The Silver Tongue

chapter 17

Chapter 17: New Pack Mates

My, Lovelies! You have come back. Oh, how I have missed you all. Well here is the newest chapter. The big question is about to be answered, is the Pack going to get a new member? Read, your answer awaits. (Gives dramatic bow)
I

do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form (Though I wish I did). I only own my idea for this story. Don't sue me.
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"Talk"
'Think'
"Parseltongue"
Chapter 17 – New Pack Mates
The first week of school was an adjustment. Classes themselves were just like the year before, though the new DADA teacher was the biggest joke any student had ever seen. No, the adjustment was how the Ravens and Snakes acted. The whole school noticed too. In the former year the Ravens never hesitated to approach the Pack and speak with Harry, the Snakes had kept their distance outside of the common room. Now they approached the Pack and Harry at meals, in the hall, and in the classroom. They had banded themselves together too, instead of two houses they acted as one. Snakes and Ravens walked to classes, ate at each other's tables, studied, and just hung out together.
The teachers were amazed to watch the structure of the interactions. There was no bullying, no fights, and no insults out of spite between the two houses. They had noted the year before how the Snakes had acted better but this was a whole new level. When headstrong lions tried to pick fights with the Snakes, the Ravens were right there by the Snakes to defend. When a Raven third year was cornered by a group of four lions, two passing Snakes, fifth years, jumped in to help the Raven. The teachers had never seen this before. While the Lions and Badgers were still separate houses, the Ravens and Snakes acted as one. Many of the teachers gave credit to the Pack, or more so to one Harrison Evans.
The only things noticed and worrisome to the teachers were how Pansy was Ginny's lap dog and that Cho, once the school's beauty, looked horrible. Pansy had followed Ginny's every word. When the first week ended Pansy turned back to the girl the whole school knew. Cho, though, did not. Students started to avoid her, as her words had become harsh and bitter. She spent a lot of time on her own in the library with only Luna Lovegood going to see her.
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Harry lost all decorum; he handed his bag and Nightshade to Hermione and ran. He ran as fast as he could. Students moved from his way as he came barreling down the hall. His laughter preceded him. The yells of two males followed his laughter. Many watched as Harry ran for his life as the twins chased after their Alpha, wearing neon green and fluorescent pink dresses. Many eyebrows rose at the sight but soon laughs bubbled from their throats watching the renowned devil twins shoot spells, jinxes, and hexes at their leader, all of which missing their target.
They were making their way around a corner in the courtyard when Luna stepped into the pathway. Harry twisted, putting weight on his legs and sprung. He flipped over her, landing on his feet facing her and the twins. "You okay Luna?"
"Harry… that…that was-" Fred was frozen looking at him, still in the hideous dress.
"Holy Hell. That was brilliant mate." George finished for his brother.
Luna giggled. "I didn't know you had such good reflexes. Where did you learn to do that?"
By this time the hall was filled with whispers and gossip from the students who saw the interaction. Harry plastered on a smirk. "I am just that good Luna. Na, I got good reflexes by working on them. The flip came from the physical training I have been doing."
Harry had jumped right back into training when he got back to Hogwarts. During the summer he had limited his activity to running in the mornings, doing a set of push up and sit ups after. His aunt had also gotten into yoga and she roped him in to do it with her. All this had helped him with his balance, endurance, and strength. He found that with his knives, his aim was better. His hand to hand was stronger and faster too. It was the same with his dueling. Draco was mad when Harry had kicked his butt ten minutes faster than the year before.
"Can you teach me?" Luna asked, her hopeful smile tugged at Harry's heart.
She was just too cute in his mind. Like a little sister he never had. Harry cleared his head of the thought. She wasn't Pack, not yet anyway. "Maybe. Let me think about it and I'll tell you tomorrow."
Fred interrupted anything Luna was about to say, "We are going to be late. Harry turn us back."
Harry looked the twins up and down in amusement. A smirk played on the edge of his lips. "No, I'll leave you two to find the counter on your own."
George's eyes widened in a fake show of fear. "You're…you're going to make us stay like this until we find the counter curse? Harrison how can you be so cruel to us?"
"We thought you loved us." Harry rolled his eyes at Fred falling to his knees in a comical show of shock.
He ignored them, wished Luna a good day and made his way to Hermione, Neville, and Draco standing at the door way waiting. "Twins get to class. We don't need you to be late and get a detention."
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"Alpha, have you thought about Luna? Can we have her?" George asked, walking down the hall beside Neville and Fred. Draco was walking to Harry's left with Hermione on his arm.
Harry sighed. The whole Pack seemed to like the girl. Hermione fell in love with the girl's intelligence, Draco thought her ideas were weird but interesting, Neville found her to be funny, and the twins were her childhood friends. How could she could not be allowed into the Pack if even he himself thought her mannerisms adorable. "We can invite her to our room toni-"
A pained shout cut him off. The sound echoing off the stones. All wands were out in an instant. Harry cautiously led the Pack down the empty hallway just outside the Great Hall. Shuffling and the sound of flesh hitting stone pulled attention to one of the empty classroom to their left. The twins snuck forward, one on both sides of the door. Harry and the others followed. Harry was the one to push the door open. He felt white hot anger fill him.
Ronald Weasley stood above Ginny red faced and wand out. Ginny was on the floor holding her cheek and tears in her eyes. "How could you do this to our family? How could you betray us by becoming a slimy snake?" Ron kicked at her, landing it in her right side. Ginny cried out again, curling up trying to proect herself from her brother's assault.
Harry felt his magic loosen with his anger. The steel control he was forced to learn living with his uncle cracked. The door slammed into the wall behind it. Ron jumped away from Ginny in shock. "What the hell do you think you are doing Ronald Weasley?"
Ron frozen. The whole Pack stood strong with their wands at the ready. Harry stood in the middle of them, his eyes glowing. Neville stepped forward to kneel beside Ginny. Hermione was the first to react when Ron went to throw a spell out. She put up a shield to block the freeze charm. Draco disarmed him with a quick spell, and the twins both hit him with a stupefy. The boy flew back into to the far wall.
"Twins take Ginny to the Med wing, Hermione go with them and keep them level-headed. Neville you go get Snape and McGonagall from the Great Hall. Draco, you go spread the word that both Ginny and Luna are off-limits. They belong to the Pack." Harry ordered. The Pack didn't hesitate to follow them. Neville ran out of the room with Draco next to him. Fred picked his little sister up, even though she was fighting against it.
Harry stood unmoving, glaring at the unconscious redhead. He was slowly pushing down his magic and anger. Harry saw a flash of his aunt on the floor. He clenched his eyes and shook his head. He hated seeing woman being hit. It always brought up the memory of his aunt being hit because she was protecting him. No real man should ever hit a female.
"Harrison," Harry turned. His godparents were at the door entrance. How lost in his anger induced thoughts was he that he never felt them aproach? McGonagall stepped around him to look at Ron. "Mr. Longbottom told us that Ginny was assaulted by her brother. Can you tell me what you saw happen?"
Harry took a breath, pushing the last of his memories away. "The Pack and I were on our way to eat Lunch when we heard a cry. We followed the sounds to this classroom. When we looked inside we saw Ginny on the ground crying and holding her cheek with Ron yelling at her. We intervened when he kicked her in the stomach. When he saw us he went to attack. Draco disarmed him, while the twins incapacitated him." Harry gave the facts straight. McGonagall nodded. "Ginny is with the twins and Hermione at the Med wing."
"Yes, we told Neville to stay with Draco at the Slytherin table. Why don't you go join them while we take care of this?" Snape pulled his wand out, ready to wake Ron. Harry nodded, leaving.
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Harry paced alone in the room. The founders sat silent watching. Harry had told the others to get Luna and Ginny. He would have to talk with them but if they wish, Harry was willing to open a place for them in the Pack. 'The Pack.' Harry slumped down into his chair on his last pass of it. He had come to this school trying to be invisible, that went out the window with who he befriended on the train. When he had become King of the Ravens he had done it to get some peace, that only brought the power-hungry Snake. Next thing he knew he was being told to leave Draco alone and then became Snake King.
He had changes in mind when he came to this school. He had learned all he could about the wizarding world and he didn't like how corrupt it was. That corruption was killing the magic. He could feel it. He wanted to bring change. A thought hit him. Draco, Neville, and the founders all have told him that being a king while at school carried weight out in the real world. He had two houses under him, and had their respect. He had Pack members from all houses and affinity. Could he bring some of the changes he wants about now?
Harry sensed his Pack moving closer to the room but paid them no mind. "Salazar?"
"Something I can help you with Harrison?" Salazar asked. He saw the spark grow in Harry's eyes.
"What are the chances that the Snakes will respect me enough to listen to me after they graduate?" He shifted through the number of ideas his mind generated.
"If you have their respect, then yes." The door opened, cutting what Salazar was going to say after. The Pack walked in with Ginny and Luna following. Seeing the Pack and guest sit, Salazar continued. "Contrary to what many think, Slytherins are very loyal once they find someone to follow. As they follow your rule at school now and respect you, they will still follow you once they are out. What is it you are planning Harrison?"
"Planning?" Hermione looked between Salazar and Harrison from her seat next to Ginny. "Harry what are you planning now?"
Harry just leaned back with a smug smirk. "I will tell we get our Pack business done first."
"Master? Are these the two girls that will be joining the Nest?" Amara asked, coming from the bedroom to investigate who was in her Master's rooms.
"Pack, Amara, it's a Pack. And I am not sure if they are joining, it's their decision." Harry let her come up his chair and settle on his shoulders. "We like them both for the Pack."
"She is gorgeous." Harry looked up at Ginny's squeal. She had found Nightshade and proceeded to cuddle the black ferret. Luna was even getting in on it by petting and cooing over her.
Hermione giggled watching them. Draco just rolled his eyes. "Harry, can we move this along? I want to know what put that look on your face."
"Very well." Harry nodded, "Ginny, Luna, you both have ties with in the Pack and as such we want to invite you to join."
"After meeting you when you came for a week and listening to Fred and George talk about all of you, I think I would like to join. I don't want to be separated from my brothers." Ginny answered, setting the fussy ferret down.
"I will join. I don't have many friends. It would be nice." Luna lowered her head.
"Good. Now what I was planning was to bring about change with the seventh years. This is their last year. Draco, the Slytherins respect me yes?" Harry picked up Nightshade so she could lay in his lap and play with his hand.
Draco nodded. "Yeah. They talk about you in the common room all the time. They respect you and many will follow you when they are out of school. Why?"
"My aunt never hid the existence of this world from me, but to protect me she kept me out of it until I got my letter. When that happened I got all the information I could on the Ministry and some history. I was surprised with what I found; Corruption, conspiracy, and limitations. I want to change that. But what I want to change more is the limitations put on magic. Magic is dying. Slowly. We need to stop that." Harry explained. Draco and Ginny didn't understand.
"What do you mean, magic is dying. It's strong." Ginny asked.
"Ginny, I can feel magic. I have always been able to. I feel it and can use it freely. Now because I can feel magic I can also feel how it is dying. It's not as strong as it once was, I know this because the echo is stronger than the present." Hermione interrupted with a faint noise that showed confusion. "The echo is like a ghost, just of magic. Now this echo is stronger than the present magic. For that to happen the present magic must be less than what was in the past. It shouldn't be like that. Magic increases or decreases by the number of magic users. Magic users are at a low number, the lowest they have ever been."
"How is it like this then?" Hermione asked. She loved her magic. She didn't want to think about it gone.
"The inbreeding. Purebloods think that if they marry other purebloods the magic will stay strong. That's wrong. All purebloods are related to each other in some way or another go when they keep marrying each other the magic gets weaker. Many look down on Half-bloods or Muggle-borns but what they don't understand is that those people have stronger magic because it's fresh. Lady magic has given us ways to keep the magic strong by giving us new blood and magic to mix with. Fresh blood brings magically strong children instead of all the squids or still born that have increased in the past 30 years." Harry pointed to Hermione, "Hermione is the top witch of our year and she is a muggle-born. If she were to marry a pureblood their children would be magically strong and more likely to show familial blood magic. Look at your aunt Draco. Andromeda was born a Black. The Blacks are known to have metamorphmagus traits but with all the inbreeding no one has been born one in 43 years. Andromeda married a muggle-born and they had a daughter. The daughter is a metamorphmagus."
"That makes sense. But what about the Ministry? You are a kid, a 12 year old kid. The boy-who-lived, yes, but still a kid." Draco pointed out.
"Let me tell you all a secret. I will be emancipated when I turn 13. When that happens I will take up the role as Lord of the house of Potter, Black, Peverell, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. My aunt has been helping me go through all the paper work the goblins have sent me, all my accounts, and both Sev and Min have been teaching me all I need to know. I have 12 seats in the Ministry." Harry watched their reactions with hidden glee. He loved keeping his pack on their toes.
"You… you…" Draco couldn't form a full sentence.
"You are heir to two of the founders? When were you going to tell us that?" Neville was the first to get his thoughts to work.
"I was going to tell you all when the time was right." Harry smiled innocently. Luna giggled in amusement.
"Peverell, you are the Peverell heir? Peverell as in the three brothers who were given gifts from Lord Death? That Peverell?" Hermione asked. "I thought that family was made up, just a bed time story for children."
"No child, the three Peverell brothers are real and the gifts given to the brothers were true too." Rowena laughed. All attention turned to her. "The eldest asked for the most powerful wand, the middle for a way to bring back the dead, and the youngest just asked for a way to be hidden from all including Lord Death himself. Lord Death gave them all what they asked for a wand made from elder wood with a core of Thestral tail hair to the eldest, a stone polished by a river to resurrect the dead to the middle, and a cloak from his own robes to hide the wearer from sight to the youngest. The eldest was killed in his sleep for the wand, the middle killed himself after the stone only brought back the ghost of his love, and the middle lived until he was old and the cloak passed to his son."
"Okay so Peverells were real people. Back to the discussion before this, Harry what are you planning? You just proved you have the power behind you in name and blood, but what do you want to do to bring the changes?" Hermione turned back to Harry who was watching Nightshade and Amara play together in his lap.
He looked up at her with a dark smile. "Infiltration. The only way that the corrupt Ministry is going to change anything to the way it should be is if new people, uncorrupt, ran it. I think many of the Snakes and Ravens are planning to go into politics because family expects it. I think I should enlist some help from those who are likely to stay loyal to get the ball rolling. Get a couple people in to evaluate the damage. Have them learn the ins and outs of the Ministry so when it comes to start pushing the changes we have more leverage. After that, slowly start adding people in. Before anyone is the wiser, the Ministry will be run by people who will not betray us or Lady Magic." The Pack was entranced by Harry. They hung onto his every word. The Pack didn't notice Luna's and Ginny's magic start to intertwine with the rest of them or how the founders looked on with pride in their eyes at the group. "Magic is the basic building block of all life on this planet. We need to protect it. The old ways were right but they have been pushed to the side by many because the Ministry has told them to. We need to go back to the way Merlin helped make the Ministry. We can do that. We will do that."
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The next month passed quickly for the Pack. Luna and Ginny fit in perfectly and had no trouble intergrading in with the way things were done. Draco and Ginny were busy making a list of seventh years that would be beneficial and willing to help with Harry's plan for change. Hermione and the twins were subtlety recruiting Gryffindor to the cause, without the lions really knowing about it. Neville was doing the same with the Hufflepuff. Harry and Luna were working on the Ravens.
Snape and McGonagall had seen the way the Pack was acting, spending more time with the students, and confronted Harry. Harry gave them a simple, edited, explanation of what they were doing. He left out how he was taking over the Ministry and said they wanted to encourage the other students to get involved in the protection of magic. Not once did he lie to them but they really had no clue what he was truly up to.
Harry's training with his blood magic had also advanced. He hadn't moved from using a drop of his Pack's blood to see through their eyes but he was slowly able to look longer. He had also played around with the self-drop exercise and found a way to use his blood to make a port key. He had Hermione test it. He gave her a carved stone ring and sent her to the training room while he went to the potion lab. He had told her to activate it by putting pressure on it and saying Alpha. Even with all the wards Hogwarts had, she was port keyed to Harry's side. Harry had tinkered with it and added a drop of blood from each Pack member.
The end result made it so all a person had to do was say the name of the one they wanted to go to and it took the member to the other person. Harry had made slender obsidian rings with a Celtic wolf howling inlayed into an emerald stone for the girls and an obsidian arm band with the Celtic wolf howling carved into it but with emerald eyes for the guys. The twins insisted that Harry needed a slightly different one for himself so he made his arm band obsidian with silver borders and his Celtic wolf howling to a full moon made of moonstone. Harry had Hermione help him with putting protection runes on the inside of the rings and arm bands too so only the ones who the port key was assigned to could use it and only the wearer could take it off.
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Samhain came with cold winds and warm celebration. The Pack had noticed subtle changes in their magic. They could sense each other. It was Hermione and Neville that found out that their bond had finally settled. Luna and Ginny were shocked that they had been included in the bond too. Hermione and Neville noticed in class that they won't say anything to each other, but they could still hear each other. Hermione spent the next week in the founder's library searching through every book she could. The Pack was telepathic. They couldn't talk to others outside of the Pack but at the same time the Pack had to find a way to block the thoughts from each other.
Salazar had been the one to teach them about the mind arts and how to modify Occlumency to block each other's thoughts unless they concentrate on the Pack member they wish to speak to. He taught them how to make barriers in their mind along with a 'room' where they can communicate with each other without giving each other full access to their heads.
With this development and the complete trust it gave them all, Luna had decided to come out as a seer to the Pack. They were shocked; as seers stayed hidden afraid they would be made into slaves and used. Harry took it smooth telling her that he knew. Her magic told him. With the bond the Pack was able to sense what the others were feeling. Harry on the other had got one other gift from the bond. He could pinpoint where each Pack member was. He couldn't see them like on a map in his head, or the area comes to him. He could just feel them, and his magic just knew where they were.
The founders watched the Pack become closer and work harder together with pride. Helga turned to the others, her amber eyes bright. "They can learn it. Let's help them bring the old ways back."
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Here you go guys. I hope you all liked it. This story is my pride and joy (besides my animals at home) and I enjoy feedback so please keep sending me your reviews!