There is going to be quite a bit of egg on the headmaster's face when the bombs start dropping on London, especially with Britain joining the war the day after she arrives in Ilvermorny. The question is, will she be seen as a geopolitical genius or a seer? And how will Dumbledore manage to screw things up from across the pond?
Childhood friend of a Dark Lord (YS x HP)
- Thread starter Pandora
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Israel
The Great War. Europe: I'll fuckin do it again
Chapter 6
Pandora
Gotta say, blood IS as tasty as I make it look~
- Location
- Brazil
After waking up from his nightmare Tom would have normally sought comfort in the presence of his sister, but at Ilvermorny meals were held in separate cafeterias due to the higher student numbers. It was miserable.
Thus he was sitting in the corner of the Wampus dining hall and thinking about how he could potentially switch houses. Burning down the common room and the dormitories might temporarily work, but repairs could be made easily with magic...
Suddenly, one of the American kids approached his table and plopped down beside him. Tom briefly glanced at the worm and concluded that he was nobody worth noticing. It was just a short, brown-haired boy with a large nose and a mole underneath his left eye.
"Hi, I'm Jeremy." sighed the intruder with a lazy sort of tiredness that belied intense boredom.
"Tom." was all he deigned to respond with, more because of a reflex than a conscious effort to be polite.
Neither of them said anything as they both listlessly dug into their provided meals.
Eventually the boy spoke up again, languidly stirring in his bowl: "Are you still sad that your cousin got sorted into Thunderbird?"
"She's my sister."
"Ouch. Anyway, you're from England, right?"
Tom hummed vaguely in response, biting into his unbuttered toast.
"How is it there? Do they have better food than this?"
For comparison the boy held up a spoon full of bland oatmeal and curled up a corner of his lips.
"My mom says it's healthy, but I think they just feed us this stuff because it's cheap."
He hummed again.
"Not one for conversation, ey? Yeah, I get that. Honestly the only reason I bothered sitting with you is that my mom's nagging me about making a friend. Hadn't bothered to last year and now she's all worried and stuff. Ughhhh."
"I don't wanna make friends right now. So would you kindly sod off."
He knew that Tanya would call that 'a very unnecessarily undiplomatic' declaration, but he was just not feeling up for being nice at the moment.
Instead of getting angry or leaving him alone, however, Jeremy only snickered.
"Yeah, if anyone gets that feeling then it's me. Other kids really suck. But tell you what, if you hang out with me none of the others are gonna bother you. I can tell my mom that I found a friend and you can keep to yourself. Win-win, right?" drawled the persistent boy before stifling a yawn.
"You could also tell your mother that without being such a nuisance for me. You'd be lying either way." Tom grumbled, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.
"Nah. She always finds out when I lie. It's not pretty."
Jeremy shivered.
"But I don't want to be your friend." Tom sniffed haughtily.
"Feeling's mutual. I guess we have more in common than we thought, huh?"
"We have nothing in common."
He and this plebeian were not at all similar. At all!
"Yeah, yeah. This is already turning out to be bothersome. Say, can I look at your notes later? I feel like catching up on some sleep during Arithmancy."
"Go die."
"Uhh... I'm just gonna take that as a yes. As thanks I'll leave you alone in the evening. How's that sound?"
Tom began contemplating hexing this boy right in the middle of the cafeteria, along with other means of disposing of this irritation, but alas, he knew that their loathsome headmaster would probably use that to throw him out. Maybe everything would grow more bearable with enough time, just like with Hogwarts...
It just wasn't working.
Despite his best efforts at distracting himself with studying and networking, Tom was growing increasingly agitated. He just felt so... stifled!
There were no secret passageways or unused towers or even forgotten dungeons here! Everything at Ilvermorny served a purpose and when it didn't then the teacher nonetheless ensured that no curious student could poke around in it. Not even the woods surrounding the compound were 'forbidden' as powerful wards had been created to keep out dangerous magical beasts and muggles alike. It was as if the Americans were so deathly afraid of their children killing themselves that they even forwent moving staircases! How was he supposed to keep his instincts sharp when he was being coddled this much!?
But no, that was also just another mental distraction from the real problem at hand...
Moon Greenfeather.
One hundred and seventy eight centimetres tall, short hair, muscular, bronze-skinned, hazel-eyed with his favourite food being grilled salmon.
And he was now Tom's enemy number one.
Forget that idiot Grindelwald or even that creep Dumbledore. Moon was at the very top of his shit list.
Why? Because he took his Tanya from him!
Tom had Lucy spying on them around the clock so much that her belly was getting raw from all the crawling around he had her doing, but he didn't care.
They were eating together! They were learning together!
It just wasn't fair! It should have been him; not that brown-skinned bastard!!
Still... He was the greatest wizard of his generation and so he would not cry or do anything silly like that. No, because if Tanya saw fit to spend her time with some muscled freak then she probably had a good reason to do so. Tom had not asked her what that reason was, of course, because that would be illogical. No one could replace him! He was the only one she could fully trust after all...
Nonetheless, he always felt relieved when it was time for Charms class. It was the first and only class of the week that his house shared with Thunderbird, undoubtedly due to that loathsome headmaster's interference. They weren't sitting next to each other, but at least he got to see his beloved sister again with his own two eyes instead of the blurry possession-sight of his pet. What never failed to sour his mood, however, was the dirty cuckoo next to her...
"Who can tell me what the disentanglement charm is?" asked their professor and seeing Moon's arm rise, Tom quickly thrust his own into the air.
Raising a brow at their simultaneous reaction, the bespectacled woman wisely chose him over the inferior imposter.
"Yes, Mr. Wallis?"
"Enodo, Miss Hicks."
"Correct. It is quite the useful spell for getting out of sticky situations, but aside from that most simply cast it to clean up their extensive shoelace collection."
Few chuckled at the lame joke and Tom faked a grin as well, but naturally Moon had to ruin it.
"It can also be of great use in taking care of certain climbing plants like Thrashing Ivy, who regularly get tangled up in themselves."
"True, true. As I always say: 'With a creative mind the applications of even the simplest magic are limitless!' Five Merits to Thunderbird!"
He earned Merits for that!? Tom's teeth gnashed against each other in rage.
"Relax... Merits are meaningless anyway. Pukwudgie wins most years anyway for being a pack of goody little two shoes..." Jeremy drawled while picking his nose, one of his arms barely supporting his head from flopping onto the table and descending into a marmot-like slumber.
Tom schooled his expression back into careful neutrality.
"It's not that."
"Meh, is it because that dreamboat is hanging out with your sister?"
"Shut it!" he hissed in annoyance.
"Hehe, you're too easy..."
Professor Hicks obviously did not appreciate the chitchat: "Mr. Flitkins, are you listening?"
"Yeah, yeah." replied the chronically sleepy boy, not even bothering to meet her gaze.
"Then you surely already know how the disentanglement charm is performed and would be willing to demonstrate?"
"Ugh."
"Mr. Flitkins, I will not repeat myself."
"Fine, fine..."
Jeremy's wand slipped into his hand and he very un-energetically began to cast, only for his chanting to be interrupted by a hearty yawn.
"En- ahhhhh-haaaaa… odo. Sorry. Homework kept me up all night."
Tom knew for a fact that it in fact had not. Nothing except the threat of corporeal punishment could keep that fool from sleeping. Still, the remark served to further irritate their teacher and Tom already knew that Jeremy was not dull enough to do so without reason. This was going to be another prank of his...
"Let's do this again, but properly. Enodo!"
A pinkish light left the boy's wand and unexpectedly curved upwards, towards the rich tapestry decorating the classroom. The cords that affixed it to the wall promptly unravelled, sending the entire thing crashing to the ground in a plume of dust that made more than a few sneeze.
"Ooops?"
At this point their teacher was fuming, but neither of them cared much for the extra homework she doled out, because this was actually quite hilarious. Jeremy shot him a hidden smile and for once, Tom found himself sharing it. The only thing that would have made it better was if the wall hangings had fallen on Moon...
Most of the books in Ilvermorny's modest library (compared to Hogwarts' size at least) contained stuff he already knew. Interesting advanced topics like the Dark Arts or ritual magic also seemed to have been censored from the archives entirely for some forsaken reason. Still, he had hundreds of copied works that they had stolen from Britain to consume, and as such Tom wasn't too bothered by it.
Absentmindedly, he whispered towards his sister: "So Xylomancy is basically like reading tea leaves?" before turning the page of his book.
She hummed noncommittally, halting her own reading.
"Mmmhh... Well, kind of. In the sense that you trust in your fate to guide you by relinquishing control. But in practice it's quite different."
"So it's useless, then."
Prophecies that weren't one hundred percent accurate were more of a danger than a benefit. Still, of course being able to tell the future – even if it was highly unreliable – was not completely useless. By repeating the divination process multiple times, one could ascertain general trends in one's immediate future. Thus, his sister, who shared his opinion on the matter, was forced to play devil's advocate.
"I mean, it's definitely better than reading tea leaves or coffee grounds. Far less possibilities and ambiguity to read into for one. There are only so many ways a stick can fall, after all. It's not in our textbooks, but carved human bones are said to be even better for that purpose."
He would have thought of that! There was only one who could have beaten him to the punch!
"Is that Injun babbling to you about his ancestors again?" Tom couldn't help but hiss out.
That got a raised eyebrow out of Tanya as she gave him a long look.
"Don't call him that where he can hear you. It's not the twenties anymore... Also don't worry; Moon is just helping me study for Shamanology. I may have a deep distaste for the religious connotations of the subject, but it has its strong suits. His people have a long history with weather dances... Imagine summoning an entire blizzard! Most fascinating..."
"I don't like him." was all he had to say to that.
In response she only lightly shook her head, blond locks glinting in the candle light.
"You don't have to like him. He's still a useful connection to make."
"Mph."
He would still keep an eye on the guy. He didn't trust him one bit! Who did that redskin think he was, getting close to his sister like that?
"Are you jealous?"
How did everybody come to that conclusion!? He was a master of hiding his emotions, Merlin dammit! Not that he had anything to be jealous of from that guy to begin with...
"No."
"We spend at least two hours every week in the library together, Tom."
"I know."
It wasn't nearly enough time in his opinion. Tom knew what true loneliness felt like and he hated the thought of ever experiencing it again.
Tanya slowly sighed and closed her book to look directly at him with an odd expression on her face, and Tom suddenly felt very, very small...
"Please don't worry, Tom. Do you remember what we agreed on for our plan?"
Each word tasted like bile on his tongue, but he answered nonetheless.
"That we each have our own roles to play."
"Exactly. You, Tom, are going to be a fine leader one day. I know that you will excel in politics or business when you're older, but that is going to take time. I'm not that kind of person. I don't want to lead from the frontlines."
As much as he wanted to deny that and tell her that she would be a magnificent ruler for their future subjects, Tom still did not understand why she was talking about this topic.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It means that we won't always be seeing each other. We are partners, but our paths lead to different positions in life. It's only natural that we work with different people as well to accomplish our goals."
Of course he knew that! But he didn't want to... to just...
"I still don't like that Greenfeather fellow... He's up to no good."
Tanya huffed mirthfully, rolling her eyes.
"He's not interested in me beyond my skills. Moon is a pragmatic fellow with his own goals as well."
"Can't we talk about something else now?" Tom asked sourly.
"Mmmhh..." his sister exaggeratedly tapped her chin. "Benowitz & Blau answered my letters yesterday. Their interest rates are slightly worse than Gringotts, but as Emily is considered a single parent we can gain some subsidies from the state if we somehow convince them that it's for our education. Personally, I feel..."
Tom listened to her talk of money and laws with natural skill, nodding silently from time to time. America was at long last recovering from the 'Great Depression' that had destroyed much of the economy in the previous years and employment rates were slowly starting to rise again as his economically savvy sister was all too eager to tell him.
Magical manipulation of the stock market was a serious crime that the MACUSA made sure to investigate seriously, but with their adopted mother's help, Tanya had been able to buy some small share certificates through non-magical means. The poor confused woman needed to be walked through every step of the process in laborious detail over the phone, yet, secretly, Tom wasn't sure that he would have done much better. Global economics could give any ancient rune array a run for its money where arcane obscurity was concerned.
"I harshly reject these accusations, Mr. Lankvarden, sir. I had nothing to do with that."
The annoying thing was that this whole incident had indeed not been his fault.
"It was not an accusation, Mr. Wallis. I merely asked if you had an inkling on who could have done it. After all, we both know that you spend a lot of time watching over the school."
Damn it! How did this old coot know about Lucy!?
"I have absolutely no idea, sir. Though if i were to hazard a guess..."
"Well? Spit it out, boy."
"Moon Greenfeather. He seems very suspicious, sir. I don't want to throw around wild allegations, but I have heard him talk repeatedly about how he believes the separation of the magical and non-magical members of his tribe to be – and I quote – 'asinine'."
The grey man behind the heavy oaken desk gazed at him blankly.
"And who's throwing around accusations now?"
"You asked me for my opinion, sir, and I gave my opinion. There's nothing more to it than that."
Again, silence settled over them as they locked eyes.
"Alright, Mr. Wallis. If you are so confident in your assessment of him then how about we question him ourselves?"
Pressing a nondescript button on his table, a microphone folded itself out of the table in front of his mouth.
"Moon Greenfeather, to the Director's Office, please. I repeat: Moon Greenfeather, to the Director's Office."
Tom adopted a cocky smirk even if inside his mind he was screaming at himself for letting his hatred cloud his judgement. He just wanted to sow some subtle seeds of distrust, not escalate this into a confrontation! Now he was either going to look like a bigoted arse or a scared culprit when that idiot proved his innocence. After all, Moon was far too pathetic to become a political terrorist.
The door behind him opened and he was prepared to throw a casual dismissive glance over his shoulder, only for his eyes to widen at who was standing there at the entrance to the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked a pissed off looking Tanya and Tom knew that he had messed up.
"Miss Wallis, I do not remember inviting you to my office, but perhaps you can shine a light on this situation. Please come in."
Following behind her through the door was Moon with all his unnatural tallness. Next to his petite sister he looked like a lumbering troll.
"How can I help you, sir? Oh, hi, Tom! Didn't see you there."
This guy...
"Speaking plainly... Mr. Greenfeather, did you paint the message 'Dreamers awaken – Grindelwald frees the world!' at the wall of the potions laboratory?"
"What? No way!"
"Where were you then around eight pm last night?"
"Sleeping, sir? I get up early for training."
"And what would be your opinion of such a message?"
"I dunno, sir. Maybe someone thinks Grindelwald is involved in the war overseas? The magical community would need to pick a side I imagine. I don't care much for it, but it's only a question of time 'til America is dragged into the conflict again 'cause of the Brits. No offense, Tanya."
"No, that's quite right." she smiled at the muscled troglodyte's words and Tom's fist clenched. "Though, if you would allow me to ask Mr. Lankvarden, sir... Why is it that we heard of this act of vandalism only now? And furthermore, what does my brother have to do with any of it?"
Ha! She got him there! The fool still hadn't let go of his unfounded suspicions, but would he admit to them in front of another student, inevitably leaking his prejudices to the entire school!?
"Well, as an exemplary student and a foreigner, he has a unique perspective on such matters and I sought his opinion on it. He named Mr. Greenfeather as a possible suspect and here we are." explained the grey man calmly, folding his hands in front him.
"Ah, is that so?" Tanya replied too evenly, pointedly ignoring Tom.
He was dreading that conversation already...
"Eh, wouldn't be the first time I get called here for a mistake like that, right sir?" Moon asked with a sardonic laugh and Lankvarden nodded with pursed lips.
"Two times, Mr. Greenfeather."
"Yeah, once because that Scarlatina-girl thought I was being a creep and following her, just because I went to the toilet and the second time was when Millers accused me of stealing his golden pen. Turned out he broke it and didn't want to tell his mother, ha! I guess being a redskin does that to you sometimes."
"Mr. Greenfeather, I would appreciate it if you did not make such remarks in my office. The school administration has been nothing but fair to you or your extended family."
"I didn't say nothing, sir. Just stating facts, is all."
The headmaster's expression turned sour and Tanya stepped forward, holding her hand up.
"Alright, before this turns unproductive, am I right to assume that we are done here, sir? We wouldn't want to waste any more of your precious time and keep you from administering the rest of the student body."
They said their goodbyes and left one after the other, although his sister still refused to look at him.
"Grindelwald Returns!" screamed the animated headline of the Salem Courier with large, bold letters.
Consequently, the hows and whys of his subjugation of the German ministry of magic were the talk of the school and probably most of the magical world.
The first thing that came to Tom's mind however was:
"Ugh, I'll have to send Emily a letter with a soothing charm attached... She's going to freak out about this."
"You and me both." groaned Jeremy from his left.
His mother was apparently a worrywart and a politician. An uncomfortable combination.
"Are your moms scared of that guy or something? Grindelwald is a weakling! No need to fear a guy who has to hide from a single zoologist, haha!" mocked the girl on the other side of the table.
"Who, Newt Scamander? I thought he just helped the aurors with that Quilin business." replied her friend.
Tom had actually read up on that last week. Why people entrusted some puny Chinese animal to decide the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and then acted surprised when somebody messed with its mind remained an enigma to him. Like, wasn't that the most obvious way to quickly rise to power? It was at least something he would have tried.
"Nah, they totally duelled each other! Scamander tamed a White Wolpertinger with his bare hands! My uncle says he's super strong!"
Tuning out their inane chatter, Tom went back to his favourite thought exercise: How could he benefit from this development?
Regardless of which side won, the other would be weakened. Aurors would die in droves and livelihoods were going to get destroyed, leading to an overall rise in crime and civil unrest. The people would look for a strong leader just as the Germans had done after getting fleeced by France at the end of the Great War.
Grindelwald was not the kind of guy that could hold position for long, however. He was an ideological extremist who would make as many enemies as he had allies. Ilvermorny was living proof of how draconian the regime cracked down on any of his supporters.
The boy who had painted his little slogan on the laboratory wall had been found last week and promptly dispelled for 'spreading dangerous and malicious ideologies among the vulnerable youth' as the headmaster called it. Everybody knew that was an overreaction, but it had been an example to deter others from uttering anything positive about the man who was apparently now controlling Germany's magical elite.
Lectures about the importance of the statue of secrecy and the dangers of no-majs had been held and some poor sixth graders had been forced to design motivational propaganda posters in class which were now displayed as 'art' all throughout the school. Some likened this madness to the witch hunts, though they kept those uncomfortable comparisons private.
Could he potentially use that fear? That uncertainty?
Possibly... But adults would not respect a child in a position of power. Aging potions would also not fool them for long.
Maybe he could anonymously sell them something to make their fears go away?
But what might that something be?
Wizards were scared that the muggles would find out about them and destroy their way of life like they had done in medieval times. Thus, they employed wards to keep them out of places, glamours to hide their appearances and spells to erase their memories. Yet all of these measures could fail and regularly did so. The only reason why the whole world didn't know about the existence of magic already was that the people who raved about it were seen as lunatics or attention seekers.
In a way, that same mundane disbelief of the general population against everything supernatural was the most powerful tool to keep them in line. Science and 'common sense' attempted to explain away everything outside of their scope without any auror even needing to lift a finger. Subsequently, the greatest magician America currently knew about was Harry Houdini and not Gellert Grindelwald.
However, the world was growing increasingly connected. What one person learned could become known to the whole world the next day. The anonymity of the wizarding world was no longer protected by the isolation of one community to another... It all came back to one of his longtime fascinations: The radio.
Telephones were of course pretty handy as well, but they only connected two people with each other. Radio waves on the other hand were everywhere, surrounding them at all times! They even travelled through physical matter as well, effortlessly bypassing all obstacles in their path, be they mountains or the skyscrapers of New York.
Theoretically a well crafted long frequency wave could reach every single person on this planet if they weren't hiding deep below the earth.
Then what if he...?
Mmmhhh... He would file that thought away for later. Something like that exceeded his own skills by a huge margin still.
"Hey, Tom! You with us?"
"Of course, Josephine. I was merely planning the letter for my mother." he responded easily, running through the memories of the past conversation in the blink of an eye. "And the answer to your question is yes. They will lose the war, as they did the first."
"How'd you know that?"
His sister told him. But Tom could hardly say that and still hope to be taken seriously afterwards...
"It's obvious. They are surrounded on every side by enemies. No matter how good their forces are, they are outnumbered. The better question should be... What would Grindelwald have to gain from supporting the losing side?"
"Isn't it a bit early to speculate on the winners already? I heard that he is the greatest wizard of our age. Overconfidence like that will only tempt fate." remarked Donald nervously.
'You can always lose.' Tom remembered bitterly. Just being better than somebody else did not automatically guarantee a win, as he had painfully learned this year.
"I guess..."
"Bah, you're all being stupid." Jeremy lazily yawned, earning himself much scorn from the girls who hurled insults in his direction for the perceived affront.
Tom however was mildly interested in what the sometimes insightful boy had to say.
"What do you mean?"
"It's obvious... Doesn't matter if he wins or loses. If the war gets as big as the last one there will be enough eyes on Europe that when he reveals the existence of magic to everybody, no one will be able to hide it from the no-majs any more."
The thought struck Tom like a lightning bolt. Grindelwald was a fanatic! Of course he wouldn't act like a rational human being and serve his own best interests! Else he would be living the high life on some paradisiacal south sea island right now, and not fighting a bloody war! He had made the mistake of forgetting that.
Grindelwald didn't need to take over the wizarding world...
He just needed to force the other magic users into action to subdue the muggles before they could do the same to them!
It was as simple as it was mad. He had to talk to his sister about that immediately!
Their simultaneous excuse from class due to a sudden 'illness' would certainly come out, but the mark on his record was worth the risk. Tanya seemed to think so as well, as she had become lost in her own head by now.
"Yes, yes... You are correct. One should never underestimate the irrationality of lunatics like that. Hmmm..." she hummed gravely, stewing in her dark thoughts.
Her face twisted with burning rage for a split-second and Tom wished that his legilimency was good enough to take a peek inside her mind without her noticing.
"Can we trust the government to handle that if we tip them off?"
"Ideally yes..." Tanya spoke slowly, the unspoken doubt heavy in her voice.
"What can we do then?" he prodded her, feeling both excitement and dread at where this was heading.
"Hmm... It's too late to stop the war in its entirety by now, but..." and the words spilled from her pinched lips with great reluctance, "But we could certainly cut it short by severing the neck of the snake so to speak."
"We kill Grindelwald?"
Yes, yes, yes!
Finally a worthy opponent and time away from Moon! This would bring them back together, closer than ever!
"Before it's too late, yes."
He didn't ask anything as naive as 'But isn't he extremely well protected?' or 'How do we find him?', because he had some rough ideas for solutions to those problems already, and he was sure that his sister had much the same.
Instead he gave her one last push, using her own words to shatter the last remaining traces of her reluctance: "You can always lose. That applies to him as much as everyone else."
She regarded him with a long, searching look before carefully inclining her head. Her blue eyes sparkling with beautiful determination.
They could do this!
Thus he was sitting in the corner of the Wampus dining hall and thinking about how he could potentially switch houses. Burning down the common room and the dormitories might temporarily work, but repairs could be made easily with magic...
Suddenly, one of the American kids approached his table and plopped down beside him. Tom briefly glanced at the worm and concluded that he was nobody worth noticing. It was just a short, brown-haired boy with a large nose and a mole underneath his left eye.
"Hi, I'm Jeremy." sighed the intruder with a lazy sort of tiredness that belied intense boredom.
"Tom." was all he deigned to respond with, more because of a reflex than a conscious effort to be polite.
Neither of them said anything as they both listlessly dug into their provided meals.
Eventually the boy spoke up again, languidly stirring in his bowl: "Are you still sad that your cousin got sorted into Thunderbird?"
"She's my sister."
"Ouch. Anyway, you're from England, right?"
Tom hummed vaguely in response, biting into his unbuttered toast.
"How is it there? Do they have better food than this?"
For comparison the boy held up a spoon full of bland oatmeal and curled up a corner of his lips.
"My mom says it's healthy, but I think they just feed us this stuff because it's cheap."
He hummed again.
"Not one for conversation, ey? Yeah, I get that. Honestly the only reason I bothered sitting with you is that my mom's nagging me about making a friend. Hadn't bothered to last year and now she's all worried and stuff. Ughhhh."
"I don't wanna make friends right now. So would you kindly sod off."
He knew that Tanya would call that 'a very unnecessarily undiplomatic' declaration, but he was just not feeling up for being nice at the moment.
Instead of getting angry or leaving him alone, however, Jeremy only snickered.
"Yeah, if anyone gets that feeling then it's me. Other kids really suck. But tell you what, if you hang out with me none of the others are gonna bother you. I can tell my mom that I found a friend and you can keep to yourself. Win-win, right?" drawled the persistent boy before stifling a yawn.
"You could also tell your mother that without being such a nuisance for me. You'd be lying either way." Tom grumbled, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.
"Nah. She always finds out when I lie. It's not pretty."
Jeremy shivered.
"But I don't want to be your friend." Tom sniffed haughtily.
"Feeling's mutual. I guess we have more in common than we thought, huh?"
"We have nothing in common."
He and this plebeian were not at all similar. At all!
"Yeah, yeah. This is already turning out to be bothersome. Say, can I look at your notes later? I feel like catching up on some sleep during Arithmancy."
"Go die."
"Uhh... I'm just gonna take that as a yes. As thanks I'll leave you alone in the evening. How's that sound?"
Tom began contemplating hexing this boy right in the middle of the cafeteria, along with other means of disposing of this irritation, but alas, he knew that their loathsome headmaster would probably use that to throw him out. Maybe everything would grow more bearable with enough time, just like with Hogwarts...
o-TxT-o
It just wasn't working.
Despite his best efforts at distracting himself with studying and networking, Tom was growing increasingly agitated. He just felt so... stifled!
There were no secret passageways or unused towers or even forgotten dungeons here! Everything at Ilvermorny served a purpose and when it didn't then the teacher nonetheless ensured that no curious student could poke around in it. Not even the woods surrounding the compound were 'forbidden' as powerful wards had been created to keep out dangerous magical beasts and muggles alike. It was as if the Americans were so deathly afraid of their children killing themselves that they even forwent moving staircases! How was he supposed to keep his instincts sharp when he was being coddled this much!?
But no, that was also just another mental distraction from the real problem at hand...
Moon Greenfeather.
One hundred and seventy eight centimetres tall, short hair, muscular, bronze-skinned, hazel-eyed with his favourite food being grilled salmon.
And he was now Tom's enemy number one.
Forget that idiot Grindelwald or even that creep Dumbledore. Moon was at the very top of his shit list.
Why? Because he took his Tanya from him!
Tom had Lucy spying on them around the clock so much that her belly was getting raw from all the crawling around he had her doing, but he didn't care.
They were eating together! They were learning together!
It just wasn't fair! It should have been him; not that brown-skinned bastard!!
Still... He was the greatest wizard of his generation and so he would not cry or do anything silly like that. No, because if Tanya saw fit to spend her time with some muscled freak then she probably had a good reason to do so. Tom had not asked her what that reason was, of course, because that would be illogical. No one could replace him! He was the only one she could fully trust after all...
Nonetheless, he always felt relieved when it was time for Charms class. It was the first and only class of the week that his house shared with Thunderbird, undoubtedly due to that loathsome headmaster's interference. They weren't sitting next to each other, but at least he got to see his beloved sister again with his own two eyes instead of the blurry possession-sight of his pet. What never failed to sour his mood, however, was the dirty cuckoo next to her...
"Who can tell me what the disentanglement charm is?" asked their professor and seeing Moon's arm rise, Tom quickly thrust his own into the air.
Raising a brow at their simultaneous reaction, the bespectacled woman wisely chose him over the inferior imposter.
"Yes, Mr. Wallis?"
"Enodo, Miss Hicks."
"Correct. It is quite the useful spell for getting out of sticky situations, but aside from that most simply cast it to clean up their extensive shoelace collection."
Few chuckled at the lame joke and Tom faked a grin as well, but naturally Moon had to ruin it.
"It can also be of great use in taking care of certain climbing plants like Thrashing Ivy, who regularly get tangled up in themselves."
"True, true. As I always say: 'With a creative mind the applications of even the simplest magic are limitless!' Five Merits to Thunderbird!"
He earned Merits for that!? Tom's teeth gnashed against each other in rage.
"Relax... Merits are meaningless anyway. Pukwudgie wins most years anyway for being a pack of goody little two shoes..." Jeremy drawled while picking his nose, one of his arms barely supporting his head from flopping onto the table and descending into a marmot-like slumber.
Tom schooled his expression back into careful neutrality.
"It's not that."
"Meh, is it because that dreamboat is hanging out with your sister?"
"Shut it!" he hissed in annoyance.
"Hehe, you're too easy..."
Professor Hicks obviously did not appreciate the chitchat: "Mr. Flitkins, are you listening?"
"Yeah, yeah." replied the chronically sleepy boy, not even bothering to meet her gaze.
"Then you surely already know how the disentanglement charm is performed and would be willing to demonstrate?"
"Ugh."
"Mr. Flitkins, I will not repeat myself."
"Fine, fine..."
Jeremy's wand slipped into his hand and he very un-energetically began to cast, only for his chanting to be interrupted by a hearty yawn.
"En- ahhhhh-haaaaa… odo. Sorry. Homework kept me up all night."
Tom knew for a fact that it in fact had not. Nothing except the threat of corporeal punishment could keep that fool from sleeping. Still, the remark served to further irritate their teacher and Tom already knew that Jeremy was not dull enough to do so without reason. This was going to be another prank of his...
"Let's do this again, but properly. Enodo!"
A pinkish light left the boy's wand and unexpectedly curved upwards, towards the rich tapestry decorating the classroom. The cords that affixed it to the wall promptly unravelled, sending the entire thing crashing to the ground in a plume of dust that made more than a few sneeze.
"Ooops?"
At this point their teacher was fuming, but neither of them cared much for the extra homework she doled out, because this was actually quite hilarious. Jeremy shot him a hidden smile and for once, Tom found himself sharing it. The only thing that would have made it better was if the wall hangings had fallen on Moon...
o-TxT-o
Most of the books in Ilvermorny's modest library (compared to Hogwarts' size at least) contained stuff he already knew. Interesting advanced topics like the Dark Arts or ritual magic also seemed to have been censored from the archives entirely for some forsaken reason. Still, he had hundreds of copied works that they had stolen from Britain to consume, and as such Tom wasn't too bothered by it.
Absentmindedly, he whispered towards his sister: "So Xylomancy is basically like reading tea leaves?" before turning the page of his book.
She hummed noncommittally, halting her own reading.
"Mmmhh... Well, kind of. In the sense that you trust in your fate to guide you by relinquishing control. But in practice it's quite different."
"So it's useless, then."
Prophecies that weren't one hundred percent accurate were more of a danger than a benefit. Still, of course being able to tell the future – even if it was highly unreliable – was not completely useless. By repeating the divination process multiple times, one could ascertain general trends in one's immediate future. Thus, his sister, who shared his opinion on the matter, was forced to play devil's advocate.
"I mean, it's definitely better than reading tea leaves or coffee grounds. Far less possibilities and ambiguity to read into for one. There are only so many ways a stick can fall, after all. It's not in our textbooks, but carved human bones are said to be even better for that purpose."
He would have thought of that! There was only one who could have beaten him to the punch!
"Is that Injun babbling to you about his ancestors again?" Tom couldn't help but hiss out.
That got a raised eyebrow out of Tanya as she gave him a long look.
"Don't call him that where he can hear you. It's not the twenties anymore... Also don't worry; Moon is just helping me study for Shamanology. I may have a deep distaste for the religious connotations of the subject, but it has its strong suits. His people have a long history with weather dances... Imagine summoning an entire blizzard! Most fascinating..."
"I don't like him." was all he had to say to that.
In response she only lightly shook her head, blond locks glinting in the candle light.
"You don't have to like him. He's still a useful connection to make."
"Mph."
He would still keep an eye on the guy. He didn't trust him one bit! Who did that redskin think he was, getting close to his sister like that?
"Are you jealous?"
How did everybody come to that conclusion!? He was a master of hiding his emotions, Merlin dammit! Not that he had anything to be jealous of from that guy to begin with...
"No."
"We spend at least two hours every week in the library together, Tom."
"I know."
It wasn't nearly enough time in his opinion. Tom knew what true loneliness felt like and he hated the thought of ever experiencing it again.
Tanya slowly sighed and closed her book to look directly at him with an odd expression on her face, and Tom suddenly felt very, very small...
"Please don't worry, Tom. Do you remember what we agreed on for our plan?"
Each word tasted like bile on his tongue, but he answered nonetheless.
"That we each have our own roles to play."
"Exactly. You, Tom, are going to be a fine leader one day. I know that you will excel in politics or business when you're older, but that is going to take time. I'm not that kind of person. I don't want to lead from the frontlines."
As much as he wanted to deny that and tell her that she would be a magnificent ruler for their future subjects, Tom still did not understand why she was talking about this topic.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It means that we won't always be seeing each other. We are partners, but our paths lead to different positions in life. It's only natural that we work with different people as well to accomplish our goals."
Of course he knew that! But he didn't want to... to just...
"I still don't like that Greenfeather fellow... He's up to no good."
Tanya huffed mirthfully, rolling her eyes.
"He's not interested in me beyond my skills. Moon is a pragmatic fellow with his own goals as well."
"Can't we talk about something else now?" Tom asked sourly.
"Mmmhh..." his sister exaggeratedly tapped her chin. "Benowitz & Blau answered my letters yesterday. Their interest rates are slightly worse than Gringotts, but as Emily is considered a single parent we can gain some subsidies from the state if we somehow convince them that it's for our education. Personally, I feel..."
Tom listened to her talk of money and laws with natural skill, nodding silently from time to time. America was at long last recovering from the 'Great Depression' that had destroyed much of the economy in the previous years and employment rates were slowly starting to rise again as his economically savvy sister was all too eager to tell him.
Magical manipulation of the stock market was a serious crime that the MACUSA made sure to investigate seriously, but with their adopted mother's help, Tanya had been able to buy some small share certificates through non-magical means. The poor confused woman needed to be walked through every step of the process in laborious detail over the phone, yet, secretly, Tom wasn't sure that he would have done much better. Global economics could give any ancient rune array a run for its money where arcane obscurity was concerned.
o-TxT-o
"I harshly reject these accusations, Mr. Lankvarden, sir. I had nothing to do with that."
The annoying thing was that this whole incident had indeed not been his fault.
"It was not an accusation, Mr. Wallis. I merely asked if you had an inkling on who could have done it. After all, we both know that you spend a lot of time watching over the school."
Damn it! How did this old coot know about Lucy!?
"I have absolutely no idea, sir. Though if i were to hazard a guess..."
"Well? Spit it out, boy."
"Moon Greenfeather. He seems very suspicious, sir. I don't want to throw around wild allegations, but I have heard him talk repeatedly about how he believes the separation of the magical and non-magical members of his tribe to be – and I quote – 'asinine'."
The grey man behind the heavy oaken desk gazed at him blankly.
"And who's throwing around accusations now?"
"You asked me for my opinion, sir, and I gave my opinion. There's nothing more to it than that."
Again, silence settled over them as they locked eyes.
"Alright, Mr. Wallis. If you are so confident in your assessment of him then how about we question him ourselves?"
Pressing a nondescript button on his table, a microphone folded itself out of the table in front of his mouth.
"Moon Greenfeather, to the Director's Office, please. I repeat: Moon Greenfeather, to the Director's Office."
Tom adopted a cocky smirk even if inside his mind he was screaming at himself for letting his hatred cloud his judgement. He just wanted to sow some subtle seeds of distrust, not escalate this into a confrontation! Now he was either going to look like a bigoted arse or a scared culprit when that idiot proved his innocence. After all, Moon was far too pathetic to become a political terrorist.
The door behind him opened and he was prepared to throw a casual dismissive glance over his shoulder, only for his eyes to widen at who was standing there at the entrance to the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" asked a pissed off looking Tanya and Tom knew that he had messed up.
"Miss Wallis, I do not remember inviting you to my office, but perhaps you can shine a light on this situation. Please come in."
Following behind her through the door was Moon with all his unnatural tallness. Next to his petite sister he looked like a lumbering troll.
"How can I help you, sir? Oh, hi, Tom! Didn't see you there."
This guy...
"Speaking plainly... Mr. Greenfeather, did you paint the message 'Dreamers awaken – Grindelwald frees the world!' at the wall of the potions laboratory?"
"What? No way!"
"Where were you then around eight pm last night?"
"Sleeping, sir? I get up early for training."
"And what would be your opinion of such a message?"
"I dunno, sir. Maybe someone thinks Grindelwald is involved in the war overseas? The magical community would need to pick a side I imagine. I don't care much for it, but it's only a question of time 'til America is dragged into the conflict again 'cause of the Brits. No offense, Tanya."
"No, that's quite right." she smiled at the muscled troglodyte's words and Tom's fist clenched. "Though, if you would allow me to ask Mr. Lankvarden, sir... Why is it that we heard of this act of vandalism only now? And furthermore, what does my brother have to do with any of it?"
Ha! She got him there! The fool still hadn't let go of his unfounded suspicions, but would he admit to them in front of another student, inevitably leaking his prejudices to the entire school!?
"Well, as an exemplary student and a foreigner, he has a unique perspective on such matters and I sought his opinion on it. He named Mr. Greenfeather as a possible suspect and here we are." explained the grey man calmly, folding his hands in front him.
"Ah, is that so?" Tanya replied too evenly, pointedly ignoring Tom.
He was dreading that conversation already...
"Eh, wouldn't be the first time I get called here for a mistake like that, right sir?" Moon asked with a sardonic laugh and Lankvarden nodded with pursed lips.
"Two times, Mr. Greenfeather."
"Yeah, once because that Scarlatina-girl thought I was being a creep and following her, just because I went to the toilet and the second time was when Millers accused me of stealing his golden pen. Turned out he broke it and didn't want to tell his mother, ha! I guess being a redskin does that to you sometimes."
"Mr. Greenfeather, I would appreciate it if you did not make such remarks in my office. The school administration has been nothing but fair to you or your extended family."
"I didn't say nothing, sir. Just stating facts, is all."
The headmaster's expression turned sour and Tanya stepped forward, holding her hand up.
"Alright, before this turns unproductive, am I right to assume that we are done here, sir? We wouldn't want to waste any more of your precious time and keep you from administering the rest of the student body."
They said their goodbyes and left one after the other, although his sister still refused to look at him.
o-TxT-o
"Grindelwald Returns!" screamed the animated headline of the Salem Courier with large, bold letters.
Consequently, the hows and whys of his subjugation of the German ministry of magic were the talk of the school and probably most of the magical world.
The first thing that came to Tom's mind however was:
"Ugh, I'll have to send Emily a letter with a soothing charm attached... She's going to freak out about this."
"You and me both." groaned Jeremy from his left.
His mother was apparently a worrywart and a politician. An uncomfortable combination.
"Are your moms scared of that guy or something? Grindelwald is a weakling! No need to fear a guy who has to hide from a single zoologist, haha!" mocked the girl on the other side of the table.
"Who, Newt Scamander? I thought he just helped the aurors with that Quilin business." replied her friend.
Tom had actually read up on that last week. Why people entrusted some puny Chinese animal to decide the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and then acted surprised when somebody messed with its mind remained an enigma to him. Like, wasn't that the most obvious way to quickly rise to power? It was at least something he would have tried.
"Nah, they totally duelled each other! Scamander tamed a White Wolpertinger with his bare hands! My uncle says he's super strong!"
Tuning out their inane chatter, Tom went back to his favourite thought exercise: How could he benefit from this development?
Regardless of which side won, the other would be weakened. Aurors would die in droves and livelihoods were going to get destroyed, leading to an overall rise in crime and civil unrest. The people would look for a strong leader just as the Germans had done after getting fleeced by France at the end of the Great War.
Grindelwald was not the kind of guy that could hold position for long, however. He was an ideological extremist who would make as many enemies as he had allies. Ilvermorny was living proof of how draconian the regime cracked down on any of his supporters.
The boy who had painted his little slogan on the laboratory wall had been found last week and promptly dispelled for 'spreading dangerous and malicious ideologies among the vulnerable youth' as the headmaster called it. Everybody knew that was an overreaction, but it had been an example to deter others from uttering anything positive about the man who was apparently now controlling Germany's magical elite.
Lectures about the importance of the statue of secrecy and the dangers of no-majs had been held and some poor sixth graders had been forced to design motivational propaganda posters in class which were now displayed as 'art' all throughout the school. Some likened this madness to the witch hunts, though they kept those uncomfortable comparisons private.
Could he potentially use that fear? That uncertainty?
Possibly... But adults would not respect a child in a position of power. Aging potions would also not fool them for long.
Maybe he could anonymously sell them something to make their fears go away?
But what might that something be?
Wizards were scared that the muggles would find out about them and destroy their way of life like they had done in medieval times. Thus, they employed wards to keep them out of places, glamours to hide their appearances and spells to erase their memories. Yet all of these measures could fail and regularly did so. The only reason why the whole world didn't know about the existence of magic already was that the people who raved about it were seen as lunatics or attention seekers.
In a way, that same mundane disbelief of the general population against everything supernatural was the most powerful tool to keep them in line. Science and 'common sense' attempted to explain away everything outside of their scope without any auror even needing to lift a finger. Subsequently, the greatest magician America currently knew about was Harry Houdini and not Gellert Grindelwald.
However, the world was growing increasingly connected. What one person learned could become known to the whole world the next day. The anonymity of the wizarding world was no longer protected by the isolation of one community to another... It all came back to one of his longtime fascinations: The radio.
Telephones were of course pretty handy as well, but they only connected two people with each other. Radio waves on the other hand were everywhere, surrounding them at all times! They even travelled through physical matter as well, effortlessly bypassing all obstacles in their path, be they mountains or the skyscrapers of New York.
Theoretically a well crafted long frequency wave could reach every single person on this planet if they weren't hiding deep below the earth.
Then what if he...?
Mmmhhh... He would file that thought away for later. Something like that exceeded his own skills by a huge margin still.
"Hey, Tom! You with us?"
"Of course, Josephine. I was merely planning the letter for my mother." he responded easily, running through the memories of the past conversation in the blink of an eye. "And the answer to your question is yes. They will lose the war, as they did the first."
"How'd you know that?"
His sister told him. But Tom could hardly say that and still hope to be taken seriously afterwards...
"It's obvious. They are surrounded on every side by enemies. No matter how good their forces are, they are outnumbered. The better question should be... What would Grindelwald have to gain from supporting the losing side?"
"Isn't it a bit early to speculate on the winners already? I heard that he is the greatest wizard of our age. Overconfidence like that will only tempt fate." remarked Donald nervously.
'You can always lose.' Tom remembered bitterly. Just being better than somebody else did not automatically guarantee a win, as he had painfully learned this year.
"I guess..."
"Bah, you're all being stupid." Jeremy lazily yawned, earning himself much scorn from the girls who hurled insults in his direction for the perceived affront.
Tom however was mildly interested in what the sometimes insightful boy had to say.
"What do you mean?"
"It's obvious... Doesn't matter if he wins or loses. If the war gets as big as the last one there will be enough eyes on Europe that when he reveals the existence of magic to everybody, no one will be able to hide it from the no-majs any more."
The thought struck Tom like a lightning bolt. Grindelwald was a fanatic! Of course he wouldn't act like a rational human being and serve his own best interests! Else he would be living the high life on some paradisiacal south sea island right now, and not fighting a bloody war! He had made the mistake of forgetting that.
Grindelwald didn't need to take over the wizarding world...
He just needed to force the other magic users into action to subdue the muggles before they could do the same to them!
It was as simple as it was mad. He had to talk to his sister about that immediately!
o-TxT-o
Their simultaneous excuse from class due to a sudden 'illness' would certainly come out, but the mark on his record was worth the risk. Tanya seemed to think so as well, as she had become lost in her own head by now.
"Yes, yes... You are correct. One should never underestimate the irrationality of lunatics like that. Hmmm..." she hummed gravely, stewing in her dark thoughts.
Her face twisted with burning rage for a split-second and Tom wished that his legilimency was good enough to take a peek inside her mind without her noticing.
"Can we trust the government to handle that if we tip them off?"
"Ideally yes..." Tanya spoke slowly, the unspoken doubt heavy in her voice.
"What can we do then?" he prodded her, feeling both excitement and dread at where this was heading.
"Hmm... It's too late to stop the war in its entirety by now, but..." and the words spilled from her pinched lips with great reluctance, "But we could certainly cut it short by severing the neck of the snake so to speak."
"We kill Grindelwald?"
Yes, yes, yes!
Finally a worthy opponent and time away from Moon! This would bring them back together, closer than ever!
"Before it's too late, yes."
He didn't ask anything as naive as 'But isn't he extremely well protected?' or 'How do we find him?', because he had some rough ideas for solutions to those problems already, and he was sure that his sister had much the same.
Instead he gave her one last push, using her own words to shatter the last remaining traces of her reluctance: "You can always lose. That applies to him as much as everyone else."
She regarded him with a long, searching look before carefully inclining her head. Her blue eyes sparkling with beautiful determination.
They could do this!
Sorry everyone! Due to a few extreme factors (extreme lazyness) I procrastinated posting the chapter here! Hope you can forgive me with this offering of more Tom and Tanya!
Also kind of a heavy question: Why didn't the wizards intervene in WW2? Not like overtly, but a few motivated indivuals in the right places could have done a lot to prevent the Holocaust for example. I don't know, am I going too far here? Is there a lore reason? Am I stupid?
Also kind of a heavy question: Why didn't the wizards intervene in WW2? Not like overtly, but a few motivated indivuals in the right places could have done a lot to prevent the Holocaust for example. I don't know, am I going too far here? Is there a lore reason? Am I stupid?
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It would appear our little Tanya is going to earn her old names all over again. I suspect that the allies are going to try very hard to get rid of a muggleborn witch using a hybrid of muggle tech and magic to wage war. Considering how Dumbledore "won" the war at the last moment and claimed all of the glory despite sitting in his castle until grindlewald was handed to him on a platter in canon over the corpses of countless allied wizards, I suspect that the core of this timelines deatheater analogue will be wizards who fought for the duration of the war for queen and country only to get utterly screwed over by Dumbledore and the wizgamont. I expect far fewer unforgivables and far more artillery this time around.
I wonder how hard it would be to salvage a sunken aircraft carrier and make it fly?
I wonder how hard it would be to salvage a sunken aircraft carrier and make it fly?
- Location
- California
The World ain't ready for Tanya to go HAM!
It's probably a mixture of things. The vast majority of them wouldn't care about muggles or foreigners due to how segregated the wizarding world is. Then there's the possibility that places like Auschwitz were guarded or warded by wizards and Grindelwald was using the bodies to make Inferi(I believe his talent at this is canon but I might be wrong). Then there's what they'd do with the survivors, the resources and ability to move such a large number of civilians behind enemy lines would require they break the Statute of Secrecy which is their priority.
There might have been a few good Samaritans wizards that helped where they could, the actions of Ronald Spiers comes to mind.
There might have been a few good Samaritans wizards that helped where they could, the actions of Ronald Spiers comes to mind.