Chapter 6: The Genesis Ark
Chapter 6: The Genesis Ark
1882-1885
The acquisition of the island was a masterpiece of bureaucratic misdirection and financial leverage. Corvus, now a man of twenty-one, had used his considerable, untraceable fortune from Travers Apothecary Solutions to purchase a small, storm-lashed rock in the Outer Hebrides from a destitute pureblood family on the verge of collapse. The Ministry of Magic, under the languid administration of Faris Spavin, barely registered the transaction, filing it away as another eccentric land purchase by the prodigiously wealthy Travers heir. [1, 2] They had no way of knowing that beneath the gorse and windswept stone, a project of unprecedented scale was taking shape.
He called it the Sanctuary. To Archimedes, it was designated Project Ark.
His house-elf network, now numbering a dozen loyal and efficient operatives under Tippy's command, had become his corps of engineers. Using principles of spatial magic that Corvus had reverse-engineered from ancient texts and refined with Archimedes' calculations, they had hollowed out the island's core. What appeared to be a few square miles of barren rock on the surface concealed a vast, continent-sized interior, a pocket dimension of staggering proportions. [3, 4] Within this expanded space, they began to build worlds.
"The ecosystems must be self-sustaining," Corvus instructed Tippy, his voice echoing in the newly formed cavern that would become the central hub. Sunlight, filtered and regulated by a complex runic matrix on the cavern ceiling, bathed the area in a warm, artificial glow. "Each habitat must be a perfect replication of the creature's native environment. Temperature, humidity, flora, ambient magic levels—every variable must be controlled and monitored."
>COMMENCING_HABITAT_CONSTRUCTION_PROTOCOL.
>HABITAT_ALPHA: TEMPERATE_FOREST. TARGET_SPECIES: BOWTRUCKLE, UNICORN, CENTAUR.
>HABITAT_BETA: TROPICAL_RAINFOREST. TARGET_SPECIES: FWOOPER, BILLYWIG.
>HABITAT_GAMMA: MOUNTAINOUS_CAVERNS. TARGET_SPECIES: DRAGON_(MULTIPLE_BREEDS), FIRE_CRAB.
>...
>QUERY: MINISTRY_REGULATIONS_ON_EXPERIMENTAL_BREEDING_AND_CREATURE_TRANSPORT_PRESENT_A_47.3%_RISK_OF_DISCOVERY.
"The Ministry is a tool, Archimedes, not an obstacle," Corvus murmured, watching as Pip and two other elves popped into existence, carrying carefully sealed terrariums containing rare magical herbs. "We will acquire the necessary permits for research and conservation. We will frame this as a philanthropic endeavor to preserve endangered species. The Ministry loves philanthropy. It requires no effort on their part and makes them look effective."
The collection began with botany. It was a far more subtle enterprise than creature acquisition. Expeditions, funded by Travers Apothecary Solutions under the guise of sourcing new potion ingredients, were dispatched across the globe. [5, 6, 7] His elves, acting as handlers for hired wizards, brought back seeds, cuttings, and live specimens. Within the Sanctuary's magically enhanced greenhouses, entire ecosystems began to bloom. Dittany, Gillyweed, and Fluxweed grew in carefully controlled plots, their yields far exceeding anything achievable in a normal environment. He was building not just a collection, but a biological supply chain for his future world.
Creature acquisition was a more delicate matter. He started with the mundane and the overlooked, species classified with low danger ratings by the Ministry. He purchased a breeding pair of Nifflers, ostensibly as a gift for his new wife, Cassiopeia. He acquired a colony of Puffskeins for "research into their calming properties." Each acquisition was documented, permitted, and perfectly legal. [8] He was building his menagerie in plain sight, using the Ministry's own bureaucracy as camouflage. The more dangerous species—the dragons, the nundu, the basilisks—would come later, when his influence and power were absolute. [9] For now, he was content to build his genetic ark one small, unassuming creature at a time.
While one arm of his grand strategy focused on the non-human elements of his exodus, the other was dedicated to the most crucial component: the people. His vision required a population of wizards and witches who were powerful, intelligent, and, above all, loyal to him and his vision, not to the decaying institutions of the old world. He would have to create this population himself.
The Victorian era, with its peculiar blend of public piety and brutal social stratification, provided the perfect cover. Philanthropy was in vogue, a way for the newly rich industrialists and the old aristocracy to display their virtue. Corvus, with his ancient name and seemingly endless new money, was perfectly positioned to become a celebrated philanthropist.
He established the "Travers Foundation for Magical Advancement." Its stated purpose was to provide a home and education for destitute magical children—orphans, foundlings, and those from families too poor to care for them. It was a direct response to the horrors of the Muggle workhouses and the often-brutal conditions of pauper apprenticeship that defined the era's approach to child welfare.
"It will not be a workhouse," he explained to a fawning reporter from the Daily Prophet, who was profiling the young, benevolent Lord Travers. "It will be an academy. We will not train these children for menial labor. We will train them to be leaders, innovators, the future of our world. They will receive the finest education, the best care, and every opportunity to realize their full magical potential."
The public adored it. The Ministry lauded it. Wealthy purebloods, eager to be associated with such a noble cause, donated generously, their galleons flowing into the Foundation's Gringotts vault, which Corvus promptly used to expand his own operations. [2] He purchased a sprawling, secluded estate in the Scottish Highlands, far from any prying eyes, and began construction. The curriculum, designed by Archimedes, was a blend of standard Hogwarts subjects and advanced magical theory, political science, and, woven subtly into every lesson, the core tenets of loyalty and gratitude to their benefactor, Corvus Travers.
For the Muggle-borns already within the system, he created the "Travers Sponsorship Fund." It was a simple, elegant strategy. Through his network, he identified promising but impoverished Muggle-born students at Hogwarts and anonymously paid for their books, robes, and supplies. It was a small investment that would yield immense returns in loyalty and indebtedness. These children, shunned by the pureblood elite and often struggling to fit in, would remember the unseen hand that helped them. One day, he would make himself known, and they would be his.
His public life was just as meticulously managed. His marriage to Cassiopeia Fawley in the spring of 1883 was the society event of the season. It was a strategic merger, a union of an ancient, powerful house with a respected, quieter one. The marriage contract, a document of byzantine complexity, had been a negotiation of pureblood customs and subtle power plays. With Archimedes analyzing every clause and predicting every counter-offer, Corvus had crafted an agreement that gave him complete control of the combined family assets while appearing magnanimous and traditional.
His life with Cassiopeia was a portrait of Victorian upper-class propriety. He was a courteous and attentive husband; she was a graceful and efficient mistress of the manor. Their relationship was built on a foundation of mutual respect and shared social ambition, not love. It was a partnership, and for Corvus, it served its purpose perfectly. It gave him an heir, solidified his position in society, and provided a respectable facade behind which his true work could continue unimpeded.
In his study late one night in the winter of 1885, a single piece of parchment lay on his polished desk. It was a report from Archimedes, delivered by a silent Pip.
>PROJECT_ARK_UPDATE:
>1. BIOLOGICAL_ASSET_ACQUISITION: SUCCESSFUL_BREEDING_OF_FIRST_GENERATION_FWOOPERS_IN_HABITAT_BETA. POPULATION_VIABILITY_PROJECTION: 98.7%.
>2. EXTERNAL_ENVIRONMENT_MONITORING: INCREASING_REPORTS_OF_RADICAL_PRO-WIZARD,_ANTI-MUGGLE_IDEOLOGY_SPREADING_AMONG_STUDENT_POPULATIONS_IN_CONTINENTAL_EUROPE. PRIMARY_AGENT_OF_IDEOLOGY_IDENTIFIED: GRINDELWALD,_GELLERT. CURRENT_THREAT_LEVEL: NEGLIGIBLE. STRATEGIC_POTENTIAL:_SIGNIFICANT.
Corvus looked from the report to the window, where the cold stars glittered in the night sky. One day, he would call those stars home. The pieces were moving into place. His ark was growing, its population of beasts and men secured. And on the world stage, a storm was gathering, a conflict that would provide the perfect cover for his quiet, interstellar escape. The world could have its Dark Lords and its saviors. Corvus Travers had a galaxy to win.