Chapter 39

Romani's Inner World.

My mind, which took the form of Solomon's Temple of Time, had a rather pleasant environment, if I do say so.

In front of my throne was a table covered in frills and decorated in a lovely pink color scheme. And on it was a tea set with cakes and hot tea. Behind it sat me and Tommy, who was giving me a look that promised the worst and most painful torture. I smiled sweetly and drank coffee from a pink cup with pictures of cute ponies on it. Tommy himself didn't move at all, and only his occasionally constricted pupils showed that he was alive.

- Uh-huh. Relax. I just want to have a little chat. And no, nothing's poisoned, and I don't want to kill you.

-But I do. - he said with a stone face.

- Oh? You're good at humor," I grinned and took a sip. "You know, when I came here and found out about you, I was curious about your goals.

- Why should I answer your questions?

- Because then you won't get out of here? - I asked, tilting my head to the side, but I got his clenched teeth - You're smart, there's no doubt about it. And given your self-confidence, you can't have a more or less thought-out plan after the war is over. With you as the victor, of course.

He raised an eyebrow at my words.

If you take his story from the wiki into account, he's a typical unrecognized genius with an unorthodox mindset. The very fact that Tommy tried twice to become a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher shows that, and he is, please note, a master in that direction. Why would the very "evil in the flesh" himself want the very idea of teaching children? And from the same dark magic he himself uses? It doesn't make sense.

- See, in my original world, there is a faction of mystical beings that is divided into three parts: good, evil, and not so good. Pretty familiar, isn't it? - I began, at which a tiny flame of interest lit up in his eyes - There's a supposed non-aggression pact between them, but if no one knows of any violation of it, it doesn't exist, right? What I'm driving at is that they are more or less equal to each other and are parts of one unified faction, one unified mechanism. Brings to mind some thoughts, eh?

- What are you getting at, "Magician"? - Tommy finally decided to speak up.

- At the moment, all wizards are divided into three factions: light side, dark side and neutral. And in theory, if they divide the whole territory of magical Britain into more or less equal parts, and the balance of power becomes approximately equal, what will happen?

- What happened in your world. - he muttered thoughtfully.

- Exactly. And now imagine the existence of three main schools of three factions. The head of the light one is the same "dumb as a door", the dark one is you personally, and the neutral one is someone else. Imagine something like the "Tournament of the Three Wizards", but instead of kids fighting for glory, there would be three schools, one on each side, where the winning side would get a chance to control magical Britain as a whole. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it?

Heh. Introducing the Grail Wars concept with a dash of magic games from Fairy Tail or The Misfit at the School of Magic into the world of Harry Potter? That sounds like a lot of fun.

Am I afraid that Voldy will just kill off all the half-breeds? Nope. He'd rather put his ideology on the back burner under those circumstances. Besides, there is magic here that can turn a half-breed into a pureblood through some ritual.

Another thing to consider is that in this world, the light and dark sides are very clearly separated. The local wizards don't realize that the world is not divided into "black" and "white". It is "gray." Are all "good" people good? Nope. Are all "bad" people evil? The answer is the same. 

- What you're saying is a load of crap. The strong will never submit to the weak. Rats will assert their rights, which will lead to fights, protests, and the like.

- That's true, but what if "someone" provided "something" as a prize for the winner of this tournament that could shut up the dissenters? Say, an artifact tied to a particular soul and capable of raising the dead. Well, or magic. And I'm not talking about the demo version of resurrection that the Resurrection Stone has, but real resurrection without any negative consequences for anyone.

- What?" he asked perplexed, frozen in place.

- Of course, I'll probably have to make a deal with someone, but it's a possibility.

Now he was thinking. Really thought about what I'd said. To be able to snatch someone from the clutches of Death itself is an impossible feat for this world. And Voldy is well aware of that, even if he doesn't take my word for it. Though he does take into account my power, which I have glimpsed. Plus, I'm giving the local Dumbledore an incentive to step out of his kindly grandfather persona.

- Who's going to enforce the rules? And who will have custody of the artifact? - Voldy asked, coming out of his musings - I don't believe it will be any of us.

- Oh, that's the easiest one to deal with," I grinned, "The perpetual annoying grin on your face, the gray hair, the obnoxious sense of style and humor don't remind you of anyone?

- Zelretch. - he answered instantly.

- Exactly! - I clapped my hands together - As you probably guessed, he's much stronger and more powerful than he shows. It wouldn't cost him anything to level all of Britain in a minute.

- And he'll just go along with your plan? - Voldy raised an eyebrow.

- Your worries are unnecessary," I dismissed him, "If the event entertains him, he'll be all for it.

He nodded briefly and fell silent.

I'm not destroying the world, just slightly altering its basic mechanism. The focus will shift from the confrontation between two people to each individual who will take part in the event. I guess you could say that by my actions, I'm contributing to revealing more characters from more perspectives. If, of course, it all works out. But knowing Zelretch, he definitely won't be 'against' it.

- Well," I began, bringing him out of his musings, "Think about my offer. After all, even you have someone you'd like to get back, don't you?

- Why did you come to me with this proposal and not Dumbledore? - He asked after a few seconds.

- He's not as interesting as you - I shrugged - Besides, I already have something planned for him.

- Oh? - now a creepy smile blossomed on his face - I don't suppose he'll like that 'something'?

- Of course he will. And you're in for a surprise too, you know.

- What kind of surprise--

He didn't get a chance to finish because I sent him out of my mind. And as soon as Voldy disappeared, giant tentacle-like pillars filled with scarlet eyes with vertical pupils and red waves of energy ran through the ground around me.

- Introducing a kind of Grail War just for fun? - rang out the deep voice of the demon Sitri throughout my inner world - It seems True Magic has finally started to drive you crazy.

- Oh? Pretty harsh, you know.

- But no less true. - I heard a voice on the other side of the table, and turned to see Goetia sitting down in Voldy's seat.

- I'm very much in my right mind, that is.

- That's what you think.

- Well, if it makes you feel any better. - I grinned, to which I received a twitch of the Beast's eyebrow.

I wonder if Voldy liked his surprise.

-0-

Leaving Romani's mind, Tom fell to his knees from the intense headache and exertion. The power of this "Magician" really amazed him. As did the vision of a possible future that he had contemplated. The very thought of true resurrection was firmly fixed in his mind, and all sorts of plans began to be born in Tom's mind.

The idea was indeed appealing, but even if Tom was confident in his abilities, there was a risk of interference from the many powerful wizards hiding their true power. After all, the idea of possessing true resurrection was too sweet for anyone without exception.

And while Tom was pondering this, he heard Bellatrix's worried voice.

- My lord, are you alright! - she shrieked, running up to him - What has that buffoon done to you!

He didn't answer and quickly found with his eyes the 'wizard' standing nearby, who was smiling very anxiously as he looked at him.

- It's alright," Tom said and stood up, "We should get going. The place you suggested will be fine.

- Really! - she exclaimed happily.

- Are you sure about this, my lord? - Lucius asked cautiously and pointed at Romani - What about him?

Before Tom could object, Bellatrix shouted angrily.

- You dare to question my lord's decision, you insect! Do you want to die?!

Her shout made Lucius shiver. And he wasn't the only one, for when she turned and looked into Tom's eyes, he would swear he saw pink hearts shining with a frightening light there.

Tom felt like prey being stared at by a hungry predator, and Bellatrix's anxious smile and the movement of her tongue across her lips only intensified the feeling. The feeling of being devoured.

What Tom didn't know, though, was that his feelings had a slightly different connotation... one that he would learn a little later.

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.

My Patreon: Patreon.com/mirzael

You'll be able to read more chapters there.