhart did to piss Savrin off…' Arcturus wondered after reading the article. He of course held no grand illusion that Lockhart actually killed the dragon, and he knew that for the man to suddenly up and die, Savrin was guaranteed to be the cause.

'First Dumbledore dies of some unknown illness, and now Lockhart. I wouldn't be surprised if more witches and wizards suddenly start dying of unknown causes. I'll just have to make sure no one related to me tries to interfere with his plans.' Arcturus concluded solemnly, knowing that anyone who went against Savrin would share the same fate.

 Anyway, with Avery and his son both dead, Arcturus' problem was now gone, the same of which could now be said for House Avery. He and his son were the last of the bloodline, and now without anyone to take over the House, it would fall to ruin, something which Arcturus thought was in everyone's best interest.

 "You alright there, Gramps? You've been staring off into space for some time." Sirius questioned from the sofa on the other side of the room. "I'm fine. Just thinking about a few things." Arcturus said as he folded the paper before putting it off to the side to read another time.

"How have your studies been coming along?" Arcturus asked Harry, who was sitting at a table over by the window flipping through some books. "They're going good- er, I mean, they're going well. I've already finished all of my summer homework for every class, now I'm working on my mathematics. I completed my spelling assignments last night." Harry answered, doing his best to show Arcturus that he hadn't been lax in his study.

Completing the Hogwarts summer assignments had taken the boy no time at all, especially after Sirius went over everything with him an hour every night. Seeing the boy improving, Arcturus decided to hire some tutors from the muggle world to help him further his education. Harry would be required to take tests at the end of August, and if he passed each test, he would move on to the next grade the following year, only he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of attending a muggle school.

On top of that, the boy wouldn't remain ignorant of the muggle world, something which Savrin wanted everyone to know about, and Arcturus thought it best that Harry get a leg up on the other witches and wizards while he could.

 "Excellent work, Harry. I am proud of everything you've managed to accomplish this year." Arcturus praised, causing Harry to puff out his chest with pride. "Sirius tells me your birthday is in a few days. Is there anything you want to do for it?" Arcturus asked, this time completely derailing Harry's train of thought.

He hadn't ever thought of doing anything for his birthday, mostly because no one ever wanted to do anything with him, aside from Hagrid the previous year when he introduced him to the wizarding world.

"I'm not sure." Harry admitted honestly. "Think it over for the next few days. If you want to do something with your friends, I'm sure I can set something up, so don't hold yourself back. As for you Sirius, Lord Greengrass is hosting a gala on the first of August. There will be a number of suitors I'm sure, so I expect you to go and try and meet someone." Arcturus said, pausing long enough to pinch the bridge of his nose before adding, "And for heaven's sake, do not try to sleep with Cyrus' wife. Sullivan Fawley still doesn't want you anywhere near his own wife or his sister for that matter."

 For his part, Sirius only smiled at the memory of Sullivan Fawley walking in at the moment when Sirius was holding the man's wife in his arms. In his defense however, he had only caught her as she stumbled, and if the man wanted to interpret him cradling her in his arms as something guilty, that was on him.

"I told you before, that was purely innocent." Sirius stated, though his smile said otherwise. "A likely story. One I don't care to hear again." Arcturus said, wanting to drop the matter.

 "Anyway, Harry. I was thinking we could go to Diagon Alley on the second of August. Neither Sirius nor I have anything pressing to do, and your Hogwarts letter should arrive by then, so we can take that time to buy your school supplies while maybe getting you fitted for some new clothes. The new uniforms this year will be something to behold, so I think we can get you a few sets. There are also some non-school clothing designs that were submitted to the Board just a few days ago, and though they haven't been passed, I think we could get you a few of those too." Arcturus said, getting more smiles from Harry as he quickly agreed.

(Image of new clothing)

Seeing his excitement, Arcturus was reminded of how good it felt to spoil someone, and he couldn't help but realize how much he had messed up with his own son and grandchildren. Still, he had a chance to right his wrongs, and he promised himself that he would do better this time.

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 (July 31, 1992)

 (General POV)

 "Hurry up, Rowena! It doesn't matter how your hair looks!" Godric shouted up the stairs in the treehouse. They had all been invited to Harry's birthday, and they were already late enough as it was.

"Why can't you just teleport us there like last time?" Salazar asked Savrin who was sitting at the table calmly flipping through a book. "Because, there are a number of people attending, not just you four. Arcturus didn't know when they would be showing up, so I'm not sure I'd be popping you right into the midst of everything, so we'll do it the proper way this time." Savrin answered while he flipped through the pages.

"We're going to go by Floo?" Helga asked curiously, thinking it would be weird to use one of the Ministry's fire places instead of just having Savrin transport them. "Don't be stupid, Helga. We're still going to teleport, I'm just going to do it so we don't appear in their house." Savrin stated simply, which made much more sense to Helga.

 It took another five minutes before Rowena was finally ready, at which point they all gathered together before Savrin finally put his book away and teleported them all so they were within sight of the mansion. Looking towards the big place, Godric saw a number of adults standing around and talking out front by the large fountain.

"A thousand galleons says that those two are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Godric said as he gestured to the red-haired couple who didn't look to be wearing the nicest of clothes. "Nope." The others said at once, knowing that was a fool's bet.

 Their arrival garnered the attention of the adults, though they were probably just curious as to why the Headmaster of Hogwarts was bringing four children to a birthday party. "Welcome, Savrin. It's good to see you." Arcturus greeted from the doorway before he looked at the four children he had brought with him.

"Welcome to you as well, Salazar, Helga, Rowena… and to you Godric." Arcturus finished with a frown as he looked at Godric. "Good to see you too, old man. Where's Harry?" Godric asked as he moved to step past Arcturus and into the house.

Sirius who was standing a few feet away looked to be struggling to hold in his laughter as everyone watching simply stared dumbly at the situation. "Forgive him, Lord Black. He is but a simpleton." Salazar apologized as he moved to follow Godric into the house with Helga and Rowena only a step behind him.

 Entering into a large dining area, the four were greeted by eleven pairs of eyes, most of which were familiar, though there was one new set of eyes that they hadn't seen or met before. Fred, George and Ron were in the center of the room, as well as the newcomer who seemed to also be a Weasley, if her red hair was anything to go by, as well as the fact that she was pretty much latched at the hip to Fred's side. Any closer and he'd be wearing her.

Neville was of course there sitting with Susan, Hannah, Sally, Hermione, and of course Harry. There was someone else in the room, someone everyone had seen at school the previous year but never actually talked to.

Seeing as how the girl was sitting off to the side of the room by herself, Godric could see that no one had yet to speak with her. Deciding to man-up, Godric ignored the others as he moved over to stand in front of the girl.

"Hey, Daphne. How've you been?" Godric asked the young Greengrass heiress, who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else but here. "You don't know me, so don't try to act so familiar." She said coldly. It was obvious that she didn't want to be here.

 "Leave her alone, Godric. You're not going to make this work." Salazar stated as he came to step between the two. "Oh please. She might dislike me now, but just you wait until she gets to know me." Godric said, not deterred in the least from her cold attitude.

"Go away." Salazar said once more, only this time using the least number of words that he could so Godric could understand him. Getting the message that now wasn't the time, Godric gave Daphne a mocking bow then moved over to the others.

"Attending events like this just because your parents want to follow the social niceties is useless if you make no effort to adhere to social decorum. In simple terms, you can sulk and pout all you want because your parents want to get better acquainted with House Black, but at least don't throw their effort down the drain by acting like a cunt." Salazar said, surprising the platinum blonde haired girl before he turned and walked away.

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 (Savrin POV)

 After Godric and the others went into the building, Savrin looked over at the adults standing around. Molly and Arthur Weasley were talking with Sirius and another couple that Savrin didn't know. "Greetings, Headmaster. I believe you've already met Arthur and Molly Weasley." Sirius said while gesturing to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then turned his attention to the other couple.

"And this here is Gerald Smith and his wife Melinda. They have a daughter named Sally who is friends with Harry." Sirius explained. Stepping up beside them, Arcturus gestured to the other people present.

"The man here is Lord Cyrus Greengrass, head of the most Ancient and noble house of Greengrass. His wife, Lady Carolyn couldn't make it today, but that's perfectly alright. He brought his daughter, Daphne here to meet Harry and get better acquainted." Arcturus said, pausing only long enough for Savrin to nod in greeting before he moved on to the next person.

"Here we have Lady Augusta Longbottom. Neville Longbottom's grandmother." Arcturus said as he gestured to a tall, thin, and bony old woman who wore a hat with a stuffed vulture on it.

"This here is Sara Abbot, wife of Henry Abbot. They have a daughter named Hannah who is friends with Harry. They've also brought another of his friends, Susan Bones. You've of course already met her aunt, Amelia Bones."

Savrin had indeed met the woman on more than one occasion. He had actually worked with her for a bit when she asked if it was possible to recreate the trial room at Hogwarts in the Ministry for the DMLE trainees. Once she learned that it was actually him who built them and not Dumbledore, she had called in a few favors to him, and he agreed, though she would have to supply the rewards for that trial if that was something she was wanting to do.

"Finally, there is Mr. Daniel Ganger and his wife, Mrs. Anne Granger. They are the parents to Hermione Granger." Arcturus finished.

 "It is a pleasure to meet you all." Savrin said politely as he dipped his head. "If you don't mind my asking, Headmaster, what were you doing with those four children?" Augusta asked curiously. "I don't mind. After all, asking is free." Savrin said, but didn't bother to actually answer the question.

Turning his attention elsewhere, he addressed Mr. and Mrs. Granger, "So you two are the parents of Miss Granger. I must say she does you both proud. She is in the top five of all her classes, and her teachers speak very highly of her."

It was true. Ever since Savrin took over from Dumbledore, he had been focusing more on the school than the deluded old man ever did, and he was making it a point to meet with the teachers each week to get a feel for things, and to know who was succeeding and who was failing, as well as to know if there were any problem students in the school.

There were never any real problems for Savrin to handle, and aside from disciplining a few students that was as far as it ever went. There were a number of students who were just passing by, but most students were getting along fine. As for students who were excelling in school, there were maybe about twenty names that came up more often than the rest, and Hermione Granger was definitely on that list.

 "Thank you for saying so, Headmaster. It makes us proud to know that she is doing well." Mr. Granger said happily. Savrin really was proud of the girl, mostly because she herself proved that just because she wasn't from a magical family she could still succeed in magic, but she was going a step further and proving to everyone that she could be better than them.

Sure, she was a little bossy, at least as far as Godric and Rowena had told him, but she was young yet and that could easily be rectified with time.

 Savrin made sure to go around the group of adults and mention something about their children, though when it came to Daphne Greengrass he hardly knew anything about her. Sure she wasn't on the list of excelling students, but she wasn't failing anything either, so she was rather average in Savrin's opinion, though he didn't say that to her father.

From what he could tell, Cyrus Greengrass was trying to build a connection with Arcturus and Arcturus was trying to do the same, so he decided in lieu of his partnership with Arcturus that he wouldn't destroy his chances of making an alliance.

 Once he had dispensed with the niceties, Savrin whispered something to Arcturus before he moved inside of the manor. Walking through the parlour where all the children were sitting and talking amongst themselves, Savrin cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"If you all wouldn't mind following me to the dining room, I have something I would like you to see." He said, then turned without looking to see if they were following him. In less than five minutes, the children and their parents were all gathered around a large table as they waited to see what exactly Savrin wanted to show them.

Seeing as though he had their attention, Savrin gestured towards the large box he had placed in front of him before explaining, "Before I begin, I first want to apologize to Mr. Harry Potter. I know it is your birthday and all, but I've decided to steal a few minutes of your time to demonstrate a new product Lord Black and I have been developing." Savrin paused as he reached in the box before he pulled out two thin oval crystals that were familiar to the four founders.

 "This is an Arcane Communication Device, or A.C.D. as we call them." Savrin said as he held up one of the items for all of them to see. It was 4 inches long, 2.5 inches wide, and half an inch thick with smooth round edges. It looked like a mirror on one side with a diamond embedded at the top of it, while the other side looked like it had been sculpted from a smooth green gemstone. Honestly it looked like a fancy compact mirror women carried around in their purses.

After passing the two devices around the room to let everyone get a feel for them, Savrin explained their function and how they could be used anywhere around the world.

"It is my hope that each of you will leave here today with one of these devices, free of charge mind you. My only hope is that at the end of this upcoming school-year you all will give me some feedback on this product and let Lord Black and myself know where it can be improved upon." Savrin explained, causing everyone, including the parents to murmur in excitement.

"Pardon me, Headmaster, but will this device work for everyone?" Mr. Granger asked hopefully. He was sure Savrin wasn't aware that muggles might be here today when he demonstrated his device, and it seemed as though magic was an integral part of it, so he wasn't sure he or his wife would even be able to make use of such a thing.

 "Not to worry, Mr. Granger. Though magic operates it, it does not require someone with magic to use it." Savrin affirmed, causing the man and his wife to smile in relief. Off to the side, Sara Abbot, who was also a muggle, relaxed as well. She hadn't wanted to voice it like the Grangers had, but she was worried about the same thing.

 Savrin passed one device to each child, and one to each of their parents. Sirius and Arcturus each got one of course. "My own number is programmed into each of the parent's A.C.D. 's in case any of you need to reach me at the school, though I do hope you will not use this to hound me during sleeping hours. However, anytime throughout the day, if you need something from me, please feel free to call." Savrin said, getting smiles from everyone as they all moved to share their numbers with one another.

Arcturus did a good job at keeping up the appearance that he already knew of the device beforehand, but Savrin knew the man would have questions for him later, something he wasn't completely against.

 Once everyone calmed down somewhat and went back to doing their own thing, Savrin politely pulled Arcturus, Sirius, and Harry into another room so he could say something. Once they were alone, Savrin looked at Harry who seemed to be confused as to why he was also here with the Headmaster.

"I know it is not mine to give, but when I was going through my office at Hogwarts, I found an item that I believe once belonged to your father. At least Dumbledore had addressed it to you. I believe he meant to give it to you on Christmas last year, but he died before he could send it." Savrin said to Harry as he gave him a wrapped parcel.

With confusion on his face, Harry opened it, revealing a shining silver cloth that almost seemed to be fluid when Harry picked it up. "That's your father's Invisibility Cloak." Sirius said in surprise as he reached out to touch the cloak.

"Invisibility cloak?" Harry asked in confusion. "Yes. And not just any Invisibility cloak either. Most enchantments wear off Invisibility Cloaks after a few short years, but this one is an heirloom. It belonged to your father, grandfather, and even great-grandfather. It goes back even further than that, but I couldn't say exactly how far." Sirius explained, and Harry could only stare dumbly at it.

"You would do well to take good care of it." Arcturus said to Harry, though the warning was unnecessary.

"I will permit you to bring it to school if you wish, but I expect you to not run rampant with it. If I catch you using this cloak in any way that could be considered inappropriate, I will take it back from you. Understood?" Savrin informed Harry, who nodded his head quickly. "Worry not, Savrin. I'll make sure the boy understands." Arcturus assured.

 With that said and done, Savrin took his leave from the party to allow the children to all go have some fun.

 --------

 (Arcturus POV)

 Harry's birthday had gone off without a hitch, and Arcturus was glad to see that the boy had enjoyed himself. He was a bit annoyed that he had let Cyrus Greengrass talk him into letting him bring his daughter, mostly because it was plain to everyone that she was uncomfortable being there.

Had it not been for Salazar and Godric occasionally making small talk with her every now and then, Arcturus was sure she wouldn't have said a word the whole time she was there. Still, everyone seemed like they had a fun time, especially after Savrin had given them all the new A.C.D.'s.

Arcturus wasn't sure what Savrin was getting at when he said that he had had a part in developing them, but he wasn't going to complain. To him it sounded like another flow of income for House Black that would earn them millions.

 Arcturus was just beginning to settle by the fire to read a book after the long day when Kreacher appeared next to him, holding another house-elf that Arcturus had never seen before. Sirius, who had been sleeping on his sofa a few feet away jolted upright when he heard someone cry out for help, but he never would have guessed that it was a house-elf.

"What is the meaning of this, Kreacher?" Arcturus demanded as he looked at the whimpering house-elf that was struggling to free itself from Kreacher's grasp. Seeing Kreacher struggling to answer, Arcturus stood and grabbed hold of the house-elf he had never seen before and held him in the air by the back of the filthy rags he wore.

Now being free from the intruder, Kreacher answered his master's question. "This one appeared in young master Potter's room. He was threatening the boy." Kreacher said, at once causing Arcturus and Sirius to draw their wands.

 "HARRY?! HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sirius cried out as he made for the stairs, fearing his godson's safety. Thankfully he didn't need to worry long as Harry came running out of his room with his wand in hand and met Sirius at the top of the stairs.

"I'm alright!" Harry said as he moved down the stairs with Sirius beside him. Together they entered the parlour where Arcturus was still holding the elf, only now he was pointing his wand at the whimpering thing.

"What was your purpose in coming here, and why were you threatening Harry Potter?!" Arcturus demanded.

"Not threatening! Never threatening! Dobby only came to warn him! Harry Potter is in danger! He must NOT go back to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year!" The little elf warned, but the warning did nothing to appease Arcturus.

"Who is after him?" Sirius asked, though the elf only curled in on itself as it began to cry. "What family do you serve?" Arcturus finally asked when it looked like the elf wouldn't stop blubbering.

"Oh no, sir! Dobby cannot say! He has already said too much, sir!" The little elf said, then before Arcturus could question it further it popped away into thin air.

 Quickly pulling out his new A.C.D. Arcturus tapped the screen a few times before he heard it ringing. It only rang twice before Arcturus heard the line open, and before the voice on the other end could even speak, Arcturus spoke, "Savrin, we might have a problem."