Let's Build a School
“Pro-Project Harmony My Lo- I mean Marvolo. What are you planning this time?” Lucius stutteds out looking at the binder warily. Oh please don’t let this be another war,he thought, they don’t have the people for it anymore, with so many Death Eaters being sent to prison. As if reading his mind, which was a distinct possibility , Marvolo started to chuckle.
“Oh don’t worry Lucius, this plan is nothing so violent as last time. We are simply going to beat Dumbledore at his own game. You see, as the Lord of Dark Magic it is my job to not only keep the balance between the main branches of magic, but all the magical creatures in the world as well including those with creature inheritance. After I was denied the DADA position at Hogwarts I started looking over the school’s curriculum as a whole & discovered over ½ the classes have been removed from that school, and thanks to Dumbledore’s leadership, people are forgetting the old ways that we have used to keep ourselves connected to Lady Magic all these years. In Other words Dumbledore is using Hogwarts to shape the wizarding world to his liking because students who go there will follow his way of thinking, leading to new generations of Wizards ignorant of our true history.”
At Marvolo’s explanation the others in the room started to think about all of the things they should have learned at Hogwarts, and it was true. Not only was history taught by a ghost that repeated the same lesson year after year. But they don’t even have a sex education class which is more nessesary in the magical world where, under the right conditions, even men can have children. Plus if Marvolo is to be believed then who knows what sorts of classes have been removed over the years. Thinking this over Lucius couldn't help but wonder one thing.
“When you say beating Dumbledore at his own game Marvolo, do you mean taking over Hogwarts by political means to reform it in your image?” He asked, trying to put the puzzle together in his head.
Marvolo shook his head. , “No. While I would love to remove Dumbledore from Hogwarts this instant, he has his claws sunk too deeply into the school to make that possible. What I am proposing is creating our own school to compete against Hogwarts so we can knock it off its pedestal. Then one day people will demand to know what Dumbledore has done to that once magnificent school. Only then will we be able to go in and change the school for the better. I have everything planned out here, but in order to get this school up and running by the next school year I will need all your help. Lucius, can you do me a favor And make 4 duplicates of this binder, one for each of us and a spare just in case?”
He hands the binder to Lucius who creates 4 duplicates of the binder for everyone in the room so they can start looking over the plans for Marvolo’s dream school. After looking for about 5 minutes, Lucius is the first person to speak up about the plan.
“Marvolo, as amazing as this school sounds, where will you find the money to fund such a massive undertaking as this?”
“The usual way: donations, fundraisers, not to mention I own a diamond mine in a conflict zone which will pay for the rest.” Marvolo answers without even looking as he re-familiarized himself with his plans for the school, mentally assigning different tasks to different people to get this ready in time for the next school year.
Hearing his Lord casually bring up owning a diamond mine, Snape raises an eyebrow and asks, “And how did you afford that Marvolo? Last I heard the Gaunt and Slytherin vaults had no money left in them?”
Chuckling to himself Marvolo puts the binder down to explain. “Back when I was a student at Hogwarts myself I managed to find the Legendary Chamber of Secrets. Within the chamber I found the 'monster' that resides within, a Basilisk who I befriended named Jeiszaa. Jeiszaa is a very helpful Basilisk who was willing to give me some of her venom and previously shed skin, which I kept under preservation charms until I graduated. Once I was finished with school and needed money I sold most of the venom and skin for a hefty price then used it to buy the mine. Those things never really run out so I always have the money I need, except when I lost my mind due to the Horcruxes I had forgotten about for the most part."
“Alright then, ” Sverus said, accepting that explanation and wishing mire than ever for the chance to see the legendary Chamber of Secrets. Even the thought of a Baskilk down there wasn't enough to deter him, as long as a Parselmouth accompanied him anyway.
They continued reading though the plan, asking questions from time to time and offering improvements or changes that could be made. They made it through sections on rules, dress codes, House system, classes, summer dorms, clubs, etcetera, but then they reached the part about admission age.
“Students starting at age nine, and have nine years of schooling instead of the usual seven, are you crazy? What parents would let their child go to an international boarding school at age nine?” Naggrot cries out in shock, but Marvolo just waves him off.
“Don’t worry, as a wise man once said “If you build it people will come”. We might not be able to start off with the largest classes ever, but with time people will be willing to send their children to this school for quality education. Besides students don’t start using wands until 3rd year, the first two years are about building students basic knowledge of magic including writing, including some other basic skills like reading and math. Plus there will be scholarships available for students, Mainly for orphans, and muggleborns, but there will be some for those with special skills like prodigies, and I even have a Gemini Scholarship planned for magical twins to nurture their gift together”. He explains, flipping through that section of the binder as they continue reading on to the end which includes notes for magical objects, wards, and rituals needed for the school.
“What’s this ritual in the back? I've never seen anything like this before, it’s unique but seems incomplete”? Severus asked, looking confused and trying to make sense of the ritual on the paper. He'd crafted spells before but never anything on this magnitude.
Naggrot frowns as he looked over the ritual in question; it reminded him of a blood adoption ritual but seemed to have a different purpose to it. After another minute of studying it he realized what this ritual was for, and asked “Is this a ritual to force a creature's inheritance”?
Shaking his head Marvolo smiles hoping to get the goblins help in completing his ritual. “Close. It's a ritual that, when used on children, will awaken the dormant creature blood in them so that when they reach puberty they’ll go through a creature inheritance like normal. This was my idea: to revive the creature blood that has gone dormant in all of us over the years and, in doing so, bring back creature inheritances, one of the main sections of magic that has been lost to us thanks to Dumbledore's actions. It will be completely optional of course, if students participate in the ritual or not”.
As he finishes his explanation everyone in the room seems to light up, all thinking about how bringing back so many dying out creature inheritance would strengthen the magical world's connection to Lady Magic as a whole, but that brought some other questions to the other 2 wizards in the room.
“Can it work on full grown wizards too?"
“What about muggle borns who don’t have any creature blood in them?” They ask at the same time before looking at each other in surprise.
Chuckling Marvolo answered “In theory, but it should be a lot more painful for adults as they are going through a ritual and their creature inheritance at the same time. But when completed it should work on children and adults like intended. As for Muggle borns I was thinking if they wanted to go through a creature inheritance and the ritual doesn’t work on them then they could have a blood adoption ritual to gain a third parent from a creature tribe and then, when they reach puberty, they will get their inheritance that way. Since I plan for there to be creatures on staff along with having creature tribes visit to teach students about themselves, getting the blood and consent shouldn’t be a problem”.
“And where will you get the time to finish and test such a ritual, setting up a school of this magnitude by yourself will take years”. Naggrot demands to know
“Who says I’ll be doing this myself? The reason why I shared this project with the three of you is because I want you guys to help getting this all set up, and don’t worry I will pay the goblin nation for their services. Now we have a lot of work to do if we’re getting this set up in time for the new school term”. Marvolo said with a smirk.
“And where will this school be exactly? I’m pretty sure any ancestral Castles could be traced back to our families and could raise red flags when it comes to getting this school Approved by the ICW. Dumbledore is the Supreme Mugwump and if he hears anything about a school opening up in a castle owned by a former death eater he’ll stop this project before it has a chance to begin, ” Lucius pointed out
“Plus building a new castle big enough for all this from the ground up would take a few years even with magic, ”Snape added.
“Luckily, while I was Voldemort, I purchased an island in the Scilly Isles and had a Castle built there. Originally it was meant to be a HQ for my Death eaters and a Palace no one would find, where I could hide when things got tough. It should be finished by now so all that’s left is getting a House Elf staff, furnishing it, and checking the ward stone but it should be more than big enough to hold a school at. So will you all help me? ” Marvolo asked
The group looks at each other and nods.
“Of course, ” they agreed unanimously.
“If this school promises to be as great as planned I’ll have to send Draco there instead of Hogwarts so of course I’ll help My L-Marvolo”.
“The Goblin Nation will help you with this endeavor, for a price of course”.
“Before we go Marvolo, one last question, what shall we call this school of yours”? Severus asks as they’re about to leave for the night having been here for several hours going over the plan.
This causes Marvolo to smile, “Why I’m so glad you asked Severus, the name of our school is Chéile Academy, It is the celtic word for harmony after all. ”
At this the group decides to retire for the night returning to their respective homes. Marvolo, having no place to stay, returns to Malfoy Manor for the night. In the morning the first thing Marvolo did was seek out a wand maker to have a new wand commissioned for him. He didn't know where his beloved Yew wand was but, even if he did, it would be far too recognisable and he needed to distance himself from the Lord Voldemort persona if he wanted this project to work.
After that everyone assembled in Malfoy Manor to divide and conquer the work.
Severus would be in charge of finding and training the house Elves of Chéile Academy, as well as interviewing and hiring the staff, and helping stock up the school Library. While interviewing teachers there were two requirements he was looking for: a Masters in the subject they want to teach and to have taken, or be willing to take a class on identifying and helping abused children. In between all this he would make visits to Hogwarts to plan his own future lessons and try to get them approved by a headmaster who didn’t believe a first lesson on Potions safety and prep was necessary.
Lucius would be helping the school from the political side: getting in contact with other countries to allow then to have their magical young attend Chéile as well as setting up an International Hogsmead, or as they’ll call it Cultural Exploration Days for the students when they reach a certain age where they can visit different Wizard Shopping districts from all around the world. On top of that he set up the meeting with the head of the Education branch of the ICW for a tour of the school in June of that year to get Chéile Academy officially recognized as a wizarding school. He also helped to create a new Identity for Marvolo, separate from Tom Riddle and Voldemort, under the name of Marvolo Sayer.
The Goblins were the ones to reach out to the magical creature communities and magic communities as a whole about there being teaching jobs at Chéile Academy. Their job was to do the Ward Stone at the School, making sure there were Anti Bullying/Rape wards, along with Wards against muggle detection and a whole bunch more to keep the students safe and happy. They also helped create other magical artifacts for the school like their very own Book of Admittance and special stones for students to carry to help with the Language barriers. They were also tasked with completing Marvolo’s ritual as the man had struggled to work out the final phase, the reason he hadn't implemented it before as well as creating portkeys to allow people to travel to and from the school.
Not even a month into work they found another person willing to help with their cause in one Barty Crouch Jr. who was on the run and hiding from the Aurors for his crimes as a death eater. When he heard about the plans for a school he was ecstatic and more than happy to help out however he could. He had always wanted to be a teacher, although his father wouldn't hear of it, so he started helping out around the school, making sure it had everything it needed in the classrooms, nurses office and dormitories. Marvolo, impressed with his work and knowing he would have trouble finding a job with being a known death eater, appointed him to be his deputy headmaster of the school.
As for Marvolo himself, he was mostly overseeing the whole project, helping out where needed and making sure that his high standards were met as he didn't want anything to go wrong when the school opened. . When he wasn’t helping out the others he was setting up smaller things for the school including their coat of Arms, creating trophies for different school competitions and recreation rooms for the students. He also wrote some literature specifically for muggle families to explain what they needed to know about magic and the school where they would potentially send their student. There would also be a binding contract that, once signed, would prevent those people from talking about the magical world with anyone, unless they were already part of it. He also made a similar one to cover people who had anti creature backgrounds or any government officials, under the guise of a trade secrets agreement, to make sure Dumbledore didn't learn about his plans.
Of course nothing ever goes smoothly. There were bumps along the road of getting everything set up for the school like when they tried to give the new House elves uniforms…
– February 12th 1982–
Marvolo, Connor(Barty’s new name), and Severus were making their way through Chéile Castle to the kitchens to greet their new house Elves. Severus’s arms were full of various cook books from all around the world, made much lighter thanks to a featherweight charm, while Marvolo and Connor were carrying large bundles of Black, Tan, Red, Blue, Brown, Green, and Yellow fabric. When they reached the kitchen they found 150+ house elves plus Luffy waiting for them.
Setting the fabric down on a table Marvolo turns his attention to the elves, “Hello, I welcome you all to Chéile Academy. Thank you for all being willing to come here and work with me to make our future students' lives easier. Now I know we have another 7 and a half months before they are set to arrive, but I was hoping you could use the time to get acquainted with the school layout and testing your cooking skills on me, Connor, and any other teachers that will join us in the future, including trying out some new recipes to use with the children. Now any questions”?
One female elf shyly raises her hand. “Yes, what's your question, and please give me your name first”.
“I’s be Filly Sir. Filly was wondering what all the rolls of fabric are for?” She asks nervously.
“Oh this fabric is for your uniforms.”Before Marvolo could continue, all the house Elves broke out in a panic. Crying out things like
“Master Sayer abandoning us already!”
“Nikkie was a Bad Elf on her first day! Nikkie is sorry!”
“I was a Bad Elf, a bad elf must be punished!”
“Not the clothes! Anything but Clothes!” Was the most popular one, and it wasn't long until Marvolo finally grew sick of all their cries of panic for nothing.
“QUIET!” He snaps, shutting up all the Elves in one go as they turn their attention back to him. “Now I know it's a rule of house elves that when you are handed clothes that makes you a free elf, but there is nowhere in the rules that says you can’t make clothes or in this case uniforms. I will not have the elves of this school make food and clean in dirty never washed pillow cases. It is not only unsightly but unsanitary. That’s why I brought enough fabric for you all to make two uniforms a piece with, so that when you wear these you are showing pride for where you work.”
After hearing this the elfs are quiet before running towards Marvolo to hug him, this time crying out in joy.
“Best Master ever!”
“Hippy will make the best uniform ever!”
“Thank you Master Sayer.”
As the thanks continued from the massive dogpile of elves on top of Marvolo, Snape and Connor took the time to put their armfulls down on the table and waited for their leader to detangle himself from the emotional elves. After about 10 minutes of hugs, tears, and Marvolo gasping for air he finally managed to free himself from the elves and they returned to their original starting position. After brushing himself off, Marvolo turned his attention back to the creatures.
“Now then if any of you have questions about the daily procedures around here, you are to refer to myself or Luffy for advice, since he is my head elf and has been taught what I expect to see from all of you every day. Now then I wish you luck in making your uniforms and studying your cookbooks and, if that is all, I bid you good day”. With that the trio quickly leaves the room.
Work continued at a steady pace for another two months: about 90% of the staff has been hired and were going through the required class to take before becoming a teacher at Chéile; all the wards had been set up and were working; the green house and potions lab were fully stocked and everything was on track. Then one day, while working on setting up the scholarships in Marvolo’s office, a letter arrives with the Gringotts crest on it. Cautiously reading over it, a child-like grin broke out on Marvolo’s face as he looked up at his loyal advisors.
“The Ritual has been completed!”
TO BE CONTINUED