Harry was contemplating what was on a datapad as he watched the first of the heavy transports lift off for its mission with a fighter escort.
The CR-25 was an interesting craft, and a this one had been set aside for a specific mission led by Stele in the hunt for a cult leader and with six of the various LAAT's and a large number of troopers, the mission should be an easy one.
The leaving transport only increased the necessity of what he was doing, picking more knights from the database he had of force users.
With Maarek Stele gone hunting for one of the fugitives for the time being and Sev'rance Tann's new pregnancy would halve his knights for some time. The problem was compounded by the mysterious warrior that Voldemort had added to his ranks.
While Tann and Kogo were discrete in their affair, he had sensed it and chosen to allow it. His knights would be treated as anyone else would as long as they did their jobs and did their duty.
It had required some shuffling of plans when combined with the plan for Ge'tal to attend Hogwarts for at least half a year. That made things difficult to complete his apprentices training, but by allowing the girl to train with his other knights for the physical training after Mara was done and allowing Tann to train the one he almost thought of as a daughter in the tactical and planning portions until she was able.
But even then, he was left understaffed for the four he would prefer to have active if not more at any time. Four would allow him to keep several in the public eye at various places and still be usable to aid other portions of his army.
He also realized that he would have to act quickly if he was to have them active before Sev'rance became incapable of any portions of her job.
But then the question came back to the front, he had to pick ones that would be trustworthy and obedient to his orders.
The first sign that there was something wrong was when one of the smaller side buildings shattered, sending shrapnel raining down upon the rest of the school.
Beauxbatons had not existed for as long as Hogwarts or Durmstrang, but it was old enough to have become an institution that had covered several generations of students. It was due to its solidly anti-dark approach to magic with the headmistress' alliance with Dumbledore prior to the old wizards arrest for treason and sedition that had drawn Voldemort's wrath to the school.
Another thing that had prompted the choice was that Dion was apparently restricted to legal actions within France without permission, making this a decent first test of his new toys and powers without that bastards forces interfering.
The two golems had been refurbished to remove the wear that the ages had cost them and adding to their armor and weaponry.
But even without those upgrades, they outmatched the surprised and unaware school while alarms began to sound in earnest.
Voldemort stood there on a hilltop to watch the destruction these ancient engines of war wrought upon those he stood against. He now carried the staff of his ancestor, a symbol that he believed himself ready to face his latest adversary.
This destruction was the perfect thing to watch as the french Aurors arrived to see the madness he had unleashed upon the world, the first time toys like the ones he now employed had been used in over five centuries.
And one of the three european schools fell in an hour of destruction.
Crimson grinned as he watched Ge'tal work on her lightsaber.
She was growing up, something that he'd never gone through himself due to the way he was cloned. The gril was a wonder, having learned what he could about the various weapons the coming empire had at its disposal from blasters to vibroblades.
In his mind she had learned the essence of what he'd viewed as his native culture, a mandalorian and yet one training to become something far more.
She would be the second Sith to walk the earth.
And as the mandalorians had several times in their existance, their destiny would ride with the Sith.
The Lambda-class shuttle descended from the clouds, wings folding up as it neared the ground as the twin escort fighters circled twice before joining the shuttle in landing.
He had watched the first steps of the recovery effort.
It seemed strange that Voldemort would come out of hiding to lash out at a group that was uninvolved, while inflaming the international wizarding community.
Harry hated being surprised and this time was no exception.
It also gave him the beginnings of a new plan to aid in expanding his power base.
Harry smirked slightly behind his mask as the others required for the meeting arrived.
Two of them he recognized, McGonagall and Maxime were there as well as a handful of observing teachers from the ruined school while a few members of the French ministry were there as well for his offer, though only the two school heads would really have a real say in his suggestions.
"With the unfortunate loss of Beauxbatons," he stated slowly and clearly, his voice quiet enough to give the hint of casual thought while just loud enough for those listening in to hear with ease, "It leaves quite a gap, and thus with the oversight the ministry I now head has upon Hogwarts, I believe I should give a temporary solution to the coming problem."
"Which one?" Maxime asked, a moment faster than her counterpart could.
"The fact that you will have students coming soon, and with only a few weeks until the schools begin while there is no place to teach here," Dion responded in an almost hesitant tone, "So I'd like to put forth temporarily shifting the students to Hogwarts until the school can get back on its feet."
"Where would these children stay," Minerva asked in annoyance, "And who would teach with the teachers you still have in your dungeons."
Harry paused for a moment before laughing, deep and booming, "Those that I arrested were convicted of treason and trying to start a rebellion, especially the vaunted Albus Dumbledore who founded the organization while co-opting several of the aurors into breaking the very laws they had sworn to uphold."
He paused for a moment to consider the rest.
"For the time being, there are also the remaining teachers from Beauxbatons who would have no home or employment until the school is ready to reopen, and so adding them to the staff, allowing Madame Maxine to assume your old position until there is a school for her to return to headship over," he stated calmly, "And as for housing, that should be rather easy, I could have structures in place within a week should I issue the order for that purpose."
"Would it not be easier to simply order them to rebuild Beauxbatons itself then?" the old transfiguration teacher turned headmistress of Hogwarts commented.
"Unfortunately not," Harry responded with a slow shake of the head, almost as if in disappointment that it couldn't be done, "The buildings I'm speaking of were designed as barracks for soldiers that can be quickly erected and can last for centuries if need be, they do not have the right setup for a full school."
A slight pause.
"And with both schools having a quite noticeable lack of qualified teachers," the Sith Lord continued with a slight hint of the power of the force on the weak minded fools, "Both fill the gaps in the other for the moment."
He rose to his feet from the table, his cloak swirling slightly, "And it would also be beneficial for another reason that it wouldn't hurt to announce now."
All eyes locked on the masked force wielder.
"I have decided to allow my apprentice to attend for the year," he stated slowly, "Her training in the abilities that both myself and my knights possess are nearing a plateau stage where until she grows older she cannot learn many of the skills to complete that training and so, I've come to the conclusion that she needs to learn the basics of her magical abilities."
"I would have assumed you would have done so yourself?" the cat animagus asked slowly.
"To some extent I could, but my own teacher had years to prepare for a student and even then I was not his first," Dion stated slowly, "And my own skills with the more normal magical arts is something that is not far more than the basics while the other abilities are what was emphasized during the end of my own."
"And she also needs some time around others of her own age," he added, "Isolation to that extent is not healthy for one so young, and even the minor bit the wizarding world as a whole has taken to is one of the many ills that irks me in my new position."
Crimson leaned forwards and whispered in his ear.
"I must apologize," the Sith Lord quickly stated, "There is something at home that requires my personal attention, so I must be off."
With a half bow, he was off while signaling the half dozen LAAT's to land to allow his troops to aid in the recovery effort for the school.
It was a nightmare, Igor noted as he and his current partner dropped into position.
They had used the new uniforms to remain anonymous with the full squad of ARC's that had come with them, but they had hoped to find some sign that proved this wasn't caused by what it seemed to be.
He and Regulas had been sent to aid in an investigation of a murder that seemed to have been caused by someone with a lightsaber. That, in and of itself, was a terrifying prospect as all of the known wielders had been accounted for. All four Knights, Dion, and Ge'tal had their presence known.
Tann and Kogo were at the new prison when it had happened during the race and the Aurors involved in the preliminary investigations found no trace of time manipulation.
The monitoring office had been the site of the attack, the same one that monitored ex-cons and underage wizardry. With the wreckage of the devices that monitored all of the area covered by those laws and the scattered and burnt records, they had no idea what, if anything, had been taken or what the goal of the attack was.
What they did know was that there would be a lot of work to deal with the now unwatched section of the wizarding world.
Dion stepped out of his shuttle and onto one of the landing pads of Azkaban. He had already sent orders for the cloning to begin with four new knights.
"M'lord," he heard Vess state slowly as the man stepped from the shadows, "It has begun, the skifter has been played.
Ge'tal smiled slightly as she slowly ran her hands along the contours and controls of the completed lightsaber. During construction she had memorized every inch of her weapon, inside and out.
The distinctive snap-hiss as she activated the blood red blade for the first time, a moments thought on the ruby she had been given, one that had a width the length of her thumb before faceting it for the blade.
A testing swing made her grin before spinning it in an infinity before powering it down to slip it into place on her belt.
The black, sith robes fluttered as she slipped the hood up, the end hanging down to conceal her face, a style she had found in her masters databases of Sidious' world. Her own talents had so far been the strongest in perception and understanding, which had led her to search for information on the abilities concerning her strengths and had uncovered a race called the Miraluka that had required it due to a loss of eyes.
It was that style she had chosen, dressing like they did with some modifications that would make her enemies underestimate her when she went to Hogwarts.
A part of her was disappointed that she would need to build another lightsaber at a later date since Dion had said she was to have a normal wand during her time at the school and a lightsaber crystal not formed as the knights ones had, not to mention the fact that she required a Shoto for the time being and would need a normal lightsaber when she had grown.
Her master had given her a gift as well to signify her step to become a full fledged apprentice, giving her a special cloak based off of the spells in his own invisibility cloak but with a trigger other than just wearing it.
Ge'tal walked slowly to the sparring room, using a telepathic signal to Lady Jade that she had finished, ready to show one of her many mentors her new weapon.
Review Responses
Saetan: Thanks, I am still working on this.
theman: Part of how he's going to control them is by focusing on those who are loyal and not cloning the ones he intends to train as Sith.