‘Maybe take my seat and play politics? It’ll be boring, but I might just be able to change stuff in a positive way. Twenty-five votes might help with keeping the minister off of Harry’s back.’
“Wait!” She screamed, causing multiple passersby to look in her direction, before shuffling away from her, obviously believing her to be crazy. But she didn’t care, because she had just remembered something. “Shit,” she muttered, “It’s 1995, so the fifth year will start soon. That means Umbridge… alright, I’ll try to apply for a teaching position.”
‘I should get myself a wand first.’ She realised. Even if she relied entirely on her wandless magic, owning a wand would still be useful. ‘Ollivander did seem like he was capable of seeing a lot. Eh, I’ll have to see him eventually, and maybe the wands are actually useful, though I doubt it.’
Garrick Ollivander was shocked, astonished and flabbergasted all at the same time. The reason was the woman in front of him. She obviously did not need a wand. She was a vampyr for gods' sake! Not even the weaklings, who were vampires, required wands to cast magic! And here was a Vampyr, who, judging by the strength of her magic, was of quite high status and was looking for a wand from him!
Despite this confusing turn of events, he would do his best to accommodate her, as he always did. Additionally, it would be quite a fun challenge.
“Do you have any preferences concerning your wand, miss?”
“Thestral hair should fit me quite well, otherwise not really. I specialise in combat, should that be relevant. Elder wood might work too.”
“That might indeed be helpful, but thestral hair wands are rare and merging them with elder is damn near impossible. I’ll need to look around for a second.”
He picked out the first one he could see, since he had absolutely no idea of how to judge the affinities of magical beings of such a magnitude. Still, considering the amount of control she obviously had over her own magic, she should know her affinities fairly well.
His initial shock reappeared once he realised what the wand he was holding was made of!
‘Did we ever have elder wands? I don’t remember any Ollivander ever working with it. Well, it’s too late to put it back now.’
“Try this one. Fifteen inches, Elderwood with a dual-core of Thestral and Rougarou Hair, quite swishy. It is meant for those with a grand destiny, whose path is paved in death and darkness.” He started with his usual sermon, before realising how it could be interpreted as a provocation, so he quickly explained, “Of course, it doesn’t imply its owner is evil, but its cores do have a strong affinity to death and dark magic, while the wood only chooses those with a grand destiny.”
Once the woman took the wand, she seemed to be pleased. Inordinately pleased at that.
He was confused until she waved the wand, and all of his past injuries seemed to disappear. From the back pain that his age brought with it, to the knee that still sometimes ached after he had taken a bone-breaker in his youth.
‘Perfect resonance!’ He was careful to keep his shock contained. ‘And on the first try no less!’
“That will be seven Galleons.”
“I thought that was the price for school children? That’s something the ministry sponsors, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but I would have never sold that wand if you hadn’t come around. It’s lain ownerless for over two thousand years, after all.”
“Alright. It’s in here.” She threw a pouch onto the table and left.
He only checked its contents after she left.
“Whaaaat?!?!”
Azarynth chuckled. Those two thousand galleons had been worth it. Hearing this calm and collected man scream in shock was an incredible feeling.
Then she went to the owlery and bought herself a regular owl. Sadly, she didn’t have the resonance with any of them that had existed between Hedwig and Harry. Still, she was happy with her owl. It was a black raven that had somehow been mistaken for an owl. She’d always had a decent relationship with ravens, and once she’d turn him with her blood, the resonance of Harry and Hedwig would also exist between them. Plus, he was cool.
Then she sat down at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour and ordered.
‘What should I get myself… Maybe have what Harry had on his first visit to Diagon? Damn, I love my new memory.’
“I’d like chocolate and raspberry flavoured with chopped nuts, please?”
“Coming right up!”
Laying out a parchment in front of her, she started writing.
To Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
I am writing to formally apply for the position of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
My name is Azarynth Veyloran. I am a registered witch under the Indian Ministry of Magic and hold internationally recognised masteries in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Runes, and related disciplines.
My experience with hostile, amortal, and parasitic entities significantly exceeds what is commonly encountered in academic settings. I have confronted, banished, and destroyed a wide range of dark beings, including composite entities and intent-driven manifestations. Where destruction was neither possible nor advisable, I have successfully contained or repelled such threats. I am equally familiar with the theoretical foundations of dark magic, its misuse, and the practical limitations of defensive spellcraft when facing non-standard opponents.
Should I assume this position, my approach to instruction will prioritise the following:
- Functional defence under real conditions rather than idealised duelling scenarios
- Recognition and assessment of threats before escalation
- Discipline, restraint, and proportional response
- Survival-first methodology when retreat is the correct choice
Students will not be exposed to unnecessary danger. However, they will be expected to understand that defence is not a purely academic subject and must be treated with appropriate seriousness.
I am available to begin teaching immediately. Any formal evaluation you deem necessary may be conducted at your convenience.
I look forward to your response.
Azarynth Veyloran,
Master of Defence Against the Dark Arts
‘Good enough. It’s not like he can refuse my application.’
While writing, her Ice cream had arrived, and she savoured it with all the attention it deserved.
Dumbledore knew this meeting was a farce, and he was sure this woman in front of him knew it too. There were only two applicants for the position of a teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts, and there was no way he would let that monster of an undersecretary into the position if he could avoid it. Sadly, he had no alternative teacher, and a complete break with the ministry would be fatal for the war effort. This way, there was at least a possibility of reconciliation, and he needed to guarantee its continued existence.
But with an excuse, or rather a different teacher, he could hit three birds with one stone. He wouldn’t completely break off relations with the ministry; he would keep that monster away from his students, and finally, he might just manage to recruit a powerful witch for the war effort.
There was no way the minister would be able to find a reason for the woman not to be the better alternative compared to Umbridge. Her qualifications were incredible, and there were absolutely no stains on her record. (Mainly because she had no record)
Despite all this, he had to hold this meeting. If only to make her feel like she could still be fired, if she stepped too far out of line. Sadly, all of his hopes of achieving that were dashed once she stepped through the door.
The way she moved, the way she held herself, hell, even her clothes made it obvious she was someone not even he wanted to mess with. She walked without arrogance, without confidence, but with a combination of attentiveness and calm that said more about her capabilities than all of her certificates put together.
Luckily, her eyes were those of a person with strict morals and a surprising amount of empathy for someone so obviously jaded.
“Greetings, Headmaster.” She performed a half-bow towards him while saying her greeting.
“Good morning, miss. Lemon drop?” He offered, and to his surprise, she accepted with a, “It’d be my pleasure.”
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the ring on her middle finger light up with a very faint green glow. It was only then that he realised that she wore a total of four rings. He almost lost what was left of his calm facade once he realised she wore three head of house rings, only to actually lose it once he realised what houses those were.
‘Peverell! She’s the head of house Peverell!’ His hand slightly shifted towards his wand, before he stopped himself, calmed his thoughts and said, “You are accepted. I wish you good luck in your teaching adventure. Do you want to enter our school only with the students, or do you want to stay here over the rest of the break?”
“Would it be alright if I went with the students on the Hogwarts Express? I think a bit more protection would be quite handy. Especially considering we have a dark lord on the loose.”
He almost sighed in relief when he heard that. If she considered that, it meant she cared at least a little about the students, which was enough for him, considering the circumstances.
“Sadly, I will not be able to change the book, since that is under the purview of the ministry. It is, “He hesitated, “Not of the highest quality.”
“No problem. I expected as much. As I mentioned in my letter, I will focus on the practical application of what they already know, rather than teaching new spells. As such, I’m not completely reliant on the material of the books.”
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“Well then. See you after the break.” He laughed good-heartedly while dismissing her.
“See you, Professor.”
“Also, call me Albus. We’re colleagues now, after all.” He said, while she was already half out of the door.
“That went surprisingly well considering the raw amount of surprises here, eh, Fawkes?” He said to his phoenix, who answered by thrilling happily.
‘Following the ancient wisdom, I completely and utterly confused myself, to confuse her. It seems to have worked.’
‘I’m pretty sure we’re not dealing with an evil Dumbledore here, which is great, but he’s still troublesome. That amount of self-control is not normal. I specifically prepared the rings in a way that would surprise him, so that I could fish for some more information, but he managed to get me with that acceptance. Who just accepts someone out of nowhere, without an actual interview, after inviting them to one. Suffice to say, he’s a master of confusion, even if he’s not evil.’
This was Azarynth’s conclusion after the talk with Dumbledore. She was currently inside the British Ministry, more precisely, the Wizarding Examinations Authority. She was currently in front of the veritably ancient Griselda Marchbanks.
“Good evening, Madame Marchbanks,” She performed a half-bow, “I am Azarynth Veyloran, the new Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I am here to request access to the Grading Criteria for my students.”
“Yes… I have them here somewhere.” She took out a dusty folder that was labelled with DADA Grading Criteria (For Teachers). “There it is. Sorry for the dust, it hasn’t been requested for over a decade.”
“Are you telling me none of the teachers actually prepared the students for the tests?”
“Yes. That is sadly the case. As far as I know, your subject was largely self-study for these students.”
“Great… Just great.” Obviously exasperated, she left the office, already preparing for the mess that would be the students’ ability.
This school year had been Harry’s worst to date.
Even ignoring the Triwizard Tournament in and of itself. He’d seen Cedric get killed right in front of his eyes, and was then used for an immensely dark ritual that brought back the person who’d killed his parents and attempted to kill him ever since he’d been born.
There he’d been toyed around with, before barely managing to escape via pure luck. He’d tried to share it immediately, only for his warning to be ignored purely because of fear, before even getting accused of lying to make himself more popular and to hide that he’d killed Cedric! They actually accused him of killing Cedric!
Then he’d been brought back to the Dursleys’ like always. He was already prepared for the belt he’d no doubt receive for his ‘weirdness’ and an almost non-existent amount of food. Still, he was surprised by it somehow being even worse than he’d expected. Somehow, Dementors had appeared in Privet Drive! And him driving them away with the Patronus charm only led to him being accused of underage magic and breaking the Statue of Secrecy.
He was now standing in front of the wizarding court. He still couldn’t see Dumbledore, but even if Dumbledore stepped in, he knew it wouldn’t be enough. Both the pureblood families and the ministry wanted him gone. The purebloods alone had 13 Votes more than the neutrals and light families combined. Add onto that the ten Votes of the ministry, and Harry’s future was looking very bleak.
Once the trial started, Dumbledore stepped up as his defendant, which obviously improved the situation, but it still didn’t look like he even had a chance to come out of this without being expelled from the magical world.
It was at this moment that the door opened, and a woman entered the room. She was clothed in stark contrast to the rest of the room. Instead of noble robes, of emacculate silk and similar materials, everything she wore had obvious wear and tear and was made for combat instead of noble banquets. It was simple, effective and ragged.
“Apologies for being late. I may or may not have been told the wrong room and time by a certain someone.” Her glare at the pink toadlike flunky of the minister made it obvious who the certain someone was.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Said an arrogant voice. It belonged to Draco’s father. “Tell me why you shouldn’t be thrown out immediately!”
To Harry’s surprise, the answer came from Dumbledore.
“That, Mister Malfoy, is Azarynth Veyloran, Hand of Balance, Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell, the Founding House of Emrys, and the Founding House of Veyloran. If you believe her to be undeserving of standing here, then I would kindly request everyone who has fewer votes than her to leave, since 25 votes are obviously not enough to be inside this room, according to Mr Malfoy at least.”
The look of shock on Malfoy's face made Harry’s day. Even if he did get kicked out of the magical world today, this almost made it worth it. The woman felt dangerous in the way only the Dark Lord himself had up until now, so Harry had no delusions about how she’d vote. Still, this made this slight change worth it.
“Thank you, Albus.” They knew each other! Harry started to win back some hope, only for it to be immediately dashed as she also greeted the pink toadflunky, before turning to the woman presiding over the session. “Hello, Dolores. Would it be alright with everyone here if I said a few words?”
“Of course, Lady Veyloran.” Said the woman with close-cropped grey hair and a monocle, “I, for one, would like to hear what you have to say. Let’s put this up for a vote. Light your wand green if you're for and red if you’re against.”
Except for three red lights, there were green lights everywhere.
“You are allowed to speak.”
“Harry Potter is innocent, and your opinion on this doesn’t matter. I have twenty-five votes, which is almost as many as the entire accusing faction. If you add the votes of Dumbledore and his close allies, we already have a majority. This trial is over. Goodbye.”
After these blunt words, she immediately left the stage, but was stopped by the woman who’d just permitted her to speak, before continuing.
“I’ve just been told that common sense isn’t enough to guarantee how a trial goes, so I vote to put this up for vote.”
Immediately, a voice that came from Neville’s grandmother seconded her suggestion, and the vote began,
Fudge tried to intervene by interrupting it and accusing her of being unsuitable for a seat there, but got ignored by the grey-haired woman from before.
“Everyone who votes for clearing all charges lights their wands green, everyone who is against red. If you abstain from voting, keep it without light.”
Harry’s heart sank as he saw many more red lights and no green lights, until he realised that only a fifth of the room had voted at all.
It was at this moment that all the other wands simultaneously lit up with a green light. The woman who’d done all of this was almost out of the room already, but left these words behind on her way out, “Oh and Minister? Next time you try to fake a trial, make sure that you don’t try to bribe people with morals. It tends not to work very well, and they usually vote against you out of principle without even caring about the contents of the trial.”
‘I have a bad feeling about this.’ Tonks decided, ‘A house this clean is just an obsession at this point. Those muggles definitely have something wrong with their heads.’
“Watch out. He might suspect us of being polyjuiced, so be ready to disarm him if necessary. Don’t use lethal spells under any circumstances.”
“No shit, Moody,” she answered, “As if one of us would harm Harry. Let’s just make sure we don’t run into someone who’s not him.”
At this point, Elphias Doge was finally done with the Muggle-repelling wards, so they could finally enter the house. It was at this point that Tonks realised one of the rooms had bars in front of its windows. The sinking feeling in her stomach spread even more.
“This can’t be good. Look at that window, isn’t that where Harry’s room is supposed to be? Why would someone completely bar his windows?”
“We’ll certainly find that out,” Moody answered grimly. “Let’s go. But be careful. If he’s constantly vigilant, he might just try to catch us off guard.
“Oh shit,” Tonks said, echoing the thoughts of everyone else in the advance guard. The door to Harry’s room was reinforced with steel and had a feeding hatch. It was obviously more of a solitary confinement room than a home.
They didn’t even think about being stealthy any more. Moody opened the door with a quick Bombarda, only to find it completely and utterly abandoned.
There was a letter on the table, as well as a bit of dust. The letter was short, but held valuable information.
To whoever found this letter,
Know that I am safe and secure. I have received help from an unknown party and will be attending Hogwarts this year. Don’t search for me; you will not succeed if you do. I am with the Hand of Balance. Dumbledore should know what this means. (Or so I was told)
Expecting to see you
Harry Potter
To every Voldemort or Ministry flunky who reads this,
Fuck you. I am safe and secure, and you will not be able to find or track me. I wish you bad luck on your search for me.
May you stub your toe on every table and step on every Lego in the world,
Harry Potter
“That’s one nasty thing he wished onto the Death Eaters. I’m starting to reconsider whether unforgivables should even be illegal. This is so much worse.”
Tonks was shocked, Elphias Doge let out a squeak of surprise, and even the usually unflappable Kingsley was standing there with an open mouth. Moody had made a joke! An actual Joke!
They struggled to pick their jaws up from the ground for a while before they inspected the rest of the room and came to a conclusion.
‘This isn’t even abuse any more. They literally tortured him. Bloodstains like that don’t come from accidents. And they weren’t even cleaned out.’
Despite not knowing who had the boy who lived, they were at least happy that he wouldn’t have to spend another day in such a place.
2 days after the hearing, 4 days before the advance guard arrived.
Harry looked through the window, like he always did, since the Dursleys had taken away his wand and books. At least the belt hadn’t come out today. That was a very good thing.
It was at this moment that Harry was pulled from his thoughts by a sight he hadn’t expected to see. In front of his house was the woman from the hearing. Her ragged robes were unmistakable. What was her name again? Azary-something? More importantly, why was she here? Was she here to use the favour he owed her now? Sadly, Harry had no way of helping her with anything, considering he wasn’t even capable of leaving his room at the moment.
While he was contemplating this, she looked towards him, and he immediately felt a sense of safety. She quickly looked away again and knocked on the door, while Harry opened his feeding hatch in a way that would make it possible for him to hear what was said. With his enchanted earmuffs, of course. He had barely managed to hide them from the Dursleys, but now they were about to come in handy.
“Who are you?!” The unfriendliness in Petunia's voice was immediately obvious, then again so was the fact that the woman she was talking to was a witch, and the Dursleys hated magic.
“Are you Petunia Dursley, née Evans?” The Lady asked with a calm that impressed Harry a lot, considering how obvious Petunia had made it, that she did not want the woman in front of her anywhere near herself.
“Yes, now what are you doing?”
“Well… Could I come in? It’s quite cold standing out here, you know.”
“Yes, yes, come in.” Petunia was displeased, but still wouldn’t accept such a disgrace as being found out for knowing weird people, so she let the Lady inside.
“I am Azarynth Veyloran,” the guest began, once she had sat down on the couch belonging to the Dursleys, to Petunia’s obvious displeasure. It was at this point that Vernon arrived, immediately making his displeasure obvious.
“What is one of your Ilk doing here? We want nothing to do with you!”
“As I was saying,“ The calm of the woman called Azarynth was incredible, and Harry was wholly impressed, “I am Azarynth Veyloran. Head of the most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell, Head of the Founding House of Emrys, and Head of the Founding House of Veyloran. I am here to investigate the living conditions of the only other heir of Peverell.”
“We don’t have anyone like that here!” He could hear the redness in Vernon's face at the ‘accusation’ that had just been made.
“No? There is no Harry Potter in this house?”
“That’s not a Peverell! He’s obviously called Potter!”
“The Peverells once consisted of three brothers. One of these three was called Ignotus, and he specialised in stealth. His descendants eventually married into the Potter family. As such, he’s a member of my family, and I want to know how you have treated my only relative!”
Even her calm had broken. She must have somehow guessed that something wasn’t right.
“Harry isn’t here right now.” Petunia calmly said, lying straight to the Lady’s face. It was at this moment that Harry decided to reveal he could hear them at such a distance. He screamed out of the hatch, a wordless scream, but it was enough.
“I am pretty sure you were just caught lying. Now we are going upwards.”
He heard steps going upwards the stairs of his room, until he could see them. It was at this moment that his eyes almost popped out of his head. Just as they got into view, Vernon had stolen her wand! She would be defenceless! Dudley held her hands, and Harry could already predict the fate she was going to face when the woman said with an unimaginable amount of levity in her voice, “And what are you going to do now? You have my wand and hold my hands, that’s all. I don’t get why you are feeling so proud.”
There was an ugly smile on Vernon’s face. “Now we are going to teach you a lesson.”
Vernon cocked back his fist and started swinging at her face when there was a nasty crack. Instead of his fist hitting the woman, he hit Dudley, who had been swung in front of her by the now clawed hand that gripped Dudley’s head. Her normal-looking face had been replaced by a featureless mask, and her Eyes glowed with a shade of red that would’ve made him shudder had he not been so utterly sure she was not going to attack him.
Her hand reached for the sword she always carried on her hip, which was also, for some reason, always overlooked, and stabbed it in the direction of Vernon's face, stopping just in front of his left eye.
“Be happy that a child is watching all of this, or you would be rid of your lives for what you have just attempted!” She hissed at them in a tone so venomous Harry would’ve wondered whether she had any relation to snakes had she not made her vampire heritage obvious just now.
She then opened up his door with a bit of wandless magic, which made the futility of stealing her wand obvious, before taking her wand and calling out, “Harry Potter? If you want to leave with me, you can. Of course, I will respect your opinion if you do not.”
It wasn’t even a question for Harry, and after they collected all of his things, she quickly apparated them to Diagon Alley for a quick shopping trip to get him some half-decent clothes.