24 Interludes

(Fortuna P.O.V)

A man is walking towards class. He was nothing unusual just your average wizard studying in Hogwarts. He lived and studied in this castle every day. He had a schedule that he kept to and not a lot could change that. Today was just like any other day. Except today a sudden gust of wind managed to blow all of his papers out of his satchel. The sudden rain of parchment was a rather distracting sight.

It managed to catch the attention of all of those around. A certain red headed girl did not notice as one of the parchment pages fell in front of her. She too was distracted by the sight and she had other things on her mind. She took another step and that young girl slipped and slammed her head. It was not enough force that it would bring about any true consequences but she was certainly passed out. No one in the crowd seemed to notice when she fell. The girl would eventually get up with a splitting head ache and need to visit the nurse. Instead of doing what she was planning on doing.

That was all Fortuna's doing. She brought a series of events to life to do what she had to do. That girl was someone who brought Fortuna untold amounts of mixed emotions. Fortuna's creator the very god that birthed her held affection for this human. He desired her beyond anything else. So she should want to protect this human for her creator. On the other hand, this girl was bringing nothing but pain to her precious creator. He wallowed and suffered because this girl existed. Fortuna very much wanted to eliminate this waste that dared to be the same race as her god.

She had to do so many things because of this girl. Her creator was upset and was doing whatever he wanted. So she had to make sure so many people ended up with their necks mysteriously broken so no one would hurt him. Then people would wonder why those people had their necks snapped so she would have to snap more necks. It was endless there were just so many humans. She wanted to make sure this girl also got her neck snapped.

Sadly that would not be what her creator would want. He hated this girl but still wanted to possess her. So this waste got to live for another day. She was rather cross with her creator for that but she accepted it for what it was. Sometimes her creator could be very irrational.

He would catch her messing around with one of his enemies and ask her to stop. Only to ask her to continue but then he would take it back again! It was so frustrating! That human was thinking such bad things about her creator why could she not mess with her? Was it because the girl had red hair? Her creator seemed to hold a fondness for humans with red hair. What was wrong with Gold? Gold was the best color her god should really appreciate it more than that stupid red.

Lately he had been asking her to do the silliest of things. He wanted her to mess with someone because the one with guns was mad. Sure she had fun messing around with the kid but why did she have to do it for that girl. If her creator wanted to mess with him than she was all for it but to do it for that girl. Still, it was a request from her god so she went through with it. She did not really try but the girlish boy seemed to be really troubled by what she did. 

He also asked her to mess with the old one and the dramatic one. That she was fine with. She had already been screwing around with them but with his permission she escalated. They were going to find out that birds could do more than poop on their heads. Birds were one of her favourite methods the humans always seemed to panic when faced with so many of them. If only she could send birds at that red girl. 

At least she got to mess with that kid with glasses. Her creator really hated that one. She had so much fun causing him pain. He would wake up and step on his glasses as he went out of his bed. He would have someone trip into him as he walked down the stairs pushing him down the stairs. She could make it so that when he was flying a bird would dive and knock him off of his broom. He would slip and land in a pile of dung. He would have a bird poop on his head every hour. He would have his face smashed on every surface of a room as he constantly tripped. She could do so many things to him and her creator would be happy. 

Well, he would be if her creator even knew what she was doing. Her god did not really want to even think about the kid or the girl. Still, she knows he would find all of the things she did to the glasses kid amusing. Even if he was not really feeling like himself.

That worried her so much. That stupid red head hurt him so much he wanted to stop feeling. If he stopped feeling then he would never know how much she cared for him. She cared way more than any stupid human. Sure that other human with the guns might be growing on her creator but she was the one who cared the most. He knew that, he had to know that. Every time she showered him in her affection he would relax just a little more. If she was given enough time surely she would make him the happiest.

She just never had the opportunity to shower him with affection. She tried but when he sealed his emotions her efforts at showing him got thwarted. When he brought that window to his soul to the real world she managed to snag a great opportunity but then he ran out of energy. She was this close to changing his mind she knew she was. One day when he has enough energy she will give him the biggest bestest hug! No human could beat her she was Fortuna a goddess! Her creator said so! If she was a goddess and he was her god then they belonged together! It made perfect sense. Her creator would see it her way eventually.

She knew it!

(Pyrrha Nikkos P.O.V)

They were after her. She had no idea who was after her but they were definitely after her. Those miscreants wanted to trick her. Fool her into believing some sort of nonsense about the multiverse. She knew the truth. None of them could be trusted. It would make no sense for the other people in the chat to be victims like her. None of them had to deal with what that Prince was doing.

She spent hours tripping on everything. Sometimes it would be her sweat. Then it would be a leaf that fell from her family's maple. Or god forbid it was feathers. Oh god, the feathers. Sometimes it was literally nothing but even with her honed skills she could not stop herself from falling. He was doing it. He admitted to doing it! His semblance must be to inflict bad luck on others and one of the others had an illusion semblance.

If it was just tripping she could handle it. It may have been embarrassing but once her Aura recovered the falls did very little to her. It just sullied her image as she seemed to trip over nothing in very public places. She just said it was an opponent messing with her using their semblance. That led to a witch hunt all over Mistral but no one was able to find anything. Supposedly there was this big shot Hunter in Vale who did have a bad luck semblance but he was spotted in Vale when this was happening to her.

That witch hunt must have pissed them off as then the ducks came. So many ducks. She was swarmed in moments. She was not even able to defend her self as she was stunned at seeing so many god damn ducks. Once they swarmed her they never relented. She could explode a duck with her bare hands and another would take its place. They would bite at her ineffectively but those small bites added up. Eventually, even that small attack managed to shatter her Aura. Then they started to poop on her! All of them! By the end, she was exhausted and covered in duck poop and feathers. The tabloids exploded that day and there was not a thing she could do about it. She feared even the mention of ducks now.

In one of her latest matches her opponent came covered in duck feathers. He must have thought the feathers were enough to scare her but she brutally destroyed him in that fight for the insult. The feathers would not scare her. If he learned a duck call on the other hand, well she might have run from the stadium if that happened.

Then it all stopped. She did not believe that the Prince really did not know what he was doing. He was just bidding his time to really mess with her. Then the ducks would come and she would be powerless. Why did her fans have to be such villainous stalkers? If he put use to his skills he could bring some real hope to the world instead he spent his time stalking her and messing with her. She knew she was objectively pretty you don't take as many photoshoots as her and don't realize that. Even if she was pretty, surely she was not worth the effort this Prince was taking to mess with her.

She wanted to escape from Mistral even more. So she booked an early ticket in the dead of night and left her home with nothing but a note. Even if he was stalking her he would not notice when she left. He was probably still back in mistral. That was what she thought was going to happen.

The thing is as she flew on the bullhead that god forsaken screen was still accessible for her. That had to mean that someone on this bullhead was her stalker. Meaning he managed to figure out she booked an early ticket and followed her! His stalking skills were truly out of this world! She marched along trying to find him but the bull head was rather large. There were a couple of suspects but they were ruled out when she found no Aura from them. The Hunters she did find were more than willing to show her their semblances. She was that much of a rising star in the hunting community. Still, not a single person she found was the person she was looking for.

Which meant that this Prince was still hiding! He must have that illusion ruffian with him. They were using their abilities to hide from every one. What type of stalkers are they? They have to be spending a massive amount of Aura to keep up this charade. Only the greatest of Hunters could afford to use their semblances like it's candy. Two of those giants decided the best thing they could do was stalk a teenage girl! It was bizarre and frankly ridiculous.

Once she reached Vale she fled as fast as she could but that screen followed her every where! It was to be expected she was good but if those legends were truly doing this then she stood no chance. Still, she would not give up that was not who she was! Surely if she reached Beacon the illustrious headmaster would be able to stop them. He was quite literally one of the greatest hunters. A living legend.

So she ran and ran some more. Turn after turn. Street after street. She was going at such blinding speeds. She was pushing her self well beyond her previous limits. That was how badly all of this was affecting her. Then something familiar happened a branch snapped and fell down in front of her causing her to trip. That bastard was at it again. She knew his words about stopping were lies but he seemed to stick to them. She must have been too close to the headmaster for that sicko's comfort.

"Show yourself Prince! I know you are there! No amount of ducks will stop me from seeing the head master! NOTHING WILL!" She screamed out as she slowly edged forward. She was fully willing to open fire on this crowded street if she heard a single quack. Her angry shouting must have spooked the crowd as many of them quickly vacated the street. She might have been willing to fight here but it would be better if the innocent avoided this area. 

A single man remained. He was an older man with stubble on his face. Red eyes and short hair that was slightly greying. He was wearing a white coat and a cape of all things. He had his sword strapped to his back. He looked like the type of person who would say they had roguish charm. He looked embarrassed and was rubbing the back of his head. This was him. The red head obsessed prince finally decided to show his face.

"Right, this must have been about that tripping right? Sorry, it is not something I can really control." The man spoke out with a sheepish smile but that would not fool her. He just admitted to being the cause of all of it! It was time to finally have her vengeance!

"So you have finally decided to show yourself Prince! Good, I will make due on my threat and skewer you where you stand!" She then gripped her spear and went charging at the man. He looked stunned about the way things were going but she would not be fooled.

"Prince?" He spoke out in stunned disbelief as he side stepped her first thrust. It would make sense that he would have a certain amount of skill! He was an experienced Hunter who reached the very peak of their career.

It would be a hard fight but she just had to stall enough that the head master would notice! Then this fool would face the full extent of the law! With only some slight stabbing. He deserved it for the ducks that was just cruel!

"Look kid, I think you are misunderstanding something!" He shouted out as he ducked under her next strike. He then took out his blade as he finally got that she was serious. When he did so a tile slid of the roof beside them. It almost hit her but she was able to step out of the way in time.

"There is no mistake!" She shifted her weapon into a rife and fired at him. He blocked with his massive blade. The bad luck seemed to be weaker than what she was used to. He must be having issues using it now that he was fighting her. So she had to keep the momentum if she did not want the ducks to come.

"There sure as shit has been! I've never met you kid!" He shouted out as he dashed towards her. She shifted back to her spear and went to skevwer him again. There was no point in trying to trick her. She was finally going to get justice.

He went to block her blow with his sword. Good, he may have been stalking her and had far too much personal information but he did not know her Semblance. She subtly changed the position of his blade and sent a heavy blow into his spleen. She had to keep her word after all.

He was sent several meters back.

"How the fuck?" He cussed out and she once more charged at him. He looked back at her and then shrugged.

"Fine, this can be my day. Look kid I don't know what your problem is but I'm gunna take you down then we can talk about this." He spoke out in a rather cocky manner. She would show him how dare he underestimate her. Her stalker really should have known better.

(Rias Gremory P.O.V)

Rias was starting to feel frustrated again. All of her problems finally looked like they were going to be solved. With her new found ability she would be able to crush Riser with one hand held behind her back. If she showed her brother the incarnation state she could enter he would probably call off everything anyway. Her brother knew exactly how scary being a literal incarnation of destruction can be. 

Even with her smaller demonic reserves she would destroy any rating match between any of her peers. The problem with that was that her state was far too destructive. If she did unleash that move anyone facing her was likely to die even with all the safety protections built into the rating games. She had no issues killing Riser but his peerage did not deserve to be vaporised from existence. Not to mention if she did murder Riser she would have to deal with the fall out with the Phenex family and they were a long time ally of the Gremory.

So it was in everyone's best interest that things got called off before a rating game. Her ability is far too valuable to be wasted in a political marriage with Riser of all people. Even her father who was pushing for the marriage would agree with her on that. He might try to sell her marriage to someone else to pass on the genes for the incarnation state. Not that anyone would be willing to accept that as she could just vaporize any one who forced her. Excluding her family as she did love them.

So her love life should be in her own control from now on. So why was her frustration building? This Chat Group was irritating her. Well not everyone. The Bro-con had some sort of grudge against her everyone else was fine.

Izumi-chan was adorable and shared her interest in Anime. She could spend hours talking to him about what ever anime they were currently watching. She even managed to get anime from a different world sent from Izumi-Chan. The anime he sent was slightly weird but it was great to have even more anime to pull from! Even if almost all of the anime he sent her had subtly boy love indications. The Gundam anime had a clear romantic yaoi partner even if the show never acknowledged it. Then the Shonen anime he sent followed the same trend but the main character had a token love interest. The amount of chemistry the main character had with the love interest was nonexistent. Yet they dedicated five episodes to having the main character hanging out with his best friend having cute moments.

There was something fishy going on in all the anime Izumi sent her but he never seemed to notice. So she just shrugged it off and wrote it off to different worlds having different tastes. All in all Izumi was a great friend to have even if he could be rather skittish. Getting the supernatural revealed to you in such a strange way must have been a shock.

The next member was Hunter-san she was okay. She clearly did not believe what was happening to her and was in denial but she never really did anything to her. She mainly just sent death threats to Prince-san. She did ask if the other members were also targeting her like they were targeting Hunter-san. She said no then but now she was starting to feel very targeted.

The Bro-con hated her. Not a small amount of hate either. She had no idea how that came to pass. She was just as concerned about her as Prince-san was when she found out she was literally starving. Of course, she was the girl was acting like she was dying. She was all sorts of panicked when it happened as she had no way to handle it. So where did the hate come from? Was it because she could not help? That seemed odd but she was used to dealing with people who were irrational.

She did say something about not wanting to deal with another woman. So maybe the Bro-con hated her because she was a woman? She wanted to say that was ridiculous but it was certainly possible. Kiba went feral if anyone vaguely mentioned holy swords. Kononeko would go catatonic if her sister was mentioned. Aneko would start to rage at the mention of her father. All of her peerage had buttons that she learned not to press. So Bro-con hating all women in general was something she could see happening.

It did not make it any less frustrating to deal with. She was not exactly able to not press that button. She was a woman and she was not willing to change that. If Bro-con was by herself then she would not feel so targeted. She could deal with the insults that she spewed even if they were irritating. No, the Bro-con was an issue because she had back up.

The last member of the Chat Group. Prince-san he seemed like a good person as he immediately went to go help Bro-con when she needed help. He was even a fellow Otaku so she should be able to bond with him like Izumi. The problem is he never responded to anything in chat. He would only show up to sign in or to accept a mission as she just learned. He was fun when he did show up but it made it very hard to bond with him. He was also very scary.

When he took Hunter-sans luck she found it amusing if mildly concerning. Hunter-san did spend almost all of her time sending death threats to Prince-san after all. Then Bro-con was furious and he offered to take care of it. What happened to poor Izumi was a nightmare. She never wanted to get him mad as he could do the same to her. The problem was that Prince-san and Bro-con were friends. So having the person who very much hated her have a friend who could do such war crimes was scary.

When Bro-con asked him to do the same to her she felt her heart stop. It was only Prince-san's mercy that saved her collection. He managed to get Bro-con to back off but she was still feeling very targeted. When was she going to do something that set off that girl and have Prince-san take care of her? So she was feeling very targeted lately.

She wanted to go on the mission but then Bro-con took offence to that. The whole situation had her on edge and her insults were hitting rather close so she fought back. She was not thinking about it at the moment but what if she crossed a line would Prince-san take action? So she agreed to back down even if she really wanted to see a brand new world. 

Prince-san was right after all. Izumi was far too weak to risk his life and Hunter-san was not sending any more messages. She really did not want to work with a girl that very much hated the fact that she was also a woman. Nor did she think she could manage to convince Prince-san to take her instead.

Prince-san may have said a line about not wanting Bro-con to stab him but she knew that was an excuse. The two of them seemed close even if she had no idea when it happened. If the girl was like the rest of her peerage she got why he was acting the way he did. She too was not willing to get close to the buttons of her friends.

So here she was frustrated and not being able to do a thing about it.

(Ashley Graves P.O.V)

Ashley seethed as that dumb cunt tried to go on a mission with her friend! Who the fuck did that slut think she was!?

(Izumi Sena P.O.V)

What he had just experienced was something out of his nightmares. A swarm of birds flew through his window and just started to tear apart his collection. They had a one track mind no amount of hitting or begging could stop them. They went on a rampage and destroyed everything he held dear.

It was a tragedy beyond anything else. He would have gladly sacrificed himself in their place but the birds did not want him. They wanted to hurt him. So they did their worst and there was not a thing he could do about it.

At least those menaces did not try to target the book containing his little baby. If they did he would have made a suicide rush at Prince-san. Prince-san seemed like such a nice guy but now he knew that there was a monster underneath that nice guy act. How could a fellow Otaku allow something like this to happen? Once Prince-san learned about the terror he was inflicting he should have stopped. Instead, he did nothing as his limited edition Lala-Dark Mode figurine was destroyed. A true monster!

If only he did not say what he said to Bro-con. He was treating the Chat Group as any other chat group and was having fun. Prince-san and Power-san were playing along as well. He just chose the worst words he could have picked. He should have known better than to call a girl a swine. What was he thinking?

He was not sure if Bro-con's threat was real but she certainly seemed mad. So he could understand why all of this happened even if he did not want it to have happened.

At least he was able to get all of this to stop. Sure it cost all of his points but he only had forty-one points. He could not really buy anything he really wanted with that. He was saving up to change his Username even if Power-san did not get a very good replacement. He was going to have to start saving up again but it was better than the birds coming back.

He was also not going to piss off Bro-con or Prince-san. This must never happen again! He was going to have to spend so much money to get his collection back in working order. He could exchange points for money in the Chat store but he was given a good amount of money from his parents. With a family of literal superstars, it was hard to really worry about money.

The problem with that was he had his allowance cut off as he refused to do that stupid commercial. He could take a part-time job to earn some cash but it would take a very long time to get the amount he needed. The Chat Group was also possible but he also wanted to replace his User. So getting his allowance back is what he wanted to do.

There was only one way for that to happen. He was going to have to do that stupid commercial. He was not sure why he had to be the one doing it but apparently, it had to be him. Ichijou-san was rather insistent about him being the girl or at least about that specific girl coming. He was not sure if Ichijou-san knew that the girl he was working with back then was in fact a boy.

What ever Ichijou-san was bound to figure it out when he saw what Izumi looked like. No matter what Ren-san said he did not look like a girl. He was an average Otaku!

(Dumbledore P.O.V)

Albus was not used to misreading people. It was rather hard to misread someone when you live to his age. Experience is a teacher beyond any other and he has lived for so very long. Even young Riddle was not able to fool his eyes. To the rest of the world, Tom Riddle was a charming boy who managed to say all the right things at the right times. That boy was someone that everyone liked or at least that was what he looked like on the surface. Albus was able to see what lay underneath that facade. 

Tom Riddle was a cruel boy who felt for no one. He was fully capable of inflicting the vilest of tortures if it managed to get him what he wanted. He was only charming because that was just another tool in his arsenal. He was able to see that from the very first day he saw that boy. He was able to spot all the tells from a rather more personal experience.

So he managed to spot the monster that Tom was even if the rest of the world could not. So imagine his surprise when he misread another boy.

Severus Snape was a talented but misguided boy. That boy was allowing himself to drown in darkness because he was not willing to accept the light. He was a prideful boy and a vengeful one. That boy was going on a path of no return and Albus had long since accepted that. Even if he hoped that he would change he was different after all. His one redeeming quality was his love for Evans. That was what separated young Severus from someone like Tom. That boy was capable of feeling love and that was something Tom never could.

He had hoped that young Lily would have led Severus away from the path that he was walking. Sadly that did not happen. That boy fell further and further away from the light and started to alienate himself from his only friend. So Albus had written him off as another misguided youth.

Then suddenly things about that boy was revealed to him that he never expected. Young Potter and his friends started to suffer accident after accident. From an outside perspective, it might have looked like they were simply being led into traps but he knew better. What was happening to those boys screamed of Malaclaw Venom. 

They showed all the signs of supernatural bad luck even if this had been the most extreme effects that Albus had ever seen. He had no idea where young Severus managed to get his hand on the Venom but that had to be what was happening. Or at least that was what he thought.

Another change was the boys rather explosive accidental magic in the Great Hall. That was something he never imagined could have been brought out of Severus. The amount of mana that surged from that boy was monstrous. Even Tom would have trouble trying to replicate that feat. Albus had no idea where that boy was hiding that. Surely if he had those reserves Young Lupin would have had a rather poor night when he was trapped in the shack with the boy.

Albus saw Severus on that night. That boy was terrified and angry beyond any other. Even when he was in his lowest state he could not muster a similar showing to what happened in the cafeteria that day. So where did this magical might come from? That was the question but Albus could not see any answers.

The boy was up to something but he would disappear from the ward's monitoring so it was rather difficult to track him. Albus was going to have to take a far more direct approach when dealing with that boy now. The amount of potential sitting in that boy was beyond even Tom. 

With that thought Albus spilled his pot on ink in his bowl of lemon drops completely ruining them. Another accident to add to the list. After the second time he slammed into a wall he put the pieces together. This had to be Young Severus' doing. Knowing that he eliminated Malaclaw Venom from the the cause. Albus has lived for a very long time and has had to deal with poisons for literal decades. So he was an incredibly hard person to drug. Meaning something else had to be happening.

That boy was getting more and more interesting. All of these secrets will soon be revealed to Albus. Even if he had to take more drastic measures soon. Fawkes then proceeded to light Albus' robe on fire.

(Voldemort P.O.V)

Everything has not been going according to plan for a very long time. All of those deviations could be placed at the feet of that blasted old man! Tom Riddle was a respectable figure. Loved by the other three houses and respected beyond reproach from the house of the snakes. He even caught that filthy half-breed who murdered that poor poor girl. With his grades and his reputation, he should have been able to follow his plan.

As soon as he graduated he traveled the world expanding even his impressive store of magical knowledge. Admittedly he spent far too long trying to track down the artifacts left from the founders. He wanted to have the very best vessels for his soul. The temptations of the artifacts would keep his soul safe. These artifacts were things only spoken in legend after all. Who could not be tempted to at least touch them? Once that was done his own soul could influence them. Not that he planned for anyone to even see them. It was just another precaution.

With that time spent he managed to track down these artifacts when no one else could. So that time was not misspent. The thing was while it was not useless he spent that time without knowing he was too late.

After his worldly travels the next step of his plan was to become a teacher at Hogwarts. He had a fairly decent grasp on the Dark houses so he moved on to influencing the young. The people who attended Hogwarts were the backbone of magical Britain. He could use his position as a teacher to build more and more connections. With his track record, he should have been a perfect choice for a new professor. The head master Dippet even thought very highly of him. So everything should have been going his way.

So he applied to Hogwarts expecting that he would have no problems getting the position. Then he found himself in an interview with the worst possible person. Apparently, since he had been gone Dippet retired and appointed Dumbledore as his replacement. Dumbledore was a war hero with a vast reputation it only made sense for him to take over. Tom would not have minded that change if Dumbledore was reasonable. Tom really was a perfect fit for the position after all.

The problem was that the old coot always had it out for him. Since the very day Tom met Dumbledore he had the eyes of that man on him. It was one of the only mistakes Tom would admit to making. When he was young he never expected to find others like him. He thought he was truly special and he used that status to lord over his lessers. He lived in an orphanage with very little resources so he had to rise to the top. So he used his special abilities to rule by enforcing fear into every other child. So when Dumbledore came he saw exactly what Tom was capable of.

Since that day nothing he could do would change that man's opinion on the young orphan. It was frustrating going from being the only special one to a no name orphan but he made it work. Tom was even more special than he initially thought after all. He dwarfed his peers in the use of their shared gift. He was so powerful that not a single one of his peers could even hope to contest him. They loved him for it as well. 

The house of the snakes of course, did not like him. At first that is. Once he started to use some old tactics they fell in line. Even if he was only a filthy mud-blood he managed to rule the house of the snakes. Then he found that he was not just that no named orphan. He was the last blood of one of the founders himself. The Gaunts may not have the best reputation but the ties to Slytherin himself were enough to bolster his reputation. Still, even with his peers loving him Dumbledore never trusted him.

This meant when he applied to Hogwarts with him in charge he was doomed to failure. He may not have taken the loss very well. It was so aggravating having failure placed by his feet because of one man. 

So he had to change tactics. Without the chance to influence the light-leaning houses and neutral houses, it would be difficult to continue. He wanted to be the most important person in the wizarding world after all. He wanted to lead the magical populace because he was the best that they could ever produce. He could not gain that status in the standard way even if he had a firm hold on the Dark houses. They just did not have the voting block to have him elected with Dumbledore whispering in the opposition's ears.

So he had to take more drastic measures. He needed to have more than just the friendship of the Dark houses. He needed their loyalty and the power behind them. He had to induce a cause that they were willing to fight for. It just so happened that the ministry was cracking down on decade long traditions to be more inclusive to the muggle-borns. So he used that as a banner and gathered those houses in preparation.

He used that charm that he cultivated to get them to push back in the voting blocks. The ministry was destroying their culture for those filthy muggleborns after all. He knew that the political push was doomed for failure. That was never his goal he needed them to feel bitter. He needed to them to lose over and over again in what felt like a hopeless war. They wanted their voices to be heard but no one was listening. Dumbledore may have seen his hands behind all of it so the old man pushed rather hard on the Dark houses. A failure of Dumbledore as that was what Tom wanted.

As the losses came over and over again the Dark houses started to feel disenfranchised. Nothing was working out in their favor. It became so bad that many Dark houses were all but shouting in the Wizengamot. Still nothing worked for them.

Then he came in. An incredibly powerful wizard that said all the right words at the right time. He held rallies and speeches that were having the more neutral houses waver. For once the Dark seemed to moving forward. In all came to a head in the next vote on yet another ban on traditional practices. The Dark was full of confidence and the neutral houses were cracking. Then Dumbledore took a public stand on the ban. The fool did more than whisper he all but shut down the movement with his very presence. Exactly as he wanted.

The Dark went from elation to stunned disbelief as Dumbledore destroyed their hopes. That was the final straw. The world around them would change and there was not a thing they could do about it. The government would ignore their voices because one man was pushing them into a corner. By taking a public stand instead of just whispering Dumbledore broke the Dark's faith in the voting system.

If they wanted to have their voices heard then they would have to use force. It just so happened that Tom was an incredibly powerful wizard who believed in their cause and was also the heir to Slytherin. Funny how that all worked out right?

So he trained his forces in magic to bolster their ability to be useful to him. That may have been a mistake as many of them could not handle the influence of the stronger magics. They have lived in far too peaceful times and have allowed their wills to weaken. So the force behind him became more and more cruel the more he taught them. It was not too much of an issue as he just sent them to torture muggles. They were gaining power and that was all that mattered to him. So what if they tended to torture and kill needlessly? He did not need them to be sane he just needed them to be able to fight for him.

With his people ready and willing to fight he started to target week houses. A small light house that still held votes. A quick but fierce raid of that house had them eliminated from the voting block immediately. No one knew who did it as any investigations hit road blocks and bribes. He was not quite ready for an open war after all. Still that victory was enough that he knew things were going back on track.

He only had to placate the Dark. A few murders here, A kidnapping there, The enslavment of a family. All of these acts were done quickly and without hesitation. The whispers of what was coming was apparent to anyone who really paid attention. It was just far too late for anyone to truly deal with this peacefully.

It was almost time for open warfare but then things started to go wrong lately. Raids would fail and end up with members arrested. They had to pay a fair amount bribes to get them broken out of custody. This also eliminated the mystery that they were building. Those were not the only failures either. Basses would mysterious catch on fire. Members would wound others in sparing matches far more often. It was frankly baffling.

He did not show it but he was also suffering. He had an image to maintain he could not allow his followers to see him trip for no reason. Or allow them to know that birds seemed to have grown a penchant for defecating on himself. He had to Obliviate his followers more than once. He had also started to blow up any and all birds he saw. No one asked why as they were likely to torture muggles randomly who cared if he blew birds up? Still something was happening and it was ruining his plans.

Then he found the missing link. Reports in Hogwarts had him intrigued. A young boy that was almost on his side was inflicting bad luck on his foes. They were experiencing things he was used to seeing. Randomly tripping, things falling, miscast spells, the various ways in which they experience failure were obvious.

What ever that boy was doing was also affecting him. It was a fascinating concept as there was no possible way that the boy could have drugged him and all his forces. That was the theory his spies reported about the boy as he was a budding potions master but Tom knew better. There was something else that boy was hiding and he would find out.

That boy would tell him, the boy's own opinion being irrelevant as Tom was more than willing to torture to get his way. 

Severus Snape had the answers he wanted. The boy was just going to have to tell them.

With that thought a bird once more defacated on his head. He turned to the Death Eater beside him and Obliviated him. No one can know!

(Narcissa Black P.O.V)

Acting on her own beliefs and feelings has never been the name of the game for her. She understood what she was from a very young age. She was just another tool to be used and abandoned by her family. She was not the heir so her opinion meant very little to her parents. She was just another one of the Black sisters.

Being a woman in such a house meant that she was to be sold to the highest bidder. She knew that. She had long since accepted that. Her eldest sister Bellatrix was already sold to the Lestrange boy by the time she hit puberty. Bella hated that but she was willing to do what she must for her family even if she hated Lestrange. Her sister was able to avoid most of the negatives of such a marriage by leaning on the new Dark Lord. Why would Lestrange touch her when it would bring the ire of their Lord on him.

Seeing such an example from Bellatrix she was almost elated with Lucius. Sure he was not the most charming individual and had some rather odd hobbies but he was fine. He did not overstep his place and was courting her at a pace she felt comfortable. He was not something she wanted but she knew it was probably the best she could get. So she allowed their families to think that marriage was well on its way. She even meant it as it would take the more unsavory options off of the menu.

Her other sister could not really see what was really going on. She thought that her love was something only she could pursue. So she dated that one muggleborn and that was already a step too far for her family. They argued day and night about her partner and tried to enforce a more proper suitor but Andromeda was stubborn no matter the punishment. It all came to a head when she married that boy after Hogwarts.

She was promptly disowned and was never allowed to contact the rest of her family. Andromeda and Bellatrix were in a rather shaky position due to Bella's more extreme views so that was fine between them. Andromeda thought she could at least talk to her when everything calmed down. The look of hurt and betrayal when Narcissa refused to talk to her was not something she would ever forget. Narcissa hated that she did what she did but she did not have the will to resist the punishments from the family. So she abandoned her sister even if she really did not want to.

On that day she learned she did not have the will to do what she wanted. She was a puppet on strings and she could not muster the strength to cut those strings.

Andromeda's disownment was another crack in Sirius' relationship with their family. He hated that he would never get to interact with his cool older cousin ever again. That caused him to become a lot more vocal about their families' beliefs. He would berate her for standing by her family but he did not get it. He was the heir and no matter what he did his punishments were jokes in comparison to hers. She hated him for that. He got to do what he wanted while she danced to their tune.

Even when he got himself sorted into Gryffindor her family did not take any drastic actions. He was still the heir despite his increasingly vocal beliefs. His mother was rather adamant on changing the heir to Regulus but his Father was stubborn. He believed that the the eldest son was the rightful heir by Magic's will. Changing that was not something that could be done so easily. It was a disgusting scene and she started to hate her cousin even more for it. 

Not because he was taking such a strong stance against blood purity but because he could. He was allowed to spend his time acting out and being a fool. He was allowed to prank his fellow magical heirs and still be the Black's son. He got to galivant all over the castle and flirt with anything remotely female. Nothing he did meant disownment. Yet here she was if she even vaguely hinted at being dissatisfied with the political marriage she would be punished severely.

He had the gall to be angry at her for her actions and that truly hurt. So she started to plan ways to subtly hurt him back.

That was what led her to Severus. He was a boy that Sirus and his friends always targeted. So she thought she could use their victim as her pawn to fight against her cousin. He was a smart boy with a talent for potions. He would make a perfect start to her plans. That was why she approached the young half blood despite her peers discouraging said approach. She was glad that she had chosen him even if he was more than a pawn to her now.

The boy was standoffish. He was withdrawn and wanted nothing more than to be left alone. He only cared about two things in this entire castle that muggelborn girl and potions. So she approached him under the guise of a shared interest in potions. Her limited knowledge was not something that could catch his attention. He was much better than she expected from a half blood. So she had to spend time bringing up subjects that were very new in the field. She understood very little about these things but he loved it.

He would light up in a way that she never expected from the boy. Gone was the standoffish withdrawn boy. In his place was a man with a passion unlike any other. He lived and breathed for potions and was only alive when he was talking about them. It was such a fascinating change from the boy she knew. She started bringing up these things not to gain favor but to see that passion. In what felt like no time she was incredibly fond of the mopey boy.

It was disheartening to see him withdraw into himself every day. Seeing the difference between the two faces of Severus she had a theory. Judging from his hate of all things muggle he probably did not have the best home life and that softened her heart further. It was no longer about using him but trying to bring this boy back to life.

Sadly it was not her place to do so. She could not take any actions that would truly help him without it getting back to her family. Sure the boy had talent in potions but he was still a half blood and it was beneath her to befriend such a boy. So she could not bring out the life that lay in him and that hurt. It was even worse when she knew that Muggleborn girl could bring that light out. He was truly and utterly happy by that girl's side and she hated that she could not do the same.

As they grew older and older she felt more and more fond of the boy. He was not a pretty thing or even something remotely charming but he was fascinating all the same. As they grew older she started to see the Muggleborn girl in an even worse way.

That girl was one of the only things to matter to Severus and she did very little for the boy. While Severus drowned in the pit of snakes that girl galivanted around the castle in innocent naivety. As Severus fell further and further that girl did nothing but reprimand him. She did not reach out a hand that Narcissa desperately wished she could. That girl disgusted her in the same way her Sirius did.

She could act freely and instead of seeing the issues Severus was having she only berated him. Never really understanding the situation. Just like her brother.

In all came to a head this year. Severus had almost completely withdrawn into himself. He would still show that spark of life with potions but it was just so dim in comparison. Even that girl Lily was not able to bring that same light anymore. Then one day Potter was showered in praise for saving Severus' life. That day she had never seen Severus as angry as he was. There was something going on but he remained tight lipped about it. Not in a normal way but in a magically enforced way. When Lily called him ungrateful for Potter saving his life Narcissa never saw him as shaken.

Lily was breaking Severus into pieces and all that girl could see was his perceived ungratefulness. She hated that girl daming innocent barbs.

Then Potter in another round of humiliating Severus pushed him too far. She heard a lot about that day and Potter was lucky he managed to catch Severus with not a snake in sight.

Since that day Severus was acting different. He was more alive than before and it was an actual improvement. He joked and acted like a real person for once. Still, even if he was more alive than before she was concerned. There was this sort of manic energy about him. Even as he did simple actions he seemed almost too much of himself. Then he exploded in the Great Hall in a feat of magic spoken a week later in hushed whispers.

He was also suddenly capable of getting his revenge far more easily now. She was not sure how he was going about it but Potter was not having a good time any longer. The sight was amusing and oh so gratifying in Sirius' case but again concerning. Severus was getting revenge in that same manic energy that was worrying her. She was worried about what would happen to him if he continued this. Not to mention his display of magic had everyone's attention.

She was finally allowed to interact with the boy without being veiled behind some other motive. The budding potion master with massive amounts of magic made for a good ally for the Blacks. 

The problem was the boy was making it harder and harder to find him. He only showed up one time in class since the incident and he was even more manic. He did showcase something surprising. The nutrition potion he made was truly something special. She could see that and it made her question exactly how skilled he was. Was Severus no longer the budding potion master but an actual one? How about his new found skill at drugging various pureblood heirs? With skills like that Narcissa might be able to actually do something about her marriage.

It may mean doing something that her family would approve of but Severus would actually be a choice of her own.

(Lily Evans P.O.V)

Lily was not sure what to do. She had never had to face a decision like what she had on her plate before. She was just a teenager she was not meant to deal with the potential death of her classmates. She was not meant to be on a crossroads with only bad decisions.

Lily was a girl who grew up always believing in the right thing. Now she was not sure what the right thing would even be. How could she? This was not something where there was a right answer. As Sev faced her with glinting eyes she only felt more panic.

She was trying to think of another option. A road in which she would not have to deal with anything on her conscience. She did not want to betray Sev's trust once more but she did not want James and his friends to be hurt either.

Sev was her best friend. The person who even introduced her to the concept of magic. They spent hours just talking to each other. It did not matter what they talked about as anything would be interesting with him there. They had shared their dreams for the future. Their deepest fears. She grew up with him by herside.

Sure they have grown further and further apart in their time in Hogwarts. Even then Sev was always a part of her life. Just like her own arm. Something that she could never imagine not being there. 

James was a prat but he was just a boy. He was a boy who cared about others even if he did not take things seriously. He would spend a large amount of time making sure every single on of his housemates were safe. He would be one of the first to stand up if something went wrong. Even when faced with someone he did not like he still saved their life. He did not deserve to die just because he did not like Sev.

Sev on the other hand did not deserve to be hunted down for making something like this. He was just following his passion and making something no one else could even try.

So she tried to make a decision for the best of everyone. If she told James and his friends than they would be protected even if it hurt Sev. James and his friends would not tell anyone because they were good people deep down. James already saved Sev's life before this was just like that. It should work.

Still even if she thought that was for the best saying those words to Sev when he was looking at her like that was hard. His face was contorted in a snarl something she had never seen on his face. Even when he talked about James he was never this mad. His eyes were shaking and tears were building. He was breaking apart in front of her and she was the reason it was happening. How was she supposed to say something when he was like this.

She wanted to go to and hug him. To show him things would get better. That the world was not closing on him. Yet, she was afraid. Afraid that he would not want her near. That as she stood here he wanted nothing more than for her to be gone. Even when he hurt her she feared that she lost him. That the world took her best friend and left a stranger in his place.

Then he told her exactly why he did what he did. That he was so very hurt and she just could not see it. She found that her friend was still there. Things even started to change for the better. He no longer wanted to be involved with the Death Eaters. Things were looking like they would work out.

Then she was faced with this decision. Placed once more with his trust and she was intending to hurt him all over again. What was she supposed to do? 

Before she could muster the courage to say those words. To explain to Sev that it would all work out. Something changed. All that rage and sadness drained from his face. Replaced with a tired and empty look. He turned around and walked away. She wanted to chase after him but she felt like her feet no longer worked.

Before he got to the door he turned around and looked at her with dead eyes

"I should never have trusted you." He spoke out tiredly. She felt like she was punched in the gut and her eyes started to gather more tears. She hated this. She deserved it all the same but she hated that things had to be this way. He walked away and she could not gather the will to follow. He was right after all.

He really should have not trusted her but what was she supposed to do?