An Opus Alchymicum Vol 2: The Witch-Consul's Riddle

The Letters To Everyone

Summary: The sequel to AOA: The Experimental Theologian's Apprentice.

Harry Potter arrives at Hogwarts. Fresh from exonerating his Godfather, who was wrongly-accused of murdering his parents, Harry is now famous for surviving an attack by Lord Voldemort, where his parents used an illegal ritual to steal the Dark Lord's power and banish him to another world. Now recruited by the Ministry of Magic, Lily and James uncover news of Riddle's survival - and a sinister plot to facilitate his return.

This news is brought by Hermione Granger and her Mistress, Lyra Silvertongue. Together, Harry and Hermione must unite to uncover and thwart the plot, which is centred around the magical school of Hogwarts. But will they solve The Witch-Consul's Riddle in time ... or will the Agent of Voldemort beat them to the ultimate prize being protected there?

***

Harry Potter was a bizarre boy in many ways, as far as you or I would be concerned. For a start, he'd spent the first decade of his life living in an underground city, which at least accounted for his pasty complexion. Nine months in the infrequent sun of the British Isles was yet to make much of a dent in that. It wasn't helped by the vivid colours of his jet black hair and piercing emerald green eyes, which drew a stark contrast to his often pallid skin.

But it was the curious, lightening-shaped cut on his forehead - the scarlet scar tissue of which didn't seem to want to fade - that threatened to draw most attention to this unusual young man.

For in the last six months, Harry Potter had become something of a minor celebrity. Now, you wouldn't find him on the couch of breakfast television shows, or handing out the trophy for Best Fork at the Hand-Held Cutlery Awards or anything, but in certain newspapers and magazines it was seen as a waste of precious column inches if his name - or his fascinating story - didn't feature on a regular basis. On a daily basis, if the journalists and editors could swing it.

It was just a matter of sliding him in between stories of rogue trolls terrorising Scottish farmsteads, of the latest form of Muggle-baiting reported by the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts department, or the most recent blockbuster penned by the legendary adventurer, Gilderoy Lockhart.

For that was the most unusual thing about Harry Potter - he was a wizard. His parents were a witch and wizard, his Godfather was a wizard - as well as being a wrongly-accused mass murderer and lieutenant of the Dark Lord Voldemort, though he'd been recently exonerated of both charges - and his legal guardian was a witch. She was also a Professor in the magical subject of Transfiguration, as well as being the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And it was in this capacity that Harry was assisting her today.

For Minerva McGonagall had abandoned her usual habit of setting Harry reading and research tasks and instead put him to use doing a spot of manual labour. She thought this was good practice for the arduous essays she was threatening to set him, when he was under her professional tuition in a few months time. For Harry was only about six weeks away from enrolling at Hogwarts himself, and it was in pursuit of that task that he was employed that afternoon.

Though in truth, he could think of better ways to spend his birthday week.

For Harry was sat in their flat in central London, at a large desk under a bay window, that afforded a nice view down the Thames. It was nice and sunny today, and the river rippled bright and blue, while across on the other bank queues had already formed to jump aboard the London Eye, which was rotating in its never-ending circle. Harry watched it a moment and wished he was among them, slurping on an ice cream or a Slush Puppy and enjoying the sun.

But he'd promised Minerva he'd get this task done before he was allowed out to play. And Harry Potter didn't make a habit of breaking his word.

So he went back to it. In front of him he had a raft of different things. Most of the desk was taken up by two stacks of parchment sheets, one of which was used for writing letters and the other that Harry was turning into envelopes. Minerva had shown him how to fold the parchment just so, then when he slid the two sheets of letter-writing parchment inside he had to secure it with a purple-wax seal, which bore a coat of arms of a lion, and eagle, a badger and a snake all surrounding a letter 'H'.