Protection: The Sword and the Shield

You Call That A Wand

Office of the Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

It would not be a surprise to anyone who was privy to Albus Dumbledore's plans for Harry Potter's fourth year at his school that the Headmaster was not pleased. The main goal for the year was still on track but every one of his minor goals had been derailed. In fact, "derailed" was a kind assessment since if a train derailed, it still existed. Most of Dumbledore's plans had vanished on the wind.

The week after Harry Potter's name came out of the Goblet of Fire and had been met with celebration instead of scorn, news broke in the magical world of his contribution to the summer works of the Prima Potentia Houses. Despite being prepared for it, the Dumbledore's were still caught flat footed by what the Potter group had accomplished.

First was news that the boy had expanded his holdings into the muggle world with the approval of the Queen and in such a way as to uphold the statute of secrecy. The repercussions from the appearance of the Lady of the Lake were ever expanding, but the House of Potter had skipped to the inevitable and approached the Queen of England. According to his sources, the remaining three members of the Prima Potentia as well as a representative group of the high nobles had all arranged to visit her majesty as well. The Dumbledore's were, of course, angry at their exclusion from this because they were only a newly raised high noble house.

Then the Potters had sent a second shockwave through the magical world by swearing the MacFusty clan as retainers after helping them establish themselves as "Dragon Riders". History was filled with various dark lords, light lords and governments trying to draw the MacFustys and their dragons to one cause or the other. But it had been made clear that the MacFustys were just guardians and had no more control over the Hebridean Blacks than any dragon handler in a preserve.

That was until Harry Potter showed up, transformed into his "king" Hebridean Black form, challenged the flight leader of the dragons and won. Then to add to the already amazing deed, he reveals "dragonspeak" as a related language to parseltongue and orders the dragon flight to bond with the MacFusty clan and allow them to ride on their backs. Now along with the Lycans and Dire wolves (another annoying summer acquisition) as foot soldiers and cavalry, the Potters had gained for themselves an air artillery in the form of dragons.

Albus Dumbledore's obsession with his interpretation of the prophesy that pitted Harry Potter against Voldemort biased all his interpretations of such things. So, instead of recognizing Harry Potter and the House of Potter as a power that could be the "power the dark lord knows not", he was blinded by his own ambition and wanted to acquire that power for his own use after Harry "fulfilled his destiny."

The articles reminded him of the summer's trial and that he had lost an opportunity to gain guardianship of Harry and control of the Lycans, Dire wolves and dragons. His mind which was growing more twisted in his delusions decried the selfishness of the Prima Potentia that they would not submit the resources they had all gathered to his control "for the greater good." Using the hated term in his own mind gave him pause and he could feel HER presence stir.

He ruthlessly crushed the voice of the Lady of the Lake before she could begin her whispers in his mind. He had begun to believe that the voices weren't his self-reflection and was actually the spirit of magic. The fact that he was mentally strong enough to force her from his mind was the latest source of his unwavering belief in his righteousness and was also the perfect evidence of the extent of his self-delusion.

"Dragons are quintessentially British" Justin said echoing the thoughts of Harry Potter from the year previous. His words brought his father from his musings and seeing his father's attention on him, continued his analysis, "Theo Nott did the most this summer, but he had the furthest to go to catch up and was beaten by Sirius Black because his creature transformations were done to himself and his family and not just to slaves and retainers." The fact that Theo had also made himself into a part human was unknown to the general public, including the, still influential, Dumbledores.