The Gardens of the Emperor | TomArry

Chapter One

(October)

The Emperor had been the leader of the Magical and Non-Magical world for longer than living memory.

For over one thousand years he had ruled.

And the earth had only known peace.

The individual countries were still that, individual. But the borders between them didn't exist anymore. The countries and leaders were united now. And those same leaders were simply Governor's. Seeing to the everyday but still answering to the Emperor.

The Emperor's Palace was in what was commonly called Scotland but it and the British Isles were referred to as Avalon formally. The territories of the world still used their old names but had more formal ones given to them by the Emperor.

The Emperor was immortal or rumored to be so.

You'd have to be, to live over a thousand years. And apparently, he had decided he wanted a consort.

Or empress, but many speculated that the emperor wouldn't have his spouse crowned beside him.

The man had been fine with his concubines until then. So it was a common thought that he only wanted to marry to produce an heir. And lovely his concubines maybe, but none of them were consort material.

So that was how Harry found himself seated on a black and gold cushion surrounded by other young eligible nobles from around the world vying for the emperor's attention.

Or as his full title stated Hadrian Sirius James, Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Black and Peverell, and Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter.

He didn't want anything to do with any of this, but his sire Sirius Orion Black was a prominent member of the Emperor's Court and Council. So it would be seen as an insult by his father if he wasn't offered as a lamb for slaughter. It didn't help that he was his father's only son and heir and if for some reason he was chosen his father would need to remarry and have more children.

His father had been in a three-way bonding with his bearer James Charlus Potter-Black and his mother Lillian Rose Potter-Black née Evans. He may not be biologically kin to her but the sharing of family magics before he was born had gifted him with her eyes.

He, too, was a bearer like his father James, so he was eligible to be the Emperor's consort.

There had been much fuss about if he should be the heir amongst his sire's family. But as the lord's only son, bearer status notwithstanding, he was the heir. Though that may not last long, if he was chosen of course.

Harry tried to focus on what was going on around him, but it was very boring. Well as boring a Palace of the Emperor could be, but not everyone had arrived yet.

And others were being told to leave because they didn't meet the set requirements. When the call had first gone out everybody had flocked to offer their name for consideration. Even those that didn't even qualify.

The qualifications were that someone had to be magical, have a good pedigree or be magically powerful enough for that to not matter and they must be between the ages of 17 and 30. Many had ignored those rules and had entered anyway not caring apparently that they didn't have a chance of being picked.

Harry had just turned seventeen himself, so his father had decided that instead of presenting Harry to the Court he would instead present him to the Emperor through this sham of a matchmaking service.

He also hadn't claimed the Potter Lordship yet. If he was chosen he wasn't sure if the Emperor would let him claim his Lordship, or order him to be Regent for whatever Heir came along.