Chapter7: Preparation

(August 17, 1991)

  (General POV)

  Inside room 7 of the Three Broomsticks, Savrin sat quietly as he sipped from his Cherry Syrup and Soda drink. Being that he couldn't get drunk off of anything in the establishment, he decided to try something sweet, and seeing as how butterbeer tasted like asshole, he opted for this.

There were numerous drinks he had tried in both the wizarding and muggle worlds, and of the two, the muggle world had the wizarding world beat, hands down, and Savrin had to wonder if the wizards just didn't know what good things were, or if they were so stupid that they didn't want to learn anything from the muggles.

  Looking at the time, Savrin saw that it was a quarter to 1:00, and though he wasn't sure if Lord Black would actually show up, he was somewhat hopeful. Truthfully though, this whole meeting was on more of a whim, so even if Lord Black didn't show up, he could always find someone else for the position.

  When he had went to Gringotts with Godric and the others and had went into a backroom to discuss some things with the Goblins, he had settled things with the Gaunt Vault and the other three Vaults, and had paid for some information by giving the Goblins some gems and an ingot of Mithril, the strange blue metal that made up the band on Salazar's ring that the goblin's kept eyeing. They could feel the magic absorbed inside of it, and after learning that it could absorb certain facets of magic, they had agreed to his prices.

  When he asked them if they could give him a list of rich influential wizards, they had done so fairly easy, but of the dozen or so names he saw, he crossed most of them off the list immediately. Dumbledore was out, mostly because he was dead, but also because even if he was alive, Savrin wouldn't use him for his goals.

Lucius Malfoy was out because he was part of the problem. In fact, he was the head of the problem, him being the chairman for the Board of Governors of Hogwarts.

Savrin needed most if not all the Governors replaced, but to do so, he needed to put someone on the board that could not be intimidated by anyone but him, was smart, rich, neutral with both the "Light" and "Dark" families, and had the clout to get things done. 

The Goblins had named Lord Black specifically after Savrin listed some of his requirements, and knowing what he knew about Sirius Black, Savrin hoped he could at least meet the man to see if he could be persuaded into helping him out, which is why he asked the Goblins to send the letter for him, as he had no idea where to find the elusive Lord Black.

  Of course Savrin would need to meet all of the Governors and find out which ones needed to go, but that would need to wait a bit. Fixing things at Hogwarts would already take up most of his time this year, and unless the Governors tried to interfere with him, they could wait for now.

He knew they would need to be replaced with Purebloods and Half-bloods, and if he was lucky he might be able to sneak a muggleborn onto the Board, but he suspected there would be a whole lot of outcry about that. That was why he was planning to rig the Board in his favor. He just needed to find a number of Purebloods that he could "Teach" to follow his rules and not try and get in his way.

  *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

  Three loud sharp knocks on the door broke him out of his musings, and Savrin realized he had been lost in thought for almost ten minutes. 'Five minutes early. I like that.' Savrin thought as he strode to the door.

Opening it up, he was surprised at the sight of the man standing before him. He had expected Lord Black to be a lot of things, but a frail man who was sickly green in color covered in pox was not one of them.

"I'm well beyond the stages of being contagious, so worry not." The walking corpse said, likely misinterpreting Savrin's scrutiny for reluctance to let him in.

  "Do come in, Lord Black." Savrin said after stepping to the side and ushering the man in. "Please allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Arcturus Black, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black." Arcturus said proudly, or as proud as he could be in his state.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance Lord Black. My name is Savrin Kincade." He said respectfully, after all, the man had yet to show that he deserved anything but respect. "About my grandson. You said you could prove he is innocent?" Arcturus asked, getting straight to the point. 

  Seating himself down in the chair he had been sitting in previously, Savrin gestured for Arcturus to sit in the chair opposite him. Once they were both sitting, Savrin asked, "Forgive my ignorance, Lord Black, but could you tell me what you know about what happened on October 31st, 1981 in regards to your grandson, Sirius?"

Unsure of why this was important, but still deciding to answer, Arcturus began, "I received a letter from the Minister of Magic at the time, Millicent Bagnold herself. She informed me of how Sirius was the Secret Keeper for the Potters, and how he turned them over to Voldemort."

Savrin was a little surprised that someone in this day and age actually used Voldemort's name, but he guessed the man sitting before him just didn't care enough about anything right now to be concerned with using, "He-who-must-not-be-named" instead.

  "I was informed he killed twelve muggles and a young wizard who was a dear friend to the Potters… The last time I saw Sirius was two years before the incident with the Potters, and had you told me at that time that he was a follower of Voldemort, I would have laughed at you. He refused wealth, status, and power to stay beside James Potter, and at the time I thought they were brothers. Never did I think he would betray them, but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as they say, and his mother, Walburga, was as firm of a believer in Voldemort as anyone else." Arcturus finished dejectedly, then seemed to resolve himself as he looked into Savrin's eyes. "Now what proof do you have of his innocence?" The sickly man asked, almost demanding.

  "Were you aware that Sirius Black was never given a trial before he was sentenced to Azkaban?" Savrin asked curiously. He needed to know if the old man before him was unaware of this fact, or did know and just took the Ministry of Magic at its word when they informed him of his grandson's guilt.

The simple question caused Arcturus' eyes to widen and his mouth to hang open slightly, and without even needing to read the man's surface thoughts, Savrin knew he had not known about Sirius, which was kind of sad to be honest.

It just proved to him that the wizards of this world followed the sheep mentality way too much, for they believed whatever they were told. Had Arcturus gone to the Ministry and demanded a trial for Sirius, then Savrin believed the young wizard wouldn't have rotted all these years in Azkaban. 

  "No trial?" Arcturus asked weakly, not quite comprehending that little fact. "I have personally checked through Ministry Records, and I can assure you, there was no trial. There is no record of there ever being an interrogation." Savrin answered somewhat honestly.

He had broken into the Ministry a number times over the past month to get information for Rowena and the others, and on one of his excursions he had checked over records in the DMLE about Death Eaters, you know, to see just who needed killing.

Sirius Black was in the file about Death Eaters, but unlike every other professed murderer, there was no trial record. There wasn't even any confirmation about him supposedly being Voldemort's right-hand man from any other convicted Death Eater, which Savrin thought should have happened.

Sadly this was just another case that proved the sheep mentality of the wizarding world. The Ministry said jump, the people asked 'how high?'.

  There was also the fact that he had seen memories of Sirius through Dumbledore's mind, you know, when he killed the old fart. Dumbledore hadn't arranged for Sirius to be imprisoned, but he certainly hadn't done anything to stop it.

From what he saw in the man's mind, there was no way Dumbledore thought Sirius betrayed the Potters. Dumbledore even made the connection of Pettigrew being the Secret Keeper, given how Sirius supposedly tracked the man down and killed him.

Being part of The Order of The Phoenix, Savrin figured Dumbledore should have at the very least gotten someone who was once loyal to him a trial, but the old cunt hadn't even bothered trying, and instead had actually proclaimed to the other Order of the Phoenix members that Sirius was guilty, which is probably why none of them bothered to look into the matter themselves.

Dumbledore's words were law to them, and none of them would ever question him. As for Pettigrew, Dumbledore hadn't even bothered looking into the matter about him, which again was kind of sad. Even though the man was a traitor, he had still served in the Order of the Phoenix, but again Dumbledore had done nothing when it came to him.

It was as though he thought of them as disposable pawns to be used and discarded at his leisure. Savrin of course would probably do the same to people he didn't care about, but those who showed him true loyalty were another matter. Even he wasn't that heartless or manipulative.

  "You said you had proof…" Arcturus mumbled quietly as he tried to process the fact that Sirius didn't have a trial, as well as the fact that he hadn't even bothered looking into the matter himself.

"Check the records, then give him a trial under Veritaserum. If you won't do that, ask anyone who knows the man to tell you what they thought of him and James Potter. They were brothers by oath, and James and his wife Lilly named Sirius to be their son's Godfather."

This last part he knew because Dumbledore knew. In fact a number of people knew, but none of them bothered asking why James would ask Sirius to be the Godfather for his son and no one else.

  Hearing the last part, Arcturus' eyes widened even more than they already were as the implications of what Savrin was suggesting entered his mind. "Magical or mundane?" Arcturus asked, referring to James Potter naming Sirius as his son's Godfather.

It wasn't practiced very much between half-bloods and was almost never practiced between muggleborn, but it wasn't uncommon for Purebloods to make magically binding contracts or rituals when naming a fellow witch or wizard to be a godparent. It was done mostly to protect the child and make sure they couldn't be manipulated or harmed by the Godparent in case they tried to take over something from the family that the child belonged to.

Given how James Potter was a Pureblood and Lord of an Ancient and Noble House, and the fact that his family was one of the wealthiest families in Britain, Arcturus could very much believe that he would have the godparents of his child swear by magic.

The oath would also help the child in the event of the Godfather's death, meaning they would be father and son by magic itself, which meant that if anything happened to the Godfather, the Godchild would inherit as the next relation. Given how close Sirius was to James Potter, he might have been the one to suggest a magical oath to protect the child. 

  "Magical of course. Few in the Ministry know this, but most of Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix know, however I doubt they realize the implications of it, for Dumbledore has kept most of the world in the dark about rituals and magical contracts." Savrin answered, again causing Arcturus to sit in thought about what he just heard.

  'If Sirius really is the boy's Godfather, it is highly unlikely he would deliver Voldemort to the Potter's cottage in Godric's Hollow, for that would put the boy in harm's way, something the contract would have punished Sirius for.' Arcturus thought, finally finding a bit of light at the end of this long tunnel, though that dimmed as he realized it wasn't entirely set in stone.

There were ways to get out of a magical contract, something Sirius would also know because he grew up in House Black of all Houses, a family that was famous for their rituals and contracts at one point. Arcturus realized that he would need to look into the Potter Will to check this over for himself, and if what he heard today was true, well… he didn't know what he would do, but one thing was certain. Heads would roll.

  Contemplating like he had been, Arcturus remained silent far longer than he intended, which spurred Savrin to continue the conversation.

"If you don't want to rush into things without solid proof, find Pettigrew. I am certain he is alive and is in hiding. In fact, give me some time, and I will find him for you. Once I do find him, you may interrogate him for yourself so you might learn the truth." Savrin said, causing Arcturus to frown in thought as he realized he hadn't asked the most important question when he first walked into this room.

"Why do this? What do you gain from this?" The sickly man couldn't help but ask. He knew from experience that nothing in this world ever came free, and that the man before him wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

  "Smart man." Savrin said as he leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees while interlocking his fingers.

"I have a problem, one that I believe you are well suited to help me with. The members of The Board of Governors of Hogwarts are sorely lacking, and are letting the once renowned school fall into ruin. Where the school was once the finest institution in the world, it is now ranked third." Savrin began. It was sad really, how the prestigious school had fallen so low in the last century. 

  Mahoutokor School of Magic in Japan was the top ranked wizarding school, at least by ICW standards. The school was founded in the late 700s, almost two hundred years before Hogwarts, however, it had the smallest student body of the eleven major wizarding schools in the world, so that might be a contributing factor to their success.

  Ilvermony School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in America was in second place for the best institutions, which was kind of sad to be honest, given how they were founded more than 700 years after Hogwarts. However, due to not differentiating between Purebloods, Half-bloods, and muggleborn, the magical population there was on the rise, and they were making great strides in medicine.

Savrin believed that to be because the American Government was taking an active role in the institution, and was taking advantage of magical concoctions.

  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was in third place institution wise, however, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic had better teaching methods and was a close fourth, and if something wasn't done soon, Savrin believed the French institute would be ranked third overall in less than two years. 

  "My intention is to take over as Headmaster of Hogwarts at the end of this upcoming year. Dumbledore himself already knows this and supports my goals, though he knows the Board of Governors will not make it easy given how unknown I am to the world. This is where you come in. With you as the Chairman of the Board, you can seat me as the next Headmaster, and on top of that, you have experience in handling funds. By my estimation, the school is either being underfunded, or someone is stealing gold. We will both fix that." Savrin finished, his words leaving the sickly old man in a dazed trance.

  ------

  (Arcturus Black POV)

  Never before in Arcturus' life had he heard something so daft. When he asked the man sitting before him what he gained from helping him out with a family matter, he suspected the man to ask him for a large sum of gold or help in dealing with one of the Pureblood families, however, he was not expecting the man to have machinations about taking over Hogwarts.

On top of that, Albus too-many-names Dumbledore supported him, which was even harder to believe. That man grabbed at power like a stripper grabbed hundred dollar bills, and Arcturus couldn't see him handing over his precious school.

  "Let me see if I understand this. You want me to become Chairman of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts so I can get you seated as the next Headmaster of the school?" Arcturus summed up. "Correct." Savrin confirmed.

"And Albus Dumbledore supports you taking over as Headmaster?" Arcturus asked another question. "Also correct." Savrin confirmed again.

"Are you clinically insane?" Arcturus finally asked, knowing full well that there was not a chance in hell that Albus Dumbledore would ever willingly give up his position.

"I understand your reluctance to believe that an astute politician such as Dumbledore would give up such a position, but what you don't know is… Albus Dumbledore is dying." Savrin said, explaining exactly what Arcturus had been thinking as though he could read his mind. Of course Arcturus knew full well about Legilimency, but he was a skilled Occlumens, and if the man sitting in front of him even attempted to read his mind, he would know.

  Being told that one of, if not arguably the most powerful wizard alive was dying was a lot to take in for Arcturus, and all doubt from before had fled his mind and was replaced with other questions.

"He's dying? What's wrong with him?" Arcturus couldn't help but ask.

"He thought he was infallible and messed with the wrong magic. His body is now cursed, and within a year's time, he will draw his last breath. Most likely he will last till the end of this school year." Savrin said evenly, not showing the slightest bit of sadness at the loss of such a man.

"But… why would he want you to replace him?" Arcturus asked, not seeing why it had to be Savrin that tried to better the school.

  "It's quite simple. I'm the strongest magician this world has ever seen. There is no one better than me for the job." Savrin answered, sounding as though it was a fact and that he truly believed his words.

"Is that right?" Arcturus asked skeptically, not quite believing that someone so young could be so powerful. Before Arcturus had a chance to say anything, Savrin was standing before him with his right hand outstretched towards him.

A blast of magic enveloped him, and he could feel magic unlike any other flooding his body. His muscles began to swell, color returned to his hair, and the patches of green skin disappeared and were replaced with a healthy pink.

  All too soon the abundance of magic left his body and Arcturus remained frozen as he tried to process just what had happened. After sitting there for almost five whole minutes, Arcturus forced himself back to reality as he got to his feet, and after walking to a nearby mirror on the wall, he saw the changes he had undergone.

Arcturus was 89 years old, going on 90 come December, which wasn't that old considering witches and wizards lived on average up to 200 years old, however, before he looked sickly and frail and about to keel over at any moment, but the man looking back at him in the mirror was one he hadn't seen reflected back at him in over ten years. Compared to a muggle, he looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, which is how the healthiest witch or wizard his age should look.

  Turning to look at the man who had done this to him, Arcturus wasn't sure whether to thank the man or punch him in the face. He knew being cured of a fatal illness was supposed to be a good thing, but this would further delay his death and postpone his reunion with his wife.

However, being cured as he was, he could now deal with things regarding House Black at his leisure, namely his imprisoned grandson.

"So you want me on the Board of Governors?" Arcturus asked, no longer seeing the point in doubting the man before him. The magic he had felt coursing through his body only seconds ago, it was unlike anything he had ever known, and it proved that Savrin's claims at least had some merit.

  Besides, if he became chairman of the Board of Governors, he could inspect Hogwarts for himself and check in on things, or his grandson's godchild if he so wished. If worst came to worst, Harry Potter was not the worst heir he could have chosen, though that would be if all else failed with Sirius.

It also wouldn't hurt to be able to lord over the fact to his grandson that there were indeed benefits to being Lord of an Ancient and Noble house. There was also the fact that he would be getting in the good graces of a man who right now scared the shit out of him.

  "I want you as chairman, and I want Lucius Malfoy removed from the Board entirely. He is a disease that I want gone." Savrin reaffirmed, letting there be no room for misinterpretation. "I understand." Arcturus said, hearing the underlying meaning in those words.

He couldn't prove it, but he suspected that sometime soon, Lucius Malfoy would meet with a tragic accident. 'I better call in the debt he owes me before it's too late.' Arcturus thought darkly.

  --------

  (General POV)

  "How will I contact you in the future if I need to?" Arcturus asked Savrin after they had concluded their meeting. "Leave a message with the Matron of this establishment. I usually come here once or twice a week, so she will be able to let me know." Savrin answered, then saw the once sickly man out the door before he too disappeared from the room.

  Appearing back at the Tree House, Savrin wasn't the least bit surprised to see Godric and Salazar going toe-to-toe in a duel, while Rowena and Helga were off to the side of the makeshift arena reading books.

He waited patiently for the duel to finish, and unsurprisingly, Godric had won. A fool the little red-head might be at times, but he was a gifted fool who was a savant when it came to fighting. That wasn't to say Salazar was weak, he just wasn't quite as skilled in one-on-one duels.

Apparently his expertise lay more in the area of large scale battles. Where Godric could handle most people in a one-on-one duel, Salazar could handle hordes. They also weren't trying to kill one another, so it wasn't quite fair to assume that Salazar would lose if he was fighting Godric to the death. The kid was cunning, and could fight dirty when needed.

Savrin had seen it first hand when he watched Salazar manipulate Godric and the others into following his instructions without them knowing that they were actually from him. It was the little things Savrin took notice of when it came to Salazar, for he rarely did anything extravagant like Godric unless there was some goal in mind.

  "Come here." He commanded the four children, and all of them moved without a second delay.

"Arcturus Black, Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black will be taking over the Board of Governors, hopefully by the end of this year. He will most likely be going up against the Ministry to try and free his grandson before that however, but that is to be expected." Savrin explained the important event that he had set into motion. As per their agreement, he would notify them of most of the things he did, if his actions had an effect on their goal of fixing the world.

  "Are you sure he can be trusted?" Salazar asked. "At the moment, yes. I showed him a fraction of my power, and it seemed to put the fear of death into him. Besides, it's not like he can't be replaced if he becomes a problem." Savrin informed them, making them all sigh in unison at being reminded just what kind of monster they were dealing with here.

"What does he know?" Rowena asked. She suspected that if Savrin showed him some of his power, he might have informed him of certain things for the future, and after hearing his next words, she smiled at having guessed correctly.

"He knows that I'll be trying for Headmaster next year, and he believes Dumbledore to be dying of a curse. That wasn't the original plan, but I can work with it. I'll do the big reveal at the end of the year, that way the students will have focused on their studies, and it won't be depressing around the teachers. Plus I can use the excuse of dying as a cover for any out of character moves I make."

"So what exactly are you going to be doing this year?" Godric couldn't help but ask. Savrin had basically said he would help a little bit here and there by keeping most people off their backs while they handled improving the school, and soon Britain, but there wouldn't be much for him to do if they handled his political jobs.

"I'm going to be going over the budget and finances of the school, and checking out the teachers and course work and what needs to be changed for next year. I'll probably spend a bit of time going over old records and the like as well, and aside from anything life threatening to the school, I'll leave everything to you." Savrin answered smugly.

They all knew if he stepped in and actually tried helping them this would go a lot better, however in doing so it would void their deal and he would begin the massacre.

  "What if someone is getting bullied?" Helga asked with narrowed eyes. "That's what the other teachers are there for. Unless they bring something to my attention, it's not my problem. Like I said, I am simply going to assess things this year and act on the improvements for the following year." Savrin reaffirmed, causing the little blonde to pout at him.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm looking forward to school!" Godric shouted excitedly as he pumped his fists into the air. There was less than two weeks before the start of the year, and like Godric, all of them were looking forward to experiencing the world they had found themselves in, not knowing, or not caring at how much of an uproar their arrival would cause.