Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 229: Something For The Future
"I don't understand…" one of the ministers said after James had left. "Why did you agree to his deal?"
"Yes, we could have killed him. What if he was carrying the Philosopher's Stone with him?. A treasure like that is invaluable!." another one added.
"Oh? Is that what I should have done?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow as he glanced at his ministers, and they began to grow nervous.
"What about you, Chancellor? Do you agree with my ministers?"
The Grand Chancellor, who had known the Emperor since they were children, could tell what he was doing. "No, the Emperor made the correct decision. James Potter was not someone we should be antagonizing. And his offer was more than fair."
"Aren't you looking down on us, Chancellor?" The ministers were clearly offended by the implication.
The Chancellor's eyes became sharp, and his aura completely changed.
The nine ministers felt this and remembered why this man held the highest position next to the Emperor himself.
"It is you who are looking down on your opponent," the Chancellor responded. "Had things gone that way… I'm afraid that the nine of you would have been dead in the first ten seconds. The Emperor and I are the only ones with the tools to hold back something like the First Primordial Flame, and even then, I don't believe we could have killed him. At best, we would have come to a stalemate while suffering tremendous losses."
The Emperor smiled. "And that's why he is my first advisor."
The nine ministers exchanged some confused glances.
The Emperor then continued while looking at them. "You may all be powerful wizards in your own right, who have earned the title of Warlocks. But remember that there is always a taller mountain, and let this serve as a lesson not to look down on westerners. There are many monsters out there who should never be offended, and my instinct told me from the beginning that this James Potter was one of them."
"But he looks so young… who can he be?" one of the ministers wondered.
"Could it be an alteration spell that is hiding his true age? Or perhaps it's caused by the Elixir of Life," another one commented.
"It's not," the Chancellor intervened. "I briefly looked into his family history after the news we received from Britain. James Potter is who he says he is. He is a fifteen-year-old Hogwarts student, son of Euphemia and Fleamont Potter."
"Fifteen… impossible," one of the ministers muttered.
"Indeed, it is impossible," the Emperor agreed. "A wizard with skills and knowledge like that, that cannot be so young, as it's merely impossible, regardless of talent. Meaning that he must be a reincarnator or at least someone with memories of a past life. Don't you agree, Chancellor?"
The old man nodded. "That does seem to be the strongest possibility. Perhaps an old wizard found a way to break through the cycle of reincarnation and keep his old memories. In any case, I doubt that it's something he would be willing to talk about."
The Emperor nodded. "I thought that as well. Besides…" He pulled out a letter from his robes. It was the one that Lady Rose had sent him with one of her crows. "This woman is also someone to be wary of… the fact that she would vouch for him tells me that he must have caused a strong impression on her."
"Emperor," the Chancellor called. "If Lady Rose learns that you refer to her as 'this woman'… she may return here and spank your ass again, like she did a hundred years ago."
"I was a mere child back then!" the Emperor shouted to hide his embarrassment.
The ministers exchanged looks of confusion as they had never heard of this 'Lady Rose' before, but both the Emperor and the Chancellor seemed to be very familiar with her.
"Don't just stand there," the Emperor exclaimed. "Bring those cases of elixir into my treasury."
The Ministers hurried to follow the order.
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"Did you have a pleasant trip?" Lady Rose smiled from behind her counter as James entered her shop.
"It was productive," James responded.
"So you got the ashes? I wasn't sure if you would succeed… I met that Emperor once, and he was a pretentious brat." She scoffed.
"Brat?" James raised an eyebrow and wondered how long ago this meeting was, because the Emperor he met was fairly old.
"Can I see them?" she requested.
James took the flask and placed it on her counter. "Do you have the rest of my order?"
She took the flask and began examining it. "Of course I do. Who do you take me for?" With one hand, she produced a box out of nowhere and gave it to James while keeping her attention on the flask. "Mmmm… are you sure you didn't get scammed? These look like normal phoenix ashes."
"I am sure… the difference may be subtle on a superficial examination. But the results will show when I use them," James said with complete certainty as he opened the box and made sure that everything he requested was there.
"You still haven't told me what you are trying to create," she said as she was returning the ashes to James.
"No, I did not."
"I'm just curious…" Lady Rose pouted.
"You could have requested that as the price."
"Would you have agreed?"
"No." James simply said as he stored the items safely into his robes.
"I heard that you are getting involved in the business of that new kid who came back from Romania… what was his name? Voldertor?"
"Voldemort," James corrected her, and also wondered how the Dark Lord would react if he learned that he was being called 'the new kid.'
"Right!" Lady Rose exclaimed in an exaggerated way, as if she didn't make the mistake on purpose. "Are all of these things to get rid of him? Because it seems a bit overkill. I doubt he would be much more of a threat than that French witch you killed."
James shook his head. "It's not just for him."
"Then what are you trying to do with these dangerous materials…" Lady Rose could not hide her curiosity, but James also perceived a layer of concern in her eyes.
She was truly worried about what he could create.
"It's something for the future." James left her with those words.
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