Daddy Dearest - (No Update, Edit)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.

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Chapter 7 ~ The Way Things Are

Hermione was furious as she headed for the Ministry. Severus had done exactly what she thought he would do, hide behind the fact that he was a double agent. Being a double agent wouldn’t have stopped the wizard from providing at least financial support. He could have kept Mathias a secret. Gods knew he kept so many other secrets from Voldemort, such as he was a member of the Order, and that was a biggie.

For the past twelve years, Voldemort’s activities had slowly become less aggressive, as far as the wizarding world was concerned. The Dark Lord was still out there, and on occasion there was a targeted deatheater attack on an individual here and there, but there were few mass attacks. Muggles still came up missing however, but the dark wizard was decidedly quieter on the home front.

The Ministry now had a policy that muggles were not their concern and did not make a great effort to find out if they were magically abducted. This had a lot to do with changes Draco had championed and pushed through the Ministry. The wizard cited that trying to track down errant muggles was a large and unnecessary expenditure of funds. Muggles had their own police and detective forces. Why waste the taxpayers’ galleon on a group that contributed next to nothing to the wizarding world as a whole?

The policy was quickly passed. One thing council members knew voters liked were policies that saved galleons. And happy voters were more likely to keep them in their comfortable positions.

Draco had also managed to repeal the decades old law that wearing a Dark Mark was a crime. He claimed it was unfair to condemn an individual for their beliefs. Simply because a wizard or witch believed that Purebloods should hold all the power was not proof they were involved in illegal activities. He made the Dark Mark a symbol of a different philosophy rather than a sign of loyalty to Voldemort. He equated the arresting of those wearing the Dark Mark to arresting cross-wearing muggle Christians because of the deeds of the Spanish Inquisition centuries ago. Just because a wizard wore the Mark, it didn’t prove he had broken any law.

It took Draco several years to get this “Dark Mark” law repealed, but he finally managed to do so, causing the release of hundreds of deatheaters from Azkaban. It was quite a victory for the Dark Lord. His ranks swelled because of this, and the despot held Draco in very high esteem. Voldemort’s rise to power had taken a decided turn. It wasn’t that the wizard became mellower in the ensuing years, but had developed another plan of attack. Infiltration, Politics and Legal Recruitment.

Through the popular vote, the Dark Lord had loyal deatheaters situated on the board almost every magical decision-making body in existence, all of whom worked tirelessly toward making the wizarding world more tolerant of the his core beliefs of Pureblood superiority. Voldemort himself remained in the background. He was only seen by those who took the Mark, and was highly glamoured to be more physically appealing. He was still in hiding, though he had a growing number of supporters. He was still vicious as well.

A newspaper called “The Voice of V” had been in existence for the past decade. Under the guise of “Protecting the Pearls of the Wizarding World,” this periodical wrote inflammatory articles and columns promoting and supporting Voldemort’s views.

The circulation of this newspaper had increased over the years, and it was quite a popular periodical. It was full of conspiracy theories, and supported the view that Voldemort was the voice of the future and his ‘exile’ and his record of violence were all the result of the Ministry working to keep him out of power. It also condemned miscegenation and the mixing of true wizards and witches with muggles and muggle-borns, calling those who did mix, “Enemies of the Wizarding World.”

A number of ridiculous claims made by the paper were given serious consideration by a surprising amount of people, such as most of the deatheater attacks, including the one on Harry Potter’s family years ago were actually the work of Dumbledore’s Order of the Phoenix, whose members dressed up as deatheaters and committed atrocities to turn the public against the Dark Lord.

What was worse, since wearing the Dark Mark was no longer a crime, a legal organization for deatheaters and those who supported them was formed, known as the DKV or the Dark Knights of Valor. They were give a charter and allowed to assemble and recruit publicly and privately. Order Members called them the “Dark Knights of Voldemort”

Witches and wizards were openly invited to join the ranks of the DKV through newspaper advertisements, billboards, open houses and other forms of advertising. Deatheaters even stood on corners handing out pamphlets inviting Purebloods and even Halfbloods (who met certain requirements) tired of being relegated into a position of second-class citizenship to attend meetings.

This recruitment had become so acceptable that from time to time even the Prophet ran full-page ads inviting purebloods to attend meetings. Ads such as the following:


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JOIN DKV AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

"Protect the Pearls of the Wizarding World!"

There comes a time in the life of every man and woman when he or she has to choose between the right and wrong side of life. Today many alien forces are entering the Wizarding World bent upon its destruction and our current administration is turning a blind eye. Our traditions and our way of life are being compromised. A brotherhood among Purebloods must be revived in the Wizarding World in order to save it from the threat pouring over our borders, filling our schools, taking our jobs, overrunning our establishments and destroying our traditions.

JOIN the DKV Today!

The Dark Knights of Valor is composed of Pureblood/Halfblood* citizens who are of sound of mind and good moral character.

The Dark Knights of Valor is a legal organization and no one can be prosecuted for being a member and professing their beliefs.

The Dark Knights of Valor is a fraternal and benevolent organization.

The Dark Knights of Valor is a politically independent organization, and is not pledged to any political party.

The Dark Knights of Valor is a Pro-Pureblood organization that opposes any thing, person or organization that is Anti-Pureblood.

The goals of the DKV are as follows:

· The total segregation of the magical and non-magical races.
· Restoration of power to those intended to wield it.
· Border control.
· The total destruction of magical miscegenation in all its forms.
· To secure Pureblood Rights and complete Wizarding Sovereignty.


The DKV needs you today to help fight the Wizarding World’s battles. The next meeting will be held at…

* Halfblood wizards and witches must meet certain requirements before considered for membership


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“Heritage, not Hate!” was the DKV’s answer to those who called them a hate group. Their membership was in the thousands.

Dumbledore and the Order were hard put to fight against this type of attack. Since Voldemort’s ranks now took on the appearance of hard-working honest purebloods out to secure a better world for themselves and their children, it was difficult to keep the public aware of the danger the Dark Lord posed. Dumbledore was certain that the despot would make a move soon to overthrow the Ministry as soon as he had enough followers in place. It was estimated that forty-five percent of government officials were members of the DKV. Although that figure was a little less than half, all of the members were actively working toward Voldemort eventually coming into power, and weren’t lax like the other fifty-five percent of stuffed shirts that occupied seats.

Harry Potter’s perceived role of being the potential destroyer of Voldemort had lost its fire in the eyes of many. Voldemort was now seen as someone who was targeted by the Administration, someone persecuted, and someone who deserved a chance to show the wizarding world a better way through fair elections. Plus, Harry lived a rather normal life, seeming to now be off of Voldemort’s radar, though Severus warned the Headmaster this was not the case.

Albus watched the going-ons with a heavy heart. It was like the rising of the Third Reich. Even his students had clashes over this, his Slytherins and even some Ravenclaws wearing Dark Mark tattoos in support of the Dark Lord. No Gryffindor would ever don a Dark Mark tattoo, and Hufflepuffs just weren’t that interested in politics.

Hermione had a point about the Potions Master’s lack of financial support, but she didn’t understand how Voldemort worked. When a wizard or witch took the Mark, they were required to pay a monthly tribute to the Dark Lord, based on their income. Voldemort had a slew of accountants among his ranks that kept close watch on the finances of his deatheaters as well as their spending patterns, and they basically had to make an account of every unusual expenditure.

The Dark Lord also had allies that worked in Gringotts who watched his follower’s assets and reported every new or secret account opened. The Dark Lord needed money like everyone else, and took it from his loyal servants. The accountants were quite thorough, since their continued existence depended on their accuracy. Severus paying child support would have been discovered and all would have been revealed when they hauled Hermione in as the recipient of those funds.

When Severus initially turned Hermione away, he made no mention of the Dark Lord as a reason for it. He made no attempt to make the witch understand the danger having a child would involve, and he did this purposely. Severus didn’t want her to believe he was denying the child to be noble or to protect her. That would still be a connection. He wanted no connections and was quite serious when he told her to get rid of the child.

The Potions Master was harsh and cold so she would not ever come to him under any circumstances concerning the child. Even if he could have sent support, it would have still sent the witch the message she could come to him when in need. She couldn’t.

Actually, Severus knew it was his fault Hermione got pregnant. He was so anxious to get at her that he didn’t cast a contraceptive spell upon discovering she was a virgin. The Potions Master was too caught up and delighted at being the first wizard to touch her and dove right into the witch. Of course he turned it around when Hermione confronted him, blaming her for the pregnancy and making her even more unlikely to contact him.

Severus witnessed the slaughter of those who practiced magical miscegenation in Voldemort’s throne room. Children, mothers and fathers were killed in horrible ways, the parents forced to watch their children torn apart first, then the pureblood/halfblood forced to watch the murder of their partner, then being horribly tortured and killed themselves. These killings were considered the high points of the Revels now, and it sickened Severus. Despite outward appearances, Voldemort was as evil and despicable as he always was. Only the deatheaters of his inner circle, those brought in knowing what the Dark Lord’s true nature was years ago, were allowed at these occasions.

Another horrible improvement in Voldemort’s plan was the nature of the newer Dark Marks. He had acquired the fealty of a rather gifted Spells Master, who added something extra to the Mark which could be invoked en mass when Voldemort was ready. A spell similar to the Imperious curse. At any given time, Voldemort could invoke this spell and turned the thousands of political deatheaters he acquired into mindless killing machines.

Severus informed the Order of this at once, and Dumbledore did what he could, bringing in newly recruited deatheaters and examining the Mark, but he could find no proof of it. Yet Severus saw it used on a deatheater who had fathered a bastard child with a muggle woman. The wizard killed both woman and child with a sword, hacking them to pieces when Voldemort invoked his Mark. The wizard was crying as he did so, fully aware he was killing the people he loved. To his credit, the deatheater died charging the Dark Lord, intent on impaling the red-eyed fucker on his bloody sword.

Unfortunately, there was no way to prove the terrible spell existed. Hermione herself worked on it, to no avail. She could find no signature, no magical thread…nothing. Whoever had designed the spell had done an amazing job of it, fully intending that it be undetectable by other Spells Masters or Mistresses. No one would ever find out his name, however. Voldemort killed the wizard as soon as the spell was perfected.

Yes, the mechanization of Voldemort’s evil plans had become more complicated, more insidious.

The wizarding world was now in more danger than it had ever been before. Albus was beginning to move away from the Prophecy. He was fighting a new kind of battle now, one that Voldemort appeared to be winning.

But as long as there was life, there was hope.

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A/N: I had to take a huge detour and comment on the current state of the wizarding world. The slogans and advertisements for the DKV are actually adapted material from a Mississippi KKK site. I tried to make it sound as reasonable as possible, though it was clear that this was a selective group with an exclusive agenda. I don’t think an ad like this would make it into one of our papers, but I think with the DKV being acknowledged as a true organization, with high membership and the views of Voldemort becoming more accepted, that the Prophet would run an ad like this, if only to be considered a periodical that supported the new regime should it come to power. Self-preservation. I hope all of this made sense. My head was hurting. Man. Anyway, we will get back to Hermione and Severus and Mathias next chapter. Please review.