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Harry Potter, Sovereign
Others
38 Chapters
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Author: Tonyorobsky
4.69
(51 ratings)
Synopsis
The dementor attack during the summer after his 4th year was the last
straw for Harry Potter. He changed in more than one way, and will no
longer let anyone dictate his life.
Some minor crossovers with a few fantasy and sci-fi franchises.
Additional tags: Strong to stronger, School life, Faction building, Warfare
No
One 17 and Under Admitted
Chapter 1: Ch01 The begining of
changes
Summer 1995. Usually, youngsters would enjoy themselves during that
period. Not for a certain black haired, emerald eyed young man named
Harry Potter. It had been a few weeks since he came back from his
boarding school of magic, Hogwart. This year had been his 4th year, and
ended up being the worst of them all.
He was forced into a deadly tournament reserved for witches and wizards
of age, the majority of people though he was an attention-seeking seeker,
and he had to face deadly challenges during the year. At the end of the
final challenge, he not only witnessed the murder of a friendly rival, but
also the revival of his parent's murderer, using his own blood as
component. Nobody except a selected few believed him when he warned
them of his return.
After coming back from the magical world, he has been stuck at his hated
relatives place, isolated from those who could support him, with no
informations about what was going on. He was getting sick of how he
was treated, by both his relatives and allies.
He was in the park near his relative's home. It was too hot to stay in the
house, and he really didn't want to be near his relatives. But with his bad
luck struck again. His cousin Dudley and his gang found him and
harassed him. Again. Dudley mocked him about his nightmares of Cedric
Diggory's death. Harry's gaze turned cold, and his whole presence
screamed menace, enough to make Dudley and his goons uneasy. Enough
for Dudley to send them away, ahead of him.
Things were still tense between Harry and Dudley. Even though he was
worried about Harry using magic, he didn't want to back down in front of
him. That when things went from bad to worse. The sky, who was
originally clear, quickly got cloudy, and the temperature dropped. Both
Harry and Dudley felt chills running down their spines, and stopped
focusing on each other to observe their surroundings.
"Dudley, get out of here..."
Harry soon recognised the feeling. He had been attacked by the creatures
3 times during his 3rd year at Hogwart. Without really thinking about it,
he had drawn his wand. Unfortunately, Dudley wasn't used to the
dementor's aura, and started panicking.
"What are you doing?? Stop it! Make it stop!!"
Seeing Harry with his wand out, he mistakenly though he was using his
magic, and attacked him. Because of the circumstances, neither could
properly move. Dudley triped and crashed into Harry. The later couldn't
react fast enough, and both went down in a tangle of bodies.
Crack!
Harry didn't just hear it. He also felt it. The magical focus used by all
witches and wizards, the tool without which he couldn't perform magic,
his ID as a wizard, and his only weapon against the soul sucking
creatures attacking them, had been broken. He numbly lifted his head,
and saw the 2 dark creatures drifting toward them.
'Is that how it's going to end? With my soul being devoured by those
monsters? After everything I've done and everything I've endured? All
alone again? No! I don't want things to end like that!!'
As the dementors got closer, Harry snapped.
Many things happened to Harry during his life, from the night his parents
died to the dark ritual he was forced to take part in. His being has been
affected by differents magical effects with profound consequences. And it
had come to a peak at that moment.
He wanted something to happen. Anything, to save him from those
creatures. His magic reacted to his desires. His desire for help and
protection, and his long time desire for acceptance and affection. His
magic surged out of his body in a powerfull invisible schockwave that
blasted the soul suckers away. A faintly glowing circle with a 6 points
star inside appeared on the ground, with Harry at the center. The star
was composed of a red triangle and a purple one.
Their corners glowed brightly, and figures could be discerned within the
glows, seemingly materialising by absorbing the light particles from the
glow. They formed humanoid females shapes, which turned out to be
women of in differents outfits, with differents equipments. They gazed at
each others quickly, but their eyes ended up resting on Harry, who had
collapsed on his front. They reacted as one, rushing toward him with
worried expressions on their faces.
"""Master!!""" """Summoner!!"""
They all stopped short of reaching him, and looked at each other again.
But before they could talk to each other, the aura of dread and despair
envelopped them. 3 of the 6 women dropped to a knee, severly affected
by the dementor's aura. All of them gazed at the approaching creatures.
"What the hell are those?" asked one of the women to noone in particular.
"Dementors..." Harry replied weakly.
He didn't know what happened during his accidental magic discharge,
but he knew the women around him were there for him. He also knew
that only one spell worked against them, and since they didn't recognise
the creatures, they couldn't know the spell. He wouldn't let them lose
their souls for trying to help him. Since he somehow used magic earlier
without his wand, he would have to do it again, to save them. In his
semi-lucid state, he poured all his feelings and as much magic as he could
in his wand arm and raised it.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!!"
He didn't see the result, as his vision grew very dark. He felt extremely
weak, and all his other senses were numbed. He didn't see the near solid
stag bowling over the 2 dementors. He barely perceived their screams of
pain and terror. He didn't see one of them being impaled by the antlers,
and struggling before freeing itself and fleeing while leaving a thin trail
of black fog.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
This story was started and posted in a dump for my HP fanfic ideas. I
didn't plan to turn it into a full story at first, but, well... So here it is,
modified to include others ideas I had for a HP fanfic.
Chapter 2: Ch02 Departure
After hearing their master/summoner scream with his hand raised, the 6
women felt the dreadful aura being lifted, warmth, love and
protectiveness replacing it. They felt like the light of the spell embraced
them. They saw the glowing white stag barrel into the dark creatures,
blasting them away and making them flee while screeching in pain. After
checking the area, and seemingly satisfied, the white apparition
vanished.
It was at that moment that their gazes fell over Harry again. They wanted
to rush to him, but they couldn't crowd him. They formed a circle around
Harry, and his nearby cousin. One of them, with long purple hairs and
red eyes, a purple dress with a long slit exposing her pantyhose clad legs,
and holding a long wand, stepped forward.
"It looks like we have all been called by the same person, so there is no
need for hostility among us. I have been summoned as a servant under
the caster class. You may call me caster for the time being. While not my
area of expertise, I can cast diagnostic and minot healing spells. Let me
check on the master."
The other women looked at each others, and several of them nodded. So
the one who voluntured got next to Harry and helped him lie on his back
for a bit. His heavy breathing was already returning to normal, but he
still felt drained. She raised her wand above his chest and spoke a few
words in a language he though was some kind of ancient celtic, and
touched his chest.
"I'm fine... It's just a case of mild magical exhaustion."
"There is more than just magical exhaustion, master. But yes, you're
mostly alright. Still, I would like to take the time to make a more
complete assessement once we reach your residence."
"No, it won't be good... My relatives hate me and anything to do with...
magic... Shit!"
"What's wrong?" asked one of the women.
"I used magic outside of school, in a non-magical neighborhood. The
ministry of magic is going to know, and they will probably send some
people later."
"And how is that a bad thing?" asked a black haired woman with a
peculiar rifle.
"The creatures that attacked me, the dementors, they are supposed to be
under the control of the ministry. Furthermore, after what happened with
me at the end of the school year, and what the minister did the past few
years, they aren't going to listen to me, and are more likely to just throw
me in a dark cell. I can't stay here. I have to go back to my relatives'
house to recover my belongings, and then go somewhere else" he
explained that as he got up on his feet.
He looked at the women, paused for a bit. He got himself surrounded by
beauties, and couldn't help but be impressed and charmed. But one of
them caught his attention more than the others and he frowned. To his
eyes, she was an artificial being, something between a robot and a magic
doll. He knew that they came from a different place than most people,
but this appearance was just to improbable and eye-catching. In fact, he
realised all of them would attract to much unwanted attention.
"I don't where you girls came from, but you can't be seen looking like
that. You'll attract to much attention with your attires and weapons.
Especially you" he said with a pointed look at the artificial woman. "You
definitly have to hide the weapons. If you can cast glamours, then please
do so. For the clothes, please give them a more modest look, nothing
fancy. Can you do it?"
"I can" said the purple haired woman who checked him.
2 of the other women nodded as well. As they worked, Harry gave a few
instructions so that they could blend in better in the mundane side of the
world.
Then, he turned to the ball of fat that had been ignored since the
beginning. Dudley had fainted, and was drolling on the ground. Harry
kicked him in the leg, and tried to force him to stand.
"Get up, Dudley. You have to get home... GET UP!! Damned fat pig!"
"Is this really necessary?" asked a gorgeous asian woman with long black
hair. She looked to be in her twenties, like all the others women.
"He's my cousin, we live in the same house. And like his parents, he has
been harrassing me since I was little. I have no love or sympathy for
him... And he broke my wand..."
As he said the last thing, he left Dudley and kneeled in front of the ruined
focci. He carefully gathered the pieces and put them in his pocket. As he
did that, the apparent magic users of the group continued to cast
glamours on all the girls and their weapons. As he stood up, he looked at
the result and nodded.
"Good. We got to move."
One of the girls dragged Dudley with them, while Harry was supported
by another.
"My relatives won't be happy to see me, especially with Dudley in his
current state. I'm warning you now, they will be quite rude. However, I
really don't need things to get more unpleasant that they need to be, so
keep calm, and the rest of you will have to wait outside, some distance
away to not be obvious. I drop Dudley, I gather my belongings, and we
get away from there. We will go to an inn for magical people and spend
the night there. There, we will have the time to ask questions about each
others."
They quickly reached the house, and Harry motionned the rest of the girl
to stay away while he got in with 2 girls and Dudley. The rest of the girls
could hear Vernon and Petunia's voices as they distanced themselves
from the house. They looked at each others in worry, but stayed silent.
They scattered a little as well, to not appear as one big group. A few
minutes later, Harry and his 2 escorts left the house and rejoined the
group. Noone of them looked happy, far from it.
"Come. I'm going to try and call a magical vehicle. It should appear in a
loud bang so don't be surprised. Before that though, can you put a
glamour on me? Change both my hairs and eye colors, my face is rather
well known in the magical world, and I'm not in a situation where it's
good for people to know where I am."
The purple haired woman swiftly complied. Then Harry raised his wand
arm and concentrated, as if it was his wand. He wasn't sure it would
work, but with a bang, the knight bus appeared, and they all got in. He
warned them to hold on tight. For once, the trip in the knight bus was
almost pleasant. After all, he was surrounded by beautifull women whose
gorgeous bodies were pressed against him with each turn the bus took.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
When I first started the story, there were several heroes from Fate and
LOL that I wanted to use, and ended with 6 fate servants and 6 league
champions. Then think of the HP girls I wanted to include. And
others... I just couldn't use all the girls I liked, and reduced the number
of girls surrounding Harry by half. And then, not all of them will be
lovers.
Chapter 3: Ch03 Evening at the
Leaky Cauldron
Once they arrived in front of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry hid behind the
ladies and put on his invisibility cloack. He gave his money pouch to the
purple haired woman and instructed her to take rooms for them. While
he did have the glamour on him, he got paranoid. He stayed in the
middle of the group as they entered the pub. There were only 2 rooms
available, so Harry would have to share his room with 3 women.
Once they got their rooms, they gathered in Harry's for the long awaited
talk.
"Okay... First thing, it's a little late, but my name is Harry Potter. Please
call me Harry. I don't know where you came from, but I'm pretty sure
you came to me due to the magic I released while I was in danger. I can
tell that, somehow, I called you to me."
"You are correct master. Sorry, Harry" said Caster. "We are the spirits of
heroes from the past, who thanks to their achievements entered the
Throne Of Heroes after their death. You summoned us, your Servants,
that makes you our Master. Though it definitly wasn't a normal
summoning. You were not supposed to be able to summon more than one
Servant, as it require a large amount of magic to not only summon but
also sustain one. Yet you got 6. Furthermore, as spirits, our physical
bodies are supposed to be shell created by magic and sustained by the
master. That is not the case. We were given proper bodies, we are more
like incarnated spirits. We still require the magic of the master, but in a
much lower amount."
"... Great, more complicated stuff... Spirit from heroes?"
"Not just heroes from the past it seem" said the black haired girl with the
rifle. "3 of us definitly aren't even from your world."
"... Excuse me... What? Why? How?"
"When we were summoned by you, we received very basic knowledge of
this world from you. Just enough to not be completly lost, but not
enough to know all the little rules and customs you're already familiar
with. That's why we can all understand and speak your language.
However, that basic knowledge is enough to see the glaring differences
between your world and the world we came from."
"... I see" replied a thoroughly schocked Harry without much confidence.
"3 of us are already familiar with each others. The others, even though
they don't seem to recognise each others, must come from the same
world. When we first saw you, we called you "Summoner", while they
called you "Master". When Caster here presented herself as a Servant, my
aquitances and I didn't recognise the term, but the others did. In their
world, there is a summoning system of some kind, where the summoned
people are called "Servants", and "Caster" is one of the class a heroic spirit
is given. Most likely due to what they were in life, in her case, a magic
user. Since you seem completly surprised by the summoning magic, and
according to them you did something that should be impossible, then
they likely aren't from this world either, but another. One that is more
similar to yours than ours."
Harry looked at her with wide eyes. She was observant and had a sharp
mind. The rest looked at her with impressed, surprised or downright
schocked expressions. And most of them nodded in agreement. Harry
shook his head slowly. Too much had happened within a few hours, he
was getting really tired and the new information was giving him a
headache.
"That's a lot to take in... Why don't you order dinner for us, please? Tom
doesn't know I'm here, so make sure there is some extra for me."
"You can take my share" said the artificial woman. "I clearly don't need
it."
Caster nodded and left the room. Harry used the break to lie down on the
bed with his hands covering his face. The woman with asian features
stayed near him, the woman with the rifle moved near the window, the
one with big gauntlets moved near the door, and the last 2 went to the
corners.
Caster soon came back, and took a seat on the bed next to Harry.
"The food will be there in around 30 minutes."
"Thanks... Hey, can you guys introduce yourselves? We are going to get
stuck with each others for a while, so..."
"I understand. The regular servant classes are supposed to be: Saber, the
sword specialist, Lancer the spear specialist, Archer the ranged fighter,
Rider, the mounted fighter, Caster the magic specialist, Berserker the
mad warrior, and Assassin the stealthy killer. Where we" she gestured to
2 of her companions "come from, the true name of the servants is usually
kept secret, because when a servant is identified, his or her strenghts and
weaknesses are revealed due to his or her legend. However, since we are
in a different world and all summoned servants are on the same side, it
should be alright... Harry, from what I've gathered so far, our original
world is very similar to yours. Same name, seemingly same countries... It
is quite possible that we had counterparts in the past here, so I ask that
you do not reveal our names to anyone."
"I understand. I won't reveal your true identity to anyone without your
permission. So, to whom have I the honor of speaking to?"
"I am Scathach."
"... Sorry, I don't think I've ever heard of you" Harry replied with an
embarrassed smile.
The other servants looked at him in surprise at first, then in amusement
at the frozen face of Scathach. Harry was akwardly scratching his head
with a slight blush on his face.
"Sorry, I didn't get to read much about heroes from the past, mythology,
legends and the like. You've seen my relatives. I grew up with them, and
they made sure I didn't get any interest in anything related to magic.
Heck, I didn't know I was a wizard until I was invited to my magic school
at the age of 11. Our history class is terrible, because the teacher is a
ghost that focus on goblins wars, and other than that, I have little interest
in the subject myself."
Harry stoped talking for a bit, having realised something.
"Your world seems to accept magic users that don't focus on spellcasting
as an integral part of the magical society, as demonstrated by the servant
classes. Here, we only focus on spellcasters, so if you had a counterpart
here, she's probably drowned in the number of famous witches we had in
the past. And since I know little about both history and mythology..."
That seemed to molify Scathach and the other servants a bit.
"I'll be sure to research your name later, then we could have a talk about
what I found. Let's continue with the introductions."
"I am also of the Caster class, Xuanzang Sanzang" said the voluptuous
asian woman.
"I am a special case" said a black haired woman with golden eyes. She
was the most eye catching person after the artificial woman due to her
ears, reminescent of elves from mundane fantasy lore. "I am of the dual
class assassin-caster, Semimaris, former queen of Assyria."
Harry froze. He was shocked to be in the presence of a former queen.
Chapter 4: Ch04 Night at the
Leaky Cauldron
It took a few seconds for Harry to regain his bearing. Semimaris looked
pleased by the reaction she got from her master.
"Sorry, you just surprised me. I didn't think I would one day be in the
presence of a queen. And I'm sorry to say, I don't know about you either"
he said while blushing.
"It is no problem. We will have the time to educate you later."
"Yeah..."
While disturbed by her answer at first, he realised that he could receive
teaching from great people from the past. For anyone else, it would be
like meeting the founders of Hogwart and being taugh by them. With that
in mind, he turned to the other women.
"My name is Caitlyn Steeleglass, from the world of Runeterra. And if it
wasn't apparent enough, I'm a marksman" said the dark haired woman as
she skillfully spun her rifle.
"The name is Vi, fighter" said the one near the door, with her big
mechanical gauntlets and a predator grin.
"Camille Ferros, assassin" said the artificial woman, in the darkest corner
of the room. "Since you clearly haven't anything like me in this world, I'll
give you some basic explanations. I was born human, and modified with
hextech parts to help me better fullfill my duties to my family."
"And what is hextech?"
"It is the combination of technology and magic. Use of magical crystal to
power or enhance technological devices." She gestured toward Caitlyn
and Vi. "Their weapons are the product of hextech technology."
"... You know, in this world, magic and technology don't mix well. The
most advanced technological devices stop functioning in magical areas...
This is, incredible..."
Harry had been having a headache since he cast the wandless patronus,
and it had only calmed down a little. With 6 new introductions, and the
shocking news which accompanied them, it was coming back in full
force. He didn't have the mind to nitpick about every little details. The
women were here for his protection, that was what mattered.
"Well, since you're here for my sake, I guess I should explain more about
my situation. I'm a wizard, student at the magic school Hogwart. I'm
known in the magical world as the Boy-Who-Lived for surviving a 1-hit-
instant-kill curse when I was 1 year old, and simultaneously defeating the
dark lord that had been terrorising the british magical population at that
time. The problem is that said dark lord regained a body at the end of my
latest year of school, and nobody except a select few believed me,
because nobody but me and his loyal followers witnessed the whole
event."
He had to pause and massage his forehead. Remembering that night in
the graveyard was still an ordeal for him. The summoned heroes looked
at him in schock, and even a bit of awe at first. But when they heard the
second part, their expressions turned grave. Seeing his face when he said
the last part, they understood that things were likely more complicated
and painfull than he wanted to talk about at this point.
"We can talk about it in more details tomorrow. You're clearly quite tired
from the attack and summoning earlier. Besides, the food is going to be
here soon" said Scathach.
"Yeah... I need a bath anyway... Ah, Scathach, Xuanzang. Can you put
some kind of ward on the room to block tracking spells and the likes? I
don't want to be found anytime soon."
They looked at each other and nodded. Harry took his trunk and slowly
went to the bathroom. The girls followed him with their eyes, worried
about him. With him gone, Caitlyn turned her attention to Scathach.
"What happened when you went to recover his belongings?"
"His relatives truly are unpleasant people. They called us freaks, and I bet
they have been calling Harry with such negative terms since he was little.
I wanted nothing more than to end his uncle where he stood. But that
would only bring more trouble to the him."
Scathach tightened her fists as she said that. Near the door, Vi growled
and muttered some not nice things under her breath. She had been the
one to help carry Dudley.
"When he explained what happened, messengers owls came one after the
other. The first was from their ministry of magic, saying that he had been
expelled from his school and his wand would be snapped for using magic
in front of a muggle. I guess what they call muggle are non-magical
people. Apparently, they only detected the patronus charm he used to
repel the creatures, the dementors. The disgusting creatures feed of off
the good memories and feelings of their victims and make them relive
their worst memories. Their final attack consist of kissing their victims to
suck out their souls. It's called the Dementor Kiss, and it's even used as a
form of execution for criminals."
The girls shivered at the mention of the dementors. To them, they were
truly foul creatures, and it certainly was no coincidences that they were
in his neighborhood and attacked him.
"The Patronus charm is the only spell known to have any significant
effects on them. We were lucky that Harry knew that spell, else we
probably wouldn't be here. The dementors are supposed to be under
ministry control. Either the ministry, or someone in the ministry is after
him, or this Dark Lord already has minions in the ministry doing his
biddings. Either way, Harry can't trust the ministry."
The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.
"The second messenger owl was from the father of one of his best friends.
He told him to stay home and not surrender his wand. He said that
someone named Dumbledore, apparently the respected headmaster of his
school of magic, would do something about it. The final message was
from the ministry. His expulsion and wand destruction were put on hold.
He has to present himself to the ministry in a week for an inquiry. I guess
his headmaster has some influence within the ministry, though Harry
didn't seem too pleased with him."
Caitlyn nodded and summed the situation for everyone:
Their charge was targeted by a powerfull dark wizard that had already
tried to kill him when he was a toddler. The ministry of magic was
moving against him. He wasn't on good terms with the people that were
supposed to be his allies, seemingly due to incompetence and/or neglect.
A few of them growled while the others narrowed their eyes. There was
alot of work to do ahead for them. The 2 casters collaborated to create a
bounded field around the room, following the instructions of their
masters. The food was delivered soon after, and Harry would need it to
recover from his efforts.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Caitlyn doesn't have an official family name, so I made up one (steele
to hint at steel and metal, glass to hint at magical cristal from hextech,
a fitting name for a family of hextech crafters I think). As for "the most
advanced technological devices" not working with magic, it's
electronics (the motorbike and the car are fine, being mostly
mechanical).
Chapter 5: Ch05 Nightmare
Harry got out of the bath feeling a little better, but still tired.
When Scathach served him his food, he realised how famished he was
and ate almost as fast as a hungry Ron, but with better table manners.
Because of that, the ladies didn't question him, and they all ate in silence.
After the meal, they separated for the night. Harry was left with
Scathach, Xuanzang and Camille.
The room had 2 beds, so while Harry used one, the women could share
the other bed, one standing guard while the other 2 rested. Scathach and
Xuanzang would share the bed, while Camille was fine with standing
guard the whole night.
In the middle of the night, Harry started to get agitated in his sleep,
grabing the attention of Camille. When the magic pressure in the room
suddenly rose, the other 2 in their beds straightened themselves, startled.
"What is going on?" asked Scathach.
"He is having a nightmare" answered Camille.
Harry became more agitated, muttering incomprehensible things, and
Xuanzang stroked his arm and hairs, trying to soothe him without waking
him up. Scathach had come near the bed, and regretted it a moment
later. The items near the bed started to levitate, and before they could do
anything, a magical shockwave originating from Harry's body knocked
them back. Xuanzang suffered the most since she was holding him,
thrown against the wall with significant force. The only one unaffected
was Camille, who was still standing vigil in her corner.
"CEDRIC!!!" Harry shouted as he suddenly straightened up, awoken by his
nightmare, and breathing roughly.
It took him a few seconds to regain his bearing. Enough for Scathach and
Xuanzang to recover, and for the other summoned girls to exit their room
and knock on the door. Xuanzang had gone back to Harry, and was
stroking his back gently. Camille opened the door for the others in the
hallway. Semimaris was at the door, while VI and Caitlyn were guarding
both side of the hallway.
"What happened?" asked Semimaris in a low voice. "We all felt a spike of
magic in here."
"Harry had a nightmare, and his magic reacted violently to his emotional
state" answered Scathach. "I didn't think something like that was possible.
I wonder if it's normal for magic users of this world, or if summoning all
of us has somehow made his magic unstable..."
Harry noticed that his little outburst had attracted his summons, and felt
bad.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to trouble you in the middle of the night
outside of an emergency."
"There is no need to apologise, Master. We are here for you" answere
Xuanzang.
"Thank you. As for what seems to have happened, it's called accidental
magic. It usually happen to children during stressfull situation, out of
either anger or fear. It's supposed to gradually stop after starting magical
education. The last time I did accidental magic, it was because the sister
of my uncle was having a nasty pleasure insulting my dead parents."
He got angry just thinking about it and tightened his fist.
"I inflated her like a ballon, and she drifted in the air for a while, until
the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad came to resolve the problem."
When he raised his head, he saw the question in some of their gaze.
"The magical world is hidden from the non-magical one. Around 3
hundred years ago, the magical populations of the world implemented
the International Statute Of Secrecy, and went into hidding from the non-
magical world. Maintaining the statute is one of the highest priority of
the magical governments. However, it's possible for non-magical parents
to give birth to a magical child, and since they live in the non-magical
world, they threaten the statute. The AMRS job is to repair the magical
damage, and erase or modify the memories of all witnesses, thus
maintaining the statute."
"Well, we've gone a bit off topic" said Vi in a slightly bored tone. "The
thing is, this accidental magic thing isn't really a problem, right?"
"No, it's not."
"Who was Cedric?" asked Semimaris.
Harry looked at her and hesitated.
"Whatever happened to him clearly bother you a great deal. It's going to
become a hinderance if you don't deal with it. You should talk to us
about it, we are here to help you after all."
Harry looked at her long, unwilling to concede, yet knowing she was
right. It had troubled him every nights since the end of the tournament,
and he was getting sick of it.
"... He was a schoolmate, 3 years older older than me. He was also a rival
in quidditch, one of the most popular sports of the magical world. We
weren't close, but we got along well. We were becoming friends this past
year..."
And he told the girls about the world cup of the previous summer, then
the Tri-Wizard tournament. It took around 40 minutes to tell what
happened. It took another 20 minutes of them talking to him, for him to
understand it wasn't his fault. That he wasn't responsible. It was
something he knew, to a certain extend, but couldn't accept in his heart.
At least until that talk with his newly aquired subordinates.
"You should go back to sleep then" said Scathach. "We will probably be
busy tomorrow."
"Yeah. Goodnight everyone, I'll see you in the morning."
For the first time since the end of the last school term, his heart felt
lighter. He went back into his bed, and quickly fell asleep. Once they
were sure he was asleep, Scathach and Xuanzang did another medical
scan on him. He was getting better physically, but his magic was still
fluctuating. It prevented them for making a more in depth scan. They
were relieved that the bounded field they placed also contained his
magical outburst. The only reason Semimaris, Caitlyn and VI noticed it
was because of their link to him.
In the morning, Harry woke up feeling quite refreshed and energetic.
When he went to the bathroom, he noticed something he missed the day
before because his mind was elsewhere. He was baffled by what he was
seeing.
"What the hell is that?"
Chapter 6: Ch06 Bond
Harry looked at himself, surprised to see 2 new tattoos on his skin.
They were situated on his front, right at the shoulder joint. As he
observed them further, he realised that they were in fact 2 sets of 3
tattoos. The left set was crimson in color, and the right set was purple.
Each set looked like claws linked at their base, right at the joint. One
claw extended to the shoulder, one toward the collarbone, and the last
toward the bottom of the pectoral muscle. Each claw was made of a
unique sigil, and as he focused on them, Harry realised that they were
magical, and each represented one of the 6 heroic spirits he had
summoned. He guessed that they were grouped by world of origin, and
decided to show it to the women so they could confirm it.
"Ladies?" he asked as he rejoined them, his chest bare. "Any ideas of what
these are?"
The runeterrans women looked curious, but the others were not.
Scathach is the one who answered.
"They are your command seals... At least they should be" she said as she
got close and traced them with her index.
"Command seals?" he replied, visibly unsettled by the name, and resisting
the urge to squirm because of her ticklish touch.
"Yes. Maybe. I should explain something first. In our world' summoning
system, heroic spirit are strong. Stronger than any human magic users.
Those who summon them must have a way to insure that the servants
don't turn on them, and follow their orders. The master can use the seal
to give up to 3 absolute commands to their servant. They will execute the
order even against their will."
Both Harry and the runeterran women, even Camille, looked slightly
alarmed by that. However, of all 6 women noticed that Harry was more
disturbed about the absolute commands rather than the possibility of
betrayal. Yes, it was noticable that he dreaded betrayal, but he hated
robbing someone of their free will even more.
"However, the way you summoned us isn't the same as what goes on in
our world. As for the others..." she added while turning toward the
runeterran women.
"It was quite different in our world" answered Caitlyn.
"Long story short, to reduce military conflicts, an association of mages
created The League. Strong people were asked to represent their regions
as champions in the League. The champions were summoned and used by
a mage in regulated competitions. These competitions were a way to deal
with conflicts without turning into large scale wars. They were non-
lethal, and took place in special arenas. When killed in those arenas, the
champions didn't die, they were just transported out."
Harry perked up hearing that. He liked the idea of dealing with violent
conflicts in that way. He put the thoughts aside for when he would have
some free time, and refocused on the beautiful marksman.
"The mage that choose us, the summoner, was mentally linked to us and
directed us through that mental link. Any mage who was qualified as
summoner, could summon a champion to compete in the League. Outside
of the League, champions resumed their own life. As for power, in the
League, all champions had their power adjusted to be roughly equal.
Victory and defeat was decided by how well a summoner used their
champion's abilities. There was no magical mark binding a champion to a
summoner. Our contract was with the League."
"Then I think these magic tattoos, while not being Command Seals, are
the mark of a binding contract between you and us" said Scathach. "I
believe that, while you can't force us to do something, we won't be able
to betray you either. That lead me to adress another matter."
"Wat is it?"
"Our power" she replied as she retreated slightly from him. "As I said, in
our world, servants are much stronger than their masters, and their
strenght was further enhanced by their legend. Despite that, their power
is influenced by that of their masters. If the master was magically weak,
the summoned servant would be weaker than they should be. And that
was considering a magic user could only summon and sustain a single
servant. I guess a peak magic used could sustain 2 servants at most."
She paused, and her gaze became more serious.
"I'm weak."
Harry's jaw dropped as his eyes got big. He had found himself surrounded
by incredible women with power supposedly above the norm. And now
that bomb about their current power dropped on him.
"I'm nothing like in my prime, and I'm sure the same apply to the rest of
my fellow summoned spirits. I cast a quick scan on some of the witches
and wizards we crossed in the pub, and got an rough idea of their
magical power. If they were average, I would say that right now we are
about peak human level. Among those at the top, but not above them. I
would need to meet the most powerfull witches and wizards of the
country to be sure."
"I... I'm sorry" Harry started, but was interupted.
"Don't be. In our world, the weakest servants are just above human level.
You have 6 servants at the peak of human level, which is very
impressive. I just wanted you to be aware of our limitations."
"All right, thank you... While I'd love to learn more about your worlds
and their magic, I should focus on telling you more about me. I'll need
your opinion about a few things as well."
It took nearly 3 hours for Harry to relate his life until then, starting with
the previous war, the events of Halloween 1981, his upbringing with the
Dursley, his discovery of magic, and his 4 years at Hogwart. The ladies
were quite angry with the Dursley, but noone more than VI. Harry sped
up past their part because he got worried about what she might do.
He related his adventures at Hogwart with a little more details. There
were things that had bothered him, but he had never taken the time to do
something about it. At least, not until he returned from Hogwart at the
start of summer. Then, his thinking was hindered by the memories of the
graveyard. After his talk with the servants the previous night, he was
able to think more clearly. Those elements that bothered him, he was
able to grasp them. And the conclusion he and his servants came to didn't
please them at all. They all looked murderous, and if the objects of their
ire was in the room, they would have frozen due to the amount of
hostility in the air.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I didn't look for details for the runeterrans (too lazy) so I don't know if
I'm right. If I'm not, then "FANFIC" (supposed to be different from the
original)
Chapter 7: Ch07 Faction
It was noon when the group reached the end of their discussion about
Harry's life. The current situation was clearer to the women, and the
queen among them saw the opportunity it presented to both herself and
her summoner.
"Harry" started Semimaris "You have decided to stop following others,
and create your own path in life. You are in effect creating your own
faction, changing the make-up of the coming conflict."
"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked.
"Until now, I would say there were 4 factions in magical Britain. The
light side, currently led by Albus Dumbledore. The dark side, formerly
led by Lucius Malfoy, and currently led by Voldemort through Malfoy.
The ministry, currently led by Corneluis Fudge. Finally, the neutrals,
those who didn't side with either the light, the dark or the ministry, and
prefer to keep to themselves. Now, there is a fifth faction, led by you."
Hearing that last sentence, Harry blinked and looked at her in confusion.
"There are thousands of witches and wizards in magical Britain. Each of
these factions must have at the very least hundreds of people. Right now,
I have 6 people. We aren't a faction, we are just a small group."
"You were usually associated with Albus Dumbledore" Semimaris calmly
replied. "You may not like it, but due to the events of 1981, along with
some of what you have accomplished these past 4 years, you must have
gained your own share of followers and supporters. People that may like
you more than Dumbledore, have more faith in you. You may not think
that to be the case because of how you were treated in your 2nd year and
when you were entered in the tournament. But can you tell me, with
absolute certitude, that everyone aside from your small group of friends
was against you?"
Harry opened his mouth, hesitated for a second, and closed it. Semimaris
nodded.
"Due to your dislike of attention, I doubt you paid close attention to what
everybody else did. I hope you understand it is an attitude that you
should no longer uphold. These people, they will be necessary
subordinates and allies for the coming war, both on the political scene
and on the battlefield."
"Wait. I can agree that they can be helpful in combat, but politically?
How would that work?"
"The ministry didn't want to acknowledge the return of the dark lord. The
dark lord himself didn't want his return to be known this early, but your
survival and escape partly destroyed that plan. For your inquiry, both the
ministry and the dark lord's agents will try to completly discredit you if
they can't get rid of you with an arrest or expulsion. I am pretty certain
that headmaster of yours is going to present himself as your advocate,
something that would reinforce anyone's view of you as his protege.
Since we will help you prepare your defense, you will be able to handle it
without his help. It will send the message that you don't need
Dumbledore to take care of yourself and troubles that come your way. It
will reach the ears of your possible political supporters."
"Ugh! Things are more complicated than I though" he said while rubbing
his forehead.
"Of course they are! However, before we even start building your faction,
we have to etablish our base. Right now, you have no place of your own
to safely reside, you don't have anyone else you trust enough to go to,
and I doubt you want to explain to anyone how you came to have us
around you. Do you even have enough money to sustain yourself until
your school start again? What about after that?"
"Money shouldn't be a problem. I have a vault full of galleons, easily a
few thousands. I've heard that my parent's house in Goldric Hollow has
been turned into a historical site or something like that. I'm not sure they
had any other properties, I never really got a reason to check. I guess we
need to go to Gringots. They should have records of everything my
parents owned, or copies. I doubt they entrusted everything to the
ministry during the war, with spies and the like. We could check this
afternoon. You will also be able to see Diagon Alley, the main
commercial area of magical Britain."
That had the girls slightly perk up. They were quite curious about the
magical side of the world, and the Leaky Cauldron wasn't really
representative of how the rest should be. It was decided that Scathach
and Caitlyn would accompany him to the bank, and help him make some
basic purchases in the alley. After lunch, as the 3 of them were about to
leave, Harry took out his invisibility cloack. Scathach and Semimaris
were quite interested in it and scanned it.
"Harry!" Scathach called him while frowning. "You said that this cloak
belonged to your father, and that it was returned to you by your
headmaster, right?"
"Yes" he replied slowly. "Is something wrong with it?"
"I couldn't understand what this cloak was made of. In fact, my magic
scan was barely able to detect it. However it caught something else.
There is a tracking charm on it, and it is quite visible to my scan because
the rest of the cloak is almost invisble."
"... That old bastard! That's how he was able to see us in 3rd year. I bet
he didn't really borrow it, but took it from my parent's house after that
night" he almost snarled.
"I think it would be wise to check all your belongings" said Semimaris.
15 minutes later, all his stuff had been scanned. On top of his cloak, his
trunk, glasses, photo album and firebolt were charmed. Aside from the
trunk and glasses, they were his most precious possessions, and wherever
he could go, he wouldn't leave them behind. His glasses, he would always
keep on himself. If not for the bounded field Scathach and Semimaris
erected around the room, his location would have easily been found. The
charm on the cloak was destroyed, and the others were placed on an old
shirt that VI took with her outside and tossed on top of a moving van. A
maintenance van, and it got stuck on the ladder on top of it.
Chapter 8: Ch08 Meeting
Goldblade
Harry entered Diagon Alley under his invisibility cloack, following
Caitlyn and Scathach. He stayed close to them, touching their hands
through the cloak.
The women looked slightly impressed by the alley for a bit, but
refocused. They moved swiftly toward the bank, leaving sight-seeing and
exploration for later. Harry didn't want to have any problem with the
goblins, so when the group reached the entrance of the bank, Scathach
leaned toward one of the guard and spoke in a low voice so nobody but
the guards could hear.
"We have an invisible friend here who doesn't want anyone to know he is
here. I hope it won't be a bother."
The guards stiffened after hearing the first sentence, but then relaxed. It
wasn't rare for people to want to conceal their identity when they entered
the bank, but it was still surprising for said people to announce it before
entering. One of the guard nodded and signaled one of the other sentinels
within the bank. He turned to the 2 women and answered.
"You may get in."
"Thank you."
With that, the group entered, and soon found themselves in front of a
teller. Making sure there were nobody nearby to overhear, Scathach
leaned toward the goblin and whispered.
"Mister Potter wishes to inquire about the status of his assets with the
bank. Discretly".
"Wait for a bit. We will see if his account manager is available."
They left the counter and went to the waiting area. A few minutes later
another goblin came and told them to follow him. They walked for
several minutes, taking several turns before arriving at the door of an
office. The goblin knocked sharply twice and waited for an answer. Then
he ushered the group inside. Once they got in and the door closed behind
them, Harry took of his cloak and walked toward the desk behind which
an old goblin was sitting.
"I am the manager of the Potter accounts, Goldblade. It's a pleasure to
finally meet you, heir Potter. That is, if you really are Harry Potter.
Before conducting any kind of business, I will have to verify your
identity."
"Good day to you manager Goldblade" Harry said as he took a seat in
front of the goblin, his summons opting to remain standing behind him.
"What do you need to check my identity?"
"Just a few drops of blood" he said as he took a knife and a parchment
from one of his desk drawer.
Harry understood what he needed to do. He prickled his finger and let a
few drop of blood fall on the parchmin. At the third drop, Goldblade
stopped him and took the parchment. Meanwhile, the wound closed
itself, surprising Harry. On the parchment, writting started to appear,
starting from the blood spot.
[Harry James Potter, 15 years old. Son of James Charlus Potter and Lily
Rose Potter nee Evans.]
"Your identity has been confirmed, Lord Presumptive Potter. What
business do you wish to conduct?"
"I wanted to be made aware of everything I own, and anything my
parents left behind. But before that, what do you mean by Lord
Presumptive Potter?"
Goldblade looked at him with a piercing gaze for a second before
answering. Scathach and Caitlyn turned worried looks to him.
"You are the heir of the Ancient and Noble house of Potter. Lord
Presumptive since your entry into the Tri-wizard tournament. Are you
not aware of your family's status?"
Harry was stunned. He had become aware that there was a lot he didn't
know about. But discovering that his family wasn't as ordinary as he was
led to believe? It hurt. It hurt because the people around him that knew
his parents hid it from him, knowing how much he missed them and
wanted to know about them.
"I wasn't told anything about it" he said in a monotone voice, trying to
keep his calm. "Please explain."
"In the past, the mundane and magical worlds weren't separated like
nowdays. Just like your mundanes counterparts, it was possible for
magical families to be elevated to nobility. These nobles families have
earned privileges due to their contributions to magical Britain, either in
war, in politics and economy, or in the advancement of magic. At the
bottom of the magical nobility are the Noble houses. Above are the Elder
and Noble houses, and at the top are the Ancient and Noble houses. The
Potters are one of the 5 remaining Ancient and Noble houses of magical
Britain."
"But... If that's the case, why wasn't anything done when I needed help?"
Harry was losing his calm, and magic started to crakle on the surface of
his skins. His fists were clenched so hard his nails dug into his skin.
"Why wasn't anything done when I was accused of assaults? When I was
attacked by dementors? When I was entered in that cursed tournament?"
"Unfortunately for you mister Potter, the privileges and protections
granted by that title apply only when there is a head of house or a regent.
Without them, the house is considered suspended. But fortunately for
you, you won't have to wait for your 17th birthday to claim the position
of Head of house Potter, the Lord Potter. Your participation in the Tri-
wizard tournament, a competition reserved to adult witches and wizards,
started the process of emancipation. To complete your emancipation, you
only need to attain 5 OWLs."
After several seconds, Harry was able to calm down. Barely. He had a lot
of things to prepare, and unleashing his wrath on a reasonable target
could wait until later.
"I want to know everything that I own. Money, properties, anything I
have the right to."
"Very well. To start, there is your trust vault, which you are already
using. It initially contained 5000 galleons, and 500 galleons are added
each year after the 11th birthday. It currently contain a little over 3800
galleons."
"Wait. That's not possible. I haven't even used 1000 galleons yet, there
should be more than 6000 remaining."
"260 galleons were transfered to the muggle account of one Petunia
Dursley nee Evans every year until you started your magical education at
Hogwart. It was then reduced to 50 galleons."
A magical pressure formed in the office, and Harry's eyes were glowing
noticably. Goldblade was internally surprised and anxious. Considering
what his experienced magic senses told him about the young man in front
of him, he didn't want to be on the receiving hand of his anger fueled
accidental magic.
"The Dursley were paid money coming from my vault to take care of
me?" he asked in a low, cold voice.
"... That seem to be the case" Goldblade replied cautiously.
"And who put these payment in place?" Harry asked in an emotionless
tone.
"The one acting as your magical guardian, Albus Dumbledore."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Yep, there is magical nobility in this fic. Semimaris will be pleased.
Chapter 9: Ch09 Assets
"They mistreated me, and spend my money on themselves while calling
me a burden? All because of Dumbledore? Again?"
Scathach and Caitlyn put a hand each on Harry's shoulder. The visible
magical aura that had appeared around him spiked for a split second
before fading. Harry's face was as red as his hated uncle when he
unleashed his temper on him. If he new it he would be absolutly
disgusted and mortified. Still, the action of the 2 women managed to
calm him down.
"I want all transferts to the Dursley to be stopped... I will ruin those
fucking relatives of mine. And when they reach the bottom, I'll let them
see me, just so they know I did it."
Goldblade smirked when he heard that. It was a goblin way of attaining
revenge. The 2 women didn't react to the language he used because they
were pretty angry themselves.
"Sorry for the interruption. Please continue."
"Then There is the family vault, which contain around 750 000 galleons,
all items left by your parents that could be recovered, as well as Potter
family treasures and heirlooms. There should have been more, but your
grandfather and father invested a lot for the war efforts against
Grindelwald for your grandfather, and then Voldemort for your father,
when they were still alive. Your parents arranged for your Hogwart
tution to be paid directly from that vault. On the properties side, your
family manor was destroyed during the war, but the land still belong to
the Potters. Your parent's cottage at Goldric's Hollow was aquired by the
ministry."
"Be assured that they paid more than the house value" he added when he
saw Harry's face twitch.
"There is the Gaia Garden, a magical farm that raise common magical
plants and animals for potion ingredients. You also own a commercial
building in Diagon Alley and another in Knockturn Alley. They are
currently rented. On the muggle side, you own a warehouse that is also
currently rented. The Potter family also hold patents for a few spells and
potions. Finally, your family invested in a few businesses when they were
created, and became partner with 20% ownership. They are the
Wizarding Wireless and Wizz Hard Books. Other properties and
businesses were lost during the war."
"Well, that's definitly more than I expected when I decided to come here.
Dumbledore was able to set transferts with my trust vault. How much
control does he have over it?"
"As your self-appointed magical guardian, he had access to the
transaction history and can use it to pay for anything related to your care
and upbringing. He could also restrict the amount of money you can
withdraw if he had reasons to believe you were mishandling your
account."
"What about the family vault? And do I have access to it?"
"Dumbledore can't do anything about the family vault and the differents
businesses owned by your family. He doesn't even have access to the
informations. As for you being able to access the vault, if it was before,
the answer would be no. But since you're partially emancipated, you have
gained full access to that vault. You can also take full control of your
trust vault. Do you wish to visit it now?"
"No, I'll visit on my way out. And yes, I want to be the only one with
access to my trust vault... I'll probably come later to autorise access to a
few people. How much would it cost to rebuild my grandparents manor
and ward it like hell?"
"It would cost a minimum of 75000 galleons, and it would take a few
months."
"Heh... I though it would take less time with magic."
"It depend on the amount of workers hired, and the quality of the
materials. Some of them require time to be prepared."
"I see. 2 other things before I leave. First, did my parents have a will? I
doubt they failed to take such precautions."
"Yes, they filled a will before going into hidding. They left an official
copy in the family vault, just in case. But since the Wizengamot had the
will sealed, it couldn't be executed, nor could it be shown to you. Until
now. You will be able to read it when you visit your vault. As for the
execution, you should leave it for later. There has been some changes
since the time they made it, and you have obviously been kept ignorant
of a lot of things about the magical world."
"That's good to know, and I'll do just that. Second, I intend to withdraw a
large amount of money, both wizarding and muggle. How much money
can be carried in the regular money pouch, and should I need to be back
in the lobby to change the currency?"
"What you have his probably the basic money pouch. You would need a
premium one. You don't need to carry the money you want to exchange
to the lobby. You just tell one of the teller how much muggle currency
you want, and the equivalent amount will be removed from your vault
later."
"Well then, we covered everything I wanted to know today."
"Good, I've called someone to take you to your vaults. They should be
here shortly."
"Thank you for your time, Goldblade. I'll make a proper appointment the
next time I have need of your service, though I have the feeling it will be
sooner rather than later."
Goldblade had taken notes and magically sent orders during the talk. The
3 humans stood up just as another goblin entered the room. When they
reached him, Harry put his invisibility cloak back on. While Goldblade
wasn't surprised, the newcomer was. Though he quickly regained his
calm. The group left swiftly.
The trip to the vault was quite entertaining for Harry and to a lesser
extend, Caitlyn. Scathach, however, didn't like it. To her, it was as
unpleasant as their trip in the knight bus. The goblin stayed outside of
the vault after opening the door, letting the 3 humans in. While Harry
had been stunned by the sight of his trust vault back in 1991, what he
felt when he entered the family vault was comparable to laying his eyes
on Hogwart for the first time on the lake.
"Whoa..."
Scathach and Caitlyn nearby absently nooded their heads to his
exclamation. The vault was a cavern 10 times larger than his trust vault.
It was mostly filled with coins, but there were also furnitures and shelves
with items such as weapons, books and paintings.
"I get the feeling that Semimaris would have enjoyed the view" Harry
absent-mindedly said.
"Right.""Definitly."
Chapter 10: Back from the vault
"Well" started Scathach "While I am sure you want to thoroughly check
the vault, Harry, we don't have the time today. We have to meet up with
the others and buy some basic necessities."
"Yeah, I know... Now, then" Harry said as he turned toward the item he
most wanted to see. "Time to see the content of that will."
To sum it, upon the death of his parents, he was supposed to be left
under the care of either Sirius Black or Alice Longbottom, his godparents.
If they were not available, it was suggested that he should be left with a
noble family that fought against Voldemort, and used the Bones and
McKinnon as example. They explicitly forbade his placement with the
Dursley.
They left some money for Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They asked
for whoever was left in charge of Harry to teach him all he needed to
know as an heir of a noble house so he could appoint a Regent to house
Potter on his 13th birthday. They already had a contract ready for that.
Finally, they expressed their regrets for being unable to raise him, and
wished for him to grow into a respectable man and live a happy life.
Harry stayed silent and unmoving for a few minutes, with tears streaming
down his face, the last message of his parents repeating in his head.
Scathach and Caitlyn had come to his side, the first one holding his arm,
and the second one warping her arm around his shoulders. He nodded in
thanks for their support.
"Are you alright?" asked Caitlyn.
"I'm better now. Thanks. Let's get whatever we need and go back to the
surface."
Harry opened the premium purse he received from the goblin. There was
one side for wizarding currency, with separated pockets for galleons and
sickles, and a side for non-magical currency, with separated pockets for
bills and coins. He filled it with the same amount of galleons and sickles
for the overall amount of 5000 galleons. He expected to spend around
1200 galleons for the womens' personal items, and up to 3000 galleons in
various magical items and services. He would have to define it with the
rest of them, but he was at least certain to not need more until after the
inquiry.
Then the 3 of them looked at the list of items, to see if there wasn't
something they could take.
Harry found the Potter Family book, which summed the entire history of
the Potter family, and was updated by each head of the family. It only
contained the most pertinent informations. For anything more he would
have to check the previous lords personal journals. In the same vein as
the Potter Family book, they found a book about the Wizengamot,
another about the International Confederation of Wizards, and finally,
and 2 books about the laws of magical Britain. Those were found by
Caitlyn, and she got a predatory grin on her face when she did.
Scathach, on the other hand, had focused her search on magic books, and
with Harry, they got a book on the mind arts, on top of another about
rituals. These 2 disciplines were unknown to Harry, and they though it
would be a good idea to learn about them. They also got 2 books about
warding and enchanting a home. The last book they got was about
healing. After all, Harry was very likely to get injured, and the summons
needed to know how to treat him efficiently. The last item they got was
an old multi-compartiments trunk.
They put the items in the trunk and left the vault. Back in the lobby, he
withdrew 10 000 pounds. Thanks to the cart runner he didn't have to
expose himself. He guessed that Caitlyn, VI and Camille would be
interested in more than a few items from the non-magical world, seeing
their equipments, and he though the other 3 women would appreciate
some as well. And he really wanted to get himself some of the things he
was denied with the Dursley, he wanted to spoil himself for a bit.
Once out of the bank, he led the ladies to a slightly deserted corner of the
alley.
"Ladies, we can't have you rely on glamours for your clothes during the
shopping. We're going to a store where you will select some wizarding
clothes for you and the others. This way, if a stray spell or security magic
hit you, there won't be any glamour to dissipate."
Then Harry sounded hesitant.
"I heard that women like to take their time for shopping" 'Like Hermione
with her books' "But please be quick right now. We will be back soon
enough with the others, and there will be more opportunities at a later
date."
"Sure" drawled Scathach.
"Don't worry" added Caitlyn with a slight smirk. "We're not that bad."
'Though I'm not sure about queen Semimaris.'
Underneath his cloak, Harry released a silent sight of relief, but was still
wary. They went to Madam Malkins, where they spent 20min selecting
various robes and cloaks, then left for the Leaky Cauldron. The rest of the
ladies were waiting in Harry's room. Vi seemed to have spent most of her
time chatting with Xuanzang, while Semimaris and Camille had a
discreet discussion of their own. As soon as the door closed behind the
returnees, Harry took of his cloak.
"We're back!!" he said cheerfully. "And we got good news. Mostly."
"Mostly?" asked Vi.
"Mostly. The bad news are minor, not an immediate concern" he said
while waving his hand at her and turned toward the queen, Semimaris.
"First, I have enough money to build 7 manors, so no worries on that
front. Second, I'm the heir of a high rank noble family. After my exams at
the end of the school year, I'll be a full adult and become lord of my
house, with all the perks associated with the title. Third, the land where
my family manor used to be still belong to me. Since the manor was
destroyed and not rebuilt, nobody would think I went there. We can
settle there and slowly build our base while I'm in school."
The women expressed their pleasure at the news in different ways, from
calm and dignified, to loud and cheering.
"We can talk about it in more details later tonight. There is still some
daylight to use, so we brough you some local clothes. Go change, then we
can go back to the Alley for some shopping."
Xuanzang loudly cheered, and the women eagerly left his room to get
prepared. Harry watched them leave with a hint of fondness and nervous
anticipation on his face.
Chapter 11: The Sticks
The ladies didn't take long to change into wizarding clothes.
Semimaris and Scathach clothes could have fit in the magical world if not
for the amount of bust exposure and how form-fitting they were at that
area. Xuanzang outfit exposed even more. Caitlyn's dress was too short,
and like the others, exposed too much cleavage. Vi's outfit was covered
with various armor pieces, which didn't fit well with witches and
wizards. As for Camille, they had to hide all artificial parts, and that
included her face.
Scathach and Semimaris got witches robes similar in style and color to
their own. Semimaris got a hooded cape to hide her ears. Xuanzang and
Caitlyn got a basic white and blue dresses. Vi got a short robe to put over
her outfit, and had to take of all armor pieces from it. Camille got long
robes and a deep hooded cloak to hide her legs and face.
"You are looking good" said Harry with a slight blush. "Let's go..." he
trailed of.
"What's the matter" asked an eager Xuanzang.
"My wand. It was broken. I need to have it repaired or changed. That can
take time... We will have to split up. 2 of you will come with me to
Ollivanders while the others move around in groups of 2. We can meet
up after an hour at Floreant Fortescue ice-cream shop. Everyone knows
where it is, and it's easy enough to spot. From there, we can go and get
the things you got your eyes on, and more."
"I will go with you" started Semimaris. "My fellow casters already have
their own focuses. I will need one to better fit in."
"Then I will come with you as well. I'm curious about wether my
condition would allow me to use one or not."
"Okay. So you 2 are with me. I guess Vi will be with Caitlyn and Scathach
with Xuanzang?" They nodded with small smiles, or a grin for Vi. "Then
let's move out. Oh, and don't go to Knockturn Alley. It's a dark and
forebonding alley used by criminals and suspicious people. You may be
strong, but you don't know enough about wizarding magic to not be
taken by surprise."
"True" replied Scathach. "It would not do to get in trouble due to
ignorance and overconfidence."
On that note, Harry got under his invisibility cloak, and they left the inn.
Scathach and Xuanzang quickly got attracted to the bookstores, while
Caitlyn and Vi got attracted to items shops and peddler stalls. Harry
swiftly led his 2 ladies to Ollivander's shop. He looked through the
windows to make sure there were no other customers before going in.
"Good afternoon ladies" said Ollivander as he a came from behind his
counter. "Welcome to my shop. My name is Garrick Ollivander."
His eyes widened slightly as he fully observed the 2 people in front of
him.
"My, my. It's a rarity to meet such interesting customers. Especially you"
he added as his gaze focused on Camille, who got unnerved.
Not wanting anything more about them to be exposed, Harry revealed
himself.
"Hello mr Ollivander. I'm in need of your service."
"Mr Potter, holly and phoenix feather. It's a surprise to see you in such
circumstances. Has anything happened to your wand?"
"Yes" he said as he took out the pieces. "My cousin and I got attacked by
dementors, and he broke it in his panic."
The wand maker gathered the pieces and looked at them with a hint of
sorrow in his expression.
"It's a shame that it met its end so soon. But not everything about it is
bad." His gaze flickered to Harry, and the 2 ladies with him. "You have
changed mr Potter. And it has something to do with your companions.
Anyway, I can repair your wand, but I won't. It no longer fits you. The
phoenix feather is still usable, but that won't be enough. Follow me, I will
need your input to select the materials of your new focus. This will be
interesting. If you could wait here ladies."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned around and swiftly moved toward
the back of the shop. Harry hurried to join him while the 2 ladies stayed
behind, a bit non-pulsed by the wand maker manners. In the workshop,
Ollivander continued to talk as he gathered various items and materials.
"Your magic has evolved mr Potter, and is still in flux. A regular wand
won't be able to handle channeling your magic past a few years. Please
pass your hand over the differents materials sample I have assembled.
Those with the best reaction to you would be used to make the body of
your new focus."
'Similar to how I tried wands the first time I came here...' Harry though as
he tested the samples. The ones that reacted best with him were ebony,
english oak and walnut. Ollivander put them aside, and gestured Harry
toward another selection of samples.
"Good. Very good! Now, the core!" he excitedly instructed.
Harry complied, privatly amused by the wand maker's optimism. Only
one of them got a really strong reaction to him.
"Merlin! It's chimera heartstring! That sample has been there since the
time of my predecessor, because there has rarely been any witche or
wizard with an affinity for it."
Ollivander was almost dancing in trepidation. After setting the necessary
materials aside, he stored the rest back and led Harry out of the
workshop. He continued to talk on the way out.
"This will be the most unique focus I'll ever make in my life, most likely.
Mr Potter, I get the feeling that you are going to change the world. Come
back tomorrow and your new focus will be ready."
He then turned to the 2 women who were patiently waiting in the store.
"Would any of you care to see if your wand is among my creations?"
"Certainly" said Semimaris as she stepped forward.
And thus, she went through the process of wand selection, and after 15
minutes, she found her match with an elm and siren scale wand. It was a
wand made by Ollivander quite some time ago, and he was happy to see
it find a wielder. Camille got a walnut and hyppogriff feather wand. After
paying for the wands, Harry turned to the wand maker.
"I would appreciate if you told noone that I've been here."
"Do not worry mr Potter. I figured as much since you came here under
your father's cloak. I will see you tomorrow. Good day."
"Thank you, and you mr Ollivander."
He disappeared under his cloak, and the trio left.
Chapter 12: Shopping in the Alley
After leaving the wand shop, they went directly to the ice cream parlor.
Thankfully, there weren't many people. Caitlyn and Vi were already
there, sitting at a large corner table. They didn't look nearly as excited as
they were when they separated. There was an air of seriousness around
them.
"What is wrong?" asked Semimaris as she took a seat at the table.
"We will tell you once the others get here" Caitlyn replied. "They should
have noticed the same thing."
"You should order something in the mean time" added Vi. "The ice creams
are good."
They did as suggested. A few minutes later, Scathach and Xuanzang
joined them. They too seemed to have lost some of their good mood. As
they sat at the table, Harry was in the corner, where nobody could
accidentaly touch him, with Caitlyn and Semimaris on each side. He was
sitting on the floor, leg crossed. Caitlyn straightened herself, then leaned
forward, prompting the others to do the same. They spoke in low tones,
mindfull of eavsdropping.
"Now that we are all here, tell us what is troubling you."
"The local newspaper is running a smear campaign against Harry, and by
association, the headmaster of his school."
"What?" Harry whispered harshly.
"We heard something along those lines as well from a few people" added
Scathach.
"We got a look at the newspapers" continued Caitlyn. "They depict Harry
as a lying, attention-seeking kid, either deranged by the demise of his
fellow school mate, or trying to bolster his fame as the Boy-Who-Lived.
They started calling him the Boy-Who-Lies. Some even accuse him of
having killed Cedric Diggory. The ministry denies all claims that the Dark
Lord has returned. Since Albus Dumbledore has declared such, they said
he is losing his touch. He has lost his positions as Chief Warlock of their
Wizengamot, and as representative of the nation in the International
Wizarding Council."
Harry was once more schocked. The last 24 hours have been nothing but
a succession of surprises. He was getting numb to them, and recovered
quickly. While irritated by the news, Camille and Semimaris weren't
really surprised.
"It was well played" started Semimaris. "They deprived Harry of his
protector by removing him of his ministry position, then destroyed his
credibility so nobody would believe him. Then they sent the dementors.
Harry is forced to defend himself and use magic, and they can punish
him without looking like the agressors."
"That's why the first message he received was about his expulsion and the
destruction of his wand" continued Caitlyn. "That plan was derailled
when Dumbledore interfered. Thus the inquiry in 9 days. But even with
that, they will try to discard your defense because of your destroyed
credibility."
"They will most likely make a show of it as well" added Semimaris, then a
cold smile formed on her lips. "Then we will have to turn that plan
against them. We will have to make them look like idiots." She slightly
turned her head toward Harry. "Do not worry. We have 9 days to get
prepared. They think they will be dealing with your headmaster at that
time. They will get a surprise."
After that talk, they left the parlour to resume their shopping. Harry led
them to a shop named Wilderness Life. He was impressed when he
discovered them at the Quidditch World Cup, and he learned from
Charlie Weasley where he could obtain one. As they got in front of the
place, Harry whispered to them.
"Wizarding tents are like most of the buildings in the magical world:
bigger on the inside than they look in the outside. It can have all the
comforts of a house."
The women nodded, impressed, and got in.
Not all magics are easily usable for everyone, and some are near
impossible. Many witches and wizards tried to resurect people, but failed.
The creation of new life, such as homunculus is incomplete and so
complicated that it isn't used. Even Voldemort, self proclaimed greatest
wizard to have existed, couldn't make a proper homunculus body for
himself.
Space magic is Complicated. A lot of calculations are necessary for the
most basic expansions charms, those used to expand a room in a fixed
place, or used on basic trunks. The larger the expansion, the more power
it requires upon activation, more than what the average witch or wizard
can provide. The makers use special magic stones to activate the charms.
It take them several days to charge them.
Multiple compartments trunks are expensive goods because they require
even more complex calculations, making space compression charms and
space expansion charms work seamlessly. Alastor Moody, paranoid as he
was, made his trunk himself, and it took him months. He had developped
good skills in enchanting, warding and curse-breaking while hunting dark
wizards and fending off their attacks. That makes wizarding tents
expensive goods as well. The result of years of saving money for common
people, as the cheapest of wizarding tents cost at least 300 galleons.
After browsing for a little while they settled for large good quality tent. It
was navy blue, which was the only colors all women could agree to. It
had 4 sections: the main one containing the living room and the kitchen,
the side ones containing 3 individual bedrooms each, and the back one
containing the bathroom and the toilet. It was more for the women's
comfort that Harry selected it, as he was fine with sleeping in the living
room. It was equiped with basic furnitures, protection charms against
natural hazards, and anti-muggle charms.
After that, they went to various book stores and got basic books on
aritmancy, runes, warding, enchanting and curse-breaking, as well as
dark arts. For the other disciplines, Harry still had all his books since first
year. They searched for more books about laws and the wizengamot.
Some of them weren't available in book stores, and they would need to
get them at the ministry.
As the afternoon was coming to an end, they realised they wouldn't have
enough time for more shopping aside from potion ingredients, which
wouldn't take too much time. At a time when noone was near them,
Semimaris adressed Harry.
"You know Harry, it is good that you though of buying clothes for us. But
you also need proper clothes. It feels like you avoid getting things for
yourself, and that is not good. You are heir to a noble family, and you
will soon become its head. You need a new wardrobe, and I won't let you
use the excuse of staying hidden to avoid it."
The other women approved as well, and glanced in his direction with
gleaming eyes. They looked forward to the next day. Under his
invisibility cloak, Harry had gotten slightly pale.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I think some magic shouldn't be that easily usable. The fidelius,
occlumency and legilimency are already like that. Time magic (and
time turners) and space expansion shouldn't. They should be too
complex and power intensive to use (like Hermione getting a time
turner at 13-14yo, or almost casually expanding her hand bag during
the horcruxes hunt)
Chapter 13: Mundane shopping 1
After an afternoon of shopping in the magical district, the girls were in a
good mood. It was quite different from what they were used to. They
were all in Harry's room, going over everything they aquired,
occasionally asking Harry some questions.
One of the highlight of the evening was wizarding magic. It was different
from Runeterra's magic and the magecraft from the 3 casters, just like
house-elf magic was different from wizard's magic despite some
similarities. Semimaris and Camille being matched with a wand meant
that they could possibly use Harry's brand of magic.
Under the expectant watch of the others, Semimaris and Camille tried a
low level charm that didn't exist in their worlds: rictusempra, the tickling
jinx. After a bit of work, they performed the charm, to the joy of
everyone present. Though there was some embarrassement for the 2
ladies as they were targeting each other. They were the most composed
of the lot, not at all used to squirm and laugh out loud in front of people
they weren't comfortable with yet. Seeing their successes, Scathach and
Xuanzang couldn't help but try as well, with the same results.
After talking about it for a bit, they concluded that it was probably due to
their bonds with Harry. It also meant that Harry may be able to perform
their kind of magic as well, which had Harry excited to learn new magic.
Unlike Hermione, his desire to learn wasn't high. Magic was more of an
escape from his life with the Dursley. Yes, he found it fascinating, he was
happy to learn to use it, but there was never a strong desire to learn
more. Until that moment.
As excited as they were, they had to leave it for another time. Harry's
magic was still in flux and it would be better for him to have his new
wand before performing more magic. It was also getting late, and they
would be quite busy the following day. It would also be their last night at
the Leaky Cauldron. After packing everything safe for the essentials for
the next day, they went to sleep.
Harry didn't have any nightmare that night. His first full, restfull night
since the end of the school term. He woke up in good physical condition,
and in a good mood. As they were eating breakfast in the room, Harry
told them his plan for the day of shopping.
To stay hidden from witches and wizards, he decided to do his clothes
shopping in the non-magical world. They didn't get a good look at it
previously because the knight bus was quite uncomfortable, and when
they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron is was getting dark and they were in a
hurry. Besides, he confessed that he never got to do some proper
shopping in the mundane world before. There was a lot he wanted to see,
a lot of things he couldn't get before were now accessible to him. Finally,
he prefered mundane fashion to wizarding one.
Thus, after breakfast, Harry and his ladies left for the mundane world.
While they had wizarding clothes, they weren't as distinctive as what
regular witches and wizards used. Aside from Semimaris and Camille that
needed their hooded cloaks, they wouldn't attract much attention.
Their went to the closest shop that sold both men and women's clothes.
The place where Harry had his first taste of the joys and pains of clothes
shopping with women. It was a common shop, nothing fancy or special.
It was to get the bare bones of their new wardrobe. It was also there that
the girls discovered what Harry told them was western style modern
fashion. He may not have known much about clothing, but he knew the
differences between modern and traditional, western, eastern, middle
east and so on.
It was early in the morning, shortly after opening hours, so the shop was
mostly deserted. Harry had removed his invisibility cloak on the way.
When he entered the place, the male employe and his female colleague
were surprised to see a teenage boy with pitiful clothes accompanied 6
beautiful women. Even though 2 of them had part of their faces hidden,
it was obvious that they were attractives.
The 2 coworkers glanced at each other, then continued to observe the
odd group. To them, it looked like the youth was a guide to the group of
women. Until they moved to the male section of the shop. The guy
winced, but there was also amusement in his eyes, and the girl smirked.
Since they were there for basic clothing, Harry wanted to make it quick:
7 tops, 7 bottoms, 3 sets of sleepwear, 10 underwears and 5 pairs of
socks. It was not to be.
Vi put her arm around his shoulders and dragged him from place to
place, selecting shirts that matched most with her style. Xuanzang and
Caitlyn moved around, selected a piece of clothing, went to him a
checked to see if it would look good. Whenever Harry showed interest in
something, Semimaris would give her opinion. While he tended to avoid
slytherin colors, the girls pointed out that it matched his eyes and
contrasted well with his black hairs, so he got 2 tops in those colors.
He was sent to the changing room every 5 minutes, and it took him an
hour to finalise his selection. He was slightly tired from constantly
changing outfits, and was happy to be done. Vi had tried to get him to try
underwear for them, and he had to be quite firm in his rejection. As he
saw the girls going to the women's section, he relaxed.
His relaxation was cut short when the girls stopped and turned toward
him. With a wide grin, Vi went back to him, followed by a smiling
Xuanzang. While Harry paled, the male employe sighted and turned his
gaze away, jealous of the youngster. Vi and Xuanzang dragged Harry to
the others girls as they scattered through the women's section. They told
him that they needed a guy's opinion.
While Harry was anxious, he would later realise that it was one of the
best part of their shopping trip.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Part 2 will be there in 24h at most.
Chapter 14: Mundane shopping 2
Clothes shopping with Xuanzang, Caitlyn and Vi would probably be
something Harry would never refuse in the future. The first 2 really didn't
mind exposing some skin to his eyes, and the last one was shamelessly
modeling for him just to rile him up.
Ever since he summoned them, Harry never got the chance to properly
look at the girls bellow the neck. He was aware that they were gorgeous,
but refrained from admiring them, consciously focusing on their faces
and not their bodies. This time, he had no choice but to look. Really look
and not just glance.
Xuanzang favored clothes with a low amount of fabric. When she tried
something she would always go right in front of him and ask for his
opinion. She was an asian beauty, with long and silky black hairs. Her
honest brown eyes, and small pouty lips made it impossible for him to
refuse her. She was the shortest of the group. The crop tops exposed her
midriff, showing a toned lean body. She didn't wear a bra, so her D cup
cone breasts were easy to make out when she posed with a tank top. The
jiggling was hypnotic. The hotpants and denim shorts nicely covered her
round apple butt. On top of these she would cover herself with a jacket.
Caitlyn, with her long dark blue hairs and piercing cyan eyes, was more
interested in tube top and miniskirts, or minidresses. It showed to Harry
that she had a toned hourglass body with well shaped and perky D cup
breasts, and a nice apple butt. The dresses and skirts were also keeping
her legs exposed, which she prefered. Harry discovered that he liked her
leg. She wasn't as innocent as Xuanzang when asking Harry for his
opinion, but subtle enough for Harry not to notice her teasing.
Vi was the worst of them for Harry. Each time she tried an outfit, she
would ensure he had a good look at all of it, asking how it made her
breasts or butt look. She had an athletic pear body, and was the tallest of
the group.
Unlike Caitlyn who liked form fitting tops, she prefered those that gave
her some breathing room. Despite that he could tell that she had nice C
cup breasts, she made sure he caugh a glimpse when she showed him a
button shirt. For the bottoms, she prefered to have her legs well covered,
so only trousers were tried. That didn't stop her from slapping her tightly
covered bubble but in front of his eyes, temporary hypnotising him with
the movement of her hips.
Dealing with those 3 women alone left him with a constant semi-erection.
To him it was torture. Enjoyable but still torture. Semimaris, Scathach
and Camille were thankfully more restrained, and settled for some simple
but elegant (as elegant as casual clothes can be) knee-lenght dresses and
jackets. Camille could tell with a single look wether something could fit
her or not, so she didn't need to try anything.
She didn't take much, as casual clothing didn't appeal to her much. It was
the same with Semimaris and Scathach. Those 3 didn't take more than 3
outfits each. While the girls finished their selections, an hour had passed.
The male employe took Harry appart and they had a whispered
conversation, sometimes glancing toward the girls.
Said girls caught it of course, they always kept an eye on Harry as
protecting him was part of their duties. They saw him blushing and
denying something, but the older man was firm on the matter. They
didn't have any intention question him about their talk though, and
Harry wouldn't know he avoided an embarrassing moment.
Harry could only sigh and stop arguing. Before leaving, Harry and the
girls, except Camille, changed into one of the new outfits they had just
purchased. They would attract less attention. They stopped at the first
deserted alley they found to put their purchase in the multi-compartment
trunk.
After the casual clothes shopping, they went to a shoe store, where they
spent 30 minutes. They were all, aside from Camille, delighted by the
large choice of footwear, and if not for Harry reminding them that there
would be time for more shopping another day, they would have stayed
longer.
Since Caitlyn, Vi and Camille were more physical fighters, he took the
girls to a sport store. He got himself 2 sets of sport clothes, with proper
shoes, and so did the girls. However, he didn't see what kind of outfits
they chose. But seeing the grin on Vi's face, he knew that it would make
his heart skip a few beats.
On the way, they stopped in front of a lingerie store. Harry froze, forced
a few hundreds of pound in Camille's hands, and rushed to the store on
the other side of the road that sold cosmetic products. Once he
disappeared inside, the girls chuckled, looked at each others and entered
the store with eager smiles. They spent an hour in that store, and when
they got out, Harry was patiently waiting on the other side of the road.
He had taken a large selection of products, except for women's monthly
monster.
It was early afternoon when they stopped for lunch at a fast food. They
appreciated the break, especially Harry. He reminded them that he had to
retrieve his new wand at Ollivanders, and that the trip to the Potter
ancestral land would take some time.
When they finished eating, they bough bedsheets and towels, then
cooking tools and supplies. It was nearing 7 pm when Harry snuck back
in Diagon Alley to retireve his wand.
"... It's bigger than any wand I've ever seen Mr Ollivander..."
"That's because it's not a wand Mr Potter. It's a rod. Halfway between a
wand and a cane."
It was about 40% longer than his old wand, and a third thicker, dual
colored despite being made with 3 types of wood, with subtles and
elegants marking through its whole lenght. The moment he took it in his
hands, a mild shockwave spread through the room as numerous sparks
flew from the tip of the rod. Harry felt his magic coordinate with the rod,
and settle down, though not completly.
"Do not be so surprised Mr Potter. I told you an ordinary wand wouldn't
be able to handle your magic. You will have to practice using it during
the rest of the summer. I suggest you come back here a few days before
going to Hogwart to get a proper holster. I wish you a good holiday Mr
Potter. Until next time"
"Thanks a lot Mr Ollivander. Goodbye."
Once back to the mundane side of London, Harry and the ladies took the
knight bus to go to York. Once there they would have to travel again for
an hour or 2 before reaching their destination.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Yep, I would have loved to go into more details about the clothes
shopping, add more dialogs, but it would have taken an entire chapter,
and it's not really relevant to the story...
Chapter 15: Ancestral Potter lands
Harry and his 6 summons arrived at York after 2 hours of grueling ride in
the knight bus. The fact that he was pleasantly stuck between Caitlyn and
Xuanzang made the trip much more bearable than usual.
It was nearly 8pm, and they were still quite somedistance away from
their destination. From York, they took 2 taxis to go to the nearby
village, Armont. It was a 30 minutes ride. The village was at the foot of a
mild mountainous area north of York. They left the village on foot and
walked for an hour to reach the Potter lands. There were plenty of
isolated farms around the village, and small groups of houses in between,
so there was a main road that circled around the village.
They reached a sparsely wooded area, and had to leave that main road at
some point to follow a dirt path wich disapeared in the woods. The 3
casters noticed there was a weak notice-me-not charm and a weak
muggle-repelent charm tied to a ward in the area. Said ward was
anchored to a large cut stone used as landmark. Muggle would know of
the dirt path, but would care about it and have no interest in what lay
beyond. They followed the dirt path, illuminated by Harry having used
his rod for a lumos.
"We are at the edge of another boundary field" suddenly said Semimaris,
with Scathach and Xuanzang nodding. "It's has the same function as the
one at the crossroad, and it's damaged, barely holding on. It's also
covering a wider area. We are very close."
They soon came in view of an old wall covered in plant growth, with a
broken gate in the middle. Harry stoped at the sight of the entrance of his
family lands. The place where his father and grandparents had lived. He
felt a deep sense of loss seeing the neglected state of the place. He passed
the gate in a slight daze, with the women following and keeping an eye
on him. They could make out a vague structure ahead of them.
"Lumos maxima!"
The women groaned or hissed at the sudden blinding light in front of
them, raising their arms and turning their faces away. But Harry didn't
notice, even when Vi growled at him. His entire attention was on the
charred remains of his family manor. The walls of the ground floor were
still standing, mostly. But anything above was gone. The windows were
empty blackened holes, and there was no door at the main entrance.
He realised it was the place where his grandparents were killed, and tears
started to stream down his face. He dropped his trunk, slowly advanced,
and entered the ruins.
The inside walls were even more damaged, and anything left from the
furnitures had rotted away. There were small plants and moss
everywhere on the ground, and to his slight surprise, some devil snare
moved away from him. There were holes in the ground, where the upper
floors collapsed all the way down to the basement, spreading the
destructive fire over there. The women stayed near him, with the casters
muttering spells for detection and analyse.
"Some of the structural reinforcement enchantements are still active"
stated Scathach. "It is what kept the rest of the groundfloor from
collapsing."
"There is another subtle boundary field active" added Semimaris. "An
identification ward it seem, limited to the building interior."
Harry distantly listened, but continued to move. Following his intuition,
he jumped in one of the holes leading underground, to the slight panic of
the girls. They quickly followed him. Harry moved through the broken
remains and stood in front of a large and clear stone tile, gazing at it. The
casters, seeing his reaction, analysed it.
"There is something hidden underneath" said Scathach. "Since you were
attracted it this place, it must be a family based protection magic."
Hearing this, and thinking about the blood wards that were supposed to
be at Privet Drive, Harry decided to cut his palm with a weak diffindo
and placed it on the center of the tile while channeling some magic. The
tile faintly glowed and vibrated, releasing a low and deep humming, then
slowy sank in the ground with him. The girls tried to join him, but they
couldn't reach him. Any momentum forward was annuled.
"Tsk. It is a family protection" Semimaris said with a displeased
expression. "Only family can continue further. We have to wait here."
The tile descended for about 5 meters, and stopped. Harry found himself
at the edge of a circular room around 2m in diameter and height with a
stone at its center. The ground, walls and ceiling were made of white
glowing material, and Harry guessed that the 150cm hexagonal stone
with engraving on it was the wardstone of the property.
He knew that he should be able to take control of the property wards, but
didn't know how that was supposed to work. So he just put his blooded
hand on top of the wardstone, thinking it would activate something like
the tile. And it did. Some of the inscription on the stone started to glow
red, and he felt himself be scanned by the stone, similar to when madam
Pomfrey checked on him. When the scan stopped, the inscriptions turned
gold.
Harry suddenly felt something weird in his head, as if his senses had been
disturbed, but they clearly weren't. As the feeling got clearer, he had the
impression to have awakened a new sense. He perceived 2 differents
things, active and weak, and several others that were inactive. His eyes
widened in realisation.
"I'm connected to the wardstone... I can feel the wards."
Concentrating on them, Harry got a basic informations from each of
them: their function, their current state and their previous state. Nearly
all the previous wards had been broken or overwhelmed during the
manor attack and subsequent destruction. At that time, their anchors in
the wardstone, and the stone itself had been damaged by the backlash.
However, the wardstone had a self-repairing function, and over the years,
the arrays producing those wards had been restored.
At the moment, the wardstone had been working at low power for years,
and suddenly activating all the wards would just damage it as it wasn't
used to such strain. Thankfully, Harry didn't need the full wards. Nobody
knew he was there, except maybe his account manager, and that was all
he needed to insure his safety and privacy.
To keep it, he just needed the to activate the magic containing ward, and
the anti-scrying and anti-tracking wards. He also activated the perimeter
ward, to know when someone or something entered or exited the
property.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Have a MCV and Soverign update for Christmas! This chapter has been
ready for 2 days, but I wanted to release it alongside my MCV chapter
on Christmas day.
Chapter 16: The Order
Through his link with the wardstone, Harry felt the activation of the
wards. In an instant, the magic took a complex shape following the
directions from the arrays, and spread outward like a bubble being
inflated. When they finished taking shape, their power grew over the
following few seconds to reach the optimal level of activity.
Harry was having a mild headache due to the influx of informations. He
returned to the tile, and with a mental command, was brough back up.
"We felt the activation of wards" stated Semimaris. "Was that you?"
"Yes. I took control of the family wardstone. It was damaged when the
manor was destroyed, but it repaired itself. I only activated wards to
conceal our presence. There were others, but I'm too tired to check them,
and we don't need them right now."
With that said, he left the ruins with the girls following behind. Once
outside, he raised the wizarding tent. There was a sitting room, separated
from the kitchen/dinning room by a curtain. On each side of the sitting
room were 2 passages leading to a bathroom and 2 bedrooms on each
side. 3 of these rooms had 2 beds, while the last one had one big bed.
Semimaris and Camille were paired together, both being assassins,
Caitlyn and Vi were already good friends so they took a room, which left
Scathach with Xuanzang. Though Semimaris was displeased with the
arrangements, she kept it to herself and bear with it. She reminded
herself that it was temporary and that once the place got rebuild she
would have her own room.
Once everyone got settled and retrieved their possessions, new and old,
they showered and went to bed. Harry was so drained mentally that he
didn't even give the ladies the option to use the bathroom first. Luckily
for him, they understood his current situation, and wouldn't hold it
against him.
Later in the night, while Harry and his heroines were peacefully sleeping,
another group of people was active. They had arrived at Privet Drive, and
intended to retrieve the youth supposed to be living there. They were the
advance guard of the Order of the Phoenix.
"There is noone" said the disfigured man with an artifical eye in a low
voice.
"Good, it'll be easier to get him then" replied a pink haired girl.
"You didn't get it, Tonks?" he angrily retorted. "He isn't there. The house
is empty. Neither Harry nor his relatives are there!"
"Harry!" whispered a shabby dressed man as he rushed into the house.
The rest of the group followed after him. When they reached the door of
his room, a few of them glanced suspiciously at the locks on the outside
and the catflap at the bottom. The 3 people entered the room while the
others went to search the rest of the house. Compared to the rest of the
house, the room was shabby, with second hand old and tastless
furnitures. There were no traces of any of Harry's belongings. They made
sure of it with a few spells.
"This isn't what a teen's room should look like" whispered Tonks.
The 2 men caught it, but didn't show any signs of it. Inwardly, they were
asking themselves some questions.
"I don't think he has been there since the day of the attack" said the
shabby man. "His scent is still lingering, but it's old. Nobody has been
there since then, Moody."
"I think you're right Lupin" replied the retired auror. "No signs of
violence. There is a lose floorboard with a hidden space under. He kept
something there, but it's empty. He left of his own will. Didn't he do the
same thing before his 3rd year?"
"Yeah. With You-Know-Who back, I guess he panicked after the attack."
"Or he didn't trust anybody and decided to stay on his own. He was
supposed to be safe here after all."
It soon became clear that, after Harry's departure, the Dursley didn't
intend to stay long. They left early in the day on vacation, most likely to
get away from anything magical. They swiftly returned to their hidden
headquaters in London. When they arrived there, 2 people rushed to
meet them, alerted by the mad shouts of a portrait.
The first to arrive was a black haired man with aristocratic yet weary
features. He was the current owner of the building, Grimmauld Place. His
expectant face darkened when he saw everyone but his godson.
"Where is Harry?"
"The boy didn't wait for us, Sirius" replied Moody. "He left on his own."
"What?"
"Wait until everyone is here, we will give more details once the meeting
is in session."
"Merlin's balls! I've been telling you for days to bring him" Sirius replied
as his temper rose. "None of this would have happened if he was here!"
At that time, the second person arrived, with her ginger hairs, thick
figure and motherly vibe.
"Where is Harry? What happened to him?" she asked, her voice and
worry rising.
"Calm down. I'm sure he's safe, just laying low" said Remus.
"You don't know where he is?" she asked, dumbfounded. "He has been
attacked, Remus. By dementors! And now he is Merlin knows where,
probably without food!"
"We're going to look for him Molly" said the pink haired girl. "From what
I've been told, he is ressourceful. I'm sure he's alright."
"Why didn't he come to the burrow?" she lamented to herself.
Those present also asked themselves the same question.
Upstairs, 5 young people had heard the commotion, and 3 of them
expected their friend to be up at any moment. A lanky ginger haired boy
named Ronald, but who was called Ron. His little sister, Ginevra, who
disliked her name and prefered to be called Ginny. A bushy haired
brunette named Hermione. However, the ones who entered the room
they were waiting in were the prankster twins of the Weasley family,
Fred and George. Their faces were graves.
"What's going on?" asked Hermione.
"Harry wasn't at his relative house" said the one twin.
"It looks like he left shortly after the dementor attack" said the other.
""They don't know where he is"" they finished at the same time.
The 2 girls gasped at the news, while Ron's reaction was more subdued.
Still, all 3 of them got really worried about their friend.
"They should have listened to Sirius" Ginny stated, pale from both worry
and anger.
"They sent him a message to reassure and stay there. Why didn't he
listen?" Hermione said nearly at the same time as Ginny.
Ginny turned toward Hermione in surprise, then her eyes narrowed. She
wasn't the only one dissatisfied with Hermione's statement. Her twin
elder brothers felt the same. Ron, on the other hand, wasn't sure what to
think about concerning Harry's actions, and decided to wait until they
met again to ask him his reasons.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Happy New Year, motherf*ckers and b*tches!! (still a little excited by
the new year, and listening to epic music while writing)
Chapter 17: The waterfall
The wizard and his 6 summoned subordinates were sitting at the table.
They didn't wake up early, but not late either. However, since they only
had one bathroom, they had to take turn using it. Harry felt the pain of
waiting for 6 women to be done with it. He regretted letting them go in
first, since he still had to wait a while after finishing making breakfast.
They also used most of the hot water.
"Now that we have a place to call our own, we have to take care of the
most pressing matter" started Semimaris. "Your inquiry in 7 days. We
have 7 days to not only absorb as much knowledge of local laws and
regulations as possible, but also gather reliable intelligence about the
government officials we will be most likely to deal with."
Everyone at the table nodded.
"But even before that, there is something else we must do" she said as she
focused on Harry. "We have to give you a thorought physical
examination. You have had a few unusual experiences with magic,
especially with our summoning, and even the wand crafter that has only
seen you once before noticed the changes. We must make sure that you
are perfectly healthy."
Harry had a complicated look on his face. He didn't deny that it was a
good idea, but he was never comfortable with medical examinations. He
was also anxious of what would come out of the examination. Scathach
continued where Semimaris stopped.
"While noone of us are healers, Semimaris and I do have some medical
knowledge. We are going to verify some features about this world
magical health problems and healing today. We will be performing the
examination this evening. Meanwhile, I would like to ask Caitlyn to start
the research on local magical law" she said, looking at the sniper.
"You can count on me" she replied.
"I will help as well" added Camille.
The 2 looked at each other and nodded. They were far from being friends
in their former lives, but they could work together rather well.
"What'bout me and sunshine there?" asked Vi while pointing at Xuanzang
with her thumb.
"You finish exploring the area with Harry?" proposed Caitlyn.
"You can also check his fighting skills, get him used to his new rod"
added Camille.
"Whatever you do, I want him back relatively unharmed for his
examination" Semimaris finished, her eyes imperceptibly narrowing at Vi.
She had doubt about the gauntlet user's ability to keep things in
moderation. Most likely due to her language and shamelessness.
With that decided, they separated in 3 groups. Caitlyn focused on laws,
while Camille focused on the inner workings of the ministry and the
wizengamot. Semimaris and Scathach looked over medical books, but
also books about defense against dark arts.
Harry explored the rest of the grounds, followed by Vi and Xuanzang, but
aside from a few overgrown magical plants, there was nothing
noteworthy. Despite that, Harry had the feeling he was overlooking
something, and continued to advance in a certain direction. When they
were about to reach the boundary of the property, Xuanzang stopped
him.
"Where are you going, Harry?"
"Eh? I feel like there is something I'm missing somewhere over there."
"Another compulsion keyed to family members?"
"I don't know. Probably?"
They left the property and headed deeper in the mountain. After about an
hour and half, they arrived to a rocky area with a beautifull mountain
stream cascade waterfall. It had a enght of 10m, and descending from a
height of 3m through 7 steps leading into a small pond. Harry was
attracted to the pond, just below the waterfall.
"There is something hidden there" he said as he pointed to the place.
Without waiting, he undressed, cast a warming charm on himself, and
jumped in the pond. It wasn't very deep, no more than 3m, but the water
was very cold. Harry was glad to have spelled himself. He approached
the rock wall just below the waterfall and stopped. He was certain that
there was something there despite looking ordinary, then got inspiration
from King Cross Station.
He took a big step forward... and passed through the rock. He stumbled a
little, disoriented due to the change of environment. Where before he was
underwater with pressure from above, he was now in adimly lit cavern,
1m large and 2m tall, and leading downward with rocky stairs. Looking
behind him, he could still see the pond, with the turbulences caused by
the waterfall. He could also hear the sound it made, though both sight
and sound were slightly distorted by the barrier.
Outside, on the edge of the pond, Vi and Xuanzang watched Harry
disappear through the rock.
"I felt a discreet magic pulse. He passed through a barrier. Probably the
same kind that forbade us from following him to the wardstone, so no
use trying to follow him."
"Ha ha ah! His ancestors were clever bastards."
"Vi!!"
"Oops! Sorry, I didn't mean it as an insult" she replied, abashed.
"You should be more careful with your language! If Harry was here he
wouldn't have taken it well."
"I know, I'll be careful. I'm glad for him. His ancestors left ways for their
descendants to get back on their feets if the worst came to pass. Not only
was their wardstone well protected, they didn't have their secret vault in
the manor and didn't leave everything to the goblins. I'm sure that what's
down there."
And she was right. Harry followed the rocky corridor underground until
he reached a tasteful stone door. Tasteful because of the simple yet
elegant engravings on it. Harry slowly walked up to it and admired the
craftmanship. It was one of the few constructions left intact from his
family, and he got really eager to see what was inside.
With trepidation, he put his hand on the door, barely noticing a split-
second glow, and pushed. The door didn't move.
"... I'm an idiot."
He cut his palm open with a weak diffindo, and opened a long and bone
deep gash on it. Blood flowed out of the wound in surprising quantities,
staining his underwear and feet.
"Aaaargh!! Bloody Hell!! Episkey!!"
With another spell, the deep gash was turned into a shallow cut. Harry
took a deep breath and calmed himself. He told himself he really needed
to get control of his magic.
After a minute, he gathered himself and put his hand on the door. This
time, instead of a low glow there was a non-blinding flash, and the door
opened.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Sorry for the delay, got distracted (found other fics) then got a cold
(inevitable for me during January-February)
Concerning Caitlyn and Camille, I'm not an expert in LOL lore.
Especially relationships between champions, how aquitained, friendly,
neutral or unfriendly they were to each others. For any mistakes in
that regard, well, it's a f*ckin fanfic! It's supposed to be different from
canon...
Chapter 18: Warm heart
As Harry opened the door, he found himself in a small entry hall leading
to a small circular room. Unlike the neutral glow present in the rock
corridor, the lighting in the room was of a light brown color.
When he reached the small room, he realised that it was the center of
vault, a circular one. What he though was an entry hall was in fact one of
the aisles of the vault. The other 6 aisles had various items stored on
shelves. These shelves were supported by the outer walls of the vault, and
rock pillar at the entrances of the aisles. He walked absentmindedly
through the aisles, glancing at the contents of the shelves. Chests and
cases, medieval weaponry and armors, earthenwares, glass vials and jars
with various content, books and journals.
On the pillar facing the door was the Potter crest: a brown shield, 2
crossed white wands at its center, and a red dragon head at the
foreground. Looking more carefully at the rest of the place, he noticed
that the pillars, ground and ceilling had modest red and gold artistic
paterns. That, with the crest and the brown light, hinted strongly to earth
and fire. The 2 elements used in pottery.
"Potter" he whispered in reverence.
With that, Harry uncovered the humble origins of his family. People who
worked the earth with fire. They started with clay in pottery and ores in
smithing, adding some enchanting for magical effects. Later they added
products from the land (magical plants and beasts parts) in potions.
He smiled, elation filling his heart. He wasn't aware of his magic leaking
out of his body in gentle waves, producing a soft breeze in the
underground chamber. He also didn't notice the place becoming warmer
in response, the glow getting slightly stronger, as if welcoming a kin. To
him, this place was the heart of his family.
He hadn't felt that happy since he discovered that Sirius wasn't a traitor.
He may have been obsessed with killing the rat, but he never stopped
caring about him. When he escaped from Azkaban, instead of going to
The Burrow, he went to check on his godson in Surrey first. And now,
Harry felt like he had been reunited with his family.
Thinking of his family reminded him of the other people looking after
him. Mainly, the 2 ladies still waiting for him at the shores of the pond.
"I should get back. It took some time to come here, and it's probably
going to be noon soon. The girls are going to be hungry."
With one last look around, he left the vault. Once outside, he briefly
explained to the girls his discovery. They were happy for him, and
Xuanzang even took him in her arms. He certainly enjoyed it since he
was still half-naked and her clothes were light. He quickly finished to
dress himself and they went back to their base.
Harry decided to increase the pace to a slight jog after checking the time
with a tempus. His 2 protectors had no trouble with that, and Xuanzang
was almost skipping merrily at his side. It made his eyes lock onto her
chest, captivated by the shaking and swaying. As he recollected himself,
he reduced his pace. With Xuanzang in the lead, his gaze fell on her
attractive backside, making things harder for him.
'Cho my be pretty, but Xuanzang is in a completly different level... Damn,
she's gorgeous!'
He didn't dare turn around to look at Vi, who kept pace behind them. He
internally cringed, thinking about the teasing she would unleash on him
if she caugh him checking her out. The shopping trip had been bad
enough. The memory was enough to make him flush in embarrassement
and arousal. Once they got back, Harry rushed to the kitchen to prepare
lunch, letting Xunazang and Vi relate their little expedition.
Concerning Harry's cooking, the summoned girls only experienced his
breakfast, which was something simple. Milk, toasts, eggs and bacons. It
was done mostly out of habit. However, this time, he was not cooking for
hated relatives. With them, the slightest mistakes would result in either
pain, starvation, or both. He had to get good at it, and he even studied
foreign cooking, mainly french and spanish, in books. When the Dursleys
invited guests, the meals had to be perfects or he would suffer.
This time, he was not cooking for them. He was cooking for beautiful
ladies that were also his protectors and sworn allies. Furthermore, after
discovering his family hidden vault, he was in a celebrating mood. Thus,
he was very caring in the preparation of each ingredient, and each
dishes. They came from different areas, so he wanted to make something
that would suit all of them. He altered known dishes to make something
new.
If he wasn't so concentrated in his task, he would have heard 3 stomach
growling, the owners of these stomachs entranced by the fragrant smell
spreading around. Vi and Xuanzang, who were observing from afar while
chatting, looked away in embarrassement. Scathach closed her mouth
and hastly wiped the bit of droll that had started to leak.
Harry didn't need to tell to prepare the table. When he was done and
turned around, he found everyone already seated at the table. He blinked
twice, seeing Camille seemingly ready to eat as well, but chose to not
dwell on it. The girls eyes were fixated on each dishes he placed on the
table, and Harry was quite pleased and slightly amused in his mind. They
didn't move until he sat down as well.
"Go ahead. Enjoy the meal."
Harry didn't move and watched them. Once they filled their plates,
nearly at the same time, they scooped a and carried it to their mouths.
""Mmmhhh!""
Vi and Xuanzang moaned in pleasure, making little Harry jerk. All of
them closed their eyes as they savoured the taste, before opening them
and eating with enthusiasm.
"Delicious" exclaimed Xuanzang, while the other nodded in agreement.
"Indeed" added Semimaris. "It is excellent."
"Thanks" he said as he started serving himself. "I'm glad you like it."
"If that's what we can expect everyday, then you're on permanent cooking
duty" Vi said in a half-joking tone.
"Or I can teach you how to cook."
"No way. Not my thing. I'll let the expert deal with it."
"Too bad, because I'll leave for Hogwart in less than a month, and I won't
be back for 3 and half months. You'll be on your own."
Vi froze, and even the others, who were absentmindedly listening to the
banter, slowed down. Harry just gave them an innocent smile. They soon
resumed eating. It was the best meal he had since the end of the
tournament, not just because of the quality of the food, but also the
warm and relaxing setting.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
delayed by slight cold, small lack of inspiration, bing-reading, and 2/5
of the chapter lost due to my pc bugging.
Chapter 19: Discoveries
After the delicious meal, the 7 people relaxed. Harry would have loved to
give them some wine, especially to Semimaris, but he didn't think about
buying alcoholic drink during shopping. So he settled for tea. Despite
being a good cook, he wasn't that good with drinks and tea. But he could
make something decent.
Harry spent his afternoon practicing all the spells he knew, under the
watchfull eyes of Xuanzang and Vi.
More often than not, he used too much power in his spells. His rod may
have been more powerful than his firs wand, but it was also harder to
handle. In Ollivander's words, it would be temperamental, or wild. His
lack of control over his magic didn't help. Xuanzang and Vi observed not
only to make sure that he didn't hurt himself, but also to see what kind of
spells were used in the magical world.
At the end of the day, Harry was exhausted, mostly mentally. He had to
concentrate more on his spellcasting, and his failures frustrated him. He
estimated that it would take him a few days of practice to recover a
decent level of control. When he entered the tent, Semimaris and
Scathach were already waiting for him.
"You should go and take a shower" said Semimaris. "We will start the
examination as soon as you're done."
Harry looked at them with a perplexed expression.
"It is best to perform that before you eat" continued Scathach. "The
earlier we start, the earlier we finish, the earlier we will be able to eat
diner."
The last part was said in a lower tone than usual, with a hint of
anticipation and shame. Harry nodded in agreement, not noticing his 2
other companions nodding as well, but for a different reason. The glint in
their eyes would have betrayed their thoughts.
30 minutes later, Harry was in his room, lying on his bed in underwear,
with the 3 casters surrounding him.
"The healing magic from your world is quite interesting" said Scathach. "I
dare say it is superior to what was possible in our world in some regards.
But when it comes to scanning the body to detect wounds and ailments, I
believe we have an edge. Still,we are going to use both methods to make
sure we don't miss anything."
With that said, they spent several minutes casting various spells on him.
Some he could tell were from the wizarding world, other that were from
their world because of the foreign language and the shift in wand
movements.
At some point during the examination, Harry felt his scar tingle in
contact with their magic, and it slowly turned into an irritating itch. All 3
casters frowned at that moment, and Scathach and Semimaris focused on
it. After investigating it, their frowns turned into glares, and seeing this,
Harry started to get really worried. After finishing the examination, they
sat down on the nearby chairs and had a whispered discussion.
Semimaris sighted and they turned to him.
"So? How am I doing?"
"You are both in a better and worse condition than I expected" said
Semimaris. "The 10 years of mistreatment inflicted by your relatives left
some damage in your body. You're still slowly recovering from
malnourishment despite spending most of your time at your magic
school. You didn't receive specialised treatment for that, thus the slow
healing. Since you are in the middle of puberty, it is still possible to
completly correct it."
"You awakened traits you acquired a little over 2 years ago" continued
Scathach. "Traits related to some kind of magical beast, something to do
with health and vitality. I am guessing it is from the Chamber Of Secret
incident, when you were bit by the basilisk and healed by the phoenix.
You gained something from a beast with a very long lifespan and another
that is reborn after death. Aside from the lingering damage from
malnourishment, your body is in a good condition."
"On the magical side, until 3 days ago, your magic was bound" continued
Semimaris.
"What?"
"You had a magical block whose function was to limit the amount of
magic you could use in a single instance. It is usually used on children
who are prone to strong bouts of accidental magic. It limits the damage
they can do on their surroundings and prevent magical exhaustion, which
is dangerous for young children. It was most likely placed on you by your
parents, and left there after their death. It got overloaded when you
summoned us."
"How much of my magic was blocked?"
"Between 20 and 25%. It's difficult to say because the source of wizard's
magic is different from our own."
"Not too much then. Anything else?"
"There is a faint blood based barrier magic on you."
"My mother!!"
"The original protection placed on you by her that saved your life. It was
stressed and stretched until today, when it started to stabilise. I think that
linking to the manor wardstone affected it."
Semimaris grimaced before resuming her talk.
"It also used to protect you from something."
Harry locked eyes with her, and she could see the fear hidden within his
eyes. He understood that whatever it was, was terrible news.
"There is a soul fragment in your scar, shrouded in dark magic. The
barrier had it contained, until 6 weeks ago..."
With each word she spoke, Harry's complexion whitened. He wasn't the
only one, as Xuanzang looked at him in horror. He was starting to have
trouble breathing.
"... I have a piece of Voldemort soul in my head?"
Semimaris and Scathach grimly nodded.
"He took my blood. He could touch me. And now, this disgusting piece of
shit in there can affect!!!"
The end of that last sentence was shouted as he abruptly stood up. He
was starting to panic and furiously wiped his scar."
"Get it out. GET IT OUT!!" he screamed as he tried to scratch the scar and
rip it.
Thankfully, Xuanzang and Scathach reacted first and took hold of his
arms. They may have been casters and weaker than they should be, but
still stronger than ordinary humans, and Xuanzang was also a martial
artist. They easily subdued him.
"Calm down Harry!" said Xuanzang.
"I have some of that bastard in me!! Without protection!!"
"You faced him, weakened and surrounded by his followers, and still
made it out alive. The thing in your scar is just a small piece! Are you
telling me that you're weaker than that?"
Harry stopped resisting, his gaze got lost as he processed what she said,
before wincing and lowering his head in shame.
"No... Sorry. It's just. I can't bear the thought of having a bit of him stcuk
in me. It's making me feel horrible, tainted in the worst way."
He sat down on his bed, head held in his hands. His magic flaring
eratically, mirroring his mental state. He was a step away from having
powerful accidental magic.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Yes, I'm aware of the double meaning. I didn't intend to, it just
happened as I was writting. I hesitated, but decided to leave. It
wouldn't change the facts.
Sometimes I wonder if it's why there are so many HP-V gay fanfic.
If it's not him, it's Draco or Severus. Canon Harry was so pathetic many
people can't help but see his enemies and abusers litteraly f*ck him. In
their eyes he's not even good enough for his friends and allies.
Chapter 20: Harry's magic
After a few moments, Harry calmed down and his magic settled. His face
had become blank, completly devoid of emotions.
"That piece of soul link us together. My scar had always been hurting
whenever he was close. And last year I had a vision about him before
school resumed. With my mother's protection now ineffective against
him, and him returned to power, he may very well find that connection
and use it against me. He could very well see through my eyes and hear
through my ears like I did before. Heck, he could probably mess with my
mind as well!"
"There is a solution for that" stated Scathach.
Harry sharply turned to her, his expression curious, nearly hopeful.
"One of the books we took from your family vault was about the mind
arts. I briefly checked it, it is separated in 2 disciplines, legilimency and
occlumency. The first discipline is used to read or invade someone's
mind. The second is used to protect and strenghten one's mind. Learning
occlumency is going to be your priority. In fact, all of us should learn it."
"Why not just take the damn thing out?"
"It's not that simple" said Semimaris. "We are dealing with souls here.
Noone of us dabbled in magics of the soul, and very few in our home
world did. If your mothers protection was still effective, it may have been
possible to get rid of the soul shard by physically removing the scar.
Without that barrier however, the foreign soul piece latched onto your
own, making the removal much more complicated and dangerous. You
will need the equivalent of a spiritual surgery."
Harry gaped at her like a fish out of the water, as the ramifications of
what she said slowly sank in his head.
"Bloody wizards and fucking Dumbledore!!" he shouted as he stood up
and started to pace around the room while cursing under his breath.
It was obvious that the piece of soul stuck to him on Halloween 1981. At
that time, Lily's protection was at its strongest, and the soul shard wasn't
as deeply attached to him. It was still stuck to the scar. Had he been
taken to proper medical and curses experts, they would have been able to
do something about it.
Intead, Dumbledore left him under the care of a mere mediwitch for a
few hours before abandonning him at the doorstep of his hateful
relatives. Furthermore, with wizards general ignorance or disdain of non-
magical methods such as surgery, they wouldn't have thought of excising
the scar, with the soul shard stuck in it. .
Not wanting Harry's anger to reach a boiling point, as warned by the
renewed flaring of his magic, Scathach resumed their report.
"By the way, while we were performing your medical checkup, we did a
consecration."
Harry stopped, and turned to her, puzzled.
"Consecration?"
"Yes. The magic of our world is different from yours despite the many
similarities. There are some things that just can't be replicated in the
same fashion. After your first trip to Ollivanders, we discovered that our
magic aquired some of your world's magic traits, as shown by our ability
to cast witches and wizards spells. It is most likely the result of the
magical bond between us. If our magic adapted to yours, then the
opposite should have happened as well."
It was something Harry though as well but put aside because it wasn't a
priority.
"In our world, magic users have an affinity for one or more elements.
That doesn't stop them from using elements they have no affinity for,
unless it is something very different from the norm. There is nothing
similar mentioned in any of the books we had access to. Were you told
anything about it in your school?"
"No. Never heard of it mentioned anywhere."
"I see. Well, the consecration is the process of discovering someone's
elemental affinity. I expected the result to be unusual, but certainly not
this surprising" she said, lightly shaking her head. "You have an affinity
for 8 elements."
"... What?"
Harry had already guessed that having more than one elemental affinity
was better than average. Since to his limited knowledge, there were 4
main elements, earth, wate, fire and wind, having more than 4 elemental
affinities was near impossible. Hearing Scathach words shocked him, and
left him near speechless.
"It is as you heard. You have 8 elemental affinities. Only 2 of them are
natural though, and they don't have the same strenght. In our world, you
can't change your affinities. You are stuck with what you are born with.
That isn't the case here it seem. You have an average affinity for earth
and a good affinity for space. Then, you acquired a good affinity for
spirit, mind and dark, an average affinity for light and fire, and a weak
affinity for water."
"Wow..."
That was a lot to take in for Harry.
"It seem that, in this world, what you do, or your environment, affect
your elemental affinity" said Semimaris. "The spirit, mind and dark
affinities are likely the result of having the soul shard in your scar since
you were a toddler. The light and fire affinity probably came from the
phoenix tears, and maybe your former wand core. I cannot guess how
you aquired your water affinity."
"Great. At least, it looks like I can get something usefull for all the shit
that happens to me" Harry snarked. "Even if it comes from the dark
bastard" he added in a lower, disgusted tone.
"Your space, mind and spirit affinity are likely what allowed you to
summon us" stated Xuanzang, surprising him as she hardly spoke the
whole time she had been there. "And your mind affinity will certainly
help you in learning occlumency. Finally, with your spirit affinity, you
should be able to deal with the soul shard in time"
She gave him one of those smiles that never failed to charm him.
"Don't worry, strenghtening ones mind and spirit is something I learned
when I was still a student. I'll help you and teach you."
"Thanks" he said while shyly lowering his head for a bit. "I'llbe counting
on you."
"Anyway" continued Scathach. "You clearly had your affinities before our
arrival, so they are unrelated to our magics bonding. It is probable that
elemental affinities in this world can't be revealed unless they are
awakened, and the awakening happens only in special circumstances.
That would explain why the regular magical population doesn't know
about them. You forcefully awakened them during the dementors attack."
Scathach smiled at him with a glint of anticipation in her eyes.
"That does not mean you can't learn our kind of magic. While Xuanzang
will help you with the mind arts, I will be happy to teach you the basics
of our magic."
Harry was both happy and a little regretful. He realised he was going to
be very busy this summer. Even though he new it was important and
would only benefit him, he was already grieving the loss of leisure time
despite being away from the Dursleys. His consolation was that the
company would be much more pleasing.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
There, I think I made up for the previous delay in release.
Chapter 21: 6 days
Harry left the room, his mind going through everything he has
discovered recently. He absent-mindedly went to the kitchen and started
to prepare diner.
While he was busy, the casters told the other girls the basics of what was
discovered during the examination. Then they started to talk about what
they were going to do to train him. They talked in low voices, aware of
Harry's distracted mind and wanting to leave him in peace for a while. Vi
also didn't want him more distracted than he already was while cooking,
fearing for a big drop in quality. The others girls agreed.
Diner passed in a calm manner, with little talk, but no akwardness. After
the meal, the ladies presented to him the schedule he was to follow for
the days preceding the inquiry.
He would spend the first 2 hours of the morning practicing with his new
focus. He had to be able to cast all the spells he learned since first year
without discomfort, and then get even better at it than he was with his
old wand. The following 2 hours would be spent with Scathach, learning
the basics of her world kind of magic.
His afternoon would be spent with Xuanzang. He would learn meditation
with her as well as breathing. Breathing would not only help with
learning their kind of magic, but also with meditation. The evenings
would be spent learning more about magical Britain. The nobles houses,
etiquette, common laws and regulations, and the most influencal
members of the Ministry. Caitlyn and Camille would help him with that.
"Looks like I'll be busy" Harry muttered with a wry grin.
"We will all be" Semimaris lightly admonished him, having heard him.
"When not assisting you with your studies and training, we will be doing
a lot of research."
Harry nodded with some pink on his cheek.
The following days were spent following the schedule. But there were
some things he forgot to take into consideration, which made these days
much harder than he expected.
Harry was used to work hard, and sometimes too much. It was one of the
reasons why he was lazy with school work, he didn't to inflict on himself
more workload than needed, not wanting to feel like he was with the
Dursley. Yet these days of training and studying had become harder to
bear than if he was with the Dursley.
The 1st reason being the women's beauty.
As he got used to his new rod and new level of magic, he also had to
work on DADA spells. Semimaris and Vi though that it would be a good
idea to do it through spars. So every mornings, after 1h and half of
general spell casting, he would spend the last 30 minutes in mock battles.
Usually with Semimaris and Vi as opponents. And they weren't in casual
clothes, but leggings and sport bras for Vi and tennis dress for Semimaris.
It was very distracting, and he always paid for it dearly. That was the
2nd reason he suffered, they didn't go easy on him.
The school robes always hid too much, even the quidditch outfit. He still
wasn't used to see so much beauty. Vi wore g-strings with her leggings so
the back view was always arousing. Semimaris didn't use any bras, she
hardly had to move when fighting him, but it was enough to make her
breasts shake in hypnotic ways. Gusts of winds would reveal the lacy
underwear she wore under the dress.
Xuanzang always wore light and slightly revealing clothing such as crop
tops with no bra, bikini tops, boyshorts and dolphin shorts. Thankfully,
most of the time he spent with her, he had his eyes closed for better
concentration, or she stayed behind him. They jogged to the waterfall, he
would meditate there, and they would jog back to the estate. He was
both angry and gratefull that she didn't run ahead of him. Just thinking
about it was enough to make him groan.
Time with Scathach, Caitlyn and Camille was relatively more tame. He
spent his time with them at a table to study. There were no big motions
to make their chest jiggle, and their butts were always out of sight. And
in Camille case, it was impossible for him to get excited over an artificial
body. It only had the same appeal as a painting or sculpture. They were
strict in their teaching, and Harry was a bit happy that he didn't get
distracted during their lessons.
Like that, Harry spent nearly 10h everyday training and studying. He also
had to work on his occlumency for an hour before sleeping every nights.
It would have been worse for him if he had to prepare every meals as
well. Thankfully, Xuanzang and Vi could make decent meals, and
Semimaris was surprisngly good as well. Nobody expected the former
queen to be able to use a kitchen. What the others made was just good
enough to be edible. He only had to cook diner.
The ladies had also been busy. They had a crash course on wizarding
magic and defense against the dark arts, just in case something happened
on the day of the inqury. They had to acquire up to date informations
about the state of magical Britain, something which wasn't avilable in the
books. That meant leaving the estate and mingling with the magical
population. Semimaris and Scathach used long distance magical means,
while Camille ghosted around with Harry's invisibility cloak.
One of the 1st thing they did though, was going to Gringot and get
themselves IDs. Since 3 of them would escort him to the ministry, it
would be best if there were traces of their existence for people to find.
The goblin could take care of building the proper trails and background.
It wasn't rare for people to use aliases or get themselves new identities
through them. The only one who didn't was Camille. Her existence would
remain secret for as long as possible, a hidden ace.
Caitlyn kept her real name. Vi got the name Vicky Isley, which could
easily explain people calling her Vi. Scathach became Ciara Canain,
Xuanzang became Xuan Zhenya, and Semimaris became Maris Ria. The 3
servants were still wary of someone discovering their true names.
On the eve of the inquiry, Harry felt like the previous 6 days passed in a
flash. He was nervous, but also confident that everything would be fine.
It was different from being in the care of Dumbledore or the Weasley.
They didn't just handle him. They didn't restrain him. They supported
him and pushed him to be better without appearing bossy like Hermione
and Mrs Weasley. Not for the 1st time since meeting them, he felt
gratefull to have them with him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I haven't updated in weeks. I'll TRY to make up for it this month (7-8
updates instead of 4).
Didn't want to go into details of what he did during those 6 days. Not
important enough.
Of course, their aliases would only be used in front of people not in
their confidence, and for other official things.
Chapter 22: To the Headquaters of
the ministry
It was 5:30am on 12 August when Harry woke up. His inquiry was
scheduled for 9am, but he was going to be at the ministry from the
opening hours, 7:30am.
He was going there with Caitlyn, Scathach and Xuanzang, the 1st as his
defendant for the inquiry, the others as bodyguards to keep either corrupt
ministry employees or Dumbledore from taking Harry away. Or worse,
having followers of the Dark Lord try to do something where noone
would see. If a fight was to breakout, they would at least be able to get
away.
Harry didn't want to be held back by the women hogging the bathroom,
and they were going to put extra efforts to look good for the occasion. He
though they didn't need it, but chose not to complain. He too had to look
good. They were sure Fudge was going to make a show of it, and they
were going to take advantage of it.
The ladies got him an elegant black and silver formal outfit with golden
paterns, and the Potter crest added above his heart. They wanted him to
wear some emerald green at first to go with his eyes, but the color
represented slytherin too much for his tastes, and it wouldn't do at a time
where the public opinion was being turned against him. He didn't use red
either, as he felt he would feel too much like Dumbledore's griffindor
protegee. The thought alone made him scowl.
On top of that, he had also physically gotten better. The bad nights since
his return from Hogwart, and the lack of proper nourishment from the
Dursleys, had taken their toll on his body and mind. Ever since he left
them, he had eaten until he was filled and rested well.
Adding to that all the exercises, physical, magical and mental he did
daily, the disappearance of his magic block, and his improved
constitution, and Harry was no longer looking like a scrawny kid. He
looked like a solid teenager who could hold his own. He would be taken
more seriously.
When Harry came out of the bathroom 10min later, he was startled to see
Caitlyn already waiting for her turn. He managed to keep his external
reaction to a split freezing. Her dark hairs and piercing blue eyes made
an intimidating picture in the dark. After a quick greeting, he went to
start on breakfast. He would finish preparing himself after that, not
willing to risk having a single crumb marring his appearance.
'... That's some Lavender-like thinking... If today wasn't important I'd
probably shed a tear of mortification.'
He took his time in the kitchen, trying to relax. Even though he was
confident everything would be fine, he was still anxious. He had never
been comfortable in the spotlight, and this time he wouldn't be dealing
with classmates, but adults in significant positions. The arrival of the
ladies certainly helped getting rid of his unease. They looked gorgeous.
After the pleasant breakfast, they finished their preparations and left.
It was 7am when they exited the property, and they walked until the
main road before going to London. During the last 7 days, the casters had
looked at the different means of magical travel available, and easily
discovered apparition. It only took them a single day to learn to use it.
They were, after all, already certified magic users, skilled and
experienced beyond the norm.
Xuanzang took Caitlyn in side-along apparition, while Scathach took
Harry, who got under his invisibility cloak. Someone could have tried to
prevent him from reaching the ministry, or intercept him at the entrance.
They appeared in an alley, near the broken-down red telephone box that
served as the visitors' entrance to the Headquaters of the British Ministry
of Magic.
The 4 of them squeezed themselves into the box, something that Harry
internally enjoyed. After dialing the secret number, when they were
asked for their purpose, Caitlyn stated that she escorting her client and
his 2 bodyguard for an inquiry. With the 4 passes issued, the box
descended into the ground and stopped when they reached the Atrium.
Caitlyn led the way, closely followed by Scathach and Xuanzang walking
side by side. Harry was at the back, still hidden. There were very few
people around, most employees starting their work at 8am unless they
were security or on the night shift. As they passed the statue that stood in
the middle of the Atrium, they glanced at it in distaste. Seeing noone
looking around suspiciously as if waiting for someone in particular, Harry
took of his cloak and stored it in his pouch.
They reached the security desk and had their wands checked. When it
came to Harry's turn, the security officer stared at Harry, then at his rod,
then at him again with a mixture of wonder and unease. It annoyed
Harry and he narrowed his eyes.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-no. I was just surprised mr Potter" the guard replied, unnerved by
Harry's glare. "You're free to go."
They left the security desk and went toward the lifts. They took one to
the 2nd level, where the largest department of the Ministry was: the
Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They went to the Wizengamot
Administration Services, which undertook all administrative and clerical
duties for the wizengamot. Court documents, hearing dates, legal
proceedings and such were recorded there.
They verified the time of the inquiry, and added Caitlyn in the files as
Harry's advocate. Semimaris had been paranoid when they prepared for
the inquiry, and didn't want Caitlyn to be blocked from helping Harry
because she wasn't registred. Caitlyn asked the clerq to warn them if
there was any change concerning the inquiry. There was a small waiting
room in the 2nd level, and Harry and his summons went there to pass
time.
Less than 10min later, the clerq informed them that the time and place of
the inquiry had changed.
"8am in courtroom 10" stated Caitlyn to the others. "That's on level 10, in
10 minutes. What a coincidece" she added dryly.
"So, he went for full trial. Petty bumbling idiot" Harry said, his eyes
hardening. "Let's go."
This time, Harry led the way. His anger at the ministry came back in
force at the confirmation of the foul play they had prepared for him.
On the way, they came across several people going the same way. They
were certainly surprised to see him present. A few of them greeted him
verbally while the others simply nodded. Some glanced in curiosity, and
the rest in disaproval or disdain. It was clear they were members of the
light, neutral and dark factions of the wizengamot. They entered the
courtroom and waited to the side while people kept coming in.
The courtroom 10 was used for criminal trials, like it had been 14 years
ago for the Death Eaters. The accused chair at the center was for those
villainous kind of people. Sitting on it was a ploy by the minister to put
him on the same level, something Caitlyn and Scathach easily noticed.
They whispered to him to not sit there and stay standing when the trial
started.
When minister Fudge entered the room, his previously confident
expression melted when he caught sight of Harry, and he got anxious
when he met the piercing gaze of the woman at his side. He was
accompanied by an unpleasant looking woman with horrid pink clothes,
who glared at him with unhidden loathing and hostility.
Harry looked at them with cold eyes. While he though of Fudge as a self
serving moron, he instantly recognised his companion as an enemy. As
they locked gazes, the pink haired woman felt a tingle of dread and
turned her head away, the seed of worry planted in her heart.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I dreamed that I was 70yo. Like, I went from early 30s to 70s in the
blink of an eye, like time passed so fast I didn't notice. I had stagnated
and found myself nearing the last phase of my life, having to be
careful while dancing, having small dreams I would have trouble
realising at that point, and fearing my natural death being much closer
than I wanted. Scary.
Chapter 23: The inquiry-trial
Once everyone got seated, Harry simply standing next to the accused
chair, Fudge ordered the start of the session.
"Disciplinary hearing of the 12th of August, into offences committed
under the Decree of Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the
International Statute of Secrecy, by Harry James Potter, resident at
number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey" stated the minister.
"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan
Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores
Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe,
Percival Ignatus Weasley.The cha-"
"Advocate for the defense, Caitlyn Steeleglass" interrupted Caitlyn as she
placed herself at the defendant stand. "It is supposed to be in your files."
A little thrown of, Fudge was about to resume the proceedings when the
pink clothed woman intervened. "Mr Potter, be seated on the accused
chair" she ordered with poorly hidden condescendance.
"No" Harry simply replied, with some steel in his tone.
That made everyone look at him with incredulous or outraged faces.
"You! How dare a mere boy like you talk back to his better?" Umbridge
nearly shouted.
"My better? You? You must be delusional."
There were a few muffled snickers from the crowd. Before more could be
said, Caitlyn intervened.
"Mr Fudge, Madam Umbridge, Madam Bones, my client is not required to
sit on that chair."
"First, all notices about a change of time and/or place of a hearing are to
be sent at least an hour before the new time. We only had a 10min
notice, and that was because we came to the ministry early. Second, all
disciplinary hearings for underage witches and wizards are to take place
within the DMLE offices. Third, hearing for cases such as underage magic
do not require the presence of the wizengamot. The courtrooms are for
criminal hearings."
She paused to give a critical look to the the wizengamot members. There
were a few whispers and nods of agreements.
"It was in this very room that the Death Eaters were tried 14 years ago,
and they sat on the very chair you want my client to be seated in. Is the
ministry trying to put my client on the same level as murderous terrorists
by trying him here in front of the full wizengamot?"
She gave the 3 interrogators, and mostly the minister a piercing look. Her
words also rattled some of the wizengamot members. The members of the
dark faction glared at her, their previously confident demeanor gone. She
completly broke the opposition's momentum with her next sentence.
"What you are doing, minister Fudge, is in violation of the Wizengamot
Charter of Rights. We are filing an official complaint against the ministry
of magic, for your attempts to deny my clients his rights under the law."
The noise level rose in the courtroom, and some veiled insults were
heard. One thing Harry and his ladies noticed was the approval, and even
some relief, in Amelia Bones expression. They had learned that she was a
tough and fair woman, who wouldn't be bribed. They were disappointed
at first to see her alongside Fudge and Umbridge, but they quickly
realised that she must have been hindered a lot by Fudge and his
supporters.
The minister looked like he had been slapped with a fish, and his
undersecretary was reddening, her already unpleasant face becoming
hideous as it was scrunched in anger. The look she gave them was
poisonous to the extrem.
The woman wanted him dead, Harry was certain of that fact, and he
really didn't appreciate it. He hadn't known her long enough to actually
be furious at her or hate her. He bypassed those. What he felt at that
moment was pure enmity. He wanted her dead.
"The charges, please" asked the sniper.
"R-right" replied the minister, trying to keep face.
Before he could proceed further, the doors of the courtroom slamed open,
and Albus Dumbledore, in his flamboyant robes, entered the room. He
was about to present himself as Harry's defense when his gaze landed on
the unknown woman at the defendant stand. He also caught sight of 2
other women nearby, and he felt through his refined magical sense that
they were quite powerful. Then, there was Harry, standing near the
accused chair in pristine robes, with the Potter Family crest on it.
"Dumbledore!" Fudge nearly growled.
"Mr Minister, forgive my intrusion. As mr Potter is one of my students, I
intended to be here for his defense. I was quite surprised when the time
and place of the hearing were changed at the last minute, so I was in a
bit of a hurry when I arrived here."
When Harry disappeared, he though that at worst he could get ahold of
him at the ministry for his hearing since there was no hints of him having
been captured by Voldemort. He was convinced that Harry wouldn't give
up on magic, and that he could sway him back to his care by defending
him. When he heard from his informants that the hearing was going to
take place ahead of schedule, he panicked. He rushed, thinking that
Harry wouldn't know about it, be tried in abstencia and expelled. It
would be disastrous for his plans.
"My client is thankful for your care headmaster Dumbledore" Caitlyn
said, a sliver of her distaste slipping in her tone at the words 'thankful'
and 'care'. "However, I am already in charge of his defense. You can
watch the rest of the proceeding from the visitors gallery."
Harry's face twitched at her words. He was NOT pleased to see the
headmaster. Dumbledore's face also twitched. He didn't like the fact that
some unknown person had been in contact with Harry, especially
someone that seemed to have told him about his family standing, judging
by the clothes he wore. And Harry didn't seem to be particulary happy to
see him. Not good.
"Harry James Potter" said Fudge, "You are charged with one account of
underage magic usage, and one account of use of magic in front of a
muggle, thereby breaking the International Statute of Secrecy. How do
you plead?"
"My client plead innocent to both charges."
"Impossible!" Fudge nearly shouted. "Mr Potter's usage of the patronus
charm was clearly detected by the ministry sensors in his neighborhood,
a muggle neighborhood I might add!"
""One account of use of magic in front of a muggle", that is what you said.
Do you have any witnesses?... Judging by your expression, obviously not.
Were you there? No. The ministry sensors detect magic, not the people
around it. How would you know there was a muggle nearby if you
weren't there? This is a baseless accusation mr Minister."
Fudge was barely able to contain any sputtering, and the opinions of all
those presents aside from supporters of Voldemort shifted further in favor
of Harry.
"Mr Potter lives with his relatives. If you have forgotten, for all magical
children living with non-magical relatives, said relatives are made aware
of the existence of magic. Any magic performed in front of them doesn't
breach the Statute. The professors meeting the muggleborns would be in
trouble if that wasn't the case. Then, the Decree of Reasonable Restriction
of Underage Sorcery state that an underage witch or wizard can use
magic in a life threatening situation. That is what happened to my client.
He had to defend himself from the attack of 2 dementors."
A lot of whispering and muttering was heard through the room, and
Fudge and Umbridge vehemently denied the claims, while director Bones
wanted more details.
But then again, Caitlyn reminded the minister and his undersecretary that
they didn't have any witnesses to deny their claims. She informed them
that Harry was attacked by dementors twice in front of witnesses during
his 3rd year at Hogwart, despite ministry assusrances that there would be
no mishaps, so it wasn't impossible.
"Tell me, mr Fudge" Harry started with a bit of sarcasm in his tone, "why
would creatures supposedly under the control of the ministry suddenly
find themselves in my neighborhood? Either you lost control of them, or
somebody in your office gave the order. And seeing how you led a smear
compaign against me since the end of the school year and broke
protocols for this hearing, I can't help but feel the second option is more
likely" he finished coldly.
Silence descended in the courtrrom for a second, as they digested the fact
that Harry mentioned what some of them thought this blattantly. And it
wasn't just any orphan saying that. It was the sole heir of an Ancient and
Noble House. Harry didn't have a proper control of his new magical
might, so he unconsciously exerted some magical pressure. It have him a
dominating aura that reinforced the weight of his words
During that second, Harry's summons didn't miss the reaction from
Umbridge. It was a small facial change, but for an instant they saw the
worry. Her complexion, previously red due to fury had paled. Caitlyn saw
the flash of fear in her eyes. It was clear to them that she linked to the
attaxk in some way.
The noise level rose again in the courtroom, with angry remarqus made
to the interrogators. Too many suspicious points on the ministry part
were revealed for Fudge and Umbridge to keep their accusations against
Harry without suffering from severe backlash. They had wanted to
thoroughly discredit him and render him defenceless, and instead they
lost a fair bit of support.
Around 70% of the wizengamot voted him to be innocent on both
charges, and Fudge and Umbridge couldn't stop Bones from starting an
investigation. She gave both Harry and Caitlyn a discreet nod. This scam
of a trial unexpectedly gave her some breathing room from the moron in
charge.
Harry thanked the members of the wizengamot with a small bow and
started to leave, Caitlyn at his side, and Scathach and Xuanzang close
behind.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I'm a simple guy. I know sh*t about hearings/trials proceedings, and
the flowery language they use for the occasion. I finally said "screw it"
and rushed a little at the end.
Chapter 24: Order meeting
While Harry and his group were moving out of the courtroom,
Dumbledore tried to catch up to them without being rude to the ones in
front of him. They quickly reached the lifts and took one to the Atrium of
the ministry. Dumbledore was forced to take another one. He was able to
catch up to them in the Atrium near the central statue.
"Harry!" Dumbledore shouted.
He stopped and the ladies stopped between him and the rapidly
approaching old man.
"Headmaster" he greeted him in a neutral tone.
"Harry. I'm happy to see that you are well" he said, looking at the 3
women surrounding him. "I also see that you found charming company.
Would you mind introducing us?"
"Yes, I would mind."
That stunned Dumbledore for a second. He took a more serious
contenance, the grandfather figure taking a backseat.
"Harry, it was immature of you to disappear and not contact us or any of
your friends. We have all been very worried about you, and our only
comfort was that our informant in the dark side didn't give us any news
of you being in their hands. Come with me, I'm going to take you to a
safe house where you'll be able to stay until September 1st. Your friends
will be there as well."
"Excuse me?" Harry asked in a low and dangerous tone. "Contact you?
After you've taken my owl, my only companion during the summer,
hostage with the excuse that it was for my safety? Just like I'm supposed
to be safe with the Dursley? Like I'm supposed to be safe at Hogwart? Go
to the people who left me completly in the dark about what was
happening in the magical world? That's a load of hyppogriph dung,
Headmaster."
He turned away from the bewildered old man, barrely able to restrain
himself from cursing him.
"You will release my owl today. If she hasn't reached me this evening, our
next contact with each other will be far from pleasant. And my lady
friends will be able to tell if she has anything extra on her that shouldn't
be there."
He didn't wait for an answer and resumed his way to the floo,
accompanied by Caitlyn. Scathach and Xuanzang moved a second later,
their attention mostly on Dumbledore. The warning gaze they gave him,
and the presence of other people in the atrium, told him that it was best
to not insist. The last things he needed was to make a scene in front of
the public, especially if said scene is him engaging 2 strong witches in
battle. He could only watch the group disappear through the floo.
"That was Harry? Is he alright?"
Dumbledore turned around to look at the person talking to him. It was a
middle aged red haired man, the father of one of Harry's friend and
ministry worker, Arthur Weasley. He was both happy to see Harry, and
worried about what had happened to him during the past few days.
"Yes, it was him Arthur. He is alright, he won his case. Young Harry
seems to be in a rebellious phase though, probably due to the dementor
attack and minister Fudge."
"That's good to know at least. Who was he with? I don't think I've seen
any of these women before."
"One of them was his advocate. The other 2 seem to be bodyguard. It
looks like Harry hired them. I'm calling a meeting this evening to talk
about it. I have some business to take care of. I'll see you later Arthur."
"Of course headmaster."
Dumbledore didn't just leave the ministry after Harry's departure. He
went to talk to his allies in the wizengamot. He had missed the start of
the hearing, and wanted the details of what happened before his arrival.
After that, he went to look for informations about the 3 ladies that were
with Harry. There wasn't much he could do beside making some discreet
inquiries and wait for the results.
That evening at Grimmauld place, the entire Order of the Phoenix was
there, except those few who had duties elsewhere they couldn't miss. Also
present were the Weasley children and Hermione.
After separating from Dumbledore, Arthur had sent a message back to the
headquater to announce that Harry had been seen in good health and
won his case. That put Sirius in an excellent mood, though the fact that
Harry didn't come back with Dumbledore worried him. The others were
happy as well, and everyone could breath a sigh of relief. Now they were
eagerly waiting for the start of the meeting to know the details. Once
Dumbledore arrived, the meeting started.
He first gave a summary of how the whole hearing went, and watched
their reactions. They were all happy with how Harry and his companion
handled the case. Especially Sirius and Tonks. The former had been badly
treated by the ministry, and the later had to deal with the unpleasant
undersecretary a few times. The aurors in the Order also liked their boss,
Amelia Bones, so they were quite pleased that she would have less
shackles on her.
Among the children, the twins were the most enthusiastics, closely
followed by Ginny. While Hermione was happy with the result, she was
also disappointed that Harry didn't come to them or the headmaster for
help. Ron was happy that Harry won, but he was getting unhappy with
the situation. He didn't know why, and it confused him.
With the hearing dealt with, they focused on Harry and the 3 women that
were with him.
"Harry is in a contentious phase at the moment" said Dumbledore. "He
refused to come with me, choosing to stay on his own. He also refused to
say anything about his companions. I think he has decided to stay on his
own, and I think he wants to keep the location of his current residence to
himself."
"No!" shouted Molly. "He should have gone to us! It's too dangerous for
him to be on his own."
"He isn't that daft, Molly" retorded Moody gruffely. "He clearly took good
precautions if noone of us could find him. And danger? He didn't show
himself to the public alone, he got himself some protectors. He didn't
reveal anything in a place where he could be overheard. The kid is
practicing Constant Vigilance."
"But he is with unknown women!"
"True" replied Dumbldore. "While things seem fine for now, we can't be
certain that they have his best interest at heart. However, I am sure we
will see them soon enough. Harry will want to see his godfather after all.
I sent him a message with Hedwig, and he should be receiving it about
now. I am sure we will get a response tomorrow."
They traded ideas about where Harry had been and who the women
were, but couldn't come to an agreement. Of course Dumbledore didn't
tell them about how angry Harry was at him, and them by association.
He didn't tell them he used his family crest, and thus had become aware
of things about his family he hid from him. He didn't tell them that he
was practically threatened to release Hedwig. He wanted to use Sirius to
calm Harry down and have a chance to speak to him first before he met
the others. His control over him was slipping, and a bad relationship with
the other wouldn't help.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Ok, I wrote this chapter faster than I though. Don't get your hopes up
about an increase in release speed.
Chapter 25: After the trial
The group of 4 emerged from the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Harry
spared a few seconds to greet Tom, the owner of the place, before leaving
through the non-magical entrance. From there, they spent some time
moving around and making sure they weren't followed. They stopped in a
deserted alley with no open windows in sight.
"We"re clear" said Scathach.
"Good" replied Caitlyn. "I'm going to leave for a while. I need to go to
Ottery St Catchpole in Devon."
"Wait, that where the Weasley live" retorted Harry. "Do you have some
business with them" he asked her warily.
"No" she replied with a kind smile, trying to appease him. "They aren't
the only magical family living there. I'm going to see Xenophilius
Lovegood. He is the owner and editor of The Quibbler. It's a minor
newspaper in Magical Britain that publishes weird articles on a monthly
basis, and isn't taken seriously by people. However, the ministry has no
control over its publications" she finished with a predatory grin.
"We are going to use it to spread the news of your victorious trial and the
despicable acts performed by the ministry on that day. They used the
Daily Prophet against you, we are using The Quibbler against them.
Tomorrow, it will release a special edition that will wash away part of
the trash that has been said about you."
Harry looked at her in wonder, closed his eyes and started to chuckle. It
quickly turned into a big, joyful laugh. He surprised them by giving
Caitlyn a big hug. While she was startled, she appreciated it.
"You're great!" he said with a big smile after releasing her.
"It was Semimaris' idea" she replied, a little bashful. "Don't forget to thank
her when we get back."
"I definitly won't."
She left the alley and called the knight bus. A moment later, she was
gone. Harry was left alone with Scathach and Xuanzang. Before they
decided to move, they took out mundane clothes from the moleskin
pouch carried by Scathach. They had planed to stay in the non-magical
world until Hedwig found them. They also took out a small foldable
screen so they could change with some privacy.
Scathach put on a black halter top and a purple long skirt, with black
court shoes. Xuanzang had a white crop top, white skirt and white
scandals. Harry took a moment to admire them. After having spent the
last few days with them, he could no longer be bothered to hide his
appreciation of their beauty. He was past being embarrassed about
looking at them.
Xuanzang linked her arm with his, and with a big smile, started to lead
him away. With 2 quick steps, Scathach was on his other side, gently
holding his arm. After looking left and right, Harry shook his head with a
small smile and let the ladies lead him. The time after the hearing was
supposed to be free time for them anyway. And he more than appreciated
the company, even if he might attract some looks on the way due to
having a beauty on each arm. The girls apparated to Nottingham.
The girls had noticed that Harry had little experience with the many
things available in the non-magical world despite knowing about them.
There were plenty of things he should have tried long ago but couldn't
because of his relatives, or being smothered by the Weasley mother hen.
They took him to the cinema, and they ended up watching Toy Story. It
was an incredible exprience for all 3 of them, and they left with smiles on
their faces.
Though Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for all of Dudley's former toys.
He shared this with the ladies, and each of them made a small prayer for
them in their mind. After the movie, they bough take out and had lunch
in a park, their privacy assured by a bit of magic. In the afternoon, they
looked at stores specialising in recreational activities. They bough a few
things for outdoor activities, board games.
For the second half of the afternoon, he went to arcade centers and tried
the video games. Air Combat, Street Fighters, Marvel Super Heroes,
Mortal Kombat, Pinball, Sega Rally Championship, Zombie Raid, and
many others. Some they found interesting, some made them laugh, and
some made them realise that non-magical could be just as outrageous as
magical.
It was half an hour before dusk that Harry's mood took a big leap
upward. They had left the arcades and went to Peak District National
Park. Suddenly, Harry turned his head toward a white speck in the sky. A
smile grew on his face as the white spec grew flapping wings and grew
bigger as it got closer. Harry lifted his arm horizontally in front of his
face, and a gorgeous snowy owl landed gracefully on it. She affectionally
bopped her head against his.
"Hey girl. It's good to see you again."
She hooted in response, and made a flight jump from his arm to his
shoulder. Noone of the 3 humans missed the letter attached to her leg.
"I'll have my friends here make sure you're alright. And make sure there
isn't anything suspicious on that letter."
A few seconds later, the casters gave him the all clear.
"Well Hedwig, let me present you to some of mynew friends, Scathach
and Xuanzang. They've been taking care of me since I left the Dursley."
"Hello Hewig" said Xuanzang with enthusiasm.
"Hello" said Scathach.
Hedwig gave them a calculating look, and her stare made them feel as if
they were being judged carefully. After a moment, she released a soft
hoot while nodding.
"Looks like she approves..."
"Harry?" asked Xuanzang.
"Sorry. I just realised that there is another friend whose help I could call
upon."
"Who?"
"Dobby!"
POP!
A small and grey humanoid being with large eyes and ears, a long nose
and thin limbs appeared. He was wearing a shabby but clean robes, with
4 different socks, 2 of them on his ears. While the 2 ladies were surprised
by his appearance, Harry was surprised by the socks. As for the girls,
while they knew of house elves, it was their first time seeing one, so they
looked at him curiouslywhile staying silent.
"The great Harry Potter is calling Dobby?"
"Yes. Hello Dobby. I hope you've been well?"
"Yes! Dobby has been good! What can Dobby do for Harry Potter?"
"Dobby, would you like to work for me?"
He froze in shock for a few seconds.
"Harry Potter is asking Dobby to be Harry Potter's elf?"
"Yes. Would that be a problem with you working at Hogwarts?"
"NO!! It will be no problem! Dobby will work for Harry Potter! Harry
Potter is the greatest master!"
"Then, I, Harry James Potter, welcome Dobby the house-elf into my
service."
"And Dobby accept to work for Harry James Potter."
With those last 2 sentences, the master-servant bond was etablished
between Harry and Dobby. Dobby hugged his leg in joy, to his
embarrassement and the amusement of his summons. Dobby then turned
toward the 2 women and paused.
"You serve the great Harry Potter."
It wasn't a question, but an observation. Harry realised that he sensed the
bond between him and the women.
"Yes. They are Scathach Skadi and Xuanzang Sanzang" they nodded to
him. "Their identities are to remain a secret. And so is place where we are
staying."
"Dobby will keep the secret."
"Good" he turned toward the casters. "Let's go."
They went to his sides, and with a soft crack, the 4 people and the owl
apparated to their base.
Chapter 26: New plans part 1
The group arrived at the crossroad leading to the Potter estate, and
walked all the way to the property. Along the way, they talked with
Dobby, explaining most of what had happened since the 3rd task of the
tournament. When they reached the tent, Hedwig and Dobby were
presented to the rest of the women.
Dobby and Semimaris stared at each other in silence. Dobby was clearly
focusing on her ears.
"You be an elf?" Dobby asked in fascination.
Semimaris' eye twitched. The rest of the group nearly burst out. Even
Camille, who usually kept an expressionless face, couldn't hold back a
smile. VI was snickering in silence, turning her back to them. Caitlyn,
Scathach and Xuanzang watched with clear amusement on their faces.
Harry was torn between horror and hysterical laughter. He looked
aghast, but his lips were trembling, trying to spread into a smile.
With the time he spent in her company, Harry learned that Semimaris
appreciated beauty and elegance, both in people and material items. She
was beautiful and she knew it. And now, she was compared to a creature
with a less than acceptable appearance, especially according to her
standards. All of that because of the ear she inherited from her mother,
someone Harry guessed she didn't appreciate. For a second, Harry got
really worried about Dobby's future.
"... No, I am not" she answered blandly. "I am not related to a house-elf in
any way."
"Oh. Dobby be sorry, Dobby was surprised to see you."
"Now that everyone has been introduced" Harry started, eager to change
the subject, "I'd like to take a look at the letter Dumbledore sent with
Hedwig."
That caught everyone's attention. He opened the enveloppe and started to
read.
First, he expressed his disappointment in Harry to not trust him and not
follow the instructions sent to him . He said he knew what was best for
him and should believe in his wisdom. He finally said that they had a
safe place secured for Sirius in Britain, and that it had always been his
intention to have him spend the rest of the summer holidays with him.
His departure from the Dursley's house delayed that. He was urged to
send a response so he could send some trusted people to bring him to his
godfather, who was anxious to see him again.
"Bastard" he said, giving the letter to the girls to read.
"Trying to use your godfather to make you behave, is he?" said Camille,
having finished reading first.
"Not a single apology as well" Xuanzang grumbled.
"I wonder who would be those people he intend to send as your escort?"
Scathach asked.
"And how many" Caitlyn added. "After all, he knows that Harry has at
least 3 people with him. He probably expect Harry to come with them,
and he will send enough people to possibly counter us."
"7 people" said Semimaris. "Any more and it would look like an attempt
to intimidate him, which would make them seem threatening. I doubt he
would want Harry in an even less favorable disposition toward him,
especially if a fight breaks out because they got forceful. That would also
attract the attention of the ministry."
"... We can expect professor Lupin to be among them."
"The one from your 3rd year? The werewolf?" Vi asked.
"Yeah. With his link to my parents and Sirius, he is an obvious choice to
gain my trust." His expression softened. "And I really want to see Sirius
anyway. At least I'll be able to make sure he truly is safe."
"Let's leave that talk for later" Xuanzang nearly shouted. "Let's celebrate
our success with today's hearing!"
"Yeah" replied Harry. "You heard the ladies Dobby? Make the best meal
you can think of with what's available" he said, knowing that Dobby
would be happy to have a task.
"Yes, master Harry Potter!" And he disappeared into the kitchen.
The rest of the evening passed with a happy mood all around. Dobby
proved to be an excellent cook, surpassing Harry. The next day, after
breakfast, they had a meeting to discuss their next course of action.
Harry was obviously going to visit his godfather. He decided he would go
with Xuanzang and Vi. They were the best at close-range combat, and Vi
was really good at closing the gap in the blink of an eye, something he
painfully experienced during their sparring sessions. In a building, they
could easily force any witches or wizards into a close-range battle they
would easily lose. Harry doubted Remus could whistand a serious punch
from Vi despite being a werewolf. He liked the brash and friendly
woman, but she was scary in battle.
Scathach would accompany them under Harry's invisibility cloak, and
stay hidden the whole time. She was also the only one with the
temperament to stay quiet and careful the whole time. She would have
one of Semimaris familiar with her as well. In case of an emergency,
those 2 could react fast enough. It was also better because Harry didn't
have regular command seals. He couldn't use them to summon the others
if needed.
With that decided, Harry wrote a short letter. He just said that he would
be at King Cross Station at 11am 2 days later to go where Snuffle resided.
The way he worded it, it seemed that it was Dumbledore that had
secured the safe place, thus he had no intention to stay there. He told
Hedwig not to wait for a response, not wanting them to send back
instructions.
Then, they questionned Dobby about what house-elves could do in civil
engineering. In other words for him, building construction.
It turned out that, with proper plans and directives, house-elves could
construct any kind of buildings. Their magic mostly took the form of
what non-magicals would call telekinesis (manipulating things at distance
such as levitation, summoning, banishement, animation), alongside their
teleportation and invisibility. They only had some minor transfiguration
and charm skills. They couldn't cast some of the charms and
enchantments used by witches and wizards, so the final touches would
have to be handled by one.
Dobby said that, with 2 other house-elves and a proper enchanter/
warder, they could make a 2 floors house with a basement in a month or
less. The fundations and suport beam would take most of the time to
make, the rest would be easier. Both Harry and Dobby already thought
about another elf who would love to be in service of a family again. She
was having a miserable life at Hogwart because her previous master cast
her aside.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I was getting lazy and procastrinating when writing this chapter.
Chapter 27: New plans part 2
Winky wasn't like Dobby. She didn't want to be free, she wanted to serve
a family. However, house-elves that have been dismissed from service
rarely find another family to serve, being disgraced. She would be more
than happy to work for the Potter family, and would probably be even
more dutyful than Dobby to make up for her previous mishap.
Concerning the manor, Harry didn't want to rebuild it as it was before.
This place was going to be his HQ for the war against Voldemort. There
was no doubt that at some point, the enemy would discover that he is
staying at this place. At that time, they would come under heavy attack,
and he sincerly doubted that he and his summoned ladies alone could
handle it. There would be their allies as well. This place had to be a
stronghold for both them and their allies. It should also be able to handle
a few refugees.
But he was also worried about spies and traitors, and aside from being a
stronghold, the place was also going to be his home. Because of that, he
didn't want them in the same building. He wanted a building to house
guests, separated from the main house where he would live. To that end,
he would have to slightly change the position of the wardstone in the
property. That was going to take some work without disabling the wards.
The group would have to consult proper architects very soon. Non-
magical ones, because witches and wizards relied more on wards and
enchantments for defense, than clever construction. His family wardstone
and his 3 Casters would be more than enough to take care of the magical
protections. Furthermore, there was much less risks of enemy wizards
finding the plans of the property.
With the hearing taken care without any complications, they could put
any kind of political training aside. Harry's magical education was still
lacking, and he would have to focus on that until September 1st.
His morning schedule had little changes. He would spend 1 and half hour
learning from Scathach, 1 and half hours studying the 5th year program,
30min casting spells from the previous 4 years, and 30min of spar. In the
afternoon, he would spend 2 hours on breathing and meditation. Since it
was still supposed to be a holiday, he would have the rest of the
afternoon free. In the evening, he would spend 1 and half hour working
on occlumency. It would start after his visit to Sirius.
That same morning, while they were talking, a notable part of Magical
Britain population received the Special Edition from the Quibbler. And
after reading it, they started to spread the word to their friends and
aquitances.
The main article was a faithfull summary of the trial, with a small
reminder at the end that the transcripts were available for perusal at the
ministry. Following that article, was an interview of Caitlyn, in her role
as advocate for Harry. In it, she sharply criticised the minister and his
undersecretary, and their attack on Harry through the Daily Prophet. She
further critisised said newspaper for being as corrupt and incompetent as
the current ministry.
She explained how the ministry office seemed intent on intruding in
DMLE affairs, hindering or downright blocking proper investigations. She
gave as exemple the attack at the end of the Qidditch World Cup, the
disappearance of Crouch Senior during the irregular Tri-wizard
Tournament, and the tragic ending of said tournament. She hinted that
he was responsible for the loss of a key witness at that time.
She presented Fudge as the one being an unbalanced attention seeker
more interested in his own fame and comfort than properly taking care of
magical Britian. She reminded them that he was the one who, during the
earlier half of his term as minister, gave himself an Order of Merlin 1st
Class, when he did nothing exceptional to receive it. All the critical
problems of the afterwar had already been taken care of at that point.
Meanwhile, noone of the Potter were given an award for the Defeat of
the Dark Lord in October 1981. She also expressed her concern for his
association with people whose action in the previous war was suspect,
and who was dismissed from Hogwart's Board of Governors. Namely,
Lucius Malfoy. The suspicion of bribery was heavily hinted as well, with
a passing comment about the DMLE having their budget cut.
When Fudge was made aware of the articles at noon, he felt like he had
been sucker punched and kicked in the balls. Dolores Umbridge looked
like she was going to have a stroke, before shrieking in outrage. Madam
Bones got a vindictive smile on her face. The common witches and
wizards of magical Britain were forced to rethink their opinion on Harry
Potter, and the current minister's office.
Harry's letter and the Qibbler arrived at Grimmauld Place at the same
time. Sirius was estatic with the news, followed by Fred and George, then
Ginny. They had a little celebration, and Tonks and Remus got swept in
by the happy mood.
In the evening, there was another Order meeting. All the ministry
workers in the Order were pleased, especially the aurors. The movements
of the dark side in the ministry was restrained, and Dumbldore recovered
some support. They didn't get the upper hand on the opposition, but they
were more evenly matched.
The rest of the discussion was about who would retrieve Harry at
Kingcross Station.
Remus was an obvious choice. Dumbledore wanted an auror or 2 with
them, but they would all be more busy during the day for the time being.
He was thankful that Moody was retired, and was chosen alongside
Mudungus Fletcher. Since they were certain Harry would have his people
as well, they didn't select more. A big group would be to noticable, and
they wouldn't have the cover of the night.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I'm a simple man. Don't ask me to write Newspaper articles.
A little shorter than usual, and sorry for the delay. I did have a small
block while writing this. I've also got to get used to the new InksTone
pages not keeping my unsaved work when either my laptop or firefox
bug and I have to forcefully restart them.
Nope. There will be no Harry-Ginny (or Harry-Hermione)
Chapter 28: A walk and a talk
Their planning discussion ended before lunch. After eating, Harry
decided to spend the rest of the day in a calm area. As he moved toward
the edge of the property, he was joined by Camille.
"Are you going somewhere Harry?"
"Yeah. I'm going to the pond. It's a beautiful and peaceful place, and after
the excitement of the last few days I want to relax."
"Do you mind if I come with you?"
"Not at all."
They left together. At first they were silent, then they started to talk.
"You know" started Harry with a thoughful face, "Ever since you've
arrived, we've been busy taking care of my immediate problems. I've
never really took the time to ask you... any of you, how you were doing.
And out of everyone, I've spent the less time with you. So... How are you
doing?"
She gave him a small smile before responding.
"You have always been kind and courteous, and you relaxed since then,
but you still maintain some distance between us. Your lack of familiarity
toward us is one of the reason I decided to seek you. Even now, you
sought solitude instead of socializing with one of us."
Harry was surprised by what he was hearing, and slowed his pace. She
matched him.
"Ever since you summoned us, you have been reserved with us. I am not
well versed in the magical arts, but from what I understood, your magic
answered to your intent and your needs. You felt abandonned by the
people you were familiar with, so magic searched for someone beyond
your world. It selected us. But it isn't all that had happened."
"What do you mean?"
"The magic did not just take us without a simple by-your-leave. We could
have refused. After all, an unwilling person would have been poor help
for you. But we did not. We answered the call. We are here by choice, for
you. Do not keep us at arm lengh, do not be afraid to get closer to us."
"I didn't realise that... I guess somewhere in my heart I was still wary.
Sorry about that."
"Thank you, and I understand you had a lot on your mind as well. To
answer your initial question, I am fine for the time being. I do feel a little
confined, and want to be more active."
"I'm not sure about what can be done yet" he said with a hint of
nervousness and embarrassement in his tone.
"You have been quite curious about my condition since the beginning,
but stayed quiet. Do not hesitate to ask questions, I do not mind
enlightening you."
Harry hesitated for a few seconds, and nodded.
"What led to you becoming the way you are now? With an artificial
body?"
"To make a long story short, I was too weak. My family was a wealthy
one, and our wealth came from our hextech materials business. We had
rivals and enemies, and it was my duty to protect the family. I couldn't
do it with just my skill, so I requested hextech body augmentation to
exceed my limits. While most of my body was replaced with hextech
parts, the rest, like my brain, remain original."
"... Are all of your physical sensations still the same?"
"No. My sight and hearing are better. My sense of smell, taste and touch
aren't stronger, but they are more precise. I am much less sensitive to
heat and cold, and except for a few areas, I no longer feel pain."
"Don't you regret not being able to eat and drink? That sort of thing?"
"A little." A hint of melancholy passed in her face. "But my condition
doesn't stop me from appreciating a good cup of tea. It is one of the few
thing I enjoy, alongside a walk. That is the second reason I decided to
accompany you."
"I see. Then it's a good thing we have Dobby now, because I'm pants at
making tea" he said while grinning a little. "You, Caitlyn and Vi come
from an industrial city in your former world, right? I'm guessing you're
not that comfortable in a purely magical environment?"
"Indeed" she replied with a small nod. "Your non-magical world fascinate
us. We would love to spend more time there."
"Your world's hextech fascinate me in return. It's combining technology
and magic, something that is hard to accomplish here, and is considered
by the general population as impossible."
"Do you wish to learn? While it isn't my speciality, I am very well versed
in the subject."
"I would love to" he instantly replied. "I can barely imagine the potential
it has. So many things made by the non-magical people, that could be
used and improved with magic" he said with some anticipation and
wonder, before deflating a little. "But I don't think I'll have the time. I'm
alreay going to be busy enough with my wizard and magus training.
Besides, my non-magical education is lacking, I have 4 years to catch up
to in sciences."
"I do not like that idea of stopping an educational subject halfway" she
said in a slightly stern tone. "But considering everything you said, and
what we learned of the subjects, you should completly drop divination
and history of magic."
"Are you serious?" Harry asked, while gapping at her.
"I certainly am. This is another thing for you to learn about me: it isn't in
my nature to make jokes" she said while looking at him in the eyes. "You
are wasting your time with them" she returned her gaze forward. "I
would also suggest herbology and care of magical creatures, because
while usefull, you do not need them. With those 4 disciplines out of the
way, you could use the time to study sciences and learn hextech, and
further your magus studies."
"That's..."
"I understand that your care of magical creature is taugh by your friend,
the half-giant. Rubeus Hagrid?" Harry nodded. "You do not need to go to
his class to be his friend. Don't you usually visit him outside of class
hours? That is enough. You have more important things to do and to
worry about."
"Why didn't you suggest I drop potions?"
"Skills in potions are required for important jobs like healer, auror and
curse-breaker. A good grade in your potion OWL would be well received.
And with the coming war, you may want to be able to make your own
potions rather than rely on an external supplier."
"I see. I'd like to discuss this with the rest of the girls later, but I like your
idea."
"Thank you."
They continued their walk with lighter topics of discussion, and enjoyed
the peace of the pond before returning at dusk.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I wanted to make him get closer to the girls, and I hesitated on who
should be first, and how. That's why the chapter came late.
Chapter 29: A free day
That evening, the group had a small discussion about the subjects Harry
should follow or drop for the coming year. They all agreed that charm,
transfiguration, defense against the dark arts and potions were the most
important disciplines among the core subjects.
If needed be, he could get qualifications for the others subjects at a later
date. Harry and Camille realised that they had completly forgotten about
astronomy. Added to history of magic, herbology, care of magical
creatures and divination, that made 5 subjects Harry wouldn't have to
worry about. That would mean more time for magus training, hextech
studies. And runes.
Having Harry learn about runes was proposed by Scathach. Not only was
it one of her specialities, but runes were also necessary in enchanting and
warding in the magical world. The Potter family was also well versed in
those disciplines, and it allowed them to make the wardstone and the
hidden vault that he had inherited. Plus, it would most likely be very
useful in hextech. If he could reach 5th year level in runes, adding it to
his list of OWLs would be good for his qualifications.
Harry still refused to give up on quidditch. It was not only good for his
overall fitness, it was also better for him to have a hobby in between all
the studying and training he was going to do. The women didn't really
insist, not willing to deprive him of one of the few pleasures he had in
life. He also realised he never took the time to fly since he got home, and
he was going to make up for it.
The next day, after breakfast, Harry was up in the air, on his firebolt. He
happily flew around his family domain, doing aerial acrobatics, racing
above tree tops or weaving between them.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to fly. Each of the girls got a turn
with him in the air, starting with Vi. After seeing everything he could do
on the broom, she couldn't contain herself. She kept shouting praises and
encouragments near his ear when he took her for a ride. He was only
slightly distracted by her assets at the start. Afterward, he was enjoying
himself too much, and Vi's enthusiasm was too contageous.
It was a bit different with the others. They had bigger chests, molded
themselves on his back and held onto him tighter. Scathach and
Semimaris sat on their sides, thus they weren't completly stuck to him,
but they still affected him as strongly as the others. Scathach had the
biggest chest of the group, and he found Semimaris quite alluring.
Camille was the only one that didn't affect him much. He flew slower as
well, as they weren't that interested in experiencing the acrobatics
themselves.
He decided to spend part of the afternoon in York with Camille, Caitlyn
and Vi. He had appropriate disguise for Camille. They used Dobby to
teleport them, since neither of them had learned apparition.
They were city ladies after all. He did learn that Caitlyn was quite alright
at the estate, being surrounded by nature. But that wasn't the only thing
he learned. There was some rivalry between Camille, and Caitlyn and Vi.
Some comments were exchanged that he simply couldn't ignore. It wasn't
visible before because he had never spent much time with just them
around.
In fact, the only time when those 3 were near each others were during
meal times and meetings. They had tried to remain civil to each other,
but he realised having them spend some time together had fanned the
embers of past feelings, reigniting them. Suddenly, he was reminded of
arguments between Hermione and Ron, and thinking about them made
him frown. At least it had the effect of calming the ladies down.
"What is troubling you?" asked Camille.
"Your little bickering reminded me of my friends" he replied. "I'm
wondering if I'll see them of if I'll get a message from them tomorrow."
"It does not seem to please you."
"... I guess I'm angry at them for not trying to warn me about what was
going on. It reminds me too much of how people turned their back to me
last year."
"You should wait until you've heard their explanation" cautioned Caitlyn.
"You don't want to jump to conclusion about them like people did for
you."
"No. Definitly not."
They resumed their exploration of the city. The girls had a closer look at
the technological marvels avialable in Harry's world. They went to
vehicle stores, electronics stores, household appliances stores. From then,
they started to look at household furnitures as well, and the subtle
arguments and bickering restarted. Caitlyn and Vi may have been friends,
but that didn't mean they didn't have conflicting personal tastes.
Watching them, Harry realised that all 6 women would want to have a
say in the decoration of the manor once it reconstruction ended. It was
one thing he didn't look forward to.
The evening was a little special. To thank Semimaris for her previous
idea with the Quibbler, Harry had Dobby prepare a special meal for her.
While he was thankful for Caitlyn's defense, the queen's idea had a wider
and more long-lasting effect. And the slap to the face of his detractors
was too satisfying. Thus, Dobby prepared best of Middle East dishes they
could make with the ingredients available in Great Britain. With the
appropriate drink.
The smile Semimaris gave him after tasting the dishes made his heart
skip a bit and his cheek darken. Her regal and sensual demeanor, and her
enchanting golden eyes, were having a devastating effect on him. There
was something else that attracted him, but he couldn't tell what it was.
Still, he was very pleased with himself for making her smile, and had a
really good night.
The next day came soon enough, and by 9.30am, everyone, meaning
Harry, Xuanzang, Vi and Scathach, was ready to leave for the rendez-
vous. At 10am, they had arrived at the station. They had arrived nearby
by apparition, and walked the rest of the way. They settled at a calm
corner near the entrance and waited for the other party to come and
make contact with them.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I had completly forgotten astronomy when I though of useless or
unnecessary subjects in the previous chapter.
I had no trouble with writing the 1st half of the chapter, the 2nd one
was harder, agian because I wasn't sure about what I wanted to
happen and with whom.
Chapter 30: Grimmauld Place
Remus, Moody and Fletcher arrived at the station 30 minutes before the
meeting time. Moody would have liked to be 1 hour early, but they were
slowed down by Mudungus, who mt up with them late. They were in
muggle clothing, older than the current fashion but still acceptable.
Moody wanted to survey the place, and led the other 2 with him.
"They are already here" Moody said as he suddenly stopped, his artificial
eye focused in a certain direction.
"Really?" asked Remus.
"Yes. It's Potter. He is with 2 women. From the descriptions I was given, I
recognise one of them as one of the 2 bodyguards he had at his trial. The
asian one. The other is a complete unknown. If I didn't know
Nymphadora and Kingsley were at work right now, I could have believed
it was her. Pink hair, and from her demeanor, just as lively."
"Does Harry look fine?"
"Yes. Let's go."
Soon enough, their group met up with Harry's in their little corner. When
they got close, Vi and Xuanzang moved slightly to Harry's sides. Moody
noticed the moves, having his eyes mostly focused on them. Underneath
the cloak, spelled to block scents and sounds, Scathach went behind him.
"Harry!"
"Hello Remus" he said in a calm tone. He turned his eyes to the ex-auror
and they narrowed. "Mr Moody."
"How have you been?"
"Well enough. I didn't expect to see you, mr Moody, considering the state
you were in at the end of the school year." Then his tone got a bit colder.
"Are you all who you claim to be? Because the last member of your group
doesn't inspire much trust."
"Ahh, that is Mudungus Fletcher" Remus replied with some discomfort.
"He, he is a, dealer, with useful contacts in the criminal world."
"And what proof do you have that you are who you claim to be?" asked
Moody in a sharp tone.
Harry looked at him with flat eyes before focusing on the friend of his
parents. "Remus? Who is the first girl I kissed?"
"What? You never told me anything about that!"
"Because that never happened. Now I know you really are Remus Lupin"
he added with a grin.
Remus, and the girls were surprised by that. He had gotten all of them
interested in who that girl might have been, and were disappointed.
"Clever" replied Moody with a grin. "An impostor wouldn't have known.
They would have asked the captured target about significant secrets, and
be completly unaware of little details like that. Their reaction to the
question would be all the answer you need."
"It's nice and all, but I came here because I wanted to see my dogfather.
So let's move. How are we going there?"
"Magical travel is being monitored more than usual for the time being"
replied Remus. "We will take 2 cabs to go there."
And that what they did. The 3 men got in one, and Harry and his ladies
got in the other. Xuanzang got in first, followed by Harry. Scathach, still
under the cloak, slipped in on his lap, and Vi entered last.
With that gorgeous woman on his lap, Harry couldn't prevent himself
from poking her butt. He felt her stiffen when she noticed, and would
have been blushing a Weasley red if his blood hadn't gone south. He was
extremely embarrassed, knowing that she could feel him, and dreaded
that she would hate him for it. He was suddenly very glad that Semimaris
wasn't the one shadowing them. Her reaction would likely be worse than
the one he imagined for Scathach.
The rest of the ride was really akward for Harry. They stopped at an
older part of the city, near a park on a street called Grimmauld Place. It
was relief (and a small bit of disappointment) for Harry when Scathach
left his lap, but he knew it wasn't the end. His mood had darkened a little
because of that.
They got into the park, and a muggle notice-me-not charm was cast on all
of them. Then they moved to a place where the number of the buildings
adresses jumped from 11 to 13. Moody gave the newcomer a note to read
and comprehend. The hidden Scathach, and Semimaris through her dove,
also read it.
[The Headquaters of the Order of the Phoenix are located at Number 12,
Grimmauld Place]
In front of them, on the other side of the road, the missing number 12
building appeared from between numbers 11 and 13.
"Fidelius charm" Harry whispered in awe, but everyone still heard it.
"Got it in one Harry" said Remus.
"I did look into the charm that was supposed to have hidden my parents."
They waited for the street to be a bit more deserted before going into the
building. Remus opened the way for them, followed by Vi, Harry and an
invisible Scathach holding his arm, Xuanzang behind them, and Moody
and Fletcher at the rear. Remus warned them to stay quiet and touch
nothing. The entrance was dark and dreary, and Harry and the girls had
no doubt the rest of the place would be similar.
They didn't advance any further. Harry gave Remus an incredulous look,
but Vi and Xuanzang demeanor changed from relaxed but cautious to
battle ready. Xuanzang eyes were locked on the last 2 men, and Moody
stiffened, the hand holding his wand ready to cast a silent spell in her
direction. Then Remus noticed the tension and raised his hands in a
placating manner.
"Wait, calm down" he whispered. "I know the place doesn't look, or feel,
good. This house belongs to the Black family, and Sirius inherited it,
being the heir. It hasn't been taken care of in nearly 10 years either."
"And Sirius is fine being copped in the dark home he ran away from
when he was still a teenager? Where is he anyway?"
He wasn't quiet enough, and the curtain behind thempulled itself open,
revealing a large wizarding portrait of a woman with a haughty and
deranged expression on her face. Said face quickly twisted in disgust and
she started screaming insults at the top of her shrill voice, making
everyone wince in pain. Hundreds of miles away, Semimaris winced and
scowled, already deciding to destroy that portrait the first time she got
the chance.
The noise attracted the other inhabitant of the house, and the first to
reach the entrance hall was noone other than the owner of the place.
With a quick flick from his wand, the curtain was closed, and the
painting, silenced. Then he turned toward his godson and a smile split his
face.
"Harry!"
"Your house suck" he replied with a blank face.
The man barked a short laugh as he advanced toward him.
"Why do you think I left in the first place?"
It was Harry's turn to smile, and he rushed to him, giving him a big hug.
Seeing this, the ladies relaxed and smiled as well.
"Sirius! It's good to see you."
"I's good to see you too, pup."
They released each other and Sirius looked at the other guests.
"You've got some fine company Harry. Mind introducing us?"
"The one with pink hair is Vicky Isley, and the other one is Xuan Zhenya"
he said, using the aliases they had created with Gringot.
"A pleasure to meet you miladies. I am Sirius Black, innocent man on the
run, and godfather of Harry here. You have my thanks for taking care of
him when I was unavailable" he finished with a formal bow.
"It was no trouble" said Vi, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you too! And you're welcome" Xuanzang bowed.
Before more could be said, numerous footsteps were heard, getting closer
to them.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Someone had pointed out, in the comments on one of the previous
chapter, that I had been writing SemiMaRis instead of SemiRaMis. I
never noticed that mistake before.
I've been calling all the girls with their first name instead of their last
name. With Xuanzang, I realised it was her last name and not her first
name, which is Sanzang.
I've been using the incorrect names for so long that I can hardly
correct myself now. It's automatic as I write. And since noone else is
bothered by it...
Chapter 31: An akward lunch
period
"Harry!" shouted Hermione as she reached the bottom of the stairs.
Harry turned his head toward her, not really surprised to see her there.
He though that he would get angry the moment he set his eyes on his
friends. Instead, he was calm. And he was pleased to see her. She rushed
to him to give him one of her usual tight hug, looking both happy and
relieved. He could tell that she had been worried about him.
"Hermione" he calmly replied with a small smile as he took her in his
arms.
Behind her, Ron and Ginny appeared and moved toward him at a slower
pace.
"Hi, Ron. Hello Ginny" he said as he released Hermione.
Ginny took her place for a lighter and shorter hug.
"Hi Harry. It's good to see you!"
"Hey, mate" Ron replied while lazily waving his hand at him.
"Harry dear" Molly nearly shouted as she came out of the kitchen.
"Hello mrs Weasley" he greeted her, preparing himself for one of her
smothering hugs.
The other teenagers stepped aside to let the mother hen pass and give
him said hug. After assuring herself that he was in good health, the other
girls were presented to the group. Fred and Georges choose that moment
to make their appearance. Via apparition. Unfortunatly for them, it
wasn't the best time to surprise people.
The dual cracking sound made by their arrival made Harry's ladies react
as if they had been ambushed. Xuanzang took a defensive stance in front
of Harry, whose rod found itself in his hand in a split second. Vi reacted
the same way she always did when something perceived as a threat
showed up. She punched it.
Before anyone beside Moody could react, her fist smashed into the closest
twin jaw, sending him head first into his identical brother. Their heads
loudly smacked against each other and they fell in a heap a meter away
from their arrival point. Moody would have cast a spell if he wasn't held
in check by Xuanzang.
Molly shrieked as her sons were struck in front of her by one of the
guests. The rest were too shocked to do anything but gawk for a second,
except for Harry grabbing Vi's shoulder and lightly yanking her back.
"Ouch" he said in sympathy. "Gred, Forge. You're alive?"
And with those words, time restarted for everyone.
Fred had been the one to receive the punch and had been knocked out
cold. Georges was dazed and asked what had happened. Molly was
fussing around them while berating Vi for attacking her sons. Moody was
able to interfer before the dispute got serious, pointing out that they had
surprised the people Harry recruited for his protection, and that he would
have reacted the same way. Vi gave a half-hearted apology, finding the
situation mostly amusing.
A big bruise was growing on Fred's face, and Molly had to take him away
to take care of it. Georges followed them, partly because he got afraid of
Vi. Hermione was shocked by what had happened, while Ron and Ginny
were glaring at Vi. She just grinned at them. Harry rubbed his jaw,
reminded of all the times Vi punched him during their spars. He was
brough out of his thoughts by Hermione's sudden question.
"What is that in your hand? Where is your wand Harry?"
Everyone eyes fell onto his hand, holding his rod. Harry blinked, having
completly forgotten about that detail. Moody's wand was pointed to him
in an instant, and Xuanzang hand was holding onto his wrist at the same
instant, a warning look in her eyes. Once more, tension rose in the room.
"I was with my cousin when the dementors attacked. The fatass panicked,
made us trip and landed on my previous wand. It was desperation that
allowed me to cast the patronus despite that. This is its replacement. A
custom work by mr Ollivander. The phoenix feather from my previous
wand is in there. Among other things." Then he turned to Moody. "I'm
sure mr Ollivander's word would be more than enough proof of who I
am. You can accept it, or go confirm it, but I'm not going to bend
backward to please you."
"Ok, that's enouh" Sirius said, trying to ease the tension. "With everything
that has happened, it's normal to be a bit stressed. Let's all calm down,
and eat lunch. The house is gloomy enough without you all adding to the
negative atmosphere" he finished, visibly uncomfortable.
"Sorry about that, Sirius" Harry replied.
He felt that Sirius saw this house as Harry saw the Dursley house. Even if
he inherited it, he wouldn't want to live in it. If he had to, he would
rather avoid anything that would make the living condition worse.
Arguments would only bring back unpleasants memories. Xuanzang
released Moody's wrist, and he grunted, while nodding in grundging
respect.
They moved to the dinning room. On the way, Hermione and Ginny
looked at more carefully. First, he was wearing good quality clothes,
properly fitting him. He also seemed to stand taller, and remembering the
hug they gave him, they were certain he had filled in as well. They
realised that he was looking really good.
Sirius sat at the head of the table, and Harry took a seat next to him. Vi
sat on his other side, and Xuanzang next to her. All 3 sat on the side that
allowed them to see the entrance of the dining room. Remus sat next to
Sirius, followed by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. When Molly, Fred and
Georges came, the twins sat next to Xuanzang while Molly sat next to
Ron. Moody was at the other end of the table. Fletcher had been discretly
sent to Ollivander by Moody.
While eating, Sirius asked Harry what had happened since the attack. He
informed him that people were sent to the Dursley to retrieve him, but he
was already gone, and the Dursley had left for a trip, probably wanting to
get away from the magicals.
Harry said that after the attack, he got suspicious of the ministry and
decided to hide. He said he used that time to contact the girls currently
with him. He refused to give details on how he accomplished that, simply
saying it was magic. He said that he used the time before the trial to
secure a place to stay, get a replacement wand, and prepare his legal
defense. Even the girls didn't reveal much about themselves.
Since it was clear they wouldn't get details about their activities yet,
Sirius took charge of the conversation, telling him what he had been
doing since the end of the school year, and talking about his cousin
Andromeda, and her daughter Tonks. He happily compared her to Vi,
who somehow got eager to meet her as well.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
And while they eat and chat, Scathach is looking at the food in envy.
How cruel!
Chapter 32: Sirius slip
They were resting after the meal. Fletcher had returned from Ollivanders
and spoke lowly to the adults, confirming Harry's words. Ollivander had
even added that he had confidence the women with Harry would not
harm him. That certainly helped Molly, Remus and Moody relax. At least
until Harry spoke.
"So, Sirius. Want to get out this afternoon instead of staying in this dreary
house?"
"What?" shouted Hermione.
"Harry! What are you saying?" said Remus.
"Harry!" continued Hermione. "Sirius is still a fugitive! It's not safe for
him to be out of the house!"
"Is that so?" he calmly replied. "Too bad there is nothing like glamours
and notice-me-not charm to keep the authorities from noticing or
recognising him" he said in fake wonder. "Too bad that there is no such
thing as the Statute of Secrecy to prevent witches and wizards, even dark
ones, from casting magic in the middle of a muggle crowd... Oh, wait" he
finished in a deadpan.
Remus and Hermione looked at him akwardly. The other witches and
wizards weren't much better, while Sirius' eyes were almost sparkling. He
was nearly vibrating in anticipation.
"With Fudge's influence lowered in favor of Madame Bones, it's not like
the dark side is going to show more signs of weird activities" he
continued. "Like looking for me in each and every town and cities of the
British Isles. So much activity on their parts would only attract the aurors
attention." Then his expression darkened. "I refused to stay prisoner in a
home I hated. I damn well will not let my godfather be treated like a
prisoner in this one. The last thing he needs is a second Azkaban."
"Damn right" Sirius nearly shouted.
The others grimaced or twitched at the comparison.
"We are going out to have some fun. You either come with us or stay
here, but don't try to stop us" he said in a warning tone.
"Alright, let's calm down" said Remus with a pacifying gesture. "Ok,
maybe we have been too restrictive because of the security. Let's all just
go out. Like he said, no wizard would attack us in broad daylight in the
middle of a crowded muggle area. Especially if we are in a group. And
let's be honest, it would be much better than spending the rest of day
inside."
In the background, Sirius was silently celebrating.
"Yes!" Ginny said. "We've been stuck in the house for days doing only
chores. It'll be nice to go out."
Ron and Hermione agreed with growing excitment, but Molly interupted
them.
"No! You children are going to stay here!"
"It's summer break, mom" Ginny replied with some annoyance. "We
should be allowed to have some fun."
"Let them go Molly" Moody said, surprising everyone. "They won't be
alone, and like Harry said, it will be a lot less dangerous than we
thought."
He didn't say that it was because it would be best to keep Harry happy
for the time being. He also thought having his friends around would calm
him down. Anyone with some sense would know that Harry would have
a major role in the fight against Voldemort. It wouldn't be good to push
him further away than he already was.
"Yeah, right" said Sirius. "You would be right to be worried if it was just
Dung looking out for them. After all, he did such a marvelous job with
my godson" he said with disdain.
Harry froze, and he slowly turned his eyes to Mudungus. At his sides, and
hidden in a corner, his summoned ladies tensed.
The seedy man was looking very uncomfortable. And guilty. This man, he
realised, had been tasked to keep an eye on him while he was with the
Dursley. He was worked like a slave, verbally abused, denied any
significant contact and informations, and deprived of his owl. They had
someone watch him while he suffered, and yet they didn't help and kept
him isolated. Worse, they used an unreliable scoundrel that skipped on
his duties, since he wasn't there when the dementors attacked. He would
have known about the summoning otherwise, and he would have told the
others.
Harry's face turned expressionless. The air around him became heavy,
and the nearby furnitures them started vibrating. Sirius released a small
yelp of surprise. The teens took a step away from him with wide eyes.
Remus and Moody looked worried, while Mudungus and Molly almost
panicked. Harry closed his eyes and tightened his fists. His knuckles
cracked, making the others flinch in fear. Noone of them tried to speak,
in case it would make him lash out. The furnitures stopped vibrating, but
the air remained heavy.
"Go prepare yourself Sirius" Harry said. "We're leaving in 5min."
"Ok..." he said slowly, relieved that he had calmed down. "Be back soon"
he added as he rushed to his room.
"Your presence won't be needed" Harry said to the remaining people, his
eyes still closed.
"Harry" Hermione started, but couldn't finish as the nearby coffee table
shattered.
"Shut up" he said in a cold voice, eyes open and filled with the promise of
pain if she didn't comply.
He moved to the entrance hall, followed by Xuanzang, who looked at him
worriedly. Vi had remained behind and looked at the distraught group.
"Y'know, I'm an orphan" she said. "I used to be a thief and gang leader.
And we cared more about each other than you do about Harry."
They, mostly Molly and Hermione, wanted to protest, but she silenced
them with a glare and a raised hand.
"Don't speak. Your words are worthless. Your actions, or rather lack of
actions, showed it all."
Sirius came down at that time, with brown hairs, green eyes, and slight
alterations to his facial structure that made him look both familiar yet
different. Enough that people wouldn't make the connection to him. Vi
grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him away.
"Not bad, dogfather" she said with a grin. "Let's get out of here!"
The group of 4 plus one left the house, went to the nearby park and
apparated away. With both the ministry and Diagon Alley being in
London, it was better to spend their time in another city. A few
apparitions later and they were in Birmingham.
Back in the house, Ginny turned to the adults and glared at them fiercly.
"Wonderfull!" she said with heavy sarcasm. "Now, because of you, he's
going to hate us!" she shouted with tears in the corner of her eyes.
She turned around and rushed to her room. The twins turned
disappointed gazes to them and apparated back to their own room.
Hermione was next to leave, with teary eyes as well. She secluded herself
in the library. Then Ron left, going to his own room. Mudungus quickly
made himself scarce, and Molly went her own way, complaining about
how 'Vicky' was wrong.
Remus and Moody realised that they had lost Harry's trust. The only
thing tying him to them, meaning Dumbledore and the Order of the
Phoenix, was Sirius. And that probably wouldn't be enought to ensure his
cooperation with them.
Chapter 33: Time with Sirius
When they arrived in Birmingham, Harry revealed Scathach to him,
presenting her using her alias, Ciara Canain.
When Sirius learned that she had been with them since he got picked up
at the railway station, he got a laughing fit. He though it was a great
prank, especially considering Moody's paranoia. He was not really
bothered by the seemingly security breach, because if she hadn't been
with Harry and hostile, special cloak or not, the ancient wards of the
house would have warned him.
Harry and Sirius had a goot time. Sirius was already familiar with the
non-magical world thanks to Lily, and later getting aquitained with
muggleborn Ted Tonks, the father of his second cousin Nymphadora
Tonks. He did have a motorcycle after all. So, Harry didn't have to
explain anything to him, and they could really enjoy themselves. Sirius
proved to be quite adept at fighting games, becoming the uncontested
champion of the group, to Vi and Xuanzang annoyance.
He learned a little more about Sirius time at Hogwart, with his father and
Remus. Pettigrew was cut of from any stories involving the marauders.
He also learned abit about his time with the Potters, and his
grandparents, Charlus Potter and Dorea Black. They were of the same
generation as Sirius grandfather, and had conceived James late in their
lives. He admitted that James had been spoiled because of that, until Lily
set him straight.
Harry also told Sirius about how he had been, and revealed a bit more of
his time with the Dursley. He had always been vague about the subject,
but talking to the girls had been cathartic. He avoided details or spending
too much time on the subject to not sour his godfather's mood. But with
the way the 3 girls treated Harry, he couldn't stay down for long.
Most of the time, the gorgeous woman with purple hairs had been at
Harry's side, holding onto his arm like a lover would. After the incident
in the cab, Harry had become wary of what she would do once they got
alone. So having her hold onto him, with his arm touching her breasts,
was ringing alarm bells in his mind, while also getting aroused and
embarrassed.
Vi didn't help either, because she liked to tease him. Adding Xuanzang
naturally affectionate demeanor, and Sirius watching, often turned
Harry's face red. He had developped some resistance to it, but that was
when there wasn't an audience that liked to make comments. So, Sirius
joined Vi in teasing him. It had nothing to do with his flirting not
working with them, he was definitly not jealous of his godson. But he
was still proud of him
On the way back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius decided to talk about what
they had avoided during the afternoon.
"You shouldn't be too hard on your friends, Harry. The twins and little
Ginny, they really wanted to send you some news, you know. They had
tried to sneak some once, but they got caught. The Order had been too
careful with the messages being sent by the kids. If not for that, they
wouldn't have left you in the dark."
Thinking about it, Harry realised that Fred and Georges had always
looked after him in their own way.
During his first quidditch match when his broom was cursed, they
ignored the match and stayed near him, ready to catch him. In second
year, when people though he was the heir of Slytherin, they made a joke
out of it and made him smile. They gave him the marauder's map in third
year. In fourth year, they silently supported him when the house was
against them. He was puzzled for a little while, until he understood they
couldn't do anything more obvious because of their own interest in
Angelina and Alicia, not wanting to get on their bad side.
As for Ginny, he was pleasantly surprised. She used to be too shy with
him, and with her crush on him because he was the Boy-Who-Lived, he
had always prefered to keep his interactions with her to a minimum. It
reminded him too much of his unwanted fame, and what people expected
of him. She seemed to have overcome her shyness and got over her crush.
When she hugged him, he didn't see the usual infatuation on her face.
"As for Hermione and Ron..." Sirius hesitated, less confident than before.
"Well, maybe Hermione listen to adults too much? She's a little too
uptight? And Ron is an idiot?"
Harry snorted.
"You seem to have a problem with Dumbledore, and I'm not happy with
him either. But they don't, so they had no real reason not to listen to him.
He is a powerful and respected man-"
"While I'm a stupid kid who can't take care of himself and you're
deranged because of your stay in Azkaban?" Harry replied with a dull
gaze.
Sirius looked at him, blinked and shrugged his shoulders.
"They've kinda been looking down on us" Harry said.
Sirius nodded. "I think that after today, they will be more considerate."
"Now that I think about it, Ginny's birthday was a few days ago" Harry
said as he suddenly stopped. "Because of the trial, I completly missed it. I
didn't cogratulate her, nor did I get her a gift... A little help?"
"Well, we are in the muggle world, she must be quite used to wizarding
gift, so a muggle gift would be fine" said Sirius.
"Get her a necklace or something" proposed Vi.
"Isn't jewelry the kind of thing you buy to a special someone if they aren't
family? I don't feel that way about her, and it would give her the wrong
impression."
Sirius barked a laugh. "Not all jewelry. It's not as if you're giving her a
ring, you know. A necklace would be fine."
"Or a beautiful hairpin" added Xuanzang.
"Perfume" Scathach said. She and Semiramis loved scented products.
In the end, he followed Scathach suggestion. He bough 2 differents kinds
so she could have some variety, and had them gift-wrapped.
It was past 7pm when they returned to Grimmauld Place. Scathach didn't
stay with them, as she and the other girls were assured there wouldn't be
any foul play. When she apparated away, Harry discretly released a sigh
of relief.
"We're back!" Sirius happily shouted from the entrance hall.
And he winced when his mother portrait started to scream. Thankfully
for everyone, he was able to quickly shut her.
"Sorry" he whispered.
They went to the sitting room, where they continued to talk until Molly
called everyone for diner. She also informed them that Dumbledore
called for a meeting after diner. Harry and his girls had expected
something like that. Dumbledore would use the pressure of number to
bring more weight to his words. Had the people not been busy during the
day, it would have happened right after lunch.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Another 4-6 chapters before Hogwart, toads, slapping snakes, and
more. And no, Ginny won't be with Harry.
Chapter 34: End of the free day
When the inhabitant of the house gathered at the table for diner, Harry
took out a package from his pocket.
"It's a little late, but here" he said, tossing it to Ginny, who deftly caught
it. "Happy birthday" he finished with a small grin.
She looked at him in shock, then at the gift in her hands. She wasn't the
only one surprised, the other were as well. A brilliant smile appeared on
her face.
"Thank you."
She couldn't wait and opened it on the spot. Her eyes lit up when she saw
the perfumes. She checked the scent and grinned broadly. She thanked
him again for the gift. At that time, the head of the Weasley family
arrived through the floo. Harry was pleased to see the man. While
somewhat passive, he felt that he was one of the more understanding
adults around him. His arrival and Ginny's gift did a lot to alleviate the
mood at the table.
Shortly after the end of the meal, people started to arrive at the
Headquaters. Since it was for an Order meeting, Molly sent Hermione
and her children to their room. Usually, they would have tried to protest,
give some token resistance, but with Harry's changes they decided to not
push their luck.
The first to arrive were old associates of Dumbledore: Dedalus Diggle,
Elphias Doge and the oldest, Sturgis Podmore. Next were the aurors: the
senior auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the young ladies, Nymphadora
Tonks and Hestia Jones. Thus, Harry had the chance to meet Tonks
before the meeting. Both him and his ladies got a positive impression of
the bubblegum haired young woman. She also seemed to click with her
fellow pink haired female.
Then, Minerva McGonagal accompanied by another formidable looking
witch of her generation, Emmeline Vance. Dumbledore was of course last
to come. Along with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody, Arthur
Weasley, Molly Weasley and Mundungus Fletcher, they were all the
members of the Order of the Phoenix present. The last few others were
unavailable.
It soon became apparent that Dumbledore had 2 main goals with the
meeting.
First, presenting the Order to Harry as allies and protectors he should
trust and listen to. He even tried some emotional blackmail by
mentionning how his parents were members as well. Second, he tried to
extract informations from him. Mainly who were his ladies, how he met
them, and where he was staying. That didn't go well.
The first part was to soften him for the second part, but it did the
opposite.
Harry rememered Deadalus Diggle. He had recognised him when Hagrid
had taken him to the Leaky Cauldron for the first time. Seeing him in the
Order, he guessed that the man had been sent to check on him during his
childhood, and should have known it wasn't good, yet no help came.
Added with how they had him under close surveillance this summer, it
instead killed the chances of him ever trusting the order.
"Unlike you, who are supposed to care about me, when I was crying for
help, they answered and came to me."
Harry had said it in a calm voice, but they could feel weight of the
emotions behind. That silenced them, preventing any further objections
they might have. Those were the words that put an end to the discussion.
Dumbledore also didn't have the support of Sirius (which wasn't
surprising to them), and surprisingly for the Order, Arthur and Moody. It
was very rare for Arthur to downright disagree with his wife (or
Dumbledore). More often than not, he would let her have her way
(follow his instructions), or seek a small compromise. More so when it
concerned children. It was even more surprising for Moody to chose to
tolarate unknowns. Unknowns who were with someone who was clearly
an important element in the coming war against Voldemort.
With those 3 siding with Harry, some people left Dumbledore side to be
on the fence, the other aurors and Emmeline Vance. While they
aknowledged at least to tehmselves that they failed Harry, they still had
too much faith and trust in Dumbledore to completly disagree with him.
Despite being a hothead who would rather hit first and talk later, Vi was
neither stupid or unobservant. She had been a thief, then worked for law
enforcement. Tonks posture, who until then showed she was willing to
follow Dumbledore's lead despite having some doubts, shifted. She didn't
express it, but Vi could tell she had sided with them. She smiled, because
there wouldn't be a conflict between Tonks and Sirius over Harry's
choices. Harry would have been distressed if his actions had caused Sirius
and his niece to be at odds.
Harry didn't stay long after that. That little meeting had annoyed him
much. If not for his beginner's mind arts, Xuanzang's comforting hand on
his lap, and having lashed out once earlier in the day, he wouldn't have
been able to stay calm, and would have possibly revealed some things he
shouldn't in his anger. Anger that he had trouble keeping in check in
Dumbledore's presence.
After a few more words with Sirius, and some thanks to Arthur and
Moody, he left. He may not be able to work with the Order as a whole,
but he could still work with individuals. Vi also had a quick talk of her
own with Tonks.
Several apparitions later, a few of them to throw of possible trackers,
they were back to the Potter lands.
They met with the rest of the girls to give them a summary of the
evening. At that time, Harry got nervous again, nearly scared. The look
she gave him when he arrived was more intense than usual. He had no
doubt that Scathach would have told them what happened during the
day, and was worried about how much details she gave. Thankfully, the
others didn't seem to be acting any differently than they should. Still, he
couldn't help but grow cautious.
They separated for the night. Harry changed into his night clothes, and
started to read a novel. Less than 30 minutes after entering his room,
Scathach showed up. She was wearing a mid-thight lenght, dark red, lace
nightgown. She wasn't wearing a bra, so the movement of her breasts
with each steps she took was hypnotising. The book he had in hands was
totally forgotten.
"H-hey, Scathach" he said, barely keeping his calm, both because of the
sight in front of his eyes, and the possible subject of her presence. "What
can I do for you?"
She sat down on the bed next to him, her beautiful red eyes never leaving
his.
"I came to talk to you about what happened in the car today."
"Ah, that..." he said while losing some color.
"You seem to be quite troubled about it. I know you didn't have any
intention to cause me discomfort. And I also know that it was a natural
reaction for you. I am not angry or displeased with you. I tried to ease
your worries about that during our time in the city, but it didn't work."
Having heard that, he was both quite embarrassed, but also relieved. He
slowly relaxed.
"I didn't mind you know" she added, making him freeze. "I was surprised,
yes, but I didn't dislike it. So, the next time that happen, don't feel bad
about it, okay?"
"Ah... Sure..."
"Good" she said with a small smile.
She leaned forward, her chest pressing against his, and placed a lingering
kiss on his cheek.
"Goodnight" she said as she stood up and left, her swaying hips capturing
his gaze.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Finally done with the "Harry makes his new stance clear with
Dumbles, the order and his friends" part. I feel like I spent more time
than necessary on it, yet I don't think I did...
Now, some focus on his time with the girls before Hogwart.
Chapter 35: Dreams
Harry had an unusual experience that night. He already experienced
dreams, nightmares, and visions from Voldemort. However, it was his
first time viewing the life of someone else.
It was in ancient times, in northern lands. Humans were living harsh
lives, being under the constant threat of giants. Until she came. She lead
them, helped them build villages, broker peace with the giants, and ruled
them. But not everything was alright. To maintain the peace with the
giants, some sacrifices had to be regulary offered. That was something
she couldn't prevent.
"Aah!"
Harry woke up suddenly, slightly short of breath, and sweating lightly.
The vivids images were still perfectly clear, randomly replaying in his
mind. They were both mesmerizing, and horrifying. It took him several
minutes to calm himself. He grabbed his rod and cast the tempus charm.
He didn't notice he did it silently.
It was 4am. He relaxed, then grimaced. His studying and training routine
was supposed to resume that day. He had woken up to early, and
doubted he would be able to go back to sleep again. He didn't look
forward to starting the day with a lack of sleep, especially since the first
period would be with Scathach.
Thinking about her gave him complicated feelings, not only because of
what happened the day before, but also because of what he had seen in
his sleep. Those images, they were fragments of her life. He somehow felt
guilty about it. He felt like he had violated her privacy by viewing
moments of her life without permission, and he groaned, knowing his
time with her would only get more akward.
He was too awake to go back to sleep, and his thoughs kept returning to
Scathach and how their relationship was changing. To avoid anymore of
these thoughts, he decided to meditate, and try to work on his
occlumency.
To help, he also practiced a basic skill he had recently learned: slowly
circulating his magic throught his body. A basic magic manipulation skill
to increase one's control over their magic. The amount of focus required
allowed him to completly forget about anything else.
Without knowing, he had entered some kind of trance. Anything around
him was ignored, even the sensation of the bed and blanket below him.
The only thing he was aware of was himself. For the first time, his body,
mind and magic completly got in tune with each other. Had Xuanzang
been present, she would have been surprised at what he had
accomplished.
"Harry Potter sir" said Dobby.
"What?"
Harry was startled out of his trance and fell backward, thankfully on the
bed. He flailed for a second before righting himself, and looked at his
friend standing on the bed in front of him.
"Dobby? What's going on?"
"It's morning sir. Breakfast be ready soon."
"What?" he replied in numb surprise.
He grabbed his rod and performed the tempus charm again, confirming
Dobby's words.
"How?"
"Is something wrong?" he asked curiously, then got worried. "Did
something happen to master Harry Potter?"
"No Dobby, nothing wrong happened... I think? It's just that, I woke up in
the middle of the night, and didn't manage to go back to sleep. So I tried
to meditate, and I didn't see the time pass. That's why you surprised me...
And I'm not sleepy..." he stated while checking himself. "In fact, I feel
refreshed, as if my sleep hadn't been interrupted" he finished in wonder.
"If Harry Potter is fine, then Dobby is happy. The bathroom is free, so
master should go before breakfast."
"Yeah, thanks Dobby."
With that said, the elf popped away, and Harry went to the bathroom. 15
minutes later, he joined the other at the dinning table. He managed to
keep his usual demeanor when he greeted Scathach, but concentrated on
his food. It was only half an act because he realised he was quite hungry.
It made him think that there was probably more to his unusual
meditation experience. Before separating for the rest of the day, he asked
one of the ladies for some time to talk later that day day.
His morning lesson with Scathach didn't go as bad as he expected. He
expected her to be a bit flirtarious, but that wasn't the case. She remained
professional from start to finish. It was just him having slight troubles
concentrating on the teachings. Still, at the end of the lesson, he could
have sworn that the look she gave him when they separated had a hint of
longing.
Leaving the former queen of the cold lands, he went to the room of the
former queen of the warm lands.
"Semiramis?" he called at the entrance.
"Come in" came the attractive voice.
Harry entered the room, and looked at the beautiful woman. It was his
first time getting into the room of someone from the opposite sex, and he
found it exciting and unnerving. It was also the room of someone he had
a slight crush on. He couldn't prevent himself from blushing a little. She
was sitting on her bed, with a chair in front of her, and motionned him to
take a seat.
"What can I do for you, Harry?"
Harry took a calming breath before answering. "In the previous night, I
saw something during my sleep. I saw some of Scathach memories. Do
you know what could have caused that?"
"The Dream Cycle" she said with a slight surprise. "In my and my fellow
casters previous world, the contract between master and servant would
have another effect called Dream Cycle, where the master and the servant
would have dreams of each other's lives. Since our summoning and
contract was different from our world, we weren't sure it would happen.
After a week with nothing, we didn't expect it anymore."
"Is there something that can be done to block it?" he asked nervously.
Semiramis raised an eyebrow in response, at both the question and his
anxiousness.
"It feels like I'm intruding into something intimate. I mean, aren't there
some things that you girls would rather keep private?"
At that question, Semiramis mood changed. There wasn't much change in
her expression and stance, but there was a bit of tension in the air. There
was no hostility, but the friendliness was gone.
"You are right. There are some things everyone wants to keep to
themselves" she said, looking at him in the eyes with a stony gaze. "It can
be about a subject they hate, a subject they are ashamed about, a subject
they found embarrassing, or something that is considered criminal" she
finished, then looked away.
"Semiramis?" he called, uncertain.
"I do not believe there is anything that can be done about it, aside from
mastering occlumency" she answered while lightly shaking her head, and
returned her eyes to his. "You should go and resume your morning
exercises" she said in a manner indicating that the conversation was over.
"I see" he replied, recognising she wanted to be left alone. "Thanks for the
clarification, Semiramis. I'll see you later" he said as he stood up and
started to leave.
"If, or rather when you have further visions" she said as he reached the
entrance of the room, "do try to be understanding if you see something
you don't like."
Harry stopped for a second and nodded, then left. As he went outside for
his practice, he thought back to what Semiramis had said. Why she had
become more distant during the talk.
"... That's right" he told himself with a complicated expression on his face.
"Dual class. Caster, and Assassin..."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Sorry for the 6 or so weeks without updates.
40% being distracted by something else
35% procrastination
20% lack of inspiration (I have some general things planed, but as I
write, I make some changes, and I get conflicted about how to
proceed)
5% unsaved progress
I don't remember where I got the term Dream Cycle from.
Chapter 36: Enhanced training
One of his goal was to be able to, by the end of the school year, cast spell
without both incantation and wand movement. It was a skill called point
cast, that was only taugh to NEWT DADA students, or acquired beyond
school.
He got fairly confident in being able to achieve that goal. He noticed that
channeling magic for spell casting had become easier compared to a few
days prior. He guessed it was due to his trance. He was also more in
control of his body when performing wand movements, seamless and
precise. Finally, he used slightly less magic for the same effect, meaning
he had become more efficient in magic expenditure.
These improvements put him in a fairly good mood, and trained with
much more vigor. At lunch, the girls could tell that he was more spirited
than usual after training. While intrigued, they didn't ask for details.
Another reason they didn't ask anything was that he had worked an
appetite, and was too concentrated on the food.
His afternoon with Xuanzang started with a jog to the waterfall. The best
part of afternoon, as she ran ahead of him to set the pace. She wore yoga
pants with a thong, and Harry shamelessly admired her bouncing round
apple butt.
Once there, he related his meditation experience to her. As she listened to
him, her eyes widened in surprise and wonder.
"So" Harry said as he finished his tale. "What can you tell me about what
happened?"
"Harry, in the buddhist teachings, our goal is to achieve enlightment,
inner peace and wisdom." She paused, putting more weight on her
following sentence. "You have made the first step toward that goal, by
getting in tune with yourself. Body, mind and magic in harmony" she
finished with a hint of awe.
"It's also a state martial artists seek to achieve, with spirit instead of
magic. It usually take years to reach that level" she added wryly. "Only
the most prodigious of people can do that in less than a year. And you
did it with less than a month of training" she finished with the most
serious and penetrative gaze he had ever seen on her face.
He blinked and slightly backed away, a little unerved by her intense
gaze.
"While you have some talent, I certainly wouldn't call you a genius or
prodigy. I believe the Dream Cycle, and our link to you, had a part in
that" she said, her gaze turning curious and contemplating, then she
closed her eyes and slowly shook her head."So, don't let what I told you
give you a big head. You still have a long way to go."
"Don't worry, I expected that" he replied with a small smile.
"But it doesn't change the fact that it really is good news" she added with
a big smile.
"Good. So, what now?"
"Now? I can advance your training" she happily answered. "You have
reached a stage where you no longer need my oversight to meditate and
breath. So we can move to physical training."
"Do I really need this physical training?"
"What do trolls, basilisks and dragons have in common?"
"... They are magic resistant" he replied after a bit of hesitation.
"Good. There are magic resistant beasts in the world that are strong,
agile, and when they get near you, you usually don't survive. You were
lucky with the troll in your 1st year, the basilisk in your 2nd year, and
mr Lupin in your 3rd year. You used your skills in the tournament against
the dragon, but you were also on the fastest broom in the world."
Harry nodded grimly at that. He was aware that he had escaped death by
little. The dead troll found in the obstacle course was bigger and more
muscular than the one encountered in the girls bathroom. The basilisk
had been blinded by Fawkes, and Sirius had entercepted Remus.
"And you have yet to face vampires. Your Dark Lord had giants and
werewolves allied with him during the first war. It's known that he had
tried to recruit vampires, and there is no doubts in our mind that he will
try again. And this time he may very well succeed. Both vampires and
werewolves are strong, fast and tough. The physical training you're going
to receive will allow you to keep up with them if you end up having to
deal with one or more of them at close range."
Harry suppressed a grimace at the mental image. He could see himself be
mangled to death by someone like Greyback, who was still at large. He
was a sobering example of how deadly it could be to face a werewolf in
battle.
"Scathach has recently taugh you the reinforcement skill, right?" Harry
nodded. "Once your basic physical training is done, I will teach you how
to use it in battle to be stronger and faster. With how little time is left
until September, you will have to improve on your own while you're at
Hogwarts. So, for the next week, I'll put you through some intensive
training" she finished with a bigger smile while Harry paled.
"Don't worry, we can easily buy or brew the necessary potions to help
you properlly recover from each sessions" she added while patting his
head. "I will go easy on you today, but from tomorrow onward..."
Harry lowered his head with a groan. The training she inflicted on him
for the following hour was worse than anything his former quidditch
captain had given to the team. And that was her going easy on him.
Furthermore, she stated that she had to make up for the limited amount
of time they had together. At the end of the session, he just wanted to lie
on the ground and forget the world.
"Dobby" the beautiful asian magus called.
"Yes miss Zangy? Yikes!! What happened to Harry Potter?"
"He's fine, Dobby. Just tired from the training. Can you bring us a bottle
of energy tonic and a pot of bazan cream please?"
"Y-yes! Dobby will be quick!"
"Don't worry, Harry. You'll get better soon enough."
A grunt was the reply she received, and she stiffled a laugh.
The tonic and the cream were made for athletes. The first one worked
similary to a pepper-up potion, but instead of giving a temporary burst of
energy, it helped with recovery. The cream soothed muscle aches, and
prevented cramps. When Dobby came back, she had him drink the foul
tasting potion, then gave him a full body massage with the cream.
Soon after she started working on his battered body, he couldn't help but
moan in relief as he fully relaxed. A few minutes later, he was napping.
Xuanzang continued to gently work on his body with a small content
smile on her face. Once done, she had Dobby pop him back to his bed.
Just this once, she would spare him the walk back to the estate in a tired
state.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
I lost this chapter twice. Each time it was about 80-85% complete.
And each time it emptied my motivation pool to rewrite it.
It was infuriating, because I had trouble writing that chapter.
That's 10% of the reason for the delay in updates.
But I later realised that it was for the best.
When I started writing this story, I wanted Harry to learn from varied
magic users, thus the caster from europe, the one from middle east,
and the one from asia.
Then came the problem when I wanted to focus a bit on Xuanzang: I
knew next to nothing about buddhism, and Xuanzang was a master
practioner/believer. Her life-style was entirely based on its teachings.
In other words, I had writen a crappy chapter. Took care of that.
That's another 10% of the reason for the delay in updates.
It also gave me some time to think about where I wanted to take the
story compared to when I started it. Some things I want to keep, some
I want to change.
From the title of the fanfic, you can tell I want Harry to become a ruler
(like an emperor, king, president, prime minister).
But then again, a ruler isn't supposed to be in the middle or close to
the action. That's what subordinates are for.
No way my Harry will gain all these magical skills and power, just to
spend most of his time at the back giving orders or doing paperwork.
So yeah, I've spent some time rethinking about what I wanted to
happen in the future.
That's 30% of the reason for the delay in updates.
Then there is 30% of laptop troubles.
The remaining 20% is procrastination and distractions.
Chapter 37: A wonderful necklace
One afternoon, after a training session with Xuanzang, Harry decided to
spend some time in the hidden Potter vault.
He realised that he hadn't spent any significant time there ever since he
discovered it. He was a bit ashamed by that, because it was the legacy of
his family. The other reason was that, after Xuanzang intense physical
training, he simply didn't have the energy to return to the manor
grounds.
As he went through the possessions of his family, he came across the
journal of a gemstone researcher. It attracted his attention because from
what he could tell, he was the only one to have studied them extensively.
The other Potters who studied materials from the land focused more on
various rocks, ceramics and metals.
"Whoa" Harry exclaimed, impressed by what was written.
He had heard things in passing somewhere, about the meaning of
flowers, or gemstones. It turned out that gemstones really did have some
magical properties. But their effects by themselves were too small to be
effective. They needed a complex enchantment while being linked to a
person, ward or wardstone, to be of any use.
"Some gemstones have nifty effects" he whispered. "Promoting positive
feelings while reducing negative ones, refreshing and enhancing the body
and the mind, protecting and giving good luck..."
Along with the diary were some jewelry made by that ancestor. Said
ancestor had tried, and succeeded, in making various support items to
help the Potters from the following generations. However, his work had
been neglected because of the high expenses. Aquiring costly gemstones,
to have them damaged or destroyed in experiments, hadn't been well
received by the rest of the family.
Thus, the rest of the family had missed the useful items he had left
behind. One of them was an enchanted necklace, made of a silver chain,
and a disc of moonstone with an amethyst crystal at the center. It was
made specifically as an aid for studies, something Harry really needed
with all the extra studies he had, especially with his new interest in runes
and hextech.
After diner, he gathered the casters in his room and showed them the
items of his ancestor. After all, it would be troublesome if they were
flawed and he suffered because of it.
"You can be proud of your ancestor, Harry" Semiramis said as she gazed
intently at the apparel in her hands. "It is well made. A little lacking in
aesthetic however."
"The rune work is crude, but effective" Scathach added. "I don't see any
problems with you using it, but for the time being, not without
supervision. I will be looking after you during that time in case there are
unforseen issues" she finished with a pleased face.
"Thanks Scathach" he replied with hidden trepidation. "I wonder if
Rowena Ravenclaw used a similar idea when she made her rumored
diadem..." he whispered to himself.
"It is possible" Semiramis replied, surprising him. "If she did, she was
definitly ahead of her peers in magical knowledge."
"Hey!" Harry suddenly exclaimed. "Now that we're talking about old
famous witches and wizards, did you have Merlin and Morgana in your
world among the famous human magic users?"
"Yes" Scathach replied. "Thought, this world's versions of Merlin and
Morgana weren't nearly as powerful as ours."
"Really?"
"Our world's magic users are roughly as powerful as yours, but compared
to our world where magic declined as time passed, here, magic improved.
So, witches and wizards, as a whole, are stronger than their ancestors,
and in our world, the magic users were more powerful than here"
Scathach explained.
"Your best witches and wizards wouldn't compare to legends such as
ourselves" Semiramis added in a haughty tone. "Even in our reduced
form, I can tell we are still among the greatest magic users of the
world..." she trailed of as her gaze intensified on him, mesmerizing him
while making him feel uncomfortable. "And you are on the way to reach
our height. I look forward to what you will become in the future."
The way she said it, the way she looked at him, and the little smile that
formed on her lip. All those combined were enough to render him
speechless, as his face turned as red as an embarrassed and angry
Weasley, and blood rushed south. Semiramis melodious little laugh at his
reaction while leaving the room didn't help.
"So" Scathach resumed with a hint of unease, "compared to today, your
Merlin and Morgana were not as powerful as you imagine. I would say
that the 3 most powerful magic users of this century, meaning
Grindelwald, Dumbledore and Voldemort, are easily on their level. Still,
for people from nearly 1000 years ago, that level of power and ability
must have been quite impressive and humbling."
"I see. While they are definitly worthy of respect, we've probably been
overestimating them a bit much."
"Speaking of Merlin, it seems like the general population of witches and
wizards have forgotten that Merlin was a slytherin and not a blood purist.
The Order of Merlin, which is an award for great achievement today, was
a muggle rights organisation. And slytherin house took pride in his
achievements. I think it's something you should remind some of your
peers over the course of the year."
Harry nodded in agreement, astonished, and slightly ashamed to not have
known that much about such a well known and revered figure. He really
regretted not having put much efforts in getting to know the wizarding
world.
The following few days, Harry's studying pace was slightly increased. The
casters monitored his health meticulously. As such, they also noticed that
his learning speed had improved. With the confirmation that the necklace
functionned as intended, they pushed Harry to his limits. At least as
much as possible without it backfiring.
During those days, Scathach was also wearing down on Harry's
reluctance to get more physically involved with her. There was a limit to
how much a healthy teenager could restrain himself in the presence of a
gorgeous and willing girl.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
Yes, I know. It's been months since I updated this story. Sorry.
I really dislike it when authors make things from the past better and
more advanced than things from the present when there is absolutly
no reason for it (reasons such as a big event that led to a massive loss
of knowledge, or nobody else of note having thoroughly researched an
uncommon/unpopular subject).
With a knowledge gathering and exchange place like Hogwarts, things
would progress instead of regressing.
Chapter 38: Another bit of fun 1
For the 24th of August, Harry decided to spend another day with Sirius.
While he was busy getting ready for the coming year and the war that
would follow, it was the summer holidays. His time with his beloved
godfather was already limited without counting the time he would spend
at Hogwart.
It was agreed that he would spend the night at Grimauld Place, and the
following day (25th), go with the other children for the school supplies
shopping day. He would have dragged him to live with him and the girls,
if Semiramis and Caitlyn didn't tell him that Sirius would be his most
trusted source of informations in the Order of the phoenix. While he
didn't like the idea of using his godfather to spy on supposed allies, he
accepted their wisdom.
This time, the only one escorting Harry was Vi, and this time, Hermione,
Ron, Ginny and the twins would join for a day of fun in the muggle
world.
Harry, Vi, Sirius and Hermione were entertained by their red headed
friends being in awe or confused by the muggle society. Despite their
father being fascinated by muggles, their knowledge about them was still
quite inaccurate. Much better than most purebloods, but still lacking.
While educating and entertaining the Weasleys children, Harry was also
slowy making up with Hermione and Ron. He was also having a lot of
fun with the twins and Ginny. Unlike their brother, who was a bit
daunted by all that he was discovering, they appreciated their little
adventure in unknown lands.
"Hey, Sirius" Harry whispered while the rest of the group was distracted.
Sirius turned to Harry, and saw him gesturing for the 2 of them to take
their distance for a private talk.
"Something on your mind, pup?"
"You have no idea" Harry muttered under his breath, but aloud he replied
"I need help, or advice? Both?"
Sirius watched him in confusion before slowly grinning. "Are you having
girl troubles? Probably one of those wonderful ladies around you?"
Harry's reddening face was all the answer he needed, and he was barely
able to restrain his laugh.
"So, which one do you fancy? Pinky over there? Or the asian one? Or was
it one of the other 2 that went with you for your trial?" Harry wry smile
once again gave him the answer. "Ok, explain, what has been going on?"
Harry groaned a little at how eager Sirius seemed to be about hearing of
his not yet existant love life. He took a breath, and without going too
much into details, explained the situation. Scathach interest in him, his
interest in Semiramis, and his strong attraction to the other girls around
him.
When asked about schoolmates he was attracted to, the list was small,
partly due to how the previous year had soured his relationship with
most of the school, and partly due to the women around him being more
attractive than most of his schoolmates. After a few more informations
being given, Sirius came to a conclusion.
"Okay Harry. Here is what I suggest you do" he said seriously. "Don't
think too much about it and go have some fun."
"... What?" Harry replied incredulously.
"Harry, you're 15yo, you're still quite young, and in the period of new
experiences and discoveries. Don't think about serious relationships, you
won't know how to deal with it, because you quite litteraly don't know."
Harry blinked upon hearing that.
"So get to know! Go and experiment with what please you. See if it's like
how you imagined it. Don't just take what people say it should be like.
Have some fun with a few girls or more until you get a handle of what
you really like and want most."
"But my parents...."
"Are James and Lily. But you're neither James nor Lily. James, despite
being fascinated by Lily early, had a few adventures before ending up
with her. And it actually helped him a little, because he learned some
things from these adventures."
The look Harry gave him almost made him burst in laughter.
"I myself was known as a bit of a womanizer. The truth is, I wanted to
have some fun before settling down. And believe it or not, I had my eyes
set on a delightful lady. Unfortunatly, we were at war, and she died
before we could tie the knot."
And the mood got quite heavy around the pair of godfather-godson. Vi
was the only one who noticed, not having forgotten about her guard
duty.
"Who was she?" Harry asked in a low, hesitant voice.
"Marlene McKinnon" Sirius replied with a solemn tone and expression.
"She was a friend in our later years at Hogwart, and an ally after, during
the war. We had started dating in secret, when she and her family were
killed in an attack at their home. It was about a year before you were
born. Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised if Peter had
something to do with it."
"That fucking bastard" Harry replied on instinct.
"You can say that again" Sirius said, not minding Harry's language at that
time, being in full agreement.
"I'm sorry you lost her" Harry said after a moment of silence.
"Thanks, but it's fine. It was a long time ago. I got over it. I still miss her,
thought..."
His gaze turned distant for a moment, before refocusing on Harry.
"Anyway, don't rush into looking for 'The One', and don't let excitement
mislead you into thinking that you found her. Also, be careful about love
potions. While they don't create love, they enduce a strong infatuation.
Lily hated those, because while under it, a girl could be made to do
something that she usually wouldn't do" he said with a meaningful look.
"It really can be used in a criminal way, almost as bad as the imperius."
Harry paled, then quickly nodded. They kept a certain distance from the
rest of the group, as Sirius tried to give him as much advice on the
relationships between men and women as possible. Along the way, he
went over the birds and the bees, and going into more details than Harry
would have liked on the subject. But he would later be thankful for that.
It was a happy group that returned to Grimmauld Place in the evening.
Thus, the akwardness between Harry and the other Order members was
greatly reduced. Tonks helped a lot with that, being the most fun and
easy going among the adults, aside from Sirius.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Tonyorobsky
While I had the idea for this chapter for a while, but when I sat down
to write, it went quite fast. As it's been a little while since my last
update, I rushed to post it. Hope there aren't too many typos.
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