A/N: This is the first chapter of my first major crossover, combining Harry Potter with the famous series Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. As you will note, things will change drastically in Harry's world before he arrives in Westeros, and unlike many of the stories like this one, he is not coming alone. In fact, this will be VERY unique compared to the other HP/GOT/SOIAF crossover stories, as you will learn. For now, I am only publishing the four part prologue in their respective fandoms in order to gain attention and build suspense for the story, especially as I'm not going to actually publish until I have written my version of the first book/season. Now, each chapter will come with a playlist of songs to go with it, and each chapter name comes from one of those songs.

By Skill Not Force

Prologue I: Harry's Wondrous World

Godric's Hollow-October 31, 1991-Lord Voldemort

Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Dark Lord Voldemort watched as that thrice-cursed James Potter passed the boy into his mother's arms and threw his wand onto the couch. Now was the time to strike! The gate creaked as he pushed it open, but Potter paid it no heed, assuming he even heard it. Only when he reached the threshold did Potter notice he was there. The fool attempted to face him, him without a wand! He was dispatched quickly, and without much effort. Voldemort headed upstairs, and easily opened the door, despite the mudblood's attempts to prevent it. Now, to attempt to keep his promise to Severus. "Move aside, girl."

"If you want Harry, you'll have to kill me first," she demanded.

Evans had as much spunk and defiance as he remembered. It really was too bad that his plan didn't allow for muggleborns in the Empire. "Stand aside! One of my faithful has asked for your life, but I must end the threat to my rule!"

"I'm not moving, Voldemort!"

"Stand aside! This is my last warning: move, or die!"

"Then kill me, because I'm not moving!" she insisted.

"Fine then! Avada Kedavra!" And with that, Lily Potter nee Evans died. Lord Voldemort took a few steps so he was now facing the toddler in the crib. "So, you're the one prophesied to defeat me, eh? Well, the prophecy ends tonight. Avada Kedavra!" But because Lily Potter had studied the old magics and cast one spell in particular, her death bought life for Harry, and the Killing Curse rebounded on Voldemort. However, as he had also studied old magics, and split his soul, Voldemort lived on. Instead, one of his anchors, a soul piece kept inside an ancient cup, died in his place, and Voldemort was reduced to a mere spirit instead.

London-September 1, 2002-Harry Potter

Harry Potter stared around himself, hardly believing that it was real. He was actually standing on Platform 9 3/4! For the past month, Harry had been half-convinced that everything, from the letters up to his friend Draco Malfoy were all part of a very elaborate dream. Yet all around him were other witches and wizards preparing for a year at Hogwarts. He didn't see the distinctive platinum-blond hair of Draco, but he was certain that he'd find his friend on the train.

Sure enough, as soon as he got inside the train (with the help of Fred and George Weasley, a pair of twins) he heard a voice call out "Harry!" He turned, and was quickly embraced by his blond friend. "How are you doing?"

"Great, now that I'm here. I can still hardly believe it's real."

"Believe it, Harry. Now come on, let's find a compartment."

The two friends did so, and Draco continued Harry's lessons on the magical world that he had started that summer over letters. However, they were interrupted when a redhead their own age burst in. "Are you really Harry Potter? I'm Ron Weasley." He seemed friendly to Harry, if enthusiastic and had a bad case of hero-worship. That is, until he laid eyes on Draco. "Great, a Malfoy. What are you doing with him, Harry? Everyone knows that you can't trust a Malfoy, they're all Dark Wizards. He's nothing but a junior Death Eater, an evil Slytherin. Some wizarding families are better than others, and you obviously need help to know which to associate with. I can help you there," Weasley finished, offering his hand to Harry.

Harry just glared at the ginger boy. Here, they could have been friends, but insulting Draco? The git of a ginger just insulted a boy he probably didn't even know, Harry's first friend, someone who actually wanted to be his friend before finding out his name! And now he thought that Harry would turn his back on Draco for him? "Not a chance, Weasel, I can make my own decisions, thank you very much." And with that, Harry threw one of the few hexes he knew, Ferunculus (a boils hex,) at Weasley, throwing the other boy out of the compartment.

Draco stared at Harry in shock. "You know you didn't have to do that, right Harry?"

"Maybe, but you're my friend, Draco, my first friend, and friends look out for each other. Besides, he was bad-mouthing you just because of your family, and I won't stand for that. Hell, I won't stand for anyone bad-mouthing you, period. I might even insist on becoming a Slytherin just to make him mad, because I am not going to the same House as him." They sat in silence for a minute, Draco in complete shock at Harry's statement, before Harry asked a question. "Draco, what is a Death Eater?"

Draco sighed, really wishing that Harry hadn't asked that. "Harry, a Death Eater is one of You-Know-Who's followers, and while I'm ashamed to admit it, you deserve to know the truth. In a way, Weasley was right, I am a junior Death Eater, my father used to be one."

"WHAT?!"

"Harry, you need to understand something. The Dark Lord . . . he was extremely charismatic, popular, and had some very good ideas. But delving as deep as he did into the Dark Arts, it changed him and he became a complete madman, and it was the madman that killed your parents and tried to kill you. Also, by that time, to leave was death, so those who wanted out couldn't leave. Harry, when you or your parents killed him, you saved more than you know, you saved those who didn't want to be Death Eaters anymore, including my parents."

Draco was so clearly sincere, his voice so impassioned that Harry nearly forgot why he was even mad in the first place. "Thanks for explaining that, Draco."

"So . . . we're still friends?"

"Always, Draco, always."

"You realize that most people won't be happy about this, right? They'll think that I'm turning you Dark, especially if you're sorted into Slytherin."

"Draco my friend, I've stopped listening to what others think of me long ago. Back in the Muggle world, I'm considered to be a dangerous freak, an incurable criminal. If our world thinks the same, well, to hell with them. I'm actually kind of looking forward to Slytherin."

Slytherin First Year Dorms, Hogwarts-December 21, 2002-Draco Malfoy

"Draco, wake up! You're never going to believe this!" Harry shouted at his roommate and best friend.

"Harry, you know Snape wouldn't approve of a Slytherin acting like this. What'll he do to you?" Draco groaned. Harry had always been more of a morning person than him. He had hoped that, with a lack of classes, (and the fact that both of them had finished their homework,) Harry would have been glad for a chance to sleep in, now that it was the holidays. But no, Harry simply had too much energy and spent much of his free time exploring the castle. And now he was going to get both of them in trouble because of what he'd found.

"Believe me, Draco, if Snape knew what I'd found, it would put a smile even on his face. And if your father knew, why, he'd lavish me with gifts that I don't want. I'm going to be the envy of every Slytherin in the castle!"

That statement got Draco's attention. There were very few things that could cause Harry's stature to rise more than it already had in Slytherin House, what with him being the Boy-Who-Lived, youngest Seeker in a century, and a Parselmouth. (That last they'd accidentally discovered when a runespoor accidentally wandered into Hogwarts. Luckily, only Slytherins were there to notice that incident, and by the end of the day, every Slytherin had known about Harry's gift.) Draco's extreme curiosity, his one weakness, made him decide to follow, despite wanting to sleep in. But when Harry led him to a haunted girl's loo, Draco started to question his friend's sanity. "Umm, Harry, what are we doing here?"

"You're going to just love this, Draco," Harry said as he went up to the sink. "Watch this. Heyshahassa," the brunette hissed at the sink. Then to the shock and amazement of the pureblood, the sink sank into the floor, revealing a large pipe that was at least ten feet wide.

"A large pipe, what's so amazing about that?"

"It's not the pipe, it's what's at the bottom that's impressive. Now, do you want to slide, or climb down?"

Draco laughed and jumped down the pipe. Once he was down, he looked around, but saw only hundreds of different little animal skeletons, and what looked like a large cave. "What's so impressive here, Harry? I thought there was something impressive down here."

Harry came down a set of stairs and said "Keep walking, Draco. Trust me, you won't be disappointed."

Confused, Draco kept walking, wincing at the sound of crunching bones beneath his feet. He'd only been walking five minutes when he froze in fear. "Ha-Ha-Harry, what is that?" he stammered, pointing at a large, poisonous green skin.

"That is a snakeskin, Draco. I thought you would know that."

"Well obviously it's a snakeskin, but what kind of snake shed that? It's enormous!"

"Eithne said that she's a basilisk," Harry said, sounding almost excited about it!

"A basilisk?! You're taking me to meet a bloody basilisk?! Are you mad?"

"Nope, besides, Eithne isn't just any basilisk. She's Salazar's own basilisk."

That last sentence brought Draco up short. "Salazar's basilisk? As in Salazar Slytherin's basilisk?"

"Who else?"

"You're taking me to Salazar Slytherin's basilisk? You're taking me to Salazar Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets?"

"It's my Chamber of Secrets now, but yeah, it was built by Salazar Slytherin. Heyshahassa," Harry hissed again, this time at a stone door with four snakes carved into it, all of them with emeralds for eyes. After he hissed, a fifth snake slithered around a circle, making the original four retract, and the door opened. Before them was a large, impressive chamber with the bust of an old man with an enormous beard. On either side of the walkway were enormous snake statues.

"Harry, this is . . . this is amazing! But where is this Eithne?" Harry just gave his blond friend a wicked smirk and hissed again, this time much longer than any had heard him before. The bust opened it's mouth and an enormous snake slithered out of it. Draco gazed at the basilisk, speculating. "Has she laid any eggs yet?"

Eithne hissed something and Harry gave a grin. "Not only has she laid eggs, but she intends to let me have one. Hey, did you know that basilisks can lay fertile eggs whenever they wish, and that those eggs can lay for centuries, if their parent wishes?"

"How is that possible?" Draco asked as they headed deeper into the Chamber of Secrets and towards Eithne's nest.

"Apparently they reproduce asexually, they don't need a mate to reproduce."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Draco asked, while Harry picked an egg the same colours as their House crest.

Night of Wednesday-Thursday, May 28-29, 2003-Draco

Harry and Draco finally managed to enter the final chamber protecting the Philosopher's Stone, only to find Quirinius Quirrell, standing in front of the Mirror of Erised. "I knew it."

"Mr Malfoy? Well now, this is a surprise. I expected Potter, but not you. But then again, you two always were clever students, truly deserving of the high scores I gave you in the final, and far too close to each other. But . . . you two are far too clever, and I cannot allow you to interfere tonight." And with a snap of his fingers, the two boys were bound with ropes that seemed to come from nowhere.

Despite the burning in his scar, Harry couldn't help but be impressed. "Wordless, wandless conjuring and binding? You have help, don't you? Your 'friend' is who made you beg a few days ago, isn't it?"

"As I said, far too clever for your own good, Mr Potter."

"And Snape was on to you the whole time, that's why he went to the Cerberus on Halloween, and why he confronted you after Harry's second Quidditch match."

"Yes he was, Mr Malfoy," said Quirrell idly, walking around the mirror to look at the back. "Halloween was a complete and total bloody disaster. Not only did I not get a chance to see the defences, but the dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off and you killed my troll! Why did you even save that mudblood know-it-all anyway?"

Harry and Draco shared a grin. "Draco asked me that same question, and I'll tell you what I told him. Hermione reminds me of what I've heard about my mum: talented, smart, muggleborn, Gryffindor, and teased for it. I won't allow anyone to hurt her. Now, what about Snape? Is he working with you?"

"Not a chance. He managed to save your life during your first match by muttering a little counter-curse. I'd have still managed it if it weren't for that mudblood. After the match, he was trying to find out how far I'd got. As you guessed, he suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me — as though he could, when I had the Dark Lord on my side…"

"The Dark Lord is here?!" Draco asked in a shrill voice, now on the edge of panic.

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly. "Now, how do I work this mirror? Is the Stone inside? Must I break the mirror? Help me, master!"

To Harry and Draco's sudden horror, a voice answered, and the voice seemed to come from Quirrell himself. "Ussse the boy... Ussse the boy..." It was a low, dry voice, dusty like a snake's hiss.

"Yes, that could work," Quirrell said, and he levitated Harry over, not even giving him the chance to refuse. "Now, tell me, what do you see?" He saw his reflection, pale but determined at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at him. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket — and as it did so, Harry felt something heavy drop into his real pocket. Somehow — incredibly —he'd gotten the Stone. "Well? What do you see?"

Harry blanked his mind, and thought of a believable lie. "I'm standing over the corpse of a wizard, it's Voldemort! I've destroyed Voldemort and achieved vengeance for my family."

"Oh, get out of the way, Potter! At least I see the Stone when I look at it!"

Harry fell to the ground, but luckily, the fall knocked his wand loose, and it rolled into his hand. Gripping his wand, Harry decided to try out one of the Parselmagic spells that the duo had found in a book from the Chamber. "Hanaysa," he whispered, and the ropes fell from around him, and to his surprise, Draco.

Harry immediately got up to check on Draco, but he froze halfway there when the raspy voice spoke again. "He lies . . . he lies."

"Potter, tell me the truth! What did you see?" Quirrell shouted.

"Never, you bastard!" Harry shouted back.

"Let me ssspeak to him, faccce to faccce," the voice said again.

"Master, you are not strong enough yet."

"I have strength enough . . . for thisss." Frozen by curiosity, Harry watched as Quirrell unwrapped his turban, only to reveal a second face on the back of his head! The second face was bone-pale with the thinnest nose Harry had ever seen, only barely more than slits, and blood-red eyes, truly the face of evil. "Harry Potter, we meet again. You see what I've become? See what I must do to survive? Live off another as a mere parasite. Unicorn blood has sustained me for these past nine months, but it cannot give me a body of my own. However, there is something that can. Something that, conveniently enough, lies in your pocket. Why suffer a horrific death when you can join me and live? And Draco, your father already serves me, why not you as well?

"Never!" Harry shouted, while Draco shouted out "Not a chance!"

"Bravery. Your parents had it too, Harry. Your father put up a courageous fight, but your mother need not have died, she was trying to protect you. Speaking of them, tell me, Harry, would you like to see your mother and father again? Together, we can bring them back. All I ask is for something in return."

"You want this?" Harry asked, pulling the Stone out of his pocket. "Sorry, but you can't have it! Harayssa!" he hissed out. And with a burst of teal light, the only Philosopher's Stone in existence was destroyed.

"NO! Kill him!" Quirrell flew at Harry and grabbed his throat, planning on choking him, but his hand started smoking. Quirrell pulled back in horror as his hand turned to dust. "What is this magic?!"

"Fool! Curse him!" Quirrell raised his wand to do just that, but Harry quickly disarmed him with his favourite spell, Expelliarmus, and then raced up to him and grabbed his face, all despite the pain that threatened to split his forehead in two. Quirrell eventually pulled back in pain, and to the two boy's shock, Quirrell turned to stone, which then cracked, turned to dust, and then collapsed, leaving only his cloak behind.

Harry quickly turned away to release Draco, and the other Slytherin asked "How did you do that, Harry?"

"Don't ask me, all I did was touch him."

"Hmm, something for your girlfriend to research this sum-Harry, look out!" Harry turned, only to see Voldemort's wraith rising from Quirrell's ashes and rush towards him. Harry dodged to the side, but the wraith still passed through him, and Harry collapsed, his magical core completely exhausted. Draco attempted to rouse him every way he knew, but Harry remained unconscious, so he levitated his friend out of the room and, once he had reunited with the others, and the three of them took Harry to the Hospital Wing. However, he received a surprise when he made it to the chess room, in the form of Headmaster Dumbledore. "You see this, Headmaster? This is what happens when you put your other duties above that of this school! No wonder my father wants you sacked!" Dumbledore just stared after the Malfoy heir in shock as the blonde rushed past him.

Chambers of Secrets, Hogwarts-May 15, 2004-Harry

More than six months after the bastard thief commandeered his basilisk, Harry finally had Tom Marvolo Riddle right where he wanted him: inside the Chamber of Secrets. Six months of fear and mistrust, six months of worrying that Hermione might be next and he could do nothing to stop it. Five months of being hated and reviled after his gift was publicly revealed at the duelling club, five months of worrying that the next attack from the Gryffindors or the Hufflepuffs would be fatal. Harry had known from the beginning that this false claimant was Voldemort, and that he would need to steal the life from a student in order to truly return, and so, taking a cue from the sea creature every Slytherin learned about in their first week, he waited. Harry bided his time, saving his strength and learning every single duelling spell he could, preparing for just this moment.

And now the moment was here. Not only had Voldemort, aka Tom Riddle petrified HIS Hermione, he had also abducted the sister of his archrival Ron Weasley. And to truly hurt him, Marv had also kidnapped Draco! Harry went down to the Chamber, and prepared himself for the worst.

Inside, Harry found Ginny lying on the ground, unconscious with that damnable Dark diary lying on her belly. Next to her, bound and gagged was Draco, and a ghostly, young Marv standing over him. "Hello, Voldemort, how nice to see you. But I'm afraid that you're going to leave, very soon."

"You're not surprised to see me here?" Riddle asked, completely in shock.

"I am a Slytherin, and I realized what that diary of yours was as soon as I found it. Really, Marv, dabbling in soul magic at your age? A Horcrux? You truly are a psychopath. Besides, Voldemort isn't that impressive of an anagram."

"You're too smart to live. But first, who are you?"

"And here I though you were smart, Marv. You killed my parents to get to me, and as a result, I became the most famous orphan in Albion, and you little more than a parasite. I am Harry James Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Scion to House Potter and I am Lord Slytherin," he finished with a hiss. Instantly, the Chamber shuddered, the ancient Parselmagic shifted, and a silver ring appeared on Harry's middle finger.

"Good, then you will die, Potter, just as soon as I find something out."

"Don't tell him anything, Harry!" Draco called out, having finally managed to remove the gag.

"Thanks for the advice, but I doubt telling this bastard son of a Muggle and a near-Squib will hurt anything. What do you want to know, Marv?"

"How is it that you, a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent, managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar while Lord Voldemort was reduced to a mere shade? And how did you claim the title of Lord Slytherin?"

"Well now, that is an interesting story," Harry said, leaning up against one of the serpent statues, completely calm and at ease. "You see, once I heard that House Slytherin was the only house in Albion that speaks Parseltongue, I became confused. When I spoke Parseltongue, no one could understand me, so I obviously couldn't have inherited the ability from my dad. James was a pureblood, so if I'd inherited it from him, all the other purebloods should have understood me. So, I wrote to Gringotts. As it turns out, the Evans family is descended from a Squib grandson of Salazar Slytherin. And it seems as I'm a more worthy descendant than you. When did you discover this place, anyway?"

"At the end of my fifth year, why?"

"And you started attacking Muggleborns the next year, until Dippet threatened to close the school. When you heard that, you framed Hagrid and sent our ancestors beauty back to sleep. You must have been desperate to frame him. Any fool should have realized that he, a Hufflepuff half-breed, couldn't be the Heir of Slytherin," Harry said, mocking him. "I found this place last year, as Draco can confirm." Riddle stared in shock and confusion, especially after Draco told the tale of how Harry had brought him down there that Christmas. "As to how I beat you, no one knows anything, except for the fact that my mother didn't have to die, and you killed her because she wouldn't move away from me."

"Hmm, maybe I was a fool. Sacrificial protection is extremely powerful blood magic. Maybe there is nothing special about you, but I doubt it. You must have noticed how similar we are. Both half-bloods, orphans raised by Muggles. Both sorted into Slytherin and Slytherin by blood, probably two of the only Parselmouths to have come here since Salazar himself. We even look something alike. Why not join me?"

Harry stared at him in shock and confusion before bursting out in laughter. "You killed my parents, tortured Draco's, petrified my Hermione, you'd kill all the Muggleborns, why should I support you, bastard? No, I will kill you, Voldemort, and all who are still loyal to you. I will bring honour back to the name of Slytherin, I swear it." With that oath, a bright light flashed, and when it disappeared a weapon lay at Harry's feet. "Wicked," Harry said as he picked it up. It looked like a fusion of a spear and an axe with a small spike at the base, and the blades of the topmost weapons were far larger than the average blade of either. And to make it even more 'wicked,' there was a large, thick hammer opposite the axe blade. The shaft of the weapon was a beautiful, emerald green, and all four of the weapons were a perfect, unblemished silver colour.***

"That is definitely a wicked glaive, Harry. Use it!" Draco told his friend.

Harry agreed, but first hissed to Eithne, bringing her out, and having her drop some venom onto the blade. "Now you die, Marv," Harry said, as he swung the glaive at the apparition's neck. Instantly, Tom Riddle fell, and the apparition was destroyed in a burst of flames. To make certain that he couldn't return again, Harry then drove the point of the glaive into the diary, and it also burst into flames, destroying it forever.

Slytherin Second Year Dorms, Hogwarts-May 22, 2004-Harry

A week after he had destroyed the apparition/Horcrux of Tom Riddle (as Harry had confirmed the diary being,) he and Draco were now digging into the mysterious glaive, which Harry was currently keeping in his trunk. Due to the danger of the basilisk venom which was now infused in the blade, Harry was also keeping it in a case Lucius had made for it, once Harry and Draco had a duplicate made so he could get the right size. Both were certain that the blade was connected to Salazar Slytherin in some way, but they had yet to find out how.

"Harry, I've found it!" Draco finally proclaimed. He set down an enormous book with the title The History of the Great Warlocks of Albion and Their Weapons-From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Invasion. "Read here," Draco said, pointing at a particular section.

It read: Sheara was the famous glaive, or poleaxe of Salazar Slytherin. Not only did he enchant it, as most warlocks did, but he worked to make it the most dangerous blade in history. Lord Slytherin used the famous practices of the Damascus blacksmiths to make it stronger and sharper, and the Goblin-style in order for it to infuse it with anything that made the blade stronger, and invulnerable. But there was one other way that Lord Slytherin knew of to make it truly the most dangerous weapon in history. He went to Kilgarrah, one of the last of the Great Dragons, and convinced him to breathe his fire onto Sheara. With that last enchantment, the glaive gained the ability to destroy the magical beings believed immortal, including the reanimated dead. Later, to make certain that the blade could never be turned against him, he enchanted it so that only the rightful Lord Slytherin could wield the blade. To make certain that none could mistake the glaive for any other, the shaft of the blade was as green as emeralds, and the blades looked as if they were made of silver, to match the colours of his sigil and the crest of his Hogwarts house. Also, to this day, rumours have persisted that suggest that not only did Salazar use the greatest smithing secrets to make the blade, but also the rare, expensive and nigh on indestructible metal known as mithril.

"The glaive of Salazar Slytherin himself!" Harry whispered reverently.

"And made of mithril as well, there's no topping that! What does the name mean? I'm assuming that it's a word in Parseltongue?" Draco asked.

"Shield, my friend. Sheara means shield," Harry explained.

Wizengamot, Ministry of Magic, London-February 15, 2005-Lucius Malfoy

Lucius Malfoy was relieved. After months of debate, Umbridge's werewolf law had finally been beaten, and he had been given permission to write his own, one that was far kinder to the werewolves than the under-secretary's law. "Now that that is done, do any of you have other business to be brought before the Wizengamot?" Dumbledore asked, the weekends being one of the few times that he was able to perform his duties as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Lucius smirked, that was the perfect opening. "I move for a Vote of No Confidence in Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore as Chief Warlock."

"On what grounds?" Robert Wood demanded.

Lucius had expected an objection, especially from someone who was solidly in Dumbledore's camp, like Wood was. "For many reasons, all of them surrounding a single person. And that single person is important enough to all of us that the level of mistreatment given to him by Dumbledore will ensure that most of you will agree with me."

"Who?" Septimus Weasley asked.

"Scion Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived," Lucius said. Immediately, Dumbledore paled, and Lucius knew that the centenarian was worried about what he had learned. "As many of you know, I have become Harry's unofficial guardian ever since my son, Draco, became his best friend-"

"The Wizengamot will not make your guardianship of Harry official, if that's what you hope to accomplish, Lord Malfoy," Dumbledore said.

"Actually, if you are removed as Chief Warlock, I'm certain that I won't be Harry's guardian, and neither will the Muggles you placed him with," Lucius finished. At that one word, the entire Wizengamot started whispering-why had the Boy-Who-Lived gone to Muggles? "The first reason to remove you is your actions following the deaths of the Potters. Within hours of their death, you sealed the Potters wills so tightly that not even Harry can view them, and he knows this."

"How does he know?" Augusta Longbottom asked.

"Because Harry tried to look at the wills this past summer, not long after his birthday, Dowager Longbottom. Following the sealing of the Potter's wills, our esteemed Chief Warlock then placed Harry in the home of his only Muggle relatives, the sister of Lady Lily Evans Potter and her family. Based on what Harry has told my family and I, there could hardly have been a worse choice, as the Dursley's are the worst sort of Muggles. While they know that our world exists, they hate us as much as Uther Pendragon did, and would beat our saviour whenever he used some accidental magic." Lucius paused there so that the Wizengamot could absorb the fact that the most famous person in the magical world had been abused by his Muggle relatives. There were few crimes more hated in the magical world than child abuse.

After a couple of minutes of the muttering, Lucius started again. "Then we come to the matter of extreme incompetence when it comes to your handling of Hogwarts in recent years. You stole the Philosopher's Stone from Nicolas Flamel and placed it in Hogwarts to set up a trap for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, a trap which not only failed, but put innocent students, our children and grandchildren at risk! When a forest troll got inside the Hogwarts dungeon, you deliberately sent half the students straight towards it!" The muttering started again, louder and far more dangerous than it ever had. "It was only due to the quick thinking and actions of Harry, a mere first year that you managed to avert those disasters. Last year, a basilisk roamed the halls of Hogwarts, petrifying nearly a dozen beings and spirits and you did nothing to stop it! Again, it was only due to the cunning actions of Harry that Hogwarts is open this year!"

Dolores Umbridge spoke up at those accusations. "Hem hem. Lord Malfoy, so silly of me, but you make it sound like You-Know-Who is still alive. Foolishness, I know, as you must know that he is dead."

"Unfortunately he is not, Madame Umbridge. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named truly deserves the title of Dark Lord, as he has delved deeper into the Dark Arts than many of his predecessors. He has even delved into the most forbidden of Dark Arts to ensure his immortality: Soul Magic. It was because of an item enchanted using Soul Magic that the basilisk roamed Hogwarts last year. Fortunately Harry managed to utterly destroy it," Lucius explained. "Now, getting back to the Vote of No Confidence, I have saved the worst for last." The muttering began again, what could be worse than child abuse?

"We elected Dumbledore because we believed he would be best to ensure justice was done in the Wizengamot after decades of corruption. However, under his administration, we have seen a kind of corruption that should have never been seen. Again, this corruption surrounds Harry Potter and those close to him, in this case, his godfather, Lord Sirius Black." Another commotion broke out, but this time Lucius stopped it. "I know many of you believe him guilty of betraying the Potters and the grisly murders of thirteen people, but that is the core of the moral corruption that has occurred under Dumbledore!

"Thirteen years ago, after Sirius Black was arrested, Barty Crouch Sr. threw Black into Azkaban without a trial! Sirius had already inherited the title of Lord Black, yet he was still thrown to the Dementors without a trial! To make things worse, the order was countersigned by Dumbledore!" That accusation shut everyone up, while Dumbledore attempted to rise and stop Lucius. "Sit down, Dumbledore! Now, only last week, Fudge ordered the Dementors to Kiss Lord Black on sight, and again, the order was countersigned by Dumbledore! Do we as a nation now execute our citizens, our nobility without so much as a trial?"

"How do you know there was no trial?" Amelia Bones asked.

"Quite simple, Madame Bones. As I said, I've become Harry's unofficial guardian, and he has come to see me as an uncle-like figure, so he came to me to ask about Lord Black's supposed crimes. When I told him what we as a country believed to be the truth, Harry asked what his motives were for betraying Lord Potter. I have to admit that I was curious about that myself, so I looked for the transcripts of the trial. I went to nearly everyone in the DMLE short of you and discovered nothing related to a trial. The only things I found were the report on his arrest and the order to have Lord Black thrown into Azkaban. With this knowledge, I move for a Vote of No Confidence in Chief Warlock Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Instantly the Wizengamot chambers were filled with the roars of arguments, until the chant started. "VOTE NOW! VOTE NOW!" Eventually the deathly pale Dumbledore called for a vote, and when the vote was counted, less than half a dozen of Dumbledore's most fervent supporters voted to keep him as Chief Warlock. Lucius grinned, that was another win for him in this most dangerous of games. In the break following the fateful vote, Lucius quietly slipped into Amelia Bones' office and offered his services as a spy inside the Death Eater ranks for the DMLE, when Voldemort returned.

*** I would love it if someone would draw the blade as I described it. I must admit that I got the idea for the description from a glaive drawn by a Chris Behncke, but the picture is gone now. I would be very willing to send a copy of the original to any wishing for the inspiration, though!

Chapter Playlist:

Prologue (Philosopher's Stone

Lily's Theme

Platform 9 3/4

Harry's Wondrous World

Chamber of Secrets

Face of Voldemort

Meeting Tom Riddle

Reunion of Friends

Ministry of Magic

Senate (Star Wars: Phantom Menace)