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Chapter Text

Hello friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with the first chapter of my new Harry Potter story! Are you ready for an OP Harry?

Big Deviation from canon, Harry isn’t a Horcrux in this story!

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 1 – Early Years and Magic

Sirius Black had never been so emotional in his life. Loss, Grief, Rage, Suspicion, and a dozen other emotions tore through his mind as he looked at the remains of the cottage that James and Lily had been living in. The only thing keeping these emotions from making him do something rash was the little bundle in his arms. This was his godson, Harry James Potter, and he’d be damned if anything happened to the one year old while he still drew breath! The only thought in Sirius’ mind at the moment was to get Harry to safety. Without a word he spun on his heel and disappeared with a loud crack.

“Andy! Andy! It’s me! Let me in!” Sirius yelled loudly as he beat on the door to his cousin Andromeda’s home. It might have been late on Halloween, not too much longer until the first of November, but that didn’t matter to Sirius right now.

“Sirius! What the bloody hell are you doing beating on my door at this time of night?!” A woman in a housecoat demanded as she opened the door. She was tall for a woman, with aristocratic features, dark hair, and sharp grey eyes. When she took in the state of her cousin, as well as noticed the bundle in his arms, she gasped. With wide eyes she ushered Sirius inside and closed the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” Ted, Andromeda’s husband, questioned as they walked into the sitting room. He was a fairly average looking man, brown hair, warm brown eyes, tall and lean.

“James and Lily are dead.” Sirius breathed out while gently cradling Harry. “Voldemort found them.”

“I thought they were under the Fidelius Charm?” Andromeda looked aghast.

“Peter, he must’ve been found, that or he…he…” Sirius started to shake slightly and Andromeda held out her arms to take little Harry. Reluctantly, Sirius passed Harry into Andromeda’s arms and the woman softly cooed to the still sleeping baby.

“Sirius, we don’t know what happened yet, we shouldn’t do anything rash.” Ted advised the slightly younger man. “Going off half-cocked isn’t doing anyone any good and it’s the last thing little Harry needs.” His words struck a chord with Sirius who sagged in his seat and exhaled heavily.

“Harry is the biggest concern right now, Sirius.” Andromeda stated plainly, her tone conveying the severity of the situation. “We can figure out everything else over the next few days.”

“You’re right,” Sirius ran his hands over his face, the events of the night clearly getting to the man. “Do you mind if we stay with you until things are settled?”

“I wouldn’t let you leave if you tried, Sirius.” Andromeda replied with finality as she held the baby Harry. Ted could only chuckle at his wife’s resolute declaration.

The next several hours were almost a blur for Sirius. He’d had to Floo the Aurors to let them know of the attack on the Potters. That had set off a large movement from the DMLE. Barty Crouch, the Head of the DMLE, had Aurors all over the cottage looking for evidence. Sirius was questioned, Peter was found missing, but with no signs of any struggle or attack it seemed likely the man had betrayed his friends to the Dark Lord. Dumbledore had shown up, but Sirius wasn’t sure what the man and Barty Crouch had talked about. The issue of Harry had come up and Sirius was vehement in his place as Harry’s godfather. He would not give Harry to anyone else.

The next day, the evening edition of the Daily Prophet ran the news story that sent all of Magical Britain into celebration. The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, You-Know-Who, Voldemort was dead! Slain by something when he’d attacked the Potter Family! Their infant son, Harry, the only person to ever survive the Dark Lord’s attempt on his life! In less than a day, Harry Potter became the most famous name in all of Magical Britain! The Boy-Who-Lived!

Sirius was granted full custody of Harry in short order. Both James’ and Lily’s Wills had stated that Harry was to go to Sirius as his godfather. No one could contest that. Dumbledore had suggested leaving the Magical World for some years but Sirius was having none of it. Harry would be raised by Sirius with help from Andromeda and Ted. Sirius’ niece, Nymphadora, had quickly taken to the idea of having Harry around. She’d happily declared herself ‘Big Sister’ to the one year old and could often be found using her Metamorph ability to entertain the baby.

Growing up, everything had seemed normal, for a Magical child at any rate, with Harry. He had small outbursts of Accidental Magic every now and then, he cried, he giggled, and he had to be changed. There was no indication that Harry was special in anyway by Magical standards. That had always been a point of confusion for the Family. How did Harry survive Voldemort’s attack that night? Moreover, how had he come away from that horrid night without a single mark on him? Sirius figured it had to have been something that Lily and James had done. Some kind of last resort measure they’d put in place to protect Harry, even at the cost of their lives. Lily was more than intelligent enough to figure something like that out and James would be all for it if it meant his son would live.

By age three Harry had started to display some rather insightful uses of simple Magic. The little boy was doing Accidental Magic, but there was nothing accidental about it! If little Harry was thirsty his sippy cup would float into his hand, even from across the room. If he wanted one of his little story books, it came to him. Sirius and Andromeda had even seen the toddler levitate his wooden blocks to build things when he played. Harry seemed to have an intrinsic understanding of his Magic. He knew how to make it work for him. Sirius was proud of his godson. Andromeda and Ted were always impressed and little Nymphadora was the proud big sister, always doting on Harry when he used his Magic.

By age four Harry had learned to read his small story books. The boy loved reading and was progressing well. Sirius had smiled warmly at his godson, seeing so much of Lily in him. When he’d gotten a toy broom meant for small children for Harry as a fourth birthday gift, he’d been elated to see the joy on Harry’s face as he flew with his little feet barely off the ground. That was James through and through! Harry may look like James, but he was truly both his parents’ child. Lily’s curiosity and James’ looks, and with Sirius’ penchant for jokes he was sure Harry would be making them all proud for years to come! When he was older he’d share his wisdom of the fairer sex with his Godson too. Harry was going to be the second coming of Sirius when the time came. The Marauder would make sure of that!

By age seven Harry was a rather advanced reader. The boy happily read story books, enjoyed flying on his father’s old broom, and was already trying to learn more about Magic. Sirius happily teased his godson about becoming a Ravenclaw when he went to Hogwarts. Harry only shrugged and asked for more books on Magic for his birthday. Sirius, never one to say ‘No’ to Harry’s gift requests, had happily bought Harry a litany of books on various Magical subjects. He could have raided the Black Library at Grimmauld Place for books, but then he’d have had to go through each and every one of them to make sure they were safe. It was easier just to buy new books from Flourish and Blott’s than to peruse those old, musty tomes.

Harry had taken to Magic like a fish to water. The youngster happily read through book after book on everything from Charms to more obscure Magics like Alchemy and Occlumency. When Andromeda had mentioned that Harry couldn’t possibly understand such advanced and esoteric Magics at his age, Sirius had smirked at his cousin. Andromeda, knowing that look from their youth, had immediately demanded to know what Sirius had done.

“I didn’t do anything except be a good godfather!” Sirius had raised his nose into the air in a show of faux pompousness. “Harry, do the thing!”

“This?” Harry questioned as he looked up from the book he was reading. The boy held up his hand and a fireball snapped into existence. Andromeda’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. Harry, a boy of only seven years and a few months, had just done Elemental Conjuration! Wandlessly and silently at that!

“How…” Andromeda asked, even as she struggled to close her jaw and get her breathing back under control.

“Harry gets Magic,” Sirius replied as Harry waved away the fireball and returned to his book. “I don’t know any other way to explain it Andy. He reads it and he understands it. He even does it without the steps.”

“Harry,” Andromeda walked closer to the reading boy. “How did you do that?”

“The fireball?” Harry asked for clarification as he stopped reading and turned to face his aunt, as he’d come to call her. When Andromeda nodded, Harry smiled at getting to explain. “I read about the Incendio Charm, then the Flagrate Charm, a few other Fire Charms too and I realized that the wand wasn’t necessary. All you have to do is use your Magic as both spark and kindling and the fire will appear!”

“But Harry, wands are used by almost all Witches and Wizards to do Magic.” Andromeda explained and Harry tilted his head.

“I don't think that's right.” Harry shrugged, he then casually raised his hand and summoned a book, ‘Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling’, off the reading table, the other books levitating up off it and then gently landing once more. “Like this one is dumb. He just adds so many more steps!” Andromeda deadpanned at her young adopted nephew disparaging one of the premier magical primers. He sounded like he was whining. “It's like he tried to make it easy by making it simpler but just made it harder instead. Like he's trying to teach someone how to move their own leg! He says you have to draw Magic from within, move it through your body, push it into a wand while making patterns and saying the right words. Bleh~ Magic is Magic. I don't need to tell my legs how to walk!” Harry shook his head and Andromeda, while amazed, couldn’t help but smile at the child.

“In the books I’ve read, Magic is all about invoking Principles and deriving Aspects. Principles are the foundation of all spells, it is the main function and purpose a Witch or Wizard invokes from their Magic. Like the Principle of Separation, it’s all about causing things to come apart or stay apart. You then derive a specific Aspect from that, like severing or disconnecting. That leads to the spell in questions direct Effect, like a Cutting Charm or a Disassembling Charm. It's much easier to understand that way, rather than Waffling’s.” The seven year old rattled off from memory. It was clear he was quoting, or paraphrasing at least, an advanced Magical Theory book nearly verbatim.

“I see,” Andromeda smiled at Harry and let him return to his reading. She did happen to notice that he was reading through what would be Sixth or Seventh Year material in Hogwarts. “Sirius, Harry is some kind of prodigy!” She whispered to her cousin quietly. “I’ve never seen a child that argues with a published Magical Scholar before; and most definitely not a child that can then prove said Scholar wrong!”

“I told you Andy,” Sirius smirked with a chuckle. “Harry just gets Magic. To him it’s as easy as learning a simple task, like cleaning dishes or scrubbing a cauldron.”

“He’s reading Sixth and Seventh Year material, Sirius.” Andromeda motioned to the reading Harry. “Nymphadora is in her Fourth Year and wouldn’t understand half of that stuff.” With a deep breath to calm down, Andromeda continued. “Harry’s understanding of Magic is unheard of at his age. You heard what he said right? He was talking about Principles and Aspects! That’s not even covered in Hogwarts’ curriculum! Those are terms one covers while working towards a Magical Mastery!”

“A regular little Merlin, isn’t he?” Sirius beamed proudly at Harry.

“You’re impossible, Sirius.” Andromeda sighed heavily. Clearly her cousin wasn’t going to see this for the mind-boggling situation it was.

Harry would continue to advance in his personal study of Magic. Nymphadora had, on multiple occasions, been scolded by her mother for having Harry basically do her summer homework for her. Sirius enjoyed going flying with Harry, the activity being something that godfather and godson happily bonded over. Sirius had taken both Harry and Nymphadora to a few Quidditch games over the summers. While Nymphadora and Sirius loved Quidditch, Harry was more impressed with the flying overall. The game itself didn’t much interest him.

When it came time for Harry’s eighth birthday, he’d had only two requests for gifts. More advanced Magic books and a broom of his own. Sirius, the doting godfather he was, had not only gotten a top of the line broom for Harry, but also scoured Diagon Alley for the most advanced tomes he could find. If they were rare, he happily paid the price for them. Harry would understand them in short order anyway. As long as they weren’t Dark Magic, Sirius saw no reason not to encourage Harry’s curiosity and drive to learn. Lily and James would have done the same for their prodigy son.

‘Principles and Aspects: The Nature of Magic’ Harry read over the old tome’s title and smiled. This was what was only mentioned in some of the books he already had. He’d already come to the conclusion himself. But to see what was already known, and then take it further with his understanding, that was what excited Harry. Harry gently opened the old book and began to read. Just the headings for each of the topics gone over in the tome on the front page made him smile widely. ‘Principles, Aspects, Elements, Forces, Effects, Space, Time, this is awesome!’ The excited boy couldn’t wait to read this book! Whoever had written it must have spent decades delving into Magic and trying to understand it.

Unbeknownst to Harry, the lifetime of work that had gone into the old tome he was reading, while advanced knowledge to most Witches and Wizards, was still only the basis of the subject of Magic. It was merely the closest that the author had been able to get to understanding Magic in their lifetime. But it would be the gateway that opened Harry’s already deep understanding of Magic to the full possibilities of what he could achieve. Harry’s intuitive understanding of Magic would take this barebones knowledge of Magic and turn it into something that had never been seen before!

-Harry, Age 9-

‘Conjuring fire is easy, the nature of flame is simple enough,’ Harry thought to himself as he conjured a fireball in front of himself. ‘But Magical Flames are fire that burns with a different Effect, Principle, or Aspect. Adding the extra concept and not letting it be consumed by the nature of fire is the hard part.’ The boy thought to himself as he worked to bring about a Magical Flame. He continued to think on the various Effects, Principles, and Aspects he’d already learned to bring about or affect with Magic. ‘It would be easy to create cursed fire, like the Fiendfyre curse. That’s just fire with the Aspect of consumption added to it. It’s easy and stupid to add an Aspect that increases the inherent nature of an Element. At that point all you’re doing is bringing out more of the same.’

At the young age of nine, Harry Potter was already sure of what he wanted to do with his life. He wanted to learn and understand everything he could about Magic! After gaining the knowledge he had, then taking it further with his own understanding of the Fundamental Force that was Magic, Harry had seen the spells and creations of his fellow Magicals as lackluster. They weren’t inventive; they weren’t curious, they went for the simplest of uses and were happy in their ability to merely scratch the surface. It was odd to the boy, to see so many Witches and Wizards that were far older than him, yet none of them seemed to care about Magic at all. To them it wasn’t special, it wasn’t amazing, it just was. The fact that they were content with that boggled Harry’s mind.

To that end Harry had broken away from the spells taught in the ‘Standard Book of Spells’ series that Hogwarts used. Most of the spells were the same thing, only changed to focus on a specific target and produce a slightly different result. What was the point of that? If they wanted to use two different spells to essentially produce the same effect they could waste their time. Harry would craft his own spells! He wouldn’t be bogged down with over a dozen animate to inanimate or inanimate to animate Transfiguration spells. He’d simply make a single Transfiguration spell for each process and change the forms he wanted as he cast the spell. Likewise the multitude of Charms that did the same thing, but each were limited or varied in what they could and couldn’t affect. They were pointless differences that no Witches or Wizards seemed to have any problem with. It was simply incomprehensible to Harry.

By age nine, Harry James Potter was a full-on Spellcrafter! The youngster finding neither point nor purpose in learning six, seven, or eight different spells that all had the same basic purpose. He understood that he could get the same effects from a single spell as long as he created it with the proper Aspects, Principles, and Effects. Entire spell books on Charms could easily be condensed into ten or twelve spells once Harry was done going through them! The young Spellcrafter was sometimes annoyed by the sheer over-specialization of some spells. Why did anyone need a spell that only worked on a single sub-species of Magical Creature? Why was it that a spell that only worked on fabric made of a certain material warranted three pages of a spell book? The Magical World had bogged itself down so much that it was no wonder that new things and changes were often reviled by the staunch Traditionalists. They were probably still going through these absurdly long lists of spells looking for the ones they actually wanted!

‘To create the first flame, I need fire and the Principle that will produce the correct Aspect. So for this, it would be Time, separate the flames from time and you get fire with the Aspect of agelessness.’ Harry worked out what he needed to do to achieve the spell he wanted. Now he just had to add the Principle and derive the Aspect. A spark emerged between Harry’s cupped hands. The spark became a flame and burned in the air, seemingly without fuel. As that would go against fire’s nature it wasn’t true though. What this flame burned as fuel was Magic and what it used in place of oxygen was Time. So long as it was fueled with Magic, and Time continued to exist, this flame could burn forever.

A gentle knock on his bedroom door alerted Harry that Sirius was there. His godfather smiled at him and Harry returned the look. With his long hair, well-trimmed goatee, and aristocratic features, Sirius Black was rather handsome. It went a good way to explaining his success with the ladies. That and he was known to be the godfather of Harry Potter. Not that anyone had ever gotten to visit Harry through Sirius. The current Lord Black was a fierce gatekeeper between the public and his godson. Requests for interviews or photo ops had all been summarily rejected for years. Harry only went to Diagon Alley in disguise with Andromeda, Ted, and Nym. Sirius walking around with anyone of Harry’s age would quickly have them swarmed by the masses looking to meet Harry Potter. It was for this reason that Harry’s talents hadn’t become known to the public yet.

“Working on a bit of Pyromancy there, Harry?” Sirius chuckled as he walked into the room.

“Yeah, I finally figured this out.” Harry grinned as he showed Sirius the flame he’d conjured. Sirius looked at the flame, saw it burned oddly, like watching fire in slow motion, and then he felt the pull on his Magic. Sirius stumbled back in shock at what he was seeing.

“Harry! D-Did you conjure Primal Fire?!” Sirius gaped at the flame in his godson’s hand.

“That was what I was going for, yes.” Harry nodded as he continued to hold what some Magicals called the Flame of Creation, as if it was no big deal.

“Andy!” Sirius ran to the door and yelled out. “Ted! Andy! Both of you come see what Harry’s accomplished!” A rush of footsteps was heard and in a few moments both Ted and Andromeda stood in the door way. Both of them had similar reactions to Sirius, though in Ted’s case it was only because he felt the pull on his Magic from the flame. Andromeda and Ted, after collecting themselves, both praised Harry on his success before Andromeda pulled Sirius out of the bedroom to talk.

“Sirius, this has gone beyond prodigious, that was Primal Fire! Just from rumors alone, to get a spark of it is supposed to take a Ritual that lasts for a full Solar Day, from sunrise to sunset, and is performed by multiple Wizards and Witches! Harry is nine and just conjured it freely!” Andromeda was stifling her volume, but she wanted to scream about what she’d just seen!

“I know that, Andy!” Sirius was startled too, but he was proud of Harry’s accomplishment as well. “Harry is progressing at an incredible rate. But it’s not a bad thing, right? I’ve made sure to keep any hint of Dark Magic away from Harry during his studies. He should be fine to keep practicing.”

“I understand; I’m just reeling a bit.” Andromeda admitted as she calmed down from the shock. “I do worry about what Harry might get up to without supervision in the future though.”

“Well, in a few more years I can teach him how to chase girls. That would take up a good amount of his attention. Make him a regular ladies man, just like me!” Sirius chuckled for a bit, until he noticed Andromeda’s look.

“No.” Andromeda deadpanned. “Hogwarts doesn’t need another Sirius Black running around.”

“Every generation should have the Sirius Black experience!” Sirius chortled. Andromeda only shook her head and walked down the hallway. “Oi, Andy!” Sirius called out after his cousin. “What? You know I’m right!” Sirius called as he walked after her.

-Harry, Age 10-

Harry, Sirius, Andromeda, Nym, and Ted were at a secluded lake house owned by the Black Family. It was a warm August and they were all enjoying time swimming and relaxing at the property for the weekend. Now that the sun had set, Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted were downstairs reading over the Daily Prophet. Nym was currently showering and it would be Harry’s turn next. Harry had come up to his temporary bedroom to practice with his Spellcrafting while he waited.

‘Under normal conditions, a Banishing Charm and a Summoning Charm would cancel each other out, so long as they were of equal power.’  Harry mused as he conjured a golf ball sized version of the Summoning Charm on his right index finger, while conjuring a golf ball sized version of the Banishing Charm on his left index finger. Technically what he was conjuring wasn’t the Charms themselves, but the Principles of Attraction and Rejection. ‘Now if one has greater power than the other,’ The Attraction Principle grew a bit bigger on top of his right index finger. ‘Then the stronger Principle’s effect takes hold but at a reduced effect.’ He touched the two Principles together. The larger Attraction Principle shrank significantly while the Rejection Principle was completely dispersed. ‘Conflicting effects cannot exist at the same time at the same strength...normally anyway...’ Harry grinned as he conjured the Attraction Principle and Rejection Principle again. ‘Let's circumvent the natural rules a bit...’ He brought the two transparent orbs together, the opposing Principles fought against each other as Harry forced them together. The two transparent little spheres slowly merged before turning a deep black, the fused Magic was literally vibrating, along with the air near it.

“Now let's see what this does!” Harry launched the black sphere at the opposite wall excitedly. The instant the sphere made contact with the wall it rapidly expanded and the room went silent. The black sphere disappeared a moment later revealing a large hole in the wall, the outside visible through the missing section. Sound returned a second later and Harry blinked at the effects of his experiment.

“Harry?! Harry! What was that!? Where's the wall?!” Sirius barged into the room with his wand out. Behind him both Andromeda and Ted stood with their wands in hand as well.

“Sorry about that.” Harry motioned towards the missing wall. “I made a new spell. Seems like a more potent version of a standard Vanishing Charm. I think I'll call it Paradox, because of how I made it.” Harry rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he looked at Sirius.

“You're lucky we're so well off, Harry.” Sirius shook his head while pinching the bridge of his nose. Andromeda and Ted both just stared at the gaping hole in the wall silently. Sirius was able to use Transfiguration to temporarily repair the wall. He’d have an actual Magical Craftsman come over to repair it once they were back at home.

-Harry, Age 10 and 10 months-

“You can’t hide in there forever Harry!” Sirius yelled as he cast a few more hexes and jinxes at the barrier that Harry had cast around himself. The prodigious Spellcrafter had scoffed at the multitude of different Shield Charms and created his own. Simply called Barrier, it was a spherical Magical field that prevented spells and physical objects from passing through it. Harry was casually reading a book while Sirius continued to throw spell after spell at the field.

“Pretty sure I can, Sirius.” Harry remarked as he flipped a page in his book. It didn’t even take any real focus or concentration to maintain his Barrier spell once he’d cast it. Sirius was left outside throwing spells to no effect while Harry was free to read and occasionally chuckled at his godfather’s flummoxed look. The Barrier spell was made to be translucent enough to see through without trouble. It did have a faint blue glow to it though.

A barn owl winged its way towards them from the sky. Sirius caught sight of it and grinned, knowing what it was carrying. Harry glanced up when Sirius stopped throwing spells and noticed what his godfather was looking at. With a smile Harry put a bookmark on the page he was reading and closed the book. With a thought his Barrier spell dispersed and he held out his arm. The barn owl landed lightly on the outstretched limb and Harry happily took the letter off of the bird’s leg. Once relieved of its letter, the barn owl took off again and flew back the way it had come.

“Looks like it’s that time, huh?” Harry grinned at the letter in his hand.

“You’re growing up so fast, Harry!” Sirius pretended to cry as he pulled Harry into a hug and went into full over-dramatic prankster mode.

“Is this because you couldn’t break through my Barrier spell?” Harry questioned, though his voice was muffled by the hug.

“What? No… Of course not…” Sirius chuckled as he ruffled Harry’s hair. The already messy ‘Potter Hair’ now even more frazzled.

“Uh huh…” Harry shook his head fondly. Sirius would always be Sirius.

“Are you ready to make your big debut to all of your adoring fans?” Sirius questioned with a chuckle as Harry opened the Hogwarts Letter.

“Not really, but it’ll happen eventually either way.” Harry shrugged as he read over the letter. “I wonder how many of them will be surprised that I don’t wear glasses like dad?”

“You got Lily’s eyes, it’s a blessing, and James’ eyes were boring anyway.” Sirius smiled, remembering back to the ‘good old days’ before everything had gone bad. They’d never found Peter; though with the lack of any evidence of a struggle it was pretty clear what had happened. Sirius swore if he ever got his hands on that bastard, he’d make sure Peter knew pain.

“I don’t mind my eyes, I guess.” Harry grinned as he looked at Sirius. “Do you want to just get the shopping done tomorrow?”

“Sure thing, Harry, might as well yank the bandage off, right?” Sirius laughed as he patted his godson’s back.

-Diagon Alley-

Harry had been to Diagon Alley plenty of times in his life. But this was the first time he was going without a disguise and with Sirius. People had noticed Sirius as they walked through the Alley. When people spotted him, with his very similar looks to his father, it hadn’t taken long for the Alley to start buzzing with whispers and murmurs. Sirius already had his wand at the ready in case of any rushes. A simple twitch of his hand and he’d be casting to protect his godson.

They’d made their way through the Alley, constantly followed by whispers. So far no one had tried to meet him yet and Harry was thankful for that much. They’d gotten his trunk, his Potions supplies, quills and parchment, and even his robes. While most of the shopkeepers had gasped or stared at him for a bit, it had been a mostly uneventful shopping trip.

“The last things on the list are a pet and a wand.” Harry noted as he looked at his letter. “I don’t see much point in getting a wand though. Not like I’ll use it.”

“Then let’s get you an owl, they’re useful for mail.” Sirius agreed with his godson and the two headed over to the Magical Menagerie. It didn’t take Harry long to pick out an owl. He chose a beautiful, female snowy owl and Sirius bought the bird and all of the necessities for its care quickly. The two made their way out of Diagon Alley shortly afterwards and used the Floo to get home.

“I hope you like it here with me, Hedwig.” Harry smiled later that afternoon after choosing a name for his owl. Hedwig hooted and ruffled her feathers a bit, seemingly content with her new home.

It would only be a short two months, a little less really, before Harry would be headed to Hogwarts for the first time. He’d heard all about the school from Nym, but hearing and seeing were two different things. Harry could easily admit to being excited. It was an Ancient Magical Castle so it was probably full of secrets! Not to mention the largest library in Magical Britain! Oh the tomes he could find there!

-Platform Nine and Three-Quarters-

“You’re coming home for Christmas, right Harry?” Sirius asked and Harry rolled his eyes. The now eleven year old had no plans to stay at the castle on holidays.

“Yes, Sirius, I’ll be coming home on most holidays.” Harry reassured his godfather with a laugh.

“Alright, alright, I’ll let you go.” Sirius chuckled as he playfully tousled Harry’s hair. “I know you’re going to surprise everyone, if we can get a pensieve I’ll want to see that memory someday!”

“You’re the one with the vault overflowing with gold…” Harry mentioned and Sirius shook his head. Harry knew how rare pensieves were. It was finding a real one that was the problem, not the price.

The loud whistle blew for the first warning that the train would depart and Sirius ushered Harry onboard the Hogwarts Express. Harry walked down the train for a short time, his trunk levitating behind him, until he found an empty compartment. With a snap of his fingers, his trunk opened and he picked out a good-sized book to read through during the trip. After getting the book he closed the lid and levitated his trunk into the overhead rack. Sitting down, Harry opened his book and started reading as he waited for the train to start moving. He couldn’t wait to get to Hogwarts. If he was lucky he might be able to check out the library as soon as tomorrow!

-End Chapter-

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Well, Harry is on his way to Hogwarts! We see just how Intuitive Harry is with Magic, easily understanding it like Mathematicians sometimes understand Calculus at 8 or 9 years old! With his understanding of Magic, Harry has become a Spellcrafter, making spells that are much more versatile and freeform than the rigidity of the standard spells taught by Hogwarts!

How far will this Harry go?

What kind of friends will he make?

How long before he REALLY starts attracting attention?

Will a certain young lady find him interesting or see him as a rival?

What about other peers and people?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! So glad this has been received so well! Now our OP Spellcrafter makes his way to Hogwarts, what House awaits him? What secrets might he find? How fast can he go through most of the library?

So without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 2 – Hogwarts and Sorting

The Hogwarts Express rattled down the tracks, heading north towards Scotland and the castle. Harry was engrossed in his book, even though the train had only left the station about fifteen or twenty minutes ago at most. The Spellcrafter was enjoying this particular Magical Scholar’s take on Magic in relation to Warding and setting up long term Wards of various functions. He did find himself wondering how accurate some of the points were, despite it being interesting reading. With the way he figured out that Charms, Hexes, Jinxes, Curses, and Transfiguration weren’t really reliant on wands or other Foci, he was wondering if the same held true for Warding. Anchor Points like Ward Stones were either hard to make or really expensive to buy. Well, good ones were, at any rate. If he could figure out a way to break from that dependency…

A knock on the compartment door broke Harry from his reading and musings. Looking up he spotted a red-haired boy that looked his age through the door’s glass window. Motioning for the other boy to open the door Harry gave him his attention. The red-headed boy opened the door and gave a lopsided smile.

“Would you mind if I sat here? Most of the other compartments are full already.” The boy asked with his trunk in hand behind him.

“Of course, take a seat.” Harry motioned to the empty seats across from him.

“Thanks.” The red-head gave a smile and a thankful nod. “I’m Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley.”

“Harry Potter, nice to meet you, Ron.” Harry replied and felt a small grin tug at the corner of his lips when Ron went stock still and stared at him. “You alright there, Ron?”

“Uh, yeah, blimey, are you really Harry Potter?” Ron looked like he was between shocked belief and suspicious disbelief.

“As far as I’m aware.” Harry chuckled slightly before noticing Ron’s trunk was still in the redhead’s hand. “Need some help with that?” With a flick of his index finger Ron’s trunk slowly levitated into the overhead rack next to Harry’s. The stunned redhead could only gape and blink at the casual display of silent, wandless Magic. After a few moments, Ron dropped heavily into the seat across from Harry.

“Blimey, I’m really sharing a compartment with Harry Potter.” Ron couldn’t seem to believe his current situation.

“It’s not that big a deal, Ron.” Harry shook his head. “I know the rumors and such, but I don’t slay dragons, or ride them. I haven’t been undergoing secret Magical training from Dumbledore and other great Wizards and Witches from around the world. All of those rumors and tall tales were just people’s imaginations running wild. Sirius thinks drinking played a big part too.”

“But, if you haven’t been receiving special training, how did you just do silent, wandless Magic?” Ron questioned, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, as if he was trying to catch Harry in a lie.

“Hmmm…” Harry tapped his chin, “You know how all the big Quidditch players were really good even when they were young?” Ron nodded rapidly, a smile on his face. Harry thought he might have heard something that rhymed with ‘rum,’ but he didn’t speak loudly enough and Harry never much cared for Quidditch itself. “It’s kinda like that. Magic is just easy for me to understand. Aunt Andromeda says I’m a prodigy.” Harry explained to his new acquaintance. “Other than that, it really is just a lot of studying and practice.”

“Well, alright, if you say so.” Ron gave a shrug. He couldn’t refute what Harry had said after all, he wasn’t there to witness Harry growing up.

“I’ll be reading if you need me. I’m getting to an interesting section of this book.” Harry held up the tome on Warding to let Ron see it. The redhead’s eyes almost bugged out at seeing the large book and the title.

Silence persisted as Harry read and Ron seemed to be going through a magazine that he’d pulled out of his robe pocket. Harry had glanced at the title ‘Quidditch Monthly’ and confirmed that Ron was a fan of the sport. Not being a fan himself, Harry went back to his own reading. It was about two hours later that Ron and Harry’s compartment was knocked on.

“Anything from the Trolley, dearies?” An older, squat witch asked with a smile to the two boys.

“I’ve got sandwiches.” Ron held up a few wrapped sandwiches, though he didn’t seem particularly interested in them.

“However many Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, and Sugar Quills this will buy.” Harry handed the lady several Sickles. “We’ll take a pitcher of Pumpkin Juice too.”

“Of course, dearie.” The old witch smiled at Harry, seeing that the new First Year was planning on sharing with the other boy in his compartment. The transaction was made and the sweets and juice were left with Harry and Ron.

“Harry, you didn’t have to.” Ron looked surprised at the small pile of treats and the pitcher of Pumpkin Juice.

“It’s no big deal, Ron.” Harry gave a smile to the other boy. “Besides, you need a drink to go with your sandwiches and snacks, right?” A Cauldron Cake levitated over to Harry and the boy caught it before taking a bite.

“Thanks Harry.” Ron smiled back as he poured himself some Pumpkin Juice in one of the two paper cups that the Trolley Lady had given them. With a sip he relaxed back into his seat and unwrapped one of his sandwiches.

Several minutes later and Ron had finished his sandwiches, along with half the Chocolate Frogs. The redhead was going through the cards, after making sure Harry didn’t want them. Harry had his fill of sweets and juice and continued to read. If they weren’t interrupted for the rest of the trip, Harry thought he might be able to finish his book. That was when the door was knocked on again.

‘Shouldn’t have even thought it.’ Harry snarked to himself. Turning to the door as it was opened, there were two kids standing in the doorway. Harry didn’t see a house sigil on their black robes, so he correctly guessed that they were also new First Years. The boy in the back seemed timid and nervous. He was a little chubby, had a bit of baby fat left, and his dark-blonde hair, though in the right light it could probably be mistaken for brown, was a little disheveled. The girl that stood in front of him however didn’t show such timidity. She was a brunette with bushy hair and brown eyes. She seemed bookish, with a slightly pale skin tone. Harry would have the same if Sirius didn’t make him go outside fairly often.

“Can we help you?” Harry asked the girl and boy. Ron blinked as he tried to finish chewing the Cauldron Cake he had in his mouth.

“Sorry to bother you, I’m Hermione Granger, have either of you seen a toad? Neville has lost his pet.” Hermione motioned to the timid-looking boy.

“Not in here.” Harry replied in the negative. Ron shook his head as he swallowed his food.

“Not since we got onboard, sorry mate.” Ron spoke up after clearing his throat.

“I suppose we’ll have to keep looking then.” Hermione said to the down-looking Neville.

“You said it’s your pet, right?” Harry questioned before the two could turn to leave.”

“Y-Yes, his name is Trevor.” Neville spoke up with a slight stutter.

“I’ll help you out, just give me a second.” Harry smiled at Neville reassuringly. He put a bookmark on the page he was on and closed the large tome. Hermione’s eyes were drawn to the rather large book and she seemed to be trying to read the title. Harry put the book on the seat next to him and then gained a thoughtful look on his face. He held up both of his hands at chest height and then began to construct a spell.

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked with a bright and curious gleam in her brown eyes.

“Magic,” Harry grinned at the girl before focusing again. “Principle of Observation, Aspect is Searching. Principle of Identity, Aspect Animal, refined to Toads. Principle of Possession, Aspect is Ownership, refined to Neville’s ownership.” Harry mumbled as he constructed the spell. All three of the other First Years could only stare on in shock as a light breeze seemed to ruffle Harry’s robes. Then all three felt a pulse pass through them as Harry closed his eyes. A few seconds later and Harry perked up, his eyes opening and a smile on his face. “There you are. Principle Attraction, Principle Protection, Principle Movement, Aspect Air, refined to Air Travel.”

“What on Earth?” Hermione couldn’t contain her shock and curiosity.

“Merlin, he can do more than Levitation?” Ron gaped at Harry.

“Is he making a spell?” Neville muttered quietly, but everyone in the compartment heard him clearly. Hermione’s brown eyes almost bugged out as she stared at Harry in confusion and amazement.

A few moments later, along with several exclamations of shock coming from further down the train. And a large toad floated into the open compartment and into Harry’s open hands. The large toad gave a croak as Harry held it gently. It took a moment before Hermione, Ron, and Neville could stop staring in abject shock and react.

“Trevor!” Neville smiled at seeing his pet safe and sound.

“Blimey…” Ron stared at Harry as if he’d never seen anyone like him before. Which, to be fair, he actually hadn’t.

“How? You didn’t use a wand? But Wandless is supposed to be really complex and difficult, even for powerful Wizards and Witches. Did you really just make a spell? This isn’t anything like what I read…” Hermione seemed like she was asking questions on autopilot, they just kept coming but they didn’t really seem to be directed at Harry. It was almost as if she was asking herself and her own knowledge.

“Let’s keep Trevor from wandering off again, first, alright?” Harry snapped Hermione out of her mumbling questions as he held Trevor up to his eye level. “Box.” He uttered and before the three stunned First Years’ eyes a clear, plastic box surrounded Trevor. It had a green, plastic lid and several holes for air. “Here you go, Neville, he shouldn’t wander off for now. You’ll need to get him a container of his own though, that one will only last twenty-four hours before it disappears.” Harry explained as he handed Neville the plastic box.

“Thank you…” Neville accepted the box from Harry, clearly still stunned by what he’d seen. “I think I’ll head back to my compartment…” He nodded to the other three before turning and leaving the compartment. He seemed to be walking a bit stiffly, probably from shock.

“How, how did you do all of that?” Hermione questioned, taking the open seat next to Harry that wasn’t occupied by his large book. “That wasn’t like anything I’ve read to try and understand Magic and the Magical World! You didn’t follow the steps! You didn’t use a wand! Nothing! You didn’t do any of it the proper way! How did you make it work?”

“Breathe,” Harry chuckled and the red in Hermione’s cheeks faded away as she inhaled after her question spree. “I told you, Hermione, it’s Magic. I just do it a much different way than most.”

“But how?” Hermione asked again. “That wasn’t anything like what any of the books say.”

They were interrupted when three other boys made their presence known. One was a pale-blonde boy, thin, pale, and with a questioning look on his face. The one behind him on the left was dark-haired, wide, and taller than the blonde. The boy behind the blonde’s right was about the same height as the blonde, but much wider around the middle, with brown-hair and an almost sleepy look about him.

“Did you three see the flying toad come past here? It startled a lot of the people in the corridor. Have you seen it?” The blonde questioned the three of them.

“Sorry, that was me, I was returning Neville’s lost toad to him.” Harry raised his right hand up slightly.

“And you are?” The blonde questioned as he looked Harry over.

“Harry Potter and you?” Harry introduced himself while asking for the other boy’s name. Next to him he heard Hermione let out something that sounded like a squeak.

“Are you really?” The blonde blinked while looking closer, as if trying to ascertain whether Harry was lying or not.

“As far as I’m aware.” Harry grinned at getting to use that line twice in one day.

“I’m Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” Draco introduced himself. “This is Crabbe,” He pointed at the boy on his right. “And this is Goyle.” He pointed to the large boy on his left.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Harry nodded to the three boys. He noticed Draco’s eyes move over Hermione and then glare slightly at Ron.

“Any reason you’re sitting with these two? You know some Wizarding Families are better than others, right?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, I’m from a Common Wizard Family, Malfoy, so I’m afraid the only upper class Wizards and Witches I know are the Blacks. Sirius is my godfather and Aunt Andromeda was reinstated to the Family years ago.” Harry put a small barb into his reply, subtle as to not come off as blatantly antagonistic, of course. Just like Sirius had taught him.

It was no secret that after old Arcturus Black had passed; Sirius had become the Head of the Black Family. His first act was to reinstate Andromeda and her family. He’d also disowned Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. Plus the Malfoy Family, which Narcissa Malfoy nee Black had married into, was on thin ice. The only reason they still had any connection was because Narcissa herself couldn’t be connected directly to Voldemort. Forcing a Daughter of the Black Family to commit crimes would have broken the old Marriage Contract that Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black had married under.

“Who are you, exactly?” Draco turned his gaze on Hermione. Clearly Harry’s subtle barb had not caught on to the boy.

“Hermione Granger, a pleasure.” Hermione politely replied.

“Granger? I don’t recall a Magical Family with that name.” Draco’s face took on a conceited look. “You’re a Muggleborn, aren’t you?”

“My parents are both Non-Magical, yes.” Hermione nodded a little cautiously, having easily picked up on the shift in Draco’s tone and mood.

“No need to ask who you are,” Draco sneered at Ron. The redhead glared right back at the blonde. “Red hair and a hand-me-down robe, you’re obviously a Weasley.”

“Sod off, Malfoy.” Ron retorted with a glare.

“You shouldn’t lower yourself to cavorting with those of lesser standing than you, Potter.” Draco turned back to Harry, completely ignoring Ron.

“As I said, Malfoy, I’m only from a Common Magical House.” Harry shrugged at the blonde, a small grin on his lips. “I don’t have such high and lofty standards for company. I just chat with those that’re polite.”

“You’ll see I was right someday, Potter.” Draco shook his head and left, Crabbe and Goyle following behind him.

“Such a prat.” Ron grumbled, still glaring at the compartment door that had closed.

“He didn’t seem to like me much either.” Hermione noted and Ron went on a short rant about the Malfoy Family being a bunch of bigoted Dark Wizards that used to serve the Dark Lord.

“Back to what we were talking about earlier,” Hermione focused on Harry again. “What did you mean about you performing Magic differently? I’ve been reading and learning all I could since I got my letter. I even got extra books on Magical Theory and Magical History. Your name is in Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Modern Magical History. Did you receive a special education growing up or something?”

“Nothing like that, Hermione,” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “I just liked to read while I grew up. I’ve just always had an intrinsic understanding of Magic. Sirius said I was using it willingly from a very young age. Studying and learning what I could and then applying my own viewpoint and understanding to what I read helped me to advance my Magical Knowledge.”

“But Neville said you were creating a spell when you were looking for Trevor. What I read said that Spellcrafting takes years of study and a lot of Arithmancy knowledge and experience. You were just mumbling stuff about Principles and Aspects? I never came across those terms in my readings.” Hermione was infinitely curious about the anomaly that was Harry’s Magical Prowess.

“Can you stop with the book talk?” Ron complained to the brunette. “We’re not even at school yet and I already feel like I’m sitting through a lesson.”

“What’s wrong with learning?” Hermione almost looked scandalized at the very thought.

“I only want to learn what I have to,” Ron replied with a shrug. “I plan to be a Pro Quidditch Player after school. So I just want to do what I have to, take some easy classes later, and then graduate.”

‘Well, that’s a poor attitude to have when it comes to Magic.’ Harry sighed internally. Ron appeared to be much like the majority of the Magical World. All of them perfectly content to barely scratch the surface of Magic and call it done. Harry still couldn’t understand such a mindset to this day.

“But it’s Magic, isn’t it wonderful and amazing?” Hermione asked and Harry’s lips quirked into a small smile reflexively. Now there was someone else who understood the wonder and splendor of Magic!

“Eh,” Ron gave a half-hearted grunt, and changed the subject, not allowing Harry to follow that train of thought. “What Houses do you think you two will be in? I’ll probably be in Gryffindor; all of my family has been for a long time.”

“Oh, well, I’m hoping for Gryffindor too. Dumbledore was in that House, so it must be the best, right?” Hermione half asked and half stated. Ron was nodding along as if it was common knowledge though.

“I don’t have a preference, honestly.” Harry shrugged. He got a weird look from Ron and a curious one from Hermione. “It’s just a House, and I’d rather choose my own path. I don’t need to follow someone else. It’s much more fun to do things your own way after all.”

“You’re crazy, Harry.” Ron shook his head. “Everyone knows that Gryffindor is the best House and that Slytherin is for Dark Wizards. Ravenclaw is for the brainy nerd types and Hufflepuff is where the rest end up.”

“That’s kind of a narrow mindset, isn’t it?” Hermione looked as if she was thinking over the House System. “I felt that if I went to the same House that the Headmaster went to, then I’d be on the same path as him, being a well-respected Witch and maybe even an educator in the future. But Harry has a point, trying to get into a House just because someone else was in it may not be the best choice.”

“Any House is fine.” Harry shrugged as he briefly thought about it. “I’m more interested in the library and what kind of books I can find there.”

“I know, right?” Hermione was all smiles at finding a fellow reader. “The largest Magical Library in all of Britain! I can’t wait to see it and learn as much as I can!”

“You’re both crazy,” Ron declared with an aghast look on his face. “You two are definitely going to end up in Ravenclaw!”

“If the shoe fits.” Harry shrugged with a little smirk, and Hermione looked thoughtful.

Not long after, the announcement that the train was almost to Hogwarts was heard. They were told to leave their trunks onboard and that they’d be taken to their dorms during the Welcoming Feast. Seeing no reason to wait if that was the case, Harry held up his book and before Ron and Hermione’s eyes, shrunk it down until it was small enough to fit inside the inner pocket of his robe. Suppressing a chuckle at their stunned faces, Harry led the way out of the compartment and off the train.

The First Years were gathered up by Hagrid, a large man that stood taller than any other man Harry knew. He was also the widest and burliest Wizard that Harry knew. The gentle giant was friends with Sirius and had been one of the few adults that his godfather had allowed to meet Harry as he grew up. Harry had always thought Hagrid was nice, though his taste in Magical Creatures, specifically which ones he thought were cute or misunderstood still baffled the boy. He was given a smile and a wave from Hagrid as the rest of the First Years gathered around. When everyone was gathered Hagrid led them all down a rocky path that stopped at the edge of the large lake. A fleet of small boats were ready for them and Hagrid gave out instructions.

“No more than four to a boat!” Hagrid called out to the new First Years. He sat in one of the small boats all by himself. But that was to be expected considering he took up all of the space. The rest of the new students quickly settled into their boats. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville shared a boat. When all of the kids were ready Hagrid nodded and spoke strongly. “Forward!” The fleet of little boats began to glide across the still surface of the lake.

“Wow…” Harry couldn’t help but utter as he got his first look at the castle. With all the windows lit up and the light of the waning moon reflecting off the lake, it made for a truly magical sight.

“Watch your heads now.” Hagrid called out and ducked as the fleet of little boats passed under a stone overhang covered in ivy that drooped down towards the lake’s surface. None of the children could have hit their heads unless they were standing up, making Harry snicker in amusement. When all the boats pushed up onto a rocky shore under the castle, the children got out and followed Hagrid up a flight of stone steps to a large door. The giant man banged on the door three times and waited. The large, wooden doors opened a moment later to reveal an older witch in dark-green robes.

“Hagrid.” The witch greeted the large man.

“The First Years, Professor McGonagall.” Hagrid smiled at the witch.

“Thank you, Hagrid; I’ll take them from here.” McGonagall nodded to the large man who made his way passed her and through another set of doors. The Professor led the group of new students across the flagged stone floor and into a chamber directly across from another set of large, wooden doors. Harry could hear the voices of many others behind it.

‘That must be the Great Hall.’ Harry correctly deduced as the First Years crowded into the chamber.

“Welcome to Hogwarts,” Professor McGonagall welcomed them while looking over the new students. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards throughout the ages. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will have them taken. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.”

Muttering and whispers began as McGonagall left them in the chamber for a moment to check that the Great Hall was ready to receive them. Harry noticed several students trying to straighten themselves up a bit while they waited. Neville seemed to notice that his robe was fastened wrong, the timid boy unclasping it from beneath his ear and straightening it out before clasping it properly. Harry felt something in the air, without moving his head much he shot a glance at the far wall of the chamber. A white face, partially transparent was poking through near where wall met ceiling. Harry recognized what it was from his reading as he grew up.

‘A ghost. Never seen one before.’ Harry mused as he locked eyes with the ghost, a male with the hair cut of a monk from the Medieval Era.

The monk seemed to notice him immediately and the ghostly eyes widened. Harry cocked an eyebrow at the ghost only for it to disappear back through the wall quickly. He wouldn’t know that he’d saved some of his year mates a sudden fright. It was a little prank the ghosts of the castle liked to play each year. But upon being noticed, the Fat Friar (as he was nicknamed by the students) had felt something from the young First Year and promptly retreated to tell the others the prank should be cancelled this year.

“Form two lines, side by side,” McGonagall instructed the First Years as she returned. She was pleasantly surprised to not have to shoo away the ghosts of the castle. They were often helpful, but every year they played that ridiculous prank. When the students had two lines formed, McGonagall nodded and led them out of the chamber and across the hallway. The Great Hall doors opened by themselves and the new students got their first look at the hall.

It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the other Professors were sitting, along with Hagrid at one end. Harry looked up and took in the enchanted ceiling that both Sirius and Nym had told him about. It was like there wasn’t a ceiling at all! The Magic of that Enchantment was impressive in Harry’s opinion. He briefly heard Hermione mentioning that she’d read about the ceiling in Hogwarts: A History.

Once all the new students were lined up, McGonagall left them to grab a spindly stool and a tattered-looking, pointed hat. She placed the stool down and then the hat on top of it. Harry glanced at the hat, knowing something was different about it. A tear near the brim opened up and the hat began to sing! After an interesting song about the four Houses, the hat stopped and bowed to all four tables of students as some applause rang out.

Harry felt a large smile form on his lips at the performance. ‘I love Magic.’ He thought to himself as McGonagall stood next to the Sorting Hat and unrolled a piece of parchment. It appeared they would all be called up in alphabetical order by last name. A blonde girl called Hannah Abbot went first.

Name after name was called and Harry noted when Hermione ended up going to Ravenclaw. He gave her a grin at her change of House choice since the train ride. Neville Longbottom became a Gryffindor with such relief that he almost walked away with the Sorting Hat still on his head. Draco Malfoy barely had the hat touch his head before it declared him a Slytherin.

“Potter, Harry.” McGonagall called out and Harry heard the Great Hall fall into a hush. With a slight shake of his head and a hidden eye roll, Harry stepped forward and felt the eyes of hundreds on him all at once. Hopefully that would stop after a while. It would be weird to go throughout his school years with every single one of his peers staring and gawking all the time. He sat on the stool and McGonagall placed the large hat on his head, covering his eyes with the large brim.

‘Oh my, how interesting.’ The Sorting Hat’s voice was heard in Harry’s head.

‘Hello,’ Harry greeted back with the mental equivalent of a grin.

‘You are quite the surprise, Mr. Potter. To think one your age has such mastery of Mind Magic.’ The Sorting Hat praised the boy with genuine respect.

‘It seemed interesting and Sirius said it would be good to learn it.’ Harry replied in his mind.

‘You don’t have to try and keep me out, Mr. Potter. I’m merely feeling out your personality, your wants and your feelings, those are the criteria that students are sorted on, not their memories.’ The Sorting Hat informed him and Harry gave a mental shrug before opening up his mind fully to the Hat for a brief moment.

‘Take a quick look, if you want.’ Harry offered and felt the Hat stiffen atop his head.

‘My word… So many thoughts, theories, feelings, such an immense understanding of Magic. I dare say I’ve not seen a mind like yours in all my days, Mr. Potter! Not even Rowena’s mind was so filled with the depth and nature of Magic like yours is. I’m not even able to ponder on such a deep level normally and it is truly awe-inspiring what you seem to know…’ The Sorting Hat sounded like it had just gazed upon the night sky and truly realized how small it was in the grand scheme of things.

‘Thank you, I love Magic, it’s the greatest of experiences to delve into the depths of it and try to understand the truth of it all.’ Harry knew he was smiling and hoped the wide brim of the Sorting Hat was covering it up. His sorting had already taken longer than anyone’s so far.

‘Very well, Mr. Potter, I daresay you could fit in anywhere here at Hogwarts, and you don’t seem to have any true preference either. I’m sure Rowena would find a way back from the beyond if I didn’t put you in her House though. So better be…’ The Sorting Hat ended its mental conversation with Harry to announce his House to the Great Hall. “Ravenclaw!”

The Ravenclaw House table exploded into raucous cheers and applause. Many of the other students were stunned that Harry Potter had gone to any House other than Gryffindor! Filius Flitwick, the Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw House, was bouncing in his seat excitedly. What a thrill it would be to have Lily Potter’s son in his House! If her son was the same kind of student that Lily had been, oh it would be such a delight to instruct the boy.

McGonagall pulled the Sorting Hat off Harry’s head and he headed towards the Ravenclaw table. He felt the Magic on his robes and tie as the Ravenclaw sigil appeared over his left breast and his tie turned blue and bronze. With a grin he sat next to Hermione. The brunette beamed at him in return and the two waited for the Sorting to finish up.

Ron Weasley became a Gryffindor as he’d wanted and the final student on the list, Blaise Zabini, had become a Slytherin. With the Sorting complete McGonagall took the Sorting Hat and the stool away. Dumbledore stood up and made what sounded like standard start of term announcements. Harry barely paid attention though. Sirius had told him all about the Marauders’ time at school. Where was the fun in following all of the rules?

“And finally, I must tell you that this year; the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.” Dumbledore stated seriously, looking out over all of the students.

‘Well now, that’s interesting…’ Harry thought to himself with a raised eyebrow. ‘Kind of sounds like a challenge too.’ A small grin made its way onto his face.

The golden serving plates were suddenly filled with food and pitchers of drinks appeared in between the servings of food. Harry recognized the use of House Elf Magic, though he still wasn’t quite sure why the helpful little creatures were called that. They were clearly Brownies, or Broonies as they were sometimes called by the Scots, a type of Fae Folk that helped out with chores around the home of a Witch or Wizard for food and a bit of Magic. Harry had tried to figure out just when Witches and Wizards had started calling them House Elves, but there wasn’t much in the History texts he’d read about them. He’d only met the surly (and half-mad) old elf Kreacher on a rare few occasions. When he’d asked the old Elf if he was really a Brownie he’d gotten the oddest look from the large eyes of Kreacher. But he was fairly certain that the so-called Elf had recognized the name.

‘Thoughts for later, food for now.’ Harry thought as he set about filling his plate and chatting with Hermione.

Several minutes into the meal Harry felt something brush against his protected mind. Snapping his gaze towards the source of the feeling he came eye to eye with Professor Severus Snape, or Snivellus, as Sirius called the man. The greasy-haired man was looking at him while chatting with a man wearing a purple turban that was facing away from Harry. The First Year stared back at Snape without fear and even pushed a bit of his own Magic back towards the man with Legilimency. A single feeling, not even truly a thought was conveyed in that brief exchange.

‘I’m aware of you.’

Snape kept his face carefully controlled, but inside he was startled. No First Year should be capable of what Potter’s brat had just done! He’d have to watch the boy carefully. There was no doubt in Snape’s mind that the man-child that was Sirius Black had turned James Potter’s brat into a spoiled, entitled, little monster. He’d quickly teach the boy that his fame had no place here in Hogwarts.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, Harry has met some folks, he’s been sorted. Was there ever really any doubt where he’d end up though? Hermione has gone to a House that fits her better too. Isn’t that nice?

We see a bit more of Sirius-raised Harry’s traits too! Oh what fun will this Harry have at Hogwarts?

Also, yeah, you know what Snape? You do that! We’ll see you in a bit, okay big man?

What will Harry’s response be to his classes?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that Harry is at Hogwarts, how will he like his classes? Will his Professors be a problem? How will the other students react to him? What is our ever-curious Spellcrafter trying to puzzle out and understand now?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 3 – Classes and Altercation

Bored.

Harry Potter was so bored!

His classes so far had all been beyond boring for him! Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, none of them was even remotely interesting. All of them were teaching things he’d been capable of since he was practically a toddler! It was somewhat fun to shock his Professors though.

In his first Transfiguration class they’d gone over the basics of the Branch of Magic and then been given matchsticks. They were asked to turn the matchsticks into needles. Harry, bored already, had blown on his matchstick a moment after McGonagall had set it on his desk. Transferring a spell to a target could be done through any medium and in this case, Harry had used his breath. The young Spellcrafter had formed his personal inanimate to inanimate Transfiguration spell and set the parameters for it. His breath had carried the small bit of Magic towards the matchstick and instantly turned the wood into a metal needle.

“Mr. Potter?” McGonagall looked utterly shocked by the display. “Where is your wand? My class is no place for fooling around and casting spells while trying to hide your wand.” Though she’d spoken at a calm and level tone, everyone in the class was now looking towards the Professor and Harry.

“I don’t have a wand, Professor.” Harry replied without any real thought. “I’ve never needed one and thought it was kind of pointless to buy something that I’d never use.”

“Don’t have a… Never needed?” McGonagall looked flabbergasted as she stared at the First Year. All around the classroom whispers and hushed comments burst forth.

“I performed the Transfiguration though.” Harry motioned towards the needle on the desk in front of him.

“Y-Yes… I see that, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall nodded as she picked up the transfigured needle and inspected it for a moment. “Very good, take fifteen points for Ravenclaw.” She set the needle back on his desk. The look of shock was still on her face as she moved to hand out the rest of the matchsticks. Harry spent the rest of the class with Hermione practically staring a hole into his head. A few words of advice, here and there, and Hermione completed the transfiguration within a short time. She was the second student to finish and earned Ravenclaw ten more points.

His Defense Against the Dark Arts class hadn’t been any less of a bore. The stuttering Professor Quirrel was barely coherent and took so long just to go over the Course Goals that they’d only had the last few minutes of class to try out a simple jinx. Flipendo, the Knockback Jinx, gave the equivalent of a good shove to whatever it hit with a small, bluish ball of light. They’d all lined up to attempt to cast the Jinx at a dummy target. A few of the First Years managed some sparks, some managed the Jinx but their aim was off.

“Ha…” Harry exhaled when it was his turn. He raised his hand, tucked the tip of his index finger behind the tip of his thumb, and then flicked the Jinx at the target. The small ball of light hit the dummy and made it shake for a second. This, naturally, led to hushed whispers breaking out amongst the students from Gryffindor House that they shared the class with.

“M-M-Mr. P-Potter, h-how did y-you mange t-th-that with-without your w-wand?” Professor Quirrel stuttered out. The man’s eyes were wide in shock and what Harry thought might be fear? That was odd, to say the least.

“I don’t need a wand to perform Magic, Professor.” Harry informed the turban-wearing man. “I didn’t purchase one in Diagon Alley because I wouldn’t use it, sir.”

“I-I see, ex-excellent work, Mr. P-Potter, take twen-twenty points f-for Ravenclaw.” Quirrel managed to stutter out as Harry stepped out of the way and returned to his desk. The rest of the class still needed to attempt the jinx after all.

Charms Class with Professor Flitwick, Ravenclaw’s Head of House and rumored to have some Goblin Ancestry, hadn’t been much better. The short Charms Master was full of energy and a passion for teaching. This made the class more engaging for the students. They were even taught two Charms on the first day; the simple Color-Changing Charm and the Lumos Charm.

Harry blew lightly on the white handkerchief in front of him, turning it blue and bronze in a striped pattern. Then, with a thought, a small ball of white light appeared above the altered cloth. He once again held back a grin as he felt Hermione’s eyes gazing at him with such intent his head might start smoking from the sheer focus. Flitwick was practically bouncing as he took in the ease, as well as the silent and wandless nature, of Harry’s work. The Professor had given him twenty more points for Ravenclaw and left Harry to his own devices while he moved around the class assisting those that were having trouble.

History of Magic was a bore, a ghost Professor was a novelty that quickly wore off. Professor Binns barely seemed to notice the class even being there. He regurgitated information verbatim from their textbooks and his droning voice put more than one student to sleep. Harry ended up pulling out one of the books he’d gotten from the library and started reading it. Hermione didn’t seem pleased with his actions as she was taking notes. The young Spellcrafter didn’t understand why as she could copy the textbook and get the same notes.

It was Harry’s first Potions Class that had the most entertainment, but it was for all the wrong reasons. The class had started with the greasy, dungeon bat, another nickname from Sirius, storming into the room with his robes billowing behind him. He’d waxed on about Potion Making, while making some rather dubious claims about brewing Fame, bottling Glory, and stoppering Death. Then he’d insulted the whole class by calling them dunderheads. It was as the dour man was taking attendance that the problems began.

“Ah, Harry Potter, our new celebrity.” Snape had drawled as he got to Harry’s name. Harry sighed lowly as Sirius was proven right. Severus Snape would indeed act like a child and hold a grudge against Harry’s father, James Potter, against him too. What a disappointing discovery to make about a Professor at one of Europe’s foremost Magical Schools.

‘This is going to be great…’ Harry drawled internally as he saw Snape’s gaze stay on him as the man opened his mouth.

“Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to and infusion of wormwood?” Snape barked out a question.

“A mess, if those are your only two ingredients.” Harry replied evenly. He wasn’t even wrong, technically. If you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood it wouldn’t make anything but a mess. You needed more ingredients to actually make a Potion. Even Harry knew that much. Snape hadn’t given him anywhere close to enough information to come up with a final product.

“Five points from Ravenclaw for your cheek Potter!” Snape lashed out verbally, a glare boring into the First Year. “Let’s try again, shall we? Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?”

“Any Potion Cabinet would have a few in it to prevent poisonings, if the one maintaining said cabinet was doing it properly.” Harry slipped a subtle barb into his reply before continuing. “But if you want a fresh one, you’re going to need to extract it from a goat’s stomach.”

“That’s another five points from Ravenclaw, Potter! I don’t take sass from my students!” Snape fired back, completely ignoring the fact that Harry’s answer was correct. “Let’s see if you can answer a question properly this time. What is the difference between monkshood and Wolfsbane?”

“Nothing, just different names for the same plant.” Harry rattled off the answer without any barbs if it would get the man off his back.

“Another five points from Ravenclaw for that look on your face, Potter.” Snape bit out as he ignored another correct answer. “I expect respect from my students, not to be looked at as if talking to me is beneath you. Clearly fame isn’t everything.”

‘Okay… So, we’re just ignoring my correct answers too. I’m not dealing with this!’ Harry growled in his own mind. As an eleven-year-old, it was rather natural for a boy like Harry to lash out against what he saw as unfair treatment. Unfortunately for Severus Snape, this particular eleven-year-old wasn’t limited to yelling and shouting. Harry channeled the Principle of Rejection and chose Snape as the target.

“Urgh!” Snape seemed to choke as his body was hit by the force of Harry’s spell. The man’s feet left the floor of the dungeon as he was launched backwards and over his desk. He crashed to the floor with a shout as parchment and vials were knocked off his desk. The other students blinked at the sudden display before one of the Hufflepuff students screamed and panic ensued. The First Years tore out of the room in fright, none of them understanding what exactly had happened. Hermione was one of the only ones that remained behind, the brunette clearly confused and unsure if she should have followed her peers.

“Sirius was right about you.” Harry stated with a bitter tone as he packed up his things. “You’re a hateful man-child that’s still holding a grudge and is petty enough to take it out on a child.”

“Potter! How dare you?!” Snape was practically spitting as he glared daggers at the impudent brat. “One hundred points from Ravenclaw and a month of detentions with me every night!”

“No.” Harry denied and took some pleasure in the shocked look on Snape’s pale face before the anger returned.

“Potter!” Snape bellowed and Harry noticed the wand in his right hand.

“Really? You’re drawing your wand on a student? A First Year?” Harry arched an eyebrow and Snape sneered at him. Harry noted that the wand was still clenched in the Potion Professor’s hand and not put away.

“What is going on here?!” Flitwick bellowed as he stormed into the room. The diminutive man was incredibly loud when he wanted to be. Harry noticed a few heads of his year mates peeking into the doorway. Apparently, they’d run to their Head of House when the altercation started.

“Potter attacked me.” Snape spat while glaring at the boy.

“You started it.” Harry replied flatly, his bag over his shoulder already.

“Severus, put your wand away or I’ll take it from you!” Flitwick’s wand was already in hand and neither Harry nor Snape had seen the Charms Master draw it. “We do not draw our wands on students, Severus! You know this! He’s a First Year at that!” With great reluctance, Snape put his wand away and continued to glare at Harry. “Both of you will be coming with me to the Headmaster’s Office, I’ll hear nothing against it!”

“That’s fine, Professor.” Harry gave a shrug and fell in-line behind the short man.

Snape was put in front, with Flitwick between him and Harry, as the three of them walked up stairs and headed for the Headmaster’s Office. Flitwick still had his wand in his hand, in case of any outbursts from either of them. When they got to a stone gargoyle, Flitwick uttered the name of a type of candy for some reason. The gargoyle suddenly animated and moved aside, revealing a spiral staircase that had moving steps like a Muggle escalator. The three of them rode up to the top and Dumbledore’s voice called out for them to enter before anyone had even knocked.

“Severus, Filius, Mr. Potter? What has prompted this visit to my office today?” Dumbledore questioned as he looked over all three of them.

“Potter attacked me!” Snape nearly shouted as he spoke first. “I want him expelled for assaulting a Professor!”

“Severus, I’ll remind you that I found you with your wand in-hand, clearly drawn against a student.” Flitwick spoke up with a fierce look on his face.

“That was after I had already been attacked!” Snape retorted loudly, looking down on the other Professor.

“That’s enough.” Dumbledore spoke softly, but with such finality in his voice that both men stopped talking immediately. “I will hear both sides and then determine a course of action. But for such an accusation, I’ll need to have a Legal Guardian present for the meeting. I’ll Floo Sirius Black and inform him of what’s going on.”

Snape grumbled something unintelligible but Harry ignored him and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk. Dumbledore had made his way to the fireplace and tossed in some Floo Powder. In a very short time Harry saw Sirius’ face in the flames. Dumbledore spoke for a moment before Sirius’ voice practically blasted from the fireplace.

“He did what?!” Sirius roared and Harry cocked an eyebrow. “So help me if he’s done anything to Harry, I’ll strangle the life from him with my bare hands! You open this Floo immediately, Dumbledore!” A few words from the Headmaster, along with some argument from Sirius, and the flames turned green as Sirius stepped through them. Seeing Harry, Sirius was by his side in an instant. “Harry! What happened? Did he do anything to you?!” The Lord Black’s eyes found Snape and glared death at the man. “Snivellus! I knew you’d be a bastard about Harry’s attendance! Only a petty, childish, hateful, pathetic little man like you would hold a grudge against a dead man’s son!” Sirius’ words practically dripped with venom as he laid into the dour Potions Professor.

“That’s enough; we’re here to get to the bottom of this incident, not start another one.” Dumbledore settled the room quickly as he looked at both Snape and Sirius.

From there Harry was asked about his side of the story. Then Snape gave a similar, but distinctly different version. Flitwick gave the account he’d heard from multiple Ravenclaw first years as well. Sirius was either giving silent support to Harry or glaring at Snape. Dumbledore thought over the three accounts he’d heard, Harry’s admittance to using a spell on Professor Snape, and the fact that Harry’s story lined up with the other student’s much more closely than Severus’ did. With a stone face, Dumbledore gave his verdict.

“Severus, you’re on warning, a single new incident and I will terminate your employment here at Hogwarts. We will also be going over how you run your class and making changes where needed, are we clear?” Dumbledore looked his staff member directly in the eyes. Snape stiffened and looked like he’d swallowed a lemon, but nodded in agreement. “Mr. Potter, as you admitted to using a spell against a teacher, your House will be docked one hundred points and you’ll serve two weeks of detention with Professor Flitwick. I will ask that you attend Potions like the rest of the students since Professor Snape will be teaching properly, as stated in the Hogwarts Charter, from now on.”

“Yes Headmaster.” Harry nodded even though Sirius looked like he wanted to refuse that last point.

“Thank you,” Dumbledore gave Harry a grandfatherly smile. “Sirius, I assure you that this will not happen again. Young Harry will be treated the same as any other student while he attends Hogwarts.”

“It had better not, Dumbledore.” Sirius looked the old man dead in the eye. It was a powerful and protective gaze that told Dumbledore that Sirius would see Snape lynched should the Potions Professor ever threaten his godson again. “Harry, if anything happens you contact me immediately, I’ll deal with it personally.”

“Thank you, Sirius.” Harry smiled at his godfather. The Lord Black gently ruffled Harry’s hair.

Sirius left a few moments later and Harry was escorted from Dumbledore’s Office by Flitwick. Snape was left alone with Dumbledore and the last thing Harry saw as the door closed behind them was Dumbledore levitating a large, well-worn tome onto his desk. The Headmaster motioned Snape to take a seat as the old man opened it to the first page.

The story of the incident spread through Hogwarts like wildfire. Harry was congratulated by upper year students he didn’t even know from every House except Slytherin for his actions. The most vocal of praise came from the twins, Fred and George Weasley, who also gave him some sweets from Honeydukes as a ‘reward’ of sorts. Snape was not a well-liked Professor in Hogwarts, at all. Hermione had been cross with him for a while. The girl having thought Harry had gone too far; though she did agree that Snape was far out of line and had been planning to report him to Flitwick herself after the class.

Harry’s detentions with Flitwick were fairly standard. Things like writing lines, cleaning up the classroom without Magic, and various other tasks of that nature. Harry did find some enjoyment out of discussing Charms with Flitwick when the Professor wasn’t busy grading papers. So, it wasn’t the worst that it could have been. Flitwick seemed to find Harry and his thoughts and theories on Magic fascinating. The two were well on their way to becoming acquaintances aside from being Professor and Student. Harry had even earned back the one hundred points he’d lost Ravenclaw in just two days with his performance in his classes.

Herbology was a bit of an odd Branch of Magic for Harry. He didn’t mind it overall, but something about the various magical plants always felt off to him. His current theory was that it was because they were plants and not animals. Every Magical Creature, including Witches and Wizards, used Magic in similar ways, even if the end goal was entirely different. Magical plants acted in ways that crossed the line between plant and animal in many cases. They used their Magic not just as a way to survive, but to also animate themselves, or to produce substances that no normal plant could ever hope to. He listened in class, participated when he was called on, and Professor Sprout treated him just like any other student. So, Harry had no real problems with the class.

Astronomy was similar for the young Spellcrafter. He knew certain, often very specific, Branches of Magic relied on the alignment of moons and planets to take full effect. But as Harry had not yet come across any Magic that interested him among those Branches, it wasn’t very interesting to him. Being up late was also kind of a chore. Harry preferred to try and keep his sleeping schedule as it was. It was probably his age, but he did agree with what he’d overheard some of the older boys talking about in regards to Professor Sinistra. She really was the loveliest of the female Professors of Hogwarts. She was also the youngest too, which didn’t hurt at all.

Outside of classes Harry could often, pretty much all the time, be found in the library looking through stacks of old tomes. The Spellcrafter couldn’t help but love the vast collection of books that Hogwarts possessed. There were books on Magical Theory and Spellcraft here that he’d never heard of. Some he was certain were one of a kind, not published at all! Some were outright handwritten and Harry was in heaven as he gleaned what knowledge he could from the old pages. Many of the books he’d found did turn out to be letdowns though, so it wasn’t as though Hogwarts was infallible or anything. Dozens upon dozens of the books he’d looked through were rigid and claimed things like wands and Foci being required for Magic. Harry scoffed whenever he saw such books and quickly returned them to their places on the shelf. Hermione often read with him, the two of them becoming friends at their own pace. He often chuckled as he noticed Hermione reading books on Wandless Magic Theory or Basic Spellcraft.

‘I have to give her credit for trying to figure it out for herself.’ Harry chuckled quietly as the two Ravenclaws read together. He’d help her if she proved a willingness to abandon the stale and rigid form of thinking that most of those books prattled on about. Until then, she was only curious about Magic, it would remain to be seen if she’d become one of the regular Magicals that were content to scratch the surface. But there was a chance her curiosity was like his, and that she’d be willing to toss away the ‘right way’ espoused in books to really learn. Harry wasn’t against teaching after all.

It was on a Saturday that Harry took a break from the Library and headed outside for some practice. He couldn’t go getting rusty after all! He noticed a fair few students lounging around outside today. It was getting later into September now. The warm days would soon be gone completely and only the chill of the Scottish winter would be available until late spring. Harry stretched a bit as he found a place a good distance away from anyone else. He was close to the lake, but still had plenty of space around him to practice on dry land.

“Let’s start with some Transfiguration.” Harry reached out with his Magic and tore up five large hunks of the ground. He levitated the five dirt and rock balls in front of him before beginning to change their form. The first ball deformed, seeming to sag a bit before becoming clear and colorless. With a smile Harry set the new substance to spinning. A ball of water now spun in place where dirt used to be.

The second earth ball went the opposite direction. It compacted, became rigid, and shaped itself into a cube. Harry levitated it on one corner and set it to spinning as well. Now a ball of water and a cube of metal spun lazily next to three earthen balls. Harry noticed that he’d attracted some attention from his peers with his display and chuckled lightly. There was no harm in them watching.

The third earth ball began to smoke. Steam rose off the ball as the dirt and grass dried out and hardened. The dried dirt and rock then began to blacken as Harry worked his Magic through the material. Flames leapt from the ball before starting to die off as the earth ball lost its solidity partially. With a bit of focus, Harry finished the transfiguration and set the ball of lava to gently spin with the other two.

The fourth earth chunk went completely different from its predecessors. The grass on top changed first, turning a light brown. The roots hanging off the dirt seemed to wave back and forth before changing color and expanding. More and more of the dirt disappeared as the chunk formed into a sphere. Harry heard someone figure out what he’d done just as he was finishing up. Now a wooden ball was spinning in rotation with the first four.

“This last one is much more boring.” Harry mused to himself as he turned the dirt ball into a sphere and the dirt quickly became stone. He set the stone ball into rotation with the others and let them orbit him as he looked them over. The Five Elements of Chinese Philosophy all transfigured from dirt. Earth, Fire, Water, Metal, and Wood, all were accounted for and Harry wondered if anyone at Hogwarts would understand the significance.

With a reversal of his Magic each elemental ball began to revert back to its previous form. Stone quickly became dirt and filled in one of the five holes. Lava cooled and hardened, then broke apart and reverted to dirt, filling a second hole. Metal lost its rigidity and collapsed into dirt, quickly filling the third hole. Wood seemingly broke apart and filled the hole below it as dirt once again. Water gained solidity and then color, and was deposited in the final hole as dirt.

Seeing that he had a crowd now actively watching him, even though they were keeping their distance, Harry figured he could surprise a few of them. Maybe it was the beginning of his burgeoning puberty, but he noticed quite a few girls watching him with awed faces. He walked forward, towards the lake. He heard a few gasps as instead of walking into the water, Harry walked on top of it as if it was merely more ground. Several meters out onto the lake and Harry quickly constructed a new spell.

“Going up.” Harry couldn’t resist saying as the water under his feet froze and then rose up as a rectangular pillar of ice. The water under the ice continued to lift him upwards as it was drawn in and then frozen to create a taller and taller pillar. When Harry reached a height of about ten meters, he stopped his spell. Many of the watching students were sure the long pillar of ice would collapse, as buoyancy dictated it should, but Harry stood on it without trouble. The ice pillar didn’t so much as wobble or shake, even though the lake water was moving below it. The pillar stayed exactly where Harry had formed it.

The young Spellcrafter enjoyed the view from atop his pillar of ice for a bit longer before turning and taking a step off. In front of a large group of students, Harry Potter walked on small platforms that formed under his feet with every step. It was as if he had an invisible staircase and the only parts that could be seen were the parts his feet touched. When Harry reached the shore and stepped onto land he smiled at the gathered crowd and looked back at the ice pillar. The ice shattered into snow.

A wave of Harry’s hands and the snow stopped falling straight down. It changed direction and now blew towards the students. A dusting of the cool white flakes covered the area the students were in, making several people whoop and cheer at the display of Magic. Harry gave a short bow to his onlookers, prompting a short applause, before standing upright again with a chuckle. He noticed several of the girls giving him curious looks and shoved the feelings of pride and enjoyment aside. That was Sirius’ influence as he’d grown up! There would be time for such things later, while he was still young Harry was going to delve ever deeper into Magic.

Seeing that he was almost surrounded by other students now, his onlookers having formed a half-circle around him. Harry decided to demonstrate another bit of Magic while also getting out of the partial encirclement. With a few startled yelps, the very ground beneath all of the students’ feet began to turn. Harry only smiled pleasantly as the ground rotated until his position and the crowd’s had flipped one-hundred-eighty degrees.

“Have a nice afternoon, everyone.” Harry bid them as he took a step backwards off the revolving ground. The ground continued to move with all of the students on it even as Harry headed off to enjoy a leisurely stroll around the lake. The fresh air and exercise would help as he pondered on his next bit of Magic to learn or experiment with. The students continued to turn until the ground they stood on made a full three-hundred-sixty-degree rotation and then the spell ended.

“That was neat!” A girl from Second Year exclaimed.

“He can do Magic like that and he’s only a First Year!” A Third Year boy was shocked and spoke loudly to be heard over the chatter that had begun to erupt from the students that had watched Harry practice.

“So that’s Harry Potter, huh?” A Sixth Year girl mused and two of her friends giggled. "Hey, none of that! He’s eleven! Don’t go thinking things about me!”

Harry heard none of this as he continued his walk around the lake. The young Spellcrafter was already deep into his musings and thoughts. At the moment he was thinking about Script-based Magics, imparting a spell onto an object or area through writing, such as in Runes. Harry wasn’t one to write off any idea as impossible until he’d tried it a multitude of different ways first. His current thoughts were wondering if a physical medium was required. For that matter, did one really need a full Runic Sequence? If you only wanted to impart a single effect, wouldn’t a single Rune be enough?

‘So many questions, so few answers, how exciting.’ Harry grinned to himself as he continued to walk. His current thoughts even led back to his reading on Wards. If Magic didn’t require wands and Foci, why would Wards require physical anchor points? Why would Runes require physical mediums? It was all Magic, right? Maybe he was thinking too hard about it? Or maybe he was onto something? Magic technically existed everywhere. It was in areas of incredibly high concentration that Magical Effects tended to occur naturally. These were the places that Wizards and Witches dubbed as Magical. Hogwarts and the nearby Hogsmeade were both such places.

Harry knew one thing though; he had plenty more to learn. The very thought put a smile on his face!

-End Chapter-

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So, classes are boring, but I think we all suspected that, right?

Harry and Snape have an altercation and Sirius was almost on the warpath! You don’t mess with his godson and get away with it!

Harry enjoys the library and Hermione is slowly coming out of her shell with him. They’ll be full-on friends before you know it!

How long before Hermione cracks and admits that the books she reads don’t have all of the answers?

Harry’s practice becomes a show for his fellow students. Rather shocking to see a First Year with this kind of ability already! Me thinks Harry will be very popular amongst the female students in later years!

Now Harry is pondering on the connection between Magic and physical mediums. Can he delve deep into the Magic of Runes and Scripts? What about Warding? There are many surprises in store for our young Spellcrafter!

After all, there are Hierarchies in everything. The Magical World is no exception. Perhaps the Title of this story has more meaning than I’ve let on?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As the Hogwarts Curriculum is too slow and boring for Spellcrafter Harry, what can he do to make things exciting? Maybe explore the castle? There are plenty of rooms, corridors, and secrets in the ancient structure after all. We even see Harry’s first Halloween at Hogwarts!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 4 – Castle Exploration and Halloween

“What’s hidden behind here?” Harry dragged his hand across what appeared to be a blank wall. The wall wavered away and revealed a door at Harry’s undoing of its concealment. Opening the door, Harry found a short corridor that he could see had a bit of light coming from the other end. His curiosity piqued, the First Year walked down the corridor and touched the stone door at the end. The small bit of light turned out to be from a peephole. Looking through it he saw an empty corridor with no real discerning features. He put his hand on the knob and heard the door at the other end of the short corridor close. He opened the door in front of him and walked out of the hidden passageway.

His exit point was in a corridor that he was fairly certain was on the third floor. Since the right-hand side was out-of-bounds this year, everyone had to detour through the left side of the third floor. The most impressive thing about the corridor he’d just passed through was that the hidden door he’d found was on the sixth floor. The stone door closed behind him and vanished the moment he let go of the doorknob. He’d just crossed all of the space between the sixth floor and the third in only a few steps thanks to that hidden passage. Hogwarts was truly an interesting castle.

During his free time (when he wasn’t raiding the library) Harry had taken to exploring the ancient castle. He’d found several hidden passages throughout the corridors so far. Some led to other corridors while others led to rooms in different parts of the castle. One of them had led to the second floor and when Harry had reopened the door to go back to the fifth floor where he’d started from, he was met with a simple broom cupboard. The castle was a fascinating piece of Magical Architecture and Harry wondered if it could be recreated if one understood the Magic behind it all.

‘Since I’m on the third floor already…’ Harry mused with a grin on his face as he vanished from sight and snuck along the corridor. He easily slipped into the forbidden corridor and took his time looking around. All in all, it didn’t seem to be any different from the other side of the third floor. That was until he came to a large door that was made of heavy wood and iron. It was similar, but still different, to the rest of the doors in the castle. “Well hello there,” Harry whispered as he looked at the door. With a wave of his hand, Harry cast another spell of his own creation.

Detect was exactly what it said, it was a spell that detected the magical properties of whatever it was cast on. It could reveal any magical ability an item possessed or had been cast on the item in question. The large wooden door came up with no magical properties or effects and Harry quirked an eyebrow. He tried the handle and found the door was locked.

‘Surely it isn’t just locked with the regular latch?’ Harry tried the Alohomora spell, one of the few spells that had been made correctly in his opinion. It could open any non-magical lock, regardless of type. That was the kind of versatility that spells should have. No Witch or Wizard should have to learn a different spell for each kind of lock. When the door actually unlatched, Harry almost choked on his own breath. ‘What kind of security is that supposed to be?! Alohomora is in the Standard Book of Spells Grade 1! First Years can learn it just from reading the book if they practice a bit!’

Harry shook his head as he opened the door slightly and peeked inside. What he saw was unexpected. A massive, black, sleeping Cerberus lay in the middle of the large room behind the door. Harry had only read about such a creature before, to see one up close really drove home the size difference between the three-headed dog and a human. The only question now, was what the hell was a Cerberus doing in the right-hand, third floor corridor at Hogwarts? The species had been used as guard dogs since the days of the Ancient Greeks. That meant it was probably protecting something, but what could that be? Harry silenced his steps as he stepped into the room. He could perform a simple Charm like that with nary a thought nowadays. He silently and invisibly wandered the circumference of the large room, looking for what the sleeping beast might be protecting.

‘I don’t see anything,’ Harry noted curiously as he returned to the door leading into this off-shoot of the third floor corridor. ‘Perhaps if I…’ He cast Detect on the whole room and found nothing. There was no concealment spell in effect, no ward to confuse the senses, no magical effects at all. It was just a large room with a Cerberus sleeping in it. ‘That can’t be everything, can it?’ He swept his eyes over the room slowly, looking up at the high-ceiling first and then over each of the walls, finally he ran his eyes along the floor and noted that, under the immense canine was what appeared to be a trap door. ‘Well, that answers what it’s protecting.’ The Spellcrafter surmised before deciding to leave this particular mystery for now. It wasn’t as if he was going to risk waking the great beast up to try and open the trap door. He slipped out of the room without a sound and cast the Colloportus Charm on the door.

That was another Charm done right, in Harry’s opinion. It was a standard Locking Charm that worked on any non-magical lock. It was a pair to the Alohomora Charm, which was its counter-spell. Being able to lock or unlock any non-magical lock was very useful and Harry had learned the two Charms at a very early age. Sirius had even joked about having to learn the Anti-Unlocking Charm when Harry had shown him that he could use both Charms all those years ago.

Harry quickly left the forbidden corridor behind, still silent and invisible. Once he was back in a safe area, in an out of the way corridor to go unnoticed, he removed both the invisibility and silencing spells from his person. As he headed for the Great Hall and the dinner that would soon start, Harry couldn’t help but smile at all of the mysteries that Hogwarts could offer him. At the very least he wouldn’t be bored for a little while.

-First Week of October-

Harry and Hermione were sitting out in the courtyard reading. The duo was enjoying the autumn foliage and some of the last warmer days that Scotland was going to have before late spring. Hermione was reading up on Transfiguration in preparation for an assignment that McGonagall had given them. Harry was reading up on Script-based Magics some more. He was starting to see the consistencies between various forms of the Magics and was pondering on his idea of whether or not the physical Foci or mediums were actually necessary.

‘If the mediums are necessary to anchor Wards, then how did that start?’ Harry wondered as he flipped a page in his book. Charms were technically the basis for Ward effects, but before people had learned to control magic through Runes, what had they done? Did they simply recast Charms over and over until they no longer needed them? When did Runes become associated with Magic? If he wanted to, could he not simply empower an area with a specific effect and have it carry on from there? There was still much studying to be done. This was in addition to his curiosity about Runes themselves. With so much to look into, a grin formed on Harry’s face.

“What has you grinning like that, Harry?” Hermione asked curiously of her closest, technically only, friend.

“Just realizing how much there is to learn and discover is all, Hermione.” Harry chuckled as he flipped another page.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” Hermione smiled at him. “There’s so much to know and so many books to read!” The bookworm was in her element as she sat next to him. Harry not only tolerated her inquisitive nature, he outright enjoyed it. The only thing they’d ever come to contention about was her bossy nature. That had mellowed out though as they’d spent more time together and grown closer. She wouldn’t tell Harry, but her bossiness was just how she’d learned to keep the children that liked to tease her back in Primary School away. Loving to read and being intelligent had seen her labelled a Teacher’s Pet and many of her classmates hadn’t liked her back then.

“Delving into the secrets and intricacies of Magic will always interest me.” Harry agreed with a chuckle.

“Did you learn the Cushioning Charm from one of our books?” Hermione asked as she enjoyed the softness of the Charm even though they were sitting on a stone bench. Harry had cast the spell before they’d sat down and she’d appreciated it.

“No, I think that one is in Grade Two of the Standard Book of Spells.” Harry shook his head as he continued to read.

“I’ll have to look it up then, it’s very useful.” Hermione went back to her book with a content sigh.

“I could make a pseudo-flying carpet out of a picnic blanket next time.” Harry chortled and Hermione gave him a look out of the corner of her eye.

“Harry, flying carpets are illegal in Magical Britain,” Hermione kept her brown-eyes on him. “You shouldn’t do something that’s illegal.”

“It wouldn’t be illegal,” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “It would be a flying picnic blanket, not a flying carpet. There’s no law against flying picnic blankets.”

“Violating the spirit of the law isn’t much better, you know?” Hermione turned to give him a more pointed look. She was quite willing to uphold rules and laws. She respected authority after all. It was simply how she was raised.

“Aww, but where’s the fun in always following the rules?” Harry questioned his first female friend with a playful nudge of his elbow.

“Rules are in place for a reason, Harry.” Hermione reminded him for what had to be the fortieth time since she’d met the boy.

“Some of those reasons are less about the safety of others and more about keeping the status quo though.” Harry retorted with a glance from his dark-green eyes. Hermione huffed lightly as she returned to her book. ‘Another win for me.’ Harry patted himself on the back in his own mind.

Whenever Hermione wanted to remind him of the Rules and Laws, he usually only had to remind her of some of the laws that Magical Britain upheld in the last few decades. Muggleborn Witches and Wizards didn’t have it the best in Magical Britain, and the Traditionalist Faction of the Wizengamot aimed to protect their status quo. It took a lot for a Muggleborn to rise up in status in their country, no matter how stupid it was to hold others back simply based on their birth.

‘Politics are stupid.’ Harry shook his head and refocused on his reading.

-Saturday, October 5^th-

“How did I let you talk me into this?” Hermione questioned for the umpteenth time.

“Because you can’t control your curiosity,” Harry laughed as they sat on a picnic blanket together. Harry took hold of the blanket with his Magic and cast Levitation on it. The blanket slowly rose off the ground and Hermione scooted closer to the center. At a slow and controlled pace, Harry lifted the two of them into the air on the blanket. In short order, the two preteens were floating dozens of meters in the air. “Ready to fly?”

“If I say ‘No’ will it stop you?” Hermione nibbled on her lower lip.

“Yes,” Harry replied instantly. “If you’re scared and don’t want to fly like this then we don’t have to.” He wasn’t about to force her to do anything.

“Promise me two things,” Hermione faced him properly. “One, no tricks or crazy flying. Two, we’ll go slowly.”

“Done and done,” Harry promised with a smile. “Let’s fly!” The floating picnic blanket began to move forward at what would be a moderate jogging speed. Hermione sat directly next to Harry in the middle of the blanket as they moved. Dozens of students saw the flying blanket with the two students on it. Cries of ‘flying carpet’ were heard multiple times as they flew around.

During their flight, Harry would take them even with the tops of some of the covered walkways. They’d even flown around a few of the towers when Hermione had gotten more comfortable with the flight. The duo was eventually met in the air by Rolanda Hooch, the Flying Instructor. She was flying on a broom and looked rather unamused. Her sharp eyes took in the picnic blanket and a slight sigh of relief was heard. With a glance, she locked both of their gazes with hers.

“Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, might I ask what you think you’re doing?” Hooch questioned the two First Years.

“Flying, ma’am,” Harry replied honestly.

“I can see that, Mr. Potter,” Hooch remarked and the preteen grinned back. “Why are you flying on this picnic blanket? Did you buy a Charmed Item from one of the upper year students?”

“No, ma’am,” Hermione shook her head, sending her bushy, brunette locks swaying back and forth. “This is just a regular picnic blanket that Harry is using his magic on.”

“I was told you were a prodigious talent, Mr. Potter, however I find it highly unsafe for you to be flying yourself and another student around on a blanket of all things.” Hooch made her thoughts known on their current actions with a sharp look. “You’ll follow me to the ground and then we’ll talk to Professor Flitwick about this. Whether or not your Head of House determines this to be a punishable offense, I expect you both to refrain from another flight like this. It is wildly unsafe to rely on the spell of a single person to ensure your safety in the air.”

“Yes, Professor,” Hermione looked down at the blanket and Harry thought she might be tearing up a little.

When Harry had directed the blanket down to the ground, following Hooch, he and Hermione stood up and walked off the item. Harry snapped his fingers and the picnic blanket folded itself up and floated into his outstretched hand. The duo of First Years followed the Flying Instructor to Flitwick’s Office. A sharp knock on the door from Hooch was followed by a call to enter. Hooch opened the door and directed them inside.

“Rolanda? Mr. Potter? Miss Granger? What seems to be the trouble?” Flitwick questioned seeing the three of them.

“Mr. Potter got it into his head to fly himself and Miss Granger around the castle on a picnic blanket of all things. I’ve brought them to you as their Head of House so that a punishment, if any, can be determined.” Hooch explained to the Charms Professor.

“A picnic blanket? Not a flying carpet?” Flitwick questioned the silver-haired woman.

“Yes,” Hooch confirmed with a quick nod.

“Well, at least they didn’t break the law regarding flying carpets in Britain.” Flitwick smiled at not having to deal with that kind of law breaking. “However, while you do show great skill and insight with Magic, Mr. Potter, we can’t have students putting themselves or others in danger with actions like the one you took.”

“I understand, sir.” Harry looked his Head of House straight in the eye, willing to accept any punishment.

“As you haven’t technically broken any laws or rules, I won’t issue any punishment this time,” Flitwick informed and Hermione’s head shot up as she looked at the Charms Professor. Her brown-eyes had tears in the corners but she quickly wiped them away. “But, you must both promise me that there will be no repeat of this incident.”

“Yes, Professor!” Hermione agreed instantly with a bright smile.

“Aww, I was hoping I could get permission to do it with supervision at least.” Harry exhaled heavily as his plans to slowly work towards self-flight were being hindered.

“Whatever for, Mr. Potter?” Hooch couldn’t help but ask. “What’s wrong with a broom?”

“Brooms are fine,” Harry shrugged at the woman. “But knowing that you can use any item to fly is much more interesting!” He gave her a wide smile and Hooch shook her head at the boy.

“We’ll see about other such tests in the future, Mr. Potter, for now you may both return to your day.” Flitwick chuckled at the two children. Harry and Hermione were quick to leave the office, both happy that they weren’t in trouble.

“I’m never letting you talk me into one of your tests again,” Hermione declared with a pout on her face. “We almost got in trouble!”

“Almost being the operative word there, Hermione!” Harry laughed as they walked along the corridor.

“You’re impossible, Harry.” Hermione gave him a glare, but her warm eyes held no heat or scorn.

“You have to be impossible to do the impossible, I guess.” Harry shrugged with a wide grin.

-Tuesday, October 15^th-

“It’s a beautiful view, huh Hedwig?” Harry smiled at his snowy owl as they both sat on the roof of the Owlery. Looking out over the forests surrounding Hogwarts at sunset was quite the sight. Hedwig gave a gentle hoot as she let Harry pet her.

His research into Runes was progressing, and he had some more ideas for different Magics to explore and try out. All in all, he’d enjoyed his time here at Hogwarts so far. He wondered how long the castle would keep providing him with new knowledge and mysteries to explore. He knew it would be finite and he’d eventually seek out further knowledge and mysteries elsewhere, but as it stood, there was plenty to learn and uncover here to satiate his ever-curious mind.

The Spellcrafter relaxed as he watched the sunset. It was good to let his mind rest from time to time. It was during his downtime that he often thought of his most interesting ideas. From up on top of the Owlery he could even see Hogsmeade. That would be another place to explore in the future. He most assuredly wasn’t going to wait until Third Year to do so either. There was a reason that Harry was so interested in self-flight. Flight offered freedom in many ways, such as being untethered by doors, gates, or walls. Hogwarts was great and Harry liked the ancient castle, but there was an entire world to explore out there, just beyond the horizon. The same horizon he was watching the sun disappear behind as he gently petted Hedwig.

-Thursday, October 31^st-

‘Bored…’ Harry sighed as he listened, half-heartedly, to Flitwick explain the Levitation Charm. The Charms Professor went over a brief history of the Charm, and then went over proper pronunciation of the incantation with the class. Finally he showed them all the wand movement. Harry performed the Charm with barely a thought on the white feather in front of him. The plumage rose into the air and twirled around a few times before flying in a wide circle and finishing with a few loops. Harry let the feather gently float down to his desk without having ever moved from his position.

“Excellent, Mr. Potter, take fifteen points for Ravenclaw.” Flitwick praised him with a bright smile and gentle applause.

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry nodded to his Head of House.

Naturally Hermione was the second student to complete the Charm. She easily directed her feather around the ceiling with her wand. The brown-eyed girl smiled happily as she performed Magic and Harry couldn’t help but grin. Why couldn’t more people be like Hermione when it came to Magic? Even now, as he looked around the classroom, most of the students, especially those from Magical Families, were barely showing any interest in the spell. Most of them looked to be trying to complete it just to get done with the classwork.

“Stop,” Harry’s voice stopped the boy next to him -Seamus if he remembered correctly- from trying to cast the spell again. The other boy was clearly frustrated and it was bleeding into his magic. If he’d swung his wand down again the most likely result he’d have gotten was either fire or an outright explosion as his magic reacted to his frustration with the feather in front of him. “Take a breath. It’ll work if you believe in yourself.”

“If you say so,” Seamus took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “Wingardium Leviosa.” He incanted as he made the wand motion again. The white feather floated upwards a dozen centimeters or so and stayed even with the tip of Seamus’ wand. “I did it!” Seamus blinked before a wide smile took over his face. The boy directed his feather higher and began to have it make small circles in the air.

“Good work, Mr. Finnegan, take five points for Gryffindor!” Flitwick praised the student.

“Thanks, Harry, that’s the first time I’ve actually earned points for Gryffindor.” Seamus gave him a genuine smile.

“Magic responds to emotions, if you get frustrated or fed up with it, take a step back and calm down. If you don’t, your Magic is likely to destroy whatever you’re trying to Charm.” Harry explained with a grin. Seamus nodded as he continued to play with the white feather in the air.

“WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!!!” Ron yelled at his feather while waving his wand at the plumage over and over again.

“Stop, stop, seriously!” Hermione, who was sitting next to him, leaned away from the wildly waving wand. “You’re going to hit someone instead of casting a spell.”

“I’m getting it!” Ron retorted with a scrunched up face.

“Your incantation isn’t quite right,” Hermione informed the redhead. “Win-GAR-dium Levio-SA, you need more emphasis on the GAR, and SA instead of SAH.” Harry had to admit, Hermione had come quite a ways from when they’d first met. Had this been back then she’d have a much bossier and almost condescending tone while she tried to help.

“You think you’re so smart just because you always get your spells right first!” Ron’s face was red and he was clearly letting his frustration get the better of him.

“I’m just trying to help,” Hermione informed him with a grimace. “You don’t have to be so mean about it.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Ron turned away from her with a huff. “You think you’re so much better than everyone, no wonder you don’t have any friends.”

Harry could see the change in Hermione’s expression and demeanor the very instant those words were said to her. She ducked her head and seemed to sink into herself. She looked down at the desk and her bushy hair blocked her face from view. She was quiet and still for the last few minutes of class and as soon as the bell rang she was packing her things away and rushing out of the classroom.

‘Can’t have that.’ Harry decided and his things were packed with a snap of his fingers. He used a simple spell of his own creation, he called it Float, to take a strong step off the ground and float through the air for a few seconds before landing at the door. He’d effectively jumped over the entire class to get to the door just after Hermione had exited. His work on self-flight had been what he’d used to create the Float spell and he was happy that it had its uses, even if it was just an incomplete Flying spell.

Harry was out the door and saw Hermione practically power-walking away from the classroom. Another use of the Float spell and he was landing in front of her after kicking off the ground, then the ceiling of the corridor to change direction. Hermione didn’t even notice him with her head down. Harry didn’t say a word and simply opened his arms.

“I’m sorry,” Hermione sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she looked up to apologize to who she’d run into. She saw Harry’s face for a moment before his arms wrapped around her back and pulled her into a gentle hug. The twelve-year-old Witch blinked as she registered the hug before she returned it with one of her own. “Harry.”

“It’s alright, Hermione, don’t listen to Ron.” Harry rubbed her back as Hermione tried to stifle her tears. “He was just frustrated and angry, it happens to all of us.” He noticed the students starting to leave the room and gently guided her to a small alcove with a stone bench so that they could sit down. “You’ll be alright, Hermione.”

“But what he said was true,” Hermione mumbled as she kept her face hidden in his shoulder. “I don’t have any friends. No one wants a bossy bookworm around.”

“I think we’re pretty good friends,” Harry consoled the crying girl. “You don’t see me taking anyone else flying, do you?”

“You’re not allowed to take anyone else flying,” Hermione reminded him with her voice muffled by his robes.

“My point is still valid,” Harry stated with a faux pompous tone. “I’ve only ever taken you flying, Hermione. That definitely makes us friends.”

“That was just you talking me into it,” Hermione shook her head with her face still hidden. Harry was happy to note that her crying had stopped and she was only sniffling a little.

“That was my friend agreeing to fly with me,” Harry shook his head as he rubbed her back. “No matter what anyone says, you’re my friend Hermione.”

“Thank you, Harry,” Hermione squeezed him gently before letting go and pulling back. “I must look ridiculous.” She wiped at her eyes with the sleeves of her robe.

“Nah, you’re fine, we can stop by the bathroom if you want to wash your face though.” Harry offered as the two stood up.

“But we’ll be late to class,” Hermione looked worried at the idea of being tardy.

“It’s Herbology, Professor Sprout will understand.” Harry waved her worries away as they walked.

“You’re a good friend, Harry.” Hermione gave him a smile.

“I try,” Harry smiled back. “Here’s the bathroom.” He pointed to the bathroom they were approaching.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” Hermione ducked into the girls’ room and Harry was fine with waiting for her.

They were a few minutes late to Herbology, but Professor Sprout only gave them a warning and set them as partners for the class. All in all, Harry was happy that he’d been able to help Hermione out.

-Halloween Feast-

Harry and Hermione were enjoying the celebration of the holiday. The Great Hall was decked out with orange and black streamers, be-spelled bats flittered among the rafters, jack o’ lanterns lit up the hall with their bright candle flames, and there was an assortment of candy on the tables along with the rest of the food. Hermione was refusing the various sweets, citing that her parents were dentists, but Harry was determined to make his friend have some before the end of the feast.

“T-T-Troll!” The Great Hall doors were shoved open and Professor Quirrel came rushing in screaming. “T-Troll! Troll in the dungeons!” The entire hall went silent at the man’s screams. “T-Thought you ought to know…” Then the turban-wearing man collapsed forward in a dead faint. The Great Hall erupted into the terrified screams of children and teenagers as the information processed in their heads.

“SILENCE!!!” Dumbledore’s voice shouted above all the noise before a panic could ensue. The yelling and screaming stopped and everyone’s eyes were on the Headmaster. “Prefects, lead your Houses to their Common Rooms quickly and quietly. Professors, follow me to the Dungeons so that we can keep the Troll away from the students.”

The Prefects, along with the Head Boy and Head Girl, stepped up and began to gather their Houses together. The Professors quickly headed out of the Great Hall after waking Quirrel and almost dragging him along. As Harry and Hermione followed along with their Housemates, both were whispering to each other quietly.

“You think a Forest Troll somehow wandered in from the Forbidden Forest?” Hermione questioned Harry curiously. It would be the most logical scenario since the forest was known to have a population of the beasts within it.

“Possibly, but it’s kind of weird that there wouldn’t be measures to prevent that sort of thing, right?” Harry replied as he thought about it. Forest Trolls had lived in the Forbidden Forest as long as anyone could remember. Surely Hogwarts had a means or a method to keep the lumbering carnivores away from the castle and students?

It was as the group was going past the second floor that everyone’s nose was assaulted by a horrid stench. The thump that was heard made the students freeze. The second thump turned their attention down the corridor. There, in the corridor, stood the grey-skinned form of a Mountain Troll. It’s disproportionately small, bald head almost touched the ceiling and it carried a huge wooden club in its right hand. The beast noticed the group of students on the stairs and it stopped for a moment. For a few seconds both students and Troll just stood still and stared at each other.

“RARGH!!!” The Troll roared out as it raised its club and started charging towards them all.

“Move!” Harry heard the Prefects yell to their Housemates. Two spells, one red and the other a light yellow, raced towards the Troll. Harry grimaced as both spells failed against the resistant skin of the Troll. In the rush of students racing to get up the stairs, Harry stepped forward to face the charging beast.

“Harry!” Hermione cried out in worry and fear.

“Potter, get out of the way!” One of the female Prefects -Penelope as he recalled- screamed as she tried to get to him.

“Barrier,” Harry raised his right hand and the Troll suddenly ran headlong into the (mostly) transparent, blue field. It stumbled backwards from the impact and shook its coconut-like head. Harry was too focused on the Troll to realize that the panic and screaming had stopped.

“RARGH!” The Mountain Troll roared as it slammed its club into the barrier spell.

“You’re really loud,” Harry grimaced at the assault on his ear drums. With a snap of his fingers, a second barrier formed around the Troll in the shape of a cube. All sound from the Troll disappeared even as they watched it rage and beat on the new barrier. The first barrier disappeared as the Troll was now contained in the second one.

“Potter, what the hell is that?” The Sixth Year male Prefect asked the First Year.

“A spell of my own creation, I call it Barrier,” Harry replied as he rubbed his ears. That Troll was louder than it had any right to be. “If someone could go get the Professors, I’d be very thankful. I can’t leave or the spell will disperse.”

“I…I’ll do it…” The Seventh Year female Prefect mumbled with her eyes wide. Everyone watched on as the Mountain Troll continued to silently rage and attack the spell that trapped it.

Only a few minutes later and the entirety of the Professors, led by Dumbledore, came rushing up the stairs. They blinked or in some cases outright gaped at the trapped Troll. Everyone had watched as it wore itself out trying to break Harry’s spell.

“Mr. Potter, what is this?” Flitwick questioned, noticing that Harry wasn’t taking his eyes off of the trapped Troll.

“A spell of my own creation, Professor Flitwick.” Harry gave a brief rundown of his Barrier spell to the Professors. In short order the panting Troll was freed by Harry and then knocked unconscious by Dumbledore. All of the Ravenclaw students had witnessed everything, but Harry didn’t have it in his head to even think about the story spreading throughout Hogwarts later.

“Students, off to the Common Room, Prefect Clearwater I want a headcount before everyone leaves.” Flitwick started the process of getting his students moving towards Ravenclaw Tower again.

Hermione and Harry followed everyone else while the book-loving girl gave Harry such an inquisitive look that he was fairly certain he could hear the questions forming in her mind. He’d deal with the questions when they inevitably came. But until Hermione broke away from the rigidity of structured Magic instruction, he wouldn’t be telling her some of the truly advanced stuff he could do. There were thousands of stories in the Magical World of the dangers of attempting Magics that one didn’t understand after all. He didn’t want Hermione to get in over her head while she was still so focused on the ‘right way’ of doing Magic.

Even Nym hadn’t been able to weasel the truly advanced spells out of him. She’d had years to try and knew how to push his buttons too. But to this day she only knew how to perform a few simple spells wandlessly.

But the look in Hermione’s eyes told him he wasn’t leaving her side until they were forced to go to bed at curfew.

‘The curse of being wise.’ Harry chuckled internally as the Ravenclaws reached their tower.

-End Chapter-

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Harry and Hermione are becoming such good friends! It’s nice!

We see Harry is still the ever-curious Spellcrafter. He figured out Magical Fire like the Primal Fire, he can figure out Flight! Come hell or high water he WILL soar through the air one day under his own power!

A very different time spent this October of Ninety One. We even got to see an introspective moment with Harry! I hope you liked the glimpse inside the young Spellcrafter’s mind.

How was that for a Halloween Incident?

Mountain Troll or not, Barrier doesn’t let physical objects or spells pass through it! Modify it slightly and not even sound passes through! Perfect for containing loud and dangerous beasts.

The Hogwarts rumor mill is going to go crazy when the Ravenclaws start spreading the story.

Hermione is SO going to grill him about his self-created spells!

But not until she abandons the stale, rigid, and blatantly wrong methods of Magic instruction will Harry teach her what he knows. One could easily hurt themselves or others with even a bit of what Harry knows. Best to keep it to himself.

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The story of Harry dealing with the Mountain Toll spreads throughout Hogwarts! The Professors can’t ignore such astounding Magical prowess. What could that lead to for our young Spellcrafter?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 5 – Hierarchies and Titles

-Friday, November 1^st-

The Hogwarts Staff were gathered in a meeting the day after the Troll Incident. All of them were in the Headmaster’s Office, which seemed to always have just enough space for everyone. There had already been much discussion about the previous night’s incident and many ideas had been passed around about how a Mountain Troll of all creatures had gotten into the castle. The closest mountains to Hogwarts were many, many kilometers away and the Troll had no reason to wander so far from its natural habitat.

“Albus, about Mr. Potter, we can’t continue to ignore the boy’s prodigious talent and prowess with Magic.” Flitwick spoke up during a lull in the discussion. “The story of Mr. Potter dealing with the Troll is already spreading among the students.”

“Filius has a point, Albus.” McGonagall agreed as she too looked at the Headmaster. “The boy doesn’t need a wand, his scores in practical assignments are always perfect, and his essays on Magic are almost enlightening to read, as harsh as they are on some of the spells we teach in class. The only area Mr. Potter seems to struggle with is memorizing names and dates of historical events.”

This was followed by agreements from Professor Sprout and Professor Quirrel, stuttered out in Quirrel’s case. Snape was the only one not to praise the boy. Binns may or may not have, but the Ghost Professor never appeared for these meetings. With how he taught History of Magic, it was doubtful that he’d remember any one student in particular.

“Are you suggesting that we skip Mr. Potter ahead and make him a Second or even Third Year student?” Dumbledore questioned his Staff, his eyes inquisitive and alight with curiosity.

“I’m not sure he’d accept it, to be honest.” Flitwick considered what he knew of his student. “Miss Granger seems to be his closest friend. He may not wish to leave her behind.”

“Potter…” Snape nearly sneered, but muffled himself to avoid another confrontation with Dumbledore.

“Did you have something to add, Severus?” Dumbledore looked over at the Potions Professor after hearing him mumble something.

“No, Headmaster, just thinking to myself.” Snape shook his head and the conversation resumed without him.

-Great Hall ~ Lunch Time-

“Everyone is looking at you, Harry.” Hermione pointed out as they ate at the Ravenclaw table.

“They probably heard about the Troll.” Harry shrugged unconcerned. He’d grown fairly used to his peers staring at him since he’d come to Hogwarts.

“I think you’ll probably get an award for special services to the school.” Hermione smiled at him brightly. “You’ll have your name in the trophy case in the main hall.”

“That’s nice, I guess.” Harry shrugged, not really interested in such things. He took a sip of his drink before speaking again. “But I didn’t do it for an award or anything. I trapped it because it was a threat to everyone. It was just the right thing to do.”

“Doing it without thought of a reward makes you more deserving of an award, Harry.” Hermione chuckled at her friend.

“I suppose.” Harry replied before taking another bite of his lunch.

“There he is!” Someone spoke up from behind Harry and Hermione. The voice denoted them as a male.

“Harry Potter, Troll Slayer!” Another voice, nearly identical to the first, followed after.

When Harry and Hermione turned to look at who had spoken, they were greeted by the sight of the infamous Weasley Twins, Fred and George. The two older students, upon noticing they had Harry’s attention, gave deep, overly dramatic bows. When they stood up straight again, they both had a mischievous smile on their faces.

“Can I help you?” Harry questioned the two well-known pranksters. “Also, I didn’t slay the Troll. Headmaster Dumbledore knocked it out and it was removed from the castle. It’s being relocated back to the mountains as far as I’m aware.”

“Ah, but that story isn’t as exciting!” The Twin on the left declared with a laugh.

“Quite right, brother of mine, the tale of an ickle Firstie besting a Troll needs more impact!” The Twin on the right nodded in agreement.

“Which one of you is which, please?” Hermione was looking back and forth between the Twins, trying to determine who was who.

“Gred Weasley, at your service.” ‘Gred’ gestured to himself with a smile.

“Forge Weasley, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” ‘Forge’ grinned with his hand on his chest.

“Yeah…no.” Harry closed his eyes and held up his right hand, index finger extended. “Principle…Identity, Aspect…Name, refined to George Weasley.”

“What’re you doing?” ‘Forge’ questioned the First Year.

“You’re acting a little off there, Harrikins.” ‘Gred’ almost took a step back from the black-haired boy.

“He’s making a spell.” Hermione informed the duo without taking her eyes off the process. She’d been waiting to observe this again since the first time she’d seen it.

“You can’t just make a spell.” ‘Forge’ shook his head at the girl.

A glowing white light appeared just above Harry’s extended index finger. He opened his green-eyes with a small smile as the little ball of light floated over to ‘Gred’ and changed to a green color. Almost everyone in the Great Hall (including the Professors) watched on in curiosity as Harry created a spell as easily as most Wizards and Witches cast a Lumos Charm.

“George Weasley,” Harry pointed at ‘Gred’ before turning his hand and pointing at ‘Forge’ “Fred Weasley.”

“How?!” George balked at the First Year.

“That’s impossible!” Fred followed his brother’s shock.

“Identity cannot be changed,” Harry explained to the two stunned Third Years. “It is given to you by the ones that name you. You solidify it by accepting your name as you grow up and considering it yours. Even if you pretend to be someone else, you’re still you. You can’t lie to your Magic or to your core identity.”

“Blimey…” Fred stared at Harry in shock.

“That’s mental…” George wasn’t any better than his twin was.

“My new Identification spell uses the Principle of Identity and the Aspect of Names to identify a person by their name, their true identity.” Harry filled in the twins, Hermione, and everyone close enough to hear him. It was only after he finished speaking that Harry realized that the entire Great Hall was completely silent.

“Harry…?” Hermione’s eyes were alight with intrigue and Harry realized that he was in for another round of answering his friend’s questions, just like last night.

“Yes, Hermione?” Harry tilted his head just slightly as he willingly opened the door to the flood he knew lay behind it.

“What if someone’s memory was altered completely and they believed themselves to be someone else?” Hermione’s first question was one that Harry expected.

“Even if you believe that you’re someone else, your Identity doesn’t really change.” Harry shook his head. “Identity is made up of the name you’re given and then your acceptance and possession of it. Even if you don’t remember it anymore, it is already part of you, it cannot be changed.”

“What about inanimate objects?” Hermione leaned forward slightly. “They have names, but only because they’re given them by other beings. The language even changes the name from one to the next.”

“That’s a different Aspect derived from the Principle of Identity, Hermione.” Harry smiled back at how interested Hermione was in the current topic. “The Aspect in question would be Naming; rather than Name. We give names to objects to remember them and categorize them for our own use. After all, if someone told you to bring them ‘Grey Stone’ what type of stone would you bring them?”

“I would need more information than just its color.” Hermione answered easily.

“Exactly, you’d need the stone’s information, that’s where Naming comes in. If I want granite, then I ask for it by the name it was given. The stone has no ability to be concerned or to care about what it is called across the multitudes of languages. Its Name is all of them as long as the person using an Identifying Charm knows what they’re looking for.” Harry informed his friend with a smile.

“Could you go deeper into an object then? Could you find out everything it’s made out of?” Hermione asked, intrigued.

“If you refine the spell further, then yes.” Harry chuckled. “You could specifically search for the individual names given to every element that an object is made up of if you really wanted to. But that might be a bit overkill if you just want to know what an object is. Its constituent parts are probably more than enough information.”

“Probably.” Hermione agreed with a small laugh.

“A fascinating lesson, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore spoke up and everyone realized that the Headmaster had left the Head Table and made his way down to the Ravenclaw table. “But as lunch is almost over, it may be best to finish your meals and prepare for your afternoon classes.” The old man chuckled as the majority of the students turned back towards their food and hurriedly ate.

“I didn’t mean to cause any delay, Headmaster.” Harry shook his head.

“It’s quite alright, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore assured the boy. “It was an interesting lesson on Identifying Charms and their function at the very least.”

“Thank you, sir.” Harry grinned before turning back to his food. The Headmaster went back to the Head Table with a small smile on his face.

“Quite the insightful student, isn’t he?” Flitwick grinned at Dumbledore when the old man sat back down.

“Yes, very much so, to see one so young with such an understanding of Magic is quite impressive.” Dumbledore agreed.

“Impressive?” Septima Vector -the Arithmancy Professor- looked at the Headmaster disbelievingly. “He just created a spell in mere moments without going through any of the proper steps! That’s beyond amazing, that’s nearly ridiculous!”

“Mr. Potter might be even more of a prodigy than we thought.” McGonagall murmured after what she’d just witnessed.

Lunch finished with the sounds of conversations as normal. The only difference this time was that almost every single conversation was about Harry and what he’d just done.

-After Classes-

“Hmm,” Harry was half in thought and half focusing on the broom beneath him as he flew around the Quidditch Pitch. Flying was one of his favorite things and he often felt free in the air. His mind was wandering to the broom and how it kept him in the air and followed his direction. He’d done in-depth study into brooms to try and puzzle out self-flight. So far, not much of the Magic in use on brooms would be applicable to a person. Very specific Magic was once again holding Wizards and Witches back as they never moved beyond what worked. “Float was a good spell, even if it isn’t a true Flight spell. But I need to be able to direct my own movement in the air. Humans aren’t meant to fly naturally and that makes leaving the ground under our own power harder, even with Magic. Our innate place is on the ground. Our Magic has a hard time with flight because of our acceptance of this natural fact. Going against one’s Nature isn’t so easily remedied it would seem.”

“How’re you doing that?” A Second Year girl questioned him as she flew alongside the First Year.

“Doing what?” Harry wondered as he looked at the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, Cho Chang.

“Flying on your broom while standing, of course!” Cho motioned at him.

Indeed, Harry was standing sideways on his broom. He was riding it much like a Muggle surfboard as he flew through the air. Not at all proper riding form and it should’ve made his control over the broom nearly non-existent. Yet Harry was flying without issue at all and while only half-focusing on the task.

“I’m just directing it with my Magic and intent. It’s the same thing you’re doing. I’m just standing up while I do it.” Harry replied as they both turned left to continue their lap of the pitch.

“But the broom’s Charms don’t work as well if you’re not sitting on it.” Cho disagreed, even though Harry was clearly having no problems.

“Maybe not, but that’s no reason to just do the same thing that everyone else has been doing since flying on brooms first became a thing.” Harry shrugged as he sent the school broom down in a steep dive before putting his weight on his back foot and sending the old broom back up to where it was level with Cho’s again. “It’s more interesting to try out new things for yourself.”

“I think you might be a little crazy, Harry.” Cho laughed at her housemate.

“Perhaps…” Harry joked as he started swaying the broom beneath his feet back and forth. “I just like flying. I’d like to do it under my own Magic someday.”

“Good luck with that.” Cho shook her head as they flew along. “Many Witches and Wizards have tried over the years, but the only ones that ever succeeded never told anyone how they did it.”

“I get wanting to keep certain Magics out of the hands of those not prepared for them,” Harry looked mildly annoyed. “But keeping flight to yourself until the knowledge is lost seems like such a waste.”

“Looks like the rest of the Team is here,” Cho pointed out the other members of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team walking onto the field. All six of them had their brooms over their shoulders. “Could I persuade you to let us have the field, Harry?”

“Sure, sure, I wouldn’t want to get in the way. I don’t have much interest in Quidditch myself, but I know a lot of the other students do.” Harry replied lackadaisically. “Nice chatting with you, Cho.” He leaned forward a bit and the old school broom dipped into a slow dive as he headed for the ground.

“What the heck, Potter?” Roger Davies -the Vice-Captain- blinked at Harry’s method of flying the school broom.

“I’m just getting out of the way.” Harry waved to the players as he flew past them, his broom less than a meter off the ground. “Don’t mind me.” He flew off and slowed as he neared the exit of the pitch. The First Year hopped off the slowed broom and called it to his hand with a thought. He was gone a few seconds later.

“You think he’d be interested in joining the Team next year?” The Captain questioned with a laugh.

“Afraid not,” Cho had flown down and was sitting on her broom in the air next to her teammates. “Harry doesn’t seem to have any interest in Quidditch. Apparently, he just enjoys flying in his own odd way.”

“Odd is right.” Roger shook his head at how Harry was standing on the old school broom in flight.

-Saturday, November 2^nd-

“Harry, look at this!” Hermione moved an open book over to Harry’s side of their library table.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Harry questioned as he got to the end of the paragraph he was reading and looked at the book Hermione was trying to show him.

“Titles, Harry, I was curious about Headmaster Dumbledore’s ‘Grand Sorcerer’ Title from the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter. I decided to do a little digging since I’m caught up on my homework.” Hermione explained as her finger pointed to the top of the left hand page of the book. There, in an elegant script, were the words ‘Titles of Prestige and Power; the Hierarchy of Wizards and Witches’.

“Huh, what’s this about?” Harry started to read over the page carefully.

According to the book, there were Titles given to Witches and Wizards that had done remarkable things. It seemed to be fairly straight-forward over all. There were normal Wizards and Witches and if they did something noteworthy they could earn the Title of Sorcerer. Apparently, the most common way to gain the Sorcerer Title was to attain a Magical Mastery. But as the Title of Professor was considered to be more prestigious, especially in relation to ancient schools like Hogwarts, most of their Professors wouldn’t sign any letter with their Sorcerer Title. It explained why McGonagall didn’t add the Title and went with Deputy Headmistress on the acceptance letters instead.

Beyond Sorcerer was High Sorcerer, this denoted someone that had accomplished something beyond what most Wizards and Witches would be capable of. Whether that was the creation of a new Branch of Magic, or the discovery of something monumental to the Magical World. It seemed that there were far fewer High Sorcerers than there were Sorcerers. This was also the highest Title that could be awarded by a singular Nation among the ICW.

Past the High Sorcerer was Dumbledore’s Title of Grand Sorcerer. This Title seemed reserved for those that had many great accomplishments in their life. From what he knew of Dumbledore, the old man had studied Alchemy with Nicholas Flamel, worked on the Twelve Uses of Dragon Blood, was an accomplished Scholar with multiple Masteries, one of the most celebrated Duelists to ever spend time on the circuit, and had defeated the Dark Lord Grindelwald back in the Forties. This Title was awarded by the ICW itself as the receiver had been recognized as benefiting the whole of Magical Society. That said a lot that Dumbledore had been awarded the Title of Grand Sorcerer and not one of the two Titles above it.

The second highest Title was Mage, a Master of the Magical Arts, a Witch or Wizard that delved into the mysteries of Magic and often discovered new Branches to study. A list of accomplishments was necessary to be awarded the Title as well. Power, Knowledge, Skill, Discovery, etc. all were necessary to be recognized with the Title of Mage.

The highest Title listed was Arch Mage. To receive this particular Title the majority of the ICW had to be in agreement that the recipient was the greatest Magic User in the world. Harry couldn’t remember ever reading about an Arch Mage before, so perhaps there hadn’t been a recipient yet?

‘I wonder if old Merlin would’ve been considered for it, if the ICW had existed that long ago.’ Harry mused as he finished reading the page.

“Isn’t it interesting, Harry?” Hermione smiled at him. “Imagine doing something so amazing that you got a Title for it! Your name would surely go down in history. You’d probably get mentioned in all sorts of History books!” Her brown-eyes took on a faraway look as she seemed to daydream for a few moments. “High Sorceress Granger doesn’t quite roll off the tongue though. Hermione Granger, High Sorceress doesn’t sound too bad though.”

“Why stop at High Sorceress?” Harry questioned with a grin. “I’m sure you could equal Dumbledore’s Grand Sorcerer at the very least.”

“I’d rather not battle a Dark Lord that was helping propagate a World War if I can help it, Harry.” Hermione gave him an unamused look.

“But think of the challenge, Hermione.” Harry teased with a quiet chuckle. If they were too loud Madam Pince would surely come around to usher them out of the library.

“There are some challenges that you shouldn’t go looking for, you know?” Hermione shook her head with a small grin.

“Maybe…” Harry snickered and Hermione rolled her eyes at him playfully.

The Titles were certainly interesting. Harry would freely admit to being mildly interested in them. Maybe they could be self-imposed challenges to test his prowess with over time? He’d certainly achieve a Magical Mastery, or three, in the future. So Sorcerer was practically a foregone conclusion. Earning the High Sorcerer Title and then the Grand Sorcerer Title would be more difficult. But it would be something interesting to do with his time. The fact that these Titles fit in with his lifelong desire to study and understand the mysteries of Magic was a big part of him caring about them at all though.

-Night ~ Harry’s Dorm Room-

“I could probably earn a Magical Mastery with just practical Magic in Charms, Transfiguration, or Defense Against the Dark Arts. But that would require Sirius’ help with the forms and dealing with the Wizarding Examination Authority of the Ministry.” Harry was lying in his bed as he went over his thoughts in hushed tones. “Maybe I should ask Sirius to sign me up for the Junior Dueling Circuit this summer? It could be fun and it would give me some presence in the Dueling Circles. You need a lot of different accomplishments to become a High Sorcerer and especially a Grand Sorcerer.”

Neither of those two Titles was his actual goal though. No, Harry had his eyes set on the highest Title there was. Arch Mage, the greatest Magic User in the world. That was a Title that Harry could appreciate.

“Now I just have to earn it.” Harry chuckled to himself before getting comfortable and closing his eyes. He had plenty of time to work on his goals, but right now was time for sleep.

-Late Night ~ Quirrel’s Chambers-

“Fool…” Hissed a voice filled with anger and contempt.

“M-Master…I-I’m sorry…I did not mean to offend you!” Quirrel stuttered and stumbled over his words as pain lanced through his body.

“Giving praise to that child is an affront to me!” The voice rasped out as Quirrel twitched and jerked in pain.

“I-I thought it the best way to keep my cover here, My Lord!” Quirrel pleaded with the voice and he sagged in relief when the pain stopped.

“You are lucky that my strength is still weakened at the moment.” The voice threatened the Professor. “I’d keep reminding you of my displeasure otherwise.”

“I’m s-sorry, Master.” Quirrel practically whimpered as he sat down heavily on the edge of his bed.

“Enough of your sniveling!” The voice snapped at the man. “What protections have you discovered on the stone?”

“M-My Lord, I know of all but Severus’ and Dumbledore’s protections!” Quirrel answered the voice. “All of them are within my capabilities to circumvent, barring the beast that Hagrid lent to Dumbledore.”

“Then find out what the final two protections are and loosen that half-wit’s tongue.” The voice hissed out its demands.

“Y-Yes, My Lord, it shall be done!” Quirrel promised before collapsing backwards onto his bed and passing out.

-Hogwarts Library ~ November 4^th-

“What’re you reading, Harry?” Hermione looked at the odd tome Harry had brought back from the shelves while they did their homework together.

“I’m trying to find things that are considered impossible to do with Magic.” Harry replied as he flipped a page in the book.

“Can I ask why?” Hermione questioned, wondering just what her friend was up to.

“You can.” Harry grinned without looking up from the book.

“Harry…” Hermione looked less than amused, though there was a slight giggle in her tone. It was nice to finally have a friend to chat with and even enjoy lame jokes together. “Why are you looking up things that are impossible to do with Magic?”

“So that I can do them, of course.” Harry looked up at her with a chuckle.

“But if they’re impossible, then how’re you going to do them?” Hermione inquired with one of her eyebrows raised.

“Wandless Magic is supposed to be difficult and almost impossible, but I do that easily enough.” Harry reminded his friend with an amused smile.

“Yes, but Wandless Magic is still possible, you just happen to be incredibly good with it.” Hermione countered. “Things that are impossible with Magic have probably been tried by dozens or even hundreds of people throughout history.”

“Maybe they just weren’t doing these impossible things correctly?” Harry flipped another page in the book. “Not to brag, but I do understand Magic pretty well.”

“I won’t deny that,” Hermione shook her head, her bushy brunette locks swaying from the motion. “But I hope you aren’t planning to delve into anything illegal at the very least.”

“Of course not,” Harry waved off the concern. “Do you know what my Aunt Andromeda would do to me if she found out I was doing something illegal?” Hermione shook her head at the rhetorical question. She knew a bit about Harry’s family from their friendly chats as they got to know each other. But apparently, his aunt was the disciplinarian of the family if his words were anything to go by.

“I know that self-flight is considered impossible.” Hermione mentioned as she remembered her frantic reading before their first Flying Lesson. “Even Witches and Wizards that claimed to have figured it out have many detractors claiming they were using some kind of Enchanted Object to fly.”

“Exactly,” Harry smiled at her. “I’m already on the path to self-flight, but I want to figure out other things too.”

“Is this about getting a Title?” Hermione giggled behind her hand at him. “Harry, you don’t have to rush or anything. There’s plenty of time to earn a Title. We’re still First Years.”

“Ah, but my own curiosity won’t be sated unless I try myself!” Harry chuckled and Hermione found herself smiling. “There’s also making fully-functional clones of yourself that’s supposed to be impossible. Immortality too, but living forever sounds more like a curse to be honest. I have no interest in trying to learn Necromancy and revive the dead either.”

“I would hope not.” Hermione gave him an odd look at the mention of Necromancy.

“Huh, supposedly strengthening oneself isn’t possible either?” Harry read a bit more on the supposed impossibility. “The body can’t be made stronger or more resistant with Magic, beyond what the physical form allows. Re’em Blood has strengthening effects, but it doesn’t last long and the side-effects are severe if you keep using it.”

“Harry, please don’t try and make yourself into a Magical Superman.” Hermione looked him in the eyes as she tried to convey her worry.

“You’re lucky I grew up with Uncle Ted, or I’d have no idea who you were talking about.” Harry snickered and Hermione almost pouted at him.

“I’m not going to do something ridiculous like trying to use an Engorgement Charm on my muscles or anything.” Harry assured Hermione with a smile. “But I don’t believe that this is truly impossible. The body is the first focus you have for Magic. Surely there’s a way to enhance it with your own Magic.”

“You’re going to end up in the Hospital Wing a lot this year, aren’t you?” Hermione deadpanned and Harry looked at her in faux shock.

“Hermione! How could you have so little faith in me?” Harry asked in an overly dramatic manner, his hand over his heart.

“Uh huh…” Hermione tried to keep her expression flat, but in a moment her lips twitched upwards and she burst into quiet giggles at him.

Harry joined her in laughter as they both tried to keep it down. It was great to have a true friend. Both First Years thought this at the same time, but didn’t say anything about it. They were just happy to have a friend that understood them and was willing to encourage them.

-End Chapter-

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Harry has learned about Titles and this story’s title now makes a bit more sense, right?

Oh our Spellcrafter has some goals to work towards now on his pursuit of the mysteries of Magic!

Where will Harry’s study and research lead him?

Hermione has her own ideas as well. Perhaps she’ll admit that books don’t have all the answers and ask Harry.

One has to be willing to throw away their preconceptions if they truly wish to learn!

Harry also flies on a broom weird! Standing on the broom and riding it through the air like a surfboard just because.

How will the Professors move forward with such a prodigious student in Hogwarts?

Will Harry get into the Junior Dueling Circuit this summer?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Our young Spellcrafter has things to look into on his quest to gain his first Title. The Professors come to a solution for Harry during classes. Some communication with Sirius about getting into the Under 17 Dueling Circuit this summer too!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 6 – Expanding Knowledge

“I’m a little confused, sir.” Harry blinked at Dumbledore as he sat across from the Headmaster in the man’s office. Standing beside the old man in her position as Deputy Headmistress was McGonagall. While standing next to Harry in his role as Head of House was Flitwick.

Harry could easily admit that he rather liked Dumbledore’s office. Books lined the walls, there were dozens of fascinating Magical Instruments moving and occasionally letting out small puffs of smoke. There were moving portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses of the school on the wall behind Dumbledore’s desk. One of the most interesting things Harry almost couldn’t take his eyes off of was the Phoenix sitting on a perch near the desk. The Magical Bird had let out a happy trill when Harry looked at it and he couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful sounds the Phoenix made. The last time he’d been here was after the Snape incident and he hadn’t the time or the mindset to really take in the room back then.

“This is an unusual situation we find ourselves in, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore agreed with a grandfatherly smile. “I dare say that Hogwarts hasn’t had such a prodigious student within its walls before. As educators we always seek to help our students excel and grow in their studies, but we find that you may have already moved past the Hogwarts curriculum.”

“In some things, perhaps.” Harry acknowledged with a small shrug. “Is that why you said you had some options regarding my classes?”

“Yes,” Dumbledore nodded to the First Year. “You can do self-study in any class if the Professor gives their approval. Or we could advance you into Second Year classes if you’d prefer; just to see if they are a better fit. If you showed the proper aptitude, we could potentially start letting you attend electives this year instead of in your Third Year.” He laid out various options for Harry to choose.

“I think self-study would be fine, for now.” Harry spoke after several moments of thought. “I’m already looking into Runes and Script-based Magics in my spare time. I make spells in my own way, so Arithmancy seems unnecessary. Divination is easy enough, if you’re not trying to look into the future specifically. I learned both Scrying and Forecasting when I was ten.” He informed the Professors as he went over the electives.

“I see,” Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment. “You appear to have thought out your options rather quickly. If self-study is what you’d prefer then all you’ll need is to get permission from the Professor of the subject.”

“Yes sir,” Harry nodded to the old man. “I’m hoping to get into the Under 17 Dueling Circuit this summer. So, some extra time to self-study on Dueling would be very helpful alongside my other forays into various spells and Branches of Magic.”

“Quite the Scholar, aren’t you, Mr. Potter?” Flitwick chuckled from beside him and Harry smiled at his Head of House.

“Since both of you are already here, I’d like to request permission to self-study during Transfiguration and Charms, if possible.” Harry looked at Flitwick and then McGonagall.

“You have my permission, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick agreed immediately to the prodigious Ravenclaw.

“Very well, Mr. Potter, but any disrupting of my class will not be tolerated.” McGonagall agreed with a warning.

“Yes, ma’am.” Harry nodded in acknowledgment to the Transfiguration Professor.

“I believe that was everything we needed to discuss this morning, please enjoy the rest of your weekend, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore dismissed Harry. Flitwick guided him out of the Headmaster’s office a moment later.

“I’m almost certain that the Under 17 Dueling Circuit is going to be thrown on its head this summer.” McGonagall mentioned after Harry and Flitwick had left.

“That seems very likely.” Dumbledore chuckled lightly as he reached for a small dish filled with candies. “Lemon Drop, Minerva?”

“No, thank you.” McGonagall denied for the umpteenth time since Dumbledore had found a love for the candies.

-Hogwarts ~ Astronomy Tower-

Harry floated in the air above the platform of the Astronomy Tower where classes took place. He was musing over his ideas and plans for self-flight and a few other ideas for the so-called impossible spells he’d looked through with Hermione. His Float spell kept him aloft until he canceled it and he was hoping that by using it whenever he could, that he may be struck with inspiration for a true Flight spell. A Warming Charm kept the bite of the chilly Scottish November from touching him as he floated in the air, thinking.

“Mr. Potter?” Professor Sinistra called out to the floating student. “May I ask why you’re up here?”

“Certainly, Professor.” Harry opened his eyes and grinned at the lovely Professor.

“Cheeky,” Sinistra shook her head, her pointed hat moving slightly from the motion. “Is this about doing self-study during your Astronomy classes?”

“Partly,” Harry admitted as he moved into a standing position. He didn’t remove his Float spell, so now he was standing in the air across from his Professor. “The other reason is because it’s quiet and I can think without interruption.”

“I’ll allow the self-study, but I do ask that you not disrupt the rest of your class.” Sinistra gave him permission and Harry canceled his spell and landed on the stone floor.

“Thank you, Professor.” Harry gave her a short bow of appreciation. “I’ll still learn the interesting aspects of the course, and I promise to keep quiet during classes.”

“That’s fine then, Mr. Potter.” Sinistra smiled at the First Year. “Be on your way now, dinner will be shortly and I still need to set up for the Sixth Year class tonight.”

“Have a good evening, Professor.” Harry bid her as he headed inside and down the Astronomy Tower.

It was only a short time later, on his way down to the Great Hall for dinner, that Harry was accosted by the resident Poltergeist of Hogwarts, Peeves. The annoying spirit, dressed in orange and with hair and eyes black as pitch giggled as he appeared before the First Year. With a sigh, Harry prepared for whatever Peeves would be up to this time.

“Oh me, oh my, if it isn’t Harry Potter himself!” Peeves chortled as he hovered around Harry.

“Is there something you want, Peeves?” Harry looked the Poltergeist in the eye. “I’m on my way to dinner.”

“Oh, you know old Peevesie just likes a bit of fun every now and then.” Peeves grinned at the boy. “The castle would be so boring without Peeves around, you know?”

“That’s debatable,” Harry replied and Peeves looked affronted for a moment before he burst into cackles. “If you could kindly move aside, then I’ll be on my way.”

“But that’s no fun, no fun at all!” Peeves denied with a snickering laugh.

“Well, if you want to be a hindrance,” Harry snapped his fingers and a Barrier appeared around the Poltergeist in the shape of a cube. “I’ve always been interested in trying my spells out on non-corporeal beings.”

“What’s this?” Peeves tapped the Barrier spell a few times with his right index finger. “Reminds me of when old Caretaker Carpe tried to trap me way back when!” He laughed at the memory of long ago. It had been a good time for the Poltergeist.

“Can you get out?” Harry questioned, genuinely curious.

“Of course!” Peeves pushed against the Barrier and slowly phased through the spell until he was free. “Easy-peasy, Potter!” He laughed at the boy. His laughter was abruptly cut off as two more Barrier spells encased him, one surrounding him and the second surrounding the first.

“Try it again.” Harry instructed the Poltergeist with interest in his eyes. “Adding another layer should make it more difficult.”

“Peeves is no rat to test things on!” Peeves ranted as he shoved against the first Barrier spell and stopped on the second. With visible effort the Poltergeist phased through the second one as well. “You’re going to get it now, Potty!” Three layers of Barrier cubes surrounding him made the spirit nearly snarl.

“Try again; I want to see how many layers it takes to stop you completely.” Harry was in full experimentation mode and Peeves was realizing that this First Year brat may not be worth antagonizing.

“Annoying ickle Firstie aren’t you?!” Peeves slipped free of all three Barrier spells after a moment and flew off down the corridor before disappearing around the corner.

“Hmm, my Barrier spell seems incapable of stopping incorporeal beings.” Harry began to quietly mutter to himself as he continued on his way to dinner. “Is that because they are not fully of this plane of existence? Perhaps because they’re incorporeal, they don’t follow the same fundamental rules, Magical or otherwise, as the rest of the world? My Barrier spell blocks all Magic and yet Peeves can slip through it regardless of being practically made of Magic. How curious…” He continued to ponder all the way down to the Great Hall.

-Hogwarts ~ Courtyard-

“Harry, what are you doing?” Hermione questioned her friend curiously in the mid-November afternoon.

“Playing with Magic.” Harry answered with a grin as snow and mist swirled around him.

“I guessed that, but thought you might be doing something more important.” Hermione shook her head at him, her long, bushy hair shaking from the motion.

“Catch,” Harry formed a snowball and sent it towards Hermione with a grin.

“Harry…” Hermione did indeed catch the snowball, though it broke apart in her gloved hands. “We could be studying right now.” She mentioned to the boy. “It’s much warmer in the library.”

“You should give yourself a break more often, Hermione.” Harry smiled at her as the snow and mist continued to dance around under his Magic. “Relaxing and just playing with your Magic can lead to all sorts of ideas.”

“How’s that?” Hermione cocked her head to the side slightly.

“Like this,” Harry formed a ball of mist and sent it at her. The mist ball burst apart when Hermione attempted to block it and for a few seconds the brunette Witch was obscured in a cloud of mist. “See?”

“Harry,” Hermione didn’t look amused, until she pulled out her wand, and with a few loops and swishes sent a barrage of eight snowballs back at Harry with a giggle.

“That’s the spirit, Hermione!” Harry stopped all of the snowballs in mid-air and then merged them into one. “Here comes a big one!” The large snowball was tossed at Hermione, but she pointed her wand at it and it burst apart back into snowflakes.

The two friends played in the snow together for almost an hour. Warming Charms were truly a blessing. They had a grand old time and were still laughing and giggling when they went inside afterwards. Hermione realized that Harry was right, at least a bit, when it came to relaxing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d played in the snow and just acted like a child. The smile on her face wouldn’t fade for the rest of the day.

-End of November-

“Good morning, Hedwig.” Harry greeted his snowy owl with a smile.

“Prek.” Hedwig held out her leg and the letter that was attached. Once Harry removed it, the pretty owl hurriedly stole some bacon from his plate and flew off towards the Owlery to rest.

“Hmm,” Harry read over the letter after doing the standard checks with his own Identification Spell. All of the multiple Charms usually used to check if a letter or package was safe, condensed into a single spell. Harry once again disdained the idea of learning a dozen different spells when a single well-made spell would get the same results. “Brilliant! Sirius has gotten me signed up for the Under 17 Dueling Circuit this summer.”

“I still say you don’t need to rush to try and get a Title, Harry.” Hermione shook her head fondly at him. “Who was it that told me just a while back that relaxation is important?”

“Who was the one that was already relaxing when you tried to pull him into the castle to study more?” Harry shot back with a smug grin.

“Prat,” Hermione playfully slapped his arm before going back to her breakfast.

Harry continued reading his letter from Sirius. It would seem that Remus had been pulled into their Christmas celebrations again this year. Honestly, the werewolf should just accept that Sirius wouldn’t let him spend the holidays alone. While Harry had met Remus Lupin on multiple occasions while growing up, the man always seemed tired and worn. He knew Lycanthropy was nothing to scoff at with the strain it could put on those infected by it. But Harry always got the impression that Remus had given up a long time ago. As if life had just been too difficult and the man didn’t think it could get better.

Thanks to Sirius, Remus had steady employment as the Bookkeeper for House Black. While the man was grateful, Harry always noticed that Remus seemed to age a bit more each time he saw the man. Wizards and Witches lived a bit longer than Non-Magical people did, as their Magic naturally tried to correct certain problems throughout their lives. Harry suspected a combination of Remus’ Lycanthropy infection and his already defeated mentality had led to this early aging.

“Still, it’ll be nice to see him again.” Harry quietly mused on the old friend of his family. He was interested in the postscript at the end of the letter too. Sirius had been in talks with the Wizarding Examinations Authority to see about Harry taking the Mastery Exams. Since he was so young and had not even completed a year of his Hogwarts education, the parchment work was being slowed as the members of the Board tried to get more information from Sirius. “So much red tape to go through.” Harry sighed as he folded the letter away.

Halfway through the meal, Harry and Hermione heard the startled exclamations of several students in the Great Hall. With a sigh, Harry reached out with his Magic and caught the small owl that was barreling towards him.

“Preee!” The small owl let out a short screech as Harry righted it and set it atop the table.

“I swear she chooses the most hyper-active owl she can find every time.” Harry sighed fondly as he relieved the small owl of its letter and sent it on its way.

“Tonks?” Hermione asked rhetorically. This wouldn’t be the first letter that Harry’s surrogate big sister had sent. But according to their chats, while the two had grown up together as siblings, Hermione knew that their blood relation was practically nil. The last Potter and Black marriage had been from a deceased distant relative of Harry’s called Charlus Potter.

“Tonks,” Harry confirmed as he looked at the letter with a smile. It was the usual things that she sent. Asking how Hogwarts was going, if he’d made any friends since he was such a nerd, how he’d been doing personally, etc. The bubbly Auror Cadet was always asking after him. She occasionally asked him what manner of spell idea was in his head too. When she did, there was always an added note to ‘Keep it simple!’ that made Harry chuckle. “Still not getting anything from me, Tonksie.” He chuckled as he read the postscript asking him to teach her some more about Wandless Magic and the ‘Real’ Stuff as she called it.

“You won’t even show me.” Hermione gave him a look and Harry only smiled pleasantly at her in return.

“You’re not ready yet, Hermione.” Harry stated with the same smile.

“When will I be ready?” Hermione asked for probably the tenth time since she’d first asked Harry about Wandless Magic.

“You’ll know when you’re ready, because then you’ll ask the right question.” Harry chuckled at her unamused expression.

“What’s the ‘right’ question then?” Hermione once more started the conversation they’d already had before.

“If I told you, then you wouldn’t be ready.” Harry shook his head slightly. “You’ll get there, Hermione, I’m sure of it. Just don’t lose your wonder and curiosity when it comes to Magic.”

“You’re way too young to try playing the ‘wise old master’ role, Harry.” Hermione pouted slightly as she returned to her breakfast.

“Am I too young now?” Harry asked and Hermione nearly snorted out her drink as she looked and saw Harry with white hair and a long, white beard that matched Dumbledore’s. The fact that he was running his fingers through the conjured facial hair only made it funnier. All of the Ravenclaws sitting nearby broke out into laughter and giggles just like Hermione.

-First week of December-

“I’ll be returning home for the holidays, Professor.” Harry answered McGonagall as the Deputy Headmistress went around taking down names of students that would be staying over the break and the ones that would be leaving.

“I’m going back home too, Professor McGonagall.” Hermione informed when the Transfiguration Professor looked at her next.

“We’ll see you both when you return in January.” McGonagall nodded to both students as she continued down the Ravenclaw table to ask the next students.

Hermione and Harry split up for a bit during their free period. Hermione went to complete one of her homework assignments in the Library, while Harry found an out of the way old classroom to practice his spells. This particular classroom was on the third floor and had a set of windows on one side that faced out towards the Black Lake.

“Let’s try this again,” Harry exhaled slowly as he began to construct a spell. “Principle Movement, Aspect Air, refined to Flight.” Harry constructed the spell and added in the parameters as he went. This would be well into the sixty or seventieth attempt at creating a true Flight spell. “Principle Identity, Aspect Animal, refined to Human. Principle Control…Aspect is Self.”

The boy’s black Hogwarts Robes seemed to move in an unfelt breeze as he applied the spell. As he focused, Harry felt his body start to rise slowly. His feet went from flat on the ground, to slightly raised, to standing on his tiptoes, and then his feet left the ground entirely. He continued to rise slowly as he concentrated on the spell and how his Magic was moving both through him and around him. It was as he cleared about the one meter height that the spell once again faltered and he landed on the floor, bending his knees to absorb the impact.

“The same result again,” Harry grimaced as he went over every aspect of the test in his head. He’d had Movement through the Air via Flight set. He’d even added a designated target through Identity, Animal, and Human. Adding in the Control and Self should’ve seen him able to control his flight through the air. “Nature of the object being be-spelled is important to an extent, but this is becoming vexing at this point.” The Spellcrafter sighed as he looked out the windows, and tried to think of what he was doing wrong.

Harry wasn’t entirely sure how long he sat there by the windows, looking out into the sky and even watching some birds fly by occasionally. He smiled slightly as he watched one land close to the window near where he was sitting. The bird ruffled its feathers and poked around the stone work a bit. After a few moments of rest, the bird spread its wings and took off again after a few flaps and a jump.

“Must be nice to be able to fly by nature.” Harry grinned before he thought about what he’d just seen. The bird didn’t will itself to move through the air. It used its wings, jumped, and then caught air currents as it flew, flapping only to maintain or increase momentum or to fly higher. “Wait…that’s wrong,” He mused as he thought on his previous statement. Birds weren’t born knowing how to fly. They learned from their parents and instinct. A baby bird would fall to the ground just like anything else. It was only after learning to fly that they could soar against gravity’s universal pull. “It’s not just its nature; it’s the result of learning and practice. The various mechanics and parts all come together to let the bird fly.”

Harry stood from the chair by the window and moved back towards the center of the room. He relaxed and exhaled slowly again, getting his breathing under control while sharpening his focus. “Principle Mass…Aspect Density, refined to Weight. Principle Identity, Aspect Animal, refined to Human.” Harry went through the steps he’d used to make his Float spell work. Then he started adding more to it. “Principle Movement, Aspect Air, refined to Air Travel. Principle Control, Aspect Self, refined to Body. Principle Space…Aspect Area, refined to Body Area.” Harry worked the different parts of the spell together, recalling everything the bird used to achieve flight.

Once again, Harry felt as his feet began to leave the ground. He focused on the spell, using all parts to focus on the intent he had. He floated up, ten centimeters, twenty, thirty, fifty, a meter, a meter and a half. He took hold of the spell and leaned forward, using his body as the medium of control. He grinned brightly as he moved forward under his own power. It was slow, but that was good for now, he was inside after all. He slowly circled the empty room while trying out different motions of his body, arms, and legs to see how the spell reacted. Some made him move faster, others slowed him down, he could turn in an arc, and when he wanted to hover, he simply stood in the air by focusing on the Float spell that had become the basis of this new Flight spell.

“Impossible my foot!” Harry laughed as he floated in the air near the ceiling of the room. He slowly lowered himself to the floor and let the spell fade. He sagged slightly and took a deep breath. That had taken quite a bit of effort and Magic to pull off. He’d need to work on the spell or just practice with it enough that it didn’t drain him so much. With enough time, he’d be able to fly whenever he wanted, and fly farther and faster too. He was determined to make flight a spell that he could use at a whim!

‘Not like I haven’t succeeded in that before.’ Harry thought to himself as he left the room and headed for his next class to meet up with Hermione. It was true; his Occlumency was as autonomous nowadays as his heartbeat or breathing. He didn’t have to think about it anymore for his mind to be protected. His Magic just did it now after so long of being set to the task.

“Nym still has to focus to activate her Occlumency. I should remember to point that out over the holidays.” Harry snickered before he entered the corridor leading to his next class.

He’d definitely be showing off his new Flight spell too. Once he had it up to what he considered passable application, then he’d present it as part of his Charms Mastery exam. It would almost assuredly grant him the Mastery when he proved it was his own Magic and no Enchanted Object that was letting him fly. That was, of course, if Sirius could get the Wizarding Examinations Authority to let him take the Mastery Exams this summer. Stuffy, old Witches and Wizards that didn’t seek to expand Magical Knowledge shouldn’t be put in charge of judging it, in Harry’s opinion.

“Harry,” Hermione smiled at him as soon as she spotted him.

“Hermione,” Harry grinned back with a noticeable spring in his step. “Ready for Defense Against the Dark Arts?”

“Yes, but what’s got you in such a good mood, Harry?” Hermione questioned as they walked into the classroom together. The overpowering stench of garlic that Professor Quirrel kept all around the classroom assaulted their noses, making both exhale sharply to try and clear the smell.

“I just worked out something I’ve been trying at for a while.” Harry explained as they took their seats beside each other. “I’ll tell you about it after class. I’m sure you’ll be surprised.”

“Knowing you, Harry, I probably will be.” Hermione gave him an amused grin and Harry, maturely, stuck his tongue out at her.

Listening to Quirrel stutter through another lesson was boring and Harry already had permission to self-study, so he pulled out a much more advanced tome and began to read through it. He noted the slight pout on Hermione’s face, but didn’t say anything. He would at least study the same material as the class, just far more advanced levels of the subject. Ignoring the turban-wearing professor’s stuttering, Harry began to read from his book. He was getting to a part about terrain Transfiguration in relation to combat and defense and he was rather interested.

-Hogwarts ~ Forbidden Forest Edge-

Harry looked into the darkened forest with some curiosity. He knew why the forest was forbidden, many dangerous creatures lurked within the place, but he’d found himself looking towards the trees over the last several days. He couldn’t explain why, but it was as if something was pulling his attention to the place.

‘What am I even doing here?’ Harry shook his head as he prepared to head back to the castle. He was invisible and silent thanks to his Magic, so no one would notice him coming back into the castle when he should’ve already been there. Hagrid’s Hut was rather far away, the light of the window facing his direction looked more like a candle from this distance.

Just as he turned his back on the forest, a noise was heard. Harry stopped still and listened for the noise again. He looked upwards into the dark sky and noted that it was indeed a New Moon. He didn’t have to worry about any feral werewolves with the moon in the opposite phase from Full. He looked around; trying to spot what had made the noise from earlier. It was only thanks to his Magic that he could see on this pitch-black night. Had he been visible, his eyes would be slightly glowing with a Night Vision spell of his own creation.

“Haaaa,” This noise was new and shortly followed by the same noise as before. Harry realized the first sound had been cloth dragging over the forest floor, scattering leaves and snow around. The new noise was from the cloaked figure that was moving out of the trees several meters away from him. He couldn’t make out any distinguishing features of the person because of the cloak. He knew it had to be a Witch or Wizard simply because no Non-Magical person could’ve made it through the Forbidden Forest, and even if they had, they’d certainly not be able to actually get near Hogwarts like this.

When Harry saw the cloaked figure start heading toward the castle, he knew he had two options. The first was to try and rush back to the castle, explain why he was out on the grounds mere minutes before curfew, and then tell Dumbledore what he saw. That would take more time than they had if this cloaked person was hostile. They’d be well inside the castle by the time he got done explaining. The second option, and the dumber one in Harry’s opinion, was to confront the person himself. Considering he didn’t know who this person was or their intentions, that wasn’t smart.

‘Option three then, scare them off without them noticing me.’ Harry thought as he used Float to kick lightly off the ground and send himself almost nine meters in the air before his momentum stalled. With the cloaked figure in sight, Harry weaved his Magic into the air around him and directed it to assail the person from the direction of the castle.

“Agh!” The cloaked person gasped as a frigid gale blew past them and made their black cloak billow. They grabbed their hood to keep it from flying off and shivered even through their Warming Charm at the biting cold.

‘A little noise and light perhaps?’ Harry mused as he reached out as far as he could with his Magic and formed a small flame, not unlike one that would reside in a lantern. Using a simple trick, applying small amounts of force with Magic, Harry had the snow beneath the flame crunching heavily. Trying to time the ‘steps’ to make it sound like a slow gait was difficult, more so than the actual Magic.

“Bloody hell, the oaf!” The cloaked man, based on the voice, hissed out in fury. Their apparent anger made them none too quiet as they quickly darted back into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry was able to briefly follow the cloaked man’s progress through the trees thanks to his Night Vision spell. He kept up the fake walking and the fire until his distraction reached the area where the cloaked figure had been. He couldn’t see the man through the trees anymore and hoped that they’d not try again tonight.

‘Maybe I can bring it to Hagrid’s attention that someone was here without giving myself away.’ Harry got an idea and used his pair of distraction spells to ‘walk’ all the way back to Hagrid’s Hut. He was alternating between Float and Flight the whole way, but that prevented him from leaving footprints of his own in the snow. He knew he’d succeeded and cancelled both of his spells when he heard Hagrid’s front door open and close. From his position in the air, Harry watched as the lantern that Hagrid had in-hand illuminated the ‘footprints’ he’d left tracked through the snow.

“Is som’one out here?” Hagrid called out into the dark, looking this way and that. Harry noted the large man had an equally large crossbow in hand. Hagrid started following the tracks and Harry watched over him until he found the cloak lines and the disturbed branches leading into the Forbidden Forest.

He flew back to the castle and entered a window he’d purposefully unlocked before he’d left to check out the odd feeling he’d been having about the Forbidden Forest. It was in an unused classroom just down a corridor from the Ravenclaw Tower. He’d be back inside before curfew officially started if he hurried.

“Harry?” Hermione spoke up as Harry walked into the Common Room right as curfew struck. “Where have you been? I thought you said you were just going to take a quick walk to stretch your legs?”

“Sorry Hermione; Peeves.” Harry replied and the bushy-haired girl didn’t ask any further questions. Almost every student knew how much of a pest Peeves was after all. If you became his target then you’d most certainly be late to wherever you were going.

‘Let’s hope the Faculty becomes aware that someone tried to sneak onto the grounds from the forest.’ Harry thought as he sat next to Hermione on the couch near the fireplace. He pulled a book over to himself with a Wandless Summoning Charm and began to read.

-End Chapter-

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Well now…it seems someone is skulking about at night in the Forbidden Forest.

One guess who it is.

Harry brings the trespass to Hagrid’s attention sneakily and hides his involvement. He’s not trying to play Hero or get in trouble if he can help it.

Our young Spellcrafter finally figured out Flight though! Woohoo!

It takes a lot of Magic at the moment, but Harry will practice with it often to overcome that issue! He also has something ‘impossible’ to show off to the Wizarding Examinations Authority for his Charms Mastery in the summer, provided the stuffy bunch even let him take the Exams.

On top of that, Harry is officially registered for the Under 17 Dueling Circuit! Time for the Spellcrafter to whoop some behinds!

How will the rest of First Year go?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! It’s time for Yule Break and Harry returns home for the holidays. Our young Spellcaster is always working on something though, and the holidays don’t fully stop him. Upon returning to Hogwarts, he notices a situation and steps in.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 7 – Yule Break, Insight, Neville

“I’ll see you back at Hogwarts, Hermione.” Harry smiled at his bushy-haired friend as they stood on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

“Have a Merry Christmas, Harry.” Hermione smiled as she hugged him.

“Look for Hedwig bringing your gift.” Harry returned her hug with a grin. The two separated and Hermione headed through the barrier and back into King’s Cross Station to meet her parents.

“Aww, my ickle Harrikins is growing up.” Tonks teased as she pretended to wipe her eyes of tears.

“Already have a girlfriend, Harry?” Sirius chortled good-naturedly at his godson. “I wasn’t planning to impart my many years of wisdom to you until your Third Year.”

“It’s not like that.” Harry waved both of them off with a flat look.

“Sure, it’s not…” Tonks drew out the end of her sentence before laughing.

“Let’s get home,” Sirius was chuckling at the back and forth between the two. “Andromeda and Ted have missed you, Harry.” The trio headed for the Floo at the end of the platform. After a wait in a short line, the three returned home in a flash of green flames.

-Black Family Home-

“Harry, it’s so good to see you again.” Andromeda had Harry in a warm hug almost as soon as he’d removed the soot from his robes.

“It’s good to see you too, Auntie.” Harry hugged the woman back.

“Having fun at Hogwarts, Harry?” Ted asked as he gave the youngster a one-armed hug.

“It’s kinda boring, honestly.” Harry shrugged and everyone got a chuckle at his reaction. “The castle is really interesting though. The library is also amazing.”

“Nerd~” Tonks laughed and Harry rolled his eyes at the Metamorphmagus.

“Yes, yes, I’m a nerd.” Harry flicked his finger and Tonks suddenly found herself hit in the back of the head with one of the couch cushions. “But I’m also the only one that can teach you the Wandless Magic that you’re so interested in, Nym.”

“You’re going to get it now, Harry!” Tonks lunged for him, but Harry was already rushing off with a satisfied grin. The now orange-haired teen chased after him with threats of noogies if he kept resisting.

“I swear, those two will always be like this.” Andromeda shook her head fondly at her daughter and surrogate nephew.

“It’s fine, dear.” Ted chuckled along with Sirius as they heard Tonks calling Harry a cheater for using Magic.

-Saturday ~ December 20^th-

“Are you sure you want to do this, Nym?” Harry grinned at his surrogate big sister.

“Yep, you’re going down this time, Harrikins!” Tonks brandished her wand and got into a ready stance.

“You do remember that you’ve never won before, right?” Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

“Shush!” Tonks glared playfully at him. “When I win, you’ll have to teach me more Wandless Magic, the Real Stuff too! No tricks!”

“Don’t you mean if you win?” Harry snickered at the purple-haired young woman.

“Shush!” Tonks stuck her tongue out at him this time.

The two were out in the backyard of the Black Family home in a space that they’d completely cleared of snow. Sirius, Andromeda, Ted, and even Remus were watching from comfortable chairs off to the side. The whole area was surrounded by a Heat Charm that made it a pleasant 21 Celsius. Sirius, ever the showman, stood up from his chair and decided to start the little match between Harry and Nymphadora.

“As the Lord of the Black Family, I hereby declare that this Duel may begin!” Sirius had the most over-the-top pompous voice he could manage as he made his ‘declaration’. Much to the chuckling of Ted and Andromeda’s exasperation with her cousin.

“Conteram Obice!” Tonks cast with her wand. A spiraling spell made of orange and gold sparks rocketed towards Harry.

For his part, Harry merely raised a Barrier in the shape of a square wall between himself and the incoming spell. With his defense against the spell taken care of, he reached out to the snow at the edge of the area with his Magic. The white powder was pulled closer and began to twist into shapes following his will.

Tonks’ spell slammed into the Barrier and ground against it for a moment. It invariably failed as it spiraled across the wall-like shield. It left a spiral-patterned mark on the Barrier for a second though. Harry finished his Transfiguration and Charms and sent his snow creations towards Tonks.

“That was a Shield Breaker! How is your Barrier just fine?” Tonks grimaced at the spell that had invalidated her own. She wasn’t given an answer as a swarm of snow beasts rushed her. She saw wolves, bears, rabbits, a moose, and birds, all made from snow charging her.

“Barrier doesn’t let any Magic through, Nym.” Harry reminded her. “Even if that Magic is supposed to destroy it.”

“How the hell does that work?!” Tonks swished her wand and the wolves burst back into snowflakes. A few loops and a strong point blew apart the bears and the moose.

“It’s basically priority of effects.” Harry grinned, knowing that Tonks wouldn’t understand the concept since it wasn’t taught at Hogwarts. He wove his Magic into more of the snow around them and subtly shaped it to his liking.

“The hell does that mean?!” Tonks demanded as she cast a Protego and the snow-made birds slammed into it like snowballs. A wide swipe of her wand and a wall of flames burst into existence, destroying the rabbits instantly from the heat.

“Don’t worry about it.” Harry chuckled as he pointed behind her. “Worry about the dragon.”

“What?” Tonks looked over her shoulder after casting a Protego between her and Harry. He wasn’t above tricking her and using a distraction to his advantage. But he wasn’t kidding this time. Behind her was a large dragon made from snow. It wasn’t overly realistic, looking more like a simple snow sculpture, but it was very much life-sized. “Why did you make a dragon?!”

“It’s more fun than just throwing an avalanche at you.” Harry replied with a shrug and a wide smile.

“Sol Calor!” Tonks waved her wand, flicked it, and then made a large circle. Just as the large snow dragon descended on her a bright ball appeared from the tip of Tonks’ wand. It was like a miniature sun and let off a large amount of heat. So much so that the snow rapidly melted. The dragon fell apart as its medium (the snow) was destroyed and the Charm that animated it broke because of the destruction.

“Next up!” Harry laughed as he had fun with his surrogate big sister in the snow. “I think it’ll be a snow tiger!”

“Are you just going to throw snow at me all day?” Tonks was already moving her wand.

“I can do other things…” Harry admitted even as the snow tiger was formed. “But this is fun, right?” The snow tiger rushed towards Tonks.

“You’re a cheeky little boy, aren’t you Harrikins?” Tonks slashed her wand downwards and the snow tiger was blasted apart by a powerful Slashing Curse. The Curse hit the Barrier and did nothing, making Tonks grumble as she started moving around the area to get a better shot at Harry.

“I learned from the best.” Harry glanced at Sirius, who was all smiles, and then back at Tonks. “But if you don’t want more snow…let’s change it up a bit.” He focused for a moment and put his hands together in front of his chest. His fingers were interlaced and a small smile was on his lips. “Black Out.”

“What the?!” Tonks squawked as a pitch-black mass filled the air around Harry and rapidly spread to cover the entire area. “Protego Maxima!” The Auror Cadet cast, raising a dome-shaped shield over herself. The darkness covered her shield, but didn’t penetrate it. It clearly wasn’t smoke or mist, but Tonks couldn’t describe what it was that Harry had conjured. She couldn’t see anything outside of her small protected space.

Suddenly something struck her Protego from the side. Tonks only had an instant to see it before it vanished in the darkness. Another object struck from the opposite side, making her whip her head around. More and more of the things began to hit all over her dome-shield. Tonks maintained her shield, but realized that she was trapped in place as Harry took pot-shots at her.

“What now?!” Tonks blinked as she felt the dirt beneath her feet shift. The soil was rapidly transforming into a sandy-dirt mix and swirling around within her shield. While that was already bad enough, Tonks also realized that because of the movement, she was starting to sink!

“Say ‘uncle’, Nym!” Harry’s voice came from somewhere out in the darkness.

“Never!” Tonks refused, only to have to spit as some of the gritty sand that was swirling around got in her mouth. She did notice that whatever had been bombarding her shield had stopped. “You can’t maintain too many spells yourself, Mister!” Tonks focused and made a rather complex pattern with the tip of her wand and then a full circle over her head.

BANG

The blast that went off from Tonks’ spell just as she dropped her Protego was deafening. The swirling sand was blasted away along with everything else within ten meters of the Metamorph. The darkness didn’t react and only engulfed the young woman completely, leaving her blind.

“I can’t maintain too many spells, but I can use more than you at the same time, Nym.” Harry teased before Tonks felt a spell hit her back and she lost consciousness.

“You think they’re okay in there?” Remus questioned as the four older adults had been watching a dark dome for the last minute or so.

“I’m sure they’re fine.” Sirius waved off the concern.

All of them jumped when a loud bang went off and they shot to their feet a moment later. As they pulled their wands to intervene, the dome dispersed entirely. Harry was standing next to Tonks, the young woman leaned against his legs and clearly unconscious. Sirius and Remus noted the dozens and dozens of bean bags scattered around the area and wondered why they’d been conjured or transfigured during the Duel.

“I think I win.” Harry grinned at his family with a chuckle.

“Almost gave us heart attacks…” Ted held his hand over his chest.

“Rennervate.” Andromeda cast on her daughter.

“Huh?” Tonks blinked as she awoke. She looked up and saw that she was leaning on Harry’s legs. “Oh bollocks…” The Metamorphmagus huffed as she realized her loss.

“What was the darkness thing, Harry?” Sirius questioned his godson with a curious gleam in his eyes.

“A spell I call Black Out.” Harry informed as he helped Tonks to her feet. “It conjures darkness, or more specifically the absence of light, and lets me cover a set area with it.”

“Completely pitch-black inside.” Tonks shook her head as she put her wand back in its holster. “But it didn’t get through my Protego Maxima.”

“Yeah, it’s a fairly simple spell, any shield that can block Magic can work on it.” Harry confirmed with a nod. “Of course, it’ll just go around any wall-like shield. Only a dome like Nym’s blocks it from a person completely.”

“Were you throwing bean bags at me?” Tonks looked at all of the scattered bean bags on the ground.

“Yeah, I figured they’d hurt a bit without being truly harmful.” Harry shrugged at her. “It’s not like I want to hurt you, Nym.”

“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?” Tonks grinned as she pulled Harry into a hug.

“Yeah, yeah, love you too, Nym.” Harry returned the hug and only rolled his eyes when Tonks began messing up his hair.

“Any chance I could learn that spell, Harry?” Sirius had his prankster face on and Andromeda gave Harry a look that practically screamed ‘Don’t you dare, young man!’ which made Harry snort.

“Sorry, Sirius, Andromeda says no.” Harry chuckled as his godfather turned to pout at his cousin.

“Andy!” Sirius even sounded like a whining child.

“No!” Andromeda denied, looking Sirius straight in the eye.

Harry loved his family. He wouldn’t change them for anything. Now, if only Nym would let him go and stop messing up his hair.

-Granger Home ~ Christmas Morning-

“I’m certain this is a book.” Hermione grinned at Harry’s wrapped gift. Hedwig had brought it the day before yesterday and her parents had placed it under the tree along with the others. Now she could finally open it and see what Harry had sent her.

“It seems your friend knows you well then, dear.” Her father chuckled at her.

“You’re fairly easy to shop for, Hermione” Her mother smiled warmly at her.

Hermione tore the wrapping paper from the box and smiled as she removed the lid. Inside was a book, as she’d expected, but when she read the title, she blinked. Pulling the older book from the box she read over the title a second time.

A Guide to Esoteric Magics from Around the World

“Harry…” Hermione beamed at the book in her hands.

“Oh my, I do believe we’re about to lose our daughter to a book for the rest of the day.” Her mother giggled lightly as she saw the look in Hermione’s eyes.

“Can we at least keep you for dinner, little Scholar?” Her father chuckled while using the nickname her parents had given her a few years ago.

“Dad…” Hermione actually pouted at her father, which made both of her parents laugh. It was rare for their intelligent young daughter to act her age. So, any opportunity for making her do so was taken in the Granger household.

-Hogwarts Express-

“Harry!” Hermione nearly barreled into her friend with a beaming smile.

“Hello, Hermione.” Harry grinned as he returned her hug. “Did you like your gift?”

“I loved it!” Hermione smiled widely. “I never knew that there were so many different takes on Magic! Why aren’t we taught about these at Hogwarts?”

“Ministry interference or perhaps the curriculum at Hogwarts purposefully excludes them?” Harry shrugged as they found a compartment to share.

“Why would they exclude them?” Hermione looked aghast that knowledge would be purposefully withheld. “I understand some of them are rather…well, bloody in their application. But there were plenty that were perfectly safe in the book.”

“Perhaps there simply aren’t enough practitioners in the world for there to be Professors for them?” Harry guessed as he recalled a few of the forms of Magic in the book he’d gifted Hermione. While several were interesting, and things he’d probably look into later, they were esoteric because so few knew how to perform them.

“That seems like such a waste.” Hermione looked sad at the loss of an opportunity to learn.

“Yeah, the loss of knowledge if they don’t pass it down is a shame.” Harry agreed with a sigh at how much had probably been lost in the long history of humanity.

Books were pulled out and the duo chatted as they read. Hermione would point out things from her book occasionally to ask Harry about. The two both greatly enjoyed having a friend to bounce questions and ideas off of. When the trolley lady came by with snacks, Harry bought a few things and a pitcher of pumpkin juice for them. He put his book away to eat and Hermione copied him. After their snack, Hermione went back to her book while Harry began to practice something he’d been working on over the break.

‘Mage Sight…a theoretical ability or skill according to what I’ve looked up. But, if it wasn’t real, then where did the idea come from?’ Harry pondered as he relaxed back into his seat and closed his eyes.

He’d been trying different ideas to see if he could replicate the feat himself. Pushing his Magic into his eyes hadn’t done anything. He’d tried looking into his spells as he weaved them together, but that had also failed to yield any results. Going at the task from a Spellcrafting angle would probably yield results, but Harry knew he’d have to be careful. Magic and the body were intrinsically linked, but that didn’t stop Magic from being able to horribly warp and distort a person’s body if they made a mistake. Not something he wanted to experience, especially not with his eyes.

Harry spent the next several minutes going through various ideas of a spell he could make that would replicate the fabled Mage Sight. Thinking of the basics of the concept, or what he’d read about it at least, he began to ponder on Principles and Aspects that might achieve what he wanted. The basic abilities agreed upon by the few tomes that mentioned the possibility of the skill were fairly straightforward. The ability to see and perceive magic that was in objects, people, beasts, or things like spells and wards placed upon an area. Mage Sight was also rumored to allow the person to determine a spell or ward’s effect if they understood Spellcraft. He didn’t want to self-praise too much, but Spellcrafting was something he was good at.

‘Principle Observation, Aspect Sight, refined to Magic.’ Harry went the simplest route with this first attempt. He applied the spell to his eyes since it was based on sight. He felt the Magic take hold and slowly opened his eyes.

Everything was a myriad of colors.

Harry blinked a few times, but nothing changed. He couldn’t see shapes or distance at all. Everything was just shifting colors to his sight. There was no direction, no pattern, no separation between the colors, all of it just continued to shift and flow about. It was almost nauseating if he was being honest.

“Harry? What happened to your eyes?” Hermione questioned in shock and Harry turned to face the sound of her voice. All he saw was the continuing swirl and shift of the multitudes of colors. He did notice that one color was remaining stationary, but it was a small thing compared to all of the moving colors that filled his vision.

“Nothing Hermione,” Harry ended the spell and shook his head. After a few blinks, he reorientated himself and looked at his friend. “I tried out a new spell, but going the most simple and direct route clearly wasn’t the best way to go about it.”

“Your eyes were kind of glowing…it looked weird.” Hermione informed him. “What were you trying to do?”

“I was trying to make a spell that did what the fabled Mage Sight can do.” Harry shrugged as he explained what Mage Sight supposedly was and what it allowed one to do. “Trying to just see Magic directly wasn’t it though. Nothing but colors and no shapes or depth to speak of. It was disorientating.”

“Should you really be messing with your eyes like that?” Hermione looked worriedly at him.

“I’ve made sight-based spells before.” Harry reassured her with a small smile. “But in those cases, I was basing it off the light spectrum. Magic is not quite like anything else known to man though. So, I’m going to have to figure out how to parse down the spell if I want to still be able to see the rest of the world.”

“Please don’t hurt yourself, Harry.” Hermione urged him as she worried her lower lip.

“I’ll be careful, Hermione.” Harry assured his friend with a smile and a nod. Seeing how he was worrying Hermione, Harry decided to save his further tests for later. He picked up his book again and started reading for the rest of the trip.

-Monday, January 6^th-

“Longbottom the Squib!” A somewhat familiar voice caught Harry’s attention as he was heading to the library to meet up with Hermione. The loud chortling that followed the mocking statement confirmed the speaker.

‘We’ve literally only been back for a day and Draco’s being a prat already.’ Harry raised an eyebrow and headed in the direction of the Slytherin’s voice. When he rounded the corner, he saw Draco with Crabbe and Goyle, as usual. The three Slytherins were surrounding Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor. The other boy’s bag was on the floor, books spilled out on the stone. He looked to be a mix between sad, terrified, and angry.

“Have you even performed a proper spell this school year, Longbottom?” Draco sneered at the other boy contemptuously.

“Like this?” Harry pointed at the three Slytherins and a cubic Barrier appeared around them.

“Potter?!” Draco whipped around to look at the Ravenclaw. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to notice that they were surrounded by the Barrier and were blinking at it in confusion.

“How about you leave Neville alone for a bit, yeah?” Harry’s tone made it clear that his request wasn’t a request at all. He moved his index finger and the door to a broom cupboard nearby opened up. With an application of his Magic, the Barrier slid into the cupboard, carrying Draco and his bookends with it. The Barrier spell disappeared right before Harry used his Magic to shut the door on the boys.

The funny thing about that particular broom cupboard was that if you closed the door behind you. Well, then you’d find yourself all the way up on the sixth floor when you opened the door again. Harry was sure that would trip up Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe easily enough.

“Th-Thank you, Harry.” Neville gave a small smile to the Ravenclaw.

“Not a problem, Neville.” Harry made a simple motion with his hand and all of Neville’s books reentered his school bag. The bag then floated into Harry’s hand. “Here you go. You shouldn’t let those three get to you, Neville. They’re just being prats.”

“I know, but they’re not wrong either.” Neville sighed as he put the strap of his bookbag over his shoulder. “I’ve barely cast any good spells since I got to Hogwarts. A lot of people call me a Squib behind my back.”

“That seems odd.” Harry mentioned as he looked at Neville. “You got a wand from Ollivander’s, right? I didn’t think anyone walked out of that store without a good match.”

“I’m…actually using my father’s wand.” Neville mumbled out as his hand went to cover the Focus inside his pocket.

“Why’s that?” Harry had heard of heirloom wands before. But if Neville had his father’s wand, then maybe it wasn’t a good match?

“My Gran told me that I’d be honoring my father by using his wand.” Neville clearly didn’t want to talk about his parents to someone that was functionally a stranger.

“Huh, you might want to check with a wandmaker about your compatibility.” Harry suggested with a small smile. “No sense in holding yourself back if all you really need is your own wand, right?”

“…Maybe…” Neville looked as if the thought of standing up for himself was foreign.

Harry did see a spark of realization in the Gryffindor boy’s eyes as they parted ways though. With any luck, Neville might just get himself on the right track with a wand of his own. It would certainly make far more sense than handicapping himself by trying to use a wand that wasn’t compatible. With a shrug, Harry continued on his way towards the library to meet Hermione.

-Herbology Greenhouse #1-

“Mr. Potter, may I ask what you’re doing?” Professor Sprout questioned the prodigious student.

“Trying my hand at plant-based spells, Professor.” Harry informed the squat Witch with a smile. He had both hands on either side of a flowerpot and was trying to make the seed planted in the dirt inside sprout.

“You do know that spells that make plants grow often kill them afterwards, correct?” Professor Sprout warned the First Year.

“Yes ma’am,” Harry nodded as he focused on his Magic and how it interacted with the seed in the dirt. “I’m trying to see if I can circumvent that.”

“Many have tried over the years, Mr. Potter.” Professor Sprout informed as she went about the greenhouse to check on all of the plants. This was the best time for her to do so as it was the free time after classes but before dinner.

“Doing the impossible sounds like a good challenge, Professor.” Harry chuckled as he felt the seed shift a little through his Magic. ‘Hmm, so I should probably change the Aspect from Growth to something more controlled and specific if I don’t want to kill the plant.’ His boundless curiosity led him to trying all sorts of Branches of Magic. He did want to learn as much as possible after all.

“Professor?” Neville Longbottom spoke up from the door to the greenhouse.

“Ah, Mr. Longbottom, come in, come in.” Professor Sprout smiled at the boy. “You wanted to help with the care of the Aster Leaf plants, yes?”

“Yes ma’am,” Neville nodded with a smile. Herbology was his absolute favorite subject. “Is Harry helping out too?”

“Not quite,” Professor Sprout shook her head slightly. “Mr. Potter is continuing his self-study. You and I will be caring for the plants.”

“Oh, alright then.” Neville nodded to Harry with a small smile.

“How’s the new wand treating you, Neville?” Harry asked politely. Apparently, after a couple of days to work up the nerve, Neville had approached McGonagall about his wand. The Gryffindor Head of House had apparently gone on a tirade against Neville’s grandmother that could be heard in the corridor outside of her office. Neville had been taken to Ollivander’s the next day by McGonagall herself.

“It’s great, thank you.” Neville’s right hand drifted down to pat his pocket where his new wand resided. He’d seen a marked improvement in his Practical Magic scores and had been performing spells much easier than ever before.

Harry spent almost until dinner in the greenhouse trying to figure out how to make the seed sprout without killing the plant right after. Perhaps he was going about it wrong, but so far, he’d killed almost a dozen individual seeds. There was something different about using Magic on living things that resulted in these unexpected side-effects.

‘Maybe I need a combination of Charms and Transfiguration, both following the natural cycles that we learned about in Herbology?’ Harry pondered as he walked towards the Great Hall. Plant Magic could become very useful and lucrative if Harry could understand it. He just needed to come up with a process by which to accelerate it safely.

There was still Runes and Script-based Magics to look into as well. Harry had temporarily put those on the backburner to focus on making his Flight spell. Now that he had succeeded, though he still practiced daily with it, he could look into Runes again. Even he could only focus on so many things at once. Splitting his focus too many times would result in a slower pace and shoddier work.

‘So much to look into and so much still to uncover.’ Harry mused to himself with a slight grin. ‘Magic never fails to hold my sense of wonder.’

“Harry!” Hermione waved him over to the seat next to her at the Ravenclaw Table. “You look happy, did your tests in the greenhouse work out?”

“Not exactly, but I think I made some progress at least.” Harry shrugged with a smile. “I’ve got plenty of things to look into for my self-study.”

“Just don’t go crazy with it, please?” Hermione requested with a concerned look.

“Of course, Hermione, don’t you worry.” Harry assured her.

“Why does that make me worry more?” Hermione looked at him pointedly.

“No idea!” Harry grinned widely at his friend.

“Harry!” Hermione playfully swatted at him.

-End Chapter-

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We see some more of what Harry can do in a friendly Duel with Tonks over the Yule Break.

The Under 17 Dueling Circuit is in for a rough time this summer, huh?

Hermione has been shown that more Magic exists out in the wide world thanks to Harry’s gift to her. That has the bookworm in Hermione oh so very curious!

Will Harry be able to come up with a spell that allows him to have Mage Sight?

Harry is exploring more and varied Branches of Magic as he looks into Plant Magic too. His curiosity is truly boundless, isn’t it?

We’re heading closer and closer to the end of First Year!

Will a certain corridor be explored again?

Is a meeting between two certain Wizards fated to happen?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As we head towards the end of First Year, what will our Spellcrafter do with his free time? He always has plenty of things to look into and work out when it comes to Magic. Maybe he’ll do a little more exploring in a certain area of the castle?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 8 – Magic Manipulation, Corridor

“Already finished, Mr. Potter?” Snape asked of the First Year. He was doing everything in his power not to sneer at the brat. He wouldn’t risk his position here at Hogwarts for the spawn of James Potter. So, cold stoicism was all the boy got from the dour Potions Master.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry placed his labeled vial of Sleeping Draught in the stand meant to hold the students’ vials at the end of class. Potions wasn’t his favorite subject because of the Professor that taught it. But Harry would be lying if he said that he didn’t take to it with his understanding of Magic. Knowing how and why a Potion needed to be stirred a certain way, for a specific number of stirs was helpful. Understanding the concepts of Magic that Harry did also gave him a deeper understanding of why the same ingredient may need to be prepared in a different way for different potions. It made him a rather excellent brewer for his age.

“Very well, you’re dismissed.” Snape waved the boy away. He could tell at a glance that the purple potion in the vial was perfect. The shade of purple gave him all the information he needed. He despised that the son of the man he hated most in life was so skilled at seemingly everything to do with Magic. It was best to simply have the brat leave his class when he finished his assignments.

Harry wasted no time leaving, giving a nod to Hermione on his way out. He had other things to do with his time after all. With his things gathered, he left the Potions lab and headed out of the Dungeons. Once he was back on the ground floor, Harry headed up the stairs again. He was going to find an interior room in the castle, one without windows, and practice more with trying to create Mage Sight. In a castle like Hogwarts, it wasn’t hard to find such a room at all. The Spellcrafter set his bookbag aside, cast an Alarm Charm on the book bag itself to go off when classes let out for the day, and then sat down to focus.

“Alright, no windows, no distractions, just the room and me.” Harry exhaled as he began to let his mind drift and ponder. Minimizing the number of objects and stimuli had been one of Harry’s first thoughts when it came to trying to develop his Mage Sight idea. Starting off in a dimly lit room would be the least amount of visual stimulation he could get. The young Spellcrafter was hopeful that the lack of visual input would make seeing Magic easier to perceive and process mentally.

‘Principle Observation, Aspect Sight, refined to Magic…’ Harry formed the basis of the spell he was going for. ‘Aspect Clarity, refined to Magic…Aspect Focus, refined to Magic.’ He wanted to be able to perceive Magic and focus on it independently of his regular sight. So, the addition of these two Aspects should help with that. Feeling the Magic within his eyes, Harry opened them and gazed upon the dimly lit room.

Colors…but not the nearly nauseating swirls of color that he’d seen the first time on the Hogwarts Express. These were only in shades of black, purple, yellow, and orange. Incidentally, those were also the colors that filled the room from the single candle that Harry had burning to give him enough light to see by.

‘Well…I can see normally now on top of the colors.’ Harry noticed the progress of his attempt at creating Mage Sight. He could see normally, just with everything colored by what Magic he could see. ‘Hogwarts is filled with so much Magic it’s almost ridiculous.’ The Spellcrafter noted as he looked down at the floor. The tiles were normally a dull gray color. To Harry’s newest attempt at Mage Sight, the tiles glowed dimly with a mix of blue and gray light. Looking at the walls closer revealed the same dim glow of blue and gray, even the ceiling was the same.

“It’s got to be the stonework and masonry then.” Harry nodded as he ran his hands over the wall. “It’s all filled with Magic and that’s part of what makes Hogwarts so ‘alive’, for all that a castle can mimic life at any rate. The young Spellcrafter already knew that Hogwarts sat on heavily Magical land too, the Forbidden Forest was the biggest indicator of that. It was home to a large majority of Magical Britain’s various Magical Creatures after all. They wouldn’t choose to live just anywhere, especially not the ever-skittish Unicorns. While Magic was a part of the world as a whole, certain areas had much higher concentrations and became ‘Magical’ because of it.

‘Huh…look at that.’ Harry had turned his attention to the candle he’d lit and noticed the flame. More specifically, he noticed that the Magic he could see changed from the small fire’s presence. ‘What in the world?’ He smiled involuntarily as he watched the Magic move and change around the little flame. The purple color changed into the orange and yellow when it got close enough to the fire. It swirled around for a bit, rising or moving away from the flame, and returned to the purple color and then to the black color once it was outside of the candle’s luminescence.

“Light and heat make the Magic change color?” Harry took a notebook from his bag and began to write in it with a pen. Ted had used pens at home, rather than quills. Harry liked the simplicity and the writing was easier for his own notes. He was quick to record this new improvement of his spell. He also noted the discovery of how the Magic he could see changed based on small factors like light and heat.

‘I wonder?’ Harry put the pen down and looked back at the candle. Calling forth his own Magic, he noticed that it had its own muted myriad of colors, something he made sure to write down for later. ‘Do the colors mean something specific?’ Harry mused as he looked at his own Magic. This would definitely be taking up some of his free time to try and figure out. But for now, he had an experiment to run.

Reaching out with his own Magic, Harry held it near the flame of the candle. Noticing that his Magic didn’t change in the slightest at the exposure made him start putting new hypotheses together. His Magic didn’t change like the Magic that seemingly floated through the air. Was it because it was his and therefore a part of him? Or was it simply because he wasn’t doing anything with his Magic?

‘Let’s test this out.’ Harry grinned at having something new to study. He directed his Magic towards the flame and he watched on as nothing changed for a moment. With a small note in his notebook, Harry began to guide the yellow and orange Magic with his own. He pulled it further away from the flame, little by little, and waited to see how long it would maintain its color. ‘Hmm?’ Harry noticed that the circle of light that the candle gave off was slightly warped now. It was still a circle, but now a noticeable swell was on one side of the circle of light. ‘Am I?’ Harry let go of his Magic and watched as the Magic he’d been guiding along immediately turned purple. The swell of light vanished instantly too and the young Spellcrafter blinked.

“This…this is…” Harry tried to settle himself down. Difficult for an eleven-year-old normally and even harder when such excitement was building up inside. “Calm down…let’s try that again.” He took a deep breath to refocus himself and reached out with his Magic again. He guided the orange and yellow Magic around the flame away from it, further and further, and smiled widely as the circle of light began to expand in the direction that he was guiding the Magic. “I’m pulling the light!” He exclaimed excitedly as he expanded the range of the candle’s luminance without actively casting a spell.

Deciding to see just how much he could do with the Magic in the small space around the candle, Harry used his Magic to guide all of the yellow and orange Magic. He nearly cackled when he was able to make the circle of light into a straight line. He curled it around, made wavy lines and zigzags, and thanks to his ability to see the Magic, he noticed that outside of his control, the Magic moved normally. Purple color existed directly outside of the light he was taking control of, even though it was right beside the flame in some cases. After a few more small tests on the light and his ability to control it, Harry released his Magic and grabbed his notebook and pen. Flipping to a blank page, Harry wrote a new heading at the top.

Magic Manipulation

-Hogwarts Library ~ February 8^th-

“What’re you reading, Harry?” Hermione asked her friend with a smile as she set a small stack of books down on the table.

“Just some stuff about Magical Creatures.” Harry gave her a quick smile. “I’m trying to figure out what types of spells work on different Magical Beasts.”

“Can I ask why?” Hermione was not sure she liked where Harry might be going with this.

“So that I’ll know if it ever comes up, of course.” Harry chuckled as he flipped a page in the tome he was reading.

“Harry…you’re not planning something crazy to try and get a Title, are you?” Hermione sat down with a sigh.

“Not at all, Hermione.” Harry looked at her oddly. “Why would you think that?”

“You’ve just seemed rather focused on Titles since we learned about them.” Hermione mentioned with her brown eyes looking into Harry’s green.

“I have other methods to achieve a Title, Hermione.” Harry waved off her suspicions. “I don’t need to go and do something crazy to earn one.”

“I’m glad.” Hermione smiled brightly at him before opening her first book.

‘Now…what works on a Cerberus?’ Harry flipped to another page in the large book. He would go through most of the tome and take in the information, of course. He never knew if it might come up later after all. But he was rather curious as to what the large Cerberus in the third floor corridor was guarding.

-Ravenclaw Common Room-

“You want me to what?” Hermione looked at Harry with a mixture of confusion, suspicion, and curiosity.

“I want you to cast a spell at me, something simple.” Harry repeated himself, wondering why Hermione was being hesitant.

“Why?” Hermione’s concern was warring with her curiosity.

“To test something that I’ve been working on for a bit.” Harry grinned at his friend. If he could manipulate ambient Magic, then surely, he could manipulate spells in flight, right? With greater understanding of this Magic Manipulation, he may even be able to manipulate and remove so-called ‘unbreakable’ curses and wards. That could be interesting and lead to even more new discoveries!

“I’m only going to use Lumos then.” Hermione’s concern and curiosity seemed to have reached a compromise. The brunette Witch held out her wand and cast Lumos with it. The bright little ball of light appeared easily and Harry reached out for it with his Magic.

‘The Finite Charm that can dispel most simple charms, hexes, jinxes, and low-level curses works by overwhelming the targeted Magic and destroying the intent behind the spell. So, if I want to manipulate someone’s spell, then I should do this…’ Harry guided his Magic around the Lumos after activating his prototype Mage Sight spell. It was still imperfect, blanking out all colors except for the colors of Magic, but it was something he could build from and improve over time.

“Harry?” Hermione blinked at seeing Harry’s eyes glowing faintly.

“Just a second Hermione, keep the Lumos going.” Harry urged his friend as he wrapped his Magic around the little ball of light. With some focus, Harry plucked the Charm from the tip of Hermione’s wand and brought it closer to himself. The Lumos vanished after only a moment of the separation, but he’d still succeeded! “Yes! I figured it could be done!” Harry laughed as he stopped using the imperfect Mage Sight spell on his eyes.

“H-Harry! What did you? How did you? Explain, please!” Hermione was nearly gaping at seeing her Lumos Charm pulled from the tip of her wand. The Lumos Charm was simple and produced a light from the tip of the caster’s wand. That was how the Charm worked. It shouldn’t be able to be moved from the tip of the wand to anywhere else. Especially not by someone other than the caster!

“I used my Magic to manipulate your spell.” Harry gave her the simplest answer.

“How?” Hermione leaned forward a little bit. Her curiosity was at an all-time high.

“The simplest explanation is that I wrapped my Magic around the Lumos and pulled it closer to me.” Harry explained with a grin. “It faded away after being separated from your wand, as you saw. But that still took a little less Magic from me than I would’ve needed to cast my own Lumos Charm.”

“So, you used your Magic to hold my spell?” Hermione just stared at him. “That’s not how Charms are supposed to work though…” She trailed off and seemed to be going over what she knew from class and her extra reading.

“Are you sure?” Harry grinned at her. “You just saw it happen.”

“I know…but…this isn’t like anything I’ve read.” Hermione still believed that she could learn what Harry could do if she read enough and put that knowledge into practice.

“That’s what makes it interesting!” Harry chuckled at Hermione’s slightly flummoxed look. “The only problem is that it takes too long to focus.” He hummed as he thought about the length of time needed to manipulate even a stationary spell. “If someone threw an actual hex or jinx at me, then I wouldn’t have time to try and manipulate it.”

“How did you figure this out?” Hermione looked curiously at him.

“I was working on the Mage Sight spell and noticed that the colors of Magic changed in relation to what was around them, like fire. From there it was a test to see if I could grab that ambient Magic with my own.” Harry shrugged at his accidental discovery. “Every new thing you try, whether you succeed or fail, can lead you to new discoveries. I just like to delve deeper into understanding Magic.”

“Is that why your eyes were glowing a bit, the Mage Sight spell?” Hermione questioned, recalling the glow now that her initial question had been answered.

“Yeah, it’s still not quite good enough, it blocks out all color except for Magic now.” Harry sighed at the spell not coming out like he wanted it to. “It’s still an improvement over my first attempt, but it’s not there yet.”

“You should write all of your spells down and publish a spellbook someday, Harry.” Hermione smiled at him brightly. “I’m sure it would be amazing and sell really well.”

“Maybe, but a lot of the spells I make don’t have an incantation, and none of them have wand movements. So, I’m not sure how well they would actually do since most Wizards and Witches wouldn’t be able to use them.” Harry shrugged at the lack of interest other Witches and Wizards had in Magic.

“Are you trying to do this manipulating other people’s spells thing for the Dueling you’ll be doing over the summer?” Hermione asked her next question. She was still a little put out that she couldn’t figure out Wandless Magic herself.

“That would be cool.” Harry grinned at the thought of turning his opponent’s spells back against them. “But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manipulate other spells fast enough to make it viable in a Duel.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it better if you continue to practice, Harry.” Hermione encouraged her friend with a smile. She believed that study and hard work could solve most any problem.

“Thanks, Hermione.” Harry smiled back at her. Hermione was a good friend.

-Sunday Night ~ Third Floor Corridor-

‘Still only locked with a basic Colloportus?’ Harry was confused that such a basic spell was used on the door to the forbidden corridor. Any First Year that read their Charms Book could learn Alohomora with a bit of practice.

He slipped into the large room and quietly shut the door behind him. Turning around, he saw the dozing form of the large Cerberus. Any loud noise or new smell might awaken the gargantuan canine, so Harry was already invisible, silenced, and odorless. The Spellcrafter noted that only one paw was on the trapdoor tonight and smiled. Levitating the paw slightly off the ground, Harry moved it gently off the trapdoor and set it back down. Using levitation again, he lifted the trapdoor upwards until it was fully open.

‘Now…let’s see what’s down here.’ Harry cast his Flight spell and jumped down the hole in a perfectly controlled fall. He didn’t touch the floor of the chamber he emerged into. It just made sense that falling from the ceiling to get here was intentionally done to make any trespasser touch the floor. Harry waved his left hand to conjure dozens of bluebell flames to illuminate the room.

An odd slithering sound caught Harry’s attention just as the movement on the floor did. Vines were moving away from the blue flames and the light they produced. They all retreated into the darkness and Harry took a moment to remember what this plant was called.

‘Devil’s Snare…’ Harry nodded after recalling the Magical Plant. ‘It doesn’t like light and will wrap around any moving object until it stops moving. That usually means the animal is strangled to death though, so it’s dangerous.’ Since the plant had already retreated into the dark corners of the room, Harry was free to pass through the next door which the vines had been hiding.

A downwards sloping passage with stone walls, through which trickling water could be heard, led to a brilliantly lit chamber with a very high ceiling, full of glittering winged keys. On the opposite end of the chamber from the stone passage was a large, old-fashioned wooden door with a silver lock. Harry canceled his bluebell flames since this chamber was rather bright and he could see perfectly well. Looking at all of the flying keys and then glancing at the broom near the doorway, Harry shook his head.

‘Are you supposed to fly and catch the right key among this flock?’ Harry guessed and carefully walked over to the large wooden door on the opposite side of the chamber. Seeing that the flying keys didn’t care about him touching the door, Harry looked it over. ‘Hmm, what are the chances?’ He silently cast the Alohomora spell and grinned when it didn’t work. ‘Well, at least someone has some sense.’ Activating his imperfect Mage Sight spell, he reached out with his Magic towards the silver lock. The metal was literally glowing with Magic to his eyes now. ‘Huh…that’s odd…maybe like this?’ Harry tried to manipulate the spell on the silver lock, but it held fast against his attempts. This was a much more complex spell than any mere Locking Charm. Harry wondered if he’d have to actually catch the right key to unlock the door. ‘Alternatively, I could just leave and head to bed. I’m curious as to what needs such security, but it doesn’t really matter either.’ He glanced up at the flock of flying keys and his Mage Sight spell spotted something. The animated flying keys were all a dull glowing bronze color. Except for one…one had the same brilliant glow of silver that the lock had.

“I spy with my little eye…” Harry whispered with a grin. He snagged the key with a Summoning Charm and then took hold of it with levitation. He saw that the wings of the keys all had the same color of Magic. If he touched this key, he was fairly certain that the others would react. Turning the large key in the lock saw the door open. Harry let the unique flying key go and it quickly returned to flying amongst the flock as if nothing had happened. ‘Must be some kind of Pairing Charms in play on both the key and the lock as well as the wings of the keys.’ The young Spellcrafter surmised as he walked down a short corridor to the next chamber.

The chamber Harry entered next was so dark that it was impossible to see anything. Still being invisible, silent, and odorless from his spells, Harry thought about using the bluebell flames again. The room lit up enough to see once Harry had taken a few more steps within. He did sort of wonder if the illumination wasn’t tied to some kind of Alarm Charm somewhere in the castle. If it was, then he’d definitely get in trouble for being down here.

‘Then again…most Wizards and Witches don’t have the best logic and reasoning skills.’ Harry had heard Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted complain about that issue multiple times growing up. ‘Well, if they don’t see or hear me, then I should be fine, probably.’ The eleven-year-old shrugged as he followed Sirius’ ‘advice’ for having fun at Hogwarts. ‘But still, this is a giant Wizard’s Chess set and one piece has been removed from the board.’ He noticed the King Piece on his side of the board wasn’t where it was supposed to be. ‘Chess was never my favorite game.’ Harry mused as he looked over at the door behind the life-sized chessboard.

With a grin on his lips, Harry decided to try a hunch he’d just had. He targeted the door on the opposite side of the chamber and extended his Magic to reach it. A Flagrate Charm let Harry write an ‘X’ on the wooden door with magical flames. The invisible and silent Spellcaster then backed out of the room. A few seconds after leaving the chamber, the room went pitch-black again. Harry cast his Flight spell and lifted off the floor entirely. He slowly flew his way into the dark chamber with the massive chessboard. He crossed past the area he’d been in without the lights coming on. Stifling a chuckle, Harry flew up near the ceiling and headed for the still burning ‘X’ he’d put on the door.

‘Well, that’s annoying.’ Harry grimaced as his Mage Sight spell saw a line of Magic connecting the door to the opposite King Piece on the chessboard. ‘So, you have to beat the game for the door to unseal, huh?’ Looking over the Magic on the door, Harry reached out with his own and tried to manipulate the spell. To his surprise, this spell actually responded to his manipulation. He removed the sealing effect from the latch and the hinges, but kept the spell attached to the door itself. With a wily little smirk on his face (One that was nearly identical to Sirius’ own mischievous grin) Harry swung the door open and headed down the next corridor.

“Bloody hell…” Harry clapped his hand over his nose as a pungent odor assaulted his nostrils. He peeked around the corner where corridor met chamber and saw the source. ‘So, that’s why it seemed familiar.’ He thought of the smell as he gazed upon the sleeping Mountain Troll in the middle of the room. Just as large and smelly as the one that had broken in on Halloween, it snored as it slept next to a massive club bigger than Harry’s body. ‘Don’t mind me, smelly, I’m just passing through.’ He thought to the slumbering Troll. The next door wasn’t even bespelled according to Harry’s Mage Sight spell. ‘Rather half-arsed, isn’t it?’ He shook his head and opened the door.

The Spellcrafter was immediately in another, much smaller, room. He took two steps towards a table with seven differently shaped bottles on it when purple flames flared up to block the door he’d entered from. Across the room, the only other door was blocked by black fire and Harry was immediately intrigued by both of the Magical flames. He turned to examine the purple fire and was intrigued to find that it would not only burn, but could also act as a physical wall.

“Fascinating…” Harry grinned after practically dissecting the spell. He had plenty of experience with Magical fire after all. He wasted no time in crossing the room and examining the black fire. “Oh…that’s less impressive.” He sighed when he discerned that the black fire was merely a cursed flame that couldn’t be extinguished until it had burned whatever it touched to ashes. Harry surmised that one of the bottles on the table was meant to extinguish the black flames or the purple flames. “Let’s see…” He picked up the parchment on the table and read it.

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onwards neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

“A logic puzzle?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at the parchment. “Not something I expected.” He set the parchment down and looked at the seven bottles. “This has Snape written all over it.” He mused as he thought about the riddle for a moment. “But let’s see if he’s as brilliant as he thinks himself to be.” Harry’s Mage Sight spell was activated again and he looked at the bottles. All of the bottles had a spell on them, except for three. Looking into it quickly revealed a Refilling Charm. A rather basic Charm that refilled a vessel from another source somewhere else.

“Going to go out on a limb and say the non-refilling ones are the poison.” A quick use of his own Identification spell revealed that he was correct. “Alright then, how about you?” He cast the spell on one of the four remaining bottles. “Not magical…so nettle wine.” The next bottle was magical, the third wasn’t, and the fourth and smallest of all the bottles was magical too. “Easy enough then,” Harry held up the two potions. “Small one, only enough for a single swallow is to move forward for a single person. The larger one lets up to three people head back.” He set the two potions back in their places.

‘But no need to alert anyone that I was here.’ Harry shook his head, knowing that the potions would refill and the change in amount would inform Snape, most likely, that someone had drank from the potions. He walked over to the cursed black fire and reached out with his Magic. Once again, he was able to manipulate the spell. He didn’t know this particular form of Magical fire, so he couldn’t risk removing the spell entirely. So instead, he simply moved where it would burn a few meters to the left.

“A magical mirror?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at what stood in the center of the final chamber. “All of this security was for a mirror?” He walked up to it cautiously, he’d been raised on stories, folk tales, and the like about the follies of Wizards and Witches messing with Magic they didn’t understand.

What he saw in the mirror was somewhat confusing. He saw himself, older, wearing what looked to be a comfortable robe and happily reading books while comparing notes with what looked to be an older Hermione and several other silhouetted people. The image shifted as he watched and revealed him in a more regal robe this time. He was weaving intricate spells and spells of great power for a moment before the image shifted to show him encountering a large dragon.

“Okay,” Harry shook himself from the images. “I get it…a reflection of desire, right?” He looked up at the mirror and noticed the writing on top. It didn’t take long to figure out it was mirrored writing. “I show not your face but your heart’s desire. Interesting Magic, to say the least.” Harry admitted of the mirror. His Occlumency hadn’t been breached at all, so this mirror operated on a different method to figure out the desires a person had and show them.

Another side glance at the magical mirror and Harry decided that he’d seen enough. He left the final chamber and closed the door behind him. He moved the cursed black fire back to in front of the door. A few moments to figure out the purple fire and Harry had the wall of Magical fire parted around the door for the next minute. It would return to its previous state once he closed the door and the spell stopped going off. He walked past the still snoring Troll, covering his nose the whole way. He almost forgot to cast his Flight spell before stepping into the pitch-black chess room. After removing the Flagrate Charm he’d used previously, he reset the spell on the door after closing it. He flew along the wall until he found the door on the opposite side of the chamber. The door to the flying key room opened from his side without issue, locking immediately once it was closed. A scattering of the bluebell flames saw the Devil’s Snare retreating so he could fly up the shaft and back into the Cerberus’ room. The massive dog was still dozing, so Harry silenced the trapdoor and closed it. Removing the Charm, the young Spellcaster left the room and cast the Colloportus Charm to lock it again.

‘Time for bed.’ Harry thought as he stifled a yawn and made his way back towards Ravenclaw Tower. The corridor was definitely dangerous, but he didn’t much see the point of protecting a magical mirror of all things. ‘But that’s another mystery down.’ He silently chuckled as his curiosity about the corridor was sated.

Now he could focus on other things to figure out. Maybe he’d give his fellow students a show come spring time? They did seem to enjoy his practice on the grounds the last time he’d done so.

‘Could be a good time to play a little prank too.’ Harry mused with a grin as he walked up the stairs to the next floor. Since he was still invisible, silent, and odorless, he passed through the halls unnoticed by all, even the portraits adorning the walls.

-End Chapter-

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Huh…Harry figured out something new after working out a better version of his prototype Mage Sight spell. Magic Manipulation is a handy thing to have! Oh, the things Harry could do with it once he figures it out more!

Harry is satisfied with the mystery of the third floor corridor. Perhaps he won’t be meeting a certain someone down there in June?

We’re rapidly approaching the end of First Year! Then comes summer and the Under 17 Dueling Circuit! Not to mention Harry’s Mastery Exams! Oh boy, he’s going to shake up the old Examiners, isn’t he?

What kind of show or prank will Harry give to his schoolmates come the spring time?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As First Year winds down, what will Harry do to amuse himself? Maybe give his peers another Magic Show? Could be a chance to also pull a little prank on everyone. Sirius will be so proud!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 9 – Show, Prank, Meeting

On the first warm Saturday of spring, Harry sat at the Ravenclaw table with Hermione for breakfast. The Spellcrafter was enjoying his food and thinking about how he’d spend his day. Hermione was already considering their end of year exams, but Harry kept dissuading her from worrying about them. They had until June before the exams. There was no need to stress out about them months beforehand; they could save that for May.

“Any plans today, Harry?” Michael Corner asked curiously. He and Harry were acquaintances at least, if not friends.

“Still thinking.” Harry shrugged after a sip of milk.

“We could head outside, since it’s finally warm again.” Terry Boot offered with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Better than staying cooped up in the castle all day.” Anthony Goldstein agreed with Terry.

“If Harry wants to put on another Magic Show, I’d go outside to watch.” Lisa Turpin laughed from beside Mandy Brocklehurst.

“The last one was amazing, Harry.” Mandy got in on the request with a grin.

“It’s not like I couldn’t do that, I guess.” Harry hummed while looking up at the ceiling of the Great Hall, as if in consideration. “The weather does look nice outside.” The sky shown by the Great Hall’s magical roof was clear and sunny.

“I’d watch too, Harry.” Hermione admitted with a smile.

“You’re my closest friend, Hermione, you have to regardless.” Harry chuckled and Hermione shook her head with a slight giggle.

“When would this hypothetical show start?” Padma Patil leaned forward to be able to see Harry from a little further down the table.

“Hmm, probably after breakfast, I guess.” Harry gave a half-shrug before returning to his food. Already the whispers were beginning at the Ravenclaw table. The blue and bronze table was abuzz with the news in only a moment or two. The whispers and murmurings swiftly spread to the rest of the Great Hall.

“It’s impressive that you can get an entire Magical School excited just by performing Magic, you know?” Hermione mentioned as she noticed many students finishing their breakfasts and heading for the doors of the Great Hall. The words ‘magic show’ were heard more than once.

“Then I guess I’ll have to live up to expectations.” Harry chortled as he came up with a prank to pull on the entire student body. “I guess I’ll take my time with my drink, let everyone get outside first.”

“How considerate.” Hermione laughed beside him as she finished up her own breakfast.

If anyone were to look up at the Head Table, they might have spotted a few Professors finishing up their meals too. While most of them hid it well, Flitwick didn’t bother and happily followed after the students heading outside. Professor Vector went a different way, but her destination was merely to get a good vantage point to watch from. Professor Babbling was the next to leave, taking a different route, but having much the same idea as Professor Vector. Dumbledore stood and walked at a sedate pace the same direction that Flitwick had gone, a smile beneath his long white beard.

-Hogwarts Grounds-

“Quite the turnout.” Harry noticed as he walked away from the edge of the crowd. Hermione had stopped nearby Professor Flitwick as everyone seemed to want to give Harry as much room as possible, without being too far away. He stretched a little as he finalized his little prank in his head. He should remember to thank Aunt Andromeda for reading him some poetry books as he’d grown up. It would help him pull off his ruse. He couldn’t wait to see how many fell for it over the next day or so.

“Hurry up, Potter!” Draco Malfoy called out from the area where most of the Slytherin students were standing.

“Don’t rush him, Malfoy!” One of the Weasley Twins shot back instantly. Harry didn’t really care to guess which one.

Harry raised his right hand into the air above his head, palm facing the sky, and actually began an incantation, much to the surprise of most of the onlookers. “My name is love, precious child of light. I offer my body to my sun. My name is sin, jealousy of wind. I call a gust of wind to my body. Released ring of fire…come, wind of the west!” Above Harry’s palm wind began to swirl around. Faster and faster the air spun until it glowed a bright yellow as it heated up to incredible temperatures.

“He actually used an incantation?!” Hermione nearly gaped, having never seen Harry do such a thing before.

“That was more of a chant than an incantation.” Flitwick looked on at the spell that Harry had conjured.

All throughout the crowd of onlookers, various exclamations could be heard. The ones that made Harry smile were those that were clearly repeating the chant he’d used. He even saw a few people scribbling it down onto spare pieces of parchment they had on them. A quick transfiguration of the soil and multiple t-posts of compacted dirt rose from the ground. With a grin Harry threw the burning disk of wind at the closest one.

“Whoa…” Was the chorus of the crowd as the spell sliced cleanly through the first post. Harry seemed to be in perfect control of the spinning ring of superheated wind as it swerved through the air to slice into another post. The spell never slowed down, even as it sliced through every t-post that Harry had raised. The yellow disc hovered in the center of the posts before Harry ended the first demonstration with a literal bang. The disc of super-hot wind exploded in a large fireball.

“I think we’ll have to caution Mr. Potter about using that spell against others.” Dumbledore looked over to Flitwick with a knowing gaze. The Charms Professor agreed with a nod, even as the students watching on cheered.

“Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezing land. Blizzard, the three severe winters.” Harry’s words traveled to the crowd, seemingly without him doing anything. Before all of their eyes a blizzard whipped up out of nowhere and was sent howling across the grounds of the school in a straight line away from them. When the spell ended, everything in its wide path was frozen over. The grass was like icicles and even the air was thick with frost and mist.

“That’s…that’s insane…” Someone muttered, but no one could tear their eyes away from the sight to determine who had spoken.

‘Surely, Harry can’t keep casting such powerful spells?’ Dumbledore thought to himself as he watched the eleven-year-old boy perform feats of Magic that most Hogwarts graduates would be incapable of. ‘He must be close to his limit after those two spells alone.’

Harry was quick to prove him wrong as he began chanting again. “The flame will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson flames, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweep completely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Surtr.” Glowing red lines spread out from Harry’s position, crisscrossing each other as they grew longer. They could be seen glowing beneath the frozen ground from the previous spell.

“My word!” Flitwick exclaimed in shock, while multiple students screamed or yelled in a mixture of shock, fright, and excitement.

The ground erupted into powerful flames that twisted into towering infernos. The heat was such that everyone could feel it, even one-hundred meters away. The tornadoes of fire melted and evaporated the ice in mere seconds. Harry kept it up for a bit longer before letting the flames fade and disappear in the wind. The area was scorched black and smoke rose up from the blackened ground left behind by the fire spell.

“I don’t think Harry can cast again after three spells in a row like that.” Dumbledore mentioned and Flitwick looked like he agreed.

“Still, what an amazing spectacle, especially from a First Year student!” Flitwick was practically bouncing in place from the show of Magic.

“I…I don’t think Harry’s done yet.” Hermione pointed out from beside Flitwick. All eyes that had left the young Spellcaster’s position quickly refocused on him.

“In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire. Give the mercy of light to the one that abandoned you. Come, the wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy.” Harry chanted before spreading his arms wide. A gale kicked up, wind tinted a bright green, and rose high into the air. Among the wind small spots of light shone, even in the sunlight. The green wind spread out and the little lights grew brighter in the air before exploding like fireworks.

“Awesome!” Was the call of many students as the spell seemed to simulate a firework show for all of them to enjoy.

‘This one may seem less dangerous…but that’s only because Harry sent it high into the air.’ Dumbledore noticed of the spell that was still going off overhead. ‘Each of those lights explodes with force comparable to a Bombarda spell. It’s a spell that could easily deal with a great number of enemies at once.’ The Headmaster could only wonder as to why Harry had created such powerful, dangerous spells that were clearly meant for magical combat. ‘Perhaps I should have a talk with him?’

Harry turned to his onlookers with a bright grin, which became a smile as he saw a few more people had taken out parchment to write down his chants. When he was sure that all of their attention was focused on him again, he began to speak. “Now, just so you all don’t think I’m just a destructive crazy person.” He chuckled and several of the upper years laughed along with him. “I have another spell to share with all of you.”

“Wait, Mr. Potter, are you planning to cast this spell on all of us?” Flitwick stepped forward to intervene.

“Yes, Professor, it’s not harmful, in fact, it’s a very beneficial spell that will help perk everyone up for a bit, like a Pepper-Up Potion, but in spell form.” Harry explained with a smile. “Anyone that doesn’t want to be cast on, please move over here.” Harry marked where ‘here’ was by a Barrier forming a large square in the air over a section of the grass.

“Mr. Potter, do be aware that if this is some kind of prank, there will be punishment waiting for you.” Flitwick gave the Spellcrafter a sharp look, one he’d perfected over his years teaching many unruly students.

“It’s not a prank, sir.” Harry assured his Head of House. Secretly he snickered that the prank portion had already gone off without a hitch. He waited for the students that didn’t want to have a spell cast on them to move under the protection of the Barrier, noting that it was about an even half-and-half split of the onlookers.

“I believe we’re all ready, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick gave him the greenlight, noticeably in the group that was willing to have the spell cast on them.

Harry’s voice took on a strange tone as it traveled farther than it should have at the volume he was speaking. It was almost ethereal, for lack of a better word. “Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. Grow.” Above Harry dozens and dozens of golden rays of light spun around each other, forming a brilliant golden ring in the air. With a motion of his hands, the glowing ring widened and fell over the group of onlookers that had agreed to have the spell cast on them. A second later and the ring disappeared as all of them faintly glowed with the same golden light.

“My word…” Dumbledore looked over his glowing form. It felt like the weight of his age had been greatly lessened. He hadn’t felt this energetic in a good long while. It was much more than a Pepper-Up Potion that Harry had compared it to.

“Harry…” Hermione breathed out as she felt so energized. It was such a rush that she felt like she could do anything she set her mind to right now.

“Amazing.” Neville blinked as he looked at his hands.

“You feel that, George?” Fred asked his twin, not even bothering with their usual guessing game.

“Yeah…it’s brilliant.” George replied with a wide smile.

“Who knew Harry could do this?” Michael Corner looked at his glowing housemates with wide eyes.

“Not me.” Terry shook his head slowly, still immersed in the feeling.

“What in the world did Potter do to them?” Draco wondered from beneath the Barrier with most of the Slytherins and a few other students from the other three Houses.

“If you’d like, feel free to cast a spell or two.” Harry called over to the glowing group. “I’m sure you’ll find that you can put a bit more power behind them now.”

“Don’t mind if we do!” Fred and George announced simultaneously as they drew their wands. “Vermillious!” From the tips of the twins’ wands a brilliant stream of red sparks was released like fireworks. Both of the Third Years seemed stunned by how many sparks were being produced and the height they were reaching into the air.

From there, dozens of the glowing students began to cast some spells. Flowers appeared across the grass, conjured birds filled the air, waves of sparks, water spraying wildly, even ripples in the air as waves of Magic passed through it from various other spells. The glow faded from the students after two or three spells. Dumbledore and Flitwick hadn’t cast anything themselves, but the glow faded from both men about a minute later.

“To answer your question, Malfoy.” An upper year Hufflepuff looked at the First Year. “I believe he temporarily strengthened their Magic.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?” An older Slytherin asked with narrowed eyes. “You can’t strengthen someone or yourself beyond what your body can take.”

“Maybe he didn’t strengthen them…what if he just let them borrow some of his Magic?” A curious-looking Hufflepuff girl questioned aloud.

“That’s absurd…Potter already cast all those powerful spells; how could he have enough Magic left to share with all of them to make their spells stronger?” A different Slytherin denied the idea outright. It just seemed impossible.

“When has Harry Potter ever been normal?” The Hufflepuff shot right back. No one could answer that question and the topic was dropped.

“I think that will conclude today’s show.” Harry informed everyone as he began to walk off. “Study hard, everyone.” He waved and nearly snickered when he heard a few people mentioning that they’d practice the spells Harry had shown them. Hermione was quick to start walking after him with a smile and a few questions in mind.

-Dumbledore’s Office ~ Later-

“Greetings, Mr. Potter, I trust you’re well?” Dumbledore welcomed Harry into his office with a smile. “Would you care for a lemon drop?” He moved the bowl of candies towards Harry.

“Sure.” Harry shrugged and picked one out of the small bowl. A subtle use of his personal Identification Spell let him know that the only ingredients in the candy were sugar, food coloring, and some part of a lemon (probably whatever had been extracted from it to give the candy its flavor). He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth before sitting down. He briefly noticed that the phoenix wasn’t on its perch right now, which was a little disappointing.

“I wished to speak with you about the spells you demonstrated today, Harry.” Dumbledore decided to start from his concern. “They were all marvelous feats of Magic, to be sure, but I couldn’t help but notice they were almost all offensive spells meant to be used against opponents in magical combat.”

“Yes sir,” Harry nodded in agreement. “I worked out the effects over time as I continuously explore the intricacies of Magic.”

“May I ask why you created such powerful spells?” Dumbledore wouldn’t demand anything of the prodigious Spellcrafter, lest he get on the eleven-year-old’s bad side. Children could be easily angered and many held grudges for quite a long time. He’d learned that in his decades as a Professor.

“Because they’re cool.” Harry shrugged and went with his initial reason for crafting the spells he’d shown today. He didn’t know if he’d ever need them in a real life or death scenario, but it never hurt to be prepared.

‘Right…eleven-year-old…I should have suspected as much.’ Dumbledore nearly chuckled as the thought passed his mind. “I would like to caution you that such spells won’t be of much help on the Dueling Circuit. Formal Duels are not the same as true combat between Wizards.”

“Ah, you remembered.” Harry noted of the Headmaster recalling his interest in Dueling.

“I do try, when I can.” Dumbledore nodded with a genial smile. “I am a bit worried that you may have taught several students how to cast those spells of yours though, if I’m being honest.” He let his worry show on his face to the young Spellcrafter.

“Heh…” Harry hid his snickering behind his hand, prompting Dumbledore to look at the boy curiously. “I hope you won’t ruin my little prank, Headmaster.”

“Prank?” Dumbledore looked momentarily befuddled.

“Yes,” Harry chuckled for a moment. “I’m hoping to see others practicing those spells.”

“That’s rather dangerous for a prank, don’t you think?” Dumbledore leaned forward a bit while looking at Harry expectantly.

“Not at all,” Harry shook his head with mirth. “After all, the incantations or chants are all complete bunk.”

“Bunk?” Dumbledore looked at Harry curiously. “How do you mean?”

“They’re fake, I made them up, they don’t do anything.” Harry clarified with a laugh. “Some of them were taken from poems that Aunt Andromeda read to me growing up. I threw in a mythological figure for the fire spell in Surtr. The rest was just kind of strung together to sound vaguely magical.” He explained with a grin.

“So, you wanted to make your peers think they could learn such spells by copying your chant, just so you could get a chuckle?” Dumbledore let out a quiet sigh when Harry nodded. As the Headmaster, he really should’ve seen this coming. Harry had been raised by Sirius Black, after all; one of the most notorious pranksters that Hogwarts had seen in the last fifty years.

“I’m looking forward to hearing them reciting my poem-based chants for a bit before they give up.” Harry admitted with a playful grin. “It’ll be amusing for a while, to say the least.”

“Ha…” Dumbledore could at least take solace that it wasn’t a harmful prank. It might even teach some of the students the difference between actual spell incantations and fake spells. There were several of such that had been passed around as jokes since even he was a boy. “Very well, moving on to my next question that I had for you, Mr. Potter.”

“Yes, Headmaster?” Harry had stifled his chuckles and looked at the old man.

“That last spell that you used, it was a wonderful piece of Magic, but it seemed to do something long thought impossible.” Dumbledore praised the boy before getting to the actual question. “Did you somehow find a way to strengthen others beyond their normal capabilities?”

“Hmm, unfortunately not.” Harry shook his head. “Trust me, I’m looking into it, but so far I haven’t figured it out.” He shrugged at the lack of progress on that front. “All that particular spell does is basically toss you some of my Magic to use as you will until it runs out. It’s not so much strengthening someone as it is giving them more energy to burn on their spells.”

“Ah, I see,” Dumbledore briefly stroked his long white beard. “Still, it is a fascinating spell, Mr. Potter, you should be proud of it.”

“It’s not bad, but not quite what I’m aiming for.” Harry accepted the praise, but his desire to achieve spells that others had labeled as ‘impossible’ for centuries was blatantly obvious.

“I’m sure you’ll astound us all even further in the future, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy. “As all of my concerns have been put to rest, you are free to go and enjoy the rest of your weekend.”

“Thank you, sir.” Harry stood up and gave a nod to Dumbledore before leaving the office.

-Quirrel’s Chambers-

“M-Master…I feel it may be best not to antagonize the boy.” Quirrel only stuttered over the first part of his sentence. Playing the stuttering fool was necessary to try and steal the Stone, but it was actually starting to become a habit after so long.

“You fool…” The disembodied voice hissed and Quirrel’s head jerked to the side as if he’d been struck. “Your only concern is getting the Stone. Once I have it and restore myself, I will not cower before any mere child.” Quirrel tried to huddle in on himself as his body spasmed in tremors of pain.

In the privacy of his own mind, Voldemort did worry slightly. Even he, the greatest Wizard to ever live, couldn’t do the things that he’d seen the Potter boy do today at the same age. His own talent with Magic had seen him far beyond his peers from his very first year at Hogwarts. It had been what led to his rise to power when he saw how stagnant and uninterested the majority of Wizards and Witches were about Magic. Harry Potter truly had to be his destined foe, the one that the partial prophecy Severus had delivered spoke of. Only someone capable of such great feats could possibly be claimed as a rival to Lord Voldemort.

‘Once I get the Stone, the first thing I’ll do is kill the boy.’ Voldemort decided as Quirrel went to sleep for the night. It would be better to be rid of the boy now, rather than deal with what he might grow up to be later. He didn’t need another Dumbledore on his hands, preventing him from assuming his rightful place atop the entire Magical World. ‘Soon enough, Harry Potter. I’ll deal with you properly this time around.’

-Next Weekend-

Harry nearly snorted as he once more passed by one of the many unused classrooms in Hogwarts only to hear someone reciting one of his chants. So many had fallen for his prank and he nearly cracked up every time he heard it. He was a bit surprised though, most people had given up after the first three days. He decided to peek inside the room to see who it was, it sounded like a girl.

“Bloody hell…” The girl in question had long raven-black hair and slightly pale skin. She looked about Harry’s age, maybe a little older, so she had to be a first year. “What am I doing wrong?” She muttered to herself and looked at her wand in obvious frustration.

“I can answer that.” Harry offered as he pushed open the door. The crackling orange spell coming at him was unexpected, to be sure. A translucent Barrier appeared between Harry and the incoming spell, stopping it cold. “Well…that wasn’t very nice.”

“You startled me!” The girl shot back with her hand over her heart.

“I’m surprised that you can cast silently as a First Year.” Harry mentioned her spell being done without words or wand motion. “That’s pretty impressive.”

“What do you want, Potter?” The girl, a Slytherin judging by her robes and tie, questioned with her wand still in hand.

“You wanted to know what you were doing wrong, didn’t you?” Harry answered her question with a rhetorical one.

“I suppose you’d be the only one that could actually tell me.” The ravenette sighed, her cool blue eyes staring into Harry’s green.

“Could I have your name?” Harry requested of the girl with a polite smile. “I’m afraid I’m not the best with names for people that I’ve probably only seen in class and never spoken to.”

“Daphne Greengrass, a pleasure.” Daphne introduced herself with some of the formality she’d learned growing up in a Pureblood House.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Greengrass, I’m Harry Potter.” Harry completed the formality of introductions even though everyone knew who he was since that night back in Eighty One.

“So, what am I doing wrong?” Daphne questioned the Spellcrafter. “I’ve memorized the chant incantation you used. You didn’t use any motions, but I’m using my wand since I don’t know Wandless Magic.”

“What you’re doing wrong is using a fake incantation.” Harry answered simply, a small grin on his lips.

“Beg your pardon?” Daphne’s eyes narrowed at Harry.

“Yeah, I made those incantation chants up from some poems and just stringing some sentences together that sounded magical enough. It was a little prank and I’ve been getting a chuckle out of it for the last few days.” Harry informed her with the same grin on his face. “I don’t need wand or word to use Magic.” He shook his head. “Technically no one does…but…” He was cut off as the crackling orange spell came at him again only to be blocked by another Barrier. “Can you not do that?”

“Shut up, Potter.” Daphne bit out coldly. “Stop blocking the door, I’m leaving.”

“Sure,” Harry shrugged as his Barrier vanished and he stepped aside. “Still neat that you can cast whatever that spell is with just a point of your wand. You must’ve practiced it for a long time.”

“We can’t all be blessed by Magic, like you.” Daphne glared at him as she moved towards the open door to the old classroom.

“Who said anything about being blessed by Magic?” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “I just understand it well and read a lot of books growing up.”

“I’m sure.” Daphne’s face was a cold mask as she looked over her shoulder at him. “Next you’ll tell me that if I just apply myself more, that I can use Wandless Magic too.”

“I mean…” Harry shrugged. “That’s not entirely wrong, sort of.”

“What do you mean?” Daphne stopped at the doorway and turned sideways to look at the Spellcrafter.

“Anyone can learn Wandless Magic, it’s not like it’s some impossible thing.” Harry restated for the girl. “I just have reasons that I don’t teach others.”

“I can imagine.” Daphne fully turned to face him now. “Can I ask what those reasons are?”

“Sure,” Harry didn’t mind explaining. He’d explained it to Hermione after the first time she’d asked him to teach her. “One, to teach anyone I’d have to know them well. Two, I’d have to trust said person. Three, they can’t treat Magic like it’s something boring and just there, like most Wizards and Witches do. Four, they have to ask the right question.”

“What question?” Daphne focused in on the one stipulation that she could possibly meet right now.

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be the right question anymore.” Harry shook his head with a grin.

“That’s annoying.” Daphne’s eyes narrowed a bit.

“Yeah, Hermione says the same thing.” Harry chuckled lightly. “So does Nym, but she’s puzzled out a few simple spells wandlessly on her own. I’ve only helped her with some vague advice so far. I’m sure she’ll ask the right question one of these days.”

Daphne had no idea who ‘Nym’ was, but if Harry was to be believed, then it was possible for her to advance her understanding of Magic to what she desired. “Potter…can I ask you something?”

“You just did, but sure.” Harry’s grin reappeared when he noticed Daphne’s cold façade crack a bit as her eye twitched.

“If I can prove that I’m serious about Magic; can you teach me how to break a curse that’s considered unbreakable?” Daphne looked straight into his eyes and Harry was able to see past the cool gaze to the unfamiliar emotions beneath.

“Perhaps, it would depend on the curse in question though.” Harry answered without a smile or grin. “If it’s unbreakable, then it must be a lingering curse of some kind, yes?”

“It is…but I can’t tell you much, it’s a secret that we don’t tell outsiders.” Daphne shook her head and Harry noticed her fists clenched at her sides. “It shouldn’t be an issue for years yet, but I want to break this curse as soon as possible.”

“I see,” Harry sat down and folded up his legs while holding his chin with his right hand. The fact that he had just casually sat down on the air nearly made Daphne’s eyes bug out. “Hmm, well, worst case scenario, if you give me a hint, then I can look into it as one of my many ongoing projects. I love Magic. It’s always a joy to explore a new facet of it and uncover new things.”

“Potter…this is some of the Darkest Magic you can imagine.” Daphne looked at him like he was crazy.

“And?” Harry blinked at her confused. “You can learn Magic and never use it. I plan to explore as many Branches of Magic as I can throughout my life. Light, Dark, Gray, undefined, whatever, it’s all Magic and I’ll look into everything to learn more. Will I use all of it? No, probably not. But that doesn’t mean there’s any harm in learning it.”

“You know, there are some people that would label you a Dark Lord for talking like that.” Daphne mentioned with a slow shake of her head.

“Yeah, but those kinds of people are part of the reason why a lot of Witches and Wizards are barely interested in Magic.” Harry sighed at the most annoying truth in his life. “People see what I can do, and like you, they assume I’m blessed by Magic or something, instead of trying to learn more themselves.” Daphne’s eyes did widen at his words this time. “Do I understand Magic easier than most? Yeah, I’ve been told that and experienced it most of my life. Is it a subject that only I can learn? Absolutely not.” Harry shook his head before looking at Daphne again. “Anyone can learn if they put in the time and effort.”

“I see…” Daphne looked down for a moment, mulling things over in her mind. “I can’t tell you exactly, but I can ask you a question.” She looked like she considered her workaround sound enough. “Have you ever come across the term ‘malediction’ in your reading?”

“Can’t say that I have, but Sirius was very serious about keeping any book that mentioned Dark Magic away from me as I grew up.” Harry tried to ease the mood with a dumb pun.

“Hah…” Daphne actually sighed at the dumb wordplay before looking at him again. “Look it up if you have the chance, I’m sure you’ll figure it out from there.”

“I’ll put it on the list.” Harry agreed with a small smile. “I can’t guarantee anything though, sorry.”

“It’s fine, if it increases the chance of breaking the curse by even a little, then that’s enough for me.” Daphne gave him a short bow. “Thank you, for whatever help you may be able to offer, Potter.”

“No problem,” Harry waved off. “I have something new to look into, and I’m already getting curious.”

“One last thing.” Daphne stopped before she took a step out of the room. “How would I go about proving that I’m serious about Magic?”

“Learn.” Harry answered simply. “Hermione and I wouldn’t mind a new study buddy.” He canceled his Float spell and dropped to his feet.

“Flagrante.” Daphne spoke after a moment.

“Huh?” Harry tilted his head at the word.

“The spell I launched at you, it’s the Flagrante Curse.” Daphne informed the Spellcrafter. “It makes objects cause burns to whoever touches them.”

“If it only works on objects, why would you cast it at a person…oh…I get it.” Harry realized why very quickly. “Clothes count as objects; you’d basically be setting someone on fire without setting them on fire. That’s almost evil, Miss Greengrass.”

“Slytherin…we’re all evil, Potter. Didn’t you know?” Daphne rolled her blue eyes at the reputation the Slytherin House had.

“I’ll try and remember, Greengrass.” Harry chuckled as he watched her leave.

“We might be seeing each other soon, Potter.” Daphne mentioned from the corridor. “You’re still a prat for that prank though.” A swish of her wand and the door slammed closed before locking itself.

“I might have deserved that…maybe.” Harry chuckled at Daphne’s ‘revenge’ on him for his prank. “Now…” The door unlocked and opened for him without Harry touching it. “I’ve got something new to look up.” He grinned as he headed for the library. Hermione would probably be there too, so he’d let her know that they might be getting a new study buddy soon.

-End Chapter-

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Well now, someone wants to learn more about Magic other than Hermione. How interesting.

She gave Harry something new to look up too. Perhaps his intuitive understanding will help out with breaking the unbreakable?

Fans of a certain Light Novel/Manga/Anime Series might recognize those chants. I thought they’d be fun to use!

The end of First Year is closing in! What will Quirrel and Voldemort do?

Will it affect Harry’s plans to enter the Under 17 Dueling Circuit and take a Mastery Exam this summer?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The end of the year is at hand. Harry and Hermione may just have a new friend too. Will Harry and Voldemort even meet?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 10 – End of the Year

In the dark of night, a silent and invisible figure moved through Hogwarts Castle. Through the corridors, down the stairs, and eventually into the immense library. With no one the wiser, the person moved to the Restricted Section. Stopping at the gate that separated the rest of the library from the smaller section, the silent and invisible person examined the metal closely with slightly glowing eyes.

‘Hmm, no Alarm Charms, that’s an Unbreakable Charm, and…that’s it?’ Harry wanted to gape at the lack of security for the Restricted Section. ‘There’s not even a Colloportus Charm on the gate!’ He reached out and slid the latch to the side, letting the gate swing inward slightly. ‘All of the most Advanced and Dark Magics in the library…yet they can’t be arsed to even lock the gate?’ He cast his Detect spell and nearly facepalmed when it showed him no charms, jinxes, or hexes on the floor or shelves just beyond the gate either. The stunning lack of protection was just too much for the young Spellcrafter. He just shook his head and made sure to quietly close the gate behind him.

Harry moved through the rows of shelves, looking for any book title that had the word ‘malediction’ in it. Barring that, he made note of some tomes that had the word ‘Darkest’ in their titles as potential resources to check for information. Daphne had given him a term to look up and the ever-curious Harry wouldn’t let a chance to learn pass him by. Dark, Light, Gray…what silly distinctions, it was all Magic. Horrible acts could certainly be committed, but Magic had no allegiance to any moral code. It was merely a fundamental force of existence, albeit one that operated on seemingly random and arbitrary rules. All of which could be bent, if one knew how.

‘Let’s start with this one.’ Harry thought as he looked at a large, thick tome on the shelf. A quick cast of Detect revealed the Magic that was incorporated into the book. ‘A book that screams when you open it? Why?’ He shook his head, cast a Silencing Charm on the book and then pulled it from the shelf. Opening it up activated the Magic, but it had already been silenced, so not a sound was heard as Harry began to flip through the old tome.

-Hours Later-

‘Maybe this one?’ Harry sighed as he placed his current book back on the shelf and moved on to the next one that he’d made a mental note of earlier. ‘If a book entitled ‘Generations of Revenge’ doesn’t have any information, then I’m going to have to broaden my search more than I thought.’ He cast Detect and found no interwoven spells on the book. Opening it up, he began to flip through the old, worn pages to try and find the term he was looking for. ‘A Curse of Withering Fertility…Curse of Malformation…A Curse that makes it harder for successive generations to form emotional attachments…that’s one way to drag out the death of a bloodline, I suppose.’ Harry was about halfway through the old book when he finally spotted the word ‘malediction’ at the top of a page. ‘Finally.’ He quickly began to read up on just what this type of lingering curse was.

Malediction is the laying of a Curse upon someone or something through words. This type of curse can have long-lasting effects, depending on how the caster phrases the spell when they place it. As no wand or focus of any kind is necessary, most common forms of removal are ineffective. Most malediction curses are meant to bring harm or misfortune to the cursed object or person. To lay a malediction upon an object will see it pass on the effect of the curse to whoever holds it. While most maledictions upon items are broken upon the item’s destruction, to cast a malediction on a person may not end it upon their death.

‘Here we go.’ Harry knew he was getting to the part that he needed now. Daphne’s words alone had clued him in on the fact that someone in her family, or perhaps her family itself, had a malediction laid upon them.

Blood Malediction is to lay a powerful curse upon another person’s very bloodline. Any child born from the cursed individual will carry the malediction within them from birth. The effect of the malediction is created and set by the caster and can be anything from slowly weakening the successive generations’ Magic, to outright killing every child born after a certain number of generations. Once a Blood Malediction has taken hold in a bloodline, by a child being born with the malediction, it is impossible to remove. It is a part of the very blood and Magic of all the people of that bloodline. However, Blood Malediction loses potency when spread too thinly. To ensure it lasts with its full power, specifying a specific Family Line is helpful. So long as that bloodline exists the malediction will continue to be passed down. If a person of the specific family marries into a different family and takes their name, the malediction can lay dormant in any child they birth. If in successive generations a dormant Blood Malediction rejoins the original Family Line, it will reactivate and curse the children born from the union. At least one child of said union will suffer twice the effects of the original malediction should this situation occur.

‘That is some very morally-deficient Magic.’ Harry was fairly certain he’d discovered what Daphne had been unable to tell him directly. The Greengrass Family had a Blood Malediction upon them and she was probably in danger of being cursed twice over with whatever the effect of the malediction was. ‘Now…let’s learn everything about this type of curse.’ The Spellcrafter grinned as he began to read the rest of the section on malediction. This was new information on a type of Magic that he’d never had access to before. He’d make sure to visit the Restricted Section more often while he was here at Hogwarts.

-Saturday, May 2^nd ~ Ravenclaw Common Room-

“Harry…what are you doing?” Hermione looked up at the floating Harry with a sigh. These were the things he got up to when she went to the library by herself.

“Thinking.” Harry replied, uncaring of the multitudes of eyes focused on him.

“Can I ask what you’re thinking about?” Hermione sat in one of the armchairs near where Harry was currently floating lazily through the air.

“You can.” Harry grinned down at his brunette friend.

Hermione made sure that he could see when she rolled her eyes at him. “What are you thinking about, Harry?”

“Curse Breaking.” Harry answered with a chuckle.

“The career?” Hermione had of course already looked into various careers in the Magical World. How could she plan her future if she didn’t know what careers were available to a Hogwarts graduate?

“No, not that.” Harry shook his head before lightly pushing off the nearby wall. “Even though that might be interesting to dabble in later.”

“Dabble in, right.” Hermione grinned up at him. “What curse are you trying to break?”

“A long-lasting one.” Harry was vague, but that information did vastly narrow down the list of applicable curses.

“Isn’t the standard procedure for cursed items to destroy them?” Hermione questioned her floating friend.

“It is.” Padma Patil spoke up, looking away from her essay to nod to Hermione.

“Ah, but I can’t destroy this, that’s why I have to break the curse instead.” Harry informed as he performed a slow roll in midair.

“Aren’t most counter-curses just applying the opposite effect to cancel out the curse itself?” Anthony Goldstein asked aloud, having been following the conversation for a bit.

“Yes, but I don’t know the full effects of the curse I’m trying to break.” Harry lazily waved and pushed off the incoming wall, sending himself floating in the opposite direction.

“If you don’t know the full effects, then you’re better off not messing with the curse, Harry.” Penelope Clearwater, the fifth year Prefect, mentioned as she pointed her wand at the floating boy and gently guided him to the floor. “Stop floating around just because you’re bored. You could hit someone.”

“Yes, Mama Penny.” Harry had an unrepentant grin on his face as he used the nickname that the Prefect had been given by her housemates.

“Ugh…I swear, I’m gonna find out who started that nickname.” Penny grumbled as she purposefully messed up Harry’s naturally messy hair until it looked wild and untamed.

“If you don’t know the full effects of a curse, shouldn’t you ask someone that does know?” Lisa Turpin cocked her head slightly from her place on the large couch next to Mandy Brocklehurst.

“That’s probably the easiest way.” Harry admitted with a shrug. He headed for the door to the common room with a wave over his shoulder.

“You need any help, Harry?” Terry Boot questioned as Harry walked past him.

“Thank you, Terry, but no, I just need to talk to someone.” Harry gave the other boy a nod of appreciation just before he exited and the door closed behind him.

“Can never figure that guy out.” Michael Corner shook his head.

“Ask Hermione.” Mandy pointed at the bushy-haired girl.

“Don’t look at me.” Hermione denied with a giggle. “Best friends we may be, but even I don’t know how Harry’s mind works.”

Out in the corridor, Harry walked at a normal pace, seemingly with a destination in mind. “Find, Daphne Greengrass.” He whispered under his breath and a grin appeared on his face a second later. To his perception, a small ball of soft light was floating in front of him. No one else would be able to see it, but Harry followed it as it led him through the castle. His own version of a Locator Charm far outstripped the various other spells meant to find or locate people, places, or things. He wasn’t biased or anything, of course.

-Dungeons ~ Outside the Slytherin Common Room-

“So, this is where the Slytherin House stays.” Harry remarked, looking around the dungeon corridor. The blank wall was unassuming and most people would probably walk right past it. “Probably sealed with a password.” He thought as he activated his Mage Sight to look at the Magic at work. ‘Interesting…protections upon protections. Definitely a password to open it…normally.’ The young Spellcrafter grinned as he reached out with his Magic to perform Magic Manipulation. ‘So, if the password is already set, then I should just need to blank this section and give it a new password.’ He removed the part of the protection that had a vocal component. Seeing the Charm was unfinished now, Harry pondered on what to replace it with. “Open Sesame.” Harry snickered as the new password was accepted. He’d have to tell Sirius and Uncle Ted about this one, he was sure they’d both get a kick out of it.

The blank wall became a short corridor, from which various voices could be heard. Harry walked through with an easy smile and emerged into a large common room filled with black leather couches and armchairs. There was a large fireplace with a long mantle across it and multiple windows that looked out into the waters of the Black Lake. Harry was able to count to five in his head before anyone noticed him standing at the entrance.

“Potter?!” One of the older Slytherins, Pucey if Harry remembered correctly, shouted and scrambled to stand up from his chair. At the older teen’s shout, all other sounds in the Slytherin common room stopped. Every single student had whipped around to stare at the Ravenclaw in their midst.

“Afternoon, all.” Harry waved to the Slytherins without a care. “Would Miss Greengrass be available for a quick chat?”

“Potter!” Pucey had taken a few steps forward. “How did you get in here?”

“I said the password.” Harry replied simply.

“Who gave you the password?” An older Slytherin, Warrington if Cho Chang and the other Ravenclaw Quidditch Team member’s complaints were to be believed, demanded of the first year.

“I did.” Harry’s second answer was as plain and simple as the first.

“Why are you in the Slytherin common room, Potter?” Daphne was pinching the bridge of her nose even as she stood up from the couch where she’d been chatting with Tracy Davis and Pansy Parkinson.

“Ah, Daphne, nice to see you again.” Harry smiled at the ravenette.

“Answer the question.” Daphne looked him directly in the eye as she approached.

“Well, I wasn’t sure anyone would hear me if I knocked on the wall, you see.” Harry was fighting to not grin, but the corners of his lips turned upwards a little.

“Uh huh…” Daphne clearly didn’t believe him. “So, how did you get the password?”

“I just told everyone. I gave it to myself.” Harry was having far too much fun with this.

“You’re not gonna answer clearly, are you?” Daphne’s flat tone broke Harry’s control and he grinned at her.

“I didn’t know the password, so I changed it.” Harry answered honestly.

“Only Snape or Dumbledore can change the password, Potter.” Draco spoke up from the couch he was standing in front of. Harry wasn’t sure why the blonde felt he needed to stand up like he was about to confront him.

“Normally, you’d probably be right.” Harry shrugged without a care. “So, Miss Greengrass, about that chat?”

“What do you want to talk about?” Daphne wasn’t going to just leave with Harry Potter of all people. The fact that he’d broken into the Slytherin Common Room to try and speak with her was already going to be making its way into the Hogwarts Rumor Mill at lightning speed.

“I’d like to ask a few random questions about the topic you brought up the last time our paths crossed.” Harry answered promptly and saw the slight widening of Daphne’s blue eyes.

“Fine.” Daphne practically shooed him down the short corridor out of the common room. “Tell them the new password before you leave.”

“Ah, right, my bad.” Harry chuckled before calling over his shoulder. “The new password is ‘Open Sesame’ in case you need it.” A few moments later and the duo were walking down the main corridor to find an out of the way place to have their discussion.

“What was that about?”

“He couldn’t have actually changed the password, could he?”

“Why did Potter want to speak with Greengrass?”

Multiple questions continued to spill forth, Tracy and Pansy were already having their own conversation.

“You think Potter likes Daphne?” Pansy cocked an eyebrow.

“Maybe?” Tracy looked thoughtful for a moment. “I didn’t even know they’d ever met before though.” As Daphne’s closest friend, she would know if they’d met outside of class, right?

-Harry and Daphne-

“Why’re we leaving the Dungeons?” Daphne questioned after they’d walked up the stairs and onto the ground floor.

“To escape any pursuers, of course.” Harry snickered and Daphne couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the boy.

“So, where are we going?” Daphne questioned lightly. She wasn’t expecting Harry to open the door to a broom cupboard and motion her inside. “You can’t be serious.”

“Sirius is my dad.” Harry’s grin was almost ear-to-ear at getting to crack one of the often heard jokes in his home.

“I’m not getting into a broom cupboard with you, Potter.” Daphne stated firmly. “Who knows what rumors are going to spread from you breaking into the Slytherin common room to see me. Now you want me to go into a broom cupboard with you? You do know what that looks like, right? Are you even mature enough to understand the implications?” The Slytherin girl looked at him while crossing her arms.

“In order?” Harry raised an eyebrow at Daphne. “Yes. Yes. Yes. Now in you go.” He pulled on her robes with a Summoning Charm making the blue-eyed girl squawk. He smiled as she almost stumbled into the cupboard before following after her, closing the door behind them.

“Potter!” Daphne pulled her wand, about to curse him for this, before Harry instantly opened the door again. The curse she was about to cast didn’t even form as she noticed the difference in the amount of light in the corridor.

“Seventh Floor, watch your step.” Harry laughed as he stepped out of the cupboard.

“How? When?” Daphne blinked as she left the cupboard and realized they were indeed on the Seventh Floor, not too far from the Divination Corridor if she remembered correctly.

“Hogwarts.” Harry answered and Daphne couldn’t begrudge him for it. The ancient Magical Castle was filled with such secrets and shenanigans.

“Fine…” Daphne exhaled slowly and put her wand away. “What did you want to ask?”

“A few random questions, that way you don’t break your secret.” Harry replied, his tone and demeanor much calmer and more serious.

“Go ahead.” Daphne prompted, hiding even the faint glimmer of hope that had appeared in her chest.

“Married back into the Family Line after several generations?” Harry asked what would be a completely random question to anyone that might’ve walked by. But this corridor would be empty pretty much all the time on the weekends.

“Yes.” Daphne gave a one word answer.

“Are you the victim?” Harry’s next question was asked in a quieter tone.

“No, my younger sister.” Daphne informed without speaking about the malediction directly.

“What’s the time limit?” Harry wanted to know how long the curse normally took for its effect to culminate.

“Maybe thirty or so, but it won’t be pleasant.” Daphne grimaced at the thought of the suffering her little sister, Astoria, would have to go through.

“Effects?” Harry wanted to keep this short to try and avoid speaking about the malediction directly. If the Greengrass Family didn’t tell anyone, it could very well be enforced by Magic.

“Physical weakness, Magic starts to get harder to use the closer you get to the end, random intense pain a few times a year, but that increases the older you get, there’s also the lowered immunity which makes it incredibly easy to get sick.” Daphne answered as directly as she could.

“Are you speaking from experience?” Harry questioned, looking at Daphne with some concern.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve only got the normal amount.” Daphne brushed off her own situation. Sure, it hurt and she hated being sick, but at least she’d live a decent amount of time for a Witch. Her sister wouldn’t have that extra time.

“I see,” Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. “Can I check something?”

“Like what?” Daphne wondered what he could possibly want to check.

“Hold still for a moment, please.” Harry requested and activated his in-progress Mage Sight. He focused on Daphne, slowly adjusting the spell’s intensity, until he was able to see her Magic directly.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Daphne saw the slight glow and would admit to being curious.

“Just a spell.” Harry answered absently as he focused and looked a bit deeper.

Dark red, a nearly pulsating maroon colored Magic was intertwined throughout Daphne’s body and Magic. Off shoots spread from her veins and arteries like the tangling roots of a plant to infest her Magic. Harry nearly grimaced at seeing the Blood Malediction through his Mage Sight spell. It was like a parasite that was latched on to her Magic and body alike. To think that her little sister probably had twice as much of the root-like entanglement was unsettling. He wouldn’t be shocked if the younger girl didn’t even make it through Hogwarts with how badly this curse would affect her Magic over the years.

“Can you stop staring at me like that? It’s unsettling.” Daphne once more crossed her arms over her chest.

“Sorry, I just needed to check what it looked like to try and come up with a way to break it.” Harry ended the Mage Sight spell and thought about what he’d seen. This Blood Malediction was a nasty curse, one made to cause long term suffering and eventually wipe out an entire family. He should’ve guessed that it would look equally horrible.

“What it looked like?” Daphne blinked at his words. “Potter…can you see Magic?”

“Not like I want.” Harry waved off the incredulous question.

“Not like…Potter, do you not understand?” Daphne really was gaping now. “Mage Sight hasn’t been confirmed to even exist! There’s only tales of it from the past. You could prove it exists.”

“But I don’t have Mage Sight.” Harry shook his head.

“Don’t have…you just said you could see Magic!” Daphne was starting to think the prodigy was messing with her.

“Just because I can see it, doesn’t mean I have some mythical ability.” Harry remarked, only half paying attention as he made some rudimentary hypotheses about how to break the Blood Malediction.

“Wait, wait…you said it was a spell.” Daphne recalled what Harry had said when she asked about his eyes. “But that’s still incredible…you made a spell that lets you see Magic?”

“Don’t spread it around, it’s not up to the level that I want it at yet.” Harry requested of the Slytherin girl, still not fully focused on the conversation.

“Sure, I guess.” Daphne couldn’t understand why Harry wasn’t shouting his accomplishment from the rooftops. Powerful spells were one thing, but he’d made an ability from tales of old into an actual spell! She’d be trying to get at least some recognition for herself if she’d accomplished such a feat.

“I have a few initial thoughts, but I’ll need more time to figure this out, sorry about that.” Harry apologized to Daphne with a lopsided smile.

“It’s fine, we have time.” Daphne shrugged, but felt some hope about her sister’s situation. Potter kept proving that he was far and away one of the best Wizards she’d ever heard of. With his help, maybe the unbreakable curse of the Blood Malediction could actually be removed.

“I’ll do my best, Miss Greengrass.” Harry nodded to the girl. “That invite to study with Hermione and I is still open, by the way.”

“I’ll think about it.” Daphne shrugged and walked back into the broom cupboard. “See you later, Potter.” She shut the door behind her.

‘Three, two, one…’ Harry counted down in his head.

“There better not be anyone saying anythi-” Daphne stopped dead as she opened the door to see Harry standing there and that she was still on the Seventh Floor.

“Hi.” Harry waved with barely suppressed laughter.

“Hah…” Daphne sighed before speaking. “It’s one way, isn’t it?”

“Yep.” Harry chuckled.

“You suck.” Daphne hmphed as she looked away. Tracy’s language was starting to rub off on her it seemed.

“Go down the stairs near Professor Flitwick’s office, move the tapestry on the right hand side that shows the Hogwarts Sigil, there’s a spiral staircase behind it, walk the thirty-ish steps to the bottom and open the door, you’ll be back on the ground floor near the History of Magic classroom.” Harry gave her the hidden shortcut with a grin. “The door is actually a portrait, but it only opens from the First Floor side if you can convince the Witch in the portrait to do so.”

“You’re slightly better.” Daphne remarked, a slight grin pulling at her lips as she walked away.

“See you at the next study session in the library, Miss Greengrass.” Harry called out with a snicker.

“I said I’ll think about it, you prat.” Daphne waved over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

-Monday, After Classes ~ Library-

Harry and Hermione were hard at work writing their short essays for Transfiguration. Once they got them done, that would free up some time for the next two days. They could finish other homework then or look into their own interests. Hermione enjoyed having a friend that took their studies as seriously as she did. But Harry always stopped her from going over the required assignment length. She could occasionally get a little extra on an assignment, but Harry told her it wasn’t worth doing more if all she was going to write down was stuff directly from their textbooks.

“Harry, what did you say about the process of converting shape but not material?” Hermione wanted to make sure her own thoughts weren’t too similar to Harry’s. McGonagall might think she’d copied from Harry if it was too close and that would be horrible. She’d never copy someone else’s work. Just the thought of being accused of such made her flustered.

“That doing it in steps is a pointless waste of time.” Harry replied as he finished up the sentence he was writing.

“Harry, you can’t write that on your assignment.” Hermione nearly dropped her head onto the table. “You’re going to get in trouble, or worse, your grade will be lowered.”

“Hermione…run what you just said back through your head.” Harry looked into her brown eyes with a grin.

Hermione thought back to what she’d just said before her cheeks went a little pink. “Shush!” She looked away from him with a pout. She was getting better about her unhealthy study habits. But sometimes things like that slipped through.

“May we join you?” Daphne spoke up from behind Harry. Beside the ravenette was the dark-brunette Tracy Davis. Both girls had books in their arms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, from the looks of it.

“Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis, how nice to see you.” Harry smiled at the two Slytherin girls.

“I’m so sorry about him.” Hermione apologized to the two girls. “Breaking into your common room like that was too far.”

“It’s fine, most of us girls think it was a romantic gesture.” Tracy side-eyed Daphne with a teasing grin.

“For the last time, no it wasn’t.” Daphne shot a look at Tracy, making the other girl giggle.

“Sure, sure…” Tracy looked at Harry with a wide smile.

“What can I say, Daphne is a lovely girl.” Harry’s grin matched Tracy’s.

“I will hex you both.” Daphne glared at her friend and Harry in equal measure.

“Harry, don’t tease her.” Hermione sighed at the prankster side that Harry let out sometimes. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you.”

“Tracy Davis, a pleasure, let’s be friends.” Tracy was clearly the social one between her and Daphne.

“Daphne Greengrass, nice to make your acquaintance, Granger.” Daphne’s greeting was a bit more formal.

“Sit, sit, what’re you two working on?” Harry waved them to sit down at the table.

“Quirrel’s report on Dark Charms and their levels.” Tracy made a face as she got out a blank parchment, her inkpot, and her quill.

“It’s not as bad as it could be.” Daphne shrugged as she set up her stuff. “We only have to describe each level and give an example. It doesn’t even have to be one from class.”

“Says, Miss I-get-O’s-on-every-paper…” Tracy playfully rolled her eyes at her friend.

“Try harder then.” Daphne sniffed with a faux pompous look on her cute features.

“Nah, I’ll just settle for EE’s and the occasional O.” Tracy denied with a laugh. “I’m certainly not missing a Quidditch match in favor of studying.”

“Of course not.” Daphne was the one rolling her eyes now.

“Is this what we look like from the outside?” Hermione wondered curiously.

“Maybe a little.” Harry snickered at the back and forth between Daphne and Tracy.

-Mid-May-

“Yes!” Harry exclaimed with a beaming smile after reading the letter that Hedwig had brought during breakfast.

“What has you so excited, Harry?” Hermione questioned after swallowing her bite of food.

“Sirius was able to get me a spot to take a Mastery Exam later this summer.” Harry was grinning brightly at the letter. “It took forever to convince the Wizarding Examination Authority, but they’ve finally agreed to give me a spot in August since my grades from First Year will be on record by then.”

“A Mastery Exam?” Hermione blinked at the fact that Harry was going through with it. She’d honestly thought he was joking, but perhaps she shouldn’t have, especially not after what she’d seen him accomplish with Magic.

“Yep, I’m going to get Charms out of the way.” Harry smiled at his best friend. “Next summer I’ll probably get either Transfiguration or Defense Against the Dark Arts done.”

“Can you even be a student if you have a Mastery?” Hermione worried her lip cutely. “I don’t want to lose my best friend, Harry.”

“There’s no law that says I can’t be a student with a Mastery, I checked.” Harry assuaged her fears. “Of course, that might be because no student has ever earned a Mastery before.”

“Only you, Harry, only you.” Hermione shook her head, sighing in relief that Harry would still be at Hogwarts with her.

“Oh, you’re not getting rid of me that easily, Hermione.” Harry laughed and threw his arm over her shoulder.

“Harry!” Hermione’s cheeks were red as she let him pull her into a side hug.

It was a good day for the duo, and wouldn’t Tracy and Daphne be surprised!

-June 4^th, 1992 ~ Mirror Chamber of the Third Floor Corridor-

“What is this blasted mirror?!” Quirrel raged at the tall mirror before him. “I see myself holding the Stone and presenting it to you Master, but I can’t figure out how to get it!”

“Silence, you fool!” Voldemort snapped and Quirrel’s body jerked as if he’d been struck. “I need a few moments to figure this out.”

“Hello, Tom.” Dumbledore spoke up from behind the possessed Quirrel. “It has been a long time.” His wand, with the knots along its length, was in his hand already.

“Dumbledore!” Voldemort hissed in rage and Quirrel’s body convulsed as the purple turban on his head rapidly unwound itself without anyone touching it. The horrific sight of another man’s face sticking out the back of Quirrel’s head was sickening. “I suppose this was your plan all along?”

“What have you done to yourself, Tom?” Dumbledore questioned the Dark Lord, disappointment and wariness in his eyes.

“I have done what so many before me were too weak and fearful to do!” Voldemort replied with a hissing lisp. “I’ve become immortal! You think you can finish me here, while I’m in this weakened form. You are a fool. Lord Voldemort cannot die.”

“You’ve mutilated yourself; can’t you see that?” Dumbledore admonished his former student. “I won’t let you do as you please, you will not cause the pain and fear you did back in the Seventies.” He raised his wand and leveled it at the Dark Lord.

“I’m not one of you pitiful students, Dumbledore!” Voldemort spat and Quirrel’s limbs made sickening cracks as they rotated to allow them to be used by the spirit possessing him. “I have no need of your disappointment or recriminations! All I need from you is the information on how to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone! Give it to me!”

“You will not be getting it, Tom. It is time for you to leave this world.” Dumbledore jabbed his wand forward, a visible wave of Magic tearing through the chamber.

“Then die!” Voldemort cried out as Fiendfyre billowed out of his mouth in a torrent. He couldn’t form it into his favored serpent with how weak he was right now, but Dumbledore would have to wrest control over it, lest the cursed fires burn down the whole of Hogwarts!

“How did you survive in this form, Tom?” Dumbledore was already smothering the wave of Fiendfyre. “What Dark Arts did you delve into in your fearful fleeing from death?”

“Lord Voldemort fears NOTHING!!!” Voldemort whipped Quirrel’s wand around, sending a barrage of curses at the Headmaster. Every single spell from his wand was lethal. Organ Liquefier, Skin Flayer, Reducto, Bombarda, Entrail Expelling, every wave, point, and movement of the wand unleashed nothing but pain and death.

“Let go of this world, you’ve done too much harm to ever be forgiven.” Dumbledore stated as his Protego Maxima blocked the wave of varied curses. A point of his wand and the floor where Voldemort stood erupted into shrapnel, sending the possessed body of Quirrel rag dolling through the air.

-Ravenclaw First Year Dorms ~ Harry’s Room-

“Huh?!” Harry shot straight up in bed, sweat on his face. He had the strangest feeling, like something was happening…or had happened…maybe? It was already fading…perhaps a nightmare? “What in the world?” He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “What time is it?” He wandlessly cast the Tempus Charm to see that it was just after midnight. “Ugh, I hope this isn’t an all night thing.” He rolled over and closed his eyes. He was asleep again in just a minute or so.

If Harry hadn’t been pulled from sleep, he might’ve realized that the feeling that had awoken him was eerily similar to the feeling that had led him to check out the Forbidden Forest earlier in the school year.

But for now, the prodigious Spellcrafter slept.

-End Chapter-

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Well, Harry has started to delve into some Dark Magics to help out Daphne. It was only a matter of time before his curiosity led him to investigate other Branches of Magic like this. Can Harry find a way to break the unbreakable?

More friends are always nice too! Tracy is a bit of a social butterfly, something that Hermione, Harry, and Daphne could all use a little help with.

Harry gets his approval to attempt a Mastery Exam! Woohoo! Let’s see about earning that Sorcerer Title this summer! Not to mention the Under 17 Dueling Circuit. The Junior Dueling League has no idea what they’re in for!

Without a group of meddling First Years, Dumbledore’s trap works out and he confronts the weakened Voldemort. Did he learn anything of Voldemort’s immortality, or was there no time?

Harry still reacts to what happens down in the third floor corridor. Why? You don’t need a piece of a person’s soul stuck in you to react to them, when you’re both bound by Prophecy!

Will Harry ever realize what happened?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Summer begins and with it, Harry’s first appearance at the Under 17 Dueling Circuit, also known as the Junior Dueling League! Oh, those poor children. They have no idea of the force they will soon face.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 11 – Summer and the Junior Dueling League

There was murmuring throughout the large room filled with Witches and Wizards of all ages. The center of the room was dominated by a regulation Dueling platform. The long and semi-narrow wooden platform was where today’s event would be held to start off this summer’s Junior Dueling League. Any Witch or Wizard under the age of seventeen could join the League to learn the traditional art of Dueling, a longstanding Magical tradition to be sure and one that was heavily promoted amongst the staunchest of Pureblood Families.

In a flash of green flames from one of the large fireplaces, Sirius Black emerged. A second flash of green fire and Harry Potter stepped forward and stood next to his godfather. A simple wave of his hand had the soot removed from both of their robes. A third flaring of the Floo revealed Nymphadora Tonks, who was quickly followed by Andromeda and Ted. Harry waved and removed the soot from the three of them as well.

“Thank you, Harry.” Andromeda smiled at her surrogate nephew.

“Always so polite.” Ted chuckled, knowing that Harry had quite the impolite prankster side to him as well.

“Thanks, Harrikins.” Tonks playfully ruffled his hair.

“Yep…” Harry shook out his hair and it fell back into the normal Potter hair, messy as always, but not looking like a bird’s nest anymore.

“Quite the turnout.” Sirius looked at all of the gathered Wizards and Witches. “I knew the Dueling Circuit had a lot of support, but I’d say most of the old Families are here in some capacity.”

“What do you expect?” Andromeda replied while making a mental note of people that she’d like to say hello to while they were here. “Dueling is one of the few things that both the Traditionalists and the Progressives agree on, aside from Quidditch.”

“True, true.” Ted nodded, as the family walked through the venue, many eyes were on them and even more on Harry specifically. “You won’t find much in the Magical World that has as much support as Quidditch and Dueling.”

“I’m looking forward to this…” Tonks had a knowing smirk on her lips. “We should get some snacks before Harry’s first match.” She eyed the small stalls set up for that very purpose.

“I’ll do my best to make you proud, Nym.” Harry chuckled at the Metamorphmagus.

“You better.” Tonks teased him right back.

“Let’s find us some good seats near the front.” Sirius laughed as he led the group forward towards the stands set up around the Dueling platform.

Just under an hour later and the first event of the Junior Dueling League began. It was little surprise that Harry’s Family were surrounded by many of the influential members of British Magical Society. Everyone wanted to see Harry Potter and what he was capable of. Many of the Witches and Wizards that were chatting with Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted had children of their own in Hogwarts and had gotten letters about Harry’s amazing spellcasting. Tonks was just grinning knowingly as she occasionally had some popcorn from the snacks she’d bought.

“Our first match for the Junior Dueling League for 1992 will start off, as is tradition, with our youngest competitors.” The Wizard announcing the event declared with a Sonorus Charm to be heard by everyone. “The eleven/twelve-year-old competitors with at least a year of schooling under their belts, are now ready to show us what they’ve learned.” He easily raised the crowd’s excitement as applause and some cheering was heard. “As always, the matches are chosen at random from the box that the Judges hold.” He motioned to three older people in Duelist Robes of high quality, two Wizards and one Witch, that were sitting behind a velvet-covered table near the Dueling platform. A polite applause was had for the veteran Duelists from the crowd.

The Witch at the Judge’s table tapped the top of the ornate wooden box with her wand and a folded piece of paper flew out of it and headed for the announcer’s hand. The male at the end of the table tapped the top of the box with his wand next. Like before, a folded piece of paper flew from the box and into the announcer’s hand.

“Our first two competitors have been decided!” The announcer declared as he unfolded both small papers. “Our first competitor is young Zacharias Smith.” A small commotion was made as a boy around Harry’s age stood up from his seat. What looked like his parents gave him encouragement as he walked up the short stairs and then to the center of the Dueling Platform. “Facing Mr. Smith is Harry Potter!” The announcer didn’t change his tone, but anyone close enough could see his eyes widen at the name. They might have also noticed Zacharias going a bit pale at who his opponent was going to be.

“Go get ‘em, Harry!” Sirius beamed at his godson happily.

“You’ll do great.” Ted gave the boy thumbs up.

“Don’t hurt him, Harry, a formal Duel isn’t about maiming the other person.” Andromeda acted as the voice of reason and restraint as she often did.

“Knock him off the platform and you win automatically, Harrikins!” Tonks immediately encouraged overkill much to her mother’s exasperation.

“I’ll do my best.” Harry assured his family as he walked up the opposite set of short stairs that Zacharias had. He walked towards the center of the platform and stood across from Zacharias with the announcer between them.

“Salute.” The announcer looked between the two boys. Zacharias raised his wand in front of himself, the tip even with his brown eyes. Harry merely raised his hand before his chest, open palm to show he wasn’t hiding anything. “Where’s your wand, Mr. Potter?” The announcer questioned the almost-twelve-year-old.

“I don’t need a wand to use Magic, sir.” Harry looked at the man. “I didn’t buy one from Ollivander’s because I’d never use it.”

“It’s true,” Zacharias spoke up for Harry. “We’re in the same year at Hogwarts. I’ve seen him do incredibly advanced Magic without a wand.”

“One moment,” The announcer blinked at the information before turning to the three Judges and having a quiet conversation. All three Judges shot confused looks at Harry for a moment before resuming their talks. A few moments later and the deliberation was done as the announcer walked back to the two boys. “Very well, you’re allowed to Duel wandlessly, Mr. Potter. However, if you should lose because of the lack of a wand, then you’ll be required to use one from now on in the Junior Dueling League.”

“That’s fair. Thank you for your concern.” Harry agreed without issue. He could already hear some of the murmuring about his lack of a wand among the crowd. Not to mention the people that were wondering why the first match was being held up.

“Head to your respective starting positions and take your preferred casting stance.” The announcer instructed and both boys turned away from each other to head to the opposite ends of the long Dueling platform. When they reached their respective ends, Zacharias put his right foot forward, his wand in his right hand and aimed in Harry’s direction. Harry, not wanting to come off as rude or condescending, took a similar stance with his right leg forward and his right hand raised to chest level. “I’ll count down from three, when I say ‘begin’ you may cast your first spells. Am I clear?” He looked between the two boys and after receiving a nod from Zacharias and one from Harry, continued with the match. “Three, two, one…Begin!”

“Flipendo, Flipendo, Flipendo!” Zacharias jabbed his wand forward in three quick motions, each sending a blue spell at Harry like a bolt. A few of the onlookers commented on the speed appreciatively for a first time Duelist.

“Barrier.” Harry spoke, even if he didn’t need to, just to give the audience something to work with. The translucent barrier formed between him and the three incoming spells instantly. Each of the blue bolts struck the barrier and dispersed without fail. A few in the audience were rather vocal about the unknown Shield Charm. “Float.” Harry cast his spell and Zacharias yelped as he found himself off the ground. With a push of his Magic, Harry had Zacharias outside of the platform area before he released his spell. The other boy landed on his feet unsteadily but stood up just fine a second later.

“Out of bounds!” The announcer declared. “The winner of the first match is Harry Potter. The applause only took a second to spread throughout the crowd, even as many shocked exclamations about Wandless Magic were also heard.

“Way to go, Harry!” Sirius and Tonks both cheered loudly for Harry’s first victory. Andromeda and Ted were smiling brightly, but settled for applauding rather than cheering loudly like the other two.

Zacharias walked back up onto the platform a moment later. He and Harry gave each other a polite bow, as was tradition, before they were sent off so that the next match could begin. Harry headed towards his family with a grin and was welcomed by an overly dramatic hug from Sirius. Tonks also ruffled his hair again, congratulating him on his win before offering him snacks.

The other first round matches between the youngest Duelists continued. Nothing really caught Harry’s eye, but he did recognize some familiar faces from Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini were part of the Junior League. He also noticed Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Terry Boot from his own House. Before too long, it was time for Harry’s second match.

“Potter.” Theodore Nott gave the traditional bow and salute as they stood across from each other.

“Nott.” Harry returned the bow and salute before they turned away from each other and walked to their respective starting positions.

“Begin!” The announcer started the match after the counting down from three.

“Caerullious!” Theodore swished his wand in a wide arc sending a wave of blue sparks at Harry.

“Wind.” Harry spoke and a fierce gale was sent forward from his position. The blue sparks scattered to nothing. Whatever spell Theodore was about to cast while Harry’s vision was obscured was stopped as the other boy covered his eyes with his left arm from the harsh wind. “Bind.” Harry’s next spell was similar in effect to Petrificus Totalus, locking the body in place, but his was infinitely variable in that he could lock someone into their current position, or force them into a specific position and then bind them. In this case, Theodore was locked in place as he stood, completely unable to move. “I’ll take that.” Harry smiled as he reached out with a Summoning Charm to take the other boy’s wand away.

“Disarmed.” The Witch at the Judge’s table ended the match with her declaration.

“Winner of the match, Harry Potter.” The announcer declared to much applause, and the two loud cheers of Tonks and Sirius.

“Never stood a chance.” Theodore sighed as he and Harry shared the after Duel bow.

“Keep trying, you’ll get better with experience.” Harry encouraged the other boy. Dueling was able to keep his interest, so he’d like to have as many competent opponents as possible. If encouraging his competitors helped with that, all the better. The two walked away from each other without another word.

“Having fun, Harrikins?” Tonks asked when Harry sat next to her to watch the other matches.

“I doubt any of them are going to compare to our little backyard fights.” Harry shrugged with a grin.

“You can’t compare kids your age to an Auror.” Tonks laughed at his statement.

“Auror Cadet, wasn’t it?” Harry jibed at her with a smirk.

“Shush you!” Tonks hushed him with a swat to his arm. “I’ll make Auror before you finish your second year at Hogwarts.”

“I know.” Harry’s smug little grin quickly saw him in a headlock and getting a noogie from Tonks.

“Behave you two.” Andromeda admonished as the next match was about to start.

“Oh, Susan versus Blaise, that might be interesting.” Harry leaned forward a little after being freed from the headlock.

“Begin!” The announcer called out and the first spell of the Duel was launched by Susan.

Susan started off with a barrage of Flipendo Jinxes. Blaise countered with his own, the spells all clashing in the middle of the Dueling platform. Blaise whipped his wand forward and a line of brightly crackling green sparks was sent at Susan. The Hufflepuff surprised most of the onlookers by casting a Protego Charm to block the sparks. It wasn’t a large shield by any means, but it was fully formed, something that not many First Year students could claim to do.

“Aguamenti!” Susan pointed her wand at Blaise and a jet of water was launched across the platform. Blaise managed to sidestep the water-making charm, but couldn’t get off a counter before Susan cast again. “Impedimenta!” The spell flew quickly to strike Blaise, the Slytherin boy now appearing to move in slow-motion. “Expelliarmus!” Susan ended the Duel by blasting Blaise’s wand out of his hand.

“Disarmed.” The Wizard on the left side of the Judge’s table declared the match over.

“She’s definitely the Boss Lady’s niece.” Tonks whistled at Susan’s performance. “Nothing overly harmful, but enough to subdue and disarm. Top notch performance if she plans to follow her aunt into the DMLE.”

“Maybe I’ll get to duel her today?” Harry looked hopeful at the chance. It would be an interesting match at least.

Harry’s next match was actually against Draco. The two both gave the pre-Duel bow before moving to their respective positions. Harry noticed the look that Draco was giving him, but didn’t know why the blonde boy seemed to dislike him. They didn’t really interact that much at Hogwarts. Aside from the few times that Harry would end Draco’s attempts to bully other students when he was in the area, he’d never done anything harmful to the other boy.

“Begin!” The announcer started the match.

“Everte Statum!” Draco cast first with a sharp motion of his wand.

“Hmm?” Harry wasn’t familiar with this spell, but based on the name it would probably throw him backwards if it hit him. That was a really big if though. The spell ended as it ran into Harry’s Barrier spell and Draco was clearly trying not to stare. “My turn.” He stomped on the platform and Draco squawked as the wood he stood on suddenly flipped sideways and threw him from the platform. The wood returned to its normal state a second later as if it had never moved at all.

“Out of bounds.” One of the Judges called out and the match ended there.

“Don’t think this is over, Potter.” Draco muttered as they bowed after the Duel.

“I didn’t know anything was started.” Harry replied honestly, but this just seemed to irritate the other boy as he practically stalked away. Harry simply returned to his seat wondering what Draco’s problem was.

“I wonder how Lucius will take that?” Sirius chortled at Harry’s easy victory. “No way the boy doesn’t tell his father about it.”

“Be nice, Sirius.” Andromeda sighed as she briefly looked over to see her sister, Narcissa, whispering to Draco. “Even if they’re not close, they are still family.”

“Family I’d cast out if I was allowed.” Sirius had no love for those that had sided with Voldemort. He wouldn’t change his mind about that, not after what the Dark Lord had done with his band of Death Eaters.

“Let’s just watch the Duels. Take our minds off that particular topic, alright?” Ted spoke up to move past the topic at hand. The Black Family history was a dark one, but the future was what they made of it. There was no use dwelling on the past in Ted’s mind.

As it turned out, Harry and Susan were the top two in their age bracket. Harry made a mental note to say something to Terry before he left. His Housemate had done fairly well, but hadn’t made it to the final rounds. The smiling Spellcaster and the niece of the current Head of the DMLE both stepped onto the Dueling platform ready for their coming Duel. After the pre-Duel traditions of bowing and moving to their starting positions, the two took up their preferred stances and waited.

“Three, two, one…Begin!” The announcer started the match, much to the excitement of spectators.

“Fumos!” Susan cast and from the tip of her wand a thick smoke billowed. The smokescreen quickly blocked sight of the girl while she prepared her next spell.

“Barrier.” Harry raised his spell and waited. He was very curious as to what else Susan had up her sleeves.

“Aculeo!” Susan incanted, sending a Stinging Hex at Harry through the smoke. “Flipendo! Aculeo! Impedimenta!”

The barrage of spells hit Harry’s Barrier over and over again. Behind it, the Spellcrafter raised an eyebrow, wondering if Susan thought she was making contact. She probably had no way of seeing through her own smokescreen. With a grin Harry cast his next spell. “Wind.” The gale blasted the smokescreen away quickly, while also sending some hats flying off their owner’s heads in the crowd.

“Ah…right.” Susan saw the Barrier spell and realized her plan hadn’t worked out at all. She’d seen this spell of Harry’s before and knew it put Protego to shame.

“Hey Susan, that was a neat combo.” Harry praised his year mate with a smile. “Do you not want to see something cool?”

“Do I not want to see something cool?” Susan looked puzzled by his phrasing. “Don’t you mean ‘Do I want to see something cool?’ Harry?”

“Nope!” Harry clasped his hands together, fingers entwined. “My sight-reducing spell is a lot better than a smokescreen! Black Out!” All around Harry pitch blackness seemingly formed from nothing. In a short moment that darkness spread to cover the entire Dueling platform in a dome of jet-black Magic.

“What the heck?!” Susan cried out as all light vanished and she was left completely blind within Harry’s spell. “Lumos!” She cast the basic Charm only to see the ball of light and nothing else. The light didn’t push back the darkness at all!

“Yeah, that’s not going to work.” Harry’s voice came from the darkness.

“Flipendo!” Susan cast, her Lumos vanishing as the Jinx was launched at where Harry’s voice had come from.

“Susan…you know that won’t work either, right?” Harry reminded her of his Barrier spell.

“Wait…how many spells can you maintain at the same time?” Susan tried to swipe her hand through the blackness to catch hold of Harry while she talked.

“Enough.” Harry shrugged, even though Susan couldn’t see it. “Bind.” He spoke, not because he needed to, but to give Susan a bit of warning that a spell was being used on her. With his opponent immobilized, he pulled her wand from her hand and then canceled the Black Out spell.

“What the heck was that?” The announcer questioned as the dome of pitch blackness dispersed.

“Just a spell.” Harry waved off, before showing that he had Susan’s wand in hand.

“R-right, disarmed.” The Witch at the Judge’s table made the call and the match ended in Harry’s favor.

“For the first year bracket, the winner is Harry Potter!” The announcer declared with his voice once more amplified by a Sonorus Charm.

“That was a nice match, Susan. Let’s Duel again sometime.” Harry removed the Bind spell and handed Susan her wand back.

“Thanks, Harry, but I don’t think you even had to try very hard.” Susan accepted her wand back with a lopsided smile.

“You’ll improve with time and experience, Susan, don’t sell yourself short.” Harry assured her with a smile.

“Then I hope that you’re ready to lose next time.” Susan’s mood improved and she laughed while challenging him.

“I look forward to it.” Harry chuckled along with her. The two gave each other the post-Duel bow before heading off the Dueling platform to let the next group start their rounds of matches.

“Congratulations, Harry!” Sirius beamed at him before nearly lifting him off his feet in a hug.

“It was fun.” Harry grinned once he was set down. “Not as much fun as roughhousing with Nym, but fun.”

“As if these kids could compare to me.” Tonks’s faux pompousness got a smile out of Harry.

“Well, let’s settle in for a bit to watch the rest of the matches.” Sirius grinned as they all took their seats again. “If I was told correctly, the first place of each bracket gets to challenge someone from a higher bracket if they want.”

“I would like that.” Harry nodded with a gleam in his green eyes.

“You’re a bad influence on Harry.” Andromeda looked at Sirius with a resigned sigh.

“I am the best influence on Harry!” Sirius declared with his nose in the air.

“Eh, six out of ten.” Harry snickered and Ted chuckled at Sirius’s over the top reaction. The Head of the Black Family had one hand over his heart and an overly dramatic look of shock on his face.

“Harry! My godson! How could you wound me so?!” Sirius questioned while clearly suppressing laughter of his own.

“Men…” Andromeda rolled her eyes at all three of them. Tonks was just grinning widely at all of it.

Over the next brackets, covering all the other Duelists under the age of seventeen, Harry watched on with a sharp eye. He saw a few spells that he didn’t know, but he could probably make better versions of later. What he was really interested in was picking out his future opponent. His initial thought was just to choose the winner of the oldest bracket, but he conceded that a different Duelist might interest him more. Unfortunately, none of the younger Duelists showed the kind of spellcasting that got Harry’s attention. So, he decided that the winner of the eldest bracket would be his opponent.

“Now, as we like to do for the Junior League, all of the top placers in their respective brackets can choose someone of a higher bracket to Duel, if they so choose.” The announcer smiled at the six winners that stood before the audience. “Mr. Potter, as you’re the youngest, you may choose first.”

“I’d like to Duel with Mr. Runcorn, if he’ll oblige me.” Harry looked at the sixteen-year-old with a smile. Alexander Runcorn was the top of the eldest bracket right now. Apparently from a fairly old Magical Family, Harry couldn’t recall if he’d ever seen the older boy at Hogwarts.

“It would be my pleasure, Mr. Potter.” Alexander nodded to the almost twelve-year-old.

“Very well, we have our first match.” The announcer smiled at the two boys. He quickly turned to the winner of the second youngest bracket, a girl named Lillian Moon, to ask her if she wanted to challenge someone from a higher bracket. It didn’t take long for the others to choose their own opponents either.

‘Huh, none of them picked Alexander or the runner-up of the eldest bracket.’ Harry noticed of all the other winners’ choices. He made his way to the center of the Dueling platform to meet Alexander. The two saluted and then bowed before heading to their opposite ends of the platform. ‘Well, head in the game. Let’s see if this will be more fun.’

“Three, two, one…Begin!” The announcer started the match with little fanfare.

“Protego Totalum!” Alexander cast a powerful and modified version of the standard Shield Charm. This particular variant affected a set area and lingered for a good length of time. It would also stop most spells and objects from passing it with little difficulty. “Stupefy!” The follow up spell was sent at Harry in about the time it took to blink.

“Barrier.” Harry formed a cube around himself this time, rather than a single wall. The Stunning Spell splashed harmlessly against Harry’s spell as the prodigious Spellcrafter took a moment to think about how to get around Alexander’s shield.

“Aguamenti! Glacius Duo!” Alexander wasn’t idle in his casting just because Harry was. The older teen doused Harry’s Barrier spell in water before using the empowered version of the Freezing Spell. Harry’s Barrier was now encased in ice completely, blocking off his sight and making his normally translucent barrier much more opaque.

“Let’s see…” Harry cast his still imperfect Mage Sight spell and adjusted it until he could see through the ice surrounding him. He looked at the very Magic that made up the Protego Totalum and began to parse through its structure. “Yeah, it’s not too different from my Barrier Spell…much less effective in stopping spells though. Okay…yeah, that should work.”

“Um…did I win?” Alexander looked at the announcer and the three Judges curiously. Harry hadn’t made a move for several moments after his barrier had been encased in ice.

The shattering of ice answered his question before any of the Judges could. Harry had his right hand raised and with a twist of his hand, Alexander’s Protego Totalum disappeared with a loud popping sound. With a wide grin, Harry raised his left hand.

“That was an interesting idea, Alexander.” Harry nodded to the older boy. “I’ll show you something interesting as thanks.” In Harry’s left palm a flame snapped to life. Many people wondered if Harry was going to start tossing fireballs at Alexander…at least until they noticed the slight pull that they felt on their Magic.

“W-Wh-What is that?!” The announcer questioned with his Sonorus Charm still active. His question was echoed by all three Judges and many members of the audience.

“Harry! You be careful!” Andromeda had stood up to shout at her surrogate nephew. She’d seen that oddly burning flame before. Seeing what appeared to be fire in slow motion, along with that slight pull on her Magic, was all she needed to know that Harry had just conjured Primal Fire.

“This is a very special Magical Fire, Alexander.” Harry held up the flames in his left palm. “Some people even call it the Flame of Creation.”

That claim had many reeling in their seats!

“Incombustum!” Alexander cast and was quickly surrounded by a light-blue glow as the Charm took effect. “Finite Incantatem!” He pointed his wand at the fire in Harry’s hand to end the spell, only to nearly gape when the flames increased in size instead.

“Yeah, that’s not going to work, I’m afraid.” Harry mentioned as he moved the Primal Fire into the path of the Stupefy that Alexander had just fired at him. The red light was instantly consumed by the slowly moving fire, making the flames grow larger as they fed off the Magic. “Neither will the Flame-Freezing Charm that you cast on yourself earlier.”

“Protego Totalum!” Alexander recast his shield, apparently putting more of his Magic into it as the teen seemed to be slightly winded afterwards.

“Hold still now.” Harry cautioned the teen. “Wouldn’t want to hit you directly with this.” He sent the Primal Fire forward by feeding his own Magic into the flames and allowing them to grow, but also shaping them into a long stream of fire at the same time. Such control over a Magical Fire like this was often believed to be impossible. Fiendfyre, a cursed flame that could burn Magic as fuel, was notoriously hard to control and could kill the caster just as easily as whatever or whoever they were aiming at.

The Primal Fire touched the Protego Totalum and spread across the entire surface of the protective Charm. The shield was consumed almost instantly and the flames now surrounded Alexander. Harry fed his own Magic into the fire and a lance of it struck Alexander’s right arm. The Flame-Freezing Charm vanished as it too was consumed. The older teen blinked at not feeling any pain as the Primal Fire washed over his limb. That was until his eyes suddenly rolled up into his head and he collapsed to the platform. His wand fell from his limp fingers as Harry stopped feeding the Magical Flames.

Drawing the Primal Fire back to him took a bit of focus on Harry’s part. It had plenty of Magic now and could stay burning for a while by itself. The Spellcrafter still drew it all together, leading it along with his Magic always just out of reach. The most interesting aspect of Primal Fire was its combustion process. It consumed Magic and Time in place of fuel and oxygen, but instead of putting out heat, it let off a diffused form of Magic that certain fire-aligned creatures absolutely loved. Even the average Witch and Wizard could enjoy it, provided they knew how to keep their own Magic from being pulled on, of course.

“Just have to snuff it out.” Harry used Magic Manipulation to reach into the Primal Fire and draw out all of the extra Magic it had consumed. The flames quickly shrank back down into the small handful that Harry had originally conjured. He snuffed them out by clenching his hand as easily as one might extinguish a candle. “There we are.” Not hearing any announcement of his victory, Harry looked over to the announcer and the three Judges. All of them were staring at Harry wide-eyed, like they’d never seen anything like him before.

To be fair…they hadn’t.

“So…do I win?” Harry questioned loudly enough to snap them out of their stupor.

“Huh? Oh! Um, yes, yes! The winner of the match is Harry Potter!” The announcer declared only for Sirius, Tonks, Andromeda, and Ted to clap while the rest of the audience sat in stunned silence. Aside from the reporter and cameraman that had been sent to cover the Junior Dueling League’s first meeting.

“This is going to land the front page!” The man that had spoken, Elmer Cross, was a career journalist for the Daily Prophet. Usually, the Dueling Junior League was a nice feel-good piece for the third page, sometimes the second if one of the young Duelists showed exceptional skill and future promise. But this? Oh ho, this was Elmer’s biggest story since the Potion Scandal of Eighty-Four! “You got pictures of all of Harry Potter’s Duels, right?” He looked at his cameraman expectantly.

“Of course, especially the last one!” The cameraman nearly scoffed at Elmer. Like he’d miss out on the bonus he was surely going to get from Barnabas Cuffe (the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Prophet) for these amazing pictures!

Back on the dueling platform, Harry was being questioned by the two on-site Healers as to what had happened to Alexander.

“He’ll be fine, he’s just got a bit of Magical Exhaustion is all.” Harry assured the two. “Primal Fire burns Magic, when it makes contact with a Witch or Wizard, it can consume their Magic to grow. As I’m aware, Wizards and Witches need our Magic to function optimally. That’s why I only let the fire touch his arm. It consumed a lot of his remaining Magic, but didn’t take anything from his organs that could’ve caused a problem.” He finished with a calm look to hopefully ease their concern.

“That does fit with the symptoms that Mr. Runcorn is showing.” The Healer on the right could only sigh in relief. “If it’s just Magical Exhaustion then a day of rest and maybe a Pepper-Up Potion should see him back to normal.” It was good that they didn’t have to worry about a severe injury at least.

“Thank you for the information, Mr. Potter.” The Healer on the left nodded to the boy. “And congratulations on your victory.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry smiled and left them to levitate Alexander off the platform and over to his parents.

The following Duels weren’t nearly as spectacular, but were still a showcase of future talent. Many more eyes were on Harry now though. It was only at the end of the meet that Harry and his family were approached by the announcer.

“Can I help you with something?” Sirius was quick to put himself between the man and Harry.

“Yes, I just wanted to inform you of something that I believe will interest Mr. Potter.” The Wizard smiled politely. “You see, at the end of the summer, before the kids go back to school, we hold a small international tournament with our closest neighbors. Young Duelists from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Britain get together to compete. This year it’s being held right here in England, since we won the last tournament.”

“So, you’re saying that Harry has a chance to compete in this end of summer tournament?” Sirius questioned with a quick glance at Harry. His godson did seem interested in the idea at least.

“I’d say he has more than a chance.” The announcer laughed, getting a chuckle out of Harry in the process. “Usually, the two eldest brackets make up our small team of five. But I’m sure Harry will easily secure himself a spot if today’s Duels were anything to go by.”

“What do you think, Harry? You plan on staying on the Junior League Circuit for the summer?” Sirius already knew the answer, but it was better to ask.

“Yeah, it’s fun and I get to practice the spells I make.” Harry nodded his acceptance. “Besides, seeing what spells Wizards and Witches from other countries use could be very interesting.” He couldn’t deny his curiosity and desire to see more Magic. This was starting to look like an even more interesting endeavor than he’d expected it to be.

“Wonderful!” The announcer smiled at the information. “We’ll be looking forward to your future as a Duelist, Mr. Potter.”

“I’ll do my best.” Harry smiled at the man.

Tonks barely held back a snort and ignored the look Andromeda shot her way. If Harry really did his best, none of these kids would have a chance. She’d been roughhousing and spell fighting with Harry for years now. If anyone knew even a bit of what Harry was capable of, it was her!

It was certainly looking like an interesting summer for Harry Potter and Family.

-End Chapter-

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I think we all expected this, right?

Sorry kids, you’ve got no chance! Harry can figure out your spells, block them, counter them, or straight up UNDO them! He’s going to rise to the Top of the Dueling Circuit one day! He wants to add it to his list of accomplishments after all!

Titles have to be earned and every achievement helps!

Will Harry stomp the competition at the end of summer tournament?

Is a certain plot still being schemed by a certain someone?

How will this summer play out and will Harry and Family be set upon by a well-meaning, but manic visitor bearing a warning of danger?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As summer continues for Harry, he continues to Duel among his peers in the Under 17 Dueling League. The Daily Prophet won’t pass up a chance to run a story about the Boy-Who-Lived when he pulls off such spectacular Magic. But Harry is far more interested in his ongoing Magical studies and his upcoming Mastery Exam.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 12 – Thoughts, Birthday, and Mastery Exam

Harry and his family were finishing up breakfast when the Daily Prophet arrived by owl post. Sirius paid the bird the required Knuts and the owl flew away once more. He barely had to look at the front page before he barked out a laugh and then flipped it around to show everyone the front page filled with warring headlines.

Harry Potter ‘The Boy-Who-Lived’ dazzles at the Junior Dueling League!

Dueling prodigy, Harry Potter, conjures Primal Fire single handedly!

Harry Potter’s Wandless Magic!

“That certainly didn’t take them long.” Andromeda barely held back on rolling her eyes.

“It’s to be expected though.” Ted placed his hand atop his wife’s hand with a warm smile. Andromeda returned the affection and kissed his cheek softly.

“You’re getting even more famous, Harrikins!” Tonks ruffled Harry’s hair playfully.

“At least this is for something that I actually did.” Harry shrugged at the article and the headlines. He didn’t much care what the Prophet thought of his skills. He was still pondering over his many ongoing magical studies and spell projects.

“At least it’s not by Skeeter.” Sirius had sat down at the table and began reading the paper. “They’ve got a lot of pictures of your duels alongside the article, Harry. Usually, an article only gets three or four pictures, they’ve got seven for yours.”

“That’s nice, I guess?” Harry shrugged as he finished the last of his breakfast. “I’m going to be practicing some spells.” He informed them with a grin before taking off upstairs towards his bedroom.

“Nerrrrrrrrd!” Tonks called after Harry teasingly.

“You’re going to be late for work, Nym!” Harry shot back over his shoulder.

“No, I’m not!” Tonks retorted, only to look at the clock and realize that she did indeed need to leave right away. “Ah shite.” She was on her feet and heading for the Floo quickly. It was a good thing that she already had her Auror robes on.

“That girl of ours.” Ted chuckled as Tonks left for work.

“I’m sure she gets that from your side.” Andromeda grinned at her husband.

-Harry’s Room-

The young Spellcrafter closed his door behind him and headed for his desk. It was piled high with a stack of books and various pieces of parchment and paper. With a wave of his hand, a notebook flew from a shelf across the room and into his outstretched hand. He opened it to the page he was on and looked at where his thoughts had left off last time.

‘Hmm, my best guess for the Blood Malediction is to remove it entirely. But removing it all at once is going to be difficult as it sits. The ‘roots’ of the curse are sunk deep into both Magic and body. How do I remove it entirely without ripping someone apart from the inside out?’ Harry pondered on the conundrum that he’d been going over ever since he’d gotten a chance to look at Daphne’s condition. The old book from the Restricted Section had helped, most definitely, but like many spellbooks it claimed that the Blood Malediction was unbreakable.

Leaning back in his chair, tilting it onto the back legs and then holding it in place with Magic, Harry continued to ponder. The curse was old, how old he didn’t know, but old enough that no one outside of the Greengrass Family seemed to know or recall that such a curse had been placed on their Family Line. The ability to curse generation after generation was honestly impressive, but morally deficient to say the least. If he could ask more direct questions about the Blood Malediction’s history, then he might be able to figure out a bit more that could help him undo it. As he continued to think over the problem, he began to speak another of his fake incantations. Something about the prose helped his thought process when he was thinking about certain topics. In the case of removing the Greengrass Family’s curse, his mind subconsciously went to healing.

“Heavenly light, once rejected. Merciful arms that save my shallow self. Rescue my miserable companions in place of my words that cannot reach them. Oh sunlight, may you beat back ruin.” Harry murmured as he looked up at the ceiling while his mind tried to work out a way to deal with the blood curse. There had to be a way to safely remove the roots of the curse from the victim. It was sort of like a parasite the way it took from the ones that were cursed.

A book floated over to Harry, old and worn, it was from a collection that was in the Black Family Home in London. A house called 12 Grimmauld Place, according to Andromeda and Sirius. The two had gone there a couple of times over the last few years to take books from the large library there. Nothing that would be considered dangerous or Dark, but old and rare books that they knew Harry would be interested in. This particular tome was on Magical Healing, including both spells and potions, which Harry thought might help his current thought process.

“The song of a now distant forest. The nostalgic song of life. Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you.” Harry spoke another poem-like chant as he flipped through the large book, stopping on anything that looked like it might be useful before moving on.

Seeing a section on Magical Surgery peaked Harry’s interest. That particular branch of Magical Healing wasn’t used anymore except in the direst of situations. There wasn’t much that needed to be physically removed from a sick Witch or Wizard nowadays that a regiment of potions couldn’t cure over the course of a few days or weeks. Even healing spells had developed enough that actually doing a surgery was almost never necessary anymore. But as he read more into the section, Harry began to consider some new possibilities.

“Pius’s staff, Pione’s light. Intersect with the authority of healing and heal everything.” Harry wished it were so simple to remove the Blood Malediction. But it wasn’t technically an injury, more like a condition, and that was less a thing to be healed as it was to be treated over time.

Thinking on some of the things he’d read over in the Restricted Section of the library, Harry knew of one thing that could potentially work already. But much like the Blood Malediction itself, the potential ‘cure’ was very lacking in morals. It was considered a Dark Magic in which one sacrificed someone else to take on the curse of another. In this case, Harry would have to find a person to take on Daphne’s curse and basically sacrifice said person to suffer the blood curse in her place. The only problem, aside from the repugnant nature of the Magic, was that there was no guarantee that Daphne’s curse could be transferred to a new ‘host’ like that. Worst case scenario being that the Blood Malediction killed her as it was moved from her and into the new victim.

“Not like I could kill her either.” Harry shook his head at the thought. Upon death, the curse would absolutely break as it had served its function, but that would just be murder. There was no way to truly bring the dead back to life. Necromancy was merely moving corpses and giving them a semblance of life. A very good Necromancer could even have their risen speak and act like the person they were in life, but it was still just an imitation. The corpse was still a corpse and would eventually rot away, even with Magic slowing the process to a crawl.

Looking out of his window and at the clouds in the sky, Harry continued his musing and hypothesizing. If there was a way to truly resurrect a person, then there’d be no such thing as an unbreakable curse. Not to mention the fact that there would be a lot more elderly Witches and Wizards that potentially exceeded even Dumbledore’s age. Maybe someone that was recently deceased could be resurrected, the body’s functions restored before the brain died, but Harry didn’t have much idea about how to accomplish such a feat. At least not a way that wouldn’t just put the revived person back into the same state that had killed them in the first place.

“Oh untrodden realm, oh forbidden wall, on this fateful day I reject the laws set forth by the divine. Rod of Asclepius, bowl of Salus, oh ye who lingers beyond the furthest reaches of healing, I implore you to bide that time. Unending tears, chorus of grief, the ultimate price has already been paid. Oh path of light, I pray that you forsake the unyielding past and shine upon my foolish desire. I swear I shall not look back.” Harry spoke as he watched the clouds roll by.

It was a truly insane idea to use Magic to revive even the recently deceased. In all of the millennia of Wizards and Witches, it had been considered something truly impossible, even with all that Magic was able to accomplish. There were some things that just weren’t meant to be. Even Harry wasn’t sure it was truly possible, despite all of his intuitive understanding of Magic. It may be that there truly were some constants of reality that could not be changed, death being one of them.

“Looks like I got a bit off topic.” Harry chuckled to himself as he realized that he’d gone off on a tangent in his own thoughts and musings. It was a recurring thing with him and always had been. He’d start thinking on one subject and it would eventually lead into another, and then another. He’d realize sooner or later and then refocus back onto whatever topic he’d started on again. “Back to the matter at hand.”

Harry spent all morning going over different ideas of how to deal with the Blood Malediction. His hypotheses were always geared around getting rid of the curse entirely from the Greengrass Line, but he continued to run into the issue of exactly how to go about that. With what he’d seen from Daphne, it would be hard for any spell to undo the blood curse. It was deeply entrenched within the current generation of the family, and after so long, removing it was always going to be difficult.

After lunch, Andromeda asked Harry to help her with her garden for a bit. It was something Harry didn’t mind doing, and it let him practice a little of his Herbology at the same time. Plant Magic was still eluding him at the moment, but he felt like he was making some progress. At the very least, the plants he grew, shaped, and manipulated didn’t shrivel up and die instantly anymore. Now it took several seconds before that happened. Not much progress, but still progress.

“Make sure you get all of the roots, Harry.” Andromeda smiled as they were doing the weeding. A point from her wand and a weed slowly worked itself out of the ground, roots and all. Andromeda quickly placed it into the basket next to her that was filled with similar weeds. “If you leave the roots behind a new weed will just grow back.”

“Yes, Auntie.” Harry used the same spell, albeit wandlessly, and watched as the weed slowly pulled itself out of the ground. Cocking an eyebrow as he looked at the roots of the weed, his mind made a connection. “Roots.” He murmured before finding another weed to use the spell on again. This time Harry activated his in-progress Mage Sight spell to watch the Magic uproot the plant. He saw his spell cover the plant first. Once the weed was surrounded by his Magic, the roots in the dirt slowly moved, releasing their hold on the soil. As the various roots disengaged from the dirt, the visible part of the weed began to sway and move. The roots lifted upwards until the weed was perfectly uprooted and fell to the ground. Harry picked up the weed, inspecting the roots and not seeing any damage done to them. ‘That might work.’ The Spellcrafter had a grin on his face and his green eyes were alight with thoughts and speculation. Perhaps he’d been looking at this the wrong way? This wasn’t some curse that had a counter-curse and could be undone with a simple spell. This was a multi-generational curse that was unbreakable and had existed for who knew how long in the Greengrass Family. ‘Perhaps I need to think of this less like undoing a curse, and more like uprooting it from within the Greengrass family members.’

“What’s got you smiling, Harry?” Andromeda questioned her surrogate nephew.

“Just thinking about how simple things like this can lead to thinking about things differently.” Harry laughed lightly, smiling at her.

“Do I want to know what weeding the garden has put into your head?” Andromeda questioned with a look thrown his way.

“It’s nothing bad.” Harry shook his head.

“Uh huh.” Andromeda teased him lightly. “I’ve heard that before.”

“At least I don’t always play pranks like Sirius.” Harry gave a playful pout at his surrogate aunt.

“The key word there being ‘always’ young man.” Andromeda was quick with the response and Harry couldn’t help but grin.

The two would spend the next several minutes finishing the weeding of the garden together. It was just one of those simple things that they did as a family. Harry, despite his age, had come to enjoy such times with his aunt. Not to mention, this wasn’t the first time that doing something simple with one of his family members had led to him having an epiphany about something completely unrelated. Not everything was contained in books, and Harry had the proof from his own experiences. Sometimes you had to get out of the mindset of traditional study or research and just do something else entirely.

-Junior Dueling League-

“Oof!” Terry Boot coughed as an invisible force hit him in the stomach. Before he could fully process the pain, his wand was yanked out of his hand by a Summoning Charm.

“Disarmed!” One of the male Judges declared as Terry’s wand was caught by Harry.

“Harry Potter wins his fourth consecutive Duel today.” The announcer declared to the watching audience. The applause was polite from some and almost raucous from others.

“Nice match, Harry.” Terry smiled as they bowed to each other.

“You did much better than last time yourself.” Harry praised his fellow Ravenclaw on his higher placement compared to the last time the Under 17 Dueling League had met up. Both Terry and Harry had to win three Duels to face each other today, and Terry had put on a better showing by beating Theodore Nott, Zacharias Smith, and Draco.

“I’m trying to think outside the box, so to speak.” Terry shrugged as they cleared the platform. “It seems to work for you.”

“Keep it up, you’ll become a better Duelist that way.” Harry encouraged him as the two boys separated to head back to their respective families.

“That was quick, Harry.” Sirius high-fived his godson with a grin.

“I might be a little restless.” Harry admitted with a shrug. “My Mastery Exam is coming up soon.”

“True,” Sirius patted his back gently. “But your birthday is before that.” He reminded.

“You’re right, and I’m curious what new books or trinkets you’ve found this time.” Harry grinned at his godfather.

“Don’t think that I’ll ruin the surprise, Harry!” Sirius laughed and was happy to see Harry laughing with him.

“Still undefeated, huh, Harry?” Alexander Runcorn chuckled as he walked close to where Harry and Sirius were sitting. The older boy had taken his loss to Harry well and had shown some clear growth in his Dueling over the summer so far.

“So far.” Harry replied easily. “I don’t believe that I’ve seen you lose either.”

“I can’t lose all the time.” Alexander joked with a grin. “How would I get onto the Professional Dueling Circuit if I did that?”

“A good question.” Harry put on a fake ‘thinking look’ for a moment.

“See you later, Harry.” Alexander waved as he headed over to his parents a bit further down from where Harry and Sirius were sitting.

“Later.” Harry waved back to the older boy.

“He’s a good kid.” Sirius commented on Alexander.

“Better than a certain blonde that nearly throws a fit every time that he loses.” Harry didn’t look but Sirius already knew that he was talking about Draco Malfoy.

-July 31^st-

Harry’s birthday was filled with excitement from the moment he woke up. A lot of that excited energy came from Sirius and Tonks. The two loved a good celebration, and what better to celebrate than Harry’s birthday? Andromeda had made his favorites for breakfast. Ted had brought out the gifts as soon as everyone was done eating. Remus had stopped by to celebrate with them, once more looking a bit tired and worn out, as Harry was often used to seeing the man. Much like Harry expected, his gifts were various books on Magic and a bunch of Magical trinkets and prank items. Andromeda had swatted Sirius for giving him prank items, but Harry could only laugh at the banter between the two.

“Interesting.” Harry smiled at the title of one of his new books: Herbology in Practical Combat was certainly an unexpected title. But this proved how well his family listened to what he was currently looking into. It was nice to know that they took an active interest in his Spellcrafting and the various subjects he was researching for it.

“You’re such a nerd, Harry.” Tonks playfully tousled his hair.

“So, you’ve told me.” Harry grinned and blew a gust of air at her that sent her semi-long hair flying backwards. Petty revenge was so easy with Magic.

“You’re lucky it’s your birthday, Mister.” Tonks fixed her hair with her Metamorphmagus ability, and changed it from pink to purple just because.

“How kind of you.” Harry was unrepentant with the little smirk he shot her way.

“It won’t be your birthday tomorrow, Harrikins, remember that.” Tonks’s playful threat made both of them crack up after a moment.

“You’ve barely teased me at all today, I noticed.” Harry mentioned of Tonks’s oddly good behavior.

I’ve still got a whole month of your summer break to do so.” The Metamorphmagus shrugged with a grin. “Besides, it’ll be more fun to tease you next year.”

“Why’s that?” Harry questioned her with a suspicious gaze.

“Because next year you’ll be a teenager, Harrikins.” Tonks’s grin was all too ‘evil’ for Harry’s liking. “You’ll start getting interested in girls and I’ll be right there to tease you mercilessly.” She wiggled her eyebrows, changing the color of each one with every movement, to tease him further.

“Thanks…looking forward to it.” Harry replied flatly, his face unamused.

“You’re welcome.” Tonks laughed at his face.

“Time for cake!” Sirius declared as he levitated a large cake onto the kitchen table.

“Coming.” Harry called out as he left his gifts to go have some cake. Tonks followed after him, eager to get a piece herself before something inevitably happened to the cake with Sirius around.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Wizarding Examinations Authority-

“Good to meet you, Mr. Potter. I’m Griselda Marchbanks, the Head of the WEA.” Griselda greeted the young boy politely. She was a very old Witch, having been part of the WEA since Albus Dumbledore was a schoolboy. Her hair was gray from her advanced age, and she had all the wrinkles one would expect. But her eyes were still sharp and she held herself firmly with one hand on a cane. “This is an unheard of request, letting any child with only a single year of Hogwarts education take a Mastery Exam. But with what we’ve been able to find out and information provided to us by Lord Black, we’ve decided to grant you a chance.”

“Thank you very much, Madam Marchbanks.” Harry gave a polite bow to Griselda and the two other WEA employees at her side. He’d had to change into a simple robe and some equally simple shoes provided by the examiners. This was all to prevent any form of cheating or fraudulent acts of Magic. It made sense, how many people would happily cheat their way to a Mastery if they didn’t take precautions like this?

“The basic idea of the Mastery Exam is to make sure that you know above Seventh Year material in the Branch of Magic that the exam covers.” Griselda explained to Harry as she and the examiners stepped back to clear a space for Harry. “You may demonstrate anything you wish, so long as it’s a Charm. If your showing is satisfactory, then you’ll be granted a Mastery. Be aware, Mr. Potter, that we are harsh judges and no amount of fame or reputation will get you any leniency here.”

“Understood.” Harry nodded to the three. With a grin he began to float into the air. The young Spellcrafter nearly laughed when he saw the wide-eyed shock on the faces of the three examiners. Harry began to fly around the large (cavernous would be an apt description) room freely. He would speed up, slow down, turn easily, dive, ascend, and all without anyone in the room having their wand in hand to be levitating him in any way.

“He’s…flying.” One examiner finally managed to speak.

“Impossible…we gave him the test robe. It can’t be enchanted like this!” The other examiner shook their head in denial.

“Are you saying that just because others can’t do it, that it’s impossible?” Harry questioned the examiner as he floated down to hover in front of the three. “Isn’t that a bad mindset to have when it comes to Magic?”

“No one has ever proven self-flight to be possible before, Mr. Potter.” Griselda shook her head slightly. “There has been all manner of people that have claimed to do so, but when put under scrutiny it’s always been revealed to be an Enchanted Object of some kind doing the actual flying.”

“Well, no Enchanted Objects here.” Harry demonstrated by shaking out the WEA-given robe and the sleeves of the robe right after. “This is just my Flight spell.” He shot backwards at speed, still in a standing position, before shooting upwards and lightly tapping the incredibly high ceiling with his left hand. With a chuckle he fell backward towards the ground, only to correct his flight and come to a sweeping landing back where he’d started.

“Please, continue, Mr. Potter.” Griselda prompted even as she and the other two examiners were writing on rolls of parchment suspended in the air.

“Sure thing.” Harry raised his right hand, palm up, above his head and the air began to spin. The yellow ring of superheated air formed just as it had done at Hogwarts during his last demonstration. A strong stomp of his foot on the ground and large columns of stone rose up from the floor. Harry set the scorching hot spell flying and the examiners could only watch on in stunned silence as the spell sliced through every single column of stone as if they weren’t there. With a mere thought from Harry, the ring of burning air flew to the opposite end of the massive room and exploded into an immense fireball.

Since he already had the go ahead from Griselda, Harry continued without prompting. He clapped his hands together and interlaced his fingers. All around him pitch-darkness manifested and rapidly spread to engulf the entire room. Harry heard the panicked squawks of the two examiners before hearing Griselda tell them to pipe down and be professionals. Harry quietly flew forward until he was right before them and then canceled his Black Out spell.

“Ah!”

“Wha!”

“Fascinating, Mr. Potter.” Griselda marked something else on her floating parchment. The much older Witch clearly wasn’t startled by much.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Harry flew backwards until he was several meters away and then turned to face the opposite direction.

Weaving his next spell together saw bright red lines extending across the floor in front of Harry. A moment later and a massive firestorm erupted in the area that Harry was facing. Towering tornadoes of fire connected floor and ceiling while scorching the stones black instantly. The heat in the massive chamber quickly rose to be uncomfortably hot. When the flames died out, Harry could vaguely hear the murmuring of the examiners watching him, he switched to his next spell.

This time, the temperature plummeted and a biting chill filled the chamber. A blizzard took over the area that had just been burned and froze everything in thick ice. The howling winds of the localized blizzard echoed in the room and no one could hear anything else. Snow quickly piled up as the wind blew it around, the examiners starting to shiver in their uniform robes.

“A bit chilly…Mr. Potter.” Griselda commented after the blizzard stopped. The entire area the spell had taken place in was like a piece of the arctic now. “I don’t suppose you could do something about that?”

“Warming Charms are simple enough.” Harry shrugged, pointing to each of the examiners in turn. The icy chill was suddenly pushed away by a pleasant warmth and all three of the elders sighed at the comfort.

“Anything else to show us, Mr. Potter?” The examiner on the left asked the boy. All three were already convinced of Harry earning his Mastery in Charms. He was only twelve and could already do things that none of them could hope to pull off!

“Sure,” Harry smiled at getting to show off one of his less used creations. He held up both of his hands with his index fingers extended. A nearly transparent orb about the size of a golf ball appeared at the tips of his index fingers. “This is the Principle of Attraction.” Harry raised his right hand slightly. “This one is the Principle of Rejection.” He raised his left hand to match the height of his right hand.

“You can manifest just the base Principles too?” The examiner on the right blinked at the boy. “Most can only use Charms like Accio and Depulso to utilize the Principles, or as close to the Principles as most can get.”

“Yes sir, I can use the Principles directly.” Harry confirmed for the man and saw all three writing on their floating parchments again. “Under normal conditions, the Attraction Principle and the Rejection Principle would cancel each other out, as long as they were of equal power.” He brought the two orbs together and the three examiners watched them both disperse. “Now if one has greater power than the other,” The two small orbs were summoned again and this time the Attraction Principle grew a bit bigger on the tip of his right index finger. “Then the stronger Principle’s effect takes hold but at a reduced strength.” He touched the two Principles together again. The larger Attraction Principle shrank significantly while the Rejection Principle was completely dispersed. “Conflicting effects cannot exist at the same time at the same strength...normally anyway...” Harry grinned as he conjured the Attraction Principle and Rejection Principle a third time. “What do you think happens if two opposing forces exist within the same space without canceling each other out?” He brought the two transparent orbs together, the opposing Principles fought against each other as Harry forced them together. The two transparent little spheres slowly merged before turning a deep black. The fused orb of Magic was literally vibrating, along with the air around it.

“That’s…that shouldn’t be possible.” This time even Griselda couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“So, what happens when something touches this paradoxical existence?” Harry questioned the three examiners with a knowing grin.

“W-What?” The examiner on the left and right both stuttered out at the same time.

“This.” Harry sent the pitch-black orb of vibrating Magic at the closest wall. The instant the sphere made contact with the stone wall it rapidly expanded and the cavernous chamber went silent. The large black sphere disappeared a moment later revealing a huge hole in the wall, the edges of the missing section were perfectly smooth, as if they’d been painstakingly sanded down to a marble-like finish. Sound returned a second later and Harry looked towards the three absolutely flabbergasted examiners.

It took several long moments before Griselda and the other two examiners regained their wits. But when they did it was to furiously write on their floating parchments while nearly babbling about what they’d seen today.

“Astounding! Simply astounding!” The examiner on the right raved.

“In all my years…I never thought I’d see Magic like this!” The examiner on the left looked up from his parchment. “Mr. Potter is only twelve at that!” He gazed at Harry incredulously while the Spellcrafter waited for their assessment.

“I’ve not seen such incredible Magic since Dumbledore!” Griselda shook her head in amazement. “That boy showed ways to use Magic that I’d not seen before. But this? But you? Mr. Potter…I daresay that Magical Britain, perhaps the vast majority of the Magical World has never seen a Wizard like you!”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Harry gave a nod of thanks to Griselda.

“I don’t think there’s any debate, yes?” The examiner on the left looked between the other two.

“Not at all.” The examiner on the right agreed.

“I’d smack you both if you’d said there was.” Griselda informed her subordinates before turning to Harry. “Mr. Potter, on behalf of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and the Ministry of Magic, we’d like to present you with a certificate and symbol of Mastery in Charms.”

All three examiners tapped their floating parchments with their wands. The parchments rolled up into scrolls and then vanished. A few moments later another Witch entered the large chamber. She handed a framed certificate to Griselda first and then what looked like a badge of some kind. The younger Witch moved back to stand behind the three examiners after handing the items over.

“Harry James Potter, this certifies you as a Charms Master.” Griselda handed the framed certificate to Harry. It was a parchment inlaid with gold that had Harry’s name on it, the legalese writing in cursive that described his achievement and accomplishments in Charms, and was finished off with a silvery Ministry seal. On the bottom edge were what appeared to be the signatures of Griselda and the other two examiners. “This,” She held up the badge. “Is known as a Symbol of Mastery. You can keep it on you at all times if you desire. It proves that you have earned your Mastery in the event that anyone doubts your accomplishments.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry gave a short bow as he accepted the certificate and the symbol. The symbol was indeed a badge made of what appeared to be gold, silver, and potentially even platinum. The gold body of the badge had the seal of the International Confederation of Wizards on it in the background. Around the symbol, along the edge of the badge, were intricate lines of silver to decorate it. Inlaid within the gold was what Harry thought might be platinum, spelling out his name and the title ‘Charms Master’ beneath it.

“Please stop by the Minister’s office before you leave, Mr. Potter.” Griselda instructed Harry with a smile. “It is his responsibility to present you with your new formal Title of Sorcerer for earning your Mastery.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Harry nodded as he was given smiles from the three examiners and they bowed respectfully to the youngest Charms Master and youngest Sorcerer in Magical Britain’s history. Harry headed for the door, hearing the three examiners talking animatedly behind him about what they’d gotten to witness. He was incredibly happy with his achievement too. But the fact that he was going to have to meet the Minister, a man that both Sirius and Andromeda had called an inept politician at best, meant that he’d probably end up on the front page of the Daily Prophet again shaking hands with Cornelius Fudge.

The young Spellcrafter kind of hoped that Sirius could stop that before it happened.

-End Chapter-

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Title Earned!

Harry has officially become the youngest Charms Master and Sorcerer in Magical Britain’s history!

The prodigious Spellcrafter is also working his way to a solution involving the Blood Malediction of the Greengrass Family.

How many ‘impossible’ things does Harry need to do to earn his next Title?

With his Mastery in Charms earned, how will that affect the rest of his school years at Hogwarts?

We know that Harry isn’t satisfied by just one Mastery and the lowest Title on the list. Perhaps Defense Against the Dark Arts next? Or maybe Potions so that he can skip Snape’s class entirely? Kek!

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Summer winds to a close with the Junior Dueling League having their seasonal tournament with their nearest neighboring countries. Harry meets a very interesting person during the tournament! After that, it’s back to Hogwarts for his Second Year! What awaits Harry and friends this school year?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 13 – Junior Tournament, Second Year Begins

For all the excitement of the Junior Dueling League Tournament, Harry was honestly a little bored. Sure, it was interesting seeing Witches and Wizards from other countries, but that was a bit overshadowed by the fact that none of them knew any interesting Magic. Stunning Charms, Flipendo, Protego, some Transfigurations, a few Water Conjuring Charms, and some Fire Conjuring Charms, but nothing that Harry didn’t already know.

“I’m the youngest one here too.” Harry sighed a little as he watched his teammates Duel. Alexander Runcorn had been their Team Leader, as was expected, and he hadn’t lost a single Duel yet. But in a team of five, three wins secured your advancement. Harry hadn’t even had to Duel against the Belgian Team. Alexander and the others had swept the first three rounds.

The initial shock of the foreign teams at seeing a twelve-year-old on the British Team had been amusing, but it was less of a shock since the Prophet had once again blared his business across the front page. As he’d expected, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had turned what was supposed to be a simple formality into a show for the Prophet. Harry was on the front page of the Daily Prophet shaking the Minister’s hand with the headline loudly proclaiming: ‘Harry Potter ‘The Boy Who Lived’ shakes Magical Britain by Becoming the Youngest Charms Master in History!’

‘The reaction of the foreign teams would’ve been funnier if they didn’t know about my Title.’ Harry mused to himself as he watched the current Duel.

“Lata Expelliarmus Trio Maxima!” Alexander cast the heavily modified Disarming Charm at his opponent. The bright burst of Magic not only shattered his opponent’s Protego, but disarmed him, and threw him from the platform at the same time. Thankfully, the area around the Dueling platform was covered in Cushioning Charms to prevent any falling injuries.

‘So, it’s come down to us after all.’ Harry stood up from the bench and made his way towards the platform.

“You got this, Harry?” Alexander asked with a smile, raising his hand for a high-five.

“I’ve got it.” Harry nodded, returning the high-five with a grin as they passed each other.

Now this particular match had Harry’s interest. Not only because it was the final match of the Tournament and both the British Team and the French Team were now tied, but because of his opponent. Fleur Delacour was the youngest Duelist here, barring Harry himself. She was supposedly only fifteen, but her age was far less interesting than the girl herself. After all, Fleur Delacour was a Veela.

Both of the two had been looking at each other from time to time across the large building that the tournament was taking place in. Fleur had honest curiosity in her blue eyes when she looked at him. The older girl clearly interested in someone even younger than her that was on the Junior Dueling Team for Britain. Harry could imagine why, especially if she’d seen the Prophet article. It was probably hard for a lot of people to believe that he’d earned a Mastery at his age.

‘She’s also easy on the eyes, as Sirius would say.’ Harry chuckled internally. Veela were naturally beautiful, almost ethereally so. Long silvery-blonde hair down to her waist, a face that was free of any blemish, bright blue eyes, and a very blessed figure that made her look a bit more mature than her years would normally allow for. But…her looks weren’t of much importance to Harry, being twelve and only just starting his own path through puberty. No, what he was more interested in was her Magic. ‘She’s only Dueled three times during the tournament so far, but her spells are interesting. Fire Magic doesn’t seem to work on her either. It’s so interesting!’

The two Duelists faced each other in the middle of the long, narrow platform. Fleur looked him in the eyes and Harry returned her gaze.  When the referee called for them to salute, Fleur raised her wand in front of her as standard while Harry raised his right hand before him. That had apparently been a shock to some of the foreign participants, and had required a brief discussion before the tournament could begin. But Harry’s first Duel had seen him clear any doubt from the minds of their visitors rather quickly.

“I do not plan to lose, Monsieur Potter.” Fleur spoke, her English had a noticeable accent, but was perfectly understandable.

“Neither do I, Miss Delacour.” Harry replied with a nod. “Let’s have a good Duel.”

“Yes.” Fleur nodded her agreement. “I’d very much like to see what the youngest Charms Master in History can do.”

“Very well.” Harry accepted without a problem. “But only if you show me more of that interesting Magic of yours.”

The two turned away and walked to their respective ends of the platform. They turned to face each other, Fleur with her wand at the ready and Harry with both of his empty hands slightly raised at his sides. The referee looked between the two of them for a moment, then nodded to himself.

“You may begin!” The man began the match, his Sonorus amplified voice filling the area.

“Lata Protego Maxima!” Fleur’s first spell was a modified Protego. Lata to widen the area the spell covered. Maxima to increase its power as high as she could manage without losing control of the spell. “Defodio Tria!” The tripled form of the Gouging Charm rocketed down the platform towards Harry. “Deprimo Duo!” The double Ground Blasting Charm was aimed at Harry’s feet.

“Barrier.” Harry used his unique shield as he studied Fleur’s opening combo. ‘She took care of her own defense first, then tripled the Gouging Charm to put pressure on me. The double Deprimo is to destroy my footing. Not a bad way to start a Duel.’ He noted as the three Gouging Charms and two Deprimo Charms slammed into his barrier and did nothing. “Icicle.” Harry conjured water, froze it, and shaped it into meter-long icicles in the time it took most people to blink. To the onlookers it appeared as if the icicles had formed out of thin air. With a thought, the eight spears of ice were launched at Fleur.

“Really?” Fleur cocked an eyebrow as the ice spears shattered against her empowered Protego. Did Harry really think that would work on her? “Inclinis Alarte Ascendare!” A nearly colorless spell flew from the tip of Fleur’s wand and made a wide arc around the room. The spell struck Harry from behind and flung him into the air. “Descendo!” Fleur hit Harry with another spell at the apex of her last spell. Harry went shooting towards the platform at speed in what would surely be a debilitating fall.

“Float.” Harry stopped his own descent roughly a meter from hitting the platform. “Interesting combo, not sure I’ve seen anyone use the Inclinis modifier before.” He easily righted himself while his Barrier blocked a follow up Depulso that was intended to shove him out of bounds. “But I’ve seen you use more interesting spells since this tournament started.” He smiled at Fleur, his green eyes alight with interest. “Shatter!” He pointed his right index finger at Fleur and a small bolt of Magic flew from him and touched her empowered Protego. The Shield Charm shattered and Fleur staggered back a step from the force.

“I guess I’ll get more serious with you.” Fleur acknowledged as she spun her wand in a triplet of loops. “Vigilem Sagittam Trio.” From her wand three glowing orbs of white light floated into the air between herself and Harry.

The new spell put a grin on Harry’s face, now this was something he hadn’t seen before. The orb on the far left shot a small arrow of the same white light at Harry.  His Barrier nullified it without issue, but then the other two orbs got in on it, all three now firing the same arrows at Harry and peppering the shield with sustained shots.

“Praesidium.” Fleur cast, but this time her wand was pointed at herself. The teen glowed with a faint green light for just a moment. “Maior Potestas.” This time her body was enveloped in a golden glow that just as quickly faded away. “Conscientia.” A light yellow glow this time. “Maior Scutum.” A diamond-like refraction of light covered Fleur’s body before fading away.

“It seems you know more interesting spells than I thought!” Harry was ecstatic at seeing some new Magic for the first time at the tournament. “Tell me, where did you learn that Magic?” The young Sorcerer inquired with a wide grin on his face. The three orbs finally running out of Magic and fading away was apparently Fleur’s cue to show Harry what her spells did.

“Flamma!” Fleur spoke while raising her right hand, palm facing Harry. From her hand a conflagration burst forth, but the flames looked slightly odd, burning not just yellow-orange, but with some purple tint to the fire.

“Barrier.” Harry spoke and the Barrier in front of him shifted from a wall and into a sphere surrounding Harry. The strange fire washed over the spherical shield and continued on to hit the powerful Shield Charms being maintained by the tournament organizers around the cleared out area that surrounded the platform. “Is that the Veela Fire I’ve read about?” Harry questioned once the flames had dispersed. “Your casting seems a lot stronger all of a sudden? Why is that? Are those spells you cast earlier somehow amplifying the effects of your Magic?”

“You talk a lot, Monsieur Potter.” Fleur remarked as she slashed her wand through the air. “Diffindo Maxima!” The overpowered Severing Charm sliced through the air and sparked when it hit Harry’s shield.

“I’m just very curious, Miss Delacour.” Harry replied before using his next spell. “Lightning.” A bright white-blue light nearly blinded the onlookers before a sharp crack was heard. Those that were able to see watched as a bolt of lightning struck Fleur directly. However, the spell seemed to flow around the Veela teen and greatly reduced the effect. “Arrow.” Harry was perfectly able to see his first spell seemingly defended against. He released his next one, a wave of arrows made of off-white Magic, at the Veela before she could regain herself. Once more, the spell didn’t seem to do nearly as much as it should, several of the Magic arrows dispersing when they hit Fleur.

“Fumos!” Fleur cast and a thick, massive cloud of black smoke exploded from the tip of her wand to obscure everything. “Protego Tria Maxima!” She raised three powerful shields between herself and Harry. “Inclinis Bombarda Trio Maxima!” Fleur unleashed a barrage of Exploding Charms down upon Harry from behind her three shields. The triple explosions that followed rocked the Dueling platform and Fleur worried that she might have gone overboard.

“Very good…I usually have to roughhouse with Tonks to get this kind of challenge.” Harry praised Fleur with a large smile. The Fumos was blown to the edges of the cleared area from the blasts, so the two could see each other again. “Now, in return for you showing me such interesting spells, I’ll show you one too.” The Sorcerer held his hands in front of his chest, both palms facing each other, and Fleur watched as the air began to twist between them. Harry slowly pulled his hands further and further apart, making the ring of swirling wind larger. “Everyone has seen my Primal Fire before, but this is something I’ve only shown my family.”

Fleur would admit to being intrigued, but also knew that she should stop the forming spell before it was completed. Unfortunately, not even her most powerful spells had been able to break Harry’s shield. She focused and increased the strength of her three empowered Protego shields to hopefully block whatever Harry was casting.

“This is wind with the Aspect of Dispersion applied to it!” Harry grinned wildly at the Veela teen. “I call it De-Spell!” The Barrier around him vanished right before Harry launched the swirling ring of wind towards Fleur. The first Protego Maxima scattered away into small points of light, as did the second, and then the third.

“Impossible!” Fleur could only cross her arms to cover her face as the ring of wind blasted her off her feet. She couldn’t believe it when the spells she’d cast on herself were all stripped away too! The strange spell that Harry had used made the Magic fly away from her body like sparkling dust in the wind. She hit the platform with a rather undignified ‘oof’ and scrambled to her feet.

“It’s my win, Miss Delacour.” Harry stomped on the platform and the entire platform in front of him all the way to Fleur’s end turned to sand and fell apart.

“Non…” Fleur slid down the shifting sands and her feet touched the stone floor.

“Out of bounds!” The referee called out; the smoke of the Fumos spell had faded away just as Harry had transfigured the majority of the platform into sand. The Shield Charms around the area were dropped as the referee made his way inside the area and up onto the remainder of the platform beside Harry. “The winner of the fifth Duel between the French Team and the British Team is Harry Potter! That gives the British Team three wins. This year’s tournament winners are the British Junior League Team!” His announcement was met by applause from the crowd, especially the families of the four teens (plus Harry) that had won the whole thing.

“One sec.” Harry focused and the sand gathered back together and reformed the shape of the platform. A moment later and the platform was back to its original form. With a nod at undoing his spell, Harry hopped off the platform and walked over to Fleur. “That was a great Duel, Miss Delacour.” He smiled at the girl, his hand out for a polite shake. “Your Magic is incredibly interesting. I haven’t seen anything quite like it before. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me about it sometime?”

“Non, Monsieur Potter.” Fleur accepted his handshake, but shook her head at his question. “Those spells are not mine to teach. They are Veela-made and we do not share them with non-Veela.” She gave him a smile and the interest in her blue eyes was clear. “Your Magic is very impressive as well. I can see now how you’ve already attained a Mastery. I would love to ask about them, but as I cannot speak of my own, it would be very unfair to ask you to share yours.”

“Mysterious.” Harry’s grin wouldn’t fade at all. Veela-made spells! How cool was that? Perhaps he should see about finding other Races that could use Magic and see what he could learn. “You’re quite the Duelist and you have interesting Magic. I think that makes you brilliant, Miss Delacour.”

“Merci, Monsieur Potter.” Fleur smiled at him again. She was inwardly shocked that he hadn’t responded to her Allure. She always did her best to control it, of course, but this close to her and most males tended to start getting glassy-eyed or boastful. ‘Perhaps he’s just a better quality of male?’ The Veela teen mentally noted.

“Harry! That was great!” Sirius came up behind Harry with a bright smile. “We couldn’t see anything after the big Fumos Charm, but we saw the end results!”

“You did good, Harrikins!” Tonks ruffled his hair with a laugh.

“That was splendid, Harry.” Andromeda smiled, lightly smacking Tonks’s hand to make her stop messing up Harry’s hair.

“A brilliant show, Harry, top notch Dueling!” Ted patted his shoulder with a nod to the boy.

“Fleur!” A small girl nearly collided with Fleur’s legs. The rapid fire French was lost on Harry, but Fleur only giggled and picked up the small girl. With their faces side-by-side, the family resemblance was unmistakable.

Two adults were quick to join the sisters. A dark-haired man in nicely tailored robes, and a gorgeous woman that could only be Fleur’s mother, based on the similar looks and the ethereal Veela beauty that the woman practically radiated. The family spoke in French for a moment before the two adults faced Harry and his family.

“You were impressive today, Monsieur Potter.” The man congratulated Harry on his victory. “Ah, I forget my manners, my name is Marius Delacour, pleased to meet you.” He gave a slight bow to the group. “This is my lovely wife, Apolline, and our youngest daughter, Gabrielle.” He introduced the rest of his family.

“Charmed.” Sirius stepped forward, shaking Marius’s hand and then laying the barest of a kiss on Apolline’s knuckles like a proper aristocrat. “Your daughter is an amazing Duelist. Only our Nym here usually gives Harry such a workout.” He motioned to Tonks, who was glaring lightly at him. “Let me introduce everyone.” He returned the favor to the Delacours. “This is my cousin, Andromeda.” He motioned to Andy. “Her husband, Theodore.” Ted stepped forward to shake Marius’s hand after Andromeda had greeted the Delacours. “And their daughter, Nympha-”

“Tonks is fine.” Tonks interrupted Sirius with a nudge of her shoulder. The Metamorphmagus was now full-on glaring at Sirius with eyes that promised retribution if he spoke her full name.

“A pleasure to meet you all.” Marius smiled at them.

“Very lovely indeed.” Apolline smiled lightly, the woman’s beauty making the small gesture absolutely stunning. “I don’t believe we’ve ever seen a Duelist younger than Fleur actually defeat her since she joined the Under 17 League. You are very talented, Monsieur Potter.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” Harry accepted the praise as graciously as he could. He was wondering if his automatic Occlumency was blocking out the supposed effects of a Veela’s allure. Without forcefully stopping his Occlumency, Harry didn’t have a way to check. ‘Ah, what the heck, why not?’ He thought to himself and stopped his Occlumency for a moment.

The foreign feeling came quickly. It was a sudden desire to impress Fleur and Apolline. The two Veela suddenly seemed even more beautiful than they already were. Strangely, he didn’t feel compelled to do these things, as he’d read of some accounts, but the feelings were definitely there. Harry let go of his control and his Occlumency returned, blocking off the feeling.

“Monsieur Potter.” Fleur spoke to Harry, the adults having their own conversation off to the side.

“Harry is fine, if you’d like.” Harry offered to drop the formalities.

“Thank you.” Fleur gave him a small smile. “You may call me Fleur as well then.”

“Thank you for the privilege, Fleur.” Harry returned her smile with one of his own.

“I was wondering if you might wish to exchange letters?” Fleur asked, her blue eyes showing her sincerity. “It would be nice to have a pen pal that is so knowledgeable about Magic.”

“I’d like that.” Harry agreed to write to Fleur without hesitation. “But if you try to learn my Magical Secrets, you’ll find that I’m quite the enigmatic one.” He joked with the girl.

“Merci, Harry, I promise not to ask for your secrets.” Fleur chuckled a little, the sound pleasant to the ears.

“Fleur, Fleur…” Gabrielle got her sisters attention. “Est-il votre ami?” She looked over at Harry.

“Oui.” Fleur answered, bouncing Gabrielle on her hip and making the little girl giggle.

“I’ll assume that was good.” Harry chuckled at the interaction.

“She asked if you were my friend.” Fleur informed him with a grin. “I said yes.”

“Brilliant.” Harry nodded at the explanation. Fleur giggled lightly at the grin on Harry’s face.

“Making the moves on your new friend, Harrikins?” Tonks leaned next to Harry’s ear from behind.

“No Nym, we’ve just agreed to start being pen pals.” Harry killed Tonks’s attempt at teasing immediately. There was no telling where it would go if the Metamorph was given anything to work with.

“Yes, Harry is a bit young for such things.” Fleur let Gabrielle down and the small girl was quick to go to their mother. “I’m sure he’ll be rather charming in a few more years though.” The Veela teen gave Harry a grin.

“You’ll have to do better than that to get a reaction from me, Fleur.” Harry turned up his nose in a faux pompous manner. “I live with this one.” Harry pointed at Tonks. “So, I’ve built up a bit of an immunity towards teasing older girls.”

“Wait until you’re older, Harrikins.” Tonks had a smug smirk that Harry wasn’t sure he liked. “I’ll have you blushing just like I did when I teased you a couple years ago.”

“Lovely.” Harry remarked while side-eyeing Tonks. Her smile promised that she’d get the reaction she wanted when the time came.

“Perhaps in a few more years I’ll assist you with that, Miss Tonks.” Fleur giggled and the two girls shared a smile.

“Teaming up seems unfair, but if you must.” Harry let out a put-upon sigh, as if he was allowing them to have a handicap.

“You just keep digging that hole deeper, Harrikins.” Tonks ruffled his hair again. “We girls don’t forget, you know.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” Harry rolled his eyes and Fleur laughed at the byplay between the two of them.

After exchanging addresses, and the adults finished chatting, the two families separated and the small award ceremony started. Britain was given the first place trophy, France had earned the second place trophy, and the Netherlands took third place. The Daily Prophet photographer and journalist were there to cover the event, along with the leading Magical Newspapers from the other three countries. Dueling was a very big thing in Magical Europe, after all. Every country was hopeful to see up and coming talent from their young Witches and Wizards.

-Diagon Alley ~ Last Week of August-

“Maybe we shouldn’t have waited so long.” Harry mentioned as he and Sirius made their way through the crowded street.

“We were a bit busy this summer.” Sirius replied with a chuckle. “So, we’ll have to put up with the crowds.”

“I just need my textbooks and we’ll be done.” Harry mentioned looking over his school list. “Why do I have to get one of every ‘Gilderoy Lockhart’ book though? Is the new Professor some kind of fan or something?”

“Who knows?” Sirius shrugged as they walked towards Flourish and Blott’s. “Unfortunately, it looks like today was the wrong day.” Looking up, Harry was greeted by a long line outside of the bookstore and a large banner proclaiming that Gilderoy Lockhart would be signing copies of his new book ‘Magical Me’ today.

“Ugh…maybe I’ll be able to slip through the store unnoticed at least?” Harry asked with a little hope.

“I’ll be with you, Harry, no worries.” Sirius smiled at his godson. If anybody tried to mess with Harry, they’d be dealing with Sirius Black and it wouldn’t be pretty.

The trip through Flourish and Blott’s was easy enough, only really made difficult by the large crowd there for the book signing. Harry grimaced at the stack of books that they had to buy. Even the titles of the books sounded more like fanciful tales rather than any kind of actual coursebook. Harry was actually surprised at how few people noticed him at all. Gilderoy Lockhart was apparently able to draw all attention to himself.

‘If it makes my shopping easier.’ Harry shrugged with the stack of books floating ahead of him. He made sure to keep his line of sight clear, he didn’t want to run into anyone.

“Going to be hard to get to the till.” Sirius looked over the heads of the gathered crowd to try and find a way to the checkout counter.

“Quite the peacock, isn’t he?” Harry mentioned of Lockhart as the man posed for photos that would be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow.

“That’s one way of putting it.” Sirius snickered with Harry as they tried to get through the crowd so that they could purchase Harry’s books and be done with their shopping.

“Harry Potter?” Lockhart spoke up just before Harry and Sirius could reach the line for the till.

The entire crowd turned to look at Harry and the young Sorcerer merely raised an eyebrow. His stack of books floated before him without a care and Sirius was at Harry’s side, the look on the man’s face daring anyone to approach. Unfortunately, it turned out that both Lockhart and the cameraman from the Daily Prophet were apparently blind to such visual cues. The blonde peacock of a man was quick to move across the floor and sidle up to Harry. As was the cameraman following behind to get the two in a photo together.

“Big smile, Harry, the two of us together warrant the front page.” Lockhart whispered just loud enough that only Harry and Sirius could hear him.

“Back away from my godson…” Sirius’s words were cut off by the loud flash of the camera going off. “Oi!” He glared at the Daily Prophet cameraman. “Who said you could take a picture of my godson?”

“It’s fine, Sirius.” Harry had a little grin on his face that Sirius had seen many times before. “I don’t think any pictures taken of me will come out at all.” Sirius would make sure to ask what prank Harry had managed to pull off after they left the store.

“Ladies and gentlemen! What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time... I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!” Lockhart announced, still standing beside Harry. The surprised gasps and murmurs of the gathered crowd were only briefly drowned out by the Daily Prophet cameraman taking another photo.

“Why in the world would Dumbledore hire you?” Harry couldn’t help but ask in shock at the news.

“Well, I do have an Order of Merlin Third Class, and I’m an honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League as well. Who better to teach you and all of the other students at Hogwarts?” Lockhart boasted, puffing himself up a bit and enjoying all the attention that he was getting.

“Really?” Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde Wizard. “You seem like a bit of twit to me.” The stunned look on Lockhart’s face was something that Harry would save in his memory for a good long while as he and Sirius moved away from the stunned man.

They paid for the books and Harry shrunk them all with a snap of his fingers. After putting the shrunken books into his pocket, Sirius and Harry were heading for the exit, still hearing Lockhart waxing on about his accomplishments and his new autobiography ‘Magical Me’ that he was signing today. It was just a bit before they got to the door that a commotion caught their attention.

“What’s going on?” Harry wondered as the commotion got louder.

Sirius was able to look over the heads of the people watching whatever was going on. It appeared to be two Wizards in a brawl with each other. From the distinct hair colors, it was rather easy for Sirius to tell who the fighters were. As he was close, Sirius went to help separate his red-haired acquaintance from the Death Eater he was punching. Though not before giving some encouragement, of course.

“Hit him harder, Arthur!” Sirius crowed happily watching Arthur Weasley punch Lucius Malfoy while the two men tussled on the ground.

“Sirius?” Molly Weasley questioned before raising her voice. “Don’t encourage him! Stop them!”

“Come on you two, break it up!” Sirius hollered as he pulled Arthur off of Lucius. “Good punches there, Arthur.” He whispered to the man with a grin as the Malfoy Patriarch was standing up from the floor.

“Black.” Lucius greeted stiffly.

“That’s not very polite of you Lucius, you forgot to address me with my title.” Sirius replied regally, though the amusement in his eyes was impossible to miss.

“Lord Black.” Lucius greeted a second time, his face carefully controlled but his eyes burning with cold rage.

“How are you today, Malfoy?” Sirius questioned as Molly fussed over Arthur.

“Well, thank you. Come along Draco.” Lucius answered brusquely as he ushered his son out of the bookstore.

“Potter.” Draco’s near scoff couldn’t really be called a greeting, but Harry had learned that Draco didn’t seem to care for him. It was no loss to the Spellcrafter if Malfoy had some issue with him though.

“Still an arse.” Sirius chortled to himself seeing the two Malfoys leave the shop. “How’ve you been Arthur?” He greeted his acquaintance, making the older redhead smile and shake his hand.

“Doing well Sirius; we read about Harry’s Mastery in the Prophet. Molly and I were so amazed by his accomplishment.” Arthur smiled even as a small bruise was forming on his jaw.

“Molly, how’re you? The kids doing well?” Sirius asked and the Matriarch of the Weasley Family smiled and confirmed that she and the family were doing well. Sirius listened with a grin as Molly told him about her children. Bill and Charlie were supposedly giving her gray hairs with their dangerous career choices. But being a Dragon Handler was a very dangerous job for Charlie to pick. Not that a Curse Breaker for Gringotts was much safer. Bill had apparently chosen that path and had been in Egypt for the last two years on assignment.

“Wicked, didn’t think we’d get to meet you here, Harry.” Ron Weasley greeted the Ravenclaw as he and the twins stood before Harry. The red-haired girl next to them must have been their sister.

“I was honestly hoping to not have a spectacle made of just shopping for my school things, should have known better I suppose.” Harry shrugged with a sigh at what Lockhart had done.

“Certainly, likes to hear himself talk, eh?” Ron rolled his eyes at Lockhart. “Mum fancies him a bit.” He whispered to Harry.

“We read about your Mastery, oh great Sorcerer.” Fred (after Harry had subtly cast his Identification Charm) spoke up with an exaggerated bow.

“Truly a once in a century prodigy.” George continued on, also dramatically bowing low to Harry.

“Keep that up and I’ll make sure that your first initials are stuck on your foreheads for the next few weeks.” Harry jokingly threatened the two twins with the loss of one of their favorite running gags.

“Harrikins! How could you?!” Both of the twins reeled back, their hands over their foreheads as if they were feeling faint.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” Harry gave the girl a polite smile. “Harry Potter, nice to meet you.”

“G-Ginny Weasley.” Ginny introduced herself with a stutter and flushed red cheeks. Harry noticed that she had a cauldron in her hands that was loaded with books.

“Ginny might have a bit of a crush on you.” Ron warned, none too quietly, and Ginny stomped on his foot before nearly rushing away. “Gah! What was that for?!” He called after his little sister.

“You were asking for that one.” George informed his little brother.

“Indeed, you shouldn’t get on Gin-Gin’s bad side, Ronnikins.” Fred nodded his head in a faux sage-like way.

“I was just being honest.” Ron complained, not putting weight on his injured foot.

“Ready to go, Harry?” Sirius called out.

“Coming.” Harry nodded to his godfather. “Nice seeing you all, but it looks like we’re heading out.”

“We’ll see you at Hogwarts.” Fred and George bowed again, making Harry snort at their antics.

“Later, Harry.” Ron waved as Harry departed.

-Outside of Flourish and Blott’s-

“So, what did you do to the camera?” Sirius questioned, a knowing grin on his face.

“Strange how a simple Color Changing Charm can turn a clear lens black, huh?” Harry smirked as they headed towards the Leaky Cauldron for a quick lunch.

“Ha!” Sirius barked a quick laugh before stifling his outburst. “Oh, I’m sure that cameraman is going to freak out if he doesn’t notice soon.”

“He should learn not to take photos of people without their permission then.” Harry didn’t feel bad for the other Wizard. What he’d done was rude and if some lost pictures helped him learn that lesson, then it was a cheap lesson.

“Ah, Harry, if you were older, I’d buy you a Fire Whiskey for that.” Sirius was always proud to hear about any pranks that Harry pulled off.

“How about a Butterbeer instead?” Harry looked at his godfather with a grin.

“Done. You’ve earned it.” Sirius chortled as they approached the wall that separated Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron.

-End Chapter-

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The End of Summer Tournament was a bit of a bore for Harry. Until he met Fleur Delacour that is! It was Harry’s first time meeting a Veela and you could FEEL how curious he was, right?

Unfortunately for the Spellcrafter, Fleur would not reveal the secret Veela-made spells to him. But he did get a new pen pal out of it! So, that’s nice too!

However, the ever playful Tonks may just have an accomplice to her teasing in the future!

Oh, poor future Harry, what ever will he do with two beautiful girls teasing him?

Second Year is about to begin! But a lack of an appearance by a certain House Elf means that Harry is going in blind.

How will this particular change pan out for our Spellcrafter and youngest Charms Master and Sorcerer?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry is returning to Hogwarts! After a somewhat eventful summer, what will our Spellcrafter spend his time with during his second year? Well, there’s always friends and a new ‘little sister’ to dote on. Not to mention dealing with a certain peacock all year. Perhaps Harry will make some progress on a certain Dark Magic removal? Along with some of his other Magical interests.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 14 – Little Sister, Professor Failure

Getting through Platform Nine-and-Three Quarters on September first was always an exercise. The crowds swelled up as parents sent their children off for another year at Hogwarts and the earlier you were the better, usually. Harry had been seen off by Sirius without too many shenanigans, for the Marauder at any rate. He still noticed the various looks of amazement and surprise he was getting from his peers and their families. His accomplishment was simply too unheard of to elicit many other responses. Thankfully, he made his way onto the Hogwarts Express without incident.

Harry found himself a nice compartment, empty, and settled himself in easily. His trunk was unshrunk, levitated onto the overhead rack, and then he pulled out an old tome, worn from age, and one of his notebooks. He wanted to go over a few more things on the trip since it took a few hours. He was making what he felt was real progress on figuring out how to remove the Blood Malediction on Daphne. Not to mention that he had other projects that were keeping parts of his attention as well.

“I wonder if Professor Flitwick would let me skip Charms Class entirely since I have my Mastery?” Harry mumbled to himself thoughtfully. It would certainly give him a bit more time to go over his own interests.

A knock on the door to the compartment came several minutes later. Harry looked up as the door opened and saw a short blonde girl standing in the corridor with her trunk. She had blue-gray eyes, a small smile on her lips, and from what he could tell, radish earrings. The fact that those weren’t even that odd compared to some accessories on the Magical side of things barely registered to Harry.

“Would you mind if I sat here?” The blonde girl questioned politely.

“Of course, come in.” Harry offered with a smile. “Do you need any help with your trunk?”

“Maybe a little.” The blonde looked at the item next to her.

“Sure thing.” Harry pointed at the trunk and the luggage levitated slowly off the ground and into the overhead rack. “All done.”

“Thank you very much.” The blonde smiled at Harry, moving to sit across from him.

“No problem.” Harry chuckled, almost surprised at the lack of reaction from the girl. It was kind of refreshing though. “I’m Harry Potter, may I know your name?”

“Hello, Harry Potter, I’m Luna Lovegood.” Luna introduced herself, her smile widening a little bit.

“Nice to meet you, Luna.” Harry returned her smile. She was small enough that a part of Harry wanted to reach out and gently pat her head.

Luna pulled out a magazine from her robe pocket. The Quibbler was infamous in Magical Britain as a tabloid, full of outlandish stories and claims. Harry grinned at Luna’s choice of reading material, and the fact that she was reading it upside down, and went back to his own book to take notes. He wouldn’t figure this out if he didn’t look into every avenue of research.

“Good morning, Harry.” Hermione greeted Harry once she’d found his compartment.

“Morning, Hermione, need any help?” Harry smiled, motioning to her trunk.

“I’ve got it.” Hermione pulled out her wand and tapped the trunk. The bushy-haired Witch easily levitated her luggage into the overhead rack next to Harry’s trunk. “Who is this?” Hermione queried as she put her wand away.

“I’m Luna Lovegood.” Luna introduced herself with a smile, looking up from her upside down magazine.

“Hermione Granger, a pleasure.” Hermione returned the introduction with a small smile of her own. She took the seat next to Harry and snuck a peek at what was in the old book he had floating in front of him. Unfortunately for the ever-curious bookworm, the material was too advanced for her. It might as well have been in another language for all that she was able to understand from a brief glance.

“Curse Removal, if you’re curious.” Harry snickered, having caught Hermione’s glance at the worn tome.

“For that project you won’t talk about, yes?” Hermione gave a playful roll of her eyes at her friend.

“Exactly.” Harry nodded faux sagely, making Hermione giggle a little.

Once the Hogwarts Express had left King’s Cross, the trip was mostly quiet in the compartment. The turning of pages was one of the few sounds, as all three occupants read during the ride. The lull was broken when Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot came by to chat for a bit from their compartment further down the train. Harry had happily welcomed a break, even getting Hermione to focus on the conversation instead of reading while their housemates chatted with them. The three boys left when Anthony spotted the Trolley Lady making her way down the corridor.

“Anything from the trolley, dearies?” The kind old lady asked the group of three.

“Would you two like anything?” Harry asked Hermione and Luna politely.

“Harry, I can get something myself.” Hermione tried to dissuade him from buying her anything.

“Doing it away.” Harry replied cheekily, a grin on his face.

“Of course, you are…” Hermione faked a sigh before smiling. “A Sugar Quill or Cauldron Cake would be nice.”

“Luna?” Harry turned his eyes on the small girl.

“They don’t have pudding, do they?” Luna looked over at the cart.

“I’m afraid not, dear.” The Trolley Lady apologized with a warm laugh.

“Do you have Fizzing Whizzbees?” Luna tilted her head cutely.

“Yes, those we have.” The old lady smiled at the girl.

“A Sugar Quill, two Cauldron Cakes, two Fizzing Whizzbees, and a pitcher of Pumpkin Juice, please.” Harry put down the appropriate amount of coins and the snacks and drink were handed over. The Trolley Lady moved on and closed the door to their compartment behind her.

“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione accepted the Sugar Quill and the Cauldron Cake from him with a smile.

“Thank you, Harry Potter.” Luna beamed at Harry, opening one of the Fizzing Whizzbees and letting the floating sherbet balls loose in front of her. She grinned and ate one right out of the air with a small giggle.

“No problem.” Harry waved off their thanks, opening one of the Cauldron Cakes for himself and taking a bite. The pitcher of Pumpkin Juice was poured into the three cups they’d been given as the trio enjoyed the snacks together.

The compartment was filled with chatter while they ate. Luna revealed that her father was the owner and publisher of the Quibbler. Hermione hadn’t seemed too impressed by the magazine when Luna had let her look at it. The bookworm valued knowledge, and the Quibbler was more tabloid than facts. But she had enough tact not to deride the magazine that their new friend’s family owned. Hermione had told Luna about herself and being muggleborn. Luna had only asked a few questions about terms she didn’t know, like what a Dentist was. Harry didn’t need to speak too much about himself…the entire Magical World knew of him to some extent. Even more so recently with Minister Fudge making a front page spectacle of his Charms Mastery.

When the Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogsmeade Station, the trio disembarked without issue. Harry briefly noticed that several people actually seemed to be giving him a little extra space. Harry greeted Hagrid with a smile and wave before ushering Luna towards the friendly Groundskeeper. The boat ride across the lake would be fun for Luna on a clear evening like this one. Harry and Hermione hopped into a carriage, joining Mandy Brocklehurst and Padma Patil. The four exchanged greetings and some quick stories from their summer doings. Harry accepted their congratulations on both his Charms Mastery and the team victory for the British Junior Dueling League.

“Huh, the song really is different every time.” Harry chuckled as he applauded the Sorting Hat’s song along with the rest of the Great Hall.

The Sorting started and there wasn’t much fanfare, all things considered. Harry perked up a bit when Luna’s name was called though.

“Lovegood, Luna.” McGonagall called and Luna skipped up to the stool before sitting down. The old hat was placed on her head for a moment, a very animated moment as it appeared the Sorting Hat was having some kind of chat with Luna.

“Ravenclaw!” The Sorting Hat declared, getting an applause from the table of blue and bronze.

“Luna!” Harry waved the blonde over with a grin, patting the bench on his right side since Hermione was sitting at his left.

“Hello, Harry.” Luna smiled brightly as she sat down next to him. She settled in and turned to watch the rest of the Sorting with the other Ravenclaws.

The next name that caught Harry’s attention was Ginny Weasley. The younger sister of Ron and the Twins. Much like everyone expected, she went to Gryffindor, where she was welcomed by her brothers. Harry had honestly forgotten that she had four brothers currently attending Hogwarts. But he’d never really interacted with Percy Weasley before, so that wasn’t unexpected.

The food appeared shortly after the Sorting and everyone began to eat. As always, the meal was delicious. Harry chuckled when he saw Luna molding her mashed potatoes into the shape of a castle with a little gravy moat around it. The girl was clearly the free-spirited type, not taking anything too seriously.

“Oh, pudding.” Luna perked up a little when dessert appeared. The pudding was out of her reach though.

“Here you are, Luna.” Harry levitated the pudding over to Luna, much to the surprised squawks of a few of the Ravenclaw students.

“Thank you, Harry.” Luna was all smiles again as she took a good portion of the pudding for her dessert.

“Hey, uh, Harry…could we get that back?” One of the older Ravenclaw students requested the pudding dish to be returned.

“Sure thing.” Harry sent it back with merely a thought.

“Is the Firstie a friend of yours, Harry?” A Third Year, Edgecombe, if Harry recalled correctly, asked from slightly down the table.

“This is Luna, she’s my new little sister.” Harry gently patted Luna’s head, making her nearly glow with happiness.

“Harry…that’s not how that works.” Hermione mentioned, torn between sighing at her best friend’s antics or giggling about them.

“I don’t mind.” Luna shook her head, her long hair swishing around from the motion.

“See?” Harry shot a grin at Hermione.

“We’ve only known Luna for a few hours.” Hermione pointed out to Harry, though she wasn’t exactly trying to dissuade him. That would be an impossible task, knowing Harry.

“And if anything happens to her, I will unmake the ones responsible.” Harry stated firmly, his eyes sweeping along the Ravenclaw table, catching the gaze of all in ear shot. Contrary to his stern words and gaze, he was still gently patting Luna’s head as she enjoyed her pudding.

Harry’s warning would quickly make the rounds through the House. And not too long afterwards, would reach Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Slytherin would be out of the loop for an extra day or two since they tended to isolate themselves from the other three Houses.

“Harry…please don’t threaten others…it’s against the rules.” Hermione worried that Harry might get in trouble for his words.

“I’m not threatening, I’m warning, that’s completely different.” Harry nodded at his own logic.

“Yep.” Luna nodded her head in agreement with her new big brother.

“Oh Merlin…” Hermione facepalmed at the two of them already in agreement like this.

Luna would happily follow Harry to the Ravenclaw Common Room after dinner. Harry was grinning as he showed Luna around the Common Room. Hermione was giving her input on things as well, since she was already liking Luna and enjoyed having a younger girl around to pseudo-mentor. That became a boon when it was time for bed and Hermione could lead Luna up to her dorm room. As a male, Harry couldn’t cross the ward that protected the Girls’ Dorms. Well…he could, but he was fairly certain Flitwick wouldn’t like him removing or altering the castle’s wards like that.

-First Day of Classes-

“Ready for your first day of classes, Luna?” Harry smiled at the small blonde.

“Yep.” Luna had just finished her breakfast and, at Hermione’s insistence, brought her school bag with her.

“Brilliant.” Harry nodded, pulling what looked to be a compass from his robe pocket and handing it to his new little sister.

“What’s this?” Luna blinked at the compass.

“Tell it what classroom you want to find and it’ll guide you through the corridors until you reach it.” Harry explained the compass to her with a grin. “I enchanted it with a Location Charm for you.”

“Thank you, Harry!” Luna hugged him and Harry returned it warmly. It was a simple Charm, and all he’d had to do to ‘make’ the compass was remove the magnet from it. Now the Location Charm would point unerringly to Luna’s requested class.

“Harry…did you bring that compass from home?” Hermione asked him curiously.

“Nah, I had to fly over to Hogsmeade last night to buy it.” Harry shrugged off the egregious rule-breaking like it was no big deal.

“Harry!” Hermione looked around as if one of the Professors would suddenly swoop in with punishment.

“It’s fine, Hermione, I was back in the Common Room before curfew.” Harry assured her with a grin. As if THAT was the entire issue.

Hermione took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She was just going to let that be. She wasn’t the same lonely, bossy girl that she had been when she came to Hogwarts. If Harry got in trouble for his shenanigans, then that was on him. Hermione would focus on being a good role model for Luna.

-Potions-

“Already done, Potter?” Snape drawled, looking at the newly turned in vial. It looked the appropriate shade of lilac at the very least. The fact that the spawn of James Potter had somehow cut down the time needed to brew it by almost half an hour was not lost on the Potions Master.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry kept his tone neutral, the same as Snape’s. They’d had no further altercations since back in First Year, and both seemed content to barely acknowledge each other.

Harry returned to his seat quietly, wandlessly lowering the heat on Megan Jones’s cauldron without the Hufflepuff girl knowing. That would keep her potion from overheating and coming out with less efficacy. Snape would happily deduct points for such things after all. He took out his Potions notebook and flipped to the page he’d marked. While everyone else was focusing on their brewing, Harry further delved into another of his many Magical projects.

‘Since the Boom Berry’s juice is the source of its restorative properties, the flesh is treated as an afterthought. But if I can make use of it to figure out the formation, then my idea might just work out.’ Harry mused to himself as he compared the fairly common ingredient against other potential ingredients. He’d try them all over time, of course, but finding success gave him proof of concept to build from. A desire to make another breakthrough, along with a not inconsequential amount of spite towards Snape, was leading Harry further into Potion Making nowadays.

-Defense Against the Dark Arts-

Harry was sitting next to Hermione in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They were waiting for Professor Lockhart to show himself and the chatter in the room was a mix of curious, bored, and in some of the girls’ cases, amorous. A few of them whispering about Lockhart’s deeds from his books. Harry was bored, and currently counting the bones in the dragon skeleton hanging above the classroom. He’d certainly had enough of seeing Lockhart’s face, given all the portraits and pictures that the man had put up in the classroom. He wondered if he’d be able to get Lockhart to give him free study during this period like Quirrel had done last year.

Lockhart came out of the Professor’s Office at the top of the stairs in the front of the room. His robes swished in a somewhat dramatic manner while he placed his hands on the banister and looked down at the students with his signature smile. “Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.” Lockhart declared, his tone a little over the top for an introduction. “Me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award… but I don’t talk about that. I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!” He gave a ‘charming’ smile that had Harry rolling his eyes. The man certainly enjoyed the sound of his own voice.

“Hah~” Hermione sighed, staring at the blonde man with adoring eyes.

Harry barely held back a snigger at the look on Hermione’s face. “Really?” He whispered to her; the humor clear in his voice.

“Hush!” Hermione pointedly focused on Lockhart, refusing to meet Harry’s eyes.

“I see that you’ve all bought the complete set of my books, well done.” Lockhart nodded to the stacks of books he saw on the desks. “Now, I thought we’d start today with a little quiz.” He smiled at the students, picking up a stack of parchments. He seemed to ignore the confused sounds (and the annoyed groans) of some of the students. “Nothing to worry about.” Lockhart assured the class as he handed a stack to the students in the front desks. “Just to check how well you’ve read them.”

“Thank you…” Hermione nearly squeaked when Lockhart handed her a stack to pass back to the others behind her.

“Snrk.” Harry barely suppressed his snort of laughter. Hermione shot him a look, her brown eyes promising retribution if he said anything.

‘Wait…are ALL of these questions about him?’ Harry noticed as he started reading over the questions on the quiz. ‘What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color? What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s secret ambition? When is Gilderoy Lockhart’s birthday and what would be his ideal gift? What in your opinion is Gilderoy Lockhart’s greatest achievement to date?’ He read off mentally, becoming more and more annoyed at the complete lack of relevance to the subject. This ‘quiz’ was nothing more than an ego trip for the puffed up peacock!

“You have thirty minutes!” Lockhart announced once he was standing in front of his desk again. “Start!” He bade the class to begin and the scratching of Quills was soon heard.

‘We’ll just see what Professor Flitwick thinks about this quiz of his.’ Harry subtly used a Copying Charm to duplicate the quiz onto some spare parchment on his desk. “Now…let’s answer some questions.” Harry had a mocking grin on his lips as he put quill to parchment.

‘What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?’

‘Who cares?’ Harry wrote for the first question.

‘What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s secret ambition?’

‘It’s not very secret if others know about it, is it?’ Harry quietly snickered to himself as he wrote his second answer.

‘When is Gilderoy Lockhart’s birthday and what would be his ideal gift?’

‘Whenever he says it is, it’ll probably keep changing as he gets older. He’d want a mirror to admire himself in.’ Harry mocked the man’s narcissism and vanity.

‘What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart’s greatest achievement to date?’

‘Making people actually believe he did the things in his fantasy books.’ Harry rolled his eyes at this question.

He’d read through the first two of Lockhart’s books in chronological order and had noticed a time discrepancy that put Lockhart in two places at the same time while separated by a thousand kilometers or more. One of which he claimed his wand had been taken from him, so that ruled out making Portkeys. Not to mention long distance Apparation to that level was nearly suicide for all but the most skilled of experts.

Harry was feeling good about his various answers when he turned in his quiz along with all of the others. Hermione was looking at him, seemingly knowing that her best friend had done something, but not sure what it was. Harry just smiled at her, pretending that nothing was amiss.

“Tut tut…” Lockhart shook his head, flipping through a few of the quizzes. “Hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac.” He looked almost saddened at the fact. “I know that I mentioned it in my second book.” He flipped to the next quiz in the stack and his signature smile reappeared. “Ah, but Miss Hermione Granger recalled that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil, and market my own brand of hair care products. Good girl.” Lockhart shot her a smile directly.

“Thank you, sir…” Hermione blushed under his attention.

‘Good luck beating Sleekeazy's.’ Harry chuckled in his mind. The Potter Family had sold their Potions business two generations ago, but their famous hair care potion was still the most popular in Magical Europe. A small royalty was still paid to the Potter family to this day from each sale that the new owners made.

“Now!” Lockhart slapped the stack of quizzes onto his desk loudly, startling a few of the students. “Be warned. It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to Wizardkind.” He tapped what appeared to be a covered birdcage with his wand, agitating whatever was inside. The sound of metal rattling was heard beneath the burgundy cloth. “You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you as long as I am here.” Lockhart reached for the top of the burgundy cloth. “I must ask you not to scream.” He yanked the cloth off of the birdcage. “It might provoke them!” Lockhart shouted, in clear conflict with his own words.

What was trapped in the cage was a small swarm of little, blue, winged creatures. They made chittering noises as they flew about inside the cage, smacking against the bars. To anyone that had read their textbook last year, or had just had the misfortune of finding these little pests in their home at some point, they were easily identified.

“Cornish Pixies…?” The unimpressed voice of one student was heard from the back.

“Freshly caught, Cornish Pixies!” Lockhart corrected, as if that greatly increased the threat they were to any half-competent Witch or Wizard. The chuckling of the students informed him that his theatrics had failed to strike fear into any of them. “Laugh if you will! But pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters!” Seeing that none of the Second Year students were even remotely concerned, Lockhart grabbed the latch on the cage door. “Let’s see what you make of them!” He opened the door and the pixies blasted out across the room, shrieking and cackling as they grabbed anything they could lift and threw it around.

“AAAHHH!!!” Many of the students screamed in panic, ducking and diving out of the way. Hiding under desks, swatting the little blue pixies away with hands or books. The pixies went from merely tossing things to outright destroying them, shredding books page-by-page, smashing things from the walls and desks. It was pure pandemonium in the classroom.

“Come now! Round them up! Round them up! They’re only pixies!” Lockhart yelled over the racket.

“Help!” One boy cried out as three pixies worked together to lift him into the air by his robes.

“Get away!” A girl screamed, slapping two pixies away from her that were pulling her robes up and getting dangerously close to exposing her underwear.

“Get off!” Another boy bashed a pixie across the room with one of the Lockhart books. This only incited the other three harassing him to attack more.

“Peskipiksi Pesternomi!” Lockhart waved his wand, only for nothing to happen. It was quickly snatched out of his hand by a pixie that flew off with it. He let out a rather high-pitched squeal as he was beset by four pixies that tugged at his robes and hair. Lockhart rushed up the stairs and slammed the door to his office behind him.

“Ehehehe!” The pixie with Lockhart’s wand cackled, flying up to the dragon skeleton in the room. A tap of the wand against the chain saw a spark and the skeleton began to fall, several students screaming as it headed for them.

“Harry!” Hermione, safe beside Harry as the two sat inside a cubic Barrier, cried out for him to help their classmates.

“I knew he was a useless twit.” Harry raised his hand and everything in the room, that wasn’t human, stopped moving.

The pixies hung motionlessly in the air. The dragon skeleton had stopped falling as if time itself had stopped. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws all watched as the dragon skeleton rose back into the air, the chain reattaching securely to hold it up once more. The Cornish Pixies were all gathered together under Harry’s power and shoved back into the birdcage. Said cage was then locked with a spell that wouldn’t let them out until Harry released it, or it was overpowered.

“What a mess.” Harry dispelled the Barrier and stood up from his desk. “Reparo.” He uttered the spell, mostly to let his classmates know what he was doing. They all watched as the various torn, smashed, and broken objects around the room mended themselves and were then returned to their previous places. “Seriously, do I have to teach this class myself or something?” Last year they’d had the almost incomprehensible Quirrel, and this year an incompetent that believed his own hype from the books he'd written.

“We might actually learn something from you, Harry.” Susan spoke up, her wand in her hand from where she’d used Flipendo to blast away the pixies that came after her and her friend Hannah Abbot.

“I don’t have a Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery though…” Harry hummed thoughtfully. “Regardless,” He shrugged. “I think we should bring up this ‘class’,” And the way he said the word showed the depths of his sarcasm. “To our Heads of House immediately. What about you all?” He looked around the room, seeing nods of agreement that quickly became calls of agreement as the students packed up their bags together.

“St-Students?” Lockhart had poked his head out of his office after the noise had died down. “Where are you all going? Class hasn’t ended yet.”

“We’re going to report your class to our Heads of House, sir.” Harry waved over his shoulder as the rest of the students started filing out. “I’m sure the rest of the Professors will have something to say about what happened here today.”

“This was all just an accident!” Lockhart called out, hoping to stop the students from leaving. “Sit down and we can continue our lesson!” He gave his signature smile again, but even the girls that had previously been charmed by his looks weren’t stopping as they left. Hermione looked nearly devastated as she passed by Harry on her way out of the room. “Students!” Lockhart raised his voice, but Harry had more than enough of the peacock already.

‘Wow…it took him four words before he realized that he’d been silenced.’ Harry thought to himself, unimpressed by Lockhart even more now. Lockhart, silenced and without his wand, made to head down the stairs. “None of that now.” Harry muttered under his breath while shaking his head. “Bind.” The whisper wasn’t even necessary but Harry felt his spell take hold, locking Lockhart in place before he could take the second step that would let him reach the first step of the stairs. With Lockhart not going anywhere for a while, Harry followed after his classmates.

“I’m so embarrassed.” Hermione mumbled lowly as they walked along with the rest of the Second Year Ravenclaws towards Flitwick’s classroom. “He’s so dashing in his books…”

“Well yeah, who wants to make themselves out to be a bumbling fool? Even if it is the truth.” Harry shrugged, understanding why Lockhart would want people to think he was a great Wizard. “I still can’t believe anyone didn’t see the inconsistencies in his books. I only read the first two and already found one.”

“You did?” Hermione looked over at him, her brown eyes alight with curiosity.

“Yeah, in both books he claims to be in a certain place on a certain date. However, in one he specifically mentions that his wand was taken away. And the locations are at least a thousand kilometers apart. So, how could he have been in both places, dealing with two different incidents, at the same time?” Harry laid out the time discrepancy he’d found to his best friend.

“Oh…” Hermione’s eyes widened at not having caught something so obvious in her binge reading of all of Lockhart’s books. “D-Do you think he just made them all up?”

“Possibly,” Harry honestly didn’t know for sure. “But I know the incident in the first book is based on a real thing that happened in the mid-eighties over in continental Europe.”

“So, he just claimed credit?” Hermione looked scandalized. In her mind, stealing credit for someone else’s work was one of the most deplorable things to do.

“No idea, but since no one came forward to counter him, perhaps people believed it?” Harry couldn’t really say he cared much. “I’m just amazed he got an Order of Merlin for events that he either wasn’t involved in, or outright made up for his books. Not to mention an honorary membership with the Dark Force Defense League. Those guys aren’t what they used to be, according to Sirius, but they have a reputation that they wouldn’t want sullied.”

The young Spellcrafter recalled that the Dark Force Defense League had lost a lot to Grindelwald back in the late Thirties and early Forties, or so Andromeda had told him when he’d run across the group’s name in a book as a kid. When the League went to try and stop the Magical interference in World War 2, they’d naturally come up against Grindelwald’s forces, and it hadn’t ended well for them.

“Hello, Harry!” Luna skipped down the corridor towards him.

“Hello, Luna.” Harry accepted the hug his new little sister gave him. “Are you already out of class?”

“A lot of the Second Years are at the Charms classroom complaining about Professor Lockhart.” Luna informed him, pointing down the corridor where the classmates that Harry and Hermione had been following were gathered.

“Ah, yeah, there was an incident.” Harry mentioned as Luna fell into step with him.

“Was everyone okay?” Luna asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“Yes, no one was hurt much.” Harry patted her head. Luna was a sweetheart that cared for the wellbeing of others.

“Only because you stepped in when Lockhart ran away.” Hermione mentioned with a slight huff. The fact that she’d dropped the Professor Title for the man showed the depths of her displeasure towards him. “I should have helped too. I know how to cast the Immobulus Charm.” She regretted not taking action sooner, having been safe within Harry’s Barrier spell.

“Well, let’s tell Flitwick our side of the story and then let the Professors handle it, yeah?” Harry smiled at her.

“I hope he gets sacked.” Hermione muttered vindictively.

“Whoa!” Harry faked a shocked look. “Hermione wishing ill on Professors? What has become of my best friend?!” He placed his hand over his heart.

“You hush!” Hermione swatted him lightly. “What he did was completely irresponsible! No Professor should ever put their students in danger like that and then run away!”

“True, true.” Harry nodded in agreement. Beside him, Luna was nodding along with Harry, almost in perfect sync.

‘Why is that adorable?’ Hermione questioned herself, before shaking her head. Luna had to be the reason. Harry wasn’t cute like that. He was intelligent, competent, and rather handsome… ‘Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!’ Hermione repeated in her mind like a mantra until they were at the door to the Charms classroom.

-End Chapter-

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Well now…I do believe that Lockhart is going to be in trouble!

Harry points out inconsistencies and knowing Hermione, she’ll be looking for ALL of them now. The bookworm will probably make an organized list too! That may not bode well for Gilderoy Lockhart in the future.

But now LUNA has arrived! Adorable little sister acquired! *Headpats for Luna*

Harry has more and more Magical projects he’s working on. Are they connected? Separate endeavors? Or has Harry already figured some things out and is just waiting for the proper time?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Lockhart’s first class was shit…as Harry expected. But the school year will continue! Harry and friends have classes to go to, and Harry has multiple Magic projects that he’s looking into as well. However, the research for one has reached the end and it’s time to move ahead with it! Halloween will be here before they know it! Surely nothing could happen TWO Halloweens in a row…right?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 15 – A Doctor and Secret Chambers

“It’s ready.” Harry smiled as he finished the last of his tests on a common rat. Hogwarts had plenty of them and it wasn’t like he was hurting the animal much at all. He even fed it for its trouble. “Time to begin the real treatment.” Harry chuckled to himself as he watched the rat scamper off and disappear into a small crevice in the wall.

-Hogwarts ~ Slytherin Common Room-

“Dum dee dum doo…” Harry hummed as he stepped up to the blank stone wall with a grin. “Now, let’s see here.” His eyes glowed slightly as he used his still in-progress Mage Sight spell to look at the protections on the door. “Really? They didn’t add anything? Truly mind boggling.” Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and removed the set password to the door. “How about a new password of…Abracadabra.” He chortled as the new password was accepted and the doorway was revealed to him.

Harry strolled into the Slytherin Common Room like it was perfectly normal for him to be there. A quick glance around the room and he spotted Daphne and Tracy sitting on one of the couches and having a conversation. Not drawing any attention to himself, he walked towards them. Angling himself to approach from behind Daphne, Harry suppressed a chuckle as he stopped behind his friend and shot a grin at Tracy.

“Snrk.” Tracy barely contained a snort of laughter as she saw Harry once more in the Slytherin Common Room.

“What was that about?” Daphne raised an eyebrow at Tracy’s sudden outburst.

“Oh, nothing…” Tracy shook her head, trying not to look at Harry and give away the upcoming surprise.

“Uh huh…” Daphne clearly didn’t believe her.

“Tracy is probably just amused by something that no one else has noticed.” Harry spoke up from behind Daphne in a nonchalant tone.

“Potter!” Daphne whirled around to look at the intruder in the Slytherin Common Room. “Why are you in here?!”

“I needed to speak with you about a matter of utmost importance.” Harry answered with a smile, even as all of the other Slytherins now noticed his presence after Daphne’s startled shout.

“Potter!”

“How’d you get in here?!”

“Get out, Potter!”

“How dare you break into our Common Room again!”

A few of the upper year students stood up from their seats and Harry noticed at least three wands being drawn. One of those three happened to be Draco Malfoy’s wand and Harry wondered just what Draco thought he’d accomplish.

“No worries, gentlemen and ladies, I’ll be out of your common room in just a moment.” Harry smiled at the Slytherins. “Miss Greengrass, if you could accompany me for a discussion at your earliest convenience, I would be most delighted.” He spoke with a formal air, but the way that Tracy was covering her mouth with her hand to prevent her laughter, Harry knew his joke had gotten through.

“Potter…why are you in our common room, again?” Daphne could already hear the whispers of her housemates. Not to mention the annoying giggles that came from the more gossip-inclined of the Slytherin girls.

“As I said, I needed to speak with you about a most urgent matter.” Harry spoke mildly, as if they were in one of the corridors and he hadn’t just broken into another House’s common room…again.

“You know, Potter, there are these very useful creatures called OWLS. They deliver letters to people, so that said people don’t BREAK IN to places they shouldn’t be.” Daphne lightly glared at Harry for the embarrassment that she knew she would be going through once this incident hit the Hogwarts’ Rumor Mill.

“Of course, of course, but it seems a waste to use Hedwig to simply carry a note across the castle.” Harry waved off with a grin.

“And you couldn’t wait until we were in class or in the corridors, because…?” Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, wanting to hear his answer.

“Because it was urgent.” Harry smiled at her.

“Oh Merlin…” Daphne pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. “Fine.” She stood up from the couch. “Let’s talk.”

“Brilliant!” Harry beamed at her for a second and led the way out of the Common Room.

“Potter!” Draco spoke up loudly, glaring at Harry. “You can’t just come in here and walk out with one of our girls whenever you want!” He leveled his wand at Harry.

“One of our girls?” Daphne’s wand whipped out. “Petrificus Totalus!” Draco barely had time to squawk before his legs snapped together, his arms went ramrod straight at his sides and he fell to the floor completely immobile. “Don’t ever act like you have ownership over me, Malfoy.” Daphne glared coldly at the blonde boy on the floor. She put her wand away and nearly stalked out of the room afterwards.

“Right then…ta-ta!” Harry waved and headed out of the common room after Daphne. The rest of the Slytherins looked between the door and the immobilized Draco for a moment. “Oh, right!” Harry poked his head back into the common room. “The new password is Abracadabra; in case you need it.” And then he was gone again.

“So…how long should we leave Malfoy there?” Tracy asked the other girls with a smirk on her lips.

-Seventh Floor-

“You remembered.” Harry chuckled as they stepped out of the broom closet from the last time that he’d had a similar private discussion with Daphne.

“Yes, it’s actually somewhat convenient if I’m running late for a class on this floor.” Daphne admitted to using the broom cupboard to traverse between the ground floor and the seventh floor when she needed to. “Now, what exactly was so important that you had to break into the Slytherin Common Room again, to talk to me about?”

“How would you like to be free of that curse?” Harry asked bluntly, his face serious as he looked into Daphne’s blue eyes.

Daphne reeled back as if she’d been struck at his question. She shook her head, sending her raven hair swaying for a moment. “You can’t be serious.” She looked straight into his green eyes for any sign of joking or deceit. “Potter…Harry…are, are you serious?” Harry saw hope in Daphne’s eyes, unguarded and bare for the world to see.

“Completely.” Harry nodded to her firmly. He didn’t even try to make the most common joke in his family given how much this meant to Daphne.

“Y-You’re not joking…” Daphne felt the tremors in her body, but she couldn’t do anything to stop them. “How?”

“A lot of research, some of which probably would’ve gotten me in trouble if I’d been caught, and then a bit of testing to make sure my idea worked.” Harry answered her with a comforting smile. “So, are you ready to get rid of that curse and be free?”

“Yes!” Daphne leapt at the chance.

No more random bouts of intense pain. No more getting sick so easily. No more of feeling like her Magic was being interfered with and slowly drained away over time. Plus, if it worked for her, then Harry could save Astoria who had been hit with double the normal curse. Not to mention their parents. Her father had been having some trouble using his Magic in the last year as the Blood Malediction got worse in him. Her mother’s curse hadn’t manifested as badly since she was a distant relation that had married back into the Main Family Line, but getting rid of it could only be good.

“Alright, then follow me, I know a place where no one will interrupt the treatment.” Harry led her down the corridor for a bit.

The two turned one corner, then another, before Harry stopped in front of a tall painting of a landscape. The image in the frame depicted a cottage in what appeared to be springtime. Harry raised his hand and carefully knocked on the painted door. To Daphne’s surprise, she heard the sound as if Harry was knocking on an actual wooden door. The image in the painting shifted, seemingly zooming in on the door to the cottage.

“After you.” Harry smiled as he physically touched the handle of the cottage door and pushed it open.

“Harry…what is this?” Daphne stepped through the door and into the ‘cottage’ itself.

“I believe it’s a portrait with a similar space expansion Charm to some top-of-the-line trunks.” Harry mentioned as he closed the door behind them. Unseen to them was the painting returning to its normal view within the frame. People could walk by it and never notice them or that anything was amiss with the painting itself. “It might’ve been placed here at Hogwarts because it’s one of the few places that has enough free-flowing Magic to power it. From what I’ve gleaned from studying it a bit, this thing takes a ridiculous amount of Magic to properly use the Space Expanding Charm.”

“How did you find it?” Daphne questioned him curiously. She had a feeling that she’d actually walked past this painting at least a few times since she started at Hogwarts last year.

“I can see its Magic.” Harry’s eyes glowed lightly as he briefly cast his imperfect Mage Sight spell.

“Of course.” Daphne shook her head. She still had no idea why he hadn’t announced that he’d made a Mage Sight spell. He’d be getting even more recognition and acclaim if he did.

“Alright, just need a few things.” Harry gestured to the empty room and a padded table was conjured into being. A wave of his hand and a large folding screen blocked off one corner of the room. With a snap of his fingers, a grey tank top with matching cotton shorts appeared in his free hand. “Change into these behind the screen and then lay on the table. You’re not going to be able to stand during this, I’m afraid.”

“Why do I have to change into this?” Daphne eyed the clothing. It was certainly more revealing than what most Witches and Wizards were familiar with, even if it covered everything that needed to be covered.

“Because your clothing might get in the way.” Harry answered her easily. “Your robe and uniform have spells woven into them. They could interfere with the treatment.”

“Fine…I trust you, Harry.” Daphne looked at him for a moment before going behind the screen to change. “If I find out that you can see through this screen, I’m going to hex the daylights out of you.”

“Your treatment is far more important than trying to get a peek at you, Daphne.” Harry rolled his eyes with a grin. “Besides, I’m twelve, I’ve only just started puberty. I’m not to the point of being desperate for such things like some of the older students are.” He chuckled at how often couples would try and sneak away to little hiding spots all over the castle for some alone time.

A minute or so later and Daphne emerged from behind the screen in the tank top and shorts. She was clearly not used to exposing her shoulders and legs to others as she fidgeted slightly when she met Harry’s eyes. She hopped up onto the padded table and then laid down like Harry had said.

“This is going to feel weird, but try not to move too much. I promise it won’t hurt.” Harry smiled at Daphne with absolute surety in his statement.

“Okay.” Daphne gave the best nod she could while lying on the table.

“Then Doctor Potter will begin the Blood Malediction treatment.” Harry joked lightly as he activated his Mage Sight spell and brought his magic to bear.

“Doctor is the Muggle word for Healer, right?” Daphne wasn’t very versed in the Muggle World, but she was fairly certain the two were the same.

“Pretty much, but the Non-Magical specialize way more than the Magical.” Harry confirmed as he placed his hands over Daphne’s head to start the process.

The dark, ugly, maroon Magic of the Blood Malediction pulsed beneath Harry’s Mage Sight gaze. Just like before, the root-like entanglement of the curse was spread throughout Daphne’s body and Magic alike. Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and took hold of one of the ‘roots’ carefully. Using his Magic, he mimicked the ‘Weeding’ Charm that he used to help Andromeda with her garden. The single root of the Blood Malediction that he was focusing on was surrounded in his Magic now. Making the equivalent of a scalpel with his Magic, Harry separated the encased ‘root’ from Daphne’s Magic and body. Learning about Magical Surgery had come in handy as he combined multiple different, and seemingly unrelated, spells to create something new.

“Just like the tests.” Harry murmured quietly to himself, with Daphne only barely able to hear him. “This will take a bit, Daphne, but I guarantee that it’ll work.” He smiled at his friend.

“Yes.” Daphne didn’t know what else to say to such a statement. It was all that she’d ever wanted since learning of the Blood Malediction. If Harry could save her and her family, then she didn’t feel like words would ever be enough to thank him.

Harry set to work on removing the Blood Malediction in silence after that. He’d encase a ‘root’ of the curse with his Magic, and then sever its connection to Daphne’s Magic and body while maintaining the encasement. With his ability to maintain multiple spells simultaneously, Harry was able to make progress. He couldn’t let a single separated ‘root’ out of containment or it would instantly reattach to Daphne and the Blood Malediction would most probably react violently to the attempted removal. Such things had happened on a few of his test rats.

‘That makes thirty-nine.’ Harry kept count of each ‘root’ that he removed from Daphne’s body and Magic. Connecting each new ‘containment’ to the previous ones made them all into a single spell, which meant that Harry didn’t have to continually split his focus to maintain each individual encasement. His hands were now hovering over her pelvis and thighs, which made Daphne blush slightly even though there was clear distance between them. Harry could only imagine how much worse this would get as Daphne aged, the number of roots had increased a bit since the last time he’d seen the Blood Malediction in her just last year. He didn’t want to think about how bad her little sister had it, or her parents that had dealt with it for decades longer.

‘It’s going to work. It’s going to work. It’s going to work.’ Daphne repeated over and over in her mind like a mantra as Harry’s hands continually passed lower and lower over her body. He was down to her thighs now, still embarrassing, but not to the same level as when they’d been hovering over her pelvis. She didn’t really feel any different yet, but that might be because her body was currently suffused in Harry’s Magic. It was an odd feeling that Daphne didn’t quite know how to describe, but she sensed the desire to help her in it and that helped her relax as Harry worked.

‘Fifty-eight.’ Harry encased another root and cut it off from Daphne’s body and Magic with his ‘spell scalpel’ as he’d started calling it after the first dozen of the roots. ‘Fifty-nine.’ He carefully added the new encasement to the spell that held the rest. It wouldn’t do to get sloppy now and risk losing control of the roots. Harry didn’t even want to think about how bad the backlash would be to Daphne if he failed to contain the roots properly this far into the procedure. ‘Sixty.’ That was another one, his hands were now hovering over Daphne’s feet as he went for the final two roots. ‘Sixty-one.’ The root connected to the sole of the left foot was separated and added to the containment. ‘Sixty-two.’ Harry severed the last root from the bottom of Daphne’s right foot and contained it as well. With careful control, Harry gently moved the contained Blood Malediction up and away from Daphne’s body.

“Haah…” Daphne inhaled sharply as Harry’s Magic moved away from her. She suddenly felt like a weight that had been slowly crushing her was lifted. Daphne would’ve sworn that she’d taken a full breath for the first time in ages right then and there. Tears sprang to her eyes and she moved her hands to her face to wipe them away, but they kept coming.

“It was a success, Daphne, you’re free.” Harry smiled at her gently.

“Th-th-thank you, H-Harry!” Daphne acted her age, sniffling and crying in joy and relief, uncaring of how she looked at the moment.

“I told you that I’d help if I was able.” Harry reminded her with a warm grin. “I like to keep my promises, especially to my friends.”

“Thank you…” Daphne saw a handkerchief floating in front of her and accepted it to dry her eyes. Once she’d calmed down a bit, she looked at Harry only to recoil in shock at what was next to him.

Within a strangely translucent, light-green bubble was a horrid maroon…thing…that Daphne couldn’t describe well. It was like roots all bundled together, but with such blatant malice that she could practically feel it against her skin. Harry saw her reaction and shook his head to let her know that she wasn’t in any danger.

“What is that?” Daphne had a good idea, but she wanted confirmation.

“This is what the morally deficient Magic known as a Blood Malediction looks like.” Harry confirmed for his friend with a grimace as he examined it more closely now that it had been removed from Daphne. Now he could poke and prod at it with his Magic since it couldn’t cause her any harm.

“Why can I see it though?” Daphne questioned as she moved her legs to the side of the padded table.

“Because of the Magic that I’ve contained it in.” Harry answered as he looked at the curse more in depth. “I find it easier to study active spells when I can see them both physically and with my Mage Sight spell.”

“I see.” Daphne slid off the table and kept a far distance between herself and the bubble of Magic that held the curse which had resided in her body since she was born. “What will happen to it now?” She slipped behind the folding screen to change back into her uniform and robe. Harry had gotten more than enough time to see her in this skimpy outfit, in her opinion.

“Nothing.” Harry replied as he prodded the Blood Malediction a bit more, seeing how it reacted to negative stimulus. The roots flailed a bit within the bubble, but they moved as if they were submerged in water, slow and with resistance. “Once I disperse this Magic, the curse will fade away. Its original caster is long dead, so there’s no one around to reinforce it and keep it active.”

“Good.” Daphne said from behind the screen. It was another minute before the girl emerged and once more took a look at the malicious maroon curse. “I’m done.”

“Alright, I’ve got what I wanted to know too.” Harry dispersed his Magic. Daphne watched with some vindictive glee as the Blood Malediction vanished into nothing. “Just need to tidy up.” Harry dispersed his conjurations and the padded table, the folding screen, the handkerchief, and the tank top and shorts that Daphne had been wearing all vanished. The room within the painting was empty once more.

Daphne said nothing and wrapped her arms around Harry in a tight hug. Harry was startled for a second before he returned the hug and gently rubbed Daphne’s back. The twelve year old girl felt a renewed bout of sniffles and tears, but they disappeared into Harry’s robe as soon as they formed. The two just hugged each other, one finally free of what had been an early death for generations of her family, the other just happy that he’d been able to help his friend with his knowledge and some hard work.

“I can never thank you enough for this.” Daphne pulled back just enough for her words not to be muffled. “But I’ll try to for the rest of my life.”

“No worries, Daphne.” Harry gave her a small squeeze. “But if you want to do something for me, why not call me Harry from now on?” He pulled back a bit further to look at her directly with a smile. “We’re friends, right?”

“Yeah, we are…Harry.” Daphne grinned back at him. With the same grin, she leaned forward and placed a chaste peck on his cheek before pulling away from him entirely.

“Well…” Harry touched where Daphne’s lips had been. “Thank you?”

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you perplexed, Harry.” Daphne laughed brightly at the expression on his face. What a weight the Blood Malediction had been! Now that it was gone, Daphne felt free and lighter than a feather!

“Well, never been kissed on the cheek outside of family before.” Harry mused, a smile on his face as he saw how happy Daphne was.

“Speaking of family.” Daphne was suddenly serious again. “When do you think you can remove the curse on my family?”

“Depends on when I can meet them.” Harry took on a thinking pose. “As long as we have time and a quiet space where nothing will distract me, it should be possible to remove it from each of them.”

“I’ll write to them as soon as I get back to my dorm.” Daphne stated, her blue eyes already contemplating. “Once they know the curse that was on me is gone, they’ll know that you can break the Blood Malediction. But the first break from school is the winter break. I don’t want Astoria or my parents to wait that long.” Daphne mumbled aloud. “Astoria has the bouts of pain more often than even my father…and she always gets sick in the winter.”

“Huh, so you can talk about it now.” Harry looked pleased by the discovery.

“What?” Daphne questioned Harry curiously.

“You said Blood Malediction directly.” Harry pointed out to her. “You couldn’t do that before.” He reminded her that the closest that she’d ever come was using the term ‘malediction’ to give Harry a hint towards her Family’s condition.

“Y-You’re right.” Daphne’s eyes widened. “But how? The Magic shouldn’t go away just because the curse did.”

“I removed it.” Harry admitted with a shrug. “It seemed redundant since it won’t exist for very much longer.”

“When did you remove it?!” Daphne hadn’t noticed at all.

“When I finished up with removing the Malediction.” Harry answered simply. “It’s not too hard, since it’s only a binding on a specific topic. Just undo the subject of the Magic and the binding comes apart easily.”

“I’ll…just pretend I understood that.” Daphne shook her head at Harry. This was her life now with him as a friend. She wondered how Hermione dealt with it? A question for later.

“Well, do you want me to walk you back to your common room?” Harry offered as they headed for the door.

“Thank you, but no.” Daphne decided against it. “There’s already going to be a ton of new and embarrassing rumors about you breaking into the Slytherin Common Room to meet me again. No sense adding anything more to it by having you walk me back too.”

“Alright then.” Harry shrugged and opened the door for her. Daphne graced him with a small smile for his politeness and exited the painting. Harry stepped out after her and the two walked down the corridor as the painting returned to its usual appearance again.

“This is where we part ways, for now.” Daphne motioned toward the tapestry with the Hogwarts sigil on it. It would lead down the spiral staircase that traversed the seventh floor down to the ground floor in only thirty steps. Another secret passageway that Harry had shown her and that she made use of semi-frequently.

“Indeed, but one last thing, now that your Magic isn’t being hampered by the curse, you’re probably not at your full strength yet.” Harry mentioned as he held his right hand, palm up, between them. The golden points of light from the spell with the fake incantation that had led to their initial meeting began to spin around and into a ring of light. “Let me give you a boost so that your own Magic will have a little jumpstart for its recovery.” The ring of light moved over to Daphne and sank into her skin. She started to glow slightly and felt the rush that came with being under this particular spell.

“Thank you, Harry.” Daphne smiled at him again. She gave him a quick hug before disappearing behind the tapestry and down the hidden staircase behind it.

“Two for me, zero for Daphne, on the pranks.” Harry chuckled as he walked off towards the Astronomy Tower. He’d fly from there to the Owlery and see how Hedwig was doing.

-Slytherin Common Room-

“Abracadabra.” Daphne didn’t even care about the dumb password that Harry chose as the blank wall turned into the short corridor that led into the common room. She walked in and all talking stopped. Keeping her face relaxed came easily from practice, but she did wonder why everyone was looking at her.

“Hey Daphne.” Tracy smiled at her best friend. “Have a good time with Harry?”

“Must you phrase it like that?” Daphne deadpanned at Tracy.

“Keep that blank face up all you want.” Tracy waved her question aside with a grin. “I can tell when you’re happy.”

“She must’ve had a good time.” An older Slytherin girl grinned teasingly from a different couch. “She’s literally glowing.” Her friends all giggled behind their hands.

“Glowing…” Daphne’s eyes widened, both at the innuendo and as she raised her hands in front of her and saw that the glow from Harry’s spell hadn’t faded away yet. “Oh, that little prat!” She had half a mind to hunt him down and hex him for this!

“My, my, my, Greengrass…who knew you could be so serious at your age.” Another of the older Slytherin girls teased with a laugh.

‘Bloody hell…this is going to end up in the rumor mill so fast.’ Daphne realized even as she sat next to Tracy and tried to ignore the snickering. She would definitely be hexing Harry for this later! ‘But…he did save me.’ She exhaled and let some tension release from her shoulders. ‘Just a little hex then.’ Daphne decided.

-Halloween-

“Having fun, Luna?” Harry asked his little sister with a smile.

“Yep!” Luna chirped as she enjoyed more candy that they’d brought from the Halloween Feast.

“You two are having way too much.” Hermione cautioned them, even though she’d also indulged during the feast. She wouldn’t be mentioning that in her next letter to her parents.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Harry chuckled as they continued to walk. Luna nodded in agreement with her big brother.

“You’re spoiling Luna.” Hermione pointed out to Harry, a grin pulling at her lips. Harry was proving to be a doting big brother.

“Absolutely.” Harry agreed without hesitation. “It’s part of a big brother’s job.”

“Uh huh!” Luna nodded in agreement, her long blonde hair flying around a bit and making Harry chuckle.

A crowd of students blocking the corridor stopped their progress unexpectedly. Looking around the crowd for a moment in confusion, Harry and Hermione looked at each other curiously. It was only a moment later that they noticed that the floor in this part of the corridor was wet, water pooling on the stones beneath their feet.

“Move over a bit.” Harry requested and two Barrier spells formed to gently edge the crowd of students aside. Harry, Luna, and Hermione walked forward and stared at the flooded corridor before something on the wall caught their eyes.

On the wall, smeared with what looked like fresh blood, was a message.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

“What does that mean?” Harry murmured after reading the warning. ‘Or maybe threat would be a better word for this?’

“Is that Mrs. Norris?!” Hermione pointed to a nearby sconce that was holding an ever-burning torch.

Indeed, it was Mrs. Norris, Caretaker Filch’s nasty pet cat. The feline was hanging from the sconce by her tail. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring. To many people, the cat looked dead.

“Nooo!” Filch wailed, shoving his way through the students to get to his pet. Professors were now showing up as well, all of them with wide eyes as they beheld the scene. “My Mrs. Norris! My cat is dead!” Filch cried out as he gently pulled the stiff cat off the wall sconce.

“Enemies of the Heir, beware! You’ll be next, Mudbloods!” Draco Malfoy spoke up over the quiet that had settled in the corridor from Filch’s cries of anguish.

“Mr. Malfoy!” McGonagall snapped at the blond, making his back straighten instantly. “Twenty-five points from Slytherin for use of such disgusting language!”

That got a few dissatisfied murmurs from the other Slytherins, a few of the older year students sending warning looks at Draco to not open his mouth again.

“Come now, Argus.” Dumbledore placed his hand gently on the Caretaker’s shoulder. “We’ll see what we can do for Mrs. Norris.” He quietly assured the man, knowing that the cat may not be dead, even though she very much looked like it. Dumbledore never expected the Chamber to be opened again. This would require all of his available time to look into. How had it happened when Tom, the one that he was certain had opened it last time, wasn’t in the school?

“It was definitely a curse that killed her.” Lockhart nodded, observing the cat in Filch’s arms from a short distance away. “Probably the Transmogrifian Torture…I’ve seen it used many times, so unlucky that I wasn’t there, I know the exact counter-curse that would have saved her.”

The sheer disbelief that Harry felt from hearing that statement was immeasurable. He noticed quite a few other students with a similar look. But that was to be expected given how Lockhart’s first class had gone. It was common knowledge (thanks to Hogwarts’s infamous rumor mill) that Lockhart had received a written warning and was on thin ice now. His tenure as DADA Professor may not even last the year.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout both looked at the man with open disdain after he’d put the Second Years of their Houses in danger during that first class. It was odd seeing any negative look on the normally cheerful Sprout’s face. But she was a Hufflepuff through and through, her students were like her children and she was the Mama Bear.

“I don’t believe she is dead, Argus.” Dumbledore chose to ignore Lockhart’s boasting. He had his oddly knobbed wand in hand and was slowly waving it over Mrs. Norris. “I believe she’s been petrified.” The Headmaster mumbled just loudly enough to be heard.

“So, Lockhart is a twit, big surprise.” Harry rolled his eyes and Hermione even silently agreed with him if the look on her face was anything to go by.

“Petrified?” Argus looked at Dumbledore with some hope in his eyes.

‘Petrification, huh?’ Harry activated his Mage Sight spell and looked at Mrs. Norris while Dumbledore urged Argus to walk towards the nearest office, which just so happened to be Lockhart’s. The peacock was trying to look important while blustering on about how he knew Mrs. Norris was actually petrified the whole time.

“Can you fix her, Dumbledore?” Filch asked, his eyes dry but his voice still thick with emotion.

“A Mandrake Draught will need to be acquired, Argus, but that should cure her right away.” Dumbledore nodded to the Caretaker. Harry, Hermione, and Luna stood in the only clear path (created by Harry’s two Barrier spells) and Dumbledore asked them to move with his eyes, the normal twinkle gone from them.

“Her Magic is frozen.” Harry spoke up, his eyes losing the slight glow they had. “That’s why Mrs. Norris is like that.” Both Dumbledore and Filch looked at Harry confused. ‘Petrification…what an interesting effect.’ Harry thought in the privacy of his mind.

Everyone knew that Mrs. Norris was at least part-Kneazle. She was too intelligent, and far too good at finding students that were in places they shouldn’t be, for her to be just a regular cat. But that meant she had some innate Magic of her own. It was by looking at her Magic that Harry was able to ascertain the problem.

“May I, Mr. Filch?” Harry asked the man as Mrs. Norris’s owner.

“What’re you doing, boy?” Filch nearly growled at Harry. “Dumbledore said she needs a Mandrake Draught.”

“I’m pretty sure that I can undo this.” Harry motioned to the statue-like cat in Filch’s arms. “If you agree to it, of course.”

“Are you sure that’s wise, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore questioned Harry curiously. “A Mandrake Draught can be bought from St. Mungo’s and delivered here in just a day or so.”

“She just needs her Magic unfrozen is all.” Harry smiled at the Headmaster. “Mr. Filch?” He looked at the grisly old Caretaker again.

“If you hurt my cat, I’ll kill you, boy.” Filch threatened under his breath, but his desire to help his pet outweighed his dislike of the students.

“Let’s see…” Harry gently placed his hand on the petrified cat. “Hmm…ney ney, oh la…mah, mah…” Harry murmured a little tune as he gently cycled his Magic into Mrs. Norris and began using Magic Manipulation. He could feel the locked up Magic within the cat and began to move it with his own. As he moved Mrs. Norris’s Magic bit by bit a light glow emitted from his palm that was touching the cat.

Had Harry been paying attention to anything other than what he was doing, he’d have noticed that the entire corridor had gone silent as they all watched him work.

‘It’s like breaking ice and melting it back into water.’ Harry compared the process to a physical phenomenon that he had some experience with. With every little bit of Mrs. Norris’s Magic that he ‘unfroze’, the cat’s Magic began to move throughout her body again, flowing around the still ‘frozen’ parts like water over ice. “There we go.” Harry grinned as he broke the last of the locked up Magic and felt the cat’s body go limp for a second.

“Mrs. Norris?!” Filch nearly panicked when his cat went limp in his arms. A spark of rage flared up as he thought that Harry had killed his cat for real.

“Meowrr…” The single meow from Mrs. Norris doused any rage Filch felt as the cat raised its head and looked around while in Filch’s arms.

“Mrs. Norris!” Filch hugged his pet gently, petting her fur and nearly twirling her around.

“My word…” Dumbledore blinked at seeing petrification undone without the need of a Mandrake Draught.

“Doctor Potter strikes again.” Daphne chuckled and Tracy (along with everyone else in earshot) turned to look at her curiously.

“Glad that the little devil is alright.” Harry grinned at Mrs. Norris. She may not like the students any more than Filch did, but that was no reason for her to be petrified by this ‘Heir’ or whoever.

“Maybe you aren’t so bad…Potter.” Filch nodded to the boy, before moving towards Lockhart’s office along with the Professors.

“Prefects!” Dumbledore raised his voice slightly. “Please guide your Houses to their common rooms. Curfew is going to be enforced right now and no one is to leave their common rooms until morning.” He gave his instructions to all of the gathered Prefects.

“Yes, Headmaster.” The chorus of almost a dozen voices replied to Dumbledore’s words. The students started being rounded up and ushered down the corridor away from the flooded bathroom and the message on the wall.

“Mr. Potter, if you could follow us, I’d like to ask you about that bit of Magic that you just performed.” Dumbledore requested politely, though it wasn’t really a request that Harry could refuse.

“Yes, Headmaster.” Harry nodded before he turned to Luna and hugged her. “Be good and head up to Ravenclaw Tower with Hermione, alright?”

“Okay.” Luna squeezed him tightly for a moment. “Can I wait for you in the common room?” Her silvery-blue eyes looked up at him hopefully.

“Of course, you can.” Harry agreed and gave her another gentle squeeze. “Hermione will stay with you too.”

“Yes, I will.” Hermione nodded and took one of Luna’s hands in hers with a smile. “We’ll eat all of Harry’s candy before he gets back, right?” She teased and Luna giggled a bit before shaking her head.

“That wouldn’t be nice, Hermione.” Luna smiled up at her friend.

“Exactly.” Harry nodded in agreement with Luna. “Luna is a good girl. She wouldn’t be so mean, Hermione.” He stuck his tongue out at Hermione.

“So mature…” Hermione rolled her eyes and began to walk off with Luna towards the Ravenclaw Common Room. “Luna…why is your wand behind your ear?”

“For safekeeping.” Luna replied with a smile.

Harry snickered at his little sister’s response before moving to follow after Dumbledore and the rest of the Professors. ‘Hopefully this doesn’t take too long.’ The Spellcrafter hoped in his mind as he neared Lockhart’s office.

-End Chapter-

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Doctor Potter, breaker of unbreakable curses, will see you now! Kek!

With one Greengrass freed from the Blood Malediction, now it’s only a matter of time before the rest are saved, right?

Lockhart is still a twit…big shock there.

Harry easily sees how petrification works and figures out a simple way to undo it!

But the Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Me thinks things are going to get worse before they get better.

Will Harry have to step up and deal with this year’s problem?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened, what will become of Hogwarts? What even IS the Chamber of Secrets? Well…it probably doesn’t really matter, right? No way the school year can be beholden to the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ and their attacks. Or can it?! Well, until something happens, Harry and Hermione have things to look into.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 16 – Chamber’s History and other Research

“You’re late, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall chastised Harry as he entered the classroom almost two minutes after they’d begun.

“A Wizard is never late, Professor McGonagall…nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.” Harry smiled at her and caught Hermione’s incredulous look out of the corner of his eye.

“Well, in the future, you should make sure that time is before class starts, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall shot him a stern look and pointed him to the seat next to Hermione.

Harry sat next to his best friend with a grin as McGonagall placed a bird on a small pedestal. It looked like the class would be working on animate to inanimate Transfiguration today.

“You did not just quote Gandalf to Professor McGonagall…” Hermione whispered to Harry, the mix of amusement and exasperation in her voice was telling of her opinion on his entrance.

“Gandalf was a great Wizard.” Harry stated with a nod. Uncle Ted had introduced a young Harry to the books of J.R.R. Tolkien years ago. Harry had very much enjoyed the stories of ‘The Hobbit’ and the trilogy following the Fellowship.

“Now that we are all present…” McGonagall shot a quick look at Harry. “Today, we’ll be transforming animals into water goblets.” She made sure that all of the students were paying attention. “Like so, one, two, three…” She gently touched the tip of her wand to the back of the bird she’d placed on the pedestal. “Vera Verto.” The bird changed into a silvery color and took on the shape of a goblet in a single flowing motion.

The awed sounds of several of the students rang out after the demonstration. McGonagall knew how to keep the attention of her class quite easily.

“Now, who’d like to go first?” McGonagall looked around the room. “Ah, Miss Abbot.” She nodded to the Hufflepuff girl. “One, two, three…Vera Verto.”

Hannah Abbot pointed her wand at the rat in front of her. She counted to three with three small taps of her wand before giving the spell a try. “Vera Verto!”

“Squeeek!” The rat made a noise before it turned a silvery color and then shaped into a slightly misshapen goblet.

“Not a bad first attempt, Miss Abbot, take ten points for Hufflepuff.” McGonagall rewarded the girl for succeeding on her first attempt.

“Thank you, Professor.” Hannah smiled at earning praise and House Points. By her side, Susan Bones whispered congratulations to her best friend.

Hermione raised her hand, getting McGonagall’s attention.

“Yes, Miss Granger?” McGonagall asked one of her brightest students.

“Professor, I was wondering if…you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?” Hermione requested politely. After seeing the threat painted on the walls, her curious mind had been dying to know what it was.

McGonagall, seeing the interested looks on the faces of her class, relented after a moment of silence. “Very well…” She took a breath as she began. “As you well know, Hogwarts was founded almost a thousand years ago by the four greatest Witches and Wizards of the Age. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.” Several of the students nodded silently along with her words. “Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not…”

“Three guesses who.” Harry murmured to Hermione.

McGonagall gave him a look for a second before continuing. “Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that Magical Learning should be kept within All-Magical Families, or in other words, purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school.” McGonagall turned back towards the front of the room as she walked between the students’ desks. “Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber within this castle, known only as the Chamber of Secrets. And, shortly before departing, he sealed it. Until that time when his own true Heir returned to the school. The Heir, alone, would be able to open the chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin’s view, were unworthy to study Magic.”

“Muggleborns.” Hermione stated with a sigh. It was easy to hear the disappointment in her voice that such a notable Wizard had such thoughts.

McGonagall gave Hermione a small nod before she continued speaking. “Well, naturally, the school has been searched many times over the centuries. No such chamber has ever been found.”

“Professor, what does the legend say lies within the Chamber?” Hermione hadn’t even raised her hand to ask the question, a sure sign that she was very eager to know the answer.

“The Chamber is said to be home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home…of a monster.” McGonagall answered with a deep sigh. None of the legends surrounding the Chamber of Secrets had ever been very good. Slytherin had not done his reputation any favors with his outspoken views and his actions before leaving Hogwarts, never to return.

-Library ~ After Classes-

“Hermione…you, okay?” Tracy questioned curiously, seeing twice as many books as usual surrounding her Ravenclaw friend.

“I’m trying to learn more about the Chamber of Secrets.” Hermione replied while turning a page.

“Aren’t you still compiling your list of inconsistencies from all of Lockhart’s books?” Harry questioned her lightly. “You’re taking on another project at the same time.

“That’s rich, coming from you.” Daphne pointed out to him. “How many projects do you have going at any given time?”

“More than three.” Luna answered with a smile.

“She’s right.” Harry chuckled, pulling Luna into a side-hug. Luna’s smile grew brighter at the hug from her big brother.

“But the Chamber of Secrets seems dangerous, Mrs. Norris was attacked by this so-called Heir.” Hermione looked at her friends worriedly. “Harry, Tracy, and I are all either halfbloods or muggleborns.”

“How about I look into the Chamber of Secrets, and you continue finding out just how much of a fraud Lockhart is?” Harry suggested with a smile. He understood Hermione’s concern, but she was clearly freaking herself out more than necessary, at least from his viewpoint. “I know you plan to turn in your findings to McGonagall and Dumbledore as soon as you’re done.”

“But…Harry, you’re in danger too.” Hermione worried her lip, her concern for him was practically pouring off of her form.

“I can handle research, Hermione.” Harry chuckled, helping to clear some of the tension in the air. “It’s not like I’m going to charge into the Chamber of Secrets to try and fight whatever monster is supposedly lurking in there or anything.”

“You better not…” Hermione looked at him with a cute little pout.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t.” Luna volunteered, raising her hand like she was in class.

“Well, that settles it.” Tracy nodded with a giggle. “Harry can’t say ‘no’ to Luna.”

“Are you gonna be like this with my little sister too?” Daphne eyed Harry with a little smirk. “I’m sure Astoria would love to have a big brother that dotes on her so much.”

“Is that an offer of something, Daphne…” Harry gave her a ‘suave’ smile.

“You wish.” Daphne waved him off. “Just don’t spoil her rotten. Our parents do that already.”

“I promise nothing.” Harry grinned broadly at Daphne.

“Prat.” Daphne and Hermione both said at the same time. The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

‘Tension broken. Hermione laughing. Everything is how it should be.’ Harry nodded to himself with a smile.

-November 8^th ~ Hogwarts Infirmary-

Everything was NOT how it should be!

On the infirmary bed lay Colin Creevey, a rather excitable First Year muggleborn student that had a hobby of photography. The boy had even gotten a picture with Harry in September, and Harry had jokingly autographed it for the boy. But now the brown-haired Gryffindor student was petrified. Another attack by the ‘Heir of Slytherin’, the first since Halloween night.

Dumbledore had requested Harry’s assistance, both because he’d seen Harry cure petrification before and because Harry was a certified Charms Master, to help Colin recover. The boy had been found with his camera in hand, and thinking they might get a picture of the attacker, the Professors had tried to access the film. What they got was the acrid smell and sight of melted film. Whoever or whatever had attacked Colin had made sure to destroy the evidence. Dumbledore had then called on Harry’s assistance in hopes of getting what information that they could from Colin about who or what had attacked him.

“I’ve put in the order for a dozen Mandrake Draughts from St. Mungos, Headmaster, they’ll be here the day after tomorrow.” Poppy Pomfrey, Hogwarts’ resident Healer, spoke to Dumbledore while casting glances at Harry and Colin. She was clearly wary of a student attempting to heal another student, especially from petrification, but Dumbledore was the one that gave Harry permission to help the young Creevey boy.

“Mmm…” Harry gently placed his hand on Colin’s shoulder, gently pouring just a bit of his Magic into the other boy. He found Colin’s Magic was indeed in the same ‘frozen’ state that Mrs. Norris’s had been in. “Mah, mah…” Harry hummed a little as he used Magic Manipulation to slowly break down the ‘frozen’ Magic and return it to its normal state of flowing through the body. Being that Colin was a human, and much larger than a cat, it took more time for Harry to undo the petrification.

“Huh?” Colin blinked and was clearly curious as to where he was. “Where?” He sat up and saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, Harry, and Madam Pomfrey looking at him.

“Welcome back, Colin.” Harry greeted the First Year with a smile. It went a long way to settling Colin down as the boy smiled back at Harry.

“Hey, Harry.” Colin greeted the other boy. “Why am I in the Hospital Wing?”

“We’re hoping to ask you about that, Mr. Creevey.” Dumbledore took over, the twinkle returned to his eyes now that his student was returned to health. “You were found petrified with your camera in hand. But when we tried to see if you had been able to take a picture of your attacker, all we found was melted film inside your camera. Can you tell us who or what attacked you?”

“I’m not sure, Headmaster.” Colin shook his head a little. “I was taking pictures of the castle to send back to my dad and little brother, then I heard a sound behind me, like something dragging over the floor. When I turned around to see what it was, there were two large, bright yellow eyes…I think?” Colin scratched his head, clearly not sure if what he thought he saw was real. “I saw them through my camera, so I don’t know if that’s what they really were. But I did see two bright yellow glowing things. Maybe they were just shaped like eyes?” The First Year clearly hadn’t gotten a good look at his attacker.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Creevey.” Dumbledore smiled genially at the young student. “Poppy will be giving you a thorough check up, and if everything looks alright, then Professor McGonagall will take you back to Gryffindor Tower.”

“Yes, sir.” Colin agreed with a quick nod of his head. “See you later, Harry!” He waved to the slightly older boy.

“Later, Colin.” Harry waved back as he walked away with Dumbledore. “Two large, glowing, yellow eyes? That’s unsettling.”

“Very much so.” Dumbledore agreed with the prodigious Spellcrafter. “But was it truly a pair of eyes from a beast of some kind, or merely a spell to obscure the attacker’s identity?” There was a myriad of spells that could obscure the truth behind illusion and façade. No one with the ability to curse others with petrification should have any issue with a much simpler obscuration spell.

“Is Hogwarts going to need to shut down until this ‘Heir of Slytherin’ can be found, Headmaster?” Harry asked the logical question.

“I fear that the ‘Heir’ is a student.” Dumbledore shared his foremost concern. “Sending the students away would send the attacker away before we can identify them. It’s a bit of a ‘Catch 22’ as the Muggle saying goes. If we send the students away for their safety, we send away the attacker to potentially hurt others as well.” Dumbledore seemed to sag in on himself for a moment. “Hogwarts will remain open for now. We were lucky that this incident didn’t result in worse for Mr. Creevey and that it was a Professor that found him. Panic shouldn’t spread among the students at the very least. We’ll be performing a sweep of all students’ belongings shortly to look for any items of suspicion that could be used to curse someone with petrification.”

“That’s probably a good first step.” Harry couldn’t think of anything better right off the bat. Getting the Aurors involved would be the next logical step. But the ‘Heir’ was apparently rather good at covering their tracks.

“The students’ safety must be assured.” Dumbledore stated firmly. “If we cannot find the culprit then I shall make inquiries with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures if we determine that it is indeed a Magical Beast of some kind.”

“If anything happens that I can help with, just let me know.” Harry nodded to Dumbledore.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter, however…” Dumbledore looked Harry in the eye. “I would like you to promise me that you won’t tell anyone of this second incident.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.” Harry nodded to the old Wizard. It wasn’t hard to figure out why. Dumbledore was obviously hoping to find the perpetrator during the upcoming sweep of all student belongings. If Harry went around telling people that Colin had been attacked, it would incite fear and may tip off the ‘Heir’ before the searches began.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at Harry and bid him a goodnight as Harry left the Hospital Wing. “Minerva, we’ll be having a faculty meeting tonight and classes will be canceled tomorrow. We’ll be searching the belongings of every student in the castle for any contraband or dark magical objects.”

“Yes, Headmaster.” Minerva nodded to Dumbledore, seeing the look on his face. She’d impress on Mr. Creevey not to talk about his incident until this Chamber threat had been dealt with.

-Monday ~ November 9^th-

The castle was in a state of lockdown as the Professors kept all of the students in the Great Hall after breakfast. They were all told, in no uncertain terms, that everyone’s belongings were going to be searched for any contraband or dark objects that could’ve caused the incident with Mrs. Norris. This included making all students turn out their pockets and have spells meant to find hidden objects cast upon them. As such, all classes were canceled for the day.

“Everyone stays in line!” Filch growled at the lined up students. “No one hands anyone anything, understand?” He glared at all of them sharply. “If I even think I see you do so, both of the one’s doing it are getting dragged to the front of the line!” The surly Caretaker of the castle was keeping the students that had been searched separate from the students that still needed to be searched.

While Filch, Professor Sinistra, and Professor Kettleburn (Care of Magical Creatures) were dealing with the students in the Great Hall, the rest of the faculty was searching every inch of all four Common Rooms along with every student’s personal belongings.

-End of the Day-

“A few objects of questionable nature, a couple dozen bottles of various alcohols, and some banned items were all that our search turned up.” Dumbledore went over the list of confiscated items. “I trust that those with alcohol found in their possession have been given appropriate punishments?” He looked at the Four Heads of House for confirmation.

“Yes, sir.” Professor Sprout nodded, heaving a sigh that a few of them had been her Puffs. “I’m having them clean all of the greenhouses by hand, and plant all of the starter seedlings for the spring semester’s curriculum. It should take them at least seven detentions to complete.”

“Of course.” Snape drawled, but those that knew the dour man saw the displeasure in his eyes. He disliked punishing his own House, but there was no choice in this case. “I’ll have them scrubbing cauldrons by hand every night this week after dinner to keep them away from such things.” Snape knew that he, even more than the others, had to inform the rest of the Professors of the punishment he was giving out if he didn’t want them to think he was letting his Slytherins off the hook.

“The student offenders under my care have lost all extracurricular privileges for two weeks, Headmaster.” Flitwick gave a nod to Dumbledore. “That includes Mr. Davies from the Quidditch Team.”

“I’m having my students’ scrub and mop bathrooms under Argus’s chaperone for the next week after dinner.” McGonagall nodded tersely. She was most upset that her students would smuggle alcohol into Hogwarts. Not Butterbeer…legitimate alcohol like Fire Whiskey and wine!

“I’ve examined the items of questionable nature.” Dumbledore informed his staff. “Two were protective objects, though the method of protection involved potentially serious injury to the one that activated it. Three others were charmed with Lock Picking spells. The last one was a pair of glasses charmed to see through clothing.” Dumbledore let out a sigh at that one. He’d seen a few such objects in his time as a Professor. “All have been confiscated and parents have been sent letters via owl to discuss why their children possessed such items.”

“That means that we have no leads though.” Professor Vector, a rather stern Witch that taught Arithmancy, stated plainly.

“I’m afraid not.” Dumbledore agreed. “I’ll need to make some inquiries with the DMLE and hope that we can settle this matter with some Auror support without having to interrupt the school year.”

“Better to temporarily close the school than for one of our students to get hurt, or worse.” Professor Babbling spoke up, the Ancient Runes Professor looking at each of her colleagues.

“Agreed. The students come first and foremost.” Professor Burbage (Muggle Studies) nodded to Babbling in wholehearted agreement.

“If I can convince Amelia, I hope to have Alastor come to Hogwarts and search the grounds.” Dumbledore informed the Professors of his plan. “If any Auror can track down this ‘Heir of Slytherin’, then I have no doubt that Alastor is the one.”

No one commented on how silent Lockhart had been during this meeting. But the blonde man knew he was on thin ice after his first class had gone so horribly wrong. It was better to say nothing than to potentially be fired from Hogwarts and stain his carefully built reputation.

-Hogwarts Library ~ Saturday-

“I’m telling you guys, there have been Aurors poking around the corridors after dinner. A few people have seen them!” Tracy spoke in a hushed whisper to her friends.

“It’s probably because of the Halloween incident with the Chamber.” Daphne shrugged it off without much care. “The sweep of our belongings didn’t turn up the culprit, so now Aurors have to get involved. That’s only natural.”

“I agree.” Hermione nodded to Daphne. “What this ‘Heir’ did was horrible. They should be punished for it.”

“Petrification is no joke.” Harry shook his head, having had to undo it twice now. “I’m not surprised that the Headmaster has brought in Aurors to try and find the culprit.” He flipped to the next page in the tome he was browsing through in his search for more information about the Chamber of Secrets.

“I hope no one else gets hurt.” Luna worried about the safety of the other students. She got a gentle headpat from Harry and smiled at him.

“You’re an angel, Luna.” Harry smiled at his little sister fondly.

“Ah, Harry, sorry to bother you.” Terry Boot had walked over to their study table with a book in hand.

“No problem, Terry, what’s up?” Harry looked at his friend with a grin.

“I’m having trouble understanding whether or not Transmogrification plays a part in inanimate to inanimate Transfiguration, or if it only refers to inanimate to animate and animate to animate.” Terry pointed out the part of the chapter he was having trouble with.

“Transmogrification is usually reserved for the use of permanent Transfigurations,” Harry happily explained to his friend and housemate. “Animate to animate or otherwise doesn’t play a part in the overall definition of the process. It’s just a way to differentiate between standard Transfigurations that revert back to their original form over time, and permanent Transfigurations.”

“Really?” Terry reread the section of the chapter again. “The way this is worded makes it seem like Transmogrification is a part of all Transfiguration spells.”

“Veere was a Master of Transfiguration, but from the few books of his I read, he tends to be overly verbose about the process.” Harry mentioned the author’s name with a shrug. Terry actually looked at the cover to see the name ‘Lyman Veere’ on the bottom.

“So, he’s using Transmogrify more as a verb, rather than a noun?” Terry questioned his prodigy friend. “If I read it like that, then it definitely makes more sense.”

“Like I said, overly verbose.” Harry laughed lightly.

“Thanks, Harry, we’ve been stuck on this for almost half an hour.” Terry smiled at Harry in thanks while motioning over his shoulder to a table a good distance away where Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein were sitting.

“No problem, Terry, happy to help.” Harry assured the other boy. Terry headed back to his table to share the new information with the other two Ravenclaw Second Years.

“Hey, Harry, if you’re giving out help…” Tracy grinned and flipped her book around. “How about explaining this part more simply?” She pointed to a part of the page she was on that she didn’t understand.

“I’ll help you.” Daphne took Tracy’s book in hand. “Harry’s doing something else right now.

“You’re the best, Daphne!” Tracy beamed at her friend in a very over-the-top manner.

“I have to be to deal with you.” Daphne smirked and Tracy pouted at her friend. No one at the table, other than Harry, saw the note that Daphne had slipped to Harry when she pulled the book towards herself.

‘Winter break, anytime.’ Harry read off the note. He caught Daphne’s eyes and gave a slight nod before Vanishing the small scrap of parchment with an exhale of breath.

“There’s another one!” Hermione was quickly writing onto her ‘Lockhart Fraud Report’ as Harry was calling it. “Wanderings with Werewolves…my foot.” She grumbled out something that sounded like ‘Homorphus Charm’ and then the word ‘incurable’ a second later. “When did he have time to go to Australia that year? He was supposed to be captured by Trolls during that time.”

“That report is getting pretty long.” Luna remarked, seeing Hermione finish filling another page of parchment.

“Lockhart is just that much of a fraud.” Harry chuckled before returning to his book. ‘The Chamber of Secrets was known to exist shortly before Salazar left the castle. But he sealed it and never told anyone how to find it. If that’s the case…how does anyone know what’s in it? For that matter, what’s capable of living for a thousand years locked up in a chamber?’ Every book he read that even briefly mentioned the Chamber of Secrets all said the same things. But something didn’t seem right. ‘If Salazar Slytherin had never told anyone where the Chamber was or what was in it, then who started the legend that it was a monster to wipe out the muggleborns from Hogwarts?’ There was also the fact that a few Magical Families had claimed direct descent from Slytherin over the centuries. The man was known to have had at least one child as well, though some sources said it was two children. That meant he had heirs too, people that could open the Chamber, if they found it. ‘Perhaps it’s time to look into the tangled lines of British Magical Genealogy?’ Harry mused to himself. Not that it interested him much at all. No one today claimed any ancestry to the Slytherin Line, that he knew of anyway. ‘Maybe they all died out?’ He hypothesized and began thinking deeper. Perhaps finding out what happened to the last Family claiming to be Slytherin descendants would help figure out this Chamber of Secrets legend?

-November 15^th-

Harry knocked on the door to Hagrid’s hut. What he’d found by tracing back the last known Slytherin descendants had led to a rather curious time discrepancy after he’d found out that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened before, decades ago. That was probably the first time Harry felt like thanking the Daily Prophet for anything, though it had taken him the last few days to search all of the back issues that were preserved in the library.

“I’m comin’…” Hagrid’s voice called out and the heavy wooden door opened a moment later. “Harry?” Hagrid’s face lit up with a smile beneath his bushy beard. “Good to see you! Come in, come in!” He welcomed Harry inside. “Tea?”

“Thank you, Hagrid.” Harry nodded as he went to sit in one of the large chairs around Hagrid’s table.

In short order, Hagrid and Harry were sitting together sipping tea, chatting, and eating Hagrid’s Rock Cakes. Harry had found them a bit too hard to bite through, so a simple Softening Charm was used. The cakes were actually pretty tasty when they didn’t require you to crack a tooth to eat them.

“I always knew you’d be a great Wizard, Harry!” Hagrid chortled deeply, praising all of Harry’s accomplishments. “Ye said ya needed to ask me somethin’?”

“Yes,” Harry nodded with a small smile. “It has to do with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing from Halloween.” He began and continued when Hagrid nodded a moment later. “I found out that someone supposedly opened it back in 1943 and your name came up in the old Prophet article. But the article said something about you having a creature that attacked and killed a student?”

“Aragog never hurt nobody!” Hagrid shook his head forcefully. “Prefect Riddle caught me with Aragog and scared him off into the Forbidden Forest. But he’d never left me room! I ended up expelled because of that…” He took a long drink from his tea, looking gloomy.

“They never rescinded your expulsion?” Harry felt that was wrong. “Didn’t they question you about the Chamber?”

“O’ course they did.” Hagrid shook his head at the memories. “They kept me at the Ministry for a full day and night, asking me question after question. I couldn’t tell them where the Chamber was because I didn’t know. When I told them Aragog was an Acromantula, they slapped my father with a large fine and maintained my expulsion.”

“I see…” Harry looked thoughtful for a long moment, as he sipped his tea. “It’s strange though…the last Family claiming to be descendants of Slytherin were the Gaunts, if my research is correct. But they didn’t have any family in Hogwarts when you were in school. So, who was the ‘Heir’ that opened the Chamber back then?”

“Even Dumbledore was never able ta figure that out, Harry.” Hagrid shook his head slightly. “He tried to get me back into school, but the Ministry wouldn’t allow it. Said I’d endangered the entire school by keeping an Acromantula as a pet. So, Dumbledore got me the job as Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts instead. Great man, Dumbledore.” He took a bite of the last Rock Cake.

“How strange…” Harry murmured over the situation with the Chamber in the early Forties. “A student dies, the Chamber is never found, and the only suspect is proven innocent of being involved with it at all. Everything just stopped and then disappeared.”

“Aye,” Hagrid nodded, the memories were unpleasant for him, but he could see why a smart boy like Harry would find the situation back in the day so odd, especially after the Chamber had been opened again. “Well, enough about the sad things, I’ve got some interestin’ news!”

“What’s that?” Harry asked, putting his thoughts away for later.

“Since I never got to graduate Hogwarts, I can’t use a wand…they snapped me old one.” His eyes briefly drifted to his umbrella stand and the large pink umbrella within. “But with Dumbledore and Professor Kettleburn’s help, I’ve been able to go about getting certified to teach Care of Magical Creatures startin’ next year!”

“You’re going to be a Professor, Hagrid?” Harry smiled brightly at the gentle giant. “That’s great!”

“Thank ye, Harry!” Hagrid smiled so broadly his beard moved. “I’ve always loved animals and beasts. Now I can make use of that and pass on some knowledge to the kids!”

“Brilliant!” Harry cheered and Hagrid laughed brightly, the bellowing sound filling the hut. “I’ll have to take Care of Magical Creatures as an elective next year.”

“I’d appreciate that, Harry.” Hagrid nodded, still smiling brightly. “I’m working on a schedule for the classes with Kettleburn. He says I shouldn’t be showing off large beasts to the younger years…but that the older years will enjoy them.”

“So, is the first class going to be Crups or something?” Harry asked, since the Magical Dogs were friendly enough when raised properly.

“That’s not a bad idea…” Hagrid ran his hand through his bushy beard. “Kids love dogs, and only cats make me sneeze. Hmm…”

The two chatted about Hagrid’s upcoming position for a while longer before Harry had to leave.

‘So, Hagrid was expelled for the illegal Acromantula ownership, not the student death. But the Chamber incident stopped completely after Hagrid was expelled and no trace of the Chamber of Secrets was ever found.’ Harry thought to himself as he walked back up towards the castle. Too many things didn’t make sense about the case from the Forties. Why did it suddenly stop, and why did no one pursue it any further afterwards? A student had died! ‘They didn’t give the student’s name in the Prophet article, so I don’t have any leads there. If I was a snake obsessed Parselmouth Wizard, where would I hide a Chamber?’ The Dungeons were too obvious, and probably the most searched during any attempt to find the Chamber over the centuries.

Harry passed through the gates and looked up at the castle for a long moment. He saw other students wandering around all over the large courtyard and couldn’t help but wonder if any one of them was the ‘Heir’ that had opened the Chamber again. The last time the Chamber was opened a student died. This time Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey had been petrified. Was that proof that the ‘Heir’ was different from the one that opened the Chamber back in the Forties?

“I miss just making spells.” Harry exhaled long and hard. Give him the mystery of figuring out a new spell over this Chamber stuff any day of the week!

“Hi, Harry!” Luna called out as she skipped towards her big brother.

“Luna!” Harry put the Chamber stuff out of his mind for now and accepted the hug from his little sister. “What’re you up to?”

“I’m looking for Ginny, I haven’t seen her much today.” Luna smiled up at Harry. “She seems to be a little distant recently. I hope she’s not feeling unwell.”

“Maybe she’s just looking forward to the winter break? Being able to go back home and everything?” Harry suggested as he walked with Luna on her hunt for the youngest Weasley.

“I hope so.” Luna smiled as she tried to spot Ginny among the students that they were passing. “If we don’t find her, I’ll ask her brothers.”

“That’s the easiest way.” Harry nodded in agreement, a smile on his face at the fact that Luna was making a physical search first, instead of just asking Fred, George, Ron, or Percy. ‘I could always use my Locator Spell too.’ The Spellcrafter thought to himself as he let Luna lead him along.

-End Chapter-

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Curiouser and curiouser…the Chamber of Secrets is a type of mystery that Harry’s not used to. He can’t just use his deep and intuitive understanding of Magic to figure this one out.

Hermione is tearing through Lockhart’s books and recording every inconsistency and discrepancy that she finds into a report! Lockhart’s lies are slowly becoming a noose around his neck. And all because he lied in books! *Cackles*

Daphne is secretly setting up a time for Harry to come remove the Blood Malediction from her family over the winter break. Talk about a Christmas present, right?!

Luna is adorable! But she is also seeing less and less of her friend Ginny lately. That’s strange, but it’s probably nothing…probably.

Hagrid has gotten his certification to teach Care of Magical Creatures! Woohoo! Welcome to Professor Hagrid next year! It might be one of the few classes that Harry actually shows up for! He will be starting those rebellious teenage years by that time. Kek!

What will happen next during Harry’s second year at Hogwarts?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Winter Break is coming up and Harry has a bit of ‘Doctoring’ to perform for the Greengrass Family. But before then, will there be another incident at Hogwarts? Our prodigious Spellcrafter is also talking with his pen pal as well, without mentioning what is going on at Hogwarts, of course. Exploring the castle to try and hunt down the Chamber of Secrets will also take up some of his time too.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 17 – Friend, Dueling, and Curse Breaking

“Prek!” Hedwig landed lightly upon the Ravenclaw table at breakfast, a letter tied around her leg. Holding out her leg, she let Harry retrieve the correspondence before stealing some bacon from his plate and flying off towards the Owlery to rest.

“Fleur sent me a reply.” Harry grinned at the letter before opening the envelope and pulling out the paper inside. Reading French was a little difficult still, as Harry was still learning the language, but he was able to understand the letter for the most part. The second page, written in English, confirmed what he’d read on the first page. “Well, I’m glad she liked them.”

“Who liked what, Harry?” Luna asked curiously from his right side.

“I sent Fleur’s little sister, Gabrielle, some sweets from Honeydukes with my last letter.” Harry smiled at his little sister. “Gabrielle apparently enjoyed them quite a bit. She has a sweet tooth.” He chuckled as he put the letter into the inner pocket of his robes. “I’ll have to write back tonight, and keep her up to date on some of the things that I’ve been doing.”

“Has she asked for the secrets of Wandless Magic yet?” Hermione teased him lightly.

“No, but I told her I was very enigmatic when it came to my secrets when we met.” Harry laughed as he put more eggs onto his plate. “I’m still interested in those Veela spells of hers though.” He gave a faux whine at being denied the spells that he’d seen Fleur use.

“Maybe you’re just not asking the right question.” Hermione shrugged, clearly holding back laughter of her own.

“Perhaps.” Harry nodded, digging into his eggs.

“You’re no fun.” Hermione nudged him at not reacting to her joke.

“I’m the most fun!” Harry shot back, nose raised pompously in the air, which made Luna giggle.

-Later-

“Hmm…” Harry prowled the corridors looking for any hidden spaces, doors, or portraits with his Mage Sight spell active. He needed to try and find the Chamber of Secrets and hopefully end this Heir of Slytherin’s plans. Dealing with them would not only protect the other students, among them his friends and his new little sister, but could also allow him access to whatever was left with the fabled Chamber. ‘Then again…Slytherin’s descendants probably have known how to get into the chamber over the centuries. They might even be why no one has been able to find it after all this time. It would certainly make sense that the Chamber wouldn’t be found if certain people were actively working to keep its location hidden. Maybe they are even capable of changing where the entrance is somehow?’ That would be an avenue to explore while he searched the castle. Out of the way places were the obvious choice for a secret chamber, but perhaps that’s why most people failed to find it. “Maybe the Chamber is static, but its entrance is movable, or in some way able to be changed?”

Harry continued to roam the castle, but instead of checking far out of the way places, as he’d been doing, he now focused on areas with a bit more foot traffic. The first floor revealed only a few small hidden rooms or passages, most of which he was already aware of. The second floor revealed something that Harry hadn’t found yet.

“A door?” Harry looked at the portrait of a sleeping Runespoor. The three-headed snake would go unnoticed if one was just casually walking through the corridor, being that it blended into the landscape the portrait portrayed. Harry tried to open the portrait by hand, but it wouldn’t budge. His attempt did, however, wake up the Runespoor in the painting.

“Sssshhhh…”

“Ssssshh…”

“Sssshhh…”

Each head hissed separately at Harry as the serpent reared up from its previous coiled posture.

“Sorry to wake you,” Harry apologized to the three heads. “I was hoping you might let me through?”

“Sssshhhaaa.”

“Ssshhaa…”

“Sssshhhaaaa?”

The third head tilted to the side a bit, the move making its upward inflected hiss sound like a question if it had been human.

“Wait…” Harry blinked as he thought about that. “Are you…are you three speaking Parseltongue?”

“Ssshhh.”

“Ssshhh.”

“Ssshhh.”

All three heads made the same short hiss, which Harry was going to just assume meant ‘yes’ for now. “I’m afraid I’m not a speaker, myself.” He shook his head and the three heads suddenly seemed less interested in him. “Maybe something else…?” Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and connected to the portrait.

What he found was old, old Magic…the portrait must’ve been here for centuries. The spellwork on the enchantment was sound, but to Harry (who’d interacted with tons of the portraits within Hogwarts since last year) it wasn’t done the same way. The enchantment work was clearly older, more archaic, not nearly as streamlined as some of the newer portraits he’d interacted with. Which was probably why the Runespoor was sleeping to begin with…the portrait was old and probably didn’t afford the depicted serpent access to other frames, leaving it bored and sleepy.

‘But how to get the Runespoor to let me pass?’ Harry pondered as he looked through the enchantment further. He found the core of the spellwork a short time later and grinned. ‘It is Parseltongue!’ Harry grinned brightly, seeing a similar enchantment to a basic Password Charm, but the current password didn’t seem to be a word so much as a sound…if that made any sense. “Oh?” He grinned when he found a secondary pass clause beyond the Password Charm.

Harry coated his right hand in his Magic and gently touched the left head of the Runespoor in the painting. He stroked the scales, not quite feeling them, but not feeling the portrait material either. Normally this secondary access method would be done with a wand, probably for any Parselmouth that would come later and wouldn’t know the password.

“Ssssshhhhh…” The head hissed out before laying down and dozing off.

“Next.” Harry chuckled and stroked the middle head of the three-headed serpent. Like the first one, it too laid down and dozed off after a moment.

“Ssshhhaaa…” The right head let out a hiss as it dozed off and the painting popped open on the right side, swinging on hinges that weren’t there.

“Nice.” Harry grinned and slipped through the hidden door, hearing the painting shut behind him automatically. “A bit dark in here.” Harry conjured a bright Lumos Charm from his palm and let it float above his head. “Better.” He could see now at least, finding himself in a tunnel that looked like it hadn’t been used by anyone in a long while. “Where does this go?”

Harry walked along the tunnel for a while, finding it odd that the passage veered off seemingly at random, going left and right and even sloped downwards from time to time. Eventually, he came to a dead end…a solid wall of metal. Perplexed, Harry tapped on the wall and looked at it with his Mage Sight spell intently. Seeing that some Magic ran through it, he reached out with Magic Manipulation to try and examine it.

“It can open?” Harry blinked at the feature that he’d discovered. It didn’t have a Password Charm, but this was clearly some type of door. “Maybe…” He interacted with the spellwork weaved into the metal wall a bit and found that it had a specific requirement to open, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of what the requirement was. “More Parseltongue?” Harry exhaled with a grimace. Not wanting to give up just yet, he placed his ear against the metal wall and listened. What he heard sounded like water echoing behind the wall. “Wait…is this part of the plumbing? Did Slytherin do the plumbing? A descendant, maybe?” Harry shook his head with a chuckle. “Did I find a maintenance access tunnel?” That was significantly more mundane, despite the Parseltongue in use to hide it. “Then again…it’s not a bad method to keep students out. There’s not many Parseltongues in Britain.” He started making his way back along the corridor and exited the Runespoor painting with a grin. “Salazar Slytherin’s noble descendants, plumbers extraordinaire!” Harry laughed at his own joke, vaguely aware that Hogwarts had updated their plumbing sometime in the 1700’s and that one of Slytherin’s descendants probably helped with it. “Perhaps they hid the access point behind the Runespoor painting in case they needed to return?” Whatever the reason, it hadn’t been the Chamber of Secrets, so Harry’s search would continue.

-Saturday, December 12^th-

“This has to be a joke, right?” Harry looked at the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw Common Room along with many of the other students.

“I should hope so.” Hermione huffed at the parchment on the board.

The new announcement was that Professor Lockhart would be starting up a Dueling Club on the following Thursday, the seventeenth, after classes. That alone got quite a few snorts of derision from the studious Ravenclaws, either not interested in Dueling, or having a very low opinion of Lockhart, for some of them, it was both.

“It says that Professor Flitwick will be there too.” Anthony Goldstein pointed out near the bottom of the parchment. “We could actually learn something from Flitwick, he’s a former Dueling Champion.”

“That could be interesting.” Harry agreed with a nod, a small grin on his lips.

“I want to see what Professor Flitwick can do.” Luna smiled at the announcement.

“Then we’ll go.” Harry declared, smiling at Luna warmly and getting a smile in return from his little sister.

“Wrapped around her finger.” Hermione giggled from Harry’s other side.

“Indeed.” Harry nodded along, Luna mimicking him and nodding as well.

-Dueling Club-

“Gather round, gather round!” Lockhart called out, atop the Dueling Platform and in a Dueling Outfit that made Harry roll his eyes. It was clearly the type meant more for style than function, something a Duelist might wear to an event that they themselves weren’t participating in. It had a cape over one shoulder for crying out loud! “Can everybody see me?” Lockhart questioned, looking about the various students that had come to the first club meeting. “Can you all hear me?” Getting a few nods, the blonde man smiled. “Excellent!” He made a pivot on his feet, dramatically swishing the cape on his left shoulder. “In light of the attack on Halloween, and the previous search not finding a culprit, Headmaster Dumbledore has granted permission for me to start this Dueling Club.”

“Granted Flitwick permission, more likely.” Harry whispered to Hermione.

Everybody could see Flitwick standing atop a pedestal on the floor near the center of the Dueling Platform. It was the standard position of the referee, arguably the most important position in a formal Duel, but Lockhart was too much of a peacock to let any attention be focused on the Charms Professor.

“Now, let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape!” Lockhart motioned to the opposite end of the Dueling Platform.

Snape walked up the short steps and onto the platform with his usual dour countenance. The Potions Professor’s face was blank, but Harry wouldn’t put it past the man to be plotting to humiliate Lockhart just because.

“He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration.” Lockhart informed the gathered students. “Now, I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry; you’ll still have your Potions Professor when I’m through with him, never fear.” He gave his patented ‘charming’ smile and Harry, for probably the first and last time, wished Snape luck.

“To the center.” Flitwick instructed both of the men, beginning the Duel properly.

Snape and Lockhart met in the middle of the platform, standing within arms-reach of each other.

“Present wands.” Flitwick announced, with both Snape and Lockhart raising their wands before them, the Foci held straight and pointed at the ceiling. “Bow.” Both men moved their wands to the side in a sharp motion before giving each other a short bow. “To your starting positions.” Lockhart and Snape turned their backs to each other and headed for the opposite ends of the long, narrow platform.

Lockhart turned when he reached his position and took up a stance that made Harry raise an eyebrow. It was…lazy…for lack of a better term. It looked good from a glance, but unless Lockhart was hiding some incredibly good reflexes, there was no way that he’d be getting his wand through any motions for a good spell.

‘Given what we’ve seen, I highly doubt that he has any spells down to point-casting either.’ Harry internally scoffed that Lockhart had bothered to work hard enough to forgo wand motions for any spell. The mnemonic motions were taught for a reason, but going past them was the mark of a good Witch or Wizard.

Snape’s stance on the other hand was more aggressive, his right arm raised a bit over his head, the tip of his wand pointed directly at Lockhart. The Potions Professor’s left arm was held straight forward, prepared to be moved in any direction to help keep Snape’s balance should he need to move and change his position while casting.

“Begin!” Flitwick declared, raising his voice so that everyone heard him clearly.

“Expelliarmus!” Snape’s wand whipped around in time with his left arm dropping as he shifted his weight. The spell shot from the tip and slammed into Lockhart before the blonde man had even raised his wand into position to cast.

Lockhart’s wand was wrenched from his hand, his arm flying backwards from the force of Snape’s spell. The overpowered Disarming Charm took Lockhart clean off his feet and he crashed down a few meters behind where he’d been, now dangerously close to falling off the end of the platform.

“Disarmed!” Flitwick called out, ending the demonstration immediately.

The laughter of the various students was heard as Lockhart gathered himself and stood up. Even Snape looked a mix of bored and possibly amused…if only slightly. “An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape!” Lockhart raised his voice after picking up his wand. He strutted down the platform as if he hadn’t just been knocked on his ass. “But, if you don’t mind me saying, it was rather obvious what you were about to do and if I had wanted to stop you, it would’ve only been too easy.”

“Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor?” Snape drawled out, clearly unimpressed with Lockhart.

“An excellent idea, Professor Snape!” Lockhart turned away from the Potions Professor, not used to seeing derision directed at himself. “Let’s have a volunteer pair…” He looked at the gathered students. “Potter!” Lockhart’s eyes zeroed in on Harry first. “And…Weasley!” He pointed to Ron Weasley on the opposite side of the platform.

“Weasley’s wand causes devastation with even the simplest of spells.” Snape derided the boy’s spellcasting with his normal barely concealed contempt. “We’d be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox.” The intended insult to the prodigious student wasn’t lost on several of the students, and Flitwick looked like he had half a mind to blast Snape off the platform himself. “Might I suggest someone from my own House?”

“Of course.” Lockhart acquiesced easily.

“Malfoy!” Snape turned and motioned for the boy to get on the platform.

Draco had a smirk on his face as he made his way up the short stairs and onto the platform. Harry did the same from the opposite end and passed Lockhart on the way.

“Good luck, Potter.” Lockhart nodded to the boy.

“Thanks.” Harry replied evenly. “Draco and I have done this before though.”

The two Second Years met in the middle of the platform, as per tradition, to exchange the pre-duel formalities.

“Present wands.” Flitwick called out to the boys. Draco raised his, while Harry raised his right hand, his fingers extended in a ‘half prayer’ position. “Bow.” Draco gave the smallest bow that he could, barely leaning forward at all. Harry just gave the standard short bow.

“Scared Potter?” Draco asked with a self-assured smirk.

“Bored actually.” Harry replied and was mildly amused to see Draco’s face turn red.

“To your starting positions.” Flitwick instructed. The two boys turned from each other and walked to their respective ends of the platform. Draco took up a stance similar to Snape’s, while Harry merely had his hands at the ready by his sides.

“Remember, students, you’re aiming to disarm only!” Lockhart had to have the attention back on him again, his vanity wouldn’t allow anything else. “We don’t want any accidents here!”

“Begin!” Flitwick barely hid the roll of his eyes at Lockhart’s instructions. Every Professor in Hogwarts knew of Malfoy’s dislike of Potter. The fact that both boys were in the Junior Dueling League meant that this Duel wouldn’t be merely Disarming Charms, no matter what Lockhart said.

“Everte Statum!” Draco called as he cast a wave of white magic towards Harry.

“He said disarm only, Malfoy.” Harry mentioned as he sidestepped the spell easily. “Like this.” A burst of Magic left Harry’s hand as he pointed at Draco. The blonde boy was knocked back and landed on his ass with a thud, his wand falling to the platform just out of his reach.

“Disarmed!” Flitwick made the call, ending the Duel in Harry’s favor.

Snape looked like he’d swallowed a lemon before he pulled Draco to his feet. The blonde boy quickly crouched down to snatch his wand back into his hand.

“Serpentsortia!” Draco cast, even with the Duel over. From the tip of his wand a viper of considerable length was launched at Harry. The snake hit the platform a few meters away, hissing angrily and looking at the students on either side of the platform.

The cries of several students were heard as the crowd backed away from the snake.

“Mr. Malfoy!” Flitwick nearly roared at Draco for casting outside of the Duel, as well as conjuring a venomous serpent among his peers. “Fifty points from Slytherin for your actions!”

Snap

The sound of Harry’s fingers got everyone’s attention for a second. Seeing the viper vanish in a small cloud of black smoke grabbed their attention far more though. The conjured snake gone; Harry merely gave Draco an unimpressed look.

“Clear the platform, we’ll have the next two students try out their Disarming Charms.” Flitwick took control of the club instantly, the short Wizard’s authority undeniable as he shot a look at both Lockhart and Snape.

Harry, Hermione, and Luna found that learning from Flitwick was as pleasant as always. The Charms Master was in his element when it came to Dueling and many of the students that had come to the club were all smiles when they left. Having a new spell like Expelliarmus under their belts (especially for the First Years) would do that.

-The Next Day ~ December 18^th-

“Again?” Harry was starting to get concerned now. There had been another attack by the Heir of Slytherin. Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, had been found petrified. “How does that even work on a ghost?”

He hadn’t been called in this time, the Mandrake Draughts that Madam Pomfrey had ordered being used to revive the two. But Harry still learned about it easily enough, Nick had been quietly whispering about having defended a student to a few of the other ghosts as Harry had been passing by. The ghosts had quickly gone silent and disappeared through the walls when they’d spotted him, but Harry had heard enough to understand the incident.

“We’re all headed home for winter break in on Sunday…if there are no incidents while most of the students are gone, then it’s most likely that the Heir is among them.” Harry murmured to himself as he continued on his way. He’d increase his search for the Chamber once he returned to the castle. His break was going to be a bit busy as it was, and he honestly wanted to relax with his family as much as possible.

-Greengrass Manor ~ December 28^th-

“Lord Black.” Cyrus Greengrass greeted Sirius as the man stepped out of his Floo. He was a man of average height, with dark hair and cool, gray eyes. His complexion was slightly pale, and his robes were a mix of black and gray, clearly pricey as well just from sight alone.

“Greengrass.” Sirius nodded back to the man, his eyes were scanning the room they were in, checking for any threats before Harry came through. The Greengrass Family were known as ‘fence sitters’ in both the Wizengamot and back during Voldemort’s uprising. They didn’t take any one side, merely watched how things were going and made whatever decision was best for their family at the time. But Sirius would be damned if he let Harry be here alone, just in case.

“Ugh…I hate the Floo.” Harry grumbled as he nearly staggered out of the green flames. A wave of his hand and all of the soot left him. “Good morning, Mr. Greengrass.” Harry nodded to the man waiting for him.

“Mr. Potter.” Cyrus nodded back to the boy. “Please, allow me to introduce you both to my family.” He motioned to two people, a woman and a girl, that Harry only knew vaguely from Daphne’s description of them. “My wife, Layla.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Lord Black, Mr. Potter.” Layla smiled and bowed to the two slightly. She was gorgeous, clearly where her daughters got their looks from, with a soft face, a substantial bosom that couldn’t be concealed by her robe, and gentle icy blue eyes. Her long hair was raven black, like Daphne’s, and she stood just a bit shorter than her husband.

“The pleasure is ours.” Sirius took her hand and barely touched her knuckles with his lips as was expected of his position.

“This is our daughter, Astoria.” Cyrus introduced his youngest child.

“H-Hello.” Astoria stepped forward and gave a little curtsey. She was cute, like Luna, and had dark hair like the rest of her family. The darker eyes clearly came from her father, while everything else was her mother. To Harry’s eyes though, she looked a little pale, like she’d just gotten over being sick.

“May I ask who this is?” Sirius looked towards the slightly older man standing off to the side of the Greengrass family.

“This is Brian Spindle, the Healer that has been looking after my family for the last few decades.” Cyrus introduced the Healer.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lord Black, Mr. Potter.” Brian nodded to the two. He wore plain robes in a navy blue shade, his eyes were behind round glasses, and his hair was more gray than the brown it had been in his younger years, given what Harry and Sirius could see of the mixed colors.

“Harry was very insistent on coming here to help, but he wouldn’t tell me what about, only saying that it was a secret.” Sirius looked at Cyrus for an explanation.

“Before that…” Cyrus exhaled and Layla smiled warmly at Harry. “We would like to thank you, Sorcerer Potter, for saving Daphne when no one has been able to free any of us since this curse began.”

“Daphne’s a friend, and I made her a promise.” Harry smiled at Daphne, the girl standing on her father’s opposite side. She smiled back at him warmly, a sharp difference from the cool and closed personality she presented to most within Hogwarts.

“I was most surprised myself.” Brian agreed, looking at Harry with kind eyes. “I’ve seen a few of my patients slip away because of this curse without being able to do anything about it. I’d almost given up hope when Daphne’s letter arrived in the fall.”

“Curse?” Sirius looked between Harry and the Greengrass Family, clearly wanting an explanation.

“It won’t matter soon, I hope, so I’ll let you into our Family’s secret, Lord Black.” Cyrus motioned for Sirius and Harry to follow him into the nearby sitting room.

It would be almost half an hour later when Harry was able to begin his first treatment. Both Cyrus and Layla had insisted that Astoria go first, as she’d recently suffered both a bout of sickness and a time of intense pain from the Blood Malediction. It was clear that Cyrus and Layla wanted their daughter free from the curse as soon as possible.

“This is a little embarrassing.” Astoria commented, her cheeks red as she lay on a table in nothing but small cotton shorts and a matching cotton tank top. She wasn’t used to being so exposed, especially not with a boy that she’d just met.

“Your sister said something similar.” Harry chuckled reassuringly at the younger girl. “But you’ll be fine once we’re done, I promise.”

“R-really?” Astoria looked at him with eyes that showed little hope. The young girl had suffered her entire life under the Blood Malediction and knew that she’d been hit twice over. Brian had never been able to do anything for her beyond mitigating some of the pain and keeping her frequent illnesses from getting too bad.

“Really.” Harry smiled at Astoria, gently squeezing her hand to give her what comfort he could.  “This is going to feel weird, but try not to move too much. I promise it won’t hurt.” Harry smiled at Astoria with absolute surety in his statement.

“Okay.” Astoria gave the best nod she could while lying on the table.

“Then Doctor Potter will begin the Blood Malediction treatment.” Harry joked lightly as he activated his Mage Sight spell and brought his magic to bear.

“Doctor?” Astoria blinked at the term, but went still as Harry hovered his hands over her head.

The dark, ugly, maroon Magic of the Blood Malediction pulsed beneath Harry’s Mage Sight spell. Just like he’d seen in Daphne, the root-like entanglement of the curse was spread throughout Astoria’s body and Magic alike. Only much worse. Harry tried to count the number of roots, recalling how many Daphne had when he removed her curse. Astoria easily had twice as much if not even more of the ‘roots’ within her. Harry reached out with Magic Manipulation and took hold of one of the ‘roots’ carefully. Using his Magic he surrounded the single root of the Blood Malediction that he was focusing on. He formed his ‘spell scalpel’ with his Magic and separated the encased ‘root’ from Astoria’s Magic and body.

‘One down…a lot more to go.’ Harry thought to himself as he moved on to the next ‘root’ and repeated the process.

‘It’s going to work. Daphne said it worked. Mom and dad said it would work. Brian said Daphne was cured.’ Astoria thought to herself as Harry’s hands continually passed lower and lower over her body. It was a little embarrassing to have a boy moving his hands over her body, even if he wasn’t touching her. But she’d go through anything if it meant finally being free of the curse.

‘One-hundred-fifty-one.’ Harry encased another root and cut it off from Astoria’s body and Magic with his ‘spell scalpel’. He had no idea just how long he’d been working, his focus entirely on containing the separated ‘roots’ and working to separate the rest. ‘One-hundred-fifty-two.’ He carefully added the new encasement to the containment spell that held the rest. ‘One-hundred-fifty-three.’ That was another one, his hands were finally at Astoria’s feet as he went for the final two roots attached to the soles of her feet. ‘One-hundred-fifty-four.’ The root connected to the sole of the left foot was separated and added to the containment. ‘One-hundred-fifty-five.’ Harry severed the last root from the bottom of Astoria’s right foot and contained it as well. With careful control, Harry gently moved the contained Blood Malediction up and away from Astoria’s body.

“Hauh…” Astoria inhaled sharply as Harry’s Magic moved away from her. The oddly comforting feeling of his Magic disappeared, and when it did it took with it a source of metaphysical weight and pain that she’d lived with all of her life. Tears sprang to her eyes and she didn’t even try to hold them back.

“It was a success, Astoria, it’ll never hurt you again.” Harry promised her with a bright smile meant to cheer her up. He tossed the captured Blood Malediction away without letting her see it, the vile Magic fading into nothing as it could no longer fulfill its purpose.

“Th-th-thank y-you, H-Harry…” Astoria bawled in relief and joy and Harry used his Magic to open the door, letting Cyrus and Layla into the room to hold and comfort their daughter.

“Mr. Potter?” Cyrus saw his daughter crying and feared the worst as his wife went to console their youngest.

“She’s just happy, the curse is gone now.” Harry nodded to the man and watched the light return to Cyrus’s eyes as he moved over to wrap his arms around Layla and Astoria both.

While Harry took a break after removing the Blood Malediction from Astoria, Brian gave the young girl a full checkup. The cheer that rose up from the room when the curse was indeed revealed to be gone without a trace was heard in the sitting room where Sirius and Harry were.

“You’re a good kid, Harry.” Sirius praised his godson with a proud smile.

“I just wanted to help if I could.” Harry smiled at being able to use his understanding of Magic to help others.

Once Harry felt ready, he entered the treatment room again and Layla Greengrass entered a short time later. The woman certainly filled out the tank top and shorts as she laid on the table. Harry was thankful that he was still young enough that the sight of the beautiful woman in the thin garments didn’t completely derail his brain.

“Let’s begin.” Harry nodded to Layla.

“Yes.” Layla gave him a smile as she lay perfectly still.

‘Let’s see…’ Harry nearly sighed in relief when he saw that Layla’s curse had indeed not manifested nearly as strongly. The distant relation had weakened the Blood Malediction to a significant degree. ‘I can deal with forty-two a lot easier than one-hundred-fifty-five.’ The Spellcrafter got to work, encasing the first root and detaching it with his ‘spell scalpel’ as his hands hovered over Layla’s head.

“Oh…” Layla gasped lightly when Harry slowly moved his hands away from her a while later. That feeling of weight and tightness within her had disappeared entirely.

“It’s gone, Mrs. Greengrass.” Harry smiled at the woman.

“Thank you very much, Sorcerer Potter.” Layla used his Title as she sat up and then gave him a short bow from her seated position.

“It’s not a problem.” Harry shook his head. It was a good excuse to avert his eyes, since Layla’s movements had made her breasts bounce a good deal. A small part of his mind wondered if Daphne would grow up in the same manner, but he shook that thought away.

After another break, Cyrus Greengrass was lying on the table under Harry’s treatment. When Layla had been cleared by Healer Spindle, the entire family had rejoiced. Cyrus had barely held it together, knowing that his wife and daughters would no longer have to suffer, and that his little Astoria wouldn’t die young from the thrice damned curse that had been laid on their family.

“Are you ready, Mr. Greengrass?” Harry asked the man.

“Yes, please begin whenever you see fit, Sorcerer Potter.” Cyrus would never treat Harry Potter like a child. He’d earned far more respect than Cyrus could adequately show or express, but the man was determined to only offer him the utmost respect from now on.

‘Damn…it really does get bad the longer you live with it, huh?’ Harry gazed at the thick entanglement of ‘roots’ within Cyrus. The man was only thirty-four, but that was plenty of time for the Blood Malediction to spread and become the disgusting mass that Harry could see with his Mage Sight spell. ‘I’m not even going to bother counting, but he has a few more than Astoria for sure.’ Seeing the difference really drove home how dire Astoria’s situation had been since her curse was almost as bad as her fathers at roughly a third of Cyrus’s age.

Cyrus Greengrass laid still on the table with his eyes closed as Harry worked. He could feel the boy’s Magic around him, the genuine desire to help was soothing, and the Head of the Greengrass Family went over everything in his mind that he’d prepared just in case anything went wrong.

‘I have the stewardship set for Layla. The Gringotts vault is already in both of our names, so they won’t be cut off from finances. Our lawyer has copies of all of our legal parchment work, so if anything happens, Layla can still take care of our family.’ Cyrus was pleased that they were free and could live long, healthy lives now. That was all that he’d ever wanted. If he had to die to drag this damned curse to the great beyond then he would. As long as his wife and children were free. ‘We didn’t even know about our distant relation…not until Astoria was cursed twice over.’ He lamented that the love he and his wife shared had caused their children to suffer so much. But he and Layla had been together since their seventh year in Hogwarts, and Cyrus knew how bad the Blood Malediction could get. But he couldn’t just let his family line die out. With joy, they’d welcomed their Daphne into the world. Astoria had been a surprise, but they loved her as soon as Layla found out that she was pregnant again.

“Done.” Harry let out a heavy exhale as the feeling of his Magic disappeared from Cyrus’s perception.

‘Now…now we can live normally. It’s finally over.’ Cyrus thought as he sat up, wiping away the tears at the edge of his eyes. “Thank you, Sorcerer Potter.” He bowed his head to the boy in front of him. “If there is ever anything the Greengrass Family can do for you, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Sure.” Harry accepted the offer, knowing from Sirius and Andromeda that rejecting it, even if well-meaning, would be an insult to the Greengrass Family. ‘One-hundred-seventy-six ‘roots’ in total.’ Harry had counted each and every one of them as he’d detached them. ‘Astoria probably wouldn’t have even made it to forty years old if the number of roots that she had was any indication.’ He was even happier now, knowing that he’d been able to help the Greengrass Family.

While Cyrus was getting a full checkup by Healer Spindle, Harry was sitting with Sirius again. He enjoyed the tea and the snacks provided by the Greengrass Family House Elf. The platter disappearing once it was empty, only to be immediately replaced by a full one.

“I’ve gotta say, Harry, you’ve given them one hell of a New Years present.” Sirius chuckled at his godson.

“Late Christmas, early New Years, whichever works.” Harry laughed a little as he sipped his tea.

The Greengrass Family joined them after Cyrus was declared curse-free. A formal thanks was offered, which Harry was walked through by Sirius. The Houses of Potter and Greengrass would be allies from this day forth, which was quite the statement from the longtime ‘neutral’ House.

“One last thing,” Harry spoke up as he and Sirius were getting ready to leave. “Your Magic is probably a bit low right now, with the Blood Malediction finally lifted and all. So, how about I give you a little boost to help hasten your recovery?”

“You can do that?” Layla asked the boy.

“Yeah.” Harry nodded to his friend’s mother. “Just hold still for a second.”

“Is this the spell you told me about in your letter, Daphne?” Astoria was nearly bouncing on her heels in excitement.

“Yes, probably.” Daphne hugged her little sister, seeing the health already returning to Astoria’s face.

“Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. Grow. Confine divine offerings in this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. Grow.” Harry chanted the incantation that he’d made up as the golden points of Magic swirled around above his hand until they formed a ring of light.

“You don’t even need that fake incantation; you’re just doing it for your own amusement.” Daphne playfully rolled her eyes at Harry.

“Perhaps.” Harry admitted with a grin as the golden ring floated above the Greengrass Family and then descended onto them.

“Oh.” Layla blinked at feeling the strength granted to her body.

“Wow!” Astoria beamed, now actually jumping in place as Magic filled her.

“I didn’t know a spell like this was possible.” Cyrus looked at his glowing hands.

“It’s pretty nice.” Daphne agreed, not having needed it, but enjoying the sensation too much to pass it up.

“Have a happy New Year.” Harry bid the family farewell as he left through the green flames, followed shortly by Sirius.

“Daphne! Chase me!” Astoria requested before taking off, eager to burn some of the excess energy that she was now filled with.

“Don’t run in the house!” Daphne laughed, completely disregarding the rule herself as she gave chase.

“How could we possibly repay him?” Layla hugged Cyrus, a smile on her face as she watched their daughters run around together, happy and healthy for the first time in their lives.

“I’m not sure.” Cyrus shook his head.

“Let the appropriate people know about Harry breaking an Unbreakable Curse.” Daphne stopped close to her parents with a smile. “Harry is aiming for the Title of Arch Mage in the future, so I’m sure this achievement would help push him towards his next Title.”

“Daphne!” Astoria called out to her sister. “You’re not chasing me!”

“Come here, you!” Daphne laughed and rushed after her little sister.

“Well, it’s not like it has to be kept secret anymore.” Layla smiled at her husband.

“True enough.” Cyrus nodded and squeezed her gently. “Brian, could you gather the necessary documents about our treatment and the curse from the entire time you’ve looked after our family?”

“Of course, Mr. Greengrass.” Brian nodded, having been completely stunned by Harry Potter’s success in saving the Greengrass Family. “I’ll have them ready in short order.”

“Good thing I still have a few connections in the Ministry.” Cyrus chuckled, feeling lighter than he ever had in his life. The gentle golden glow still surrounded him and his family. “I’m sure an Unspeakable confirming our case will help Sorcerer Potter towards his goal.”

“It’s still not even close to enough to properly thank him.” Layla shook her head even as she smiled in joy. “But we’ll do everything that we can for him.”

“Too right.” Cyrus nodded, watching Astoria laugh, run, and play with Daphne for the first time in her young life. He couldn’t imagine ever being happier than he was right now.

-End Chapter-

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Harry continues his search for the Chamber of Secrets as he ponders on its ability to remain hidden for almost a thousand years. This time he found something…and perhaps later, he’ll realize how close he was.

The Dueling Club was a fun little time, unless your name was Gilderoy Lockhart or Draco Malfoy, of course! Kek!

The Greengrass Family is saved! No more Blood Malediction! Doctor Potter strikes again! Hahahahaha!

Now, the Greengrass Family has declared allegiance and are planning to bring their history and Harry’s feat of breaking an Unbreakable Curse to light! Would that be enough to earn Harry his next Title of High Sorcerer?

What will happen next as we enter the second half of Harry’s second year at Hogwarts?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Returning to Hogwarts for the spring term. With his impossible feat of curing the Blood Malediction of the Greengrass Family being presented to experts for examination, a new Title may be Harry’s before he even realizes it. Meanwhile, things at Hogwarts seem normal enough…but how long will that last?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 18 –Valentines, Unique Magic, and Chamber

Being back at Hogwarts was nice, Harry had to admit. The ride back to the castle from King’s Cross saw a full compartment of Harry, Hermione, Luna, Daphne, and Tracy. The light teasing from Tracy about Daphne insisting on sitting with Harry had nearly gotten the girl hexed, but it was an enjoyable time all around.

“Nothing like this old place.” Harry chuckled to himself as he sat on the roof of one of the highest towers and looked out over the surrounding land. “Peace and quiet up here.” He breathed in and then exhaled slowly. “Now…let’s see…” Harry focused on the ambient Magic that was in the air and practically thrumming within Hogwarts as a whole.

There had been no attacks over the winter break, which meant one of two things. The Heir of Slytherin was either not in the castle, or they’d kept their head down the entire time to not out themselves with so few students remaining in the castle. Neither reason provided much useful information by itself, so Harry had decided to try a different tactic to weed out the Heir.

“Principle of Observation…Aspect is Searching…Principle of Identity…Aspect Animal, refined to Human…Principle of Identity…Aspect Identification, refined to Title, refined to Heir of Slytherin.” Harry constructed the spell to locate anyone that identified themselves as the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ and then filled the ambient Magic around him and into Hogwarts itself.

The feeling of his awareness expanding was always odd…but Harry had some experience with it thanks to his many years of experimenting with spell creation of Searching and Locator spells. While he didn’t like to brag too much, he was aware that he possessed a rather vast amount of magic power, especially for his age. But even using it with Magic Manipulation to harness the ambient Magic within the area and Hogwarts, he couldn’t search the entire castle and grounds all at once. The area was simply too large. Not to mention that Hogwarts had many wards and its Magic naturally was resistant to manipulation by design. The Founders hadn’t wanted Hogwarts to only be a school, after all, it was a castle to act as all castles did, as a fortification in case it was needed. The Magic of Hogwarts let his spell flow through it, but only as far as his own power could push it.

“Hmm…nothing on the seventh floor or the sixth floor.” Harry hadn’t gotten any response from the search for the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ this time. “Alright, I’ll move down to the fifth floor and try again.” He stepped off the edge of the roof, activated his Float spell, and slowly drifted down to the balcony below before entering the door and heading out of the, currently empty, Astronomy classroom.

-Lunch-

‘I searched the entire castle, dungeons and all, plus the grounds, and yet there was no response from my spell to find the Heir.’ Harry mused over this conundrum as he ate. Surely the person that called themselves the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ was still in Hogwarts, right? ‘It seems kind of pointless to open the Chamber of Secrets, attack a few times, and then leave without having accomplished much of anything.’ He shook his head at the lack of results.

“Harry, can you pass me the gravy, please?” Luna asked her big brother with a smile.

“Of course, Luna.” Harry levitated the gravy boat over to Luna with barely a thought. “Can’t have a mashed potato castle without a gravy moat, right?”

“Nope!” Luna giggled lightly as she poured the gravy into the ‘moat’ around her potato sculpture.

“You shouldn’t play with your food, Luna.” Hermione sighed at Harry encouraging the behavior.

“But it’s more fun to eat it after playing with it.” Luna explained to Hermione with a smile.

“Uh huh…” Hermione didn’t look convinced, but she relented with a smile and a light shake of her head. “You two really are like brother and sister.”

“Thank you.” Harry and Luna thanked her simultaneously, almost as if they’d practiced it. Both gave bright smiles to Hermione too, making the bushy-haired girl stifle a laugh from the simple response.

-After Classes ~ Ravenclaw Common Room-

“Breathe in…hold it…and then breathe out slowly.” Harry instructed Luna as he helped her get started on Occlumency. It would be good for Luna to be able to protect her mind, and she had asked him to teach her after he explained what it was.

There was also the fact that he hadn’t forgotten the Legilimency from his first day at Hogwarts. The fact that Snape had the ability to glance at the minds of his students was a professional boon; what teacher wouldn’t want to be able to get to the truth of any incidents that happened between students? But it was also a potential invasion of privacy…one that Harry was certain that Snape probably didn’t abuse daily, but wouldn’t put it past the Potions Professor to use when it suited the man.

Seeing that Luna was sinking into meditation, Harry decided it would be a good time to see why Hermione had been knocking on his Barrier for the last three or so minutes. He stood up quietly, so as not to disturb Luna, and then slipped through the translucent blue field that separated this one spot of the common room from the rest. “Yes, Hermione?”

“Harry…what’re you doing?” Hermione asked, looking at Luna seemingly sitting with her eyes closed behind the barrier. She’d been curious when Harry had set up the Barrier spell, and her curiosity had only grown further when it appeared that Harry was giving Luna instructions. Many of the Ravenclaws had been whispering amongst each other, wondering what Harry was up to, and Hermione had eventually been unable to hold back her natural curiosity. She hadn’t expected it to take a few minutes to get Harry’s attention though.

“Teaching Luna Occlumency.” Harry answered easily, as if the Branch of Magic was a common thing that they would learn in their classes and not a much more obscure art.

“I thought you said that you wouldn’t teach anyone Magic unless they asked the right question?” Hermione now had to wonder if Luna had asked that question, or if Harry was just making an exception for his self-decided little sister.

“No, I said that I wouldn’t teach anyone Wandless Magic unless they asked the right question after fulfilling the rest of the criteria.” Harry clarified for his best friend with a grin barely being suppressed. ‘Three…two…one…’

“You mean that I could’ve asked you to teach me spells this whole time and you would’ve agreed?!” Hermione exclaimed in shock at her best friend. “You prat!”

“Prat? Me?” Harry placed his hand on his chest as if he were offended by her words. “How could you say such a thing, Hermione? All you had to do was ask.” He saw Hermione’s cheeks turning pink and couldn’t hold back his grin anymore. “Since you never did, I just thought you weren’t interested.” Harry shrugged at the girl.

“Teach me…please.” Hermione looked at the floor with her face red. Harry wasn’t wrong. She’d been so focused on Wandless Magic, that she’d never stopped to consider that Harry might teach her spells if she asked him.

“Sure, you want to learn Occlumency?” Harry offered as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the barrier that was creating a quiet space for Luna to begin her instruction.

“Yes, please, thank you, Harry.” Hermione looked at him with a gentle, but happy, smile on her face. “There’s so much I want to learn.”

“Ah, that’s what makes you so much fun, Hermione.” Harry threw his arm around her shoulders with a smile. “That curiosity and desire to explore Magic…never lose that!”

“I won’t.” Hermione giggled as she was led through the barrier by Harry when before she hadn’t been able to pass through it.

The Ravenclaw common room burst into renewed chatter at Hermione being taken into the barrier with the promise of being taught by Harry directly. This new information was quickly picked up by the Hogwarts rumor mill, as a few of the chattier Ravenclaws spread it around to their friends in other Houses.

-Library ~ Next Afternoon-

“What’s this about you teaching Hermione and Luna Magic, Harry?” Daphne questioned him, her face as stoic as she could manage.

“Yeah, I’m teaching them both Occlumency.” Harry replied without a care.

“And you didn’t offer to teach Tracy and I, because…?” Daphne asked, drawing out the end of her sentence.

“You didn’t ask.” Harry snickered as he saw the stoicism break and Daphne actually pouted for a second.

Tracy joined him in snickering at Daphne, playfully nudging her best friend at not thinking of simply asking. “Yeah, Daphne, you should’ve just asked politely.”

“You didn’t ask either!” Daphne snipped at Tracy, her cheeks turning pink from the teasing.

“Eh…I’m not that worried about it.” Tracy shrugged it off. “I’m not trying to be a Sorcerer or anything crazy.”

Harry didn’t react or say anything, but Tracy’s attitude did remind him of how the vast majority of the Magical World acted when it came to Magic. They treated it as something mundane and just there. It was a convenience for their lives and nothing more. The sheer uninterest and disregard for it boggled Harry’s mind.

“Hah…” Daphne exhaled and then looked at Harry. “So, will you teach me some Magic, Harry?”

“Sure, we’re on Occlumency right now.” Harry agreed without issue. “We’ll have to find a quiet place somewhere to practice after classes since you’re from a different House.”

“I’m sure there’s a classroom or two that could work.” Daphne mentioned with a little smirk. Hogwarts was indeed full of unused rooms, any one of which a Wizard of Harry’s caliber could easily take over for himself and their lessons.

“So there are.” Harry grinned back at her.

“Hmm, study sessions alone after classes…what ever will the other girls think?” Tracy giggled and began to speedwalk away from the table.

“Don’t you dare, Tracy!” Daphne called out, louder than Madam Pince would like, as she took off after her best friend. Both girls did keep their speed below a run…barely…but Harry was sure that Tracy was going to get a hex or two for attempting to spread rumors.

“Guy friends are easier to deal with.” Harry chuckled to himself as he watched Tracy and Daphne leave the library. “Speak of the devil.” He smiled as Terry Boot, Michael Corner, and Anthony Goldstein approached his table, the Second Year Ravenclaw boys having agreed to study together today for an upcoming test in Transfiguration.

-Saturday-

“This should do.” Harry nodded to himself, looking over the unused classroom that he’d taken for himself. He’d cleaned it out with a few waves of his hand, transfigured some of the unused desks into comfy, cushioned chairs, and lit the room up with floating Lumos Charms, as it didn’t have any windows. All in all, it was a comfortable, quiet place to focus on Occlumency and clearing the mind as there were no outside distractions.

Knock Knock Knock

The three knocks were followed by the door to the classroom opening. Luna skipped in, moving to hug her big brother with a smile, while Hermione and Daphne followed behind her and closed the door.

“Hello, Harry.” Luna smiled up at him.

“Hello, Luna.” Harry gently squeezed his little sister back. “Ready to keep working on your Occlumency?”

“Yes.” Luna nodded, eager to learn from Harry, as it was just more time with her big brother.

“What’s stopping someone from interrupting us in this room?” Daphne questioned, having noticed a few of the Slytherins looking at her for associating with Harry to begin with, and even more so now that she was learning from him.

Her answer was a Barrier covering the door while Harry turned to smile at her. “That should do it.”

“I so want to learn that.” Daphne looked at the Barrier spell for a long moment.

“We should get started soon.” Hermione mentioned, always wanting to use her time efficiently when it came to learning. “We do still have some homework to do tonight.”

“We’ll get to it tonight then.” Harry waved it off, making Hermione agree, even if she playfully rolled her eyes at him. She had come quite a way from the lonely, bossy, bookworm with no friends that she’d been when she’d arrived at Hogwarts.

Harry had the three girls sit down on the cushy chairs and slowly, softly, and calmly talked them through the beginning of meditation. While he could induce a calm and meditative state with Magic, that wouldn’t help the three learn to do it on their own. Once all three girls had slipped into a meditative state, Harry floated over to the teacher’s desk and sat atop it. He picked up the journal that held his personal Potions notes and went over them while referencing a large text of catalysts and ingredient reactions.

‘The combination of Honeywater, Moondew, and Moly might work…I just need to balance out the amounts first. Getting the best effect from each of them requires enough being used in the mixture, but if they’re not in balance then the effects won’t synergize and I’ll be left with a half as effective result. I’ll probably have to extract the liquid of the Moondew first and add it in after setting the cauldron to simmer. Honeywater will have to be added last so that it doesn’t lose its potency by boiling it.’ Harry’s thoughts delved deeply into his research, trying to slowly piece together a workable formula based on what he knew of Magic and its various interactions through the ingredients used. “I can buy Bitter root, Snowdrop, and Granian hair…but Re’em blood is a restricted substance. You usually have to put your name on a waiting list with a downpayment and just wait until some becomes available.” He mumbled quietly to himself so that he didn’t disturb the three girls.

Spellcrafter extraordinaire that Harry was, Potions were something he desired to excel in as well. His mother had been quite the Potioneer, according to Sirius, and he did like seeing how Magic worked through the various ingredients as well; so he’d studied on the subject rather extensively. Spells could be used to lift curses, hexes, and jinxes. He could heal injuries with spells too. Even protection could be offered through spells. But Potions all had their own benefits, and they were some of the only things that could deal with poisons and venoms, both Magical and mundane. Spells tended to have adverse effects on certain forms of poisons and venoms if you tried to extract them from a living body. Extracting a substance from the body that was mixed into the blood already usually didn’t work out so well when you used a spell. The result was often severe blood loss or in the worst case, exsanguination.

“Bottling spells indeed.” Harry quietly chuckled, recalling a line he’d read in a Potions Compendium before. He was sure it was also the source of Snape’s little speech at the beginning of his first Potions class. With how some Potions did give the drinker certain spell-like effects, it wasn’t that far off either. “I’m going to take that way beyond what anyone else has done before.” He promised himself as he refocused on his formula ideas.

He’d give the girls about a half-hour or so before testing their ability to clear their minds. It was a chance to work on his Legilimency as well, which he rarely had a reason to use, so that he didn’t get rusty.

-Valentine’s Day-

“AH! THIS HURTS MY EYES!!!” Harry cried out overdramatically at all of the decorations strung up over the Great Hall. “It’s all so…tacky.”

“Harry, must you?” Hermione didn’t like it much either, but still…she wasn’t making a spectacle of herself over it.

“It’s different.” Luna remarked as they made their way over to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. “Is it always like this?”

“It wasn’t last year.” Harry looked around with distaste at all of the gaudy decorations. Valentine’s Day was much more reserved last year, mostly left to the students to hand each other cards or candy to show their affection for their significant others.

Lockhart was clearly the reason for the decorations all over the Great Hall. The peacock of a man was wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations. Harry nearly groaned when the man stood up and called attention to himself as he waved for silence. All of the other Professors, barring Dumbledore, sat at the Head Table with stony expressions. Harry thought he saw McGonagall’s eye twitching at the state of the Great Hall. Snape looked sullen and angry at the same time, even as his face remained almost blank.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” Lockhart shouted, making sure that all eyes were on him. “And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all; and it doesn’t end here!” He clapped his hands and through the doors leading to the Entrance Hall marched a dozen surly-looking Dwarves. The reason for the looks was obvious, as Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps. “My friendly, card-carrying cupids!” Lockhart beamed at everyone, clearly not reading the room. “They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn’t stop there! I’m sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape how to whip up a Love Potion? And while you’re at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Charms than anyone I’ve ever met, the sly old dog!”

Everyone could see the confused look on the Charms Professor’s face. Harry quickly surmised that Flitwick had never spoken to Lockhart about such things. Not to mention that most Entrancing Charms were little more than glorified Beauty Charms that Witches often used in place of traditional makeup.

Meanwhile, Snape looked as if he’d personally force-feed poison to anyone that dared ask him about a Love Potion. Not that a single student would ever go to the dour Potions Professor for anything that related to love, or joy, or happiness, or any positive emotional experience at all.

What followed for the rest of the day was the dwarves bursting into classrooms to deliver valentines. This, unsurprisingly, annoyed all of the Professors, a few of which used spells to remove them forcefully. The dwarves would then wait outside the classroom to deliver their valentines or songs to their intended recipients as soon as the class ended.

Harry had just finished his last class and was walking with Hermione through the corridors when one of the Dwarves approached him. This also happened to be the time that the corridors were full of students and therefore the most embarrassing time to receive a valentine for a twelve-year-old boy.

“I’ve got a musical message to deliver to ‘Arry Potter, in person!” The rather grim-looking Dwarf spoke to Harry. He even twanged the harp in his hands in an almost threatening manner.

“Shh.” Harry shushed the Dwarf. Everyone saw the Dwarf’s mouth moving but no sound emerged. The Dwarf blinked, rubbed his throat a bit, and then looked at Harry crossly.

“Well tha’ wasn’t very nice.” The Dwarf grumbled, much to Harry’s surprise.

“You broke my spell?” Harry’s eyes lit up with interest at the realization. “How’d you do that?”

“Dwarf Magic, don’ worry ‘bout it.” The Dwarf waved it off and twanged the harp again. The whispers and snickers of the various students started up again, all of them clearly eager to hear the valentine that had been sent to Harry.

“Shh.” Harry shushed the Dwarf again before turning to look at Hermione. “Hermione, you wouldn’t have happened to send me a valentine, would you?”

“No, Harry.” Hermione shook her head, a smile on her face. He didn’t need to know that she might have a small, tiny, inconsequential, little crush developing for him.

“You think it was Daphne?” Harry asked, louder than necessary.

“You wish, Harry.” Daphne spoke up as a large group of Slytherins made their way down the corridor, or tried to, given that more and more students were hanging around hoping to hear the potentially embarrassing valentine. The raven-haired girl gave him such an unamused look that Harry couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Let’s hear it then.” Draco drawled, looking far too smug about potential material to use in getting under Harry’s skin.

“Ehem!” The Dwarf coughed, having undone Harry’s spell again, and twanged the harp once more.

“Shh.” Harry was honestly just having fun at this point. Seeing the gathered students’ faces rise in expectation only to drop in annoyance as he kept preventing the Dwarf from delivering the message.

“Stop that!” The Dwarf grumbled at Harry after removing the spell again.

“I’ll pay you five Galleons not to deliver the valentine.” Harry offered the Dwarf some compensation.

“Let’s see the money.” The Dwarf looked interested. Harry fished into his pocket and pulled out a small Mokeskin pouch. He opened it and picked out five Galleons. The Dwarf held out his hand and Harry placed the coins onto his palm. “Deals a deal.” The Dwarf nodded and turned away after stashing the coins in his pocket.

“A moment of your time, if I may, Mr. Dwarf.” Harry spoke up and the Dwarf turned to look back at him. “I’m rather interested in that Magic of yours, any chance I could ask a few questions about it, or even learn it?” The green eyes of the Spellcrafter were alight with curiosity.

“It’s Dwarf Magic, boy, you ain’t a Dwarf, so how could you learn it?” The Dwarf looked at Harry like he was dim.

“So, you’re saying it’s Unique Magic?” Harry understood quickly. “I’d still like to know whatever I can about it.”

“Hmm…” The Dwarf rubbed his beard for a moment. “Perhaps for a fee…”

The crowd of students was clearing out with groans and complaints at not getting to hear the valentine at all. This was hastened as Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater came to see what the hold up in the corridor was about. With two Prefects ushering the students along, the corridor was quickly clearing out.

“Why would you even take this job?” Hermione questioned the Dwarf man curiously. She definitely wasn’t a Lockhart fan anymore. How could she be after meticulously recording every inconsistency and outright lie that was in his books? That long, long list had been copied and sent to relevant people and groups; including Lockhart’s publisher and the DMLE. Mostly on the off-chance that Lockhart had claimed credit for an event through threats or coercion.

“It’s beer money.” The Dwarf shrugged at the question. “We’re all porters back home, but this seemed like an easy gig to make a little extra cash for drinks.” He scoffed harshly. “That Lockhart fella didn’t mention that we’d have to sing though…we’re all gonna give him a good smack for that at the end of the day.”

“That would be amusing to see.” Harry chuckled at the mental image. “But about that Dwarf Magic.” He quickly refocused on what he wanted right now. “You said something about a fee?”

“Aye,” The Dwarf nodded to the boy. “I could send you a book on Dwarf Magic and its history if you want. You just have to buy it.”

“How much?” Harry asked, eager to get his hands on such a thing. He’d certainly never found anything like it in Flourish and Blott’s, nor from the books that Sirius brought from the Black properties on occasion.

“How’s about ten Galleons?” The Dwarf man requested. That was a lot of ‘beer money’ for him and his pals to enjoy a day off with.

“Half now,” Harry held out five more Galleons. “Half after I get the book.”

“Deal.” The Dwarf agreed, taking the coins and shaking Harry’s hand to seal the deal. “You should get an owl in a few days with the book.” He turned and walked away with the deal done. If the boy wanted to waste good gold on a book that he couldn’t even make use of, then it was no hair off his beard. Besides, it was merely an old schoolbook of his that he hadn’t looked at in decades.

“Did you really just spend fifteen Galleons to get out of having a valentine read?” Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

“No, I spent five Galleons to get out of the valentine; the other ten Galleons were for the book on Dwarf Magic.” Harry explained with a wide smirk. “Try to keep up, Hermione.”

“Hey!” Hermione lightly swatted his arm for his dig at her perception. “You know what I meant.”

“I admit nothing.” Harry’s grin only grew wider.

“Hah…” Hermione sighed at his antics. “Let’s just go get Luna.” She walked ahead of him, leaving him behind if he didn’t catch up.

-Unknown Classroom-

“Why didn’t he want to hear my valentine?” A girl’s voice asked in the empty room. “He’s always hanging out with that Granger girl…and that Slytherin girl is trying to get her claws in him…I just know it!”

A silence followed, only the scratching of a quill heard.

“I don’t want to hurt them…just…I don’t want them taking up all of Harry’s time.” The girl spoke again. “But…I said I was sorry…I even brought you back and started writing to you again.”

The scratching of a quill on paper was heard again.

“I guess…but I don’t want anyone to get hurt.” The girl worried, her voice distressed. She went silent abruptly, as if her voice had been stolen from her. When she spoke again, it was in an odd tone, as if another voice was layered over her own. “Foolish girl, just pour your heart into my diary and do as I say. I’ll take care of your little problems; permanently.” The girl collected the black diary that she’d been writing in and stalked out of the room. The boy had been getting rather close to the Chamber on occasion, so it was best to deal with this now anyway.

With how much the girl had been writing, he’d sped up his drain on her Magic and influenced her body faster. The annoyance, frustration, jealousy, and sadness of a young girl had made it almost too easy for the Magic to influence her. The fact that she practically felt betrayed by her friend from childhood had opened the floodgates as well.

“Just you wait Harry Potter.” The name slipped out of the girl’s mouth in a strange hissing sound that was not a Human Tongue.

-Monday, February 15^th ~ After Classes-

“Ah, Daphne, on your way to the library?” Hermione smiled at her friend, jogging a little to catch up to the girl.

“Hello, Hermione.” Daphne nodded to the Ravenclaw. “Tracy will be a bit late today…she’s slacking a bit because we don’t have any tests coming up.” She waved it off as one of Tracy’s antics, of which she was rather familiar.

“Do you smell that?” Hermione asked, sniffing the air a little.

Daphne inhaled deeply, only to shake her head and exhale through her nose strongly. “Ugh, it smells like standing water; dirty standing water at that.”

“I wonder why?” Hermione’s question was quickly answered as both girls stopped as the corridor was filled with water ahead of them.

“Did Myrtle flood the bathroom again?” Daphne grimaced, seeing that they were outside the infamous girl’s lavatory that housed the ghost known as ‘Moaning Myrtle’.

“Should we go around?” Hermione looked down at the large puddle on the floor, seeing her reflection in it.

“It’s not that deep, we could probably dry it with a spell.” Daphne suggested, standing beside Hermione and inspecting the puddle as well.

The sound of something large sliding across stone was heard. In the reflection of the puddle that the two girls were looking into, a massive serpent appeared. Before either of them could scream, the glowing yellow eyes of the snake opened and they both were petrified. Just seeing the reflection of the serpent’s eyes was enough. With two splashes, their bodies landed in the puddle flooding the corridor as the immense snake slithered back inside the flooded girl’s bathroom and disappeared.

“A little message for all of the mudbloods and blood traitors.” Ginny Weasley, or the one controlling her at any rate, spoke while writing another message on the wall in what appeared to be blood. Once the message was complete, Ginny headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

It would be almost a dozen minutes later that Moaning Myrtle would return to her normal haunt, having been flushed down the drain again and out into the lake. She wished some of the girls at Hogwarts wouldn’t be so mean to her…she’d dealt with enough of that when she’d been a student herself. “Stupid Hornby…” She tsked at the memory of her old bully. “Why is my bathroom flooded?” Myrtle blinked at the state of the room. Everything looked normal, but when this room flooded, it was because of her tantrums. “So, why now?” Myrtle wondered as she went and checked every toilet, then the sinks, and finding nothing wrong with any of them, she poked her incorporeal head through the door. “AAAAHHHH!!!” She wailed upon seeing what she thought were two dead students face down in the flooded corridor.

-Hospital Wing ~ One Hour Later-

“What happened?” Harry asked, having never felt such a tumultuous amount of emotions before in his life. Daphne and Hermione had been found petrified and face down in a puddle outside of Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, the latest victims of the ‘Heir of Slytherin’.

Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever

The message, much like the first one, had been scrawled on the wall at the scene.

Naturally, this had prompted a full headcount of all students by the Professors. Only one had come up missing, Ginny Weasley, the youngest Weasley attending Hogwarts, in her First Year, no less.

Harry had rushed to the Hospital Wing and found Daphne and Hermione being treated by Madam Pomfrey. The Mandrake Draught had done its work, slowly returning the girls to normal, and Harry dared not mess with the process with his own de-petrification technique at the same time. His emotions were roiling though, seeing his friends laid up in the beds, unmoving, unresponsive, like they were dead. He’d quickly rushed back to Ravenclaw Tower to find Luna and make sure that she was okay.

-Ravenclaw Common Room-

“Harry!” Luna nearly tackled her big brother as she bawled her eyes out. “The Heir took Ginny!” The Hogwarts rumor mill had quickly spread the information of the only missing student. “Why?”

“I don’t know, Luna.” Harry shook his head, hugging her tightly to try and calm her down.

“C-Can you find her?” Luna’s muffled voice asked, her face not leaving his robes.

“I can try.” Harry rubbed her back, hating to see his little sister like this. It wasn’t doing any favors to the roiling emotions inside of him though. “Stay here, okay?” He pulled her back to look into her eyes.

“Okay.” Luna nodded, her eyes red and puffy from her tears. She hugged him again, getting a squeeze from Harry, before letting go and watching him walk back towards the door to the castle.

“Harry! Stop!” Penelope Clearwater called out to him. “Professor Flitwick has said that all students are to remain in their common rooms until the Professors come to get us.” The Prefect stood between Harry and the door as she explained.

“Please move, Penny.” Harry’s request wasn’t much of a request, as Penelope found herself moved aside by an unseen force.

“Harry! Harry, stop!” Penelope called out, not able to move past the force as Harry walked out the door and let it close behind him.

“Myrtle’s bathroom.” Harry mumbled to himself as his feet left the ground and he flew down the corridor quickly. He should’ve inspected it earlier. It was the site of the first attack, the entire corridor, along with every room nearby should’ve been inspected! “Why didn’t I think of that?” Harry criticized himself, not giving himself any slack for being completely inexperienced in anything like an investigation.

In only a short time, Harry stood outside of the infamous bathroom. Pushing open the door, Harry activated his in-progress Mage Sight spell. The only thing that caught his eye was the sinks. The fact that to his eyes they glowed like a beacon was all the proof Harry needed to inspect them.

“A password?” Harry parsed through the enchantment on the sinks. “Is this a door?” The idea that Slytherin’s descendants had purposefully been hiding the entrance to the Chamber all this time now seemed a lot more likely.

“What are you doing here?” Myrtle questioned, the ghost girl peeking out over the top of the nearest stall.

“Getting answers.” Harry replied as he finished examining the spell. “I can’t speak Parseltongue…” He didn’t have that Magical Gift; so the door wouldn’t open for him. “Direct then.” Harry brought his Magic to bear and swiped his left hand to the side sharply.

“EEP!” Myrtle shrieked as she watched the sinks be rendered to sand and grit, before being blown against the far wall.

“Myrtle, can you go get the Professors, please?” Harry looked at the ghost, giving her the best smile that he could as emotions he couldn’t fully process roiled within him. A Lumos Charm blinked into existence and floated down the massive opening in the middle of the bathroom. Harry’s feet left the ground as he floated after it, flying down the dark pipe to fulfill his little sister’s wish…and maybe get some answers from the Heir at the same time.

Harry flew down the pipe, his Lumos Charm lighting the way. What he emerged into at the bottom was a cavern that was filled with piles of small animal bones. Not giving the macabre scene any thought at the moment, Harry floated over the bones and down the only pathway he could see. His progress was halted by a large, round, metal door with snake motifs. He let his feet touch the ground and used Magic Manipulation on the door.

“More Parseltongue…figures.” Harry extended his search and found that only the door was enchanted. “Sloppy work.” He formed the Gouging Spell, Defodio, multiple times over with his magic. Empowering them to a vast degree, Harry launched them all around the circumference of the round door. The stone was perforated, just as the spell was designed to do, and chunks of stone and small clouds of grit flew through the air. Grabbing the now free-falling door with his magic, Harry shoved it forward, letting it slam loudly on the floor and echo throughout the cavernous room beyond.

Harry was standing at the very end of a long, dimly lit chamber. Towering pillars entwined with carved serpents rose to support the ceiling that couldn’t be seen because of the darkness. His Mage Sight spell let him see all of the Magic within the chamber. Nothing but the typical dim glow that all of Hogwarts was covered in normally. He walked forward, eyeing some of the tunnels that branched off the chamber, wondering if they led to areas like the secret one that he’d found early in the year.

‘It would certainly explain how the monster moves around the school without anyone noticing it.’ Harry thought to himself. Even the walls of paintings didn’t seem to notice it, and that brought up a laundry list of questions that Harry would’ve considered more thoroughly if his head wasn’t filled with rampant emotions.

As Harry drew even with the last pair of towering pillars, he saw a large statue as high as the Chamber itself standing against the back wall. Harry had to crane his neck to look up at the giant face above. It was ancient and kind of monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the Wizard’s sweeping stone robes. At the foot of the statute was a small figure in a black Hogwarts robe, their most distinctive feature was the flaming red hair.

“Ginny.” Harry moved forward but was stopped by a soft voice.

“She won’t wake.” The speaker was revealed to be an older teen, tall with black hair, wearing Hogwarts robes as well. But there was something odd about him; he was strangely blurry around the edges, sort of like a ghost.

“Who’re you?” Harry questioned the teen suspiciously. Already he was bringing his magic to bear. His Mage Sight spell saw the teen as almost entirely Magic, and it was almost disorientating to see when compared to a ghost or a person. Almost like this guy was something in between.

“Tom Marvolo Riddle.” The now named Tom answered.

“Never heard of you.” Harry replied, not taking his eyes off the strange person.

“Yes, I suppose you’d know me by a different name.” Tom let out a mirthless chuckle.

“What did you do to Ginny?” Harry questioned, seeing a line of magic connecting the two together with his bespelled eyes.

“No need to worry about that, Harry.” Tom waved it off. “She initiated that all by herself.” His eyes sharpened as he looked at Harry. “I’ve waited a long time for this, Harry Potter. For a chance to meet you, to speak to you.”

“You and a lot of other strangers that I’ve never met.” Harry replied snappishly, his emotions still running high. “What are you?”

The question seemed to surprise Tom for a second, but he let an answer pass his lips regardless. “A memory…preserved in a diary for fifty years.”

“What?” Harry didn’t know what to make of that.

“The diary,” Tom pointed at a book clutched in Ginny’s hand. “My diary. Little Ginny spilled her heart into it, telling me all about her inane problems.” He scoffed in derision. “It’s very boring, you know? Listening to the problems of a little girl. How her brothers tease her. How she was sad that she had to come to Hogwarts in second-hand robes and with used books. But the more she wrote to me, the more she trusted me, and the more she opened up to me, the more I took control.” A cold laugh escaped the teen. “She wrote to me more and more; worried that she was going mad. She couldn’t remember where she’d been, what she’d done, just blank spots in her memory and things happening that she couldn’t explain.”

“So, you’re a parasite…” Harry spoke up, making Tom growl at him. “But you claim to be a memory stored in that diary...” His emerald eyes locked onto Tom’s. “How interesting…” The teen pulled out Ginny’s wand as if on instinct, leveling it at Harry.

“Don’t bother, Tom.” Harry’s Barrier stopped the first spell cold. “I’m going to test a few things.” He formed his ‘spell scalpel’ around his hand and sliced the thread of Magic connecting Ginny and Tom.

“AAAUUUGGGHHH!!!” Tom howled in agony as his entire form flickered. The fading stopped as the thread reformed a second later.

“I see…” Harry hummed, his emotions finally cooling as his mind focused on this new Magic. “Maybe if I…?” He pulled the diary out of Ginny’s hands, with some struggle as the girl had a death grip on it. Harry heard a few more spells hit his barrier, but that wasn’t cause for concern. “Huh, now there’s two lines.” He noticed a thread of Magic now connecting Ginny to the diary, and another that connected the diary to Tom. “How about?” He sliced the thread connecting the diary to Ginny and watched Tom become incorporeal, Ginny’s wand falling out of his hands to clatter on the floor. The thread reconnected again though, making Harry frown at it.

“STOP IT!!!” Tom thundered at Harry, finally getting the Spellcrafter’s attention. “She will not be separated from the diary until her life fades and I am restored!” He promised with utter surety. “She tried, over and over again, to throw my diary away. But she always came back for it, even if it took a day or two.”

“Really?” Harry raised an eyebrow at this new information. “That explains why it wasn’t found during the sweep of all the student’s belongings.” He placed the tip of his index finger on the diary. “But I still have a few theories. What happens if I damage the book?”

“You can’t…” Tom sneered only to be cut off as Harry’s ‘spell scalpel’ passed through the book entirely and a glowing line appeared across his body. “AAAUUUAAAGGGHHH!!!” The strangled, tortured wail that came from Tom’s mouth as his form wavered dangerously proved that Harry could indeed damage him.

“Do you think your leeching will stop if I continue to attack the diary?” Harry questioned Tom, as if he hadn’t just made the teen let out a tortured cry of agony. “What do you think, Tom Riddle?”

“D-Don’t call me…by my…filthy Muggle father’s name!” Tom yelled at Harry after solidifying again. He snatched up Ginny’s wand and began to write in the air with the Flagrate Charm, leaving floating letters of flame behind. “Tom Marvolo Riddle…” He wrote out his full name before waving the stolen wand and having the letters rearrange themselves.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

“Oh, of course…” Harry glared at the words and the one that had written them.

“Ssshhhaaassshhraassshh.” A bizarre hissing sound came from the young Voldemort’s mouth, Harry able to identify it as Parseltongue thanks to the Runespoor portrait.

The mouth of the statue slowly opened and from within the massive form of a serpent emerged. It slithered down the stone robes adorning the statue Wizard until it was on the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry got a good look at it, both physically and magically, thanks to his Mage Sight spell. It glowed with a deep green Magic…it was old, Harry could tell from the way its Magic seemed to be almost condensed within its body.

“A Basilisk, right?” Harry had read up on a good number of Magical Creatures, and this thing looked similar to the hand drawn snake he’d seen in one of the books.

“Yes, Harry, frightened?” Tom mocked with a gleeful sneer on his face. “A single glance and you’ll die.”

“I doubt it.” Harry still had his Barrier up after all.

“Shhhaaarrraaa!” Tom hissed out and the Basilisk whipped its head around to look at Harry with its glowing yellow eyes.

But nothing happened to Harry.

“IMPOSSIBLE!!!” Tome raged, the sneer falling from his face, only to be replaced by furious shock. “Why aren’t you dead?!”

“My Barrier spell blocks all Magic, except for Soul Magic, I think?” Harry recalled how Peeves was able to escape through it, and the thread of Magic that still connected Ginny, the diary, and Tom together was able to pass through it too. “That includes the death gaze of the Basilisk, because it’s Magic.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Tom sneered, becoming noticeably more corporeal. “Her life is about to become mine. You have no way to stop me.”

“Really?” Harry looked between the Basilisk and Tom. “Because you can’t kill me, your snake can’t kill me, but I can hurt both of you!” The boy proved his point by launching a spell at the Basilisk, a powerful Confringo, that exploded against the King of Serpents’ head. Then he stabbed another ‘spell scalpel’ into the Diary.

“AAAUUUAAAGGGHHH!!!” Tom wailed in torturous agony again, once more becoming intangible as Ginny’s wand fell from his fingers.

“Ssshhhaaa…” The Basilisk, however, was unharmed by the spell, its green-black scales not showing a hint of damage.

“Hah…agh…” Tom stabilized again, though the specter was clearly terrified of letting Harry keep hold of his diary. “Use whatever spell you like, Harry Potter. The Basilisk is immune!”

Harry lifted off the ground, floating into the air even as the Basilisk lunged at him and its lethal fangs bounced off the spherical barrier around Harry. “Do you really think your snake is immune to Magic?” He stuffed the diary into his robe pocket and then clapped his hands together. “You still have a lot to learn about Magic!” Lightning danced around his hands as he pulled them apart, bolts of lightning leaping between his palms. “A Basilisk’s scales may have greater magical resistance than most any Witch or Wizard could hope to overcome…but nothing is truly immune to Magic! I’ll have you pay for this lesson with the life of your snake!” The air rumbled like thunder and the shade of Voldemort could barely look at the bright blue-white light. Even the Basilisk had closed its deadly yellow eyes from the harshness of the light.

“How?! How are you doing this?!” Tom yelled loudly, but was still barely heard over the thunderous noise. “How did you survive while the greatest Dark Lord to ever live perished?!”

“Lightning Bolt.” Harry spoke, focusing the spell solely upon the Basilisk. The instant before he unleashed the spell, he canceled his Barrier.

KRAKABOOM

The sound was deafening as the lightning struck the Basilisk head-on. The serpent didn’t even have time to react, one second it was alive, the next its entire body was being fried with electricity at such high amperage that its very blood boiled and every single organ failed and shut down simultaneously. When the sound stopped resounding through the chamber and echoing over and over again, Tom could finally see the Basilisk…or what was left of it.

“N-no…that’s…not possible…” Tom saw nothing but a blackened, smoking corpse of a snake. Several places along the Basilisk’s body had burst open as well, revealing smoking, cooked insides that had exploded out like a sausage that was overstuffed.

“Now…do you get it?” Harry touched down on the ground again, once more surrounded by his spherical barrier. “Stop draining Ginny, and tell me how this diary of yours works.” He held up the black book again.

“Never.” Tom hissed, his eyes turning a reddish color. “I’ll take her life, just so that you fail!” He revealed a pettiness that most never knew he had.

“I see, that’s a shame then.” Harry remarked, having truly wanted to study the strange diary and how it hosted a memory of Voldemort from fifty years ago. “I guess I’ll have to do my own research. Goodbye, Tom Riddle.” Harry made sure to emphasize the last name since Tom had shown such disdain for it. The twisted, black and orange flames of Fiendfyre burst into life from Harry’s hand. He threw the now burning diary onto the stone floor, firmly keeping the cursed flames from spreading any further.

“NOOOAAUUUAAGGHH!!!” Tom wailed before his form wavered away like a mirage. The wailing continued however, as a smoke-like wraith, with a horrified screaming face, burst from the diary as more and more of it turned to ash. The black fog dispersed into nothingness and Harry crushed the Fiendfyre from existence with a combination of his will and Magic Manipulation to extract all of the Magic it had consumed to fuel itself.

“This better not keep happening.” Harry sighed, picking up the charred remnants of the diary. Looking it over, nothing would ever give away what it had been, at least not upon first inspection. But Harry’s attention was focused more on Ginny as he shoved the charred half of a book into his pocket.

“Uh…” Ginny was breathing, her pale face gaining back some color. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw Harry Potter looking down at her. “H-Harry?”

“Glad to have you back, Ginny.” Harry greeted the First Year.

“Harry! It was Tom! He kept doing something to me!” Ginny looked around, as if expecting Tom to appear suddenly. “I’d black out and wake up later…I think I might’ve killed some roosters? There was the red stuff on my hands that one time at Halloween too. I didn’t mean for anything bad to happen!” The young girl was quickly working herself up into a frenzy.

Until a brilliant song filled the Chamber of Secrets as a flame burst alight above them and a red and golden bird flew through the air, trilling a song that seemingly brought about hope, joy, and relief to those that heard it.

“Is that a Phoenix?” Harry had only ever seen the one in Dumbledore’s office. The immortal firebird landed gently on the ground next to Harry and Ginny. It trilled at the two students with a soothing tone, seeing that they didn’t appear injured.

“It’s so pretty.” Ginny gently ran her fingers over the Phoenix’s plumage.

The compliment seemed to please the bird as it trilled happily.

“Hello, you’re Dumbledore’s Phoenix, right?” Harry greeted the Magical Bird. “I hope this isn’t too forward, but would it be possible to get a feather from you? Maybe a couple of tears too?” His curiosity about the legendary properties of Phoenixes made him ask without considering how it sounded.

The low trill he received from the Phoenix, along with a look that just screamed ‘unamused’ to anyone that saw it, gave him his answer.

“I’ll just take that as a ‘No’ for now…” Harry wasn’t pouting…he wasn’t.

Ginny looked at Harry with a shy smile after petting the Phoenix for a bit. “Thank you for coming to save me, Harry.”

“No big deal.” Harry waved it off with a smile, still eyeing the Phoenix and its feathers.

“It’s like those stories Mum used to read to me, a dashing Wizard saving the Witch he loved.” Ginny’s cheeks were turning red.

“Luna asked me to come find you.” Harry’s response was like an invisible spike piercing straight through Ginny. “She was crying, worried sick about you, I couldn’t leave my little sister like that.” He explained his reason for staging this impromptu rescue.

“Oh…” Ginny’s response lacked the energy that had entered her words before.

The trilling of the Phoenix caught Harry’s attention as the bird flew a short distance away and then landed, turning back to look at the two students.

“I think he wants us to follow him.” Harry quickly figured out what the immortal bird was getting at.

“Okay.” Ginny picked up her wand from the floor dully. She followed after Harry, and they both followed the Phoenix back the way that Harry had come.

Harry would be both surprised and not at seeing the Professors all gathered in Myrtle’s bathroom when he and Ginny flew out of the pipe. Ginny was being carried by holding onto the Phoenix, while Harry flew under his own power. From the brief bits of conversation that he managed to listen to, the Professors had been about to jump down the pipe to come after their students, but all such talk ended as the concerned faculty nearly swarmed the two returned students.

-End Chapter-

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One electric roasted Basilisk, order up!

Harry ends the threat of the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ early! You don’t see that in every fic, huh?

Ginny is saved from Voldemort’s first Horcrux.

Harry REALLY wanted to experiment and ask more questions…but Tom was being very uncooperative. Perhaps in the future, Harry will have another chance to do both?

What will be the outcome of this early event?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Now that the Chamber Incident has been unceremoniously ended early by Harry, what will become of the rest of the school year? Finding the fabled Chamber of Secrets, slaying Slytherin’s Monster, saving the life of another student, on top of what he did for the Greengrass Family over winter break. Harry’s certainly racking up various accomplishments, isn’t he?

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 19 – Results, Questions, and Accolades

Harry found himself in Dumbledore’s office. Ginny Weasley had just been taken home by her parents, both worried out of their minds about their daughter after hearing what had happened. Harry had to put up a Barrier to keep the plump Molly Weasley from trying to crush him in a hug for saving Ginny. Dumbledore had assured them that reparations would be paid to the family for Ginny’s near-death experience on school grounds. The Headmaster had also recommended that Ginny see a Healer specialized in mental trauma after hearing about how the girl had apparently been possessed. Molly Weasley had burst into tears and hugged Ginny more, while Arthur Weasley nodded to Dumbledore thankfully. With the reparations from the school (which was funded by the Ministry) the Galleons would pay for the Mind Healer, and hopefully Ginny wouldn’t be scarred by this experience.

“You’ve performed a truly heroic act today, Harry.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy like a proud grandfather. The familiar twinkle in the Headmaster’s eyes was going full blast.

“Daphne and Hermione were attacked, and Luna asked me to save Ginny.” Harry replied, stating his reasons for acting as he’d done. “I don’t think that makes it heroic? I can’t explain all of the emotions that were going through my head at the time, but I wasn’t trying to be a hero, sir.” He shook his head at the old man.

“Trying to be heroic is often the furthest thing from actually doing something heroic, Harry.” Dumbledore spoke from decades of wisdom.

“If you say so, sir.” Harry just agreed, not having much of a frame of reference for what made a person heroic or not.

Dumbledore chuckled at the boy before slowly bringing himself to a calm state as he changed the topic. “Harry, if I may ask, do you know what this book that was possessing Miss Weasley was?” He wished that he had it to study, especially after hearing the name Tom Marvolo Riddle from Harry’s recounting of what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets.

“No,” Harry shook his head. “Tom merely stated that he was a memory that was preserved in the Diary for fifty years.” He wouldn’t call him Voldemort, not after learning his real name. That would just be playing along with what Tom wanted from people. He rummaged in his robe pocket and produced the charred remnants of the diary, only half the book had survived the Fiendfyre that he’d conjured. Setting it on Dumbledore’s desk, he saw the old Headmaster immediately put all of his focus on it. “I tried to ask for more information; but Tom wasn’t being cooperative.”

“I imagine he wouldn’t be.” Dumbledore agreed as he picked up the ruined dairy. “Would you mind if I kept this to study? I believe there may yet be a way to find out what Dark Magics were used on this diary to make it into what it was.”

“Yes, sir.” Harry didn’t much care. He’d done his own tests down in the Chamber. Now, he’d just take that information and start his own research based on what he already knew. It would undoubtedly be a difficult research task, but Harry was interested enough to want to find out just what the diary had been before he destroyed it.

“Thank you, Harry.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy again. A small thought of what life would be like if Tom had been like Harry, instead of the cold, uncaring boy he’d been, passed through the back of the Headmaster’s mind. ‘If wishes were enough to change the past…’ He thought wistfully without letting it show on his face. “For your valor in rescuing Miss Weasley, you will be receiving an award for services to the school, of course. It’s the least we could do for you.”

“Oh, thank you, sir.” Harry wasn’t really interested in awards like that. But he wouldn’t argue against them either.

“I believe that Sirius Black is waiting to see you, and the offer to go home for a while is open, of course.” Dumbledore offered with a genial smile.

“Send Sirius in, but I don’t know that I really need to go home or anything.” Harry chuckled, knowing that he’d be reassuring Sirius of that for the next good while.

“Harry!” Sirius was practically leaping out of the green flames of the Floo in Dumbledore’s office the second the Headmaster had opened the connection. He wrapped his godson up in a tight hug before beginning to fuss over him.

“Good to see you too, dad.” Harry hugged Sirius back and felt his godfather squeeze him just a bit tighter at the fatherly address.

“I’m so glad that you’re safe, Harry.” Sirius sighed in relief as he looked at Harry, not seeing any injuries on his godson. “Do you want to go home for a while?”

-Wednesday, February 17^th ~ Great Hall-

“They’re noisier than usual.” Harry commented on the noise in the Great Hall as he ate. He was also levitating the Daily Prophet in front of himself and Luna so that they could both read it at the same time.

“What do you expect, Harry?!” Hermione was trying to keep her voice down, but today’s morning edition of the Prophet was filled with Harry’s recent achievements. All of Magical Britain was undoubtedly singing his praises right now.

“I dunno, a little less noise, maybe?” Harry shrugged with a grin on his face. “I preferred the way that you and Daphne thanked me.”

“Harry!” Hermione felt her cheeks go warm at his words.

When Hermione and Daphne had been awoken from the petrification with the Mandrake Draught, both girls had been understandably confused. It was only later that they learned that Harry had killed Slytherin’s Monster, a Basilisk of all things! When they’d asked him about it, both girls telling him it was foolish to go into the Chamber of Secrets alone, he’d admitted that seeing them petrified had flooded his head with a multitude of emotions that he couldn’t control or think rationally with. Daphne and Hermione had both blushed at his words and ended up thanking him with a kiss on the cheek. It was chaste and simple, but the feelings behind it were warm and filled with gratitude for his concern over them.

The various headlines fighting for space on the front page included:

Harry Potter: The-Boy-Who-Lived, Youngest Charms Master in History, uncovers the fabled Chamber of Secrets within Hogwarts!

Brilliant Sorcerer, Harry Potter, breaks the unbreakable, eliminates Blood Malediction from the Greengrass Family!

Slytherin’s Monster Slain! Harry Potter slays ancient Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets! Saves Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

To Harry it seemed like a bit much, but what did he know about Journalism and selling newspapers?

The various murmurings and whispers filling the Great Hall, along with the looks, glances, and outright stares were getting somewhat annoying though. Lockhart had tried to preen about Harry ‘Following in his footsteps’ but not only did no one pay any attention to the man, several outright scoffed at him. He’d become noticeably quieter from then on.

Harry merely flipped to the next page of the Daily Prophet (after Luna said that she was done with the current page) and read about how the corpse of the Basilisk was being studied by a large multi-discipline study the likes of which Magical Britain hadn’t seen in close to a century. Occupations like Magizoologist, Potioneers and the like were all within the group and eager to study the corpse. When it was illegal to breed Basilisks in every member nation of the ICW, much less let them grow for a thousand years, Harry supposed it would get multiple fields of study excited about a potential once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of said study.

There was even an interview with Dumbledore on the third page about letting historians and scholars come to see the Chamber of Secrets over the summer break. There was much hope of finding writings, items, and other effects of Salazar Slytherin himself. Even though the ancient Wizard was a known blood purist supporter; he was a Founder of Hogwarts and a pivotal figure in Magical Britain’s history.

‘It makes sense why Myrtle’s bathroom is completely sealed off now.’ Harry thought to himself, recalling that where once there had been a door to the bathroom, now only a solid stone wall existed. Many students had complained about not getting a chance to sneak a peek at the legendary Chamber. However, none of the Faculty would even remotely consider letting the students enter the place until it had been fully inspected and made safe. And even after that, not without the Professors down there to act as chaperones.

“Skree!” A large horned-owl swooped low and landed with an audible thud on the Ravenclaw table, right in front of Harry. Tied to its leg was a wrapped, rectangular parcel. The owl held out its leg to be relieved of its burden.

“One moment, please.” Harry untied the parcel while Luna fed the owl some small bits of sausage with a giggle.

“Ah!” Harry beamed at what the parcel had contained. “The Dwarf Magic book!” He could tell that the book had been shrunken down for ease of mailing, but that would wear off on its own or he could undo it at his leisure. “I know what I’m reading in Charms class today~!” Harry sing-songed with a wide grin.

“You could at least pretend to be reading about Charms while in the class.” Hermione teased her best friend.

“I could.” Harry nodded, clearly not going to be doing that today.

Once the horned-owl had its fill of meat, it held out its opposite leg. On the other leg was a small pouch to hold money. Harry pulled out his Mokeskin pouch and deposited the remaining five Galleons of the price he’d agreed upon with the Dwarf man. The owl quickly took off again to deliver the golden coins back to its owner.

-Evening-

“Hey, Harry, you got a minute?” Fred Weasley asked after dinner before all of the students split up to head back to their dorms.

“What’s up, Fred?” Harry questioned, ushering Luna to go with Hermione after a quick hug.

“Follow me, Harry.” Fred led Harry to an out of the way corridor, and then to a closed classroom door. He tapped it with his wand, making it open, before ushering Harry inside.

Inside of the unused classroom stood all of the Weasleys currently attending Hogwarts; Percy, George, Ron, and now Fred as well. Unexpectedly, all four of them gave Harry proper bows for a moment before returning to standing properly. Harry didn’t quite know what to make of this until Percy spoke up.

“The Weasley Family would like to thank you, Sorcerer Potter, for saving one of our own.” Percy’s tone and wording were formal, a clear sign that he was doing this with the utmost seriousness. “Ginevra is our only sister and we don’t know what we’d do without her. Thank you, once again, for saving her life.” This was punctuated by all four boys bowing to him again.

“Your thanks are accepted.” Harry replied formally, like Andromeda had taught him when he’d been little. Seeing the four boys relax a bit, Harry knew the formal part was over for now. “I’m glad that Ginny is alright.” He smiled at the Weasleys, letting them know that he didn’t expect anything more from them.

“Thanks to you.” George clapped Harry on the back with a big smile.

“Mum would’ve gone mental if anything had happened to Ginny, thanks mate.” Ron thanked Harry as they clasped hands and shook. The relief in the redhead’s eyes and expression showed just how relieved he was that his little sister was okay.

“Now that Gin-Gin is seeing a Mind Healer to help her through this experience, the only thing left to do is find out how she got hold of such a book.” Fred nodded firmly, the normal jovial tone the Twins were known for was nowhere to be seen. “It doesn’t seem like something that she could just pick up randomly.”

“Father has already started an investigation about that with the Aurors that he’s worked with in the past on raids.” Percy’s tone was clipped, staring at his three younger brothers. “We don’t need to do anything, except let the Aurors handle it.” If he left the Twins to their own devices, they’d assuredly cause problems for the entire family out of their attempt to exact their own justice.

“Figures you’d say that, Percy.” George rolled his eyes at his older brother.

“Because it’s true.” Percy stated firmly.

Harry could only chuckle as the four brothers inadvertently showed their relief by starting to argue like only brothers could.

-Next Morning-

“Prek!” Hedwig glided gracefully down onto the table in front of Harry, an envelope attached to her leg.

“Hey Hedwig, what have you brought me?” Harry stroked his snowy owl with a smile while removing the letter.

“Whooo…” Hedwig hooted softly, stealing some bacon from Harry’s plate. The snowy owl leaned into Luna’s pets while Harry opened the letter.

“From Sirius, huh?” Harry looked at the sender, recognizing his godfather’s handwriting. Pulling out the letter, he unfolded it and started reading. “Really?” Harry cocked an eyebrow, unable to stop himself from responding verbally to what he was reading.

“Harry?” Hermione looked at her best friend curiously. The letter must’ve contained some very surprising news for Harry to react like that.

“Apparently the Ministry wants to award me the Title of High Sorcerer for the Chamber discovery, the Basilisk slaying, and breaking an ‘unbreakable’ curse like the Blood Malediction.” Harry informed his best friend as he continued to read. “The Board of St. Mungos wants to talk to me as well about how I removed the Blood Malediction. Sirius thinks they’re hoping that I can put them on the right path to healing other ‘incurable’ conditions. Another half-dozen offers for interviews with various papers too. Easter Break is gonna be busy if I do all of this stuff.” Left unsaid was that he’d almost assuredly pass on the interviews.

“Oh wow…” Hermione marveled at the offer of a new Title and all of the important people that wanted to speak with Harry for his accomplishments. “You’re really doing amazing things, Harry.” She praised him with a bright smile.

“You’ll do amazing things too, Hermione.” Harry assured her with a grin. “I have complete faith in that.”

“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione’s smile could’ve lit up the Great Hall by itself. She was very goal-oriented, and being told that she could achieve the goals she set for herself by someone who had accomplished the same goal would always put a smile on her face.

“Will I do great things too, Harry?” Luna asked her big brother, looking for his attention and approval like the adorable little sister that she was.

“Of course, Luna!” Harry pulled her into a warm hug. “You’re already doing well on your Occlumency and you’re only a First Year! You’re going to be amazing at whatever you choose to do, I know it!”

“Mm!” Luna smiled and buried her face into his chest with a happy giggle.

Hermione nearly cooed at the sight, but composed herself before speaking again. “Speaking of Occlumency, are we practicing after classes today?”

“If you three want to, we can.” Harry agreed without issue. Teaching them Occlumency still left him mostly free to work on his Potions project that he’d set for himself. ‘Adding plant material is really throwing off my normal understanding of Magical ratios. The physical element really matters and even the difference of a few days of growth can sometimes vastly change the development of the Magic within the plant.’ Harry mused over the current roadblock on his path to completing the Potion idea that he wanted.

-Weekend ~ Herbology Greenhouse-

“So, I can’t grow all of my starter seeds in the same planter?” Harry mused with Neville as he looked at all of the small pots arranged on the table.”

“Well, no, Harry… Then they’d all compete with each other for the nutrition and water in the soil.” Neville explained as they started planting seeds in the small pots, one seed per pot. “It’s best to give them the same mix of soil, and the same amount of water, separately, so they reap all of the benefits. That will allow them to grow and show off their individual traits fully. If you want to make cultivars, this is the first step to finding out which seeds have the traits that you want to nurture in future plantings.” The Herbology prodigy did his best to explain the process of establishing cultivars for plants, both mundane and Magical.

“I see.” Harry nodded as he planted one of the seeds gently and gave it a little water to get started. “You’re really knowledgeable about this, Neville. That talent will take you far, I’m sure.” He chuckled with his friend from Gryffindor.

“I wish my Gran saw it that way.” Neville sighed as he finished planting one pot and moved to the next. “All she cares about are my grades in Transfiguration, Charms, DADA, and Potions.” The boy shook his head. “Even though I’m doing a lot better in them since getting my own wand; Exceeds Expectations isn’t good enough and she always asks me how I plan to follow in my father’s footsteps with grades like that.”

“But you have like an O+ in Herbology…” Harry looked at his friend confused as to what his Gran could possibly have to complain about. “Does she not know how much a Master Herbologist can make per year or something? That Herbology is an absolutely vital part of the entire Potion Brewing economy? Who cares if you can’t sling spells on the Dueling Circuit or join the Aurors? You have your own amazing talents.”

“Until I reach my Majority, none of that matters in her eyes.” Neville exhaled heavily. “But once I reach my Majority, I’ll become the Head of House Longbottom. Then I’ll do what I want, regardless of what Gran or any of my other relatives think.” He showed a bit of backbone and courage, like a Gryffindor, when he stated his plans for the future.

“You’ll do awesome, Neville.” Harry agreed with a laugh. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!” The normally shy Neville couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

“What did you need to learn about cultivars for anyway, Harry?” Neville questioned after the chuckles had died down. “I didn’t think Herbology was tied into Spellcrafting.”

“I’ve set myself a Potions project that should do something never seen before.” Harry informed him, moving a new pot in front of him to start planting the next seed. “But I’m running up against some problems with getting too many ingredients of different maturities and Magical development. So, I figured I’d learn how to grow and cultivate my own ingredients; that way I’ll have full control of their development and can cultivate the exact properties that I want from them over time.”

Neville nodded at Harry’s plan after considering it. “It’ll definitely take longer, but it’s a good idea. Potions only increase in efficacy with proper materials and brewing skills.” He looked at the seeds that Harry was planting. “Boom Berry, Moly, and Moondew… You’re trying to make a Healing Potion of some kind?”

“If Snape wasn’t our Professor, I think you’d probably be getting at least an EE in Potions too, mate.” Harry tsked at Snape’s lack of ability to teach his own subject well.

“I wish.” Neville agreed with a grimace at the thought of the man that made every Potions class a nightmare for him.

-First Weekend of March-

“Ugh… That’s still so uncomfortable…” Hermione grimaced, rubbing her forehead and finding sweat coating her brow.

“You held out for a lot longer than last time though, your meditation every night is clearly working.” Harry praised her developing Occlumency skills. “You were able to redirect my Legilimency when you realized that you couldn’t block it. That’s a good step forward. All I saw was you studying in the library.” He conjured her a fresh towel and tossed it to her.

Hermione caught the towel and used it to wipe her face. “Thank you, Harry.” She thanked her best friend for both the towel and the praise.

“My turn.” Daphne spoke up, ready to put her Occlumency to the test next.

“Say when…Legilimens!” Harry launched a surprise mental attack and entered Daphne’s mind as soon as their eyes made contact. He was at first stymied by a wall of blankness…a clear mind. But upon pushing past it he was hit with random bits of memories. Things from Daphne’s daily life, like classes and homework, as well as meals in the Great Hall. Totally mundane and useless information for the most part.

“Ow…” Daphne grumbled, rubbing her temples after Harry pulled back. “You suck…” She lightly glared at him.

“But you did well, Daphne.” Harry grinned at the Slytherin girl.

“Thank you.” Daphne was still glowering at him a bit. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have a small headache now.”

“That’ll fade soon enough.” Harry waved it off, letting the Stinging Hex hit a miniature Barrier that appeared directly in its path before disappearing. “You’re getting quick on the draw with that.” He laughed at Daphne putting her wand away again.

“One day, Harry…one day.” Daphne promised him with a look.

“So, who did the best today?” Hermione asked Harry, vanishing the towel with a tap of her wand and a murmured incantation.

“Luna.” Harry answered simply, making the little blonde smile happily. “She still has the best clear mind technique. And if I force my way through that, all I see are dozens and dozens of Quibbler articles.”

“Dad’s magazine helps me!” Luna grinned brightly at her big brother. She was happy that her father’s work gave her another layer of defense against any Legilimency attack that may happen to her.

Harry patted her head fondly with a smile. “Indeed it does.”

“Harry?” Hermione got his attention. “Am I ready to learn Wandless Magic?”

“Still not the right question, Hermione!” Harry shook his head with a chuckle while Hermione pouted. “You thought of that one faster than Nym did though, good job!”

-Ministry of Magic ~ Auror Bullpen-

“Achoo!” Nymphadora Tonks sneezed loudly, her hand jerking and leaving a black line across the report that she was filling out.

“You alright, Tonks?” Hestia Jones looked over at her fellow Junior Auror.

“I’m fine, got to redo this report though.” Tonks waved it off, even though she was grumbling under her breath and her hair had turned a bright orange which usually showed up when she was annoyed. “I know that was you…Harrikins.” She muttered lowly. “I’m going to get you back on your next break.” She plotted against her surrogate little brother as she got out a new parchment and started rewriting her report.

-Middle of March ~ Beauxbatons Academy of Magic-

Fleur looked over the letter that Harry had sent her with an amused grin. Reading about his exploits from his perspective instead of what appeared in the papers was always nice. Except for the times he made her worry about him. For being three years her junior, the boy got up to all sorts of odd things in his pursuit of Magical understanding.

“Luna is so cute.” She giggled at the picture of Luna and Harry that had come with the letter. Both were smiling at the camera, their hair a swirling mix of pink and blue, making it look like cotton candy. The color had been at Luna’s behest, because ‘She thought it would look nice’ apparently. Harry, being the doting big brother that he was, had gone along with it and casually sported the color changed hair all day.

“What’re you giggling about, Delacour?” A snippy tone called out from in front of Fleur. “Get another letter from whatever boy you’re stringing along?”

Fleur rolled her pretty blue eyes, making sure the other girl could see her do it, before she responded. “And how are you this lovely day, Claire?”

“Better than you.” Claire replied back, her blue eyes, silvery blonde hair, lithe and beautiful figure, and controlled Allure marking her as a Veela as well. “In fact, I’m feeling like showing you the difference between us.” She challenged.

“You mean that you want to lose again?” Fleur remarked as she stood to her full height, nearly standing even with Claire, even though the other Veela was a year older.

Claire LeBlanc was a Veela whose family was part of the same Veela Enclave as Fleur’s. The current Matriarch of their Enclave was getting on in years and would surely be picking a successor in another few years. Many of the current generation of Veela in the Enclave wanted to become the new Matriarch, which gave them great control over how the Enclave operated and conferred to their families the utmost respect and honor. Thus, competition for the spot was always high, and Duels were often fought over it. A show of strength, as one of the duties of the Matriarch was to protect the Enclave.

Veela as a people had a history of being either sought after for love, or sought after to own as property. Naturally the all-female race refused to be property to any other race, whether that be humans, goblins, dwarves, or anyone else. They lived within communities called Enclaves for protection, and the Matriarch of each Enclave was powerful, intelligent, and wise. All the better to protect their kin from any that would attempt to harm them. Said communities were not clusters of Veela all living in one place, however, as that wouldn’t be safe. But were, in fact, many locations and homes all linked together by Magic. Should one Veela family be attacked, a large force could be dispatched directly to their home, or they could flee to the safety of another Veela home if the force was too overwhelming.

Every time an Enclave’s Matriarch got too old to fulfill her duties to the Enclave, she would have to choose a successor. That successor needed to be strong, wise, knowledgeable, and bring new benefit to the Enclave as a sign of their fitness to lead. Proof of strength was usually demonstrated through Dueling. Proof of knowledge came in the form of grades from Beauxbatons as well as accomplishments like Masteries. Wisdom was most often shown by what benefits the Veela that wanted to become the Matriarch could bring. A true benefit took wisdom to see it as the benefit that it was, after all. And as both knowledge and power could be gleaned from wisdom, the benefit to an Enclave could make them stronger, or obscure their homes better, or secure powerful allies for the Veela as a whole. Only the Veela that embodied all of this the best would be chosen as the next Matriarch.

Naturally, both Fleur and Claire wanted the position when the time came.

Unbeknownst to Claire, however, was that Fleur wasn’t just perfecting her Dueling. The Delacour Veela was already branching out and making connections, one of the most important and potentially powerful was the friendship she had with Harry Potter. If he someday deigned to impart to her even a fraction of what he seemed to know and understand of Magic, Fleur would be the best Matriarch that her family’s Enclave had ever had.

“You only got lucky last time, Delacour.” Claire stated imperiously.

Fleur merely grinned at Claire. “If that lets you sleep at night, LeBlanc.”

The air around the two Veela teens began to grow warm as their Magic filled the space between them. The temperature increased to the point that the air surrounding Fleur and Claire became hot and stinging to the skin. The heat haze forming around and above the two girls caught the attention of a Professor though.

“LeBlanc! Delacour!” The woman shouted at both girls. “You will cease this instant!” The Professor was also a Veela, a member of their Enclave at that. She knew both of them, their parents, and had authority over them as both their Professor and a senior member of the Enclave itself.

“Next time, Delacour.” Claire reigned in her Magic and turned away from Fleur.

“Looking forward to it, LeBlanc.” Fleur turned away as well. Claire wasn’t a bad person; she was just incredibly competitive. The only animosity between them was from both wanting the position of Matriarch.

As she walked away, she began to plan her reply letter in her head. Harry was such a curious boy; he always had more questions to ask. Fleur nearly giggled at his current question on how the Allure worked. The Veela teen rolled around one idea after another on how to try and explain it to the prodigious Sorcerer.

“Hmm, perhaps saying it makes our natural beauty even more ‘Ooh la la’ to men would suffice?” Fleur giggled lightly to herself. Harry would eventually be old enough to tease about such things, but he still had some growing to do before then.

-Easter Break ~ Ministry of Magic-

Harry pulled at his Dress Robes in annoyance. He understood why he had to wear them. But they were uncomfortable to say the least. Andromeda sighed at him, catching his attention, and Harry stopped messing with the robes.

Already there were tons of reporters from various Magical News Outlets in the large room. Harry would rather just be owled his award or whatever and his new Title of High Sorcerer as well. But tradition dictated a ceremony, and Cornelius Fudge wouldn’t miss an opportunity for a photo op with Harry.

“As Minister for Magic, I’d like to say a few words…” Fudge began a speech as the reporters and cameras focused on him at the podium atop the raised dais.

Harry quickly tuned the man out, not interested in the ceremony to begin with. Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted were with him, all three dressed in their own formal robes as well. Nym was along the wall with several other red-robed Aurors as a security detail for the ceremony.

“Harry Potter, my fellow Wizards and Witches!” Fudge ended his speech and Harry was only able to react because of hearing his name spoken so loudly. He walked over to Fudge, shaking the man’s hand as cameras flashed over and over again. He was handed two awards, both gold medals on ribbons of different colors, one purple and one white. The one with the purple ribbon stated that he’d done Magical Britain a ‘Great Service’ for eliminating a Class XXXXX Magical Creature that was on the loose. The gold medal with the white ribbon declared that he’d discovered a ‘Historical Treasure’ to Magical Britain for his discovery of the Chamber of Secrets. “As Minister for Magic, I’m pleased to bestow Harry James Potter with an Order of Merlin, Second Class for his slaying of a Basilisk that was on the loose. And an Order of Merlin, Third Class for his discovery of the fabled Chamber of Secrets! As Mr. Potter has already achieved the Title of Sorcerer at his young age, I can think of nothing else to do but to bestow him with the Title of High Sorcerer for his outstanding accomplishments!” Fudge handed Harry a certificate and a small ornamented badge.

‘At least this isn’t overly gaudy.’ Harry thought to himself as Fudge pinned the badge over the left breast of his Dress Robes. The Badge denoting him as a High Sorcerer was made of a semi-rare Alchemically-made metal known as Sylvuan. It had a luster slightly brighter than silver and could conduct Magic quite well. Other than that, the badge had his name engraved into it and a symbol from the ICW on it of a wand, a scepter, and a staff. Once considered to be differing levels of power, until wandmakers explained a bit about wandlore and that all three Foci were merely the same idea in different forms. It was still a symbol used to denote one as having excelled in the Magical Arts and done commendable deeds.

“Would you like to say a few words, Harry?” Fudge offered, as was normal for this awarding ceremony.

‘Not really, but I don’t have much of a choice.’ Harry thought in the privacy of his mind while stepping up to the podium, wandlessly transfiguring it to fit his height. “Thank you, Minister Fudge, for the bestowing of my new Title and presenting my Orders of Merlin.” He tried to ignore the various camera flashes going off over and over again. “I’m not one to wax poetic or anything, so I’d like to keep this brief.” That got a smattering of chuckles from all those in attendance. “I’d like to thank my family for always being there for me. My godfather, Sirius, my aunt Andromeda, my uncle Ted, and even you Nym.” He smirked at the Auror, knowing that she couldn’t do anything to him right now. “I love Magic. The mysteries of it intrigue me more than anything. So, I’ll keep exploring and expanding my horizons. Whether that brings me more acclaim over time, I can’t say, but I will one day attain the Title of Arch Mage, that is my goal. Thank you all for coming.” With that he walked away from the podium even as the gasps and exclamations of shock were heard.

Harry knew that line would be plastered all over the various papers tomorrow. A boy his age declaring that he’d become the first Arch Mage in history, but who was also already a High Sorcerer, held some weight. He shared a grin with Sirius, his godfather barely holding back his laughter, as he stepped off the stage. Andromeda, Ted, and Sirius quickly surrounded him to keep any overeager reporters from trying to approach Harry.

When the newly dubbed High Sorcerer glanced over at Nym, he caught her mouthing about ‘Getting you back’ but only smiled at her pleasantly in response. Tonight would definitely be fun at home! Andromeda was going to go spare before the night was even halfway over, Harry was sure of it!

-End Chapter-

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Harry has gotten two Orders of Merlin and the Title of High Sorcerer!

And he’s only twelve!

His work on his personal Potions project is still coming along slowly. But thankfully he has a buddy that’s rather prodigious when it comes to Herbology!

Occlumency lessons with Luna, Hermione, and Daphne are ongoing, but the girls are making some real progress! Unfortunately, Hermione still hasn’t figured out the ‘right question’ for Wandless Magic! Kek!

We see Fleur at Beauxbatons! Turns out her Dueling prowess comes from a desire to become the Matriarch of her Enclave! It requires strength, knowledge, and wisdom to be chosen as the successor though!

A certain High Sorcerer might be able to help with one or two of those categories…maybe. If he feels like it. And if Fleur can put in the effort and time to learn. But that ‘right question’ has still stumped everyone so far!

What happens next for Harry and friends?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! We’re headed for the end of Second Year and whatever that brings! With the Chamber incident ended months early, it should be smooth sailing. The Junior Dueling League will happen in the summer, but until then, Harry has other things to do, plus friends and family to spend some time with.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 20 – Demonstration, Family, and Friends

At St. Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, on the fourth floor, known as the Janus Thickey Ward, that dealt with permanent spell damage and long-term residents, Harry Potter and Sirius Black were talking to many Senior Healers of the hospital. Well, Harry was doing most of the talking, and Sirius stood back with a proud smile for his godson.

“By finding the root of the Magic and how it is maintained within the body, you can isolate and remove it, thus restoring the patient’s health.” Harry finished up his long explanation/lecture for the gathered Healers. He’d mostly been describing (at length) how he’d managed to break the Blood Malediction on the Greengrass Family, and how it might help other people affected by seemingly permanent Magical injuries or mishaps.

“But how are we meant to see this ‘root’ of the Magic that is afflicting our patients?” Hippocrates Smethwyck, the Healer-in-Charge of the Dai Llewellyn ward, dealing with dangerous bites from Magical Creatures, questioned the boy.

“Yes, what you say sounds amazing, but if we can’t even see what you’re speaking of, then how can we hope to perform such treatment on our patients?” Miriam Strout, the Matron of the Janus Thickey ward, asked Harry with hope that he could answer. She was a motherly soul and wanted nothing more than to be able to better help the residents of her ward, especially.

“With Magic.” Harry grinned at the gathered Healers. “Magic reacts to Magic, I’m sure all of you have seen results from two different spells colliding with each other in some of your patients.” Getting nods from all of the Senior Healers, Harry continued. “So, if we use our Magic, we may not be able to ‘see’, but we can ‘feel’ for a difference.” He held up his hand and then made it glow faintly as he activated a spell. “It’s not too dissimilar from a Diagnosis Charm, but what we’re looking for with this spell isn’t the patient’s current state, but differences in Magic.”

“Bark!” The woman sitting in the hospital bed next to Harry and the group of Healers barked like a dog.

This was a Witch named Agnes, who had come into the Janus Thickey ward after either consuming Polyjuice Potion mixed with dog hair, or attempting the Animagus Transformation and failing. She was covered in fur and partially transformed somewhere between human and dog. No one had been able to revert her to normal since she’d been admitted, and the woman could only speak in barks. Most of her actual communication was in writing or simple yes or no questions that she could answer with a nod or shake of the head.

“May I, ma’am?” Harry asked Agnes politely. He received a nod and Harry gently hovered his hand over the woman’s partially transformed head. “I can feel her Magic right now, and it feels slightly off, almost like a cloth that’s been twisted.” He moved his hand lower slowly, moving over Agnes’s body from head to foot while commenting on any differences he felt. “Here,” Harry briefly stopped over the Witch’s stomach. “The Magic is not flowing freely. It’s stuck, moves around and twists itself up, and then moves on again.”

“We can only take your word for that, High Sorcerer Potter.” Robyn Bonham, the Head of St. Mungos (and the great-great-great-granddaughter of the founder of the hospital, Mungo Bonham) looked at the boy seriously. “That’s not going to help us much, unless you plan to become a Healer here, I’m afraid.”

“I’m afraid that’s not in my plans, ma’am.” Harry shook his head. “However, I did make this spell learnable in the standard way that everyone is familiar with.” He nodded to the old woman with a smile. “If you’ll take out your wands, I can teach you all the Charm. It’s a very simple spell, I assure you.”

Not having any reason to refuse, the group of Senior Healers took out their wands and waited for the prodigious boy’s instruction.

“There is no wand motion, as I made this spell as simple as I could by reducing unnecessary parts.” Harry began the small lesson. “The incantation is Persentio.” He cast the Charm on his left hand and it too began to glow faintly, matching his right hand. It only took a few minutes of general instruction on the Charm from Harry for all of the Senior Healers to start trying to cast it.

“Persentio.” Robyn cast and the tip of her wand lit up in a matching faint glow to Harry’s hands. “That was simple…but does it work?”

“Try it and see.” Harry stepped back from Agnes’s bedside while canceling his own spells.

“This will only take a moment, Agnes.” Robyn smiled gently at the half-transformed Witch, showing a perfect bedside manner. The Head of the hospital slowly moved the faintly glowing tip of her wand over Agnes and her eyes widened after only a moment. “I can feel it…twisted up like a cloth…just as you described.” She looked at Harry in surprise.

“As long as your Magic isn’t disturbed or affected by an outside influence, the Charm will compare your Magic to the patient’s and allow you to feel out any anomalies within that could be the root of the issue.” Harry simplified the explanation of the Charm and what it did.

“If her Magic being twisted is what’s keeping her in this half-transformed state…then would ‘untwisting’ it cure her?” Healer Strout questioned hopefully, making a hypothesis after a moment to think about it.

“All of you should use the Persentio Charm first, and then we can make our hypotheses about possible treatments.” Robyn spoke up, having the Senior Healers line up and use the Charm on Agnes one-by-one until all of them had experienced the Charm’s effect successfully.

“This is astounding.” Healer Smethwyck commented on the new Charm. “To be able to feel how our patients’ Magic is being affected opens up entirely new avenues of potential treatments!”

“As for Miss Agnes, Healer Strout is correct in her hypothesis.” Harry confirmed with a smile to the motherly woman. “Simply correcting her Magic flow will allow her to return to her normal state. The irregular twisting is caused by the failed transformation, and because each forms’ Magic is different, neither can undo the other as they’re entwined within her body.”

“You wouldn’t happen to have a spell for that too, would you?” Healer Abasi (who specialized in creature-induced injuries of all kinds) joked with the young prodigy.

“I can do it, but it’s not really a spell.” Harry admitted to the gathered Healers. “It requires perception of Magic both internal and freely flowing in the world. I’ve not met anyone that understands that concept yet.” Seeing the confused looks of the Healers, it appeared that he wouldn’t be meeting anyone like that today either.

“Would a potion regiment be able to help?” Senior Healer Wiggins (from the Alchemy and Potions Lab on the Ground Floor of the hospital) asked Harry.

“Probably,” Harry nodded while looking thoughtful. “It’s something I’ve been trying to work out myself. Along with a few other ideas that I’ve had.” He quietly mumbled to himself for a few seconds. “A series of potions focused more on cleansing…perhaps? Not the body, but more the Magic itself… The only issue is how to brew something with such properties. Not to mention the speed and potency of the effect would need to be different depending on the patient and how severe the irregular flow of their Magic is…”

“Harry, you’re doing it again.” Sirius spoke up, snapping Harry out of his pondering before he got lost in it. Quite a common problem for the family when Harry got deep into his studying and research of Magic.

“No, no, let him brew.” Healer Wiggins had pulled out a clipboard and was writing down Harry’s mumblings, finding the boy’s thoughts intriguing and potentially the beginning of some new research for St. Mungos’ Alchemy and Potions Lab to pursue.

“You said that you might be able to cure Agnes?” Healer Strout spoke up after a moment.

“I’d need written consent from Miss Agnes and her current Healer, plus the same from Miss Bonham as the Head of the hospital.” Harry was instructed to ask for such by Andromeda as a means to protect himself from any liability if the Healers of St. Mungos requested him to treat a patient.

“Bark!” Agnes was already nodding her consent while gesturing for Healer Strout to bring her parchment and a quill.

Sirius and Harry stood off to the side of the ward as the Healers discussed amongst themselves whether to allow this treatment to proceed. Harry wasn’t a licensed Healer after all. And if anything went wrong, the hospital could be sued for allowing this to happen. Agnes had made her consent clear already, of course. But the Healers had to consider the legal ramifications of this situation, or else Magical Britain’s only hospital might have to be shut down. Even if it was only temporarily, that could see many, many people going without treatment or care.

Almost thirty minutes later and Harry was allowed to treat Agnes; after he received his written consent from Agnes, Healer Strout, and Miss Bonham. The three parchments were given to Sirius, who put them in the inner pocket of his robes, before Harry moved over to Agnes’s bedside again.

“This won’t hurt, Miss Agnes, but you may feel a bit odd until I’m done, alright?” Harry smiled at the half-transformed woman.

“Bark.” Agnes barked and nodded to Harry, allowing him to continue.

Harry had Agnes lie down, then gently put his left hand on her forehead, while his right hand rested on her stomach over her hospital robe. His eyes glowed slightly as he used his still-in-progress Mage Sight spell to see the Magic and how it was twisted up within the woman. Seeing how it was twisted up in the center of her body, beneath his right hand, Harry used Magic Manipulation as gently as he could to start untwisting it.

‘Slowly… Carefully… No need to rush.’ Harry calmed his mind as he worked, untwisting the entwined Magic of the Witch in her normal state and in her transformed dog state from each other. As the two different states of Magic were separated, Harry’s left hand on Agnes’s head led the ‘dog form’ Magic through the process of returning to the normal state by reinforcing the human mind within the Witch. As the Magic within Agnes continued to move, it was quickly becoming all ‘normal’ in its flow and state.

“My word…” Healer Strout put her hand over her mouth in shock.

She wasn’t the only one either. Most of the Senior Healers watched as Agnes began to slowly return to her human form as Harry treated her. The fur receded, leaving behind normal skin. The half-transformed body gently shifted back to normal human limbs, torso, and head.

“There we are.” Harry smiled as the last of the separate Magics exited from beneath his right hand, flowed up towards Agnes’s head, and then the ‘dog state’ Magic was gently shifted back to ‘normal state’ when it came in contact with the human mind that Harry was reinforcing.

The Animagus Transformation was a willful transformation after all, and if the Wizard or Witch wanted to be human, then they asserted their human mind over the animal form to return to their normal state. Or that was how Sirius explained it at any rate. So, by reinforcing Agnes’s human mind with some of the separated ‘normal state’ Magic, it became easier and easier for her Magic to correct itself from the botched transformation.

“Thank you…” Agnes spoke for the first time since she’d been admitted to the Janus Thickey ward. She didn’t seem to believe it herself, her eyes wide at hearing her own voice again. Then the tears came as the Witch sat up quickly and pulled Harry into a hug, thanking him over and over again as she practically bawled.

“You’re welcome.” Harry gently patted the woman’s back as he was nearly squeezed to death. He’d allow it right now. Agnes clearly needed to get her overwhelming emotions out after finally being healed from her half-transformed state.

Eventually Agnes let Harry go so that Healer Strout could check her over, using multiple Diagnostic Charms as well as the new Persentio Charm that Harry had created and taught the Healers. When all of the Charms came back clear, it was obvious that Agnes now had a clean bill of health. There was much celebrating between Healer Strout and Agnes, but all of the Healers were astounded by what they’d just witnessed.

“My son! We need to Floo my son!” Agnes looked at Healer Strout happily.

Strout nodded to Agnes, a bright smile on her face. “Yes, I know he’ll be overjoyed! I’ll get the Floo Powder!”

Harry and Sirius were approached by Miss Bonham, the Head of St. Mungos having nothing but praise for Harry. “The Persentio Charm, I’d like to give it my full backing and have it registered as a Healing Charm. You’d be given full credit as its creator, of course. With St. Mungos supporting it too, the registration process should be much easier for you, High Sorcerer Potter.”

“Just collecting achievements, aren’t you, Harry?” Sirius joked with his godson, the two chuckling together.

“I’m glad that it can help.” Harry smiled at Miss Bonham. “Thank you for your support and backing of its registration, Miss Bonham.”

“It’s the least that St. Mungos could do for you, Mister Potter.” Miss Bonham smiled at the boy that had made a breakthrough in the field of Healing in his first visit to St. Mungos. The discussion on when Harry would submit the Persentio Charm for registration was discussed, so that Miss Bonham could have her own support for the Charm written up and sent along with it. The word, witness, and experience of the Head of St. Mungos would assure that Harry’s Charm would be accepted as a Healing Charm without issue.

-Two Days Later-

“You sure you want to do this, Nym?” Harry teased his surrogate older sister as they prepared for another bout of Magical roughhousing.

“Don’t think you can weasel your way out of this, Harrikins!” Tonks shot back with an amused grin. “I told you that I’d get you back!”

Harry shrugged his shoulders. “You say that… But I still don’t recall you ever winning before.”

“You’re a cheeky little brat, aren’t you?” Tonks had her wand in hand.

“Just for you, Nym.” Harry assured her with a mischievous grin.

The fact that the two were basically in the middle of nowhere spoke volumes about how rough this little bout of theirs would be. Usually they just tussled in the back garden at home. But when Harry had mentioned that he wanted to try out some new spells, Andromeda had forbidden the use of the garden, not wanting it torn up by their roughhousing. Sirius was a safe distance away, on a conjured chair, with snacks, and a pair of Omnioculars to watch the show.

Clearly, he was taking his chaperoning very seriously.

“Palus!” Tonks pointed her wand at the ground just in front of Harry to start the roughhousing.

The ground all around Harry quickly became a thick, swampy mess. Harry used his Float spell to simply hover above it. In response, he moved the muck and mud with his Magic and threw a miniature mudslide back at Tonks. The Junior Auror was on the move already though, and swiped her wand a few times, sending bolts of blue light at Harry.

“Like this… And this… I think?” Harry moved his hands in front of him and then off to the sides. Nothing appeared to happen… Until Tonks’s spells reached the air in front of Harry and all of blue bolts swerved off course to pepper the ground behind the Spellcrafter.

“What kind of shield was that, Harrikins?!” Tonks questioned, still on the move.

“It’s not a shield.” Harry denied with a bright grin at succeeding in his casting.

“Liar!” Tonks yelled back at him. “Conteram Obice!” She launched the Shield Breaker at Harry, the orange and gold sparks spiraling towards him at speed.

Harry floated upwards quickly when he saw his new spell wasn’t up to stopping Tonks’s spell. The Shield Breaker went spiraling off into the distance for a dozen or more meters before dissipating. “Hmm, need to work on the amount that it can handle.” He noted of his previous spell. “For now, let’s try this one next.” He raised his right index finger and a crackling spark of yellow magic appeared just above the tip of his finger. Without a word from Harry, the spell shot at Tonks unerringly.

“Protego!” Tonks cast a shield and the shot of Magic slammed into it. Instead of dispersing, like most spells would, the crackling spell shot straight up into the air and then came down on Tonks at an angle. “Bloody hell!” Tonks threw herself to the side as the spell hit the ground with force where she’d just been standing. The spell wasn’t done yet though, as it shot from the dirt at Tonks again, still at the high-speed it had been moving at when Harry had cast it. “Piss off!” Tonks pointed her wand at the crackling Magic and cast again. “Finite Maxima!” The yellow spell vanished as Tonks’s empowered counter-spell canceled it out.

“Very good, Nym!” Harry called out from his position in the air. Tonks looked up to snark back at him, only for her eyes to widen as she saw multiple of the crackling yellow spells in the air around Harry. “Now do ten!” Like that, every one of the fast-moving spells shot at the Junior Auror all at once.

“Protego Totalum!” Tonks caused the area-of-effect version of the Protego Charm to deal with the swarm. Over and over again the crackling yellow Magic bashed into her dome-shaped shield from every conceivable angle, trying to get at her. ‘Think Tonks, think! How does this spell work?’

Being Harry’s surrogate big sister, she’d grown up with him always asking ‘how’ and ‘why’ whenever he read about or saw Magic or spells that he wasn’t familiar with. Over time, that had made Tonks gain a good deal of practice at figuring out spells herself. Experience that she was now putting to use to try and get out of being pinned down.

‘It either tracks me specifically, or it’s following Harry’s control as he targets me. If I can block Harry’s line of sight, then it could reduce their accuracy, but with the way that they’re bouncing around all over my shield, they’re probably locked on to me specifically.’ Tonks’s thoughts were going through her head faster than a top-of-the-line racing broom. “Fumos!” Thick black smoke poured from the tip of her wand and quickly filled up the space within her shield. With as quiet of a pop as she could manage, she Apparated away, dropping her shield in the process.

“Hm?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at the tactic as the shots of crackling yellow Magic rapidly shot into the large, black smoke cloud. He heard the telltale ‘pop’ behind him, right as all ten of the yellow spells shot out of the smoke straight towards his location.

“Petrificus Totalus!” Tonks cast at Harry’s back as he looked over his shoulder behind her. When his body didn’t snap into a rigid, fixed position; Tonks knew that something was wrong. The ten crackling yellow spells passing straight through Harry’s body like he wasn’t even there and slamming into Tonks all at once proved her observation correct. “Gah!” She fell out of the air, having only been hanging there for an instant as she came out of her Apparation anyway, and careened towards the ground. “Molliare!” Tonks aimed her wand at the ground and then impacted it with a ‘poof’ sound, rather than the expected ‘thud’.

“Where were you aiming, Nym?” Harry questioned from a distance away, his hands at his sides and a grin on his face. “How did you like the new spell?”

“Those things hurt!” Tonks growled while jabbing her wand at Harry and sending a large, overpowered stunner at him. She was pretty sure she felt bruises forming already from the ten spells that had hit her.

“They’re supposed to hurt.” Harry’s voice came from behind her and Tonks whipped around, lashing out with an Incarcerous, only to see the writhing ropes pass through this Harry too.

“What the bloody hell?” Tonks blinked as Harry’s form briefly looked like a myriad of colors, sort of like a kaleidoscope, before vanishing.

“Fun, huh?” Harry’s voice came from her left, but Tonks fired off another stunner, this time to her right. “Oh? Already trying to figure this out, huh?”

“What are you doing?” Tonks whipped her wand over her head and a burst of flames encircled her.

“What is it called when you see something that isn’t there?” Harry’s voice came from a different direction.

“A mirage? A hallucination?” Tonks guessed; her wand pointed at the ground as she silently worked a spell into the soil.

“Or an illusion.” Harry’s voice was right in her ear and Tonks activated her Charm.

With a rumble the ground lurched upwards, sending dirt and rock launching meters into the air all around Tonks, and directly beneath her feet. A larger piece of the ground beneath her feet allowed the Junior Auror to ride upwards on the wave of erupting soil.

“Found you!” Tonks cried out in triumph as she saw a dirt-covered Harry shaking his head, dust flying from his naturally messy hair. “Stupefy Tria!” Three red bolts flew from her wand at Harry, even as she fell from the air.

“Taking risks today, aren’t we, Nym?” Harry laughed and flew into the air to dodge the stunners. “Wind.” He whispered and the air around the falling Tonks swirled into a powerful whirlwind that broke her fall…and then tossed her onto the dirt-covered ground. “Catch, Nym!” He conjured five large pillars of stone and let them fall towards Tonks.

“Arresto Momentum! Oppungo!” Tonks chained two spells together, stopping the falling pillars and then launching them back at Harry at speed. They vanished as Harry undid his conjuration, but Tonks was on a roll now, and launched a string of spells at Harry. “Incendio Tria! Ventus Tria! Incarcerous Maxima Tria! Petrificus Totalus Maxima!”

“Fire, then wind to fan the flames and make them bigger and hotter, then you try to capture me with thick ropes, and then lock me in position.” Harry quickly took apart the chain of spells. It would certainly deal with most run of the mill Wizards and Witches; leaving them with some burns, tied up, and locked in place for the Aurors to pick up as they pleased. “Fire.” Harry conjured his own flames, then swung them forward like a whip. The instant his flames met Tonks’s, he used Magic Manipulation to quickly take over the empowered and tripled spell. Moving the fire aside, he cast a Barrier between himself and the last two spells. The ropes of the empowered and tripled Incarcerous slammed into the translucent barrier and tried to wrap around it. The Petrificus Totalus Maxima dispersed when it hit the Barrier, unable to fulfill its function.

“Did you just steal my fire?!” Tonks yelled up at him.

“Yep!” Harry shouted back with a wide grin. “Salamandra!” The mass of flames swirled around and a serpent-like dragon was formed before descending towards Tonks. The roar of the flames was a good substitute for the roar of a dragon.

“Nope.” Tonks disappeared with a pop, Apparated out of the line of fire.

The dragon of fire slammed into the ground, spreading a large wave of flames in all directions for dozens and dozens of meters. The ground didn’t have much to burn though, so the flames quickly guttered out on the wet dirt that had been previously thrown everywhere by Tonks’s spell.

“Wingardium Leviosa Tria Maxima!” Tonks cast from her place behind a nearby tree, still within site of the area they were roughhousing in. Multiple chunks of dirt flew into the air all at once. “Oppungo Maxima!” The large dirt clods all launched themselves at Harry like a swarm.

“De-Spell!” Harry whipped up a gale around himself, filled with the Aspect of Dispersion. All of the animated dirt clods flew away in the wind as the Magic moving them was blown away. “Hi, Nym!” Harry looked right at where Tonks was hiding, a stream of the crackling yellow spells from earlier launching towards her a second later.

“Damn, Locator Spell!” Tonks cursed before Apparating away at the last second. A pop announced her arrival at her destination, and she wrapped her arms around Harry from behind, the tip of her wand resting beneath his chin. “Yield!”

“Interesting.” Harry grinned at his surrogate big sister. “But what’re you going to do about those?” He asked as the crackling yellow bolts rocketed towards them.

“Stupefy!” Tonks cast, the red light engulfing Harry’s head for an instant.

Harry shifted positions, turning them around completely, despite getting hit in the face with a stunner.

“Gah!” Tonks cried out as all ten of the yellow spells slammed into her back. The wind was knocked out of her and she wheezed, while trying to keep her grip on Harry. Another bolt of red light engulfed Harry’s head from the tip of Tonks’s wand.

Without warning, the pair dropped out of the air, making Tonks reel at the sudden fall. Just as fast as they fell, they stopped just above the ground, Tonks’s grip failed and she hit the dirt.

“Oof!” The grunt was undignified, but Tonks was still trying to get air back into her lungs and the impact didn’t help.

“Can you see them now?” Harry asked as he stood over Tonks’s downed form.

Through her clearing sight, Tonks could faintly see something around Harry’s head. She blinked twice and everything came into focus. What she was seeing were thin threads that just barely distorted the air…or was it the light, around Harry’s head. “Wh-What the hell?”

“You know how I’ve been working on what I call Magic Manipulation?” Harry questioned her with a smile. Tonks just nodded, a playful roll of her eyes at what was sure to be an upcoming explanation of Harry’s newest spell. “This is a derivative of that!” The boy looked proud of himself. “Think of these little threads as pathways for Magic to follow. Any spell that hits one of them will follow along with it until it reaches the end. Thanks for helping me test it out, Nym!” He now knew that powerful spells could overcome the threads, and that his new spell worked even at point blank range. ‘I wonder if I could attach one end of a ‘thread’ to the other end of itself and make a loop to trap a spell until it ran out of power?’ Already the Spellcrafter was thinking up new ideas for his creation after getting to test it out in a live situation.

“How did you make the illusions talk?” Tonks asked, still recovering her breath. She didn’t know of any spell that let a visual illusion speak so convincingly.

“I didn’t.” Harry chuckled at her. “Illusion and a Voice Charm paired together. It was pretty convincing though, huh? Even startled you when my voice was suddenly in your ear, right?” He looked a little smug at his trick.

Tonks threw her fist forward and Harry staggered backwards, holding his stomach, while hacking out at the force that had just hit him. With a grin Tonks hopped up to her feet and brought her wand to bear. Only to find out she suddenly couldn’t move.

“I guess we didn’t call an end to the fun.” Harry coughed once and stood up straight, rubbing his stomach. “You’re just being sneaky today, Nym.”

“Aguamenti!” Tonks may not be able to move because of Harry’s Bind spell. But her wand was already aimed at him. The torrent of water was like a hose set on full blast.

“None of that.” Harry ended their little roughhousing as Tonks’s wand was forcibly wrenched from her hand and sent sailing through the air behind her. “Your wandless got a bit better.”

“Thanks, I try.” Tonks grinned at getting to sock Harry one. It wasn’t much more than a modified Flipendo that she could launch with a punch, but it was something wandless that she’d worked out with very little input from Harry.

“I win.” Harry stated to end their little bout.

“Sure, sure.” Tonks agreed as she felt the Bind spell release her and stretched her arms above her head. “You want a kiss for winning?” She fluttered her eyes at him overdramatically.

“No thanks.” Harry was the one rolling his eyes now. Trust his surrogate big sister to tease him.

“Boo~ You’re no fun. That used to get a reaction!” Tonks laughed as she walked over to her wand and managed to successfully summon it to her hand with just her intent and Magic. Sure, it was only a meter or so in total distance, but it was something else she could do wandlessly.

“Yeah, I’m not a little kid anymore.” Harry walked at Tonks’s side. “But I’m also not an awkward teenager yet. So, I’m safe for the most part.” He grinned at her.

“You can’t put off your hormones forever, Harrikins.” Tonks ruffled his hair playfully. Her own hair had turned a bright pink as she laughed.

“I’ll be sure to let you know when I just can’t resist you anymore, Nym.” Harry waved off with a smug little smirk.

“I’m going to tease you even more mercilessly now, Harrikins!” Tonks threatened him as she threw her arm over his shoulder and pulled him into her side. “I’ll even get Fleur to help!” She put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie for good measure.

“Hey! Stop it!” Harry flailed a little before using his Magic.

“Hahahaha!” Tonks laughed and leapt away from Harry as the Tickling Charm got her. “St-Stop it! Ha-Harry…I’m gonna…get you!” She got out between bouts of laughter. Her hair, eyes, and even her skin, were all cycling through a dozen or more colors as her Metamorphmagus ability reacted to her spasms of laughter.

“Catch me if you can, Nym!” Harry flew off and released the Tickling Charm once he was in the air.

“Now you’re in for it, Harrikins!” Tonks declared, pointing at the shrinking form of the flying Harry. “Damn it… I need to learn how to fly.” She huffed at Harry not sharing the best Magic. “Stupid ‘right question’…” Tonks grumbled and kicked at the dirt. With a twist she Apparated next to where Sirius was sitting. Harry said catch him, no restrictions on how!

-The Rookery ~ Lovegood Family Home ~ The Next Day-

“Woohoo!” Luna and Astoria both cheered as they jumped into the heated pool in their swimsuits. The two splashes were soon followed up by joyful giggles as the two girls broke the surface of the water.

“I can’t believe you transfigured a pool and wanted to go swimming in April.” Hermione, also in a swimsuit, shook her head at Harry.

“Really?” Harry cocked his head to the side a little. “This totally seems like something that I’d do.” He grinned at his best friend.

Indeed, Luna had invited her friends over to the Rookery to play and have fun. Harry, being a doting big brother and always wanting to make Luna happy, had asked her if she wanted to go swimming. When Luna had enthusiastically said yes, Harry had gotten to work.

Transfiguring the ground into a rectangular hole, turning the dirt into stone, conjuring water, and then heating it, was all done in about a minute and could be undone in about the same amount of time. Swimsuits had been brought from home and now Harry, Luna, Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Tracy, Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner, Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, Padma Patil, Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George were all over at the Rookery for what had become an impromptu pool party in April.

Luna had been the one that got to invite people, since it was her home, and she’d picked out her friends from Ravenclaw, and the Weasleys that were her neighbors, Ginny being her best friend. The laughter and splashing in the pool filled the air with cheer.

The area had been enclosed by Harry too, a quick transfiguration of some dirt into glass and metal had made for an almost greenhouse-like enclosure. One which was put together in a show for the group by Harry. The pool sat in the center and there was about five meters of space in every direction before you’d reach the wall of glass and metal. The air was heated up with a Warming Charm and the kids had been swimming and playing ever since.

Xenophilius Lovegood smiled happily as he watched his daughter with her friends. For all that he’d become more spacey since his wife Pandora had passed away in her accident, he still greatly cared for his daughter and wanted only the best for her. Harry Potter declaring Luna his ‘little sister’ had been a blessing that Xenophilius couldn’t help but be thankful for. He was currently waiting for these ‘pizza bagels’ that Harry had brought over to finish baking in the oven. Apparently, they were a Muggle food that Harry’s uncle, Ted, had introduced him to.

“I’m sure the kids will enjoy them.” Xenophilius chuckled to himself. They certainly smelled good. “I wonder if we could lure a Crumple-horned Snorkack with these?” He and Luna could try on their next trip to Sweden over the summer.

“Cannonball!” Fred and George ran towards the pool and jumped, tucking into balls and hitting the water with two large splashes.

“Hey!” Daphne shouted at the Twins as she pushed her soaked hair out of her face. “Watch it!” She splashed the two as soon as they surfaced.

“Of course you know…” Fred wiped the water from his face.

“This means war.” George finished, and shook his head to rid himself of some water.

“Bring it on!” Tracy jumped into the pool, splashing the Twins again.

“Boys versus girls!” Ron declared loudly, jumping into the pool to splash Padma and Lisa.

“Hey!” The two Ravenclaw girls sputtered at suddenly being soaked.

“Ron! Stop being a prat!” Ginny jumped in after her brother resurfaced, splashing him right in the face.

“Come on, lads!” Terry Boot cheered as the splash fight started in earnest.

“Boys…” Hermione rolled her eyes jokingly, a smile on her face.

“Have some fun, Hermione.” Harry chuckled beside her. Then surprised Hermione as he picked her up in a bridal carry.

“Harry?!” Hermione’s face was bright red at being held in Harry’s arms. When she saw that he was carrying her towards the pool she started to struggle. “Don’t you dare!”

“I’mma do it!” Harry laughed, speeding up a little.

“Don’t do it!” Hermione struggled more, but it was entirely playful as she laughed.

“I’m doing it!” Harry jumped into the pool with Hermione in his arms.

When the two resurfaced, Hermione now had Harry’s arms lightly holding her waist. Both of them were laughing as they looked at each other. With a grin, Hermione brought both of her hands around and trapped Harry between two splashes. She escaped his light hold on her waist and swam away towards the rest of the girls.

“You’ve got a splash coming now, Hermione!” Harry declared, not using Magic only because it would ruin the fun, and instead swimming after her.

It was good to have friends and just be kids having fun. Magic let them get away with things like this easily, so why not, right?

-End Chapter-

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Harry helps at St. Mungos! Even inventing a Charm and teaching it to the Healers! That nets him another accomplishment as he continues to try and climb the ladder of Titles!

Tonks and Harry roughhouse some more! They’re so adorable when they’re just being family! Tonks did try to get Harry back, and at least landed a ‘punch’ this time. Kek!

Then it was time to spoil Luna and their friends with an April pool party!

What’s that? It’s usually 12C in the UK in April?

Big deal! We have Magic to fix things up nice! LOL!

It’s nice that they can just be kids, right? Not always fighting for their lives or being tormented by one adult or another.

What happens next for Harry and friends?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Second Year ends quietly, and Harry heads back home for the summer. Of course, there’s the Junior Dueling League to participate in, but also other things that Harry will want to work on. The prodigious Spellcrafter always has a few ongoing projects after all.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 21 – Second Year End, Summertime Fun

Harry nodded to himself as he looked over his cultivars in the Herbology greenhouse. The seedlings that he’d planted were all growing well, and he’d just finished repotting all of them into bigger containers. Already, some were showing better traits than others, both in their physical growth as well as in their Magical development to his ever-improving Mage Sight spell.

“Number six, number eleven, number twenty-three, number thirty-nine, number forty-four, and number fifty are doing the best.” Harry blinked as he deactivated his Mage Sight spell. “Definitely going to take them back home with me.” The Spellcrafter grinned at his first cultivars. Neville had been absolutely correct about planting them all separately. There was quite a lot of disparity between each individual plant and its development, even when given the same soil, water, and sunlight. “If I can successfully combine the beneficial traits together that each of my best cultivars display, I might just be able to produce the Potions result I want.”

It would truly be something new in the field of Potions, but if it all worked out as Harry intended, his result wouldn’t even be a potion, but something entirely different.

-June-

“Ugh…” Daphne groaned and held her head. “Does it get worse the longer you defend?” She grumbled at Harry.

“Sort of, you are just letting me continuously attack your defense.” Harry explained as the group of four practiced their Occlumency (and Legilimency for Harry).

“So how do I kick you out?” Daphne questioned him as her slight headache began to fade.

“That requires you to defend first, then be able to muster up the magical and mental fortitude to reverse the Legilimency.” Harry started as he spoke to Luna and Hermione as well, making it a general lesson. “Doing so will throw their own Legilimency back at them, but may also cause you to inadvertently see into their mind as well.”

“What if we don’t want to see into their mind?” Hermione was the first to ask a question, curious as she always was about Magic.

“That’s a matter of control.” Harry answered his best friend with a smile. “After you push back the Legilimency, you have to stop your own mind.”

“Stop our mind?” Daphne looked confused by the odd phrase.

Harry nodded to her with a grin. “Yes, you have to return to the ‘empty mind’ state right after pushing back the attacker’s magic.”

“That sounds hard.” Luna spoke up, her head tilted cutely.

“The Mind Arts is a difficult Branch of Magic for a reason.” Harry affectionately patted Luna’s head.

“So we go from defense to neutral in an instant?” Hermione thought over the concept, nibbling her lip a little in the process as she tried to work out just how to do such a thing.

Harry chuckled lightly at Hermione’s quick understanding. “That’s the idea. Mental flexibility is just as important in the Mind Arts as mental fortitude.”

“I suddenly feel like we haven’t made as much progress as we thought.” Daphne looked between Luna and Hermione.

“Agreed.” Hermione looked a little put out by the idea.

“We’ll get better if we keep practicing.” Luna smiled at both of them brightly.

-June 14^th-

“I’ve not done anything!” Gilderoy Lockhart cried out as he was marched through the halls of Hogwarts by a group of four red-robed Aurors, headed for the Headmaster’s Office. The pompous man was already in shackles and seemed to be getting on the Aurors’ nerves with his constant denials of guilt.

Many students were peeking around corners to watch the spectacle of the sham Professor being manhandled along. No one knew what he was being arrested for, though many also didn’t much care. Having to deal with the man for the past school year had worn off any ‘prestige’ he may have had at the beginning.

“I demand my barrister!” Lockhart’s voice rose as he was nearly shoved onto the spiraling staircase up to the Headmaster’s Office.

-June 15^th-

Famous Author, Gilderoy Lockhart, a Fraud?

The title was on the first page of the Daily Prophet the morning after he’d been escorted out of Hogwarts. The article was large and took up a good deal of space on the front page.

Reading through it, Harry could only sigh at what was revealed. “Looks like you were right, Hermione.”

“How could he do that to people?” Hermione was nearly glaring at the newspaper. “Listening to their stories and then Obliviating them; despicable.”

The fact that there were dozens of counts of illegal Obliviation from people he’d stolen accomplishments from was already going to see Lockhart going to Azkaban. But the crimes didn’t stop there either. Lockhart had been charged with forgery, theft, coercion, fraud (multiple types), and was even under suspicion of further cases of illegal Obliviation. The article even ‘speculated’ that some Hogwarts students may have had their memories altered or erased by the man during his time at the school.

“I don’t think he’s coming back next year.” Luna mentioned after finishing the article.

“He’ll be lucky if he leaves Azkaban if some of these ‘speculations’ are accurate.” Daphne nearly scoffed as she set her copy of the Prophet down. Normally she wouldn’t be sitting at the Ravenclaw table, but breakfast had been extended while the rest of the Professors had to respond and investigate the ‘speculations’ raised against Lockhart in the Daily Prophet. Quite a few students had already been called out of the Great Hall to be checked…which was pretty much any student that had been in Lockhart’s company outside of classes.

“Good riddance.” Tracy waved off the loss of Lockhart easily from beside Daphne. “Not like we really learned anything from him.”

“True.” Hermione admitted with a grimace. “Most of us had to study the course material on our own.” While she was happy with all the study groups that they’d had, it shouldn’t have been required just to pass the end of year exams.

“I liked learning from Harry more anyway.” Luna smiled happily at her big brother.

“Thank you, Luna.” Harry patted her head fondly, making Luna giggle.

-End of Year Feast-

“…and finally, with four-hundred-eighty-two points, Hufflepuff House!” Dumbledore smiled as the table of yellow and black erupted into cheers. “Which makes them the winners of this year’s House Cup!” He waved his arms and all of the drapes and banners in the Great Hall switched to Hufflepuff’s colors and badger emblem. “Well done, Hufflepuff!” The cheering was still loud and his voice was barely heard over the celebrations of the students. The Badgers had worked very hard to earn points this year and it had paid off for them now.

“It’s nice to see Hufflepuff so excited.” Hermione smiled as she finished applauding for their well-earned win. “I’m pretty sure that Ravenclaw would’ve won if a certain someone participated more in classes.”

Harry looked at Hermione for a moment before responding. “Possibly, but we’d have to find this ‘someone’ and tell them to start being more active in class.”

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully at Harry’s retort. “Prat.”

“Who? Me?” Harry chuckled as he levitated a dish loaded with mashed potatoes over to himself and Luna.

“Harry, you forgot the gravy.” Luna mentioned as she placed her first large spoonful of mashed potatoes onto her plate.

“Silly me.” Harry smiled at his surrogate little sister and the gravy boat a bit further away lifted into the air before heading towards them.

-July 1^st-

Harry stretched as he woke up in his bedroom on his first day back from Hogwarts. He got out of bed and with barely a thought had his chest of drawers open and clothing fly into his hands. He headed for the bathroom with a yawn, already smelling breakfast downstairs.

At breakfast, the whole family chatted and talked about their plans for the day. Ted and Tonks both had work. Andromeda was planning to do some shopping in Diagon Alley later. Sirius was planning to spend the day with Remus since the full moon was in two days. The werewolf always felt horrible the day before and the day after the full moon from the forced transformation. Harry was planning to check on the six cultivars that he’d brought with him from Hogwarts and that had been placed in Andromeda’s greenhouse last evening; then spend the day working on a few of his other ideas.

“Nerd~” Tonks laughed at Harry doing studies over the summer (not that she expected anything else from him).

“Says the one that lost our last little tussle.” Harry replied with a smug little smirk.

Tonks’s hair changed to an annoyed orange color. “Cheeky brat.” Harry just smiled pleasantly.

“Planning to get another Mastery this summer, Harry?” Ted chuckled jokingly at his surrogate nephew.

“I mean, I might be able to, if I could get an appointment with the Ministry.” Harry shrugged nonchalantly, as if he was talking about a simple visit to the seat of government to turn in a form.

“Would anyone be the least bit surprised?” Sirius laughed and patted Harry’s shoulder with a bright smile. “What kind of Magic are you working on that requires Herbology?”

“Potions.” Harry smiled, always happy that his family was so interested in his projects. “If I can figure out the process for what I want to do, it’ll be a breakthrough in Potions. I’ve only read about similar things in folklore and myths from other regions. Half-truth and half-embellishment, so it’s hard to actually know if the things that I want to make actually existed at all.”

“Don’t do anything too crazy in my greenhouse, Harry.” Andromeda smiled at him, though the warning was real. She’d taken quite a lot of time and effort to make her greenhouse just as she liked it after all.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Auntie.” Harry returned the smile with one of his own. Andromeda laughed slightly at his response. It was such a ‘Harry’ thing that she’d just gotten used to over the years.

Tonks put her elbow on the table and rested her cheek against her palm, her hair now a shade of mint green. “So…what exactly are you trying to make, Harrikins?”

“That would be telling, Nym.” Harry mimicked her posture, but mirrored so he could look at her. “You’ll see what it is when I’m done.”

“You’re no fun.” Tonks stuck her tongue out at him.

“Says you.” Harry retorted, maturely sticking his tongue out at her too.

“Children.” Andromeda’s voice had both Harry and Tonks sitting properly at the table a second later. The mother nodded to each of them in turn, now that their manners had been corrected.

“So, should we be expecting a Potions Mastery this time?” Ted easily lightened up the situation with a warm chuckle.

“Oh!” Sirius perked up at the idea. “You should absolutely get a Potions Mastery soon, Harry! Snivellus got his two years after graduating Hogwarts! If you got yours while you were still in Hogwarts then you’d be the new ‘youngest Potions Master’ in history!” He chortled at the look that he imagined would be on Snape’s face at seeing Harry outdo him in his own field of expertise!

“Must you?” Andromeda sighed at Sirius.

“Absolutely.” Sirius nodded resolutely, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Prek!” A barn owl landed lightly on the window sill of the kitchen window that had been opened for both fresh air and Owl Post. Ted stood up and retrieved the mail, glancing over it for a second as the owl took off again.

“For you, Harry.” Ted handed his nephew the letter.

Harry accepted the letter and looked it over. “Thanks, Uncle Ted. The Junior Dueling League… I guess this is the summer schedule?” He opened it up and pulled out the parchment inside. Reading over it confirmed what he thought. “Huh, looks like the first meetup is this Saturday, the third.”

“I’ll put it on the calendar.” Sirius was already moving over to the calendar hanging on the wall next to the entrance of the kitchen.

“They’re having a meetup every weekend until the big tournament at the end of the summer.” Harry walked over to Sirius and showed him the schedule. Sirius looked at the various dates and started writing them down.

-Next Day-

“Principle Motion… Aspect is Stillness… refined to Sleep.” Harry slowly built up a spell as he went through the Principles and Aspects that he wanted. His Magic responded, but even as he watched the spell form with his Mage Sight spell, it didn’t look right. “No, this is just a different version of Stupefy.” He grimaced and let the spell fade away. “I don’t want to knock people unconscious. I want them to nod off without realizing anything is amiss.” Harry thought over his idea for a Sleeping spell that could affect any target; human, animal, Magical Creature, etc. but was still coming up short each time.

Stupefy was a good spell, if you needed someone unconscious quickly. But it was a very rough spell on the one it hit. Using more than one on a person was potentially harmful. The chance of harm increased the greater the disparity in magical power, and even things like age and health could impact how much harm the Stunning spell could do.

Harry’s goal was to make a spell that could mimic or surpass the effects of a Sleeping Draught. A spell that could be cast on a single target or be made widespread to cover an area, putting everyone in the vicinity to sleep peacefully and without harm. So far though, he was having very little luck in his endeavor. All he’d gotten so far were spells that were, at best, slight variations of the Stunning spell.

“I know there’s a Sleeping Charm…but neither version seems to last long at all.” Harry hummed as he thought about his research into this particular spell. “One of them only makes a single person sleep for roughly three to five seconds. The other can make even a dragon fall asleep if you aim for a soft spot, but it also wears off at differing rates depending on the person or creature in question. Both are also single target spells.” He mused aloud as he leaned back against his bed and went over what he knew and if he’d perhaps missed something in his attempts. “Hmm, maybe I need to add something to the spell’s creation?”

-First Junior League Meetup-

Susan Bones smiled at Harry as they were paired up for a match. “I’ve been practicing, Harry.” She warned him with a grin.

“Interesting…” Harry smiled at Susan. “So have I.”

“Begin!” The referee started the Duel.

“Lumos Solem!” Susan cast the variant of the standard Lumos Charm. A bright light, not unlike the sun, blinded everyone looking at the Duel. “Impedimenta! Incarcerous! Petrificus Totalus! Immobulus!” She chained one spell after another to overwhelm Harry while he was blinded.

“So, I still can’t do anything about conjurations, huh?” Harry mused as everyone got their sight back. He was wrapped up in three constricting ropes from Susan’s spell.

“She landed a spell!” Zacharias Smith called out in surprise.

“Susan is unable to continue!” The referee announced and everyone saw Susan frozen in place, standing straight with her legs together and her arms at her sides.

“A good combo, Susan.” Harry breathed on the ropes holding him and they vanished. He undid the spells holding Susan with a wave of his hand.

“How?!” Susan’s first word was probably louder than she wanted, considering she covered her mouth a second later.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her question. “How what?”

“You threw my spells back at me!” Susan stated, much to the confusion of the other young Duelists. “How’d you do that?”

“Not all of them, your Incarcerous got through.” Harry sighed at his failure to deal with her spell. “As for how I did it? I just gave the spells an easier path to follow.” He smiled and for just a second Susan saw the air (or was it the light) distort between her and Harry, like a thread that was invisible unless it moved.

“What is that?” Susan blinked at what she’d only seen for a second.

Harry grinned at the redhead. “That would be telling, Susan.”

“Aww, come on, Harry, you can tell me.” Susan nearly pouted at him.

“Just think of it as a thread of magic.” Harry laughed as he hopped off the Dueling platform.

Susan hopped down after him. “Magic thread? What does that mean?” Harry only laughed as the girl wanted to know how she’d been defeated by her own spells.

-July 5^th-

“Hoo.” Hedwig landed on her perch in Harry’s room, a letter tied to her leg, which she held out to Harry.

“From Fleur?” Harry asked, even though he knew it was. He removed the envelope from Hedwig’s leg and gave her gentle pets and scritches in thanks before leaving her to rest. “I wonder what topic she wants to talk about this time?” He opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.

Harry,

I hope that you’ve been well since my last letter.

Your description of your last ‘scuffle’ with Tonks was quite entertaining. I only wish I had a Pensieve so that I could watch the memory directly.

Knowing you, I’m sure you’ve already come up with more thoughts on spells and combinations. I’ve also been hard at work on my Dueling, so I hope you don’t think that you’ll be winning the Junior Dueling League Tournament again this year.

I was interested in that new spell of yours that you described as the Shot Spell. How exactly does it track a target? Is it a preset part of the spell that you have to adjust upon each cast, or is it able to be freely altered after casting? Be aware that I’ll be on the lookout for that spell when we next meet on the Dueling platform!

Other than Dueling, my schoolwork has been going well, the end of year exams weren’t difficult and my grades reflected that.

Gabby has been an excitable handful, as usual. But she’s always so cute that it’s hard to stay mad at her. She quite enjoys small shows of Magic, and is very interested in meeting you again. I’ve talked about your prowess in Magic and explained to her the Titles that you’ve earned. Naturally, she wants to see you do Magic now too.

I await your next letter eagerly and hope to hear more about what you’ve been up to.

Your friend,

Fleur Delacour

Harry smiled at the letter after he finished reading it. “I’m glad that she’s doing well. Gabby sounds like she’s a ball of fun too.” He chuckled at Fleur’s description of her little sister. “Fleur’s interest in Magic is always nice. I could answer her questions about how the Shot spell targets, I suppose. It could be interesting if she’s able to get a version of it working by the time we Duel again.” The Spellcrafter laughed a bit at the idea of dealing with his own spell. He pulled a piece of parchment in front of him as he sat at his desk. Grabbing a pen, he began to write his reply to Fleur with a smile.

-Harry’s Birthday-

Sirius smiled at seeing Harry surrounded by his friends from Hogwarts on his birthday. He’d done everything that he could to protect Harry growing up; but he sometimes felt as though he may have isolated his godson a bit too much. “Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case.” He mumbled lowly to himself as Andromeda brought the cake out and set it in front of Harry, thirteen candles were placed on it, all lit and ready for Harry to blow out.

The entire house was filled with people and festive cheer. The kids were playing Magical games and some Muggle games that Ted had introduced to them. The parents of Harry’s various friends had also been invited to celebrate with them. The non-magical among them clearly surprised, interested, or in some cases, shocked by the displays of Magic. The Grangers were quite inquisitive though and were so happy to see their daughter with so many friends.

“Tooth-Flossing String Mints… I’ve been a fan ever since Hermione sent us a package not too long after she started Hogwarts.” Wendell Granger chuckled as he spoke with Arthur Weasley off to the side of the room.

“Have you tried Pepper Imps?” Arthur joked with the dentist. “Not too much sugar, but the effect is fun.”

“The ones that make you breathe fire?” Wendell shook his head with a laugh. “You wanted to know about Dentistry a bit, right?”

“Oh yes, I’m fascinated by how the non-magical use technology to solve the various issues of day-to-day life.” Arthur’s eyes lit up as the topic shifted again to something he would love to discuss.

Like her husband, Monica Granger was enjoying chatting with the Wizards and Witches at the party. At the moment she was chatting with Appoline Delacour on the sofa in the sitting room. “We visit France in the summer fairly often; the beaches are lovely.”

“If you are in France, please let us know, we’d be happy to give you a tour around the Magical District in Paris.” Appoline offered with a smile. “You and your husband work together?”

“Yes, we do. We met in university while pursuing our Dental Degrees.” Monica recalled the time with a fond smile. “We started dating, and once we graduated, we opened our own practice. Not too long afterward we were married, and then our Hermione came along.”

The kids were all enjoying the cake after Harry had blown out the candles. Gabrielle proved her sweet tooth was strong; eagerly eating her own slice before eyeing up the remaining cake as well. Fleur rolled her eyes before giving her little sister some of the candy that was set out for everyone.

After cake, Gabrielle went over to Harry and smiled up at him brightly. “Magic?”

“You want to see something fun?” Harry chuckled at the six-year-old. The eager nodding from Gabrielle was all the answer that Harry needed. “Glow.” He whispered and a soft yellow light formed on his fingertip, larger than a standard Lumos Charm. Unlike a Lumos Charm, it floated away from Harry’s fingertip and stayed lit up. A second ball of light was made on another of Harry’s fingers, this one blue in color. It floated over to join the yellow light and then both passed through each other, becoming green when they overlapped. Before separating back into yellow and blue. A red ball of light was made to join the other two. Soon a myriad of colors was in the air and Harry even pretended to juggle them for Gabrielle’s amusement.

“Plus, plus!” Gabrielle cheered in French, loving the light show.

“Blue plus yellow equals green.” Harry made the blue and yellow spheres of light touch and overlap again. “Red and yellow makes orange!” The yellow sphere and red sphere combined to make an orange sphere. “Blue and red make purple!” The blue sphere rose up to meet the newly separated red light, both overlapping and becoming purple.

Even Harry’s friends were enjoying the little light show, wondering how Harry had made this seeming variant of the Lumos Charm.

Gabrielle giggled brightly as a string of multi-colored light spheres circled her neck like an oversized necklace. Luna smiled as a similar ring of light orbs sat upon her head like a crown. Both Hermione and Daphne got necklaces like Gabrielle’s. Astoria preened as she got a crown like Luna’s, clearly being spoiled just like the other girl.

“Oh, a gift, Harry?” Fleur laughed, a warm sound that made Harry smile as he placed a necklace of lights around her neck too.

Tonks pretended to pout as she snuck up behind Harry and pulled him into an overdramatic hug. “Wotcher, birthday boy! Where is my jewelry?”

“Yes, yes, Nym.” Harry jokingly sighed at her. In a flood of lights, Tonks was decked out with a crown, necklace, bracelets, and even a cape of glowing spheres of light. “Can’t have you feeling left out, can we?”

“Exactly, Harrikins!” Tonks nodded with a laugh, posing proudly in her new regalia.

“The same, Harry!” Fred and George laughed together. Both twins were flooded with orbs of light and came out with what vaguely looked like jester outfits with multi-colored stripes and hats with multiple points atop their heads.

This naturally got a burst of laughter from the kids in the room.

“Maman! Maman!” Gabrielle giggled brightly as she ran out of the room and into the sitting room to show her mother the magical lights sitting around her neck. “Harry’s Magic!”

“Did Harry give you a pretty necklace?” Appoline smiled as she kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“Oui!” Gabrielle giggled and then ran back to the group of older kids to continue enjoying Harry’s impromptu Magic Show.

“That was nice of him.” Monica smiled at the adorable little girl.

Appoline agreed even as she looked thoughtful. “I do wonder how he did that though. Lumos Charms can’t leave the place they’re cast, usually the tip of the wand. But not only were they able to move, they didn’t disappear when Harry lost sight of them.”

“Is that not normal?” Monica questioned, not being very familiar with Magic at all. She would soon learn just how prodigious Harry was as a Wizard.

-Mid-August ~ Junior Dueling League Tournament-

Harry smiled as he was up against the oldest member of the Netherlands team, Luca Meijer. The other teen kept his eyes on Harry, clearly not wanting to miss any subtle Magic that Harry would cast. The two met in the middle of the Dueling Platform and saluted, as was tradition. They turned to walk to their designated starting positions and took up their preferred stances.

“Begin!” The referee swung his arm down to start the match.

“Conteram Obice Maxima! Immobulus Maxima! Lapifors!” Luca’s opening chain was designed to shatter any Shield Charm, immobilize the opponent, and then turn them into a rabbit. It was a powerful and quick way to end a Duel in his favor.

A Barrier appeared between Harry and the spells, all three of them slamming into the unmoving wall and doing nothing. Harry tapped the Dueling Platform with his foot and the space between him and Luca began to split into sections, each section violently jerking into a forty-five-degree angle to either the left or the right.

“Finite Maxima!” Luca canceled the Transfiguration with a jab of his wand.

“Expelliarmus.” Harry targeted the outstretched wand directly.

Luca’s arm wrenched backward painfully as his wand rocketed behind him and straight off the Dueling platform. It landed upon the softened ground (done ahead of time for safety) quietly and the sixteen-year-old looked at it in shock even as he held his arm that still stung with pain.

“Disarmed!” The referee announced the end of the Duel. “The winner is Harry Potter!”

The audience applauded for the victor and the Duel they’d just witnessed.

“With this victory, Britain will face France in the finals!” The referee declared, getting cheers from the parents of both teams.

“It seems we’ll be facing each other soon enough, Harry.” Fleur’s note came in the form of a paper airplane charmed to fly over to him.

Harry flipped the parchment over and wrote on the back. “Looking forward to it, Fleur.” And then redid the same Charm that had been on it previously. He watched it fly back to Fleur. She opened the airplane and then gave him a challenging look after reading his response.

-Later-

“The final Duel is between Fleur Delacour and Harry Potter!” The referee announced loudly with his voice amplified by the Sonorus Charm. “This is for victory in the tournament overall!”

“This feels familiar.” Harry joked at being in this same position facing Fleur.

“Only this time, you’ll lose.” Fleur smiled at Harry.

With the pre-Duel chat over, the two turned away from each other and headed toward their positions at opposite ends of the platform.

“Begin!” The referee started the Duel quickly.

“Inclinis Stupefy Tria Maxima! Inclinis Stupefy Tria Maxima! Inclinis Stupefy Tria Maxima! Inclinis Stupefy Tria Maxima! Inclinis Stupefy Tria Maxima!” Fleur nearly filled the air with empowered and modified red jets of light, all of them curving at odd angles to strike at Harry from the front, sides, behind, and above simultaneously. She wasn’t done though, knowing that giving Harry any time to think was a fast track to defeat. “Duro Maxima!” She pointed her wand and hardened the platform, making using Transfiguration on it much more difficult. “Protego Totalum Tria Maxima! Salvio Hexia Tria!” Fleur cast a triple layered, empowered Protego Totalum and then a tripled Hex Deflection Charm on top of it to make it harder for Harry to try and undo her defenses.

“Careful now, Fleur.” Harry had surrounded himself with a spherical Barrier to block all of the empowered and curving Stunning spells. “I might think that you’re trying to hurt me.” He grinned at the Veela girl as his eyes glowed, analyzing the layers of protection around her. “Shot.” The crackling yellow spell appeared in front of Harry and was slammed into the outermost of Fleur’s shields before most people realized it had moved. The small spell shot backward and then forward again, striking a different part of the layered shield. This repeated over and over again, the crackling spell bouncing around all over the surface of the shield, trying to find some way to get to Fleur.

“I’m sure this will look familiar, Harry.” Fleur grinned back at him as she spun her wand in a triplet of loops. “Vigilem Sagittam Tria.” From her wand, three glowing orbs of white light floated into the air above her, but still within the safety of her multi-layered shield.

The familiar spell put a grin on Harry’s face, remembering that she’d used this same spell last year. The orb on the far right shot a small arrow of the same white light at Harry.  His Barrier nullified it, of course, but then the other two orbs began to fire as well, peppering his Barrier with sustained shots.

“Praesidium.” Fleur casted, her wand pointed at herself. The teen glowed with a faint green light for just a moment. “Maior Potestas.” This time her body was enveloped in a golden glow that just as quickly faded away. “Conscientia.” A light yellow glow this time. “Maior Scutum.” A diamond-like refraction of light covered Fleur’s body before fading away.

“I still want to learn those spells, you know.” Harry reminded Fleur with a chuckle. “Empowerment is such a lacking Branch of Magic; most can only temporarily enchant themselves to the maximum of their current self.” The High Sorcerer had gone through many, many tomes looking for a hint on empowering beyond normal limits, but had yet to find anything about it. Well, beyond the expected: ‘It’s impossible’ that so many Witches and Wizards had written after giving up on it themselves.

“And I still can’t teach them to you.” Fleur felt her enchantments giving her a bit of a boost after she’d already expended so much of her magic to stall Harry and defend herself. “Flamma Annulum!” From Fleur’s left hand, Veela fire burst forth, the orange-red and purple-tinted flames crossing the distance between her and Harry in a blink and forming a burning ring around Harry’s Barrier. “Don’t drop that Barrier of yours, Harry, you’ll burn.” Fleur warned him, her strategy to lock him down and force him to give up as the heat became too much finally came to fruition. ‘His Barrier blocks both Magic and physical objects. But if he can talk to me from within it, then his voice has to be traveling through the air, meaning that air is passing into the Barrier. That means heat should be getting carried inside with the air now.’ Fleur had reasoned this out after watching Harry’s duels. ‘If I can’t beat him directly, then I’ll use strategy to win!’

“Well…this was quite well thought out.” Harry felt the heat with a grin, even as he began to sweat. “But you cast self-sustaining protection spells, and empowered ones at that. You’re probably running a bit low on magic right about now, I’d guess.” He deduced while looking at Fleur through the flames. “So… Let’s see who falls first, shall we?” The air inside Harry’s spherical Barrier started to spin as he imbued it with the Aspect of Dispersion. “De-Spell!” He canceled his Barrier and let his second spell blast the Veela fire away, removing the Magic that fueled it. The incoming arrows from the three floating orbs that Fleur had conjured all vanished as soon as they came in contact with the wind as well. “Shot.” Harry conjured another crackling yellow spark of magic. “Ten-fold.” The one crackling spell became ten. In the blink of an eye, all ten of the spells were slamming into Fleur’s multi-layered shield from all directions.

“Finite!” Fleur cast, but the Shot wasn’t there when her spell reached the space she’d targeted. “Finite! Finite!” She tried two more times, but she could never hit the spells to cancel them out; they simply moved far too fast. “Lata Finite!” Fleur modified her next attempt, widening the area of effect of her spell. She still only managed to cancel out a single of the ten crackling spells that were rapidly pelting her outermost shield, steadily weakening it with constant attacks.

Harry held out his hand, palm facing upwards. A flame appeared in his hand, then Harry changed it. ‘Principle Time… Aspect is Agelessness…’ The flame shivered and then began to burn as if in slow motion. The small bit of flame still got everyone watching the Duel to take notice. The Flame of Creation lightly pulled on all of the Magic close to it. The spark of it that Harry held in his hand was only felt by the referee near the edge of the powerful Shield Charms that separated the platform from the audience, but no one that had read about Harry would mistake what he currently held.

“So, he’s just going to invalidate Fleur’s spells, huh?” Sirius mumbled out, only Andromeda sitting next to him able to hear.

“He’d better be careful. Fleur has already used up a lot of her magic.” Andromeda didn’t want the nice girl that was now a family friend to suffer Magical Exhaustion.

Harry controlled the small flame of Primal Fire, letting it float over to Fleur’s layered shields. Fleur noticeably perked up, seemingly sensing the Magical Fire. The instant the flame touched her outermost shield it spread like it had just touched gasoline. Fleur could only stare as her shields were consumed, leaving her surrounded in a dome of Primal Fire.

“Aaahhh~” Fleur let out a very unladylike moan as she felt the diffused Magic that the Primal Fire created as a byproduct of combusting other magics. It was invigorating for fire-aligned creatures, suffusing them in what could be called an essence of fire. The energy she was surrounded by felt amazing on multiple levels, and the sheer pleasure had gotten to Fleur.

Outside the large dome of Primal Fire, Harry carefully controlled his conjuration with Magic Manipulation. He knew where Fleur was within the conflagration, thanks to his Mage Sight spell, so he guided a tongue of the Primal Flame to lash at Fleur.

“Ooohh~” Fleur moaned again, louder this time as the Flame of Creation caressed her body, consuming her enchantments near instantly. The touch of the flame didn’t harm her, only bathed her in more fire essence. The Veela was feeling things that she’d never experienced before and felt her energy welling up from the diffused Magic.

“One more should do it.” Harry couldn’t hear anything going on inside the swirling flames, he was only able to see where Fleur’s magic was. Therefore, he had absolutely no idea what his spell was doing to his friend. A second tongue of flame lashed out and struck Fleur from the opposite side.

“Aaah…” Fleur’s moan went silent as the pleasure became too much. Her entire body trembled as she reached her peak and crashed over the edge harder than she’d ever managed by herself. She collapsed, the intensity too much for her to handle. Her Magic had been consumed, but the well of energy that had built up within wasn’t going anywhere.

“Now…come back.” Harry whispered, focusing on the mass of Primal Fire as he used Magic Manipulation to pull the excess Magic from within the flames. The flames shrank noticeably. Growing smaller and smaller before the eyes of the audience, until all that remained was the equivalent of a candle flame in Harry’s palm again. With a thought it was snuffed out and Harry waited for the referee to stop being shocked.

It took a very long moment.

“W-Winner, Harry Potter! The British Team wins!” The referee declared after finally gathering his wits.

The clapping started from Sirius and Andromeda, but then grew from there until the entire audience was cheering for the amazing spectacle that they’d gotten to witness firsthand. The Shield Charms surrounding the area around the platform were lowered and two Healers approached the downed Fleur, both female for obvious reasons.

“It should just be a bit of Magical Exhaustion.” Harry stood near Fleur wondering about the little smile on the unconscious Veela’s lips as she slept.

The two Healers pointed their wands at Fleur and Harry nearly smiled when he heard their spells. “Persentio.” After they’d scanned Fleur both Healers agreed with Harry and gave Fleur a small dose of Pepper-Up Potion, which woke her up a few moments later.

“Mmm…” Fleur groaned in satisfaction before opening her eyes. “Huh?” She looked at the two Healers as they helped her sit up and then looked at Harry. Fleur felt the warmth built up in her body (which was causing pleasant sensations) but also knew what had happened to leave her unconscious. Her cheeks went pink, easily noticeable on her light complexion. Nevertheless, she averted her eyes from Harry and stood up. “Thank you for the Duel, Harry.”

“Thank you for the Duel, Fleur.” Harry returned the traditional end-of-duel thanks. He did wonder why Fleur took a second to look at him but put it out of his mind as his team came rushing towards him.

From there it was a whirlwind of activity, various papers from the four different countries taking photos, interviews with all of the young Duelists, and Harry getting more questions than he cared to deal with. Sirius had quickly put a stop to that when he saw his godson being nearly harassed. The various reporters quickly cleared away from Harry when Sirius suddenly became ‘Lord Black’ and started demanding names and companies so that he knew who to have his barrister file legal action against.

“Thanks, dad.” Harry smiled at Sirius.

“No problem, Harry.” Sirius pulled him into a one-armed hug as they headed over to the Delacours to congratulate Fleur on her performance.

Appoline seemed rather…giggly as they chatted, and Fleur was noticeably either looking at Harry, or looking at everything except Harry.

It wouldn’t be until the next time he and Fleur exchanged letters that he found out the result of allowing a Veela to bathe (even briefly) in such a large amount of Primal Fire.

-End Chapter-

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Woo!

Lockart is arrested upon the Aurors finding out that the large packet of discrepancies that were sent in were all pointing to criminal use of the Obliviate Charm. With certain other ‘speculations’ made by the Daily Prophet (one guess who) he’s probably not going to see the outside of an Azkaban cell for the rest of his life.

Harry’s birthday was fun, and the Junior Dueling League Tournament was quite the show too!

Fleur certainly enjoyed the last part! *Hehehehe~*

Winning can mean different things after all. Kek!

Third Year is about to begin!

What happens to Harry and friends?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Third Year at Hogwarts begins! But with no Pettigrew around and no ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ to escape, what could possibly happen this year at Hogwarts? Well, Harry does always have his friends and his various projects to work on. But boredom is a hell of thing for someone so very advanced in the Magical Arts, and so curious about Magic itself!

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 22 – Third Year, Thoughts and Wanderings

Harry read over the letter from Fleur again, a thoughtful look on his face as he went over what his friend had told him.

“I’ve had a noticeable growth in my magical power after our Duel at the Junior Dueling League; far too much to be the result of my usual practice. I believe being bathed in so much Primal Fire has helped fuel the growth of my Magic substantially.”

Harry mulled over the possibility again, leaning his chair back on two legs and holding it there with barely a thought. “How interesting… Primal Fire is called the Flame of Creation for a reason…the tales say it gave rise to many forms of Magical Life and especially fire-aligned creatures and beings. Maybe the tales are true and being suffused with it left Fleur with a lot of diffused magic within her body that her recovering Magic was able to use for growth?” The Spellcrafter murmured his thoughts, and the beginnings of a hypothesis began to form in his head. A notebook and pen floated over to Harry from his desk as he stayed reclined on his chair. Taking the two items, Harry flipped to a new page and wrote down his vague hypothesis and then a short note to himself.

Look into diffused Magic; may relate to the idea of ‘essence’ spoken of in Alchemy and other more esoteric Branches of Magic.

The book of Dwarven Magic floated over to Harry next, hanging in the air under his will as he flipped towards the back, farther than he’d read through it so far, as he had a hunch.

“There it is…” Harry grinned as he looked through the last chapter of the book. “Essence of the Earth, huh?” This bore looking into for sure. “So many interesting things to learn and discover!” Why the majority of Witches and Wizards had no curiosity or interest in the wonders of Magic only further baffled Harry.

-Platform 9 ¾ ~ September 1^st-

“Don’t get into any trouble, Harry.” Andromeda hugged Harry goodbye as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express.

“I won’t, Auntie.” Harry grinned as he returned the hug.

Sirius pulled him into a one-armed hug with a chuckle. “Get into plenty of trouble, Harry! Have fun!”

“Sure thing, dad.” Harry laughed and returned the hug.

“Sirius!” Andromeda admonished the man with an unamused look. “You should be encouraging better behavior than you showed growing up.”

“Growing old is inevitable, Andy.” Sirius shrugged as a smile crossed his face. “Growing up, however, is entirely optional!”

Andromeda swatted him lightly with a roll of her eyes. “Merlin knows that you never grew past the age of seventeen.”

Sirius just laughed at his cousin’s exasperation with him. “Have a good year, Harry, and we’ll see you for Yule Break. Hogsmeade is fun when you can go with friends…or a pretty girl.” He nudged Harry playfully.

“A few of my friends are pretty girls, Sirius.” Harry shrugged with a little smirk.

“That’s my boy!” Sirius laughed heartily, only to be swatted by Andromeda once more. “Ack! What was that for, Andy?!”

“Hogwarts doesn’t need another Sirius Black running around.” Andromeda stated plainly.

“That is entirely debatable!” Sirius retorted with his nose in the air in a show of faux pompousness.

“I’ll send you a letter with Hedwig once I have my class schedule.” Harry smiled at his family and their usual shenanigans as he levitated his trunk behind him and boarded the scarlet steam engine.

Harry wandered down the train, greeting the people that he knew, as he looked for an empty compartment. When he found one, he tossed his trunk into the overhead bin with nary a thought and sat down as he waited for his friends to find him. It shouldn’t take too long and he pulled out a shrunken book to pass the time, returning it to its original size as he tapped the cover with his fingertip.

Several minutes later, the compartment door opened. “Ugh… Potter.” Draco Malfoy looked like he was attempting to sneer, but it was clear that he didn’t want to actually start anything. “Come on, you two, we’ll find a compartment with the right sort to sit with.”

Crabbe and Goyle, the dimwitted muscle they were, nodded in agreement and followed along after Draco, the door sliding closed a few seconds later.

“Always has to say something.” Harry chuckled lightly to himself as he went back to his reading.

Not too long after the trio from Slytherin left, there was a polite knock on the door before it was opened. “Good morning, Harry.” Hermione greeted her best friend with a brilliant smile.

“Good morning, Hermione.” Harry returned her greeting with a smile of his own. “Let me get that.” With a mere motion of his head, Hermione’s trunk floated up into the rack next to his.

“Thank you, Harry.” Hermione grinned and took the seat opposite him. “Made any progress on your projects since our last letter?” The last she’d heard from Harry through Hedwig was about a week ago. With Harry’s incredible talent with Magic, he could’ve very well completed something in that time.

“Not much, unfortunately, but I’m getting closer on a few things.” Harry answered her with a chuckle. “Anything interesting happen with you over the last week?”

“No, not really, just reading up on our new coursebooks mostly.” Hermione did always like to get ahead and be prepared.

“I’m just glad that you listened to reason.” Daphne’s amused voice got their attention as she slid the compartment door open. “Trying to take every Elective would’ve been impossible anyway.”

“Hello, all!” Tracy greeted with a wave and a smile, peeking over Daphne’s shoulder.

“Hi, Harry!” Astoria slipped into the compartment first and took the seat to Harry’s left with a bright smile.

“Hello, Astoria.” Harry smiled at the younger girl and playfully patted her head. “How’s my little sister doing?” With a gentle wave of his hand, all three girls’ trunks floated up into the racks.

“I’m so excited!” Astoria beamed at him, both from the affectionate role that Harry had given her as his surrogate little sister, and from finally being old enough to go to Hogwarts. “I think I’ll be in Slytherin, like Daphne; what do you think?” She was almost bouncing as Daphne and Tracy sat on the same side as Hermione.

“I think you’ll do great in whatever House you join, Astoria.” Harry grinned at the excited girl. “Speaking of school, I made you something.” He fished in the pocket of his robe before pulling out a little compass. “It’s enchanted to show you the fastest way to your classes, just tell it which one you need and it’ll point the way.”

“Thank you, Harry!” Astoria’s smile practically lit up the compartment as she accepted the gift from her ‘big brother’. “Charms!” She tried it out immediately.

The needle spun around once before locking onto a position. If anyone that knew Hogwarts exact location had been there, they could’ve easily confirmed the compass was pointing straight towards the castle.

“I don’t think it’s going to work very well while we’re still in London, Tori.” Daphne giggled at her overexcited little sister.

Tracy grinned at Astoria. “Wait until you get to the castle, then we’ll go around with you so you can use it.” Astoria nodded rapidly in agreement to the older girl’s offer, nearly bouncing in her seat.

“Good morning.” Luna smiled happily at seeing all of them when she opened the compartment door. She happily sat on Harry’s right side in the last available seat in the compartment. She watched as her trunk was levitated up and into the last space on the racks overhead before giving Harry a hug.

“I missed you too, Luna.” Harry smiled, returning the hug and seeing Luna’s face light up. “It was only two weeks though.” He teased her playfully.

“Two weeks too long.” Luna replied with a giggle, always enjoying being around Harry.

“Luna, Luna, look what Harry gave me!” Astoria happily showed off her new compass to her friend. “We match!” She giggled.

“We do!” Luna pulled out her own compass with a smile and both girls compared how their individual compass looked.

“Such a big brother.” Hermione giggled warmly at the scene, looking at Harry fondly.

“The best big brother.” Harry nodded along, a little smirk on his lips.

“The best!” Astoria and Luna agreed with a cheer.

Daphne didn’t even try to hide her giggle. “Spoiling them rotten is what you’re doing.”

“And will continue to do so!” Harry cracked up as he patted Luna and Astoria’s heads gently. Both younger girls preened happily at being spoiled by him.

“Wrapped around their fingers.” Tracy teased Harry with a laugh.

The whistle on the train blew, announcing its departure, and in a few moments the jostling of the train car began. The kids waved out the window as Platform 9 ¾ moved by and then they were on their way to Hogwarts once more.

About a third of the way through the multi-hour trip, the Trolley Lady stopped by the compartment. “Anything off the trolley, dears?”

Astoria and Luna were quick to go see what the old Witch had for sale. Harry ordered two pitchers of Pumpkin Juice for the whole compartment. Hermione bought herself a few things, as did Daphne and Tracy. When Astoria and Luna sat down, each with a few different candies in their laps, Daphne moved to pay for her little sister, only to find Harry levitating money over to the Trolley Lady.

“Harry…” Daphne looked at him and rolled her eyes.

“It’s fine, Daphne.” Harry chuckled, patting Luna and Astoria’s heads. “I have to spoil my little sisters, right?”

“Of course, you do…” Daphne sighed at him, but the smile on her lips showed her real feelings.

“Glad we agree.” Harry snarked, making Daphne playfully swat his shoulder before she sat back down between Tracy and Hermione.

The rest of the ride was spent enjoying conversation, saying ‘hi’ to their friends that came by to chat for a bit, and just having an enjoyable trip overall.

-Hogsmeade Station-

“Firs’ Years! Firs’ Years over here!” Hagrid called out as the students disembarked from the Hogwarts Express. The Groundskeeper and new Professor once more performing one of his favorite duties of the school year. “Harry, how’re ya?” The gentle giant smiled as Harry and Daphne walked Astoria over to him.

“Alright, Hagrid, just dropping Astoria off.” Harry smiled up at the towering man. “Hagrid will take you and the other First Years up to the castle for the first time.” He explained to Astoria.

“Is the castle really amazing at night?” Astoria was still as excited as possible, nearly bouncing on her heels.

“Aye, one of the best views you’ll see!” Hagrid was all for the First Year’s excitement. “We go across the lake in boats!”

“Don’t fall out.” Daphne hugged Astoria and gave her a playful warning.

“I won’t!” Astoria almost pouted at her big sister for thinking she’d fall out of a boat.

“We’ll leave her with you, Hagrid.” Harry nodded with a laugh.

“We’ll see you soon enough in the Great Hall.” Hagrid laughed waving as the two Third Years headed off for the carriages. “Firs’ Years! Firs’ Years over here!” He waved his lantern a bit to make sure he got all the new students’ attention; not seeming to realize that his sheer size alone was enough for that.

-Great Hall-

Harry, Hermione, and Luna sat together, applauding the Sorting Hat’s song as the Sorting Ceremony got underway. A few students with last names of ‘A’ through ‘F’ were called up, each House gaining at least one new member, before the name that they were waiting for was called by McGonagall.

“Greengrass, Astoria!” McGonagall read off the roll of parchment in her hands.

Astoria trotted up to the stool and McGonagall placed the old hat atop her dark hair, the brim sliding down over the small girl’s eyes from being too large.

“Mmm, yes…another Greengrass comes to Hogwarts.” The Sorting Hat spoke audibly for everyone close enough to hear it. “But where will you fit in best here?” The Hat moved a bit, seeming to consider a few things, before it straightened up. “Slytherin!”

McGonagall removed the hat from Astoria’s head and the girl’s tie turned green and silver, while the Slytherin crest appeared on the left breast of her robe. Astoria jogged over to Daphne and Tracy; the two girls having been saving a spot between them in the likely event that Astoria joined the House. Astoria quickly took the seat and was beaming as she received hugs from Daphne and Tracy.

“Good for her.” Luna smiled brightly at Astoria getting to be with her sister.

Harry chuckled as the Sorting continued. “She’d have been welcomed here too, of course.”

“Absolutely.” Hermione grinned, still looking at Astoria happily sitting between Tracy and Daphne at the Slytherin Table. It was so nice to have friends, and her friend group kept expanding the longer she was at Hogwarts.

Once the Sorting Ceremony was finished, McGonagall took the Sorting Hat and the stool away, while Dumbledore stood up from his chair with a bright smile, ready to open another school year at Hogwarts.

“Welcome!” Dumbledore always seemed to have so much energy for a man of his age. “I have a few things to say before we’re all befuddled by our feast!” The candlelight shimmered off his long beard as he looked over the four long tables. “Firstly, our new Head Boy and Head Girl for this year will be Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater!” Both students stood up, Percy looking extremely proud of himself, while Penny smiled at her housemates that congratulated her on making Head Girl. After a moment the two sat back down and Dumbledore continued. “I am pleased to welcome two new Professors to our ranks this year!” The Great Hall buzzed a bit wondering what other Professor role was unfilled aside from the seemingly annual Defense Against the Dark Arts post. “Our first is Senior Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who has graciously accepted to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year!”

A tall man in nice-looking purple and gold robes stood up and nodded to the students with a smile. He received a generous applause from the four Houses, and a few mutterings of ‘He’s handsome’ were even heard from some of the older girls, followed by giggling. His dark complexion matched Professor Sinistra’s and Harry felt like he’d heard the man’s name somewhere before.

‘He’s a Senior Auror…maybe Nym’s mentioned him before?’ Harry mused in his mind while Shacklebolt sat back down.

“As for our second new appointment, well…I’m sorry to say that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures Professor, retired at the end of last year to spend more time with his remaining limbs.” The fact that Professor Kettleburn had been missing limbs had always made him a memorable standout amongst the faculty. “However, I’m pleased to announce that our own Rubeus Hagrid has agreed to take up the post in addition to his groundskeeping duties!” Dumbledore smiled and Hagrid stood up abruptly, knocking into the Staff Table and jostling the cutlery and flatware a bit.

The applause for Hagrid was quite loud, especially from the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs, both Houses got along quite well with the groundskeeper, and he had a good reputation with the vast majority of the students, regardless of House.

Hagrid waved to the students with a smile, seeing the warm reception to him becoming a Professor. It was all that he could’ve asked for and to have it warmed his heart. He sat back down after a moment and the applause died down a few moments after that; the last two applauders being Fred and George who only stopped when Percy gave them a look that promised a letter to their mother.

“That does explain the ‘Monster Book of Monsters’…” Harry nodded, thinking about the vicious book that had been assigned. Thankfully it wasn’t hard to turn the enchantment off by stroking the book’s spine. The fact that he’d had to tell the shopkeepers of Flourish and Blott’s about that had been odd to Harry, but he’d only known because he could see the Magic that animated the books with his Mage Sight spell.

“Why do books need to be enchanted to act like they’re alive?” Hermione shook her head in exasperation. She wanted to read books, not be attacked by them!

Luna giggled a little at Hermione’s expression. “I named mine Fluffles!”

Harry patted her head with a fond grin. “It’s a good name.” Luna grinned proudly at her naming sense.

“Well, I think that’s everything of importance…” Dumbledore chuckled jovially. “Let the feast begin!” He waved his arms wide and all of the golden plates and platters filled with food and drink.

‘A neat use of the Switching Charm the castle uses.’ Harry thought as he got himself a helping of roast beef.

-Ravenclaw Common Room-

“What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?” The golden eagle door knocker questioned the gathered Ravenclaws.

“Do any of our new First Years want to take a guess?” Penelope smiled at the new members of Ravenclaw House.

One brave girl stepped forward, looking like she was thinking hard. “Is it the air?” She gave her best guess to the door knocker.

The door knocker shook its head once and the door remained closed.

“Darn it.” The girl pouted as she stepped back, getting a smile from Penny made her brighten up again though.

“Anyone else?” Penny looked at the rest of the First Years. When none of them stepped forward she giggled warmly. “Anyone else?” Her gaze now directed at the other students.

Harry gently pushed Luna forward with an encouraging grin.

Luna looked up at the door knocker and smiled at the animated golden eagle. “Silence.”

The eagle nodded and folded in its wings as the door opened into the Ravenclaw Common Room.

“The riddles vary from easy to hard, but usually you won’t have to wait outside long.” Penny assured the First Years with a warm smile. “If you ever need to be let in, just knock on the door and if anyone is inside the Common Room, they’ll open the door for you.”

The Ravenclaws all entered the Common Room and began heading off to their dorms, girls to the right and boys to the left. The First Years were all turning their heads one way and then another, trying to take in the large room and everything in it as they were shown towards their dorm rooms.

But, seeing as classes started tomorrow, everyone was heading to bed a little early tonight. The perils of September first falling on a weekday that wasn’t Friday.

-Next Morning-

After seeing Astoria off to her first day of classes, the group split up to head for their own first classes of the day. For Harry and Hermione, that was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Arriving in the room, they found most of the class already there and Professor Shacklebolt sitting at his desk, seemingly waiting for the bell to ring. They took a pair of seats that were open and got out their books, parchment, and quills. To be a Senior Auror, surely Shacklebolt had to know what he was doing. So, all of the students gave him their attention, even if they were still holding out on any respect until the lesson started. Lockhart had done a number on student trust when it came to DADA.

Once the last students filed in and took their seats, Shacklebolt stood up from his chair. The bell rang a short time later and the new Professor closed the door with a flick of his wand. “Good morning, students.” Shacklebolt greeted his first class of the day.

There were a few scattered ‘Good mornings’ returned by the students.

“Seeing as your last Professor was…unqualified.” Shacklebolt worded that as professionally as he could. “I thought we’d start today off with a bit of a verbal quiz.” That got some groans from more than a few students. “Now, now, this isn’t being graded.” Shacklebolt assured his students with a chuckle. “This is just to get a general idea of your current knowledge so that I know where to start with your instruction.” That settled the complaints and all of the students sat ready to try and answer questions. “We’ll start with something easy enough: What is the name of the jinx that traps the target in a bubble of water?”

Hermione’s hand raised, along with a few others in the room.

“Mr. Boot?” Shacklebolt called on Terry, probably because he was sitting closer to the back of the classroom.

“Ebublio, sir.” Terry answered, seeming sure of himself.

“Correct, very good, one point to Ravenclaw.” Shacklebolt rewarded the correct answer. Terry smiled at earning a point so easily and on the first day of classes. Now more students were sitting upright and paying attention. “Let’s try something a little harder this time.” Shacklebolt smiled at seeing that he had everyone’s interest now. “What is the incantation for the Projectile Jinx?”

Hermione raised her hand again and this time was called on by Shacklebolt. “Waddiwasi, Professor.” She answered, actually knowing this one as she’d read about it and practiced it a bit last year.

“Correct, Miss Granger, one point for Ravenclaw.” Shacklebolt nodded to her with a grin.

The new Professor had clearly engaged the class now and the questions kept up for the first half of the class. A wrong answer wasn’t punished either, the student simply didn’t earn a point for their House. It was a very effective way to check the class’s knowledge of basic Jinxes and Hexes before moving on to other spells.

‘At least we have a competent Professor this time.’ Harry was happy about that much at least. He’d need to get Shacklebolt’s permission to do self-study this year too. The problem of having a new Professor for DADA each year, and one that only Harry had amongst the students.

-Herbology Greenhouse ~ After Classes-

“Afternoon, Neville.” Harry greeted his friend as he spotted him in the greenhouse.

Neville smiled at seeing Harry, stopping his repotting of a stalk of some kind that seemed to slowly move back and forth. “Good afternoon, Harry. Come to replant your cultivars?” He noticed the six pots floating behind Harry as he walked over to the free potting table next to his.

“Yeah, these six showed the best results, so I’m going to re-pot them and then check them throughout the rest of their growth cycle.” Harry set the six pots down. “If possible, I’d like to breed the best two of each species with each other to make a better second generation.”

“You’ll have to rely on luck for that, Harry. You never know which traits will be expressed in a subsequent generation, even with two good ‘parent’ plants.” Neville cautioned his friend not to get impatient if his luck didn’t pan out.

“Yeah, but I hope having the traits I want in both parents will make the resulting generation more prone to having them too, and if they were even better, then I’d be even happier.” Harry chuckled as he began repotting his first plant, the Boom Berry. “Did you see the article in Herbology Quarterly back in July? The one about the Herbologist group in Asia that successfully raised a small greenhouse of Serene Flowers?” He’d read it after Andromeda had mentioned it, since she was the one with the subscription to the magazine.

“Yeah, that was incredible.” Neville beamed at Harry. “If Serene Flowers feel any hostility at all, then they wither, so they’re ridiculously hard to grow. That they managed to grow even that many is amazing. Usually a Herbologist has to trek out into the deep wilderness to find a Serene Flower and collecting it risks making it wither, so they’re almost never on the market.”

“I’m curious as to what kind of research they’re planning to use them for too.” Harry added new dirt and compost to the empty pot that he was working on. “I bet a ton of Potioneers want to get their hands on the petals, roots, and leaves.”

Neville nodded in agreement as he watered the plant that he’d just finished repotting, the little stalk swaying about as if dancing in the falling water. “With the properties of a Serene Flower, I bet you could produce a powerful Calming Draught, or maybe a really good version of the Wit Sharpening Potion, you know, without the side effects.”

“Potion side effects can be weird.” Harry laughed, making Neville laugh as well as they both continued to work on their own Herbology side projects.

-Ravenclaw Common Room-

Harry approached the door with a satisfied smile. He’d repotted all of his cultivars and Neville had even complimented the six plants, saying that they looked very healthy. Harry considered that good praise, knowing how prodigious Neville was when it came to Herbology. As he stopped in front of the door, the golden eagle door knocker moved.

“The person who makes it has no need of it; the person who buys it has no use for it. The person who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?” The knocker asked him.

Harry hummed in thought for a moment. ‘The person that makes it has no need for it…so something to sell to others. The person who buys it doesn’t use it…do they give it away then? But the person that uses it can’t see or feel it? What would that be?’ He mused on the answer for a bit, disregarding some intangible things since it was something made and probably sold. After going over the riddle a few more times, Harry came to a rather morbid answer. “A coffin.”

The door knocker nodded its head and the door opened.

“Well that one was kind of dark…” Harry certainly hadn’t heard of a riddle like that in his time at Hogwarts. But he shrugged it off and made his way into the Common Room anyway.

-Next Day ~ Care of Magical Creatures-

“Gather round, gather round!” Hagrid was beaming as he motioned the Third Years to come closer. “Today we’ll be learning about some well-loved little beasts for your first class!” He chuckled jovially and patted a covered cage set up on a table next to him.

Harry, Hermione, Daphne, and Tracy all gathered near the front with interest as to what animal Hagrid had chosen for his Third Year classes.

“Can everyone see the cage?” Hagrid checked, getting confirming mutters from various students. “Alright then, I’m sure most of you are familiar with these little fellas.” He removed the cover to reveal that the cage was filled with small round balls of fur, all colored a shade of yellow or off-white, like custard. Occasionally one would stick out a wildly long tongue.

“Puffskeins!” Tracy called out as she cooed at the adorable little beasts.

Hagrid laughed as most of the young students got excited at seeing the popular magical pet. “Aye! I’m betting a few of you have had a Puffskein growing up. Friendly as all get out and easy to raise and care for.” He gently reached into the cage and held his large hand out. Three of the fluffy little animals climbed into his palm without hesitation. “Now, can anyone tell me what Puffskeins eat?”

Daphne raised her hand and Hagrid nodded to her. “Puffskeins are scavengers and will eat almost anything that’s soft enough for them to chew. They use their long tongues to capture moths, spiders, and small edibles that might have fallen off a tree or bush…or the kitchen table.” She giggled, remembering her own little Puffskein from when she’d been small.

“Correct, Miss Greengrass, five points to Slytherin!” Hagrid smiled at the girl. “What are Puffskeins raised for besides being pets?” He looked around and pointed to Padma Patil.

“Their fur has magical properties and is used in Potions, Professor.” Padma answered with a smile.

“That’s right, five points to Ravenclaw, Miss Patil!” Hagrid chuckled as the three Puffskeins in his palm rolled around, lightly tickling his hand. “And Puffskeins don’t mind being tossed around either, because their magical fur protects them!” He tossed the three Puffskeins to Harry, Hermione, and Tracy.

“It’s humming.” Hermione blinked as she held the cute little furball.

“That means it’s happy and content.” Daphne informed Hermione as she lightly petted the Puffskein the muggleborn was holding.

Harry held the Puffskein up to eye level. “You’re very easy to please, aren’t you?” He chuckled when the long tongue came out to lick his cheek once. “Nym had one of you when I was small, barely remember it though.” To be fair, he’d only been about four at the time and his memory from way back when wasn’t the best.

“Come on, I have enough for everyone to hold one.” Hagrid encouraged all of the students to come get a Puffskein to hold. “For this first semester we’ll be raising them and collecting their fur as a Potions ingredient. As long as they stay in good health, we should be able to gather up their clippings at least three times.” He informed his students with a smile, seeing them all happy and eager for the lesson. His course-building sessions with Kettleburn had really paid off and Hagrid was now grateful that he hadn’t tried to introduce his Hippogriffs to the Third Years. ‘But the Seventh Years should like them well enough!’ He couldn’t wait to get to that class.

-Charms Class-

‘Bored…’ Harry had permission to self-study from Flitwick, especially after Harry had earned his own Charms Mastery; but at the moment all Harry wanted to do was not be bored. He looked out the window and could see the mountains beyond the Hogwarts grounds. ‘There’s a huge world out there, filled with all kinds of cultures and their own unique takes on Magic.’ Harry’s curiosity about Magic was always a driving force behind his various projects, and lately he’d found himself ever more curious about the wider world beyond Magical Britain.

“Harry, are you okay?” Hermione asked him quietly as Flitwick continued to teach.

Harry gave her a small smile. “I’m fine, just wondering about the wider world out there.” He whispered back to his best friend.

“You’re going to do something crazy again, aren’t you?” Hermione side-eyed him, knowing of his tendencies when he got curious.

“No…” Harry denied, though the little upturn of his lips ruined his denial.

Hermione sighed a little. “Don’t go crazy to satisfy your curiosity, Harry.”

Harry blinked at her and chuckled lowly. “But what if I go crazy from not satisfying my curiosity?”

“Then I guess you have to satisfy your curiosity a little.” Hermione admitted, even as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Harry thought it was a cute look and told her so. “You look cute when you glare like that.”

Hermione’s eyes widened and her cheeks quickly went rosy red. “Harry!” She lightly bumped him with her elbow, even as a cute smile bloomed on her face.

Harry snickered quietly at Hermione’s reaction, but did enjoy seeing it.

-Library ~ After Classes-

Harry lightly clapped his hands, getting the attention of Daphne, Luna, Astoria, Tracy, and Hermione. “That settles it, I’m going traveling!”

“Harry, no…” Hermione looked at him like he was being crazy. She eyed the book he was reading and noticed the title.

‘Magics of Europe’

“Will you bring back souvenirs?” Luna perked up with a smile. She’d miss her big brother if he was away for a long time, but if it was a short trip then she’d happily wait for him to come back and tell her about it.

“Of course.” Harry pulled her into a side-hug with a smile.

“You know that’s against the rules…” Daphne felt like she had to say it, even if she knew that Harry wouldn’t care much.

“Can I come?” Astoria perked up at the idea of a trip. She’d been far too debilitated by the Blood Malediction for most of her life to ever really travel anywhere.

“No.” Daphne shut that down immediately. Astoria pouted at her big sister, but Daphne wasn’t going to give in. “Pout all you want, but you’re not leaving Hogwarts.”

Tracy was trying not to burst out laughing, her hand covering her mouth as her shoulders shook.

“Now, where should I go first?” Harry flipped through the book he’d been reading.

Thump

A book lightly tapping the top of his head made Harry blink.

“You can start with Hogsmeade…on the specified weekends.” Penelope Clearwater’s voice came from behind Harry. The Head Girl had been passing by and heard Harry’s idea to travel. So, being the Head Girl that she was, she’d lightly admonished the incredible prodigy. He was still a Hogwarts student, regardless of his accomplishments. “You can go anywhere you wish…except outside of Hogsmeade. The rules are very clear that you can’t leave Hogsmeade during the specified weekends.”

Harry tilted his head back until he could look at Penny with a grin. “Taking Hermione and Daphne!” He levitated both girls and then flew away across the library with a wide grin.

“Harry!” Daphne squawked at the sudden flight across the library.

“We’re going to get in so much trouble!” Hermoine was covering her face as other students looked at the flying trio heading for the doors.

Harry only laughed as he felt a spell latch onto him and then safely brought all three of them down to the floor. Once Hermione and Daphne were back on their feet, Harry willingly let Penny lead him off to Professor Flitwick’s office, laughing the whole way even as the Head Girl sighed and gave him a good flick to the forehead for his antics.

Daphne smoothed out her robe with both hands. Her heart still beating rapidly from Harry’s prank. “That boy… I swear he gets a little more eccentric every day.”

“I don’t think Madam Pince saw us, let’s get back to our table before we get in trouble.” Hermione suggested as she started walking while straightening out her own robe. “Harry said that he was getting curious about the wider world outside of Britain, but I didn’t think he was being serious about traveling right now.”

“It’s Harry though…” Daphne mentioned.

A moment passed as they walked towards their table.

“Hah…” Both girls sighed heavily at their friend and his insatiable curiosity.

-Flitwick’s Office-

“Thank you for bringing Mr. Potter, Miss Clearwater, I’ll take it from here.” Flitwick thanked the Head Girl with a smile. He was so proud of her, making Prefect since her Fifth Year and then Head Girl. Penelope was a model student and one of the prides of Ravenclaw House in the last seven years.

“Yes, Professor Flitwick.” Penelope smiled at her favorite Professor as she left his office, closing the door behind her.

Flitwick hopped up into his chair behind his desk and looked at Harry with his perfected ‘Professor’ look that silently asked for an explanation.

“It was just a little prank.” Harry answered without answering.

Flitwick sighed and looked at Harry again. “Mr. Potter, I’d like an explanation about these plans to travel that you mentioned; and that Miss Clearwater overheard.”

“It’s nothing serious, Professor Flitwick.” Harry barely suppressed a grin. “I’m just very curious about the wider world beyond Magical Britain. I thought a quick trip to the continent might allow me to expand my horizons a bit.”

“As a Third Year student, you are permitted to go to Hogsmeade on designated weekends, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick reminded Harry patiently. “But leaving the country during the school year is most certainly out of the question.”

“What If I did it on the weekend so that it didn’t interfere with my classes?” Harry asked politely, yet the grin on his face was filled with mirth. Flitwick recalled seeing it on James Potter’s face many times when Harry’s father had been a student at Hogwarts.

“That’s still going to be out of the question, I’m afraid.” Flitwick denied Harry’s bout of curiosity-driven wanderlust.

“I already self-study in most of my classes, Professor.” Harry showed his age as he tried to bargain with his Head of House. “And if it was just over the weekend, my schooling wouldn’t be interfered with either. I wouldn’t miss a single class.”

“While you are a student of Hogwarts, the faculty has a responsibility and duty to look after you and your wellbeing, Mr. Potter. Doubly so for myself as you are a member of my House. If you are outside of Hogwarts and even Hogsmeade, much less outside of Scotland; how could we ever be sure of where you are or if you’re safe?”

“I’d be fine.” Harry let out a small grumble. “I’m a Charms Master too… And a High Sorcerer at that.”

Flitwick let out a small chuckle at seeing the incredibly gifted Spellcrafter acting his age. “Regardless of your Titles and your astounding accomplishments, Mr. Potter; you are a student and you are expected to follow the same rules as everyone else.”

“I know, sir.” Harry let out a long exhale in frustration. “Is leaving the grounds an expellable offense, Professor?” He looked at the part-Goblin Wizard.

“Mr. Potter, I strongly urge you to rethink your plans or any thoughts you may be having right now.” Flitwick stated, his tone becoming incredibly serious as he stared into the teen’s eyes.

Harry slumped back in his seat with a pout (though he’d deny that he pouted if anyone asked) and let out an annoyed sigh. “Yes, sir. I’ll stay in the castle except on Hogsmeade weekends.” He relented, knowing that he stayed at Hogwarts to be with his friends, and for some of the still interesting things that he could find in the ancient castle.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick smiled at his most prodigious student. “Now, since you’re here, would you like to talk about some Advanced Charms Theory?” Flitwick offered as he pointed his wand and set a kettle of tea to boil.

“I could stay for a little while, sir.” Harry agreed with a smile of his own, a tin of snacks being levitated over to Flitwick’s desk by the Professor. There would be time to try and find ways around the Hogwarts rules later.

‘I’ll have to bring Mr. Potter’s idea of going traveling up with Albus and Minerva soon. I highly doubt he’s actually going to give up on it entirely.’ Flitwick thought to himself as the tea kettle started to whistle as he levitated two teacups over to his desk.

-End Chapter-

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Harry… Don’t you try and go globetrotting on the weekends, mister! Kek!

The prodigious Spellcrafter is just so damn curious, isn’t he?

Forget regular Hogsmeade weekends! Harry wants to go traveling!

But where in Europe would he start?

Albus, Minerva, and Flitwick are going to be rubbing their temples and taking Headache Relieving Potions if Harry’s curiosity, aspirations, and desires start leading him outside of Hogwarts!

Perhaps there is some kind of compromise that can be reached? Or maybe Harry will find other things to pursue this year at Hogwarts?

So many options!

What will Harry do next?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry can’t just waltz out of Hogwarts while he’s still a student. But none of the faculty would believe that the ever-curious prodigy has completely given up on traveling just because it’s against the rules. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick are going to need to discuss this new development. On Harry’s end, he’s got to find a way to curb his boredom or find a way to circumvent Hogwarts’ rules. So both sides have things to think about. Perhaps Harry’s boredom will be alleviated to some degree by others rather than himself? He does have several friends in Hogwarts, after all.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 23 – Pondering Solutions, Teaching Simplicity

-Headmaster’s Office ~ Hogwarts-

Albus Dumbledore sighed lowly, barely a drawn-out exhale of breath, as he finished listening to Filius’s news about Harry Potter. “I suppose it should come as little surprise that a young Wizard as gifted as Mr. Potter would be curious about the wider world.”

“Regardless of his accomplishments, he’s still a student of Hogwarts.” McGonagall had a stern look on her features. “We can’t allow him to break rules with impunity, or bow to his whims whenever he’s struck with a flight of fancy.”

“Of that, we are in total agreement, Minerva.” Flitwick agreed with a nod.

Dumbledore nodded once to show he was of the same mind as his colleagues. “That is true, Mr. Potter mustn’t be given free run of the school. However, I believe we all know that he is unlikely to give up on the idea of traveling entirely.” He saw the looks on McGonagall and Flitwick’s faces, both Professors knew his words to be true. “I shall have a talk with Mr. Potter and remind him of the rules against leaving school grounds. Perhaps a reminder that he’s free to do as he wishes while on break from school will suffice to curb his sudden bout of wanderlust until the Yule Break.”

“I suppose that could work…potentially.” McGonagall looked a bit skeptical.

Flitwick hummed thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. “Is there nothing that we can direct his seemingly boundless curiosity towards for a time?”

“Short of giving him access to sit in on upper year classes or classes that he’s not elected to take, I don’t know what else we could offer to Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore had plenty of things he could allow Harry to study, but several of them were incredibly rare or one-of-a-kind items that he didn’t wish to part with if possible.

All three Professors let out a collective sigh as they pondered on a solution to deal with the most prodigious student to probably ever walk the halls of Hogwarts.

-Hogwarts ~ South Courtyard-

The first of the fallen leaves for the year swirled around in the air under Harry’s will. Astoria and Luna were both laughing as they played about in the orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves. Daphne and Hermione were sitting beside Harry, each of them with a book open as they studied.

“Harry!” Astoria ran through the whirlwind of leaves, several of which stuck to her robes, and nearly landed in his lap. “Teach me Wandless Magic!”

“Nope.” Harry playfully patted her head, ruffling her hair just slightly.

Astoria pouted cutely at him. “Why not?”

“Because you have to ask the right question, Astoria.” Daphne answered for Harry.

“Right question?” Astoria looked confused. “What’s the right question?”

Hermione sighed with a pointed look at Harry; the Spellcrafter only smiled at her look. “We don’t know. None of us have figured it out yet.”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be the right question anymore.” Harry chuckled a bit at the looks he was getting from the three girls. “Not that one person figuring it out would mean that I’d teach anyone they told it to.”

“Why not?” Astoria was curious now. If Daphne asked the right question and then told her, shouldn’t she be allowed to learn Wandless Magic too?

“Because the right question is different for different people.” Harry revealed, making both Daphne and Hermione look at him with wide eyes.

“Are you saying everyone has their own individual ‘right question’?” Hermione asked her best friend in surprise. “You come up with a question for every person that asks you about Wandless Magic?!”

“No, that would be a waste of time.” Harry denied and Hermione nearly facepalmed at the nonchalant response.

“Then what’s the criteria?” Daphne looked at Harry’s green eyes with focus and intent. If she could get some kind of hint or lead, then she’d definitely be able to figure out the ‘right question’ if given some time. She was sure of it.

“It’s all in how the person interprets it.” Harry revealed with a small grin, still making the fallen leaves dance around Luna, who was currently spinning around with her arms held out wide, seemingly dancing with the colorful leaves.

“Interprets the question?” Hermione asked, only to get a small chuckle from Harry. “Wait…” The bookworm took a moment to think, nibbling on her lip while doing so in a way that Harry thought was rather cute. “It’s not the question…but how the person interprets Magic, right?” She looked at Harry as if she’d just had an epiphany.

“It took Nym about this long to figure that out too.” Harry laughed as Hermione and Daphne both looked at each other in a new understanding of their friend’s strange and eccentric mindset.

Astoria looked between Daphne, Harry and Hermione. “I’m confused.”

Harry levitated her into the air, making her squawk in surprise before giggling brightly as she was flown around with the leaves.

“Astoria!” Luna was quickly floating alongside her with a bright, bubbling laughter.

“Hey, Luna!” Harry called out to the small blonde with a smile. “What’s Magic?”

Luna flipped around to look at Harry, still moving along with all of the colorful leaves. “Magic is Magic… It’s whatever it is and whatever it wants to be.” She laid back in the air and drifted among the floating leaves with a laugh.

“Huh?” Daphne was clearly perplexed by Luna’s answer. “What’s that mean?”

“That is Luna’s interpretation of Magic.” Harry smiled fondly at his surrogate little sister. “And why she’s the closest to figuring out her question.”

“What?!” Hermione leaned into Harry’s personal space without thinking about it. “She’s close?! Why? How?” The ever curious Witch had been trying to figure out Wandless Magic for three years now, without finding much of anything on the subject beyond it being incredibly difficult and only for those of significant power and wisdom.

Harry grinned at Hermione while the girl realized how close their faces were and squeaked before moving back to her previous seat.

“I’d also like to know.” Daphne mentioned after trying to parse out Luna’s answer and coming up blank. “It just seems like a non-answer to me.”

“Hmm… How to explain it?” Harry looked thoughtful and both Luna and Astoria were gently set on the ground from their flight. “Ah!” he snapped his fingers and the fallen leaves all began to fall to the ground, except for a handful of them that floated over to Harry. “What’s this?” He took a red leaf in hand.

“A leaf.” Daphne answered.

“It’s a leaf that’s changed colors and fallen from its tree.” Hermione’s answer was longer, but no less correct.

“Are you sure?” Harry questioned them both with a knowing smile. “A leaf. A leaf that has changed colors and fallen from its tree. Both answers are right, but one is more detailed… But when it comes to Magic, both answers can be made wrong.” The red leaf morphed under Harry’s magic and became metal in the same shape. “What is it now?”

“A metal leaf.” Daphne answered, feeling like she was starting to understand.

“A leaf that you transfigured into metal.” Hermione mulled over what Harry was getting at, but it wasn’t quite clicking.

“It’s whatever Magic makes it.” Luna smiled at Harry.

Harry nodded to Luna. “Correct.” He closed his hand around the metal leaf for a moment, and when he opened it again, now a small blade rested in his palm. “In contrast to changing the leaf with Magic, this is changing a leaf through physical means.” He took another of the floating leaves and cut it in half with the blade. “What is this?” Harry held up the two halves to the four girls.

“A leaf you cut in half.” Astoria answered quickly, a smile on her face.

“Yep.” Harry grinned back at the youngest girl. “It’s still a leaf. Still yellow. Still fallen. It’s just in two pieces now.” He held up the small blade in his other hand. “But what am I holding in this hand?”

“A knife.” Daphne said as her blue eyes looked between the knife and the cut leaf.

Harry grinned at her answer.

“Technically it’s a leaf that was transfigured into a knife.” Hermione stated while looking at the blade.

“Is it?” Harry held the knife out to Hermione, handle towards the girl. “Hold it and see if it’s a leaf.”

Hermione gingerly took the blade and looked it over for a moment. “You want me to undo the Transfiguration?” She pulled out her wand while looking at Harry for confirmation.

“If you can.” Harry nodded with a little grin that made Hermione hesitate for a second.

“Finite.” Hermione tapped the blade with her wand and used the general counter-spell to undo the transfiguration.

But nothing happened.

“Huh?” Hermione blinked at still seeing the knife in her hand. “Wait, let me try again.” She placed the tip of her wand on the blade and put more effort into her spell. “Finite!”

The knife was still a knife.

Hermione stared at the knife before looking at Harry. “Harry, are you doing something? Did you do something to protect the transfiguration?”

“No.” Harry shook his head at his best friend.

“Then why can’t I change it back into a leaf?” Hermione questioned. “Finite!” The knife remained even after her third attempt.

“Maybe you’re doing it wrong?” Astoria suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I know how to perform Finite Incantatem properly.” Hermione informed Astoria with a slightly firm tone. Daphne cocked an eyebrow at Hermione for the tone she’d taken with her little sister. “Sorry, Astoria, I’m just rather confused and it’s making me annoyed.”

“Apology accepted.” Astoria grinned, clearly not really caring.

Luna put her hand on Hermione’s shoulder with a smile. “You can’t make something into something else with Finite Incantatem, right? It’s not Transfiguration.”

“But you can undo Transfiguration with it! The books say so!” Hermione replied with her firm belief in the written material that they were studying at Hogwarts.

“They do say that.” Harry nodded to Hermione with a little smile. “But why don’t you try Luna’s idea anyway?”

Hermione took a deep breath and then a long exhale to calm herself down. “Scribblifors!” A purple light left her wand and struck the knife. The metal warped and then turned into a white feather writing quill. “It worked!” She beamed at her success before looking at Harry in confusion. “Why did it work?”

“Because you changed it.” Harry answered simply.

“But I couldn’t change it back into a leaf.” Hermione was just getting more perplexed now.

“You could turn it into a leaf if you wanted to.” Harry shrugged with a small grin.

“This isn’t like what the books say at all…” Hermione had success with Finite Incantatem to undo the effects of all kinds of spells in her time at Hogwarts. But to see it fail and a simple Transfiguration spell like Scribblifors work instead was confusing her greatly.

Daphne gently took the quill from Hermione and pulled out her wand. “Reparifarge.” She used the general un-Transfiguration spell on the quill and everyone watched it revert back into the knife. “Reparifarge.” She tapped the knife again, but the blade remained the same. “It still didn’t turn back into a leaf…” Daphne looked at Harry in confusion now. “Why not?”

“Your interpretation of Magic is different from mine.” Harry told Daphne with a chuckle. “Transfiguration is changing the form of things, conjuring things into being, or vanishing them from being, right?” He got nods from all four girls. “But what if you simply change the thing and not just its form?”

“Huh?” Astoria tilted her head, now being completely lost.

Luna grinned at Harry brightly. “Then it would be the thing.”

“Exactly, Luna.” Harry patted her head with a laugh.

“Can…can you explain that a bit more, Harry, please?” Hermione requested, and Harry nearly laughed as he could practically hear the gears grinding together in his best friend’s head.

“Do you remember what I told you about Identifying Charms and inanimate objects, Hermione?” Harry tried to jog her memory.

“Exactly, you’d need the stone’s information, that’s where Naming comes in. If I want granite, then I ask for it by the name it was given. The stone has no ability to be concerned or to care about what it is called across the multitudes of languages. Its Name is all of them as long as the person using an Identifying Charm knows what they’re looking for.” Harry informed his friend with a smile.

Hermione recalled what Harry had told her back in First Year after the Troll incident. “You said inanimate objects have no ability to be concerned about what they’re called.”

“Exactly.” Harry held up the knife he’d made. “A leaf doesn’t know it’s a leaf. It has no Identity of itself, only the names that sapient beings give it. So…through how I interpret Magic, what if I simply change its being into another inanimate object?”

“You’d change its Identity…” Daphne nearly gasped at the idea. “You can’t do it with living creatures that understand their own Identity, can you?”

“Nope.” Harry shook his head. “Identity cannot be changed if the one that holds said Identity has accepted it as theirs, wholly and fully, from their beginning. It will always be the core of their being, regardless of what happens to their mind or body.”

“So, the knife is a knife because you made it a knife?” Astoria giggled out at the silly sentence.

Harry patted her head with a smile. “Yep, good job, Astoria.” The girl preened at understanding the idea that Harry had explained. “It’s no different than taking raw metal and forging it into a knife for all intents and purposes.”

“I think I need a second…” Hermione said, looking as if she needed to try and wrap her head around this new concept that wasn’t in any of the books she’d ever read.

“Understanding allows us to define Principles, but it’s our own Interpretation that allows us to derive Aspects, and then designate Effects.” Harry simplified his ‘lesson’ into a single sentence.

“Principles, Aspects, and Effects… That’s how you make spells!” Hermione recalled the times she’d watched Harry create a spell.

“Simple, isn’t it?” Harry laughed at the bright look of understanding on Hermione’s face.

Daphne looked like Christmas had come early with a bright smile on her face. “Can you teach us spells that way, Harry? Please?”

“I want to learn too, please!” Astoria raised her hand into the air like she was in class.

“I’ll learn if you teach me, Harry.” Luna nodded with a giggly laugh, happy that her friends were excited.

Harry looked over at Hermione with a raised eyebrow. “My way is not found in any book that I know of… Is that acceptable?” He pointed out Hermione’s reliance and belief in the words written by others whenever she had a question or musing about something.

“I’ll leave my books in my dorm.” Hermione agreed after a solid minute of looking between her friends and then down at her lap.

“Yay!” Luna and Astoria cheered, making Hermione smile at both of them.

Harry laughed at the exuberance of his little sisters and even the excited look in Daphne’s eyes. “Okay then, I’ll teach you simplicity.” He agreed while raising the knife he’d made up to eye-level. Before the girls’ eyes they watched the metal lose its luster and become transparent, then lose its cohesion as it fell to the ground as water, splattering on the stones and leaves that covered the courtyard. “Can anyone guess the Principle that I used to make the knife change?”

The first lesson in simplicity began right then and there.

-Later-

‘There’s ways out of Hogwarts that most others don’t know about.’ Harry mused as he walked through the corridors of the castle. ‘Secret passages definitely exist within the castle,’ He made frequent use of them already. ‘Sirius even told me that there are passages out of the castle and grounds too.’ After thinking over where such passages could be hidden as he walked, Harry came upon an idea to make finding them easier. “I know a certain pair of pranksters that would probably know ways to sneak out of the castle.” He smirked as a ball of light appeared before him (though only he could see it). “George Weasley.” He spoke his target’s name to his personal Locator spell. The ball of light moved ahead of him, leading him along towards the unsuspecting Weasley Twin.

Two staircases, four turns, a door that pretended to be a wall, and then a short corridor led Harry to a long abandoned classroom. A quick glance with his improving Mage Sight spell and he saw that the door was locked with something a bit stronger than the average Colloportus Charm.

‘I could unlock it myself… But let’s startle them a bit.’ Harry decided to pull his own prank and knocked on the door strongly.

“What the?!”

“Who?!”

“Watch it!”

BAFF

What sounded like a strangely muffled explosion went off behind the door and Harry was happy to wait for the Twins to open the door.

A few seconds later and Fred (according to his Locator Spell not changing color) opened the door, letting a brief cloud of smoke out of the room. “Profess…or… Harrikins?” Fred blinked at who’d knocked on the door to his and George’s hidden workshop.

“Afternoon Fred, how’re things?” Harry snickered at the disheveled-looking teen.

“George, it’s only Harrikins! No need to hide everything!” Fred called back into the room. “That was a small prank you got us with.” He mentioned with a grin. “We were in the middle of working out a new product.”

“Terribly sorry about that.” Harry chuckled and Fred opened the door for him to come in. “George, how’re you today?”

George Weasley was covered in some soot from the potion set that was still smoking slightly on a table against the far wall. “Just peachy, Harrikins.” He replied with a shake of his head. “So… What can…”

“We do…” Fred continued.

“For you?” George finished.

“I’m looking for secret passages out of Hogwarts.” Harry told them plainly.

“Well, we might…” Fred began.

“Be able to…” George went next.

“Help you out…” Fred continued.

“With such a…” George kept the back and forth going.

“Thing, Harrikins.” Fred finished with a grin that was matched by his twin.

“I’d appreciate it.” Harry smiled at the pranksters. Both teens suddenly felt a slight chill in the air. “I knew you two would be able to help without any tricks.”

“Y-Yeah…” Fred nodded quickly.

“Of c-course, Harrikins…” George agreed with a slight stutter.

Harry continued to smile as the Twins scrambled to pull out a worn piece of parchment. “Hm?” He held up his hand and the two teens stopped what they were doing. Harry placed his finger on the parchment. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” Thin ink lines began to spread like a spider’s web from the point that Harry’s finger had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment: then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words that proclaimed:

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aid to Magical Mischief-Makers

Are proud to present

The Marauder’s Map

What was now shown on the previously innocuous-looking old parchment was a full map of Hogwarts and its grounds. But the most interesting part of the map were the little ink dots moving about, each labeled with the name of the person they represented.

“Huh, you guys found the Marauder’s Map? Sirius was sure that Filch would’ve burned it.” Harry mentioned to the Twins. He’d grown up hearing tales of this map and the exploits it allowed his father and Sirius to get up to with Moony and Wormtail.

“How do you know about the Marauder’s Map, Harrikins?!” Fred and George asked at the same time.

“My father, James Potter, was Prongs; and my godfather, Sirius Black, was Padfoot.” Harry pointed at the two names atop the map. “This was confiscated by Filch when they were still in school.”

“That would explain…” George began the twin speak again.

“Why we found it…” Fred continued on.

“In Filch’s office…” George kept going.

“And nicked it…” Fred grinned.

“For ourselves.” George grinned to match his twin.

Harry looked over the Marauder’s Map that he’d heard stories about and smiled. “Brilliant!” He looked up at Fred and George. “You two mind if I hold onto this for a while?”

“I mean…” Fred rubbed the back of his head.

“Your dad and godfather helped make it…” George motioned to the map.

“It seems like it would…” Fred nodded to George’s statement.

“Be in bad taste…” George grinned at Harry.

“To keep it from you.” Fred patted Harry on the back with a laugh.

Harry took the map with a smile, before grinning at the Twins. “Do you two want to meet Padfoot sometime? Maybe over one of the breaks?”

“Absolutely!” George and Fred both beamed at Harry for the invite. To get to meet one of the Marauders after basically receiving help from them for their own pranks and mischief would be amazing!

From there, the Twins pointed out the secret passages that Filch knew about. The one that they’d used until last year that had caved in and become blocked. And the three that led to Hogsmeade.

“Just stay away from the one under the Whomping Willow.” Fred cautioned while pointing to it on the map.

“I don’t reckon anyone has ever used it before with that dangerous tree planted right above the exit.” George shook his head.

“Got it.” Harry grinned as that left two different passages to get out of Hogwarts and to Hogsmeade. From there, it was only a matter of flying to wherever he decided to go. “Enjoy your afternoon, gentlemen.” Harry conjured a top hat on his head, only to take it off and hold it over his chest as he bowed to the Twins.

“Go cause some mischief, Harrikins!” Fred and George waved him off with laughter.

Harry vanished the top hat and left the room a moment later.

“Hmm… I liked that top hat trick at the end.” George chuckled as they locked the door again.

“We could probably do it too.” Fred laughed as they cleaned the potion set with a wave of their wands. “Don’t mess it up this time.”

“Oi!” George playfully shoved his twin. “Harrikins startled me last time!”

The two pranksters were quick to start measuring out their ingredients as they set the cauldron on the fire. They couldn’t have their dream Joke Shop after they graduated if they didn’t have a line of products, all field tested at Hogwarts and proven to work!

-Ravenclaw Tower ~ Rooftop-

Harry sat atop the tower and looked over the map of Britain, floating in front of him was a map of France. “It’s a far distance to where I’d like to go from here.” The distance alone was a bit of a damper, as Harry wasn’t so sure that he could maintain his Flight spell for that long. “Hmm, perhaps I could ask for a good broom for Christmas? Or I could potentially buy one of my own in Hogsmeade…they have a broom shop.” The Spellcrafter mused aloud as he measured out the distance between the two locations. ‘It would be much easier to Apparate, but even Sirius has kept me from really observing it much, just so that I don’t figure it out on my own. Even Nym wouldn’t teach me when I asked!’ He grumbled a little about that.

Harry’s family knew him well though. And if the prodigious and ever curious boy figured out Apparation, there was no telling where he’d end up. Thus, they’d made sure to keep Apparation out of Harry’s hands, even going out of their way to use the Floo more, despite Sirius, Tonks, Andromeda, and Ted all having Apparation licenses.

“Well, I can still teach my friends for now. Explore for more routes out of Hogwarts too. There may yet be a way in and out that’s not known to anyone still alive.” Harry grinned to himself as he patted the pocket of his robe where the Marauder’s Map was. He had plenty of time to hunt for such hidden secrets.

-Headmaster’s Office ~ The Next Day-

Harry rode the spiraling stone staircase upwards towards Dumbledore’s office. He chuckled that the password to get the stone gargoyle to move had been Lemon Drops. It seemed ridiculous, but very much fit with what he’d observed of Albus Dumbledore over his time at Hogwarts.

“Mr. Potter, come in.” Dumbledore called out before Harry could even knock.

Harry shook his head and opened the door, entering the large office and looking around in interest at all it contained. His eyes zeroed in on the phoenix on its perch and smiled at the red and gold bird. “Good afternoon, Fawkes.”

“Breehh~” Fawkes trilled in greeting, the sound alone making Harry smile as his mood was slightly boosted.

“Good afternoon, Headmaster.” Harry greeted Dumbledore next, something that seemed to amuse the old man.

“Please, have a seat, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Lemon Drop?”

“Thank you.” Harry summoned one of the candies to his hand and popped it into his mouth after a quick use of his personal Identification Charm. Sirius had gotten him with pranked food and candies a few times growing up, so Harry always checked out of habit nowadays.

“Do you know why I called you to my office, Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore asked in a friendly manner.

Harry took a second to adopt a thinking pose and be a little dramatic about what he could’ve possibly done. “I can only think of one thing, Headmaster.”

“And that would be?” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles.

“You want to tell me not to go traveling during the school year.” Harry answered easily while relaxing back into the chair.

Dumbledore nodded to the boy. “Precisely, Mr. Potter.”

“I already told Professor Flitwick that I wouldn’t.” Harry sighed, showing his age to the wizened old man.

“As someone that was considered quite the gifted student during my time at Hogwarts, I can say with some surety that the thought probably hasn’t left your mind entirely.” Dumbledore chuckled lightly as Harry looked at him. “I do understand the lure of the wider world, Mr. Potter. There are a great number of things beyond the shores of Britain that you cannot find here.”

Harry exhaled and looked out the large window on one side of the office. “I’d love a chance to go out and see some of it for myself. Even if it was just one of the countries across the Channel.”

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. Magical Britain was known as one of the more stringent and ‘backward’ countries when it came to some of their laws and customs. With Harry’s gifted mind it was little wonder that the boy wanted to see things from a different perspective. To discover something new to him and try it out. “I can understand the desire to learn and experience new things, Mr. Potter. Some may think scholarly pursuits are boring, but those same people only liken it to studying books in a library or archive, rather than what it really is…traversing the world and learning firsthand.” He smiled when he saw Harry grin and nod along.

“Exactly! That’s what I tell Hermione too!” Harry mentioned with a little chortle.

“Alas, I’m afraid we cannot allow you to leave Hogwarts during the school year to wander the wider world, Mr. Potter. As the ones responsible for your safety and wellbeing while you are a student here, we would not be able to keep you safe if you were outside the grounds.” Dumbledore restated what Flitwick had already told the Spellcrafter.

“Yes, sir.” Harry nodded to Dumbledore. He tried not to show his annoyance, but Dumbledore had been a teacher for decades and was easily able to spot the look.

“Yule Break will be here before you know it, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore reminded Harry with a smile. “I’m sure your family could take you on a trip over the break.”

“I suppose they could.” Harry could ask, but it felt like more fun to do it himself. The spark of teenage rebellion in him wasn’t wild or destructive, just curious and more than willing to bend a few rules (and break a couple) to see and learn what he wanted. “I’ll do what I can to keep myself focused while staying within Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, sir.”

“Thank you for being mature about this, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled at the boy. “Please enjoy the rest of your afternoon and evening.”

Harry stood up from the chair with a nod. “I will, Headmaster.” He turned to look at Fawkes with a grin. “I don’t suppose you’ve rethought letting me have a feather or a few tears?”

“Breeaaa…” Fawkes’s trill was flatter this time, the phoenix didn’t seem amused by Harry’s words.

“Stingy.” Harry stuck his tongue out at the red and gold bird before heading for the door.

Once the door was closed, Dumbledore relaxed back into his chair with a sigh that matched the weight of his age. “If only Tom had been more like Mr. Potter.” The Headmaster murmured to himself, once more comparing the two students that had walked these same halls, just separated by almost fifty years. ‘Both prodigies in the Magical Arts, with great understanding of Magic. But one is curious about Magic, while the other used it as a tool for power and his own hatred against the world.’ Dumbledore thought to himself as he absently unwrapped a Lemon Drop and popped the candy into his mouth. ‘At least it was Harry that was so advanced as to already become a High Sorcerer at such a young age.’ He allowed himself to relax for a short time with that small bit of comfort. For a while he reminisced on all that he could’ve done better with the clarity of hindsight.

“Breeah~” Fawkes trilled in an attempt to lift his friend’s mood.

Dumbledore looked over to the phoenix and gave it a small smile. “Thank you, old friend. I should get back to it.” He opened the third drawer from the top on the left hand side of his desk. Dumbledore pulled out a stack of parchment, a notebook, and the half-burned Diary that Harry had brought back at the end of last year. “Now…where did you disappear to after you left Borgin’s employ?”

Dumbledore knew a bit of Tom Riddle’s life before coming to Hogwarts, and despite not having the evidence to accuse him of anything, he knew a very good deal of what the boy had done at Hogwarts as a student. But it was after he’d left Hogwarts that it had gotten difficult to keep track of his wayward student. Being employed at Borgin and Burke’s in Knockturn Alley had been a surprise, but did make keeping tabs on Tom easier. It was after he suddenly left that he’d seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth for years.

“But it was in those travels that you immersed yourself in the foulest of Magics.” Dumbledore murmured as he went through some of the parchments and looked for any hints that would place Tom in various places and countries over the years he’d been missing. “I need to know where you went, to confirm what I’m beginning to suspect.” He eyed the destroyed Diary warily, his previous tests leaving him with a few options as to what it had been…and none of them were anything but Dark Magic of the most twisted variety. “I need to find Horace as well.” Tom Riddle had always been freer in his discussions with his old Head of House; so there may yet be some information with his former Potions Professor.

There were also the talks and planning starting for next year as well, but Dumbledore didn’t have to worry about that until tomorrow evening after dinner. Maxime, Karkaroff, Crouch, and Bagman all had things to do that kept them busy, much like Dumbledore himself did. But to revive the Tri-Wizard Tournament would take much planning and cooperation.

-End Chapter-

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Harry is still plotting to go traveling. Teenage rebellion! Kek!

But, while the Professors strongly try to dissuade him from doing so, Harry will keep himself occupied with other things.

Like teaching!

Hermione, Daphne, Luna, and Astoria are getting some new lessons from Harry in what he’s dubbed ‘Simplicity’.

Will the girls understand the concepts? Are they getting closer to figuring out their individual ‘right questions’?

Harry also got the Marauder’s Map from Fred and George! That could come in handy for the next few years, huh? *Hehehehehe~*

What will Harry do next?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry begins teaching the girls ‘Simplicity’, a method of Spellcrafting that removes all the excess and simplifies the process into near-universal spells. Or as Harry calls them: “Good spellcraft.” Kek! Will this be enough to keep the prodigious Spellcrafter from wandering off to who knows where? Also, whatever happened after Quirrel’s death in first year? What became of Voldemort’s shade?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 24 – Simplicity, Interests, and Shadows

In the old classroom that Harry had taken over for the lessons with the girls, the four girls were currently going through another lesson in what Harry dubbed ‘simplicity’.

“Okay, so I don’t need the wand movements or the incantation?” Astoria looked between Harry and her wand a couple of times.

Harry chuckled at the adorable confusion on the First Year’s face. “Technically speaking, no one does. They’re mnemonic patterns to help you remember, focus, and then achieve the spell that you’re trying to cast.” Harry explained to Astoria with an easy smile. “But they teach silent casting starting in Sixth and Seventh Year here at Hogwarts, and some even learn point casting before they graduate. Once you really know a spell, you’ll find it as easy to cast as simply wanting to.”

“True enough…” Daphne had to agree. Her own experience with the Flagrante Curse, taught to her by her mother for self-defense, had eventually led her to be able to cast it silently and with barely any wand movement.

“But you take that even further, Harry.” Hermione said, looking at the tip of her wand with a focused expression. “Your ‘simplicity’ makes a single, near-universal, spell for a specific Branch of Magic that’s capable of a whole host of tasks.”

“Yep.” Harry nodded to her with a grin. “There’s no need to make a hundred spells, each doing the same thing, but with slightly different conditions and limitations. All you really need is a single spell that can do it all.”

Daphne shook her head at Harry with a small grin. “Only you, Harry, would make that sound so simple.”

“Isn’t it that simple?” Harry cocked his head to the side with a raised eyebrow.

“Is it?” Luna asked with an equally curious look.

“I think so.” Harry grinned at Luna, seeing that she had the tip of her wand lit up with a Lumos Charm and hadn’t used the incantation for it.

Hermione grimaced at her lack of progress. “I don’t think it’s that simple at all.”

“Hmm…” Harry adopted a thinking expression for a moment. “Alright,” He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. “Hermione, what’s two plus two?”

“Four.” Hermione answered automatically.

“What about two times two?” Harry questioned her again.

“Four.” Hermione looked at Harry oddly.

“So the answer is the same, even if you used a different operation to get to it, yes?” Harry led her towards what he wanted her to understand.

“Yes, that’s obvious, it’s just basic math.” Hermione wasn’t making the connection to spellwork from the sudden questions.

“So one plus one plus one plus one is still four, right?” Harry tried not to let his amusement show, knowing that it would mildly annoy his best friend.

Hermione nodded to Harry. “It is…obviously.”

“Okay then, so if Intent plus Focus plus Wand Movement plus Incantation equals Spell…what can you simplify?” Harry posed the question to her in the logic of mathematics.

“Well…since silent casting and point casting are possible…you’d remove the wand movements and the incantation…so would it be intent multiplied by focus?” Hermione asked after a moment to think about the ‘equation’ that Harry had created.

“Why don’t you find out?” Harry motioned to her wand with a grin.

Hermione took a deep breath and focused on what she wanted, the Lumos Charm. She focused as hard as she could, thinking about every time that she’d ever used the spell. She drove her intent to make light into her focus and nearly blinded herself when a large ball of light appeared on the tip of her wand. “Ah!” The light went out from the lack of focus. Hermione rubbed at her eyes for a moment and then looked at her wand again. “I…I did it…”

“Uh huh.” Harry nodded to her with a smile.

“Congratulations, Hermione.” Luna clapped for her friend.

Daphne politely applauded as well. “Well, now I have to get this right next, otherwise I’m going to lose respect as the big sister.” She looked over at Astoria (clapping beside Luna) with a grin.

“I’m gonna win!” Astoria giggled and went back to focusing on the Lumos Charm, trying to make the spell appear through only intent and focus, rather than the four steps that they were taught in the beginning weeks of Hogwarts.

Hermione, eager to reproduce her results, repeated the new process of amplifying her intent with her tremendous focus. Another Lumos appeared at the tip of her wand, this time smaller and not as blindingly bright. “I did it!” Hermione beamed at her success, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement and acting her age.

“You’ve taken the first step into simplicity, Hermione.” Harry praised her with a chuckle. “From here, you’ll need to determine your own Interpretation of Magic, and progress with it.”

“Yes!” Hermione smiled brightly at Harry before throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Harry returned the hug with a smile and counted down in his head. ‘Three… Two… One…’ Hermione stepped back with a red face from her impulsive hug.

“Sorry, Harry, I was just…” Hermione tried to apologize, only to be cut off when Harry pulled her into a hug.

“No worries, Hermione.” Harry squeezed her once before letting her go.

Daphne playfully rolled her eyes at the two of them. “Where’s my hug?”

Harry looked at her with a grin. “I don’t remember you succeeding yet.”

“Prat.” Daphne stuck her tongue out at Harry for a moment, something she’d picked up from Tracy, before refocusing on the task at hand.

Luna sat next to Harry as she repeatedly made a Lumos appear on the tip of her wand, before making it go out, only to bring it back. “This is easier than the first lesson.” She grinned at her big brother.

“Maybe I was a bit overzealous with the first one.” Harry admitted with a laugh. “Trying to teach the concept of universal inanimate to inanimate permanent Transfiguration might’ve been a bit much.”

“You think so?” Luna asked with a bubbly laugh.

To Harry it wasn’t that complex. It was merely using the Principle of Identity, deriving the Aspect of Naming, to then get the Effect of changing the name, and therefore the Identity, of an inanimate object. That would permanently change it into the new object, just like he’d done with the leaf that he’d turned into metal and then into a knife, before finally turning it into water.

“Whoa!” Daphne exclaimed, getting Harry’s attention, along with the large Lumos Charm that went out a second later. “My eyes!” The ravenette closed her eyes and shook her head, still seeing spots even behind her eyelids.

“Congratulations, Daphne.” Hermione smiled at her friend’s success.

Daphne kept her eyes closed, trying to make the spots go away. “Nearly blinded myself.”

“That’ll happen if you look directly into a bright light.” Harry informed her with a cheeky grin.

“Ha…ha…ha…” Daphne’s fake laugh couldn’t have held more sarcasm if she tried.

Harry wrapped Daphne in a hug with a chuckle. “Good job, Daphne.”

“H-Harry!” Daphne sputtered and her eyes flew open in surprise from the hug.

“What? You said you wanted a hug earlier.” Harry snickered at the flushed girl.

“Don’t make me hex you, Mister.” Daphne glared at Harry the best she could with small spots still dancing in her vision.

Harry let her go with a laugh and Daphne turned to look in the opposite direction so no one could see her blushing cheeks. While turned away and getting herself composed, Daphne began to practice on using Lumos like she’d done before, silent and point casted.

“Aww…I lost.” Astoria pouted at Daphne succeeding before her.

“It’s not a race, Astoria.” Harry reassured the youngest girl with a smile. “You’ll get it if you keep practicing.” He patted her head and Astoria perked up a bit, smiling up at her surrogate big brother.

-Monday, October 11^th-

Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, Tracy, Luna, and Harry were all in the library after classes, planning to get some newly assigned homework done, or just study their own interests. Tracy and Astoria were going over one of the First Year’s assignments, while Hermione and Luna were doing the same with Luna’s current essay. Harry was looking through a small stack of tomes, all of them regarding either Potions or Herbology. Daphne, meanwhile, had a book in front of her that she was reading and occasionally taking notes from.

“Healing Magic, huh?” Harry spoke after putting aside one of the books he was looking through and noticing the book that Daphne had in front of her.

Daphne looked up from the book and gave Harry a small smile. “Yeah. I think I want to give being a Healer a try after graduation.” She still remembered how amazing it had felt to have Harry remove the Blood Malediction from her, healing her of the blood curse. “I think I want to help people…like you did for me, Harry.”

Harry returned the smile. “That’s a wonderful thing, Daphne.”

“Healer Greengrass, huh?” Tracy smiled at her best friend. “Would I get a discount for treatments?”

“Nah, I’d charge you double.” Daphne laughed at Tracy’s stunned face.

“Hey!” Tracy playfully bumped Daphne with her shoulder, laughing along with her.

Hermione shook her head at the pair with a small smile. “It’s not a bad idea to think about what you might want to do after graduation. But you two should be quieter before Madam Pince comes over here.” She glanced towards the front of the large Hogwarts Library, still seeing Madam Pince there, but knowing the librarian would come over if the noise got too loud.

Daphne and Tracy both looked over to the front of the library as well as they quieted down. The two returned to what they’d been doing previously, Tracy helping Astoria while Daphne continued her reading and note-taking.

“Healing Magic is pretty interesting.” Daphne mused aloud after reading another page. “You can really help people with it, but if you use it wrong or aren’t good at it, you could end up causing the person more harm. It’s almost like a balancing act.”

“It’s the same way with Non-Magical Medicine.” Hermione said, knowing a bit about the subject thanks to both of her parents being Dentists. Daphne looked up at that and then quickly noted it down on her parchment.

‘I’ll look into Muggle medicine later too.’ Daphne made the mental note along with the physical one. It couldn’t hurt to learn and might even lead to a breakthrough in her own newfound goal of becoming a Healer.

Harry smiled to himself as he read from the book that he’d just flipped open. ‘Getting there, Daphne. But you still have a step or two before you figure it out, I’d say.’ The Spellcrafter thought to himself, pleased by the progress that his friends were making on their own paths to exploring Magic. Harry flipped a page and read the chapter title with a small grin.

Magical Plants – Pollination and Seed Improvement

-Tuesday, October 12^th ~ Hogwarts Greenhouse-

“Coming along nicely, aren’t you?” Harry smiled happily at seeing his six chosen cultivars growing so well in their pots. To his eyes, they looked vibrant and healthy, indicating that they were receiving plenty of nutrition and water, and had the right soil chemistry. To his Mage Sight spell, he saw the developing magic within the plants as they grew, each of them growing at a steady pace and building up magic in the parts of the plant that would be used in Potions. “It’ll be time to pollinate you, soon enough. Then we’ll put the new information I looked up to use and make sure your seeds are as good as possible.”

The greenhouse door opened and Neville walked in with a small bag in his hands. “Afternoon, Harry.” He smiled at seeing his friend.

“Afternoon, Nev.” Harry returned the greeting with a smile of his own. “What’s that you’ve got there?” He nodded towards the bag.

“Ah, my great-aunt, Enid, sent me some special fertilizer made with Re’em manure.” Neville set the small bag on the table next to his own plant. The stalk that was constantly swaying back and forth at a slow pace now had three small branches on it, each with four green leaves. “It’s expensive fertilizer, but it should get my Electroginkgo biloba to grow really well.”

“I had wondered what that little dancing stalk was.” Harry grinned at the swaying stalk.

“Most just call them Thunder Ginkgo. They’re native to East Asia, like their non-Magical cousins, but if you take care of them well, you can make a strong extract from their leaves that’s a great potion ingredient.” Neville explained with a longing look at the swaying stalk. “Supposedly it’s been used in various treatments in the East for years, everything from heart and blood conditions, to eye conditions, and even brain injuries and diseases.”

“Where do the ‘electro’ and ‘thunder’ parts come in?” Harry asked as he turned away from his own pots to look at Neville fully.

“Oh, they can survive getting struck by lightning, and if they’re under attack, they can shock whatever is attacking them, kind of like an electric eel.” Neville explained with a small smile.

“Is it safe to grow it here?” Harry asked with a chuckle, knowing that several accidents happened in the various year-levels of Professor Sprout’s class.

Neville nodded to Harry as he opened the bag of Re’em fertilizer. “It’ll be fine, Professor Sprout is taking precautions to make sure no plants owned by a student are disturbed.” He began filling a new planter (larger than the current pot the tiny sapling was in) with a mixture of fresh soil and the fertilizer.

Harry got the impression that Neville was trying to grow the exotic and potentially dangerous tree for a specific reason. His friend hadn’t brought it up though, and Harry wasn’t one to pry into the personal lives of others for no reason. But Neville seemed happy to be raising the sapling and Harry smiled at his buddy’s back before turning back to his own pots. He had preparations to make for pollination and the seed extraction that would follow a bit later.

‘Herbology is kind of relaxing though.’ Harry thought as he prepared his cultivars for pollination. It was one reason that he had an interest in it and something that Andromeda had introduced him to when he was young.

-Beauxbatons Academy-

The Palace of Beauxbatons was a beautiful chateau surrounded by majestic gardens and fountains magically created out of the surrounding mountains. The school looked very impressive despite having stood for over seven hundred years. It being taken care of inside and out to maintain the beauty of the building and grounds, something that Magical France took some pride in for their Magic Academy. Order and cleanliness were valued at the school, so creatures and things that would disrupt them were warded against or repelled immediately upon discovery.

On this particular October day, one student could be found outside the well-maintained grounds and gardens of the school. Far away from the palace, the gardens, but most importantly, the other students and teachers, sat Fleur Delacour.

The Veela teen had her legs crossed and would appear to be meditating to an onlooker. That wasn’t quite the case, but also wasn’t too far off, either. As Fleur breathed in slowly, everything seemed perfectly normal. When she exhaled just as slowly, however, things changed.

FWOOSH

A ring of flames erupted into existence around Fleur, the orange-red flames with the purple tint to them, marking them as Veela fire, swirled around Fleur in a perfect circle roughly three meters in diameter. As she inhaled again, the Veela fire vanished, leaving only a perfectly circular scorch mark on the ground.

“Hah…” Fleur exhaled slowly once more, the ring of Veela fire bursting back into existence to burn around her. “Merde…” She sighed, seeing the circle of flames around her. Ever since her Magic had recovered from her Duel with Harry near the end of the summer, Fleur’s magical power had grown a great deal. It was such that if she wasn’t careful in her control, she could overpower a spell or briefly let out a burst of her Veela fire. “What did you do to me, Harry?” She wondered, her mind once more going back to that day.

Her body shivered in phantom pleasure and she shook her head to stop reliving the feelings and sensations of bathing in Primal Fire. Fleur still vividly recalled reaching her peak more powerfully than she ever had before, or since, that day and it made her more primal Veela nature flare up a little just recalling it. Thankfully, she’d long since mastered her Veela-born gifts, and hadn’t had a partial, or Magic forbid, full transformation into the more avian form that her people used in defense of their lives. That would be so embarrassing for a young woman of her age to do, and she knew the other Veela within the school would tease her about it for years afterwards if it happened.

Fleur once more calmed herself and the burning circle of Veela fire vanished. ‘It had to be the Primal Fire.’ She thought to herself as she controlled her Magic and focused on it to the exclusion of all else. ‘The Flame of Creation is spoken of in Veela history and folklore as the source of our people and our Magic. Perhaps bathing in it truly does impart more magical power to a Veela?’ Fleur had only the history and tales of the Veela to really go on since most Witches and Wizards couldn’t conjure Primal Fire to begin with outside of a lengthy ritual. Harry’s letter in response to her revealing the growth of her Magic had said that he’d look into what he could, and the follow up letter she’d received the day before she’d returned to Beauxbatons had been filled with Harry’s hypotheses about how Primal Fire interacted with Veela and other fire-aligned beings.

“Could it truly be an essence of fire that I felt within me after our Duel?” Fleur murmured to herself as she stood up and called forth her flames to her right hand. With some focus, the flames shaped themselves into a crude imitation of a bow. Fleur touched the flames and pulled them back, drawing out an ‘arrow’ of fire. With a thought, she let go of the arrow and it maintained its shape as it flew through the air for dozens of meters before dispersing into nothing. “Having to work so hard on control isn’t something I ever had to do before.” Fleur sighed as she made another fire arrow on her flaming bow and fired it into the open air, burning off a bit more of her excess Magic, while also slowly refining her control over her greater magical power.

If the Primal Fire was responsible for her sudden boost, it was a great discovery that could help the Veela people as a whole, grow stronger. However, if the drawback was such a disparity in their control over their Magic, then it wasn’t something that she could recommend wholeheartedly for everyone. Just like Witches and Wizards, Veela were born with Magic and it grew stronger as they got older and started using it. Control was learned from a young age and in school they were taught spells so that they could use their Magic safely and responsibly. A lack of control over one’s Magic was usually unheard of outside of contracting a Magical illness of some kind.

“Yet here I am, working on control like a child.” Fleur let out a long breath as she fired another fire arrow. She’d never really done archery before, but this seemed like a good way to both burn off some excess energy and refine her control until it was as good as it had been before her Duel with Harry. “It’s certainly better than just throwing flames everywhere until I’m back at an equilibrium.” It was doubly important for today, since their Dueling Club was meeting after dinner. Fleur didn’t want to overpower a spell and severely injure someone…or worse.

-Hogwarts ~ Halloween-

“This is amazing!” Astoria marveled at all of the decorations in the Great Hall as the students entered for lunch. The decorations had only started to be put up after breakfast, but now they were fully set up for the holiday.

A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. Hagrid had grown massive pumpkins and carved them into Jack-O’-Lanterns that could probably have three grown men sit in them comfortably. There were many bowls of candy of all types on the four House tables. A group of animated fake skeletons were dancing about in the four corners of the hall, and there was even music in the air, though no one could quite tell where it was coming from.

“This is Halloween at Hogwarts.” Daphne laughed and squeezed her little sister into a side-hug.

“They even darkened the windows and the ceiling early.” Tracy pointed out the darker state of the Great Hall, even though it was close to noon.

Luna giggled as a flock of bats passed over their heads. “I love Halloween!”

“I bet the Headmaster had to darken the ceiling. I don’t think others can control it.” Hermione mused as they made their way towards the Ravenclaw table.

Harry laughed before he blew out one of the candles inside a Jack-O’-Lantern and then Charmed the smoke into the shape of ‘ghosts’ from Non-Magical fiction. The smoky apparitions flew about the Great Hall, making other students point at them in surprise. The candle within the Jack-O’-Lantern relit itself a second later as Harry, Luna, and Hermione sat down and started making their plates for lunch.

-Albania, October 31^st, Evening-

In a small shack hidden from view through Magical means, a rather unscrupulous Wizard was gasping and convulsing on the floor. The light of the full moon in the sky was shining through the window as he writhed about with a wispy, black vapor surrounding his body. After a minute or so, the Wizard’s body went still and didn’t move for a long moment.

“Uuuhaaahh!” The Wizard inhaled strongly, as if starved for breath as he sat up suddenly. “Hah…hah…” The ragged breathing slowly returned to a normal rhythm as the Wizard raised his hands before clenching and unclenching them a few times. “It took much more effort…but this time I’ve taken complete control.” The man’s voice was odd, as if two people were speaking simultaneously. The Wizard looked up at the full moon, revealing cold red eyes that had previously been brown. “Lord Voldemort will not die so easily, Dumbledore!”

He still seethed with hatred and rage from the memory of falling for Dumbledore’s trap with the Philosopher’s Stone. Quirrel had been useful enough, being tempted with promises of power and recognition. Possessing the Professor had hidden Voldemort from even Dumbledore’s eyes. Having times of full control over Quirrel’s body had been helpful, but the man had to be given control more often than not. Quirrel had become completely loyal (and controlled) once Voldemort had possessed him, which made him obey the Dark Lord’s orders in his attempt to gain possession of the Philosopher’s Stone. The traps and protections that Dumbledore had placed to guard the Stone were almost laughably easy, aside from the Cerberus and that damned mirror!

“Damn him…” Voldemort raged as he stood up in his new host’s body. “By killing Quirrel, he was able to banish me in my weakened state.” He still felt the pain of the spell that ended Quirrel’s life. Then recalled the spells that Dumbledore had tried to weave around him in an effort to exorcise him. It was pain like none other, even the Cruciatus couldn’t quite compare to the feeling of having your spirit and soul seeming to fade away into nothingness. “But I managed to escape.” He growled at being forced to run, but he’d been barely more than smoke and vapor by that point.

Now, over a year later, he had finally recovered enough to tempt another unscrupulous Wizard into helping him. He’d had to body hop among vermin and snakes over and over again to regain his strength and Magic. This Wizard hadn’t been anything impressive in the slightest, probably a barely graduate of one of the Wizarding schools, or perhaps even a dropout, but that had suited Voldemort all the better in his weakened state. It had let him do a full possession of the man and now he had a body that he could work with…at least for a while before it fell apart from the possession. He could hold that off for a time with food and potions, but it was practically ‘dead’ the moment that Voldemort took over. It was a countdown that Voldemort hated, feeling as if a sword was poised over his neck that drew closer every minute, but he still needed to recover more.

“There are people to contact and plans to be made.” Voldemort let out a hiss, the dual voice would fade away soon as he ‘settled’ into this body. So, until that happened, he pulled the Wizard’s wand from the pocket of his cloak. “It’s time to acquire what I need for right now.” Robbery was nothing new to Voldemort after all. Potions, food, water, and money for his trip back to Britain. He couldn’t use much Magic in this state, and he didn’t want to draw any attention to himself anyway, so he’d make the trip back in the shadows, taking whatever he needed from whoever crossed his path. “Just you wait, Dumbledore...” The dark hissing growl that escaped the man’s mouth wasn’t human. His rage and hatred for his old Professor aside, he still knew just who he needed to eliminate to secure his place as the Greatest Wizard to ever live. “Harry Potter…”

Despite seeing what the boy could do through Quirrel’s eyes, he would never admit that the young boy was far stronger than he’d been at the same age. But what could be expected from the one prophesized to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort? There were many things that could be done to deal with the boy. But the twisted part of Voldemort, the side-effect of performing so many Dark Rituals and mutilating his soul repeatedly with his Horcruxes, wanted to end the boy himself, by his own hands.

“Ending him will make all understand that Lord Voldemort is truly the Greatest Wizard. They will learn to fall in line or die!” The Dark Lord gathered up what was of value and use within the shack before he opened the only door. “This time…there will be no prophecy to save them…and no mother to die for you, Harry Potter!” With a flutter of the simple traveling cloak, the door was closed and the Dark Lord vanished into the blackness of the night, heading back to his homeland.

-End Chapter-

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Harry is teaching the girls well enough, so far. Guiding them to answers when they need help, and encouraging them on their own paths to exploring Magic. All of them have taken their first steps on the path of ‘simplicity’ and now have to realize their own Interpretation of Magic.

Maybe then someone will finally figure out their own ‘right question’? lol

Daphne wants to be a Healer after her experience with the Blood Malediction and Harry saving her and her family!

Neville is growing a potentially dangerous and exotic Magical Tree for a specific purpose. I think WE all know what it is, but Harry isn’t one to pry into another’s personal life without good reason.

And, of course, Voldemort can’t just stay dead like everyone wants him to!

The Dark Lord has possessed another Wizard, much like he did to Quirrel in First Year. He’s still greatly weakened, but he can act independently this time, meaning that he can set his own plans into motion!

How long before the two prophesized enemies meet again?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Third Year continues on with Yule Break. Harry goes back home, of course, and spends time with his family. During this time, he not only receives a gift that he wanted, but gets an unexpected surprise from his ‘big sister’ too! What will this lead to for Harry and Tonks? Will it be another thing to capture Harry’s boundless curiosity?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 25 – Yule Break, Interpretation and Question

Harry always enjoyed coming back home for the holidays. A break from Hogwarts allowed him some freedom to explore, since Sirius rarely said ‘no’ as long as he could chaperone Harry on his explorations. But it was also just nice to physically be with and talk to his family members.

In the time since returning home, Harry had made sure to get some gifts for his friends and send them off with Hedwig. His snowy owl had only returned from the long trip a couple days before Christmas and had immediately filled her belly before going to sleep. With his gift-giving done, Harry had settled in to enjoy the holidays, though he was fairly certain that he knew one of the gifts that Sirius had gotten him if the broom-shaped present was anything to go by.

-Christmas Day-

“Happy Christmas, Harry!” Sirius beamed at his godson as soon as the boy came into the family room where the Christmas Tree was.

“Happy Christmas, Sirius!” Harry smiled brilliantly at his godfather.

“Wotcher all…” Tonks yawned behind her hand as she shuffled into the room a moment later.

Harry grinned at seeing Tonks still sleepy. “Morning, Nym. You want me to wake you up?”

Tonks shot him a glare and Harry snickered at the look.

It was an old story between them that involved a Seventh Year Tonks and Harry’s attempts at making a ‘Waking Spell’ that was effective on all forms of sleep or unconsciousness. In the end it had technically worked, given that Tonks had been fully awake a second after he cast it. The fact that it felt like an electric shock and had kept the Metamorphmagus outright wired for eighteen hours afterwards were just quirks that Harry needed to work out over time.

Tonks hadn’t agreed with him at all.

Presents were opened and Harry received many things from his family and friends. Books, clothes, candies, trinkets, and when it came down to the last present, Harry chuckled at the bright smile on Sirius’s face. He picked up the broom-shaped present and started pulling the wrapping paper off. “A FIREBOLT?!” Harry exclaimed at seeing the newest and fastest broom just recently released on the market.

“Nice.” Tonks grinned brightly at the broom. As ‘big sister’ she’d be borrowing it from Harry occasionally before he went back to Hogwarts.

“Sirius… How much did that cost, exactly?” Andromeda whispered to her cousin with narrowed eyes.

Sirius still had a bright smile on his face as he saw Harry happily looking over the Firebolt. “It was from the Black Family account, so it’s no big deal.” He said, waving off the expensive purchase.

“I know you want to spite our bigoted ancestors, but isn’t that a bit much for a first broom?” Andromeda was less concerned about the money and far more concerned that Harry might lose control of a top of the line broom and get injured. She knew that Harry could ride a broom just fine, but she still worried about him and the speed that the Firebolt was reported to have.

“I’m sure we can keep an eye on Harry and make sure he has it under control while he’s on break, honey.” Ted gently took his wife’s hand with a reassuring smile. Andromeda could only smile at her responsible husband and take comfort in the fact that they still had a couple of weeks to look after Harry before he had to go back to Hogwarts.

Harry marveled at the Firebolt in his hands and tried to recall the top speed of the broom from the various adverts that had been in Diagon Alley when he’d gone to shop for gifts with Sirius. ‘With a broom this fast… If I used the Floo first… It would still have to be on the weekend though.’

The gears were turning in Harry’s head, even as he stood up and hugged Sirius tightly for the gift.

-December 27^th-

Tonks walked up behind Harry and ruffled his hair playfully. “What’cha up to, Harrikins?”

Harry looked up at her unamused as he fixed his hair with a thought. “Just reading one of the books that I got for Christmas.”

“Can you put that on hold for your big sister?” Tonks asked with a little grin. “I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” Harry cocked an eyebrow suspiciously, but stood up from his chair anyway.

Tonks curled her finger to beckon him to follow her and walked out of the room. Harry, now curious, followed after her and was surprised to be led out into the back yard. Tonks looked around before quickly entering Andromeda’s greenhouse. Harry followed after, looking around and wondering what Tonks was being so secretive about.

‘Either she’s about to prank me, or this is something else…’ Harry thought as he slipped into the greenhouse, his young teen mind made some rather wild assumptions based on the location and the secretive nature that Tonks was showing, not to mention how she’d said it was a surprise. Harry blamed such silly thoughts on puberty and hormones. “So, what’s up, Nym?”

Tonks grinned at Harry, almost smugly, her arms crossed under her breasts, pushing them up slightly. “I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?” Harry cocked his head to the side a little.

“Magic is change…of everything: concept, shape, form, function, color…everything.” Tonks said with utter surety.

Harry took a second to process her words before a warm smile formed on his face. “I like your Interpretation of Magic, Nym.” It fit his ‘big sister’ and both her personality and mentality as perfectly as it could. “But are you telling me that you’ve only just now figured out your own interpretation?”

Tonks uncrossed one of her arms and waved him off. “Nah, Harrikins, I figured it out a while back. But I wanted to explore it some more and see if I couldn’t figure out full wandless Magic on my own.”

“I take it that you couldn’t?” Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the look on Tonks’s face.

“No.” Tonks grumbled a little. “But I thought about Magic through my interpretation of it this whole time, and I think I figured it out.”

Harry looked at her curiously, a little grin on his lips. ‘Did she get it?’

“What is the true form of Magic?” Tonks asked directly, her eyes looking straight into Harry’s.

“And that…is the right question.” Harry smiled happily at Tonks.

Tonks shot forward and pulled Harry into a warm hug. “I knew it!” She lifted him off the ground and swung him around once, laughing brightly before setting him back on his feet and placing a soft kiss on his forehead.

Harry returned the hug and even enjoyed the small kiss a bit. “Took you a little while, huh, Nym?” He grinned at her from where his face nearly rested against her bosom.

“You hush.” Tonks ruffled his hair again with a pout. “Now, make with the Magic lessons, mister!”

“Sure, sure…” Harry tickled her sides and Tonks let him go as she leapt backwards to get away from his hands. “Simplicity, familiarity, interpretation, and mindset are four things one needs to use Magic without a Focus like a wand.” Harry conjured comfortable chairs for them to sit on. He plopped down in his and waited until Nym copied him, plopping down into hers, before he continued. “You’ve learned simplicity, gained familiarity with more than a few spells, and have your own interpretation, so all you’re really lacking is the mindset.”

Tonks had been nodding along so far, but now she looked confused. “You lost me.”

“How do you become faster at casting a spell?” Harry asked a simple question.

“Well, usually you learn to make it silent and get it down to point casting.” Tonks answered with the standard answer that any well-trained Witch or Wizard would give. “Once you’re really familiar with a spell from practice, you can eventually get to that point.”

“Why does it take time to cast a spell?” Harry asked another question.

“It’s because you have to focus on the spell you want to use, right?” Tonks looked unsure of her answer, even though every book on Magical Theory and Spell Casting would say the same thing, if not in the same way.

Harry shook his head. “It’s because of how you’re using your magic.”

“Huh?” Tonks blinked.

“Weren’t we talking about using magic faster?” Harry grinned at her knowingly. “Most Wizards and Witches have to consciously direct their magic to make it work. According to Waffling, magic starts in your center and flows throughout the body. Starting from the stomach, up through the chest, the shoulders, arms, to the hands, and then to the wand. That’s how magic flows in the body, according to the premier Magical Scholars.”

Tonks knew that Harry didn’t put much stock into Waffling and his works. “So you’re saying that they’re wrong?”

“Thinking of your own body as separate parts, is what’s slowing down your magic.” Harry revealed with a simple smile. “You’re not wrong to direct your magic, it’s how you get it to accomplish the task that you desire. But that’s just the first step. You can’t get stuck there.” He shook his head once before looking into Tonks’s eyes. “Do we think with our stomachs? Do we use our minds to express only desires? Listen, Nym. We exist in this world with our entire body, mind, and soul. But it’s such an obvious thing, that most people have taken this simple fact for granted.”

“But…that can’t…that can’t be it!” Tonks shook her head, her hair passing through a rainbow of colors. “Are you saying that the reason Wandless Magic is considered so difficult, and almost impossible, is because Magicals are overthinking it?!”

Harry chuckled lowly at her outburst. “It’s amazing what we can miss when we focus too hard on a single thing, isn’t it?”

Tonks didn’t know what to say to that.

“First lesson,” Harry started the instruction right away with a laugh. “I know you’re familiar enough with the Summoning Charm to have it down to silent point casting, so you’re going to start doing it wandlessly whenever you want something out of your reach.” Harry had a small clay pot fly over to his hand. “Take the pot from my hand.”

“How does this teach me the true form of Magic?” Tonks asked, eyeing the small pot in Harry’s hand.

Harry had the pot move from his right hand to his left hand without breaking eye contact with Tonks. “Your interpretation of Magic is that it’s ‘change’. So, change the location of the pot from my hand to your hand.” Harry wouldn’t try and give her the answers directly, because interpretation was a unique view and his wouldn’t match up with hers exactly. Giving her his answer would only stunt her growth.

Tonks sighed at Harry’s non-answer before focusing on the small clay pot in his hand. ‘Stop thinking about using your wand. Don’t just do the steps… I’m not a bunch of separate parts, I’m one being, magic is part of me. Focus… Make it change.’

It took several seconds, but the small pot eventually left Harry’s hand and floated over to Tonks. The Metamorphmagus smiled brilliantly as she caught the clay pot in her hand. Both her hair and eyes turned a bright pink color in joy as she held the little pot up high.

“I did it!” Tonks cheered at performing the Summoning Charm wandlessly.

Harry clapped for her with a grin. “Congratulations, Nym.” The little pot shot from Tonks’s hand and back into Harry’s. “Now do it faster.”

Tonks pouted at Harry for a second before attempting to summon the little clay pot to her hand again. It happened quicker this time as Tonks no longer had the lingering doubts after her first success. But the moment that she had the pot in her hands, it was snatched away by Harry’s magic again and returned to his hand.

“Faster.” Harry pressed with an amused grin on his face.

“Cheeky.” Tonks tried to snatch it back, but Harry had moved the small pot from his left hand to his right hand. “Hey!”

“You’re so slow, Nym.” Harry snickered at her.

Tonks tried to snatch the little pot back again, but it had moved from Harry’s right hand and back to his left hand. “You little…” Tonks glared at Harry and kept trying to summon the clay pot to herself, but kept missing as Harry moved it over and over again.

Harry was laughing brightly as he played keep away with Tonks using only their Magic. “Too slow!” He moved the pot again. “Not even close!” Harry switched it to now sit atop his head, completely changing up the target area. “You’re like a turtle!”

“Harry, so help me!” Tonks growled at her annoying ‘little brother’ as she kept trying to take the small pot back. The game went on for quite a while, much to Harry’s amusement and Tonks chagrin. When the clay pot was launched into the air by Harry, Tonks quickly ‘caught’ it with her Magic and held it carefully. “Are you trying to break it?” She questioned him confused.

“Not so hard, right?” Was Harry’s non-answer, a knowing grin on his face.

Tonks blinked, now realizing that despite her annoyance with Harry’s little game, she’d completely stopped thinking about ‘trying’ to use wandless magic and had just done it. “You stole that from one of dad’s movies.”

“Perhaps, young grasshopper.” Harry ran his fingers through the long, white beard that he’d conjured on his face.

“You little prat.” Tonks sighed and flicked the air in front of her.

“Heh.” Harry felt the flick hit his forehead and flinched slightly. “See? You’re already getting the hang of it.”

“Sure, oh great teacher…” Tonks’s sarcasm was like a flood. “So, what do I need to do next?”

“I’ll be keeping you on your toes for the rest of my break from Hogwarts. No worries.” Harry gave her a mischievous smirk.

Tonks rolled her eyes. “Great…”

“But the same rule applies. If something is out of your reach, use your magic to get it. No wand while at home.” Harry stipulated to her. “From this foundation, you’ll further explore your interpretation of Magic, make things change, even minor things, as much as possible. Change a door from opened to closed. Change the water temperature from cold to hot in the shower. Change the color of your clothes with just your magic. Once you understand how Magic changes, you’ll take the next step on your path to understanding the true form of Magic.”

“Hah…” Tonks sighed before sitting up straight. “I’ll do it. Gonna be a pain in the ass for a while.”

“Probably.” Harry said with a nod. “But the struggle is rewarded with an amazing benefit.”

Tonks stood up and walked over to Harry before pulling him into a warm hug. “Thanks, Harrikins. I really appreciate the time you’ve spent helping and teaching me.”

Harry returned the hug with a soft smile. “No problem, Nym. I’m glad that you didn’t give up.”

That had been what had happened with Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted. The three adults had tried to understand and learn Harry’s method before he’d gone to Hogwarts for his First Year. But they were far too set in their ways, mentally, to really break them and relearn Magic from the beginning. He still taught them a spell if they wanted to learn it, of course, modifying it to be used with a wand. But between the three adults, only about five spells had been requested over time.

Tonks, on the other hand, had always wanted to learn how Harry did Wandless Magic. She’d asked questions and did her best to learn while going to Hogwarts, keeping her mind flexible to what she was learning from Harry and what she was learning at school. It had taken many years, given that Tonks had learned Magic the ‘traditional’ way first, but now the Metamorphmagus had finally reached the first step in using Wandless Magic as she continued down her own path of magical understanding.

“Going a little low there, Harrikins…” Tonks looked down at him with a flat stare. For all of his prodigious talent with Magic, and his many achievements, he was still a teenager going through the rollercoaster that was puberty. Feeling his hands trail down from her lower back to her butt was unexpected, but not shocking to her.

“Sorry, Nym.” Harry looked up from where his head was resting on her bosom. “Won’t happen again.” He moved his hands back up to her lower back.

Tonks rolled her eyes at him. “Try not to become a horny mutt like Sirius and you’re fine.” Harry took that as permission and his hands dropped back down to her bottom. Tonks ruffled his hair playfully. “Wait until you’re older, Harrikins.” The hands returned to her lower back again.

It wasn’t a secret in Magical Britain that everyone was related to everyone. Going back five or six generations would undoubtedly find a common ancestor between any two Purebloods, and at least the majority of Halfbloods too. The only Witches and Wizards that weren’t tangentially related to each other were the Muggleborn or foreign Witches and Wizards that came to settle on the isles. And with families like the Malfoys (with the original family coming from France), the Patils (the original family still being in India), and more than a few other families, even some foreign Wizards and Witches were very distantly ‘related’ for all it mattered with such a distance and the time between.

This tangled web of Family Trees naturally developed different thinking among the small population of Magicals. Marriage to a third or fourth cousin wasn’t unheard of, or even all that uncommon in Magical Britain. Not a single Pureblood, or really any Halfbloods, would bat an eye at a marriage between a Witch and a Wizard that had the same great-great-great-grandparent. The fact that Muggleborns often married Halfbloods or other Muggleborns was the ‘fresh blood’ that kept the gene pool from going stagnant and dying out entirely (the families that refused had all died out, the Gaunt Family still a rather fresh, if unspoken, reminder among even the staunchest of Purebloods).

For Tonks and Harry, though neither had ever checked, their last relation through the Black Family was a distant connection from the marriage between Dorea Black and Charlus Potter generations back. The fact that Charlus Potter wasn’t even on the same branch of the Potter Family Tree as Harry (and that his mother, Lily, was a Muggleborn), and Dorea Black was something like a third cousin of Andromeda’s (not to mention that Ted was a Muggleborn as well), meant that they had no real genetic relation to each other. They may have grown up as siblings, but both knew the truth, and they certainly cared for each other very much. If anything came from that remained to be seen; but neither of the two had any reason to try and stomp out something before it could begin.

Harry knew that Tonks had dated at Hogwarts, the Metamorphmagus had talked about it a few times with Andromeda and Ted when she’d been in her fifth, sixth, and seventh years. Harry fully expected that he’d date in his later years of Hogwarts too. Who that would be was unknown, but he had a few guesses. Thoughts of Hermione and Daphne drifted through his mind for a moment. But if things changed, as Harry couldn’t predict the future, then he’d just love whoever he loved.

‘Trying to plan out my entire love life ahead of time is pointless anyway.’ Harry thought to himself as he just enjoyed the hug with Tonks. He noticed a change and looked up at her again. “Did you just make your boobs bigger and softer?”

“Consider it a ‘thank you’ for teaching me.” Tonks smirked down at him. “I’m just practicing changing things like you said.”

“Fair enough.” A teenaged boy like Harry certainly wasn’t going to complain. He rested his head on her larger and softer bosom again with a grin.

The two would stay like that for a good while longer, just enjoying being together.

-Dinner-

“Harry, give me the salt!” Tonks nearly growled at him as she’d reached out for it wandlessly, only to have Harry snatch it away.

“Like a snail.” Harry snickered as he put a little salt on his potatoes.

Sirius was finding this far too amusing, chortling at the back and forth between the two at the dinner table.

The salt shaker was pulled from Harry’s hand and into Tonks’s, the Metamorphmagus smiling smugly as she put a little salt on her food. “Pain in the ass.” She shot a look at Harry.

“All for your training, young grasshopper.” Harry had conjured the long, white beard again and was stroking it with his fingers.

Ted snorted out a laugh, covering his mouth politely a second later, as he saw Harry using a line from one of the many movies he’d shown Nymphadora and Harry while they were growing up.

“Must you at the dinner table?” Andromeda looked between Harry and Nymphadora with a stern gaze.

“Let them have their fun, Andi!” Sirius was all for the show with dinner.

Andromeda turned her gaze on Sirius. “No comments from the bad influence.”

“Oi!” Sirius shot back, though the fact that he was cracking up made it clear that he was just having fun riling up his cousin.

-Next Morning ~ Bathroom-

“Okay, change the water temperature… I can do this…” Tonks stood naked before the shower, the faucet for cold water turned on. She focused intensely on the water as it cascaded from the showerhead. Tonks went through her interpretation of Magic again, understanding the concept of the change that she wanted to make. The cold water began to steam and the bathroom slowly filled with steamy fog. “Hah! I did it!” She declared proudly as she stepped into the shower. “Mmm… It’s even the exact temperature I wanted.”

Harry was walking by the bathroom, able to hear the water running, and knew that he’d have to use the other bathroom this morning since Tonks didn’t have to go to work today. Just as he got to the stairs there was a loud cry.

“COLD!!!” Tonks hollered, followed by a loud ‘thump’ from the bathroom.

Harry blinked before he realized what must’ve happened. “HAHAHAHAHA!!!” He laughed loudly as he headed down the stairs.

-Breakfast Table-

“Not one word…” Tonks narrowed her eyes at Harry.

Harry looked at her ‘innocently’ from his seat.

Tonks sat down and levitated the foods that she wanted onto her plate with a bit of focus.

“Oh my…” Andromeda looked between the food and her daughter. “Nymphadora, you’ve learned Wandless Magic?!”

“Yep!” Tonks smiled at her mother brightly. “I finally figured out that dumb ‘right question’ of Harry’s.” She shot a look at him.

Harry shrugged at the look. “She’s just starting out, making mistakes…” he snorted and Tonks flicked the air again, but Harry swatted the ‘flick’ aside before it could hit his forehead. “But she’ll only get better as she further explores her newfound understanding of Magic.”

“Congratulations, Dora.” Ted smiled proudly at his daughter, using the nickname that only he was allowed to call her.

“Thanks, dad.” Tonks smiled warmly in return. She reached for the salt and pepper for her eggs, using her magic, only to find both of them gone. “Harry!”

“Wasn’t me.” Harry raised his hands, showing that he didn’t have either of them.

Sirius was sprinkling salt and pepper onto his own eggs with a smile. “You snooze, you lose, Nymmie!”

“Don’t call me that!” Tonks snatched the shakers from Sirius’s hands by changing their location more than using a Summoning Charm. The difference only noticed by Harry immediately, but Sirius knew something besides a wandless Accio was in use when his hands both clenched into fists reflexively from the sudden loss of the shakers.

“Huh? What was that?” Sirius blinked, looking between his hands and the shakers that Tonks was now using.

“What?” Tonks questioned as the salt and pepper shakers levitated back to their normal place on the table.

Sirius deadpanned at her. “What do you mean ‘what’? You did some weird Magic just now.”

“I just took the shakers from you.” Tonks looked at Sirius like he was odd.

“You didn’t take the shakers by summoning them, Nym.” Harry smiled at her, both amusement and pride on his face. “You changed their location from Sirius’s hands to yours, instantly.”

Tonks blinked, not even realizing that she’d done so. “I did?”

Harry nodded, barely hiding a snicker at Tonks pulling off a more advanced trick without realizing it. “You could call it more of a Switching Spell than a Summoning Charm. And you didn’t even have to think about it, did you?”

“I didn’t…” Tonks looked amazed at what she’d pulled off unconsciously. “Huh… I wonder what else I could do already?”

Harry shrugged at her. “We’ll find out over the course of the rest of my break.” The little smirk he sent her way didn’t make Tonks feel happy about those words.

-January 2^nd ~ Afternoon-

“Just change it.” Harry grinned down at Tonks from where he was standing in the air on two small platforms of air.

“How?!” Tonks yelled up at him, annoyed.

Harry shrugged at her. “How do you want it to change? It’s your interpretation, Nym.”

“When I get up there, I swear I’m gonna hex you, Harry!” Tonks promised her vengeance as she tried to work out the change she wanted to make on the air.

Harry walked around, new platforms appearing beneath his feet with every step while the old ones disappeared. He’d wait and just keep walking around the air, knowing that Tonks would get it soon enough.

‘Change the air… Make it solid…’ Tonks focused and there was a thump on the ground. Looking down, she saw a semi opaque brick in front of her feet. “Is that…air?” She picked up the brick, finding that it was almost weightless. Wanting to test her theory, she tossed it at Harry and willed it to change back to air.

POOF

The brick burst with a muted bang, returning the air it was made of back to normal.

“That was an interesting change, Nym. Could be good for a shield if you can make more of them or make a really big one.” Harry clapped for her from his position in the air.

“Is this how you figure out your spells?” Tonks questioned, now thoroughly confused by how she’d made a brick of air.

“Sometimes, it does usually involve a good amount of trial and error.” Harry admitted as he continued to walk around in the air above Tonks.

“Hmm…” Tonks thought more on the change that she’d just made and the change that she wanted. ‘Maybe if I do it like this?’ She changed the air in front of her again, this time at shin height. ‘Just stay in place…’ Tonks conjured another air brick and grinned brightly when it stayed unmoving in the air. “Now just stay there…” She stepped up onto the air brick and stood on it roughly thirty centimeters above the ground. “I did it… Harry! I did it! Look!” Tonks happily stood on one leg on her small air brick.

Harry smiled down at her, clapping for her success. “Not bad, Nym, you figured out your own change fairly quickly once you did it the first time.” He’d be nice and not mention all of the time they’d already spent just getting to this point. “Can you do another one?”

Tonks focused again and a second opaque brick formed a bit higher into the air. She stepped up onto it and made another one a few seconds later. “I think I’m getting it!” She took step after step and was soon even with Harry. “Now you’ve got a hexing coming, Harrikins!” She grinned broadly, only to suddenly fall out of the air. “Kyaaah!”

Bomf

Tonks hit the ground and bounced off the incredibly soft and bouncy…dirt and grass. “Cushioning Charm?” She shook her head, quickly figuring out that the ground had been outright changed rather than the Charm applied to the surface. “You changed the ground’s properties?” Tonks looked up at Harry.

“I don’t want you to get hurt while we practice, Nym.” Harry smiled down at her. “Well, unless I’m doing it by whooping you during roughhousing.”

“Such a gentleman.” Tonks rolled her eyes before chucking an air brick at him playfully.

Harry dispelled it with a thought and hopped down to the ground. The change to the soil made Tonks bounce up high when Harry’s weight hit it, much like a trampoline.

“Harry!” Tonks fell back to the altered ground and bounced again, though not nearly as high this time.

“Fun, right?” Harry laughed at Tonks bouncing around. “Oof!” Until she tackled him to the bouncy ground.

Tonks pinned him to the ground with a wicked smirk. “I’ll show you ‘fun’, mister!” She then cast a Tickling Hex wandlessly and Harry thrashed and squirmed, doing his absolute best not to laugh as the magic hit all of his ticklish spots.

Through the window Andromeda, Ted, and Sirius watched the two roughhouse and laughed warmly at the pair. It was always nice to see Harry acting his age, even if Nymphadora acted less than her own to facilitate it.

-Night-

Harry smiled as he read the newest letter from Fleur that Hedwig had delivered shortly after dinner. “Hmm, so if that’s the general location, then it shouldn’t be too hard to find it, even with Unplottable Charms in the way.”

Fleur had been thrilled to tell him more about Beauxbatons when he’d asked in his last letter to her. She described the palace, the grounds, even its general location as well as she knew it, which given the school’s magical protections, wasn’t one-hundred percent for almost anyone. Fleur had said that she’d be ecstatic if Harry wanted to visit the school before she graduated, so that she could show him around.

“I wouldn’t want to disappoint my dear friend, now would I?” Harry chuckled as he looked over the Marauder’s Map, a rough map of Hogsmeade, and the large map of Britain and western Europe.

Fleur had most definitely meant visiting through proper channels when she offered to show Harry around.

‘But where’s the fun in that?’ Harry grinned as he looked at his new Firebolt hung up on the wall of his bedroom.

-End Chapter-

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Tonks has not only figured out her own Interpretation of Magic (and didn’t tell Harry to try and surprise him by figuring out Wandless Magic on her own), but she asked her ‘right question’ too!

Harry is a man of his word and starts teaching her Wandless Magic based on her own interpretation.

He can’t give her his answers, because they would only stunt her growth on her path to understanding Magic, but he’ll certainly lead her to possible answers!

They even have some fluffy moments between them! Adorable!

For those wondering about the explanation in the chapter about the Magical World’s views on marriage and ‘relation’, get ready to learn some more Canon from JKR.

According to Rowling, the total population of Witches and Wizards in Magical Britain was around 3,000 total during the books. The United Kingdom’s total population as of 1995 was 58,000,000! That means that Witches and Wizards only account for 0.005% of the population. Their entire group is less than a rounding error that wouldn’t even be calculated in a modern census! With so few numbers, yeah… EVERYBODY is going to be related to EVERYBODY! So, why the fuck would they care if a pair of third or fourth cousins married? It’s not like they have THAT much of a choice, unless they just marry Muggles directly. But we all know the chances of THAT happening with a sizable chunk of Magical Britain’s population (Purebloods and some like-minded Halfbloods).

Harry is still planning his ‘travel’ and we now know for certain where he plans to visit first!

Won’t Fleur be surprised! Kek!

Third Year is going to come to a close soon, how will everything play out?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry returns to Hogwarts and his friends once more. Third Year is coming to a close, soon enough. But before that, Harry has a trip to plan out and take! Now, if he can only do it and not get caught! Kek! Meanwhile, a certain Dark Lord is making his way back towards Britain, but finds a certain someone along the way. What will Voldemort do in his current situation?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 26 – Visit Abroad, A Rat Found

The Hogwarts Express rolled into Hogsmeade Station as light snow fell.

As the students began to disembark, careful to watch their step on the slick stone of the station, they began to head for the carriages that pulled themselves to be taken back up to the castle.

“Whoa!” Astoria squeaked as she slipped, only to be caught by Daphne.

“Careful, Tori.” Daphne held her sister’s hand as they continued walking more carefully.

Harry grinned and with a clap of his hands, the snow and ice vanished from the station entirely. “There we are, much safer.”

All of the Hogwarts students blinked at the suddenly clear and dry stone floor before turning to look at Harry and his friends.

“Thanks, Harrikins!” Fred and George called out from the crowd, the Twins waving energetically to Harry.

“Thanks, Potter!”

“Thank you, Harry!”

“Good lookin’ out, mate!”

Harry took the thanks with a small smile and a nod to the people as the students now easily made their way to the carriages.

“The Thestrals are nice.” Luna commented as she went to gently pet the air where a horse would normally be attached to the carriage.

Hermione, Daphne, Astoria, and Tracy all looked confused about what Luna was doing.

“Thestrals?” Hermione asked, not having heard of such a thing before.

“Aren’t they supposed to be rare?” Tracy had some vague knowledge about the creatures, but only because she’d flipped ahead in the Monster Book of Monsters while bored one evening.

Harry’s eyes barely glowed, but his Mage Sight spell definitely showed magic in a vague horse-shape right where Luna was petting. “Huh, selective invisibility? That’s neat.”

Astoria, ever curious, walked over and placed her hand on the same spot as Luna. “Oh!” She gasped in surprise. “Daphne! There is something here! It feels kind of leathery though…” She petted the invisible Thestral with Luna for a few moments.

The group took turns petting the invisible Magical horse before entering the carriage. Hermione was planning to look up Thestrals in the library later to learn more about them. Luna only smiled at getting to show her friends the invisible creature that only she could freely see.

When the students got back into the castle and headed for the Great Hall for the return feast, Harry was briefly stopped by Professor McGonagall.

“Yes, Professor?” Harry couldn’t think of why the Deputy Headmistress would be stopping him. He’d only just gotten back to Hogwarts, after all.

“Ten points to Ravenclaw, for looking after your fellow students, Mr. Potter.” The normally stern Witch gave Harry a small smile and a nod before waving him along.

Harry could only smile a bit as he entered the Great Hall. He’d only cleared the snow and ice because Astoria had slipped and the chances of someone else doing so were high. But it was nice to be acknowledged for doing good, even if he was going to technically be doing something ‘bad’ soon enough.

-Friday ~Afternoon ~ Care of Magical Creatures-

The Third Years had moved on from the Puffskeins to a larger Magical Creature in their second semester. It was another, somewhat common, Magical pet too.

“Bark!” The Crup (a type of Magical dog) barked happily at Harry, wagging its forked tails and eagerly eyeing the ball that Harry was levitating just above his hand.

“You want it? Want it?” Harry made the ball bounce in the air.

The Crup hopped up and down twice, eager to get the ball again.

“Go get it!” Harry threw the ball, adding a bit of Magic to make it go further, and watched the Crup that he was taking care of race after the tossed ball.

Just a few moments later and the Crup was running back towards Harry with the ball in its mouth. When it got right in front of Harry, it dropped the ball at his feet and eagerly looked up at the teen again with its tongue hanging out the side of its muzzle.

“Treat.” Harry took a treat from a small cup, Hagrid having given one to each student, and tossed the treat in the air. The Crup hopped upward and snatched the treat out of the air, landing back on its feet easily. “Good boy.” He petted the Crup, the Magical dog’s forked tails wagging even more.

Care of Magical Creatures had quickly become a favorite for many of the Third Year students that took it. The first semester they’d gotten to take care of Puffskeins and trim their magical fur for Potions ingredients. Now this semester they got to learn about Crups and play with the Magical dogs while doing so. Hagrid was overjoyed with how well the students were taking to his various classes and the huge man always had a warm smile on his face nowadays.

‘This is the last class of the day, so tonight, after curfew, I should head out.’ Harry thought to himself as he tossed the ball again and watched the Crup run after it.

He’d not told anyone that he would be gone, just that he would be busy this weekend with one of his projects. That had gotten a small pout from Astoria and Luna, but the rest of his friends were well-aware of his habit of getting lost in his extracurricular studies and projects.

-Hogwarts ~ Ravenclaw Tower ~ Night-

A window opened and closed without a sound for seemingly no reason. A puff of mist the only indication that something was hanging in the air unseen. A moment later and without any real sound, whatever it was flew away from the tower and towards Hogsmeade.

Harry, invisible and silenced, flew his Firebolt towards Hogsmeade and the various shops it held. He’d be making use of one of their fireplaces to Floo to London, which would cut several hours off his trip. He just needed to find a shop that was either so busy no one would notice his invisible form leaving, or one that was so dead that no one would be around to take notice.

Harry didn’t even land when he reached Hogsmeade, staying a safe height in the air as he flew along the main street and looked at each of the shops one by one. “That should work.” Harry said to himself quietly, his body silenced, but not his voice. He flew towards Tomes and Scrolls, the specialist bookstore, since the lights were still on, indicating that the store was still open. He landed and touched the door while still invisible and silenced. With a simple spell he silenced the door and the little bell above it.

The front door of Tomes and Scrolls opened without a sound, even as the small bell above moved. Without sound, the owner, who was currently stocking some merchandise on the opposite side of the shop behind some shelves, never noticed. Harry moved towards the fireplace not too far from the door, took a pinch of Floo Powder and tossed it into the small flames. The orange flames flared up and turned green a second later and Harry quickly stepped into them.

“Leaky Cauldron.” Harry said clearly and in a short flash of green fire he vanished.

“Hm?” The owner of Tomes and Scrolls poked his head out from behind the shelves he was stocking. Not seeing anything or anyone, he pulled out his wand and gave it a swish through the air. “Revelio.” The spell spread out across the shop, but nothing came up. “Huh, could’ve sworn I heard something.” The Wizard shook his head and returned to what he was doing.

-Leaky Cauldron ~ London-

The crackling orange flames in the fireplace turned green and flared up. Strangely, no one emerged from them, and the fire quickly returned to normal.

Tom, the barkeep, and one of the patrons at the bar both looked oddly at the fireplace.

“Did someone mess up their Floo travel?” Tom wondered, having seen that on a few occasions.

“No telling where they ended up if that’s the case.” The Witch at the bar shook her head before taking a pull of her drink. “Let’s hope they’re okay.”

“Aye, that’s about all that we can do for them.” Tom agreed as he refilled the Witch’s drink and then took the Sickle that she handed him in payment.

Neither of them, nor any of the other patrons, noticed the backdoor open as if someone was heading for the brick entrance to Diagon Alley.

Harry mounted his Firebolt in the small little back area of the Leaky Cauldron and then flew off into the sky. He made sure that he was over the city, even taking a little time to admire London at night, before he cast a spell in front of his proof to divert the wind and then rocketed off towards his destination.

“Just need to cross the Channel and then head south/southeast.” Harry grinned as he could already imagine the look on Fleur’s face when he showed up.

-Beauxbatons Academy of Magic ~ Saturday Morning-

Fleur enjoyed the soft morning songs of the Wood Nymphs that serenaded the students of Beauxbatons as they ate. Her breakfast, like most others, was rather simple. Toasted bread with butter or jam, a nice pastry still hot from baking, some hot tea, and a nice chilled orange juice. Rather typical or traditional for a French breakfast all in all.

An increase in the volume of chatter and murmuring going on in the Dining Chamber caught Fleur’s attention and she looked in the direction the noise was coming from to see what the commotion was about. A male student in the standard pale blue robes, looking to be around a Third Year or so, given his height and build, was walking through the Dining Chamber with a broom over his shoulder, the twigs pointing behind the boy as he held the ash handle.

Fleur caught a few murmurs of ‘Firebolt’ from some of the other students and wondered if the boy was just showing off the new and expensive broom. ‘Regardless, he should know that brooms are not allowed in the Dining Chamber. One of the Professors will surely be having words with him soon.’ She wasn’t expecting the boy to suddenly turn and start walking her way, the blue student hat resting atop his dark hair hid his eyes from view, which shouldn’t have been possible given that all students were fitted for a hat that was the correct size.

“Miss Delacour?” The boy asked as he stopped in front of where Fleur was sitting. His French had a noticeable accent to it and Fleur had to wonder why it sounded somewhat familiar.

“Yes?” Fleur looked at the boy curiously.

“Might I join you for breakfast, my friend?” The brim of the hat was tipped up a little, revealing emerald green eyes that were all too familiar to Fleur.

Fleur started, visibly flinching in her seat, as her enchanting blue eyes widened in shock. “Harry?!” She barely hushed herself before blurting out her visitor’s name. “H-How? When? Why?”

“Good morning, Fleur.” Harry greeted her with a wide smile on his face. “In order? I flew. Last night.  And because I wanted to see you and get the tour of Beauxbatons that you offered.” He sat down across from her and started making a breakfast identical to Fleur’s on his own plate.

Fleur covered her face with her hands and let out a long sigh. This also hid the fact that there was a tinge of pink on her cheeks from Harry admitting that he’d clearly left Hogwarts and had flown for hours on end to get here, just to see her. “I was expecting a visit following proper protocol, you know?”

“I figured as much.” Harry nodded as he picked up his buttered bread. “But that wouldn’t have been as much fun.” He grinned at her, seeing Fleur’s eyes peeking at him from between her fingers.

“Put your broom away before a Professor comes over.” Fleur instructed Harry as she eyed the Firebolt. “Brooms aren’t allowed in the Dining Chamber.”

“Ah, I wondered why everyone was looking at me like that, even though I copied the uniform perfectly.” Harry mentioned after swallowing his food.

It turned out to be too late though as a polite cough came from behind Harry. “Monsieur? A word, please?”

Harry turned and looked up to see a Wizard looking at him with a somewhat flat expression. He couldn’t be called anything but handsome, with wavy blonde hair, brown eyes, a clear and blemish-free complexion, and wearing a smart set of robes that looked rather pricey and perfectly tailored.

“Professor.” Harry gave the man a good sheepish look, despite not feeling sheepish in the slightest.

“Your name, Monsieur?” The Professor asked, looking between Harry and the Firebolt, obviously having come over to enforce the rules.

“Aubert. Alain Aubert, sir.” Harry answered promptly, surprising Fleur a bit. It was a common enough first name and surname to not arouse suspicion in Beauxbatons.

“Monsieur Aubert, surely you know that brooms are not permitted in the Dining Chamber?” The Professor asked rhetorically.

Harry lowered his head slightly, seeming to be chastised. “S-Sorry, Professor. I received it for Christmas and was hoping to show Miss Delacour.”

The Professor looked between Harry and Fleur before closing his eyes and uttering under his breath. “Merde…” It wasn’t uncommon at Beauxbatons for male students to try and impress their Veela classmates in whatever way they could. “I will let you off with a warning this once.” The Professor pulled out his wand and tapped the Firebolt, shrinking it down to about ten centimeters in size. “Put this in your pocket for now and it will return to normal size at the end of the day.” He gave the boy a small break, remembering his student years at Beauxbatons and his first crush on one of his own Veela classmates. It was also Saturday, and the single broom in the Dining Chamber was hardly a massive breach of the rules. “Do not let this happen again, Monsieur Aubert.”

“Yes, Professor, thank you, sir.” Harry nodded his head and put the shrunken broom in his pocket.

The Professor nodded and then walked back towards the table for the staff.

Fleur let out a sigh as she looked at Harry with the tiniest of grins gracing her lips. “The fact that you just pulled that off is almost amazing, Harry.”

Harry turned back to face her and gave her a smile. “Why thank you, Fleur.”

Fleur playfully rolled her eyes at him. “Finish your breakfast and I’ll give you the tour.”

Harry grinned and ate quickly.

-Beauxbatons Gardens ~ Later-

Harry and Fleur walked through the vast decorative gardens hand-in-hand without thinking about it at all. The pair were just enjoying their time together as Fleur showed Harry all of the best spots of Beauxbatons with a beautiful smile on her face. The two of them stopped in front of a fountain and Fleur turned to Harry to explain why this particular fountain was noteworthy.

“This fountain is called the Flamel Fountain.” Fleur said with a cute grin. “Any guesses why?”

“Nicholas Flamel paid to have it constructed?” Harry knew that one of Beauxbatons most famous Alumni was Nicholas Flamel, supposedly the only Alchemist to ever reach the zenith of the Alchemic Arts and complete the ‘Magnum Opus’ by creating a Philosopher’s Stone.

Fleur laughed brightly, but nodded to Harry all the same. “Nicholas and Perenelle, but yes, that is why this fountain exists.” She let go of Harry’s hand and cupped her hands in the water of the fountain. Raising her hands up, she showed Harry the crystal clear water. “It is said that this water has some healing and beautification properties.”

Harry eyed the water with interest and activated his Mage Sight spell to look at the liquid. ‘There’s some Magic in it, but not a lot. If it truly has any such properties, they’d be absolutely miniscule at best.’ He looked at Fleur after turning off his Mage Sight spell. “So, the rumors of Beauxbatons being partially funded by Alchemist Gold is true then?”

“Perhaps it is…perhaps not.” Fleur gave him a mischievous smile as she let the water fall from her hands back into the fountain.

“Well, I don’t know how much this water would be able to heal, but I doubt it can do anything to improve your looks, Fleur. You’re already beautiful.” Harry shrugged as he watched the water of the fountain.

Fleur nearly snorted at the line, but seeing Harry not looking at her to gauge her reaction, she realized that he was honestly complimenting her for no other reason than that he believed what he’d said. “Thank you, Harry.” She accepted his compliment with grace and a soft smile on her lips.

“For what?” Harry looked over at her and Fleur nearly burst into giggles at the genuine confusion she saw on his face.

“Don’t worry about it.” Fleur shook her head, her long silvery-blonde hair swaying from the motion. She caught Harry’s eyes following her long hair and a little flutter appeared in her heart. ‘I guess Harry likes long hair on me.’ It was a good thing she never planned to cut her hair short then. “So…” Fleur took Harry’s hand back in hers and led him away from the Flamel Fountain. “You said you flew here on your broom. But that must’ve taken all night?”

Harry shook his head. “Just a little over five hours from London. The Firebolt can reach speeds of two-hundred-forty-two kilometers per hour. I just used a spell to divert the wind for comfort and it wasn’t a bad ride.”

Fleur hummed thoughtfully at the information. “And when did you arrive at Beauxbatons?”

“A bit after four in the morning, local time.” Harry said without much concern. “I made myself a cozy little cabin to take a nap in with some Transfiguration.”

“That means you only got five hours of sleep at the most.” Fleur looked at Harry carefully. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Harry gave her a smile for her concern. “It’s not a problem, Fleur. A single night of short sleep won’t kill me.”

Fleur looked unsure, so Harry changed the subject.

“In your letters, you’ve mentioned having to work on your magical control to deal with your sudden growth in power. Has that been working out well?” Harry asked as they took a right turn along the path and headed for the back of the gardens.

“Yes, thankfully.” Fleur said with a relieved sigh. “I’ve finally regained my control back to what it used to be.” She’d honestly been worried that she’d accidentally hurt someone by overpowering a spell without meaning too.

Harry breathed a small sigh of relief as well from hearing that. He did feel responsible for Fleur’s situation. She’d have never had a chance to be bathed in Primal Fire if he hadn’t conjured it and used it against her in their Duel. “So… How’s the increased power then?” He shot her a little smirk.

“Amazing.” Fleur gave him a flirtatious smile in return, just to tease him. “I wouldn’t have thought to get this magically powerful until next year at the earliest, maybe not even until after I graduated.”

Harry laughed a bit. “Well, if you ever want another power boost, just let me know.”

Fleur felt her body twitch and lightly tremble from the offer. Phantom pleasure passed through her form as vivid memories of the ecstasy that she’d experienced while bathed in the Primal Fire resurfaced. She lightly bit her lip to stifle a moan even as she felt her body heat up. Harry, thankfully, hadn’t noticed her reaction as he was once more taking in the sights of Beauxbatons. ‘Thank goodness for small mercies.’ Fleur thought as she got herself under control. “I just got my control back to where it should be, Harry; I’d like to keep it that way for now.”

“Sure thing, Fleur.” Harry knew that the loss of her control had been a point of concern for Fleur, so her declining the offer made sense. His offer had been mostly in jest anyway. “You mentioned a bow and arrow made of Veela Fire though…” His eyes were alight with curiosity. “Any chance I could see that?”

Fleur couldn’t help but laugh, a beautiful sound that made Harry smile, as she gently squeezed his hand. “I should’ve known you’d ask eventually.” Harry’s never-ending curiosity about Magic was one of his most notable (and attractive) traits, after all. She smiled and walked a little faster, pulling Harry along behind her.

-Outskirts of Beauxbatons-

Far away from the beautiful chateau and its immaculate gardens, Fleur had Harry stand in a certain spot before she walked several meters away from him. She faced away from Beauxbatons as well and then conjured her Veela Fire into her left hand. The orange-red flames with a purple tint to the edges had changed noticeably, now being an almost even mix of orange-yellow and purple in color.

Harry’s focus only increased as he watched the flames take the shape of a bow. It wasn’t perfect, but it was clearly a bow, and Fleur had mentioned that with her constant practice on control, the flame construct had also been refined and improved over time.

With a grin at Harry, Fleur reached for the bow with her right hand and her fingers grasped the magical flames. She pulled them back and an arrow of Veela Fire was created along with a bowstring of the same flames. Fleur took a second to aim before she released her fire arrow and it flew through the air for a considerable distance (at least the range of a real war bow, if not a little further) before the flames lost their cohesion and dispersed.

Harry’s mind was engaged now as he quickly began to puzzle out what he’d seen. After taking into account how easily Fleur had managed to manipulate and form her Veela Fire, Harry felt like he had to ask his friend something specific. “Fleur…”

“Yes, Harry?” Fleur smiled at him, her fire bow still in her left hand.

“What is Magic to you?” Harry asked, wondering if Fleur already had her own personal Interpretation of Magic.

Fleur looked a little confused by the question. “Magic is Magic, isn’t it? Many Magical Scholars have professed theories over the ages, but none have come to a consensus that makes sense to explain Magic as a whole.”

“But what is Magic to you?” Harry emphasized the last part this time.

Fleur answered after a long moment to think about it. “Emotion, primal, complex, the echoes of mind, body, and soul.”

Harry rolled Fleur’s words over in his mind a few times. “How did you come to that answer?”

Fleur closed her eyes and thought about why she answered the way that she did. What brought her to her answer to Harry’s question. Her core almost seemed to pulse with heat and she realized exactly when she’d had this epiphany, even though she’d never expressed it in words before now. “I realized it when I touched the Flame of Creation.” Her blue eyes opened and she looked into Harry’s emerald green.

‘So touching the Primal Fire and being filled with the essence of fire gave her an epiphany.’ Harry could almost liken it to the enlightenment that many sought through meditation and understanding. “I like your interpretation of Magic, Fleur.” He smiled brightly at his friend.

“Thank you, Harry.” Fleur smiled back at him, a warm laughter in her voice.

“Perhaps you should think more about your interpretation as you continue your Magical study in the future.” Harry suggested, wanting to lead Fleur to her path of understanding Magic and see where she’d take it through her own interpretation.

Fleur nodded, already looking thoughtful about her new interpretation of what Magic was to her. “I’ll do that, Harry. Perhaps I’ll come to another epiphany by doing so.” She gave him a warm grin.

“You want to ride my broom?” Harry offered with a smile. Many people at Hogwarts had nearly begged to ride his Firebolt as soon as they’d seen it. Everyone wanted to experience a top-of-the-line broom firsthand. Cho had even jokingly offered a kiss if he’d let her test fly his Firebolt, something they’d both gotten a chuckle out of, though Hermione had been less than amused if her eye roll had been any indication.

“Oh my, Harry~” Fleur tittered at the phrasing. “Aren’t you still a bit young to be offering girls a ride on your broom?”

“Phrasing…” Harry exhaled before letting out a chuckle. “No wonder you and Nym get along so well.”

It was true. Tonks and Fleur had been exchanging letters since shortly after she and Harry had started. The Veela and the Metamorphmagus both had plenty of similar stories of people (usually boys) wanting them for their bodies. Both had gone through some annoying things from their peers growing up and going to school. Boys lusted after them for their looks or what they could ‘offer’ in the bedroom. Girls resented them or were jealous of what they had and how the guys around them acted. Fleur had sympathized and empathized with Tonks, and she could admit that she’d had it a bit easier at Beauxbatons thanks to a percentage of the students also being Veela. They watched out for each other after all.

There was no other Metamorphmagus in Britain or in Europe (as far as anyone knew at any rate). So, Tonks had been forced to deal with the ignorance and pettiness alone for the most part. Thankfully, she’d always been a social butterfly and had some real friends to help her out. Aside from crass jokes from the less mature boys in school, by her Fourth Year, Tonks hadn’t had to deal with any bullying attempts by her peers.

The fact that almost a dozen would-be bullies had been sent to the Hospital Wing from one injury or another over the course of Tonks’s Third Year may have also had something to do with that. But Tonks promised that she didn’t do anything…and the would-be bullies knew better than to contradict her.

“For now, I’d love to try out your Firebolt, Harry.” Fleur accepted his offer with a smile. Harry brought out the shrunken broom and returned it to its regular size with just a thought and a small flex of his Magic. Fleur took the Firebolt and mounted it before looking over at Harry again. She kissed his cheek and saw Harry’s eyes widen a bit in surprise. “Once you’re a bit older, perhaps then I’ll ride your broom, Harry!” Fleur was off like a shot a second later, her beautiful laughter trailing behind her.

Harry could only chuckle to himself a few seconds later. “I’m starting to think that I attract rather forward older girls.” He wouldn’t complain about that, of course. Sirius had raised him, after all.

-Brunn ~ Austria-

It was a dark night as a Wizard in a black cloak entered the small town in Austria. He hadn’t been planning to come here, but he felt a connection and followed it. The Wizards and Witches around this area seemed to live in their hidden homes forming small groups around the town and doing what they could to pass as Muggles when they needed to. But that didn’t fool the cloaked Wizard. Not that he much cared one way or another. Right now, only the thought of finding the connection he felt mattered.

A simple Alohomora had unlocked the front door of the Magical home he was breaking into. He swept through the front room without a sound and made his way up the stairs. He followed the feeling, the connection growing stronger. He opened the bedroom door and saw the Wizard that lived here sleeping soundly in his bed.

“Avada Kedavra!” The Wizard cast the Killing Curse without a second of hesitation. A bright green light filled the room for an instant and the Wizard that lived there still looked like he was sleeping, but he was no more. “Now, for you.” Voldemort hissed and focused on the connection that was at its strongest since he’d first felt it.

A loud and panicked squeaking and shrieking came from downstairs.

Voldemort practically glided down the stairs in his possessed body. And found a rat flailing on the kitchen floor. A light from his stolen wand and the rat grotesquely writhed and grew before a pudgy man with a rat-like face laid on the floor clutching his forearm.

“Get up, Wormtail.” Voldemort hissed at the thrashing man, canceling his connection to the Dark Mark branded upon the traitor’s flesh.

“M-Ma-Master!” Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, crawled across the floor and prostrated himself before Voldemort as if he were about to kiss the hem of the Dark Lord’s robes.

He received a kick in the face for his efforts.

“Silence, you sniveling coward!” Voldemort bit out coldly. Wormtail shut up instantly, even stopping his pained whimpers. “I should kill you here and now, Wormtail. You and all the others who abandoned me to save your own skins!” The angry hissed made Peter shrivel up in fear. “Even when whispers surely reached you of my presence, you stayed hidden! You did not return to your Master’s side to offer your aid!”

“M-Master, no! I-I’m sorry! I had to flee! They searched for me the very night you disappeared!” Wormtail cried out for mercy that Voldemort simply wasn’t known to have.

“Crucio!” Red light struck the groveling Wormtail and the man howled in agony unlike anything else. “Your suffering means nothing to me! You cannot compare your cowardice and fear to the pain and torment I suffered! My Death Eaters abandoned me! The truly loyal that would not renounce me were betrayed by cowards and traitors to my cause!”

“Ma…Master…” Wormtail whimpered on the floor, still twitching from the Torture Curse. Had he the ability to think through his pain, Wormtail may have wondered why his Master looked so different from before, as if he wasn’t the same person. He may have also wondered about the unnaturalness that seemed to surround and exude from Voldemort as well. But he was in too much pain, and so he whimpered and begged for forgiveness instead.

Voldemort sneered down at the whimpering Wormtail. He wondered why the coward was in Austria of all countries and came to the only conclusion that he could. Austria was known to have a high percentage of English speakers among its population; and Wormtail, the nearly useless lout that he was, didn’t speak any other language. The cowardly Animagus ran as far as he’d felt safe and had clearly been living as a rat for years, stuffing his face and growing fat while Voldemort barely clung to life in the shadows and dark corners of the world.

The Dark Lord’s hand twitched while holding the wand of his possessed body. He was so very tempted to kill Wormtail here and now and be done with him for good.

“Master…please… Let me…make it up to you…” Wormtail begged pathetically through his tears and whimpers.

“Then prove you have some worth to Lord Voldemort!” Voldemort hissed coldly to the downed man. “Gather everything of value from this house and follow me. We’re going back to Britain. I will NOT be cast out by either Albus Dumbledore nor a mere child! They will all pay the price for standing in my way.”

Wormtail staggered to his feet after crawling across the floor for a few seconds. He quickly started collecting everything that could be useful for his Master as best as he could with the tremors still passing through his body from the Cruciatus Curse.

Voldemort left Wormtail to do the menial labor as he continued to plot his revenge and return to power. His delving into the darkest of Magics had yielded him his Horcruxes and thereby secured his immortality. But he would never again trust others to be his Death Eaters so easily. His truly loyal, his Inner Circle, would be brought back into the fold once he had the power to tear his way into Azkaban and free them. But the rest of his forces would be gathered in a much different way this time. “I have no use for cowards and traitors.” His red eyes glared at Wormtail for a moment. “This time, my forces won’t have any will of their own. Only my will matters, and they shall fulfill it unerringly.”

There were many Dark Magics that Voldemort had learned in his years abroad after leaving Borgin and Burke’s. One such Branch of Magic would allow him to rebuild his forces with soldiers who could not betray him, could not run in fear, and would never be able to think of themselves before their Master.

“But first…” Voldemort clenched the left hand of his possessed body. It was slowly losing feeling and responsiveness day by day. “I need to do something about a body for myself.”

Thankfully, the same Dark Magics that would let him rebuild his forces, could also offer him a path to creating a better body for himself as well.

-End Chapter-

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Harry has gone abroad without permission! Kek!

You can’t contain his boundless curiosity!

He certainly surprised Fleur! But it was a nice surprise for the Veela, overall!

The two tour Beauxbatons and Harry gets to see a different Magical School other than Hogwarts for the first time. That’s certainly interesting!

Fleur shows Harry the results of her training after being bathed in Primal Fire and having her Magic Power significantly increased. Now that her control is back up to where it needs to be, some things have changed. Her Veela Fire has changed color and is noticeably more powerful. Not to mention her control has been refined and she can make fire constructs now. That’s kind of cool, huh? Not to mention she’s developed her own Interpretation of Magic!

A little metaphorical nudge from Harry and she should soon be on her own path of Magical understanding!

Voldemort is making his way across Europe and feels a pull from his Dark Mark that led him to finding Wormtail who’d been hiding in Austria for years. Unfortunately for the owner of the house that Wormtail was hiding in, Voldemort kills without a care. What Dark Magics is Voldemort plotting to use as he travels across Europe back to his homeland?

Will it affect the remainder of Harry’s Third Year, or will it be Fourth Year when things come to a head?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry has to sneak back into Hogwarts without being discovered after sneaking out and going on a visit to Beauxbatons to see Fleur. Surely if he can sneak out then he can sneak back in, right? Third Year draws to a close and Harry makes his first attempt at the next stage in his long-term Potions project. The prodigious Spellcrafter also has some summer plans to look forward to as well! What could they be?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 27 – A Sneaky Return, End of Third Year

-Beauxbatons ~ Sunday Morning-

Harry slowly returned to the waking world after a good night’s sleep. He was warm, comfortable, and honestly wouldn’t mind staying in bed a while longer. It was only about a five-hour flight back to London anyway, he could afford to be lazy this morning.

The fact that he was snuggled up with Fleur certainly didn’t put him in a hurry to get out of bed.

After spending all of Saturday together, Fleur had insisted that Harry not sleep in some cabin or hut that he’d thrown together with some transfiguration. She knew that a Wizard of Harry’s caliber could easily follow her anywhere within Beauxbatons, so she’d had him turn invisible, silence himself, and then Harry had simply used his Float spell to let Fleur lead him past the ward on the floor that led to the female dorms. Said ward would activate the instant a male tried to cross it and would instantly bar their way with both a physical gate, an invisible wall, and a loud alarm.

If a boy were to step past the ward line.

Harry’s feet had never touched the floor at all.

So it was that last night, Harry had gotten to see Fleur in a simple, airy nightgown as she slid into her bed in her dorm room, before the Veela had lifted the blanket and told him to join her. Harry had transfigured his clothing into pajamas with a thought and slipped into the offered space.

Veela didn’t have the same notions and rules on what was considered ‘proper’ when it came to sharing a bed, especially for non-sexual things. A Veela would sleep next to a boy or a man just as easily as they would another girl or woman if it wasn’t intimate in any way. Sleep was just sleep, after all. If it was intimate, then they became much more selective about who they shared a bed with. It was merely one of many differences between sapient species in the Magical World.

“Mmm…” Fleur made a soft noise as she started to wake up. Her arm that was around Harry’s shoulders softly pulled him closer, seemingly out of reflex. This pushed Harry’s face further into her bosom, not that he minded. Fleur’s breasts were large, soft, and warm, making them rather nice to use as a pillow. Fleur’s blue eyes slowly opened and she smiled as she saw Harry’s messy hair and felt the weight of his head on her tits. “Good morning, Harry.”

“Good morning, Fleur.” Harry replied, still not moving from his current position.

Fleur let a gentle giggle pass her lips as Harry lay with her in bed. “We’ll have to get up for breakfast soon enough.”

Harry let out a disinterested hum and his arm that was around her waist briefly tightened before relaxing again. “Dun wanna…” His words were muffled as he buried his face into her nightgown-clad breasts. He was a teenager, sue him for being interested in a gorgeous girl like Fleur.

“But we must, mon chéri.” Fleur teased him as her free hand gently combed through his dark hair.

“Fine…” Harry sighed, but still made no attempts to move.

The melodic giggles from Fleur at Harry’s reluctance to move filled the air of her dorm room. She honestly wasn’t in much of a hurry to move either, finding Harry to be a warm ‘teddy bear’ to hug as she slept. Her fingers continued to gently comb through Harry’s hair as they lay together in her bed and just let time pass slowly.

Eventually the two did get up, the call of nature not allowing them to put it off forever.

“Getting your own bathroom is nice.” Harry said as he watched Fleur getting her school robes from her armoire.

“The best students get more privileges, including a dorm room with an attached bath.” Fleur explained with a grin. “It’s motivation for every student, of every year, to do their absolute best.”

Harry briefly wondered if Hogwarts had something equivalent with the Prefects, the Head Girl, and the Head Boy. They all took on more responsibility than regular students, so it stood to reason that they had to get some extra benefits out of it.

Fleur went first, both because it was her en suite and because Harry had insisted on it. What Harry wasn’t expecting was for Fleur to walk out of the bathroom several minutes later in nothing but a towel, a wave of Veela Fire passing through her long silvery-blonde hair to dry it perfectly. “Your turn, Harry.” She smiled at him as if the cotton towel, which was snugly hugging her every curve, wasn’t the only thing keeping her modesty.

“Right.” Harry replied after a second to burn the image into his mind forever. He quickly entered the bathroom and tossed his clothing aside before using the shower. After getting clean, Harry simply willed it and every drop of water leapt off his skin and hair to flow away down the drain. He looked at his clothing and waved his hand once. The pajamas transfigured into a replica of the Beauxbatons male uniform. A second later and they shivered before going still again, only now they were completely clean as Harry’s Magic had removed all dirt, dust, and other such things that clung to clothing after being worn for a full day. “All done, Fleur…” Harry’s eyes went wide as his voice trailed off.

“I’ll be done in just a moment.” Fleur smiled at him from the stool in front of her vanity. The fact that she was in nothing but her bra and panties didn’t seem to bother her.

Harry reflexively swallowed as he took in the sight. ‘Lacey…’ He thought of Fleur’s choice of underwear.

Fleur finished combing her long hair and stood up from the vanity, not bothering with makeup of any kind. She put on her powder blue school robes while Harry watched on, nearly dumbfounded at how comfortable and at ease Fleur was with him. “Ready?” She held out her hand to him.

“Yeah…” Harry shook his head once and took Fleur’s hand, becoming invisible, silent, and floating a few inches off the floor a second later. ‘Another cultural difference between humans and Veela, I suppose.’ He really was learning quite a lot on his (illegal) trip to Beauxbatons.

The two ate breakfast together in the Dining Chamber, Harry grinning at the singing Wood Nymphs as they serenaded the students. Fleur smiled at Harry and explained the tradition of how the Wood Nymphs came to be at Beauxbatons as they ate.

All too soon, in both Harry and Fleur’s opinion, it was time for Harry to leave.

-Beauxbatons ~ Rear Gardens-

“It’s been a lovely weekend, Harry.” Fleur graced him with a gorgeous smile.

“Thanks for showing me so much, Fleur. I learned a lot while I was here.” Harry smiled back at her, thankful for her time.

Fleur giggled lightly. “Was that supposed to be a double entendre, Harry?”

“Hm?” Harry blinked before he realized his phrasing. “Ah, well… I’m not going to say that I didn’t enjoy what I saw.”

“You better not.” Fleur teased him with a sexy smirk. “Next time you visit you should try to do it through the proper channels.” She smiled at him warmly.

Harry grinned back at her. “But this way is so much more fun!”

Fleur couldn’t help but laugh at Harry’s mischievousness. “It is a bit more exciting; I suppose.” She gave him a warm hug and kissed his cheek. “Have a good flight and be safe.”

“I’ll do my best.” Harry returned the hug for a long moment before pulling away. “One more thing.” With a finger pointing at the ground, dirt lifted up from between some of the flowers nearby. Harry molded it into the shape he wanted and then changed its Identity to clear crystal. It was now a small, hollow, diamond-shaped charm. It didn’t remain empty for long though as Harry focused and a flame sparked to life within the crystal. With a smile, Harry summoned a long stalk from one of the plants to himself and spun it into a chain with his Magic, once more changing its Identity to permanently make it a thin metal chain. Looping the chain through the top of the charm, Harry presented it to Fleur with a smile. “Here.”

“Harry…” Fleur smiled, even as her cheeks turned a little pink, and gratefully accepted the necklace that Harry had just made. “It’s beautiful.” She looked at the necklace and crystal charm fondly, only to blink as she saw the flames moving inside. “That’s…”

“A single ember of Primal Fire.” Harry confirmed with a smile of his own. “Kept safe within an Unbreakable crystal charm, and fueled by the ambient Magic that naturally permeates the world. I hope you like it.”

Fleur kissed both of his cheeks and hugged him again. “I love it, Harry.” With a gorgeous smile, Fleur turned her back and with her free hand pulled her long silvery hair to one side, revealing her neck. “Will you put it on for me?”

“Of course.” Harry gently took the necklace from Fleur and detached the simple clasp he’d made. Gently putting the chain around Fleur’s delicate neck, Harry clasped it back together. “All done.”

Fleur let her hair fall back into place and conjured a mirror with a flick of her wand. The mirror floated in the air as Fleur admired her new necklace. “It’s amazing, Harry.” She undid her conjuration and the mirror vanished. “But why did you make this for me?”

“Just because.” Harry answered with a gentle grin.

Fleur swore she felt her heart skip a beat. “Thank you, Harry. I’ll treasure it.” She gently placed her hand over the crystal charm.

“You’re welcome, Fleur.” Harry said, happy that she liked it so much. “That ember won’t be able to make you stronger, but it should produce a little essence of fire to help you recover your Magic reserves a little faster after spell use.” He unshrunk his Firebolt and threw his leg over it. “See you later!”

“See you soon, Harry.” Fleur smiled at him beautifully before he vanished from her sight with invisibility and then a sound like a gust of wind was heard and Fleur knew Harry was flying away at speed. She held the crystal charm in her palm with a soft look filled with affection. “Just because, huh? You silly, wonderful man.” She made sure to tuck her new favorite possession into her Beauxbatons robe so that no one else would see it. If any other Veela knew that she was carrying even a tiny ember of the Flame of Creation, they’d definitely want it for themselves. ‘It feels warm.’ Fleur had a small, gentle smile on her lips as she headed back towards Beauxbatons with the charm resting against her chest.

-London ~ Five Hours Later-

“Finally got back.” Harry muttered quietly to himself as he descended into the small back area of the Leaky Cauldron. He dismounted his Firebolt and stood to the side when he saw the door start to open. A pair of Witches tapped the bricks and the wall moved aside to let them into Diagon Alley. Harry silenced himself and followed after them before the wall could start closing. ‘That shop should do fine.’ Harry slipped into a store that had a few patrons milling about and keeping the shopkeeper’s attention.

“Welcome!” The shopkeeper called out when the bell over the door rang, but he didn’t turn away from his conversation with the Wizard he was trying to make a sale to.

Harry quickly located the fireplace and saw the container of Floo Powder on the small mantle. Taking a pinch, and leaving a Knut behind to pay for it in the little box next to the canister, he tossed the powder into the flames and watched them turn green. “Three Broomsticks.” Harry said as he stepped into the green flames. The fire flared up for a second, whisking Harry away, before settling and turning back to the normal orange red flames.

-Three Broomsticks ~ Hogsmeade-

The fireplace flared with green flames for a moment but no one stepped through them to enter the famous pub.

“Hm?” Madam Rosmerta looked over at the fireplace. “Did I miss a customer?”

“I’ll check out your Floo connection for you, Rosie!” One of her customers offered with a grin. “Free of charge for a lovely Witch, of course.”

Madam Rosmerta playfully scoffed at the Wizard. “Patrick, you haven’t worked for the Ministry for ten years.”

“I still know all the tricks!” Patrick laughed as he held up his pint of Fire Whiskey.

Among the laughter and revelry, no one noticed the door open just enough for someone of Harry’s size to slip out.

“Back to my dorm room.” Harry grinned as he flew towards Hogwarts, and more specifically, Ravenclaw Tower.

He opened the window with barely more than a thought and looked inside. As expected, no one was around. Given this was his dorm room, no one should be, but if his absence had been noticed, then it was always possible someone could’ve been looking for him. Harry flew in and landed on the floor without a sound, quickly removing his invisibility, he put his Firebolt in his trunk, and then looked at himself in the small mirror hung up on one wall.

“Alright, I don’t look like I just came off a five-hour flight at least.” Harry remarked on his reflection before heading for the door. He needed a quick bathroom break and then he would head down to the Great Hall for dinner.

-Great Hall ~ Dinner-

“Harry!” Luna nearly tackled Harry as soon as she saw him. “I missed you!”

Harry chuckled and hugged Luna back. “I didn’t go anywhere, I was just busy, Luna.” He told her as they both sat down side by side. He quickly started taking the food he wanted and made his plate. “So, did I miss anything while I was preoccupied, Hermione?” Harry asked his best friend with a smile.

Hermione sighed at him. “You know how you get on my case about studying too much?” She was obviously pointing out that locking himself away for most of the weekend to work on his extracurricular projects was the same thing as her over-studying. “I think you need to take your own advice.”

“Did you want a hug too, Hermione?” Harry shot her a grin.

“I didn’t say that…” Hermione didn’t get to finish as she was pulled into a hug. “Harry!” Her cheeks turned red as she enjoyed the hug more than she should’ve.

Harry let Hermione go with a chuckle.

Conversation picked up and Harry learned that nothing of note had happened at Hogwarts in the time he’d been away. Luna and Hermione were both making more progress on ‘simplicity’ and were eager to show him after dinner, something that Harry readily agreed to.

At the end of dinner, and before the trio of Ravenclaws left the Great Hall, they were stopped by Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria.

“Harry.” Daphne gave him a look.

“Daphne.” Harry returned.

“Harry!” Astoria hugged her surrogate big brother with a smile. “You were busy all weekend!” He got a little pout from the First Year girl for that.

“Tori… I was trying to be mad at Harry.” Daphne sighed at her little sister.

Tracy couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter. “Y-You were trying to…to be…so serious!” The laughter made Daphne blush a little and swat at her best friend.

“I know what’ll make you feel better!” Harry used his Magic to pull Daphne into arms reach and hugged her next. “Hug!”

“Harry! You let go!” Daphne’s face couldn’t get much redder, but she still briefly returned the hug.

Astoria giggled as she got into it. “Group hug!” She hugged both Harry and Daphne.

Luna joined a second later with a smile. “Group hug.”

Hermione and Tracy were both laughing now, holding onto each other for support.

“I’m so gonna hex you, Harry.” Daphne threatened as she was in the middle of the group hug.

“Worth it!” Harry chuckled at Daphne’s glare that was the complete opposite of her red cheeks.

Harry didn’t let any of the Hexes that Daphne threw at him land, even as the Slytherin girl cast a dozen of them and grumbled at him the whole time the group walked together. The three Ravenclaws bid the three Slytherins a good evening before they had to split up to head to their dorms for the night.

-Beauxbatons ~ Night-

Fleur smiled softly as she lay in her bed, looking at the necklace that Harry had given her this morning. It glowed softly in the dark of her room, letting off a gentle light as it rested on the small nightstand next to her bed.

“Such a wonderful man you are, Harry.” Fleur murmured quietly as she admired the ember of Primal Fire safely held within the crystal charm. One day, she planned on being able to conjure the Flame of Creation herself. Such an accomplishment would surely increase her chances of becoming the Matriarch of her Veela Enclave. But until she figured out how to do it as easily as Harry did, it was just another goal that she set for herself. “Perhaps the key lies in my interpretation of Magic, as Harry said?” Fleur fell asleep that night thinking about Harry’s words and her own interpretation of Magic.

-Monday Afternoon ~ Greenhouses-

“Time to harvest, Harry?” Neville asked his friend with a smile as Harry was collecting the seeds from his cultivars.

“You know it, Neville.” Harry said with a chuckle. “Now that I have the seeds to start the second generation of cultivars, I can make use of these carefully grown plants for my first attempt at my project.”

Neville nodded as he gently pruned his Thunder Ginko while wearing thick rubber gloves. “I hope it works out for you, Harry.” He snipped one new offshoot off one of the branches of the swaying tree, not getting a slight electroshock thanks to the gloves.

Neville wanted the rare, exotic Magical tree to focus on growing leaves and the current branches, rather than sprouting more and more branches that would make more and more leaves. The tree needed a near perfect balance of growth and pruning so that its harvestable Potions ingredients had the utmost potency, rather than a deteriorated potency from having to spread the nutrients and Magic it developed to so many parts.

“Your Thunder Ginko looks like it’s doing well too.” Harry looked at the swaying tree sapling with his Mage Sight spell. The little tree had a more robust concentration of Magic compared to the last time he’d looked at it.

“It’s getting there.” Neville smiled at Harry, happy to have a buddy to talk Herbology with. “I have to make sure to balance out its growth with proper pruning. I want it to produce the best ingredients when it’s old enough.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “How long will that be?” He didn’t really know much about the Thunder Ginko beyond what Neville had told him.

“Another year, probably closer to two years.” Neville gave a half-smile, clearly wanting to be able to harvest the ingredients he desired, but knowing he still had years of work ahead of him.

“If anyone can do it, it’s gonna be you, Nev.” Harry encouraged his friend with a confident nod.

Neville smiled back, a real smile, as he nodded too. “Thanks, Harry.”

-Harry’s Dorm Room ~ Evening-

Harry set up his cauldron, tools, and his ingredients on a table that he’d transfigured from a desk that he’d borrowed from one of the many abandoned classrooms scattered throughout Hogwarts. It was time to start his first attempt on his Potions project.

“First, we set the water to boil.” Harry ignited a strong flame beneath his cauldron that was half-filled with water already. “Now, dice the Boom Berry into small pieces no larger than a half centimeter. I should need exactly two-hundred-thirty grams…” Harry set to work preparing his first ingredient for the cauldron.

After adding the Boom Berry, Harry carefully added in the exact amount to the boiling water in the cauldron and stirred it three times clockwise, four times counterclockwise, seven times clockwise, and then eight times counterclockwise. Once the stirring was done, he began preparing the Moondew to add to the cauldron. Exactly three-hundred-forty-one grams of Moondew went into the water and Boom Berry mixture. It was then mixed in alternating stirs as well: four, eight, twelve and then left to boil for a bit longer as Harry prepped the next ingredient.

The entire time that he was prepping the ingredients, Harry had his Mage Sight spell active, showing him the Magic within the harvested cultivars. Being able to see the Magic, combined with his own intuitive understanding of Magic itself, let Harry know the exact way to prep each ingredient and the best way to cut, smash, squeeze, or shred them to get the most potent effect out of each. It was also what was helping him nail the proper stirring technique to blend and mix his concoction together.

“Looks good.” Harry nodded as he observed the Magic within the cauldron as he lowered the heat to let it simmer. “I just need it stirred clockwise and counterclockwise every eight hours until it reduces to about half its current volume. After that will be the hardest part…one-hundred-twenty-eight stirs, then half that in the opposing direction, then half of that in the first direction, halving that each time until I get to one stir and then taking it off the fire and pouring the reduction into a safe container to let it cool and solidify.” The fact that wasn’t the end of the process that Harry had worked out spoke to the complexity of his project. He was lucky that a self-stirring rod could be used for the stirring every eight hours portion otherwise his schedule would have a conflict.

This first brewing method would take eight days to complete and Harry still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure that it would work out and produce what he was aiming for.

-Knockturn Alley ~ Next Day-

Crack

A sound like a mix of glass breaking and rocks being crushed rang throughout the air as the wards erected around a shabby, old, rundown shop were brought down forcefully.

“Aurors! This is a Ministry raid! We have a warrant!” Auror John Dawlish bellowed out as he and the rest of the large group of Aurors marched onto the property.

An anonymous tip had come in about illegal potions being made and sold from this supposedly abandoned shop. After a two week stakeout, it was clear that something was indeed happening from the old shop and regularly at that. A quick undercover operation as a buyer, by newly promoted Auror Tonks, had confirmed that the people within the building were operating a black market shop. That was all the proof they needed to get a warrant and raid the place.

A few loud cries and curses were heard from within the shop as the front and back doors were both forced open at the same time.

Crack

A muted snapping sound was heard.

“Shit! I can’t Apparate!” A Wizard’s voice came from within the dingy old building.

The muted snap was a telltale sound of a failed Apparation when under an Anti-Apparation Hex. Said Hex covered a designated area for a limited time and prevented all Apparation. It was standard protocol on Ministry raids to cast it before breaking down any wards.

“This is the Aurors! Throw down your wands and come out with your hands raised!” Auror Proudfoot called out into the shop.

The only sound heard in response was the shattering of glass and the scrambled and hurried footsteps of the ones hiding within the old building.

“They’re trying to get rid of the evidence!” Auror Robards declared, very familiar with the sounds of criminals trying to hide their misdeeds. “Protego!” He cast in front of himself and led the way down the narrow hall towards where the noise was coming from. Three other Aurors followed behind him, wands at the ready.

“Depulso!” A Banishing Charm slammed into Robard’s Protego, but the Shield Charm held.

“Stupefy!” One of the Aurors cast over Robard’s shoulder, a jet of red light rushing down the hall, but only hitting the dirty wall and leaving a mark. The Wizard that had cast the Banishing Charm had ducked back into the room he’d been hiding in.

“Deprimo!” A different man stuck his wand around the corner and blasted a hole into the floor in front of the Aurors. The red robed group had to stop for a second or risk falling through the floor.

“Reparo!” The second Auror in the group cast and the floor put itself back together.

“Revelio!” The third Auror cast. “There’s one on the left and two on the right, a fourth is in the basement!”

“Depulso!”

“Stupefy!”

“Bombarda!”

“Diffindo!”

Spells began to fly as the criminals fought with law enforcement. Chunks of the wall and floor of the old building were blasted off or had slashes through them in short order.

While the firefight was going on upstairs, Tonks and a handful of other Aurors had invaded the basement to apprehend the last suspect.

“Throw down your wand!” Auror Savage ordered the Wizard that was clearly attempting to vanish or destroy all of the potion making equipment.

The panicked Wizard did the opposite of throwing down his wand and cast a spell instead. “Expulso!”

“Protego!” Another Auror cast, blocking the concussive explosion of the spell. Expulso used kinetic force to blast everything around it, rather than a fiery explosion like Confringo would cause.

“Stupefy!”

“Stupefy!”

“Stupefy!”

Tonks and the other Aurors cast at the Wizard who flicked his wand at the table still loaded with cauldrons, beakers, and other Potions equipment and ingredients. The table shot upwards, knocking everything on it to the ground in a huge mess, and put itself between the Stunning spells and the Wizard. The table was marked by the red sparks of the three spells before the Wizard hiding behind it cast again.

“Oppungo!” The table went rocketing forward towards the Aurors.

Auror Hestia Jones pointed her wand at the incoming table. “Diminuendo!” A white smoke-like spell hit the flying table and shrunk it down to only about eight centimeters in size, the tiny table missing the Aurors entirely before shattering against the basement wall.

“Immobulus!” Tonks cast and the Wizard stopped moving, seemingly frozen in place.

“Expelliarmus!” Auror Savage cast and the Wizard’s wand went flying from his hand.

“Stupefy!” The final Auror cast and knocked the Wizard unconscious.

Tonks canceled her spell and the suspect crumpled to the floor. “Alright, let’s secure him quickly!” They could all still hear the spell fire upstairs.

The Wizard was bound in ropes from an Incarcerous spell and then levitated into the air as Auror Savage prepared to take the suspect out of the basement. The rest of the group would be watching over them as they got out of the house since securing a captured suspect took precedence over joining the ongoing fire fight.

Ssssss

The hissing sound that reached the ears of the four Aurors was quickly joined by an acrid, burning smell. All four looked back at where the sound was coming from only to see the spilled cauldrons and various ingredients letting off a thick cloud of multicolored steam and smoke.

“Oh shit!” Hestia cursed as they all tried to rush for the stairs.

A white light filled the basement, this was followed by flames of various colors as the reaction exploded powerfully. While the other three Aurors had tried to reach the stairs, Tonks had, for whatever reason, thrown her hands forward, not even thinking to grab her wand that she’d holstered as they were securing the Wizard.

‘CHANGE!!!’ Tonks screamed in her head, throwing all of her will and intent behind her Magic, remembering her interpretation and Harry’s lessons over the course of the teen’s Yule Break from Hogwarts.

BOOM

The explosion rocked the old building, sending those upstairs falling and stumbling as everything shook.

The Aurors, or at least the more experienced ones, got their bearings back first and were on the suspects quickly.

“Expelliarmus Tria!”

“Stupefy Tria Maxima!”

With two modified spells, the three staggered Wizards upstairs were disarmed and knocked unconscious.

In the basement at the same time, Auror Hestia Jones could barely believe her eyes. The explosion that had rocked the house and sent her and the other two Aurors sprawling hadn’t reached them. They weren’t burning or being torn up by shrapnel either. Her friend, Nymphadora Tonks, a fellow Hufflepuff from the same Year at Hogwarts, had both of her hands outstretched and a dark metal wall was between them and where the explosion had originated.

“T-Tonks…?” Hestia managed to get out in her shock. Aside from the fact that they hadn’t been killed by the sudden and unexpected explosion, the other thing that shocked Hestia was that Tonks didn’t have her wand in hand to cast such an obviously large Transfiguration spell. Her friend’s hands were both empty and held palm out towards where the explosion had happened.

“No way…” Savage uttered out, looking at the large metal wall that had popped up out of nowhere. “Was that…wandless?!”

The final Auror could only gape at what he was seeing. His mouth moved a few times, but no sound came out.

“Is everybody okay?” Tonks questioned as she turned to look back at her fellow Aurors. She’d never cast a spell that powerful so fast in her life! Transfiguration had always been her second or third best Branch of Magic, in fact. ‘I didn’t think… I just did it.’ Tonks realized that she’d fully eliminated the process of using her Magic beyond directing it to do something. There was no motion, no incantation, no wand, no guiding her Magic along. She’d simply willed the world in front of her to change…and it had! “There’s going to be no living with Harry once he finds out about this…” She sighed, a small laugh escaping her as her heart started to slow down from the adrenaline rush of the situation.

Hestia stood up and took the two steps needed to reach Tonks. “We’re all fine, Tonks. Thanks to you…” She still couldn’t believe what she was seeing in front of her. That wall was either solid iron or steel and had to be incredibly thick to not even move from the force of the explosion.

“What did you transfigure? The floor?” Savage questioned looking between the unconscious Wizard and the metal wall.

Tonks shook her head slowly one time, still a little shocked at her own wandless Magic. “The air.”

“You turned air into a metal wall that large and thick? In less than a fraction of a second?” The fourth Auror didn’t sound like he believed it, even though he was also staring right at the truth in front of him. “Conjuration…no…all Transfiguration takes a second or so, usually…”

“Is anyone alive down there?!” Auror Robards called down into the basement.

“We’re alive, sir!” Hestia called out. “Suspect is secure and Auror Tonks protected us from the explosion!”

“Get out of the basement! On the double! The building took some structural damage from that blast!” Robards ordered and the four Aurors and one suspect were quickly heading up the stairs.

“This old place was barely standing already.” Savage grimaced, seeing parts of the ratty building had fallen in from the second floor.

Once everyone was out of the abandoned shop and accounted for, the four suspects were taken to the Ministry for processing by some of the Aurors, while the rest stayed behind to prop up the building with spells and keep it from falling any further. They needed to preserve the crime scene as much as possible after all.

The reports from the basement would cause quite a stir within the Auror Office once word of Tonks’s powerful and fast wandless Magic got around.

Tonks knew that she couldn’t talk about an ongoing investigation with her family. But she wondered just how fast this case would be reported on in the Daily Prophet and what her parents, Sirius, and Harry would have to say about it.

Having just been promoted from Junior Auror to full Auror, Tonks would admit to liking the sound of a possible medal for her actions that had saved the lives of her fellow Aurors. That had been mentioned by both Robards and Dawlish after they’d been told what had happened in the basement. It wasn’t every day that a ‘newbie’ like her was awarded an actual medal after all.

-Eight Days Later ~ Hogwarts-

“One-hundred-seventeen… One-hundred-eighteen… One-hundred-nineteen…” Harry was stirring the cauldron while adding in the final ingredient to the concoction: Honey Water. The ingredient would lose all of its efficacy if it was boiled or simmered for very long, and it was acting as a partial binder for the liquid within the cauldron. With every stir more Honey Water was mixed into the potion. “One-hundred-twenty-five… One-hundred-twenty-six… One-hundred-twenty-seven… One-hundred-twenty-eight.” Harry stopped adding the Honey Water as he reached the final stir. “Good, that’s all the ingredients. Now…I just have to finish the stirring.” He started stirring in the opposite direction, counting them off to make sure he didn’t make a mistake. “One… Two… Three… Four…” This bout of stirring required sixty-four stirs in one direction. The next round would be thirty-two stirs in the opposite direction. “So on and so forth… I just have to do it.”

A few minutes later and the concoction was fully stirred and Harry set the stirring rod aside. “The color seems right and the Magic is settled into one solid color too.” He poured the cauldron into a wide crystal bowl that wouldn’t contaminate his creation. “The consistency seems right for being reduced so much.” It was like a smooth, if thick, chocolate milk. “Now I just have to wait for it to be mostly solidified and then I can mold it into the proper shape. I wonder how many I’ll get out of this first batch and if they’ll be any good?” Harry couldn’t wait to test out his new creation.

-Harry’s Practice Room ~ Next Day-

“So, what did you want to show us?” Daphne asked after closing the door behind her. “You seemed pretty excited.”

That would be a bit of an understatement.

Harry had nearly been vibrating as he asked her to come by the ‘Practice Room’ after classes.

“She’s right, you are really excited, Harry.” Astoria agreed with her sister.

Luna nodded with a bright smile. “It’s nice!”

“You didn’t do something crazy again, did you, Harry?” Hermione looked at him with eyes that said she already knew that he had. The little smile on her lips told him that she was still interested to see what he’d done.

“Crazy? No.” Harry denied, even as a wide smile spread across his face. “Brilliant? Yes!” He opened up a small wooden box to show them four round balls that looked like chocolates.

“You made chocolate?” Astoria grinned happily at what she thought was a treat.

Harry laughed and patted her head. “They look like chocolates, but they’re something much better!”

“Gourmet chocolates?” Luna guessed next.

“No, Luna.” Harry smiled and gave her a one-armed hug.

Hermione and Daphne looked at the four small balls curiously, trying to puzzle out what they might be.

“Alright, I’ll admit when I’m stumped.” Daphne sighed a little at not being able to figure out what Harry was showing them. “What are they?”

“They’re called dānyào in the myths of China.” Harry grinned brightly. “Ancient magical medicines that could have a range of effects such as boosting magical power, healing wounds, curing poisons, purifying or strengthening the body, and other things depending on how they were made!” He was back to nearly vibrating again. “I checked throughout all the books and tomes I could get my hands on regarding Potions from the Far East, and only found them mentioned in vague terms or as hypothetical creations. So, unless none of those countries have decided to admit that these pills are real over the last several centuries, I’ve actually created something that was just a myth before!”

All four girls now looked shocked, staring at what still looked almost like chocolate balls to them.

Hermione managed to speak up first. “Harry… What do these da…dan…danyo… What do these pills do?” She gave up on trying to correctly pronounce the name.

“These aren’t spectacular or anything, but they will heal injuries just as fast as any potion, and they can heal both internal and external injuries while promoting blood production and immune system function!” Harry was still excited, even as he admitted that his pills weren’t quite to the level of the legendary medicines spoken of in Chinese myths. “Now that I’ve figured out that I can make them, improving them is the next step! Well, that, and making more varieties over time. I’ll need to do some more research to make ones that have different effects.”

Daphne was now heavily interested in Harry’s new creations. They did fit perfectly with her desire to become a Healer in the future. “Harry, can I help with these? Please? They seem like they could help grow and develop the Healing Arts even further going forward.”

“Sure, Daphne, I was going to ask for help with them anyway.” Harry smiled at his friend brightly. “I can’t devote all of my time to Healing Magic, after all. A lot of other Magics and spells need to be researched and created.” He laughed and handed a single pill to each of the girls. “If you’re ever hurt, take the pill. Just swallow it whole. You should be good as new for most minor injuries and even a bad injury should be healed at least partially.”

“Thank you, Harry!” Luna hugged him tightly.

“Thank you!” Astoria joined in the hug as well.

“Thank you very much, Harry.” Hermione gave him a warm smile before looking at the pill again. “Is it safe to keep it anywhere?”

“Yeah, it’s not going to go bad. You might want to keep it in a small bag or something though, just so you don’t drop it by accident.” Harry explained with a smile.

“Do you have notes on these?” Daphne asked, though a part of her wondered if she’d even be able to understand them. These pills seemed like very advanced applications of Potions knowledge.

Harry nodded to Daphne. “I do. But I’ll need to get the pills looked over and verified by licensed Healers before I can share too much.”

“I understand.” Daphne really wanted to learn this new path that Harry had seemingly opened for future Healers, but even at her age she knew how quickly credit for something new could be stolen. That fraud Lockhart from last year had proven that entire events could be stolen from others. It was about the only thing he’d taught any of the students at Hogwarts.

The end of the school year was already fast approaching, so Harry was likely to wait until the summer break to get his newest creation/discovery verified by professional Healers. It was amazing how fast time could fly by, given that it was already June.

-Hogwarts Express ~ Return Trip to London-

“Are you ever going to have a lazy summer, Harry?” Daphne questioned with a small grin.

“I can be lazy between things.” Harry waved her off with a grin of his own.

Hermione shook her head once. “You’re planning to get your pills tested and verified by St. Mungos. You have the Junior Dueling League throughout the summer. You’re planning to go abroad over the summer break. You’re also planning to test for another Mastery and you mentioned going to the Quidditch World Cup too! When are you even going to have time to sit down, much less be lazy?” It was a very full schedule for the summer.

Astoria and Luna would’ve chimed in, but both of them were too busy enjoying the sweets that Harry had bought them from the trolley.

“The Mastery Test is only going to take part of a day.” Harry waved that off without concern. “Getting my Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery shouldn’t be any harder than getting my Charms Mastery was.”

“Maybe you could be a Professor’s Assistant since we can never seem to keep a Professor for more than a single year? At least we’d all be guaranteed to learn something from you.” Daphne actually laughed at the idea of Harry teaching DADA.

“Only if I get paid.” Harry said with faux shrewdness, barely suppressing his own laughter.

Hermione giggled at Harry, but a brief idea of Professor Potter asking her to stay behind after class flitted through her head and made her cover her face to try and hide her blush. Deciding that she needed a distraction, she moved the conversation along. “What about the Junior Dueling League and the trip abroad?”

Harry thought for a moment before answering. “I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out to deal with both of them.” He shrugged, certain that between his family, some kind of schedule that worked could be made. “The verification of the pills will be done independently by St. Mungos’ Potions and Alchemy Lab, so I have no say in that at all anyway.”

The rattling of the compartment door got their attention and Tracy entered the compartment from going to chat with a few other friends earlier. “Hey! You little gluttons! You’ve already eaten most of the candy!” She pointed at Astoria and Luna accusingly. “Save some for me!”

“Nope!” Astoria laughed and tried to stuff some of the candy into the pockets of her robe.

“You’re going to get it now, Tori!” Tracy wiggled her fingers and quickly started to tickle Astoria. “Hand over the candy!”

“Nuh uh!” Astoria denied through her laughter.

Daphne rolled her eyes, even if her smile ruined her attempt to seem annoyed, and just watched as her sister who had once been so weak and may not have lived a very long life at all, was now laughing happily as she played with Tracy. Her eyes drifted over to Harry and filled with warmth. ‘All thanks to you, Harry.’

Harry had an eventful summer planned out, but none of them knew what lay beyond it in their upcoming Fourth Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

-End Chapter-

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Fleur and Harry wake up all warm and comfortable next to each other. So cute!

Nothing sexual happened, of course. Harry’s still a bit too young for such things. But he’s still a teenager and very much likes cuddling up to Fleur and her gorgeous body.

Harry even made Fleur a gift before he left Beauxbatons! One filled with a single little ember of Primal Fire! Quite the gift for a fire-aligned being like a Veela!

Tonks goes on a raid with the Ministry as a newly promoted ‘full’ Auror! Things go a bit sideways though, and she stops thinking entirely and just DOES! Turns out that Harry is correct and overthinking slows down Magic casting speed.

Tonks: “There’ll be no living with him after this…” Kek!

We finally see the results of Harry’s Herbology and Potions project! He made a low grade version of a Wuxia Pill! Hah! Harry says: “No more thick, vile tasting, sludge-like potions! I’ve got pills that you can just swallow for the same effects!” *Salesman smile*

Did Hermione just have a naughty thought on the train?! *Pretends to faint*

Harry has a rather heavy schedule this summer, but keeping busy often makes time go by quicker, right?

I know you all have been waiting for Fourth Year! Heh! It’s fast approaching!

Will it play out like in Canon at all?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The summer between Third Year and Fourth Year begins! Harry is keeping himself busy again! He’s got to wait for his new Potion Pills to be examined, tested, and approved by St. Mungos. He has the Junior Dueling League to go to. Another Mastery to gain. And even a trip abroad with the family! Not to mention going to the Quidditch World Cup! So much to do in only a couple months!

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 28 – A Busy Summer Begins

“So, they didn’t even have a ceremony for your medal? That’s cheap of them.” Harry said as he looked at the medal pinned to Tonks’s red Auror robes. It was shiny and silver, bearing the emblem of the Ministry and the DMLE.

Tonks shrugged at the lack of spectacle for her award. “I don’t need a ceremony. I was just fulfilling my duty as an Auror.”

Harry considered her words and nodded after a moment. “Fair enough. Brilliant work, Nym. You finally stopped overcomplicating things.” He smirked at her playfully.

“Such a cheeky brat, Harrikins.” Tonks ruffled his hair with a smug grin at seeing Harry’s unamused look.

While fixing his hair with barely a thought, Harry moved their conversation along. “You’re coming on the family trip, right?”

Tonks looked at Harry like he was daft. “Of course I am. It’ll be my first vacation since I graduated from Hogwarts. No way am I missing it!”

Sirius came into the sitting room with an envelope in his hands. “Mail for you, Harry. Looks to be from the Junior Dueling League.” He handed the envelope over to his godson.

“Thanks, Sirius.” Harry opened the envelope and read the letter quickly. “Same as last year. A list of new members joining and the schedule for the summer.” He handed the schedule to Sirius. “Am I going to miss any of the days?”

“Let’s see…” Sirius looked over the schedule and compared it to the plans that they’d already made. “Yeah, you’re going to miss the second and third weekends, that’s the family trip abroad. Your Mastery exam is scheduled for the twelfth, that’s Tuesday, so it shouldn’t interfere with anything.” Sirius looked near the end of the schedule. “Huh, looks like they’re taking the second to last weekend of August off to accommodate the Quidditch World Cup too.”

Tonks chuckled at the fact that even the Junior Dueling League was canceling for the weekend that the World Cup was being held in Britain. “They probably know that a lot of the kids will be at the World Cup with their families. Travel and such would also have to be accounted for too.”

“Make sure that we’re all ready for the trip.” Andromeda poked her head into the sitting room. “None of us want to have to rush on the day of departure.” She looked squarely at Sirius and Tonks as she reminded them in particular.

Sirius chuckled at his cousin’s tone and look.

“I’ll be ready, mum.” Tonks promised with a grin.

“Hopefully not cramming everything into a suitcase the night before…” Andromeda said as she continued on her way towards the backdoor.

“That was one time!” Tonks called after her mother.

Harry snickered, remembering the family trip when he was younger and how Tonks had put off packing until the night before and then just crammed a jumbled mess of clothing and essentials into her suitcase.

Sirius laughed as he guided Harry towards the backyard for some random fun. “Let’s go, Harry. Dora needs to get her things in order!”

Tonks stomped her foot once. “I still have plenty of time! There’s almost a full week!”

-Junior Dueling League ~ First Meeting of the Summer-

“Good to see everyone that’s come back again this summer. And a warm welcome to all of our newcomers!” The Head of the British Junior Dueling League smiled at all of the kids and teens before him. “As you know, we’ve been on a string of victories over the last few years for the summer tournament. All of your predecessors and your senior members of the League have put in much hard work to get us those victories and keep the Junior Dueling League Cup here in Britain. So, I’d like everyone to give it their absolute best as always and let’s show our competition the brilliant Duelists that Britain produces!”

“Yeah!” The group of kids and teens cheered, excited and hyping themselves up.

Harry’s first practice partner of the summer turned out to be Draco Malfoy.

“Scared, Potter?” Draco asked with a smirk on his face.

“Not really.” Harry said with a shrug.

Draco’s expression turned into a sneer. “You should be. I’ve been learning from my father!”

Harry and Draco both saluted each other when the referee for their Dueling Platform told them to.

“How nice. Maybe you’ll be mildly interesting this time.” Harry chuckled as Draco’s face scrunched up in anger from the teasing.

The two turned their backs on each other and walked to their designated ends of the platform.

“Begin!” The Witch watching over their platform called out.

Draco cast the first spell. “Engorgio Skullus!” A purple jet of light rocketed down the length of the platform towards Harry. When the spell was within half a meter of Harry, it suddenly veered off-course and then began to orbit around him over and over again, like it was stuck on a track or something.

Harry noted the spell before looking at Draco’s stunned expression. “Rather ‘dark’ for your father to know and then teach you, Malfoy.” This particular version of the Engorgement Charm was a dark charm that made the victim’s skull swell disproportionately…without altering their skin. That usually led to the expanding skull tearing through the skin in a gruesome manner. Harry blew on the purple spell as it circled him again, snuffing it out like a candle.

“Fracto Strata!” Draco cast another spell, this one a yellow color.

Once more it got within half a meter of Harry and then began to orbit around him as if stuck on a track.

Harry glanced at the spell before snuffing it out as well. Fracto Strata broke things that it hit, that was the spell’s entire purpose. When it hit a human, what broke more often than not were bones. One could almost think of it as a legally gray version of the Bone-Breaking Curse.

“Diffindo! Diffindo Duo! Diffindo Tria!” Draco whipped his wand through the air over and over again. Six cutting charms raced towards Harry before all of them veered away and then vanished a split-second later.

“Reject.” Harry tapped into the Principle of Rejection, setting the force right in front of Draco.

Draco went flying backwards off the dueling platform with a squawk. “Aaauuhhh!” He bounced off the Cushioning Charm-ed floor once before realizing that he’d lost.

“Out of bounds!” The Witch refereeing pointed at Draco. “Harry Potter wins the match!”

Draco had a sneer on his face as he was forced to return to the platform and give the proper post-duel bow to Harry. He stalked off afterwards to sulk while Harry just shook his head at the other teen’s attitude.

‘Magic Manipulation strings are proving to be an adequate defense against most common spells. Still not sure they can handle conjured objects though.’ Harry mused on his progress with the application of his Magic Manipulation. He’d keep tinkering with it and see if he couldn’t make the strings even better at defending him.

The prodigious Spellcrafter spent his first break of the meeting going over various ideas to improve his Magic Manipulation in his head.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Tuesday, July 12^th-

Harry was sitting in an empty room taking a parchment test for his Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery exam. Unlike his Charms Mastery where one had to demonstrate purely practical understanding of Charms to a degree that was judged to be at the appropriate level by a three-person panel of examiners, the DADA Mastery exam required a written test to go over more obscure topics or answer questions about Dark Creatures that couldn’t be provided for practical demonstrations. After all, the Ministry would greatly prefer that no Witch or Wizard practiced any Dark Curses at all. Having a practical test for them would be completely counter to that point.

‘What are three usable defenses against Dark Curses that cannot be blocked by a Shield Charm?’ Harry read the next question. “Awareness of surroundings and quick reflexes, prepared Wards and Charms to keep those with ill intent away, and redirection of spells through blocking with inanimate objects; conjured, summoned, or transfigured.” Harry spoke quietly under his breath as he wrote. That answer covered most of the bases when it came to dealing with unblockable curses. Being aware that you were in a situation where you could be attacked would give you a better chance to avoid any such curses. Preparing Wards or protective Charms if you felt that you were being targeted was obvious and the best way to ensure that you weren’t killed in your sleep by someone with such ill intentions. And the most common method was to simply put something between yourself and the said unblockable curse. That was how the three Unforgivable Curses were usually dealt with, according to every book Harry had read to brush up for this exam.

It was too bad that Harry couldn’t give his own methods as answers. His Barrier would block even the so-called unblockable curses because that was the priority of effect that he gave his spell. His Magic Manipulation would divert the curses away from him or even back at the attackers if he so desired it. But as no one else could do such things (that Harry knew of) he went with a more textbook answer. Harry needed an Outstanding on this written test to pass his Mastery Exam, so he was taking no chances.

Harry was given a break after the written test for lunch. He and Sirius got to eat at the Ministry cafeteria with Tonks while they waited for the practical portion of Harry’s exam.

“How do you think you did, Harry?” Sirius asked after washing down a bite of food with some pumpkin juice.

“I should get an Outstanding based on my answers. I went pretty by-the-book so that they’d all be considered ‘correct’ answers.” Harry said as he took another spoonful of beef stew. “If I gave some of my own answers, they’d definitely count them as wrong.”

Tonks almost snorted into her drink. “Not their fault that you semi-regularly defy common Magical knowledge.”

Harry only shrugged with a little grin on his face.

When the time came for Harry’s practical exam, he was first given the results of his written test.

“Congratulations, Mr. Potter, you’ve passed with an Outstanding for your written exam.” Griselda Marchbanks said to Harry with a smile.

“Thank you, Madam Marchbanks.” Harry returned the smile to the elderly Witch.

One of the other examiners brought out a rolling cart with multiple items on it. “Your first practical task is to determine what curses have been placed upon these items.”

The three examiners stepped back and readied their clipboards to evaluate Harry’s skill with identifying curses, a basic requirement for anyone hoping to get a Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery.

Harry activated his Mage Sight spell and looked at each of the items for a moment, one after another. Seeing the Magic on the items, Harry was easily able to figure out what curses had been cast upon them. “The vase has the Flagrante Curse applied to it. That will burn anyone that touches it. The stationary set has the Bloodletting Curse on the quill. The Ink to Acid Curse has been cast on the inkwell. The parchment has a Deterioration Curse on it that will drain the strength and stamina of anyone that touches it.” Harry gave his answers while looking at the three examiners.

“Th-That’s correct…” One of the examiners nearly gaped as he gave Harry full marks. “But how? You didn’t cast a single charm to reveal anything.”

“That wasn’t necessary.” Harry said simply, not saying anything about his Mage Sight spell.

“Astounding.” The other examiner mumbled to himself, giving Harry full marks as well.

Griselda Marchbanks chuckled at Harry’s performance, still remembering his Charms Mastery exam. “Next will be dealing with Dark Creatures. We have several subjects from minor nuisances up to a few legitimate threats. You’re to demonstrate an adequate method of self-defense for each of the creatures. If you feel you have to kill one of them, do so, but do try and refrain from going too overboard.”

“Yes ma’am.” Harry agreed and watched as the wheeled cart with the cursed items on it was wheeled away.

Soon enough cages and crates were being brought in, some silent, others moving, and some had loud growling or other noises coming from them.

The first creatures let out of their crate was a group of five imps. The small creatures, no more than twenty centimeters tall at the largest, quickly rushed for any small thing that they could get their hands on to throw at Harry and the examiners. Imps were known to love to annoy, trip, or push anyone that they could for a laugh. They weren’t truly threatening for most any Witch or Wizard, being easily scared off by a simple Flipendo hitting them even once.

“There we are.” Harry simply flicked his index finger and all five imps’ arms snapped to their sides, their legs went straight and locked together, and then all five fell to the ground unable to move.

“Very effective use of the Petrificus Totalus, Mr. Potter.” One of the examiners praised as he gave Harry full marks.

The imps were levitated back into their crate and taken away while the next container was brought forward. Harry noticed that all three of the examiners were under an area of effect charm, possibly Protego Totalum, before the lid was removed.

“Billywigs.” Harry noted as soon as he saw the fast moving glints of sapphire blue that flew out of the container. The small insects were fast, which made them rarely noticed by the Non-Magical, and even most Witches and Wizards only saw them after they’d been stung. A swarm like this could actually be a real threat, even if the person in question wasn’t allergic. The buzzing got louder as the fast-moving insects approached Harry.

Fwoosh

Flames erupted in midair, torching the magical insects and making the dead bugs fall to the ground in droves. Like any insect, fire was a quick and efficient means of killing them.

“I think you can still harvest their stingers.” Harry mentioned as the examiners were marking down his scores. Billywig stingers were a Potions ingredient that could be found in several potions taught in Hogwarts.

“Excellently done, Mr. Potter.” Griselda nodded as the dead Billywigs were levitated back into their container and then taken away.

The next creature brought forth was a colorful bird in a cage. Its bright pink feathers and almost ball-like shape made it easy to tell what it was, a Fwooper. The magical birds were known to cause insanity in those that listened to their chirping songs for too long.

A wave of Griselda’s wand and the Silencing Charm on the bird vanished.

“Twee…tweetweetwee…” The Fwooper began to sing and Harry felt nothing. His Occlumency stopped Magics that affected the mind, even the Fwooper’s insanity-causing song. However, as the Mind Arts were a rather esoteric Branch of Magic, the risk posed by an un-silenced Fwooper was very real. “Tweetweetwee…”

The song ended as Harry reapplied the Silencing Charm with barely a thought. Then, for good measure, he conjured a cloth to cover the cage and then placed a Silencing Charm on it as well.

“Very good, very good.” Griselda smiled at Harry as the Fwooper cage was taken away. “You knew that Fwoopers are susceptible to falling asleep if their cage is darkened.” She made an extra mark on her assessment for Harry’s knowledge.

A much larger crate was levitated out a short time later. When it was opened a group of ugly creatures, all roughly a meter in height, with red caps on their heads and holding clubs made of wood or bone stalked out. These were Redcaps. Some believed they were related to Dwarves, while others claimed they were related to Goblins. No true consensus had ever been reached as the Redcaps weren’t intelligent enough to speak human languages, and studies of their bodies only revealed further similarities between both Goblins and Dwarves. They were attracted to places where human blood had been spilt and they bludgeoned the unwary to death if their territory was infringed upon. For lone Non-Magical people, they were incredibly dangerous. For a competent Witch or Wizard, they were an aggressive nuisance more than anything.

“Grah!” The Redcaps let out a screech as they approached Harry, raising their various clubs threateningly.

“None of that now.” Harry waved his hand and the clubs were yanked from the hands of the Redcaps, floating high into the air.

“Gree!”

“Grrr!”

“Auuh!”

The Redcaps shrieked and snarled at their clubs being taken away. They went silent as they were all bound by the Petrificus Totalus that Harry cast on them. All of the Redcaps fell to the ground unmoving and Harry levitated them back into their crate and sealed them inside before letting the clubs gently land on top of the crate.

“Non-lethal and disarming them to make them less of a threat to others.” One examiner nodded in appreciation for Harry’s handling of the Redcaps. It was obvious that he’d given Harry full marks for not resorting to lethal measures, even if they were allowed.

The final crate was much, much larger than the rest and made of thick metal. Even still, it rocked slightly and loud grunts could be heard from within. When the large door swung open, Harry saw a beast that he hadn’t seen since his first year of Hogwarts, a Troll.

The large Troll was easily four meters tall; its dull grey skin denoted it as a Mountain Troll and it was wearing a ragged loincloth that looked to be stained with blood splatter. It was chained up within the metal crate but those restraints came loose by themselves as Harry’s next test began. The Troll grabbed a large wooden club from the floor of the metal crate before stalking out and staring at Harry.

“Well, aren’t you big?” Harry smiled at the Troll.

The Troll breathed in with a few deep sniffs through its nose. Its eyes showed its dim nature as they had no intelligence behind them. What they did have was bloodlust and hunger. The Troll was looking at Harry like he was prey.

Harry noted the blood splattered loincloth and the way the Troll was looking at him. The fact that they even had a Troll for this test, even for a Mastery, was somewhat odd if Harry thought about it. Which led him to a single hypothesis.

‘This thing’s killed and eaten humans before. It was probably captured to be killed and harvested for potions ingredients.’ Harry thought about the Mountain Troll’s presence. If it was a maneater, then its fate was already decided. The Ministry didn’t have much of any tolerance for dangerous Magical Creatures, and by exterminating a dangerous Troll, they could also legally lay claim to its materials.

“RAAAUUUHHH!!!” The Troll let out a loud, bellowing roar as it hefted its club high and started stomping towards Harry with heavy steps that made loud thuds each time its two-toed feet slammed against the stone floor. Most likely, the dull creature had never been truly hurt by a spell and so didn’t consider Witches and Wizards a threat. Troll hide was known to be resistant to Magic, after all, and only powerful Wizards and Witches could overcome it with their spells.

‘Glad I’m a little powerful.’ Harry thought to himself without changing his expression.

“BRAAAUUUHHH!!!” The Mountain Troll was in striking range and it was already salivating as it swung at Harry.

Crack

The wooden club shattered as it slammed into Harry’s barrier.

Not giving the Troll any time to realize what was wrong, Harry swiped his right index finger through the air.

The Troll went silent, its eyes blinking twice before growing duller. Then its head fell off its shoulders and landed with a ‘thump’ on the floor. The headless body fell backwards and crashed to the ground loudly. Thick Troll blood spewed from the neck, painting the stone a nasty reddish color.

“Lovely…” Harry grimaced at the smell that came with the blood. It was his first time killing something like a Troll, but aside from its humanoid appearance, the young man wasn’t overly bothered by it. Trolls were classified as ‘Beasts’ for a reason, and this was more akin to killing a violent ape or bear than a sapient creature. It was still a kill, and Harry was processing the life that he’d taken in his head, but it wasn’t something that would upset Harry or leave lasting effects on his mind.

A team of Witches and Wizards came over to remove the Troll’s corpse while Harry was motioned over to the three examiners.

“Very well executed, Mr. Potter.” Griselda nodded to the young man. “You were never in any danger, were you?”

Harry shook his head once. “No ma’am.” The Troll had no way to actually hurt Harry with him being aware of it. Had he somehow been unconscious and deaf, then perhaps, but the stench of the Troll and its heavy lumbering steps would’ve even woken the deaf. No, a Troll posed no threat to High Sorcerer Harry Potter.

“I don’t think there’s any debate, yes?” The examiner on the left looked at the other two.

“Not at all.” The examiner on the right agreed.

“I’d tell you both to get your heads examined if you thought there was reason for debate.” Griselda said to both of her subordinates before turning to Harry. “Mr. Potter, on behalf of the Wizarding Examinations Authority and the Ministry of Magic, we’d like to present you with a certificate and symbol of Mastery in Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

All three examiners tapped the parchments they’d been scoring Harry’s results on with their wands. The parchments rolled up into scrolls and then vanished. A few moments later another Witch entered the large chamber. She handed a framed certificate to Griselda first and then what looked like a badge of some kind. The younger Witch moved back to stand behind the three examiners after handing the items over.

“Harry James Potter, this certifies you as a Defense Against the Dark Arts Master.” Griselda handed the framed certificate to Harry. It was a parchment inlaid with gold that had Harry’s name on it, the legalese writing in cursive that described his achievement and accomplishments in DADA, and was finished off with a silvery Ministry seal. On the bottom edge were what appeared to be the signatures of Griselda and the other two examiners. “This,” She held up the badge. “As you already know, is a Symbol of Mastery. Just like your Symbol for Charms Mastery, you can keep it on you at all times if you desire. It proves beyond any doubt that you have earned your Mastery.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry gave a short bow to the three elder examiners as he accepted the certificate and the symbol. The symbol was almost identical to the one he got for Charms, a badge made of what appeared to be gold, silver, and potentially even platinum. The gold body of the badge had the seal of the International Confederation of Wizards on it in the background. Around the symbol, along the edge of the badge, were intricate lines of silver to decorate it. Inlaid within the gold was what Harry thought might be platinum, spelling out his name and the title ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts Master’ beneath it.

“You’ll be happy to know that you don’t have to stop by the Minister’s office before you leave, Mr. Potter.” Griselda chuckled and both of her fellow examiners cracked up when they saw the look of relief on Harry’s face.

“Harry!” Sirius beamed as he saw Harry exit the examination room with a new certificate and badge. “No problems, eh?”

Harry shook his head once with a smile. “Not this time!” He laughed as Sirius pulled him into a hug and overdramatically proclaimed how proud he was.

The two headed for the offices of the DMLE to show Tonks as well.

-Auror Bullpen-

“Nym!” Harry called out loudly, startling the Metamorph.

A wall of transfigured air sprung up between Tonks and Harry as the Auror whipped around with her hand raised.

Harry examined the ‘air bricks’ with an amused eye. “Interesting… You did that without any hesitation.”

“Harry!” Tonks made the air return to normal as she shot him an unamused look. “You little prat!” She pulled him into a headlock and gave him a noogie for good measure. “So…?” She looked at the certificate and the badge in Harry’s hands.

“Second Mastery attained!” Harry displayed his accomplishment to Tonks with a grin.

Tonks smiled and gave Harry a warm hug. “Never doubted you for a second, Harrikins.”

“Celebratory dinner tonight?” Sirius offered Tonks with a wide grin.

“If you’re paying.” Tonks grinned right back at Sirius as she let Harry go.

Sirius took on a faux thinking look. “Well… I suppose I can… Since it’s for Harry.”

“Much appreciated, dad.” Harry laughed and was pulled into a gentle hug by Sirius.

Tonks could only smile softly at the father-son moment between Harry and Sirius. She knew how much it meant to both of them that Harry could call Sirius ‘dad’ like this.

The two were let out of the Auror Bullpen by Tonks through the Floo, which could normally only be accessed by Aurors. It was a much faster way to get home than having to walk back through the Ministry to get to the public Floos.

-Next Morning-

“Well… That’s expected…but still a little annoying.” Ted mentioned as he saw the front page headline on the Daily Prophet.

‘Harry Potter ‘The Boy Who Lived’ stuns Magical Britain by earning his second Mastery!’

Tonks snorted at the headline. “You’d think they’d be less surprised after all the crazy things that Harry has already done.”

Andromeda read the first part of the article over her husband’s shoulder. “They didn’t even get Harry’s age right.” She tsked at the lack of fact-checking within the Prophet.

“Shocking.” Sirius said with a flat tone. “Anything I need to contact the family barrister for?”

Ted finished reading the article first, before looking up from the paper. “Doesn’t look like it this time. The article wasn’t written by Skeeter at the very least.”

“The fact that she’s allowed to write after all the ‘speculations’ that she’s made over the years is just a sign of the quality of the Daily Prophet.” Harry said with a wave of his hand. “The Quibbler is at least honest about being a tabloid.” He mentioned of the magazine that was floating in front of him as he ate his breakfast. Luna had asked if he read it and Harry couldn’t say ‘no’ to his little sister. It was a fun little magazine if one read it as satire and funny stories, rather than taking it seriously.

“Thanks for breakfast, mum.” Tonks finished her food and gave Andromeda a hug. “I’ll see you all after my shift.” She hugged Ted, Sirius, and Harry, leaving a kiss atop Harry’s head.

“Have a good day, honey.” Ted smiled at his daughter as she held her hand up to her mouth and cast a specialized teeth-cleaning spell. ‘Her wandless magic is getting much better ever since Harry started teaching her.’ He was a very proud father for all that his daughter had accomplished already in life.

-Saturday ~ July 16^th ~ Morning-

“Is everyone ready?” Sirius questioned the group as they waited for the International Portkey to activate. They’d chosen eight in the morning for their departure as the time change would put them in the late afternoon when they arrived in Japan, the first trip abroad that they were taking as a family.

“We’ve got everything we need.” Andromeda nodded as she patted her suitcase. She eyed Ted’s, Harry’s, Sirius’s, and Nymphadora’s in turn to make sure that nobody was forgetting theirs.

“Ready and waiting.” Harry’s excited grin brought a smile to Sirius’s face. The prodigious Spellcrafter had been the one to choose the destination for their family trip as a reward for his various accomplishments (and staying out of trouble at Hogwarts, but Sirius thought Andromeda was being boring for rewarding that).

Harry had chosen Japan for the simple fact that he was interested in Magic that was vastly different from anything that was taught in Magical Britain. What better place to find such Magics than a country literally on the other side of the world?

“I believe this will be quite interesting.” Ted smiled at his family happily. It had been far too long since they’d all been able to take a trip together in his humble opinion.

“Let’s go, before Madam Bones gets the idea to call and tell me that the department needs me.” Tonks really wanted her first vacation in years!

“I’ve never been to the Far East before. I’m certain that it’ll be lovely.” Andromeda kissed her husband’s cheek, planning to have some time together on the trip.

“Should be about time,” Sirius looked at his watch before holding out the length of rope to the group. Andromeda, Harry, Tonks, and Ted all firmly grasped the rope as Sirius began a countdown. “Five, four, three, two, one!” A second later and they all felt the telltale ‘hook behind the navel’ feeling as they were whisked through a swirl of colors for a very long moment.

-Tokyo ~ Ministry of Magic-

The group of five landed from the International Portkey on their feet. Harry almost staggered from the sudden stop, but managed to keep his feet. Tonks wasn’t so lucky, falling over and having to scramble back to her feet with an embarrassed look on her face while cursing her clumsiness.

Looking around, Harry noticed that they were on a large platform. On both the left and right were more platforms that were receiving travelers. Harry looked forward and a large sign caught his attention. The sign read ‘日本の魔法省’ and Harry looked below that to see, in English, the words ‘Ministry of Magic of Japan’. Beneath that, in large characters, was the word ‘Welcome’ written in several languages.

The group moved off the platform when a uniformed man waved them over. An odd feeling ran over their bodies and Ted mentioned that it was likely a ward to disperse any form of concealment Magic or transfiguration before travelers could enter the country. They were directed to a desk not too far away with another Wizard sitting behind it. Sirius pulled out their travel information as they walked over. With a friendly smile and a nod of his head, he placed the documents on the desk.

“Welcome.” The Japanese Wizard greeted them in slightly accented English after glancing at the first page of their documents. “You’ve come to Japan on vacation, correct?” He questioned as he looked over the parchment and then at the group of five.

“Yes sir,” Sirius nodded in agreement. “Sirius Black, Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, and Harry Potter.” He pointed to each of them in turn while the Japanese Wizard compared them to their photos on their documents.

After looking over all of the documents, the Wizard nodded and stamped the first page. A tap of his wand and the stamp glowed, turning a golden color. He pulled out a wooden box and opened it before turning it to face the five British Magicals. Inside the box were five small items that looked sort of like Non-Magical hearing aids. “We hope you enjoy your time in Japan.” He gave them a short bow from his seated position as the five of them put the items onto their ears. The Japanese Wizard then turned to face another Wizard next to a gate. {Let them through, Tanaka-san!} he spoke in Japanese, but thanks to the Magical Items they’d put on their ears, the British family could understand the words.

These particular items were called Linguistic Aides, and from what Harry knew of them, they were rather expensive. Sirius had paid extra to have one for each of them when they arrived in Japan. The item could be set to convert one spoken language into another which would be heard with barely any delay. To change the language required a specialist that knew the language the wearer wanted translated. Harry did wonder if he couldn’t make a spell that did the same, but he’d look into that later, after his many more interesting ideas were tested.

The five of them passed through the gate after it was opened for them. The metal gate was closed behind them immediately afterwards. The group walked up a short flight of stairs and followed the signs (thankfully in multiple languages, one of them being English) and were out in the Magical District of Tokyo a short time later.

“This time change is so going to mess with me.” Tonks said with a sigh, seeing the position of the sun.

“We did just lose eight hours.” Ted chuckled at his daughter.

Andromeda looked at Sirius. “We should find our hotel first and put our things down.”

“My thoughts exactly, Andy!” Sirius agreed with a laugh. “But it’s not a hotel! I booked us at a traditional inn with a hot spring!” He loved spending some of the vast Black Family wealth on his family. The fact that it was on things that the old, bigoted Black Family would hate only made it better.

The exit from the Ministry hadn’t dumped them into the heart of Non-Magical Tokyo like the British Ministry did in London. But into what was clearly a type of Magical Alley like Diagon back home. The district was clearly built in an older style as compared to modern Tokyo. Harry was no expert on the history of the country, but he’d guess that it was probably similar to Diagon and might be about two-hundred years older than most of the Non-Magical buildings in Tokyo. Harry’s head was turning in every direction to try and take it all in. He saw a few creatures he wasn’t familiar with in the window of what seemed to be a Menagerie-style shop. There were shops similar to Scrivenshaft’s that sold parchment, ink, scrolls, and other stationary too. A few shops also sold things from Magical Europe, indicating that Magical Japan had a healthy international trade across the world.

Harry couldn’t wait to explore as much as possible of this new and interesting land!

The rest of the walk to the hotel was filled with taking in the sights of the area and making plans to explore it together as a family. When they got to their accommodations, all of them looked the traditional inn over. It had a high wall around it and a gate of thick wood. They walked through the open gate to a large garden courtyard and the three-story building was quite splendid. Made mostly of wood and with a tiled roof, it was a picturesque looking building.

The accommodations were explained by one of the polite hotel staff as they entered the building proper and checked in. They walked into a relatively large entrance hall, with couches and chairs where guests could sit and talk with each other. It was clear that the interior was constructed using traditional Japanese methods. The flooring was tatami, and all the doors appeared to be sliding doors. One of the features of the traditional inn that was explained by the helpful staff were the common bathing areas called ofuro. They were usually segregated by gender, and used the water from a hot spring if any were available nearby. After getting checked in, the family of five went to their large room that had quite a bit of space, more than enough for the five of them.

The rest of the evening was spent getting settled and trying out the yukata that the hotel provided. Harry didn’t mind the garment. It was comfortable and not that much different than a robe. He also thought that Tonks looked very nice in hers, which was an added bonus. Dinner was served by the staff and Harry enjoyed trying out the new cuisine. He’d never had tempura before, sashimi had taken a second for him to eat too. He wasn’t used to raw meat of any kind, but it had been tasty in the end. The hotpot was tasty and filling, probably one of his favorites so far. Dessert was anmitsu, which was sweet but unlike any dessert that Harry had ever eaten before.

“Bath time!” Tonks grinned as she and Andromeda headed for the hot spring. They were all looking forward to trying it out since it had been recommended.

“Shall we, Harry? Ted?” Sirius chuckled as the menfolk took their towels and walked down to the springs themselves.

The steam filled the area and rose into the open air as the three stepped out of the building. A few other men were already relaxing in the fairly large pool. Sirius walked forward with no shame, towel in hand, as he happily went with the customs of the land. Harry had debated on wearing his towel, but had shrugged it off after seeing Sirius nonchalantly going bare. Ted had his on for a bit, but seeing everyone else going without, he removed it before slipping into the spring.

“Ah~” Harry couldn’t help but sigh as he submerged his body in the hot water.

“Mhmm~” Sirius hummed as he relaxed against the edge not too far from his godson. “That’s nice.”

“I bet you were hoping for a bit of that co-ed bathing, huh?” Ted joked with Sirius, knowing of the slightly younger man’s old ‘playboy’ nature.

Sirius chuckled quietly, minding the sign that they’d seen that requested guests not to be overly loud and to not splash or swim in the spring. “If it was an option…then maybe.” He tried to look suave. “The ladies of the Far East haven’t had the ‘Sirius Black’ experience, after all.”

Harry and Ted both snorted and muffled their laughter.

“Aunt Andromeda would definitely hex you.” Harry laughed at his godfather.

Ted nodded in agreement. “Definitely. I wouldn’t be able to stop her.” He snickered at Sirius’s faux betrayed look.

The time spent relaxing in the hot spring was very enjoyable and when the family got out and returned to their room they redressed so that they could explore the Magical District.

“What should we see first?” Harry asked, clearly the most excited to check out everything.

“Let’s walk the main street first, then we can start exploring from there.” Andromeda smiled, seeing Harry so excited and happy.

With the basic plan set, the five of them started walking down the main street of the district and took in the sights.

In a short time Harry had a bag in hand and was filling it with various things that caught his interest from multiple small shops. Not to mention a few small souvenirs for his friends. Sirius laughed as he paid for it all, using the currency that he’d exchanged beforehand through Gringotts. Even if he felt a bit stiffed by the ‘fees’ the Goblins charged him to do it.

As the family of five had fun and experienced some of the culture of Japan, they didn’t notice that they were being watched by a pair of interested golden eyes. Said eyes were focused almost entirely on Harry. The watcher’s eyes did widen when Harry looked directly at them a minute or so after they started watching the young man. But Harry’s eyes slid past them a second later.

“My, my, aren’t you the interesting one?” The watcher murmured to themselves, wondering how Harry had noticed that he was being watched even though the watcher was concealed by a spell. “Not only a large amount of power, but sharp intuition as well. I’m quite curious now.” The watcher seemed to vanish into the shadows, the last thing to disappear being their golden eyes, which almost seemed to glow.

-End Chapter-

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Harry earns his Defense Against the Dark Arts Mastery! Woo!

But was there ever any doubt? Kek!

The first meeting of the Junior Dueling League wasn’t very exciting for Harry. One would think that Draco would know not to be a boastful prat…but you can’t fix stupid.

Those spells he was using were rather ‘dark’ leaning, however. Harry notices and yet still makes it clear that no matter what Draco thinks he knows, Harry knows FAR more.

Trip abroad for the family! Yay! It’s to Japan because Harry wants to be as far removed from the Magic of Europe as possible. He’s so curious, as always! Ha! Will Harry be able to pick up some new Magical knowledge from the Land of the Rising Sun?

He’s already got a mysterious watcher just by walking through the main street of the Tokyo Magical District! Who is this watcher and what could they possibly want with Harry?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Trip in Japan! Yay! What fun and interesting things will Harry discover in this foreign land? Just by walking down the main street of the Magical District in Tokyo, Harry had someone interested in him. But who, or what, was the watcher in question? Will they make themselves known? Perhaps their interest in Harry’s power and intuition will be a door for Harry to learn something that he never could in Magical Europe?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 29 – Sights, Culture, Magic

The second day of Harry and family’s trip to Japan started off with a traditional breakfast at the inn. Harry enjoyed the food, even though it was very different from an English breakfast. Plans for the day were made, Andromeda and Ted were going to walk the Magical District of Tokyo and ask around for recommended magical sights to see. It was basically a day out for the husband and wife to enjoy time alone together. Sirius, Tonks, and Harry would be checking out more shops and whatever else caught their interest, maybe even heading out into Non-Magical Tokyo to see a few of the sights there.

“Hm?” Harry looked off to his left and just over his shoulder.

“Something wrong, Harrikins?” Tonks asked since Harry had been looking over his shoulder somewhat often today.

Harry looked a little puzzled before turning to answer. “I keep getting the feeling that I’m being watched. But I don’t see anyone when I look.”

Sirius narrowed his eyes and looked around the area. Pulling out his wand he flicked it. “Homenum Revelio.” A slight wave left the tip of Sirius’s wand and spread out in a large circle around the three of them. A moment later Sirius shook his head. “No people are around.”

“Maybe I’m a little off because we’re in a new place?” Harry shrugged it off for now and the three of them continued on their way.

A distance away, a short figure hummed thoughtfully. “Quite the intuition on the young man. Perhaps he’d be worth conversing with?” It had been a while since the figure had someone new to have a good conversation with.

-Inoue Books and Scrolls-

Harry happily pulled another book off the shelf at the shop that had caught his eye. Flipping it open, he looked at the various characters that he couldn’t read, but his eyes quickly focused on the diagrams on the pages intently. The details of the diagrams explained more to Harry than the words that he couldn’t read when it came to the Magic being explained. “So…a type of protective ward? It’s a very different method than what I’m familiar with from back home.” Without being able to read the words, however, Harry knew it would take a lot of trial and error to make use of the diagram he saw within the book.

The shopkeeper, a lovely Witch with sleek black hair going down her back and quite the curvy figure barely hidden by her yukata, smiled politely at the three foreign Magicals in her shop as they browsed. “If you have any difficulty, please feel free to ask for assistance.” She offered with heavily accented English.

“Thank you, we will.” Sirius gave the woman a smile, Miss Inoue’s cheeks gaining a hint of pink on them from his aristocratic good looks.

By the time they’d left the shop, Harry had three books and two scrolls stored in the expanded space within his pockets and a bright smile on his face. Sure, he’d need to at least learn a bit of Japanese to fully read them, but just the diagrams alone that he’d seen were already a wealth of information to his intuitive understanding of Magic. Miss Inoue was also smiling, having made a good sale and feeling quite flattered from Sirius’s attention and compliments. Tonks rolled her eyes at Sirius and pulled him out of the shop lest he get too far into his playboy persona.

-Later-

A bit after lunch the trio of Harry, Tonks, and Sirius were in Non-Magical Tokyo and enjoying the sights of the expansive metropolis. The lights, screens, and sounds in the entertainment area known as Akihabara were amazing and all three Magicals could imagine that they’d be even more impressive at night. Harry and Tonks were having a ball checking out various things, shops that catered to videogames, Japanese cartoons or ‘anime’ as the locals called them, character or theme shops and cafes. It was all so very different than anything they’d seen before. Sirius was happily collecting fliers that young ladies in various costumes and outfits were handing out. He would admit to being rather fond of the maid outfits and how much leg they showed.

“These are way different than the comics back home.” Tonks mentioned as she and Harry perused a manga shop and looked at various books. “They’ve got long stories, all told chapter by chapter in these comics, instead of the stuff in the papers.” She wasn’t familiar with Western Comic giants from the United States, Marvel and DC, so she only had the comics that were in the Muggle papers that her father occasionally brought home to compare them to.

“Very different stories, that’s for sure.” Harry looked through a few different manga with a grin. One had a boy with a monkey tail that did martial arts, another had a teenage punk that got mixed up with demons, one that had a swordsman with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek, and one about a boy detective. He couldn’t read a word of it, but the pictures and art were very easy to follow along with and had an impact all their own.

Tonks snickered as she looked through a few manga that were clearly aimed more towards girls. The book in her hand even had an anime, considering that they’d both seen it on one of the tv screens out front. “Ara ara, huh?” She laughed quietly at the way one of the older female characters acted, especially around the male lead of the manga. ‘I might have to borrow that expression.’ Tonks glanced over at Harry with a grin.

Upon returning to the Magical District after their jaunt into Non-Magical Tokyo, Harry was in a good mood. But shortly after entering the district he once more felt like he was being watched. Not looking this time, Harry wondered just who could be watching him with such constant attention. The following eyes disappeared as they returned to their inn.

-Next Day-

“Oh, it’s lovely.” Andromeda was enjoying the architecture and colors of the shrine they were visiting today. It was one that was built and taken care of entirely by Magicals and was placed a bit away from the main thoroughfare of the Tokyo Magical District.

Ted looked at the little informational pamphlet (thankful that it had English below the Japanese) and read off a little of it. “This place enshrines the Kami… Oh, I might butcher this name… Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami…also known as Hiruko…or Ebisu. He’s one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, and a Deity of Fishermen and Luck.”

“Can never have too much luck.” Sirius said with a grin. “Japan has many, many Deities and spirits, it’s impossible for me to try and keep track.”

“You’re not wrong.” Tonks had looked at the paper that Ted was holding and saw a list of other shrines across Japan that were operated solely by Witches and Wizards. It was a very long list that took up almost the entire back of the paper. “And these are just the shrines run by Magical people… How many are there for the Non-Magical side?” Given the vast population disparity between Magical and Non-Magical it had to be in the tens of thousands, at least.

After visiting the shrine, and being led through the proper rite to pay respects to the Kami by a friendly shrine goer that they’d met, the family headed out to continue their sightseeing for the day. They saw a few places that had survived through the second World War thanks to Magical protection, though some did mention that the Statute of Secrecy had nearly been broken during the bombing and subsequent burning of Tokyo. It could be hard to hide the fact that one place in the city was unnaturally less damaged than everywhere else, after all. They had lunch at a small restaurant, trying out something called Gyudon (a beef and rice bowl), before continuing with their day.

Harry stopped walking as he felt something change in the air. He was a fair distance away from anyone else, having gone off a bit to explore, and noticed that there weren’t any people around. The feeling of being watched had followed him around most of the day, but now it had increased. ‘This is getting ridiculous.’ Harry thought to himself before reaching out with his Magic straight towards where the feeling was coming from.

“Mmmnnngh.” The large creature that Harry’s Magic had grabbed looked similar to the Oni that were native to Japan, but this one was different, with sharper features, almost like it was wearing full body armor or something over its blue skin. But there was something very ‘odd’ about the Oni that Harry couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“You’re not the one that’s been watching me.” Harry spoke to the blue Oni, his green eyes narrowing slightly. “Where did you come from?”

A soft clapping came from behind the blue Oni as a short figure revealed themselves from behind the creature. “You are a very impressive young man.” The person smiled at Harry, making the High Sorcerer blink once in surprise.

“A cat?” Harry couldn’t help but ask.

Indeed, the person that had spoken to Harry was a cat dressed in traditional clothing, a simple pair of ash grey hakama, a white kosode, with a forest green hanten over the kosode. On the cat’s feet were white tabi socks and wooden geta. The humanoid body was a bit strange to Harry, given he could see the cat’s head and the long tail behind it.

“How interesting…” Harry grinned at meeting another non-human, sapient Magical species for the first time. Outside of the Goblins and the Dwarves he’d met, and Fleur who was a Veela, Harry hadn’t met any others.

“Glad you think so.” The cat laughed lightly before holding up its right hand. “That’s enough, Zenki, you’ve done well.” The blue Oni glowed lightly and then faded away right before Harry’s eyes. A slip of paper in a vaguely human shape floated into the cat’s hand, only to be stashed away within a pocket of the forest green hanten. “Shall we have a chat, young man?”

Harry was now VERY interested in this magical cat and what it had just done. “I’m with my family right now. But if I stay in the area, I’m sure they’ll find me soon enough.”

The cat smiled, looking a bit odd on a cat’s face, and walked over to Harry. “Wonderful. I know a nice stand that has good tea.” He walked further down the street to lead the way.

“Alright then.” Harry chuckled and followed along. “Might you tell me your name?”

“I’m called Yasashī.” The cat said with a slight nod. “And you, young man?”

“Harry Potter.” Harry introduced himself.

The two sat down on a wooden bench with a large umbrella over it to provide shade. A few moments later a woman greeted them and asked for their orders. Yasashī ordered for both of them and shortly afterwards Harry had a cup of matcha green tea in his hands.

“Why have you been watching me since I got here?” Harry asked after a sip of tea.

“You’re interesting, mostly.” Yasashī answered with a grin. “You noticed me watching you very quickly and even looked right at me, despite the fact that I was concealing myself with a spell. Not many can do that. It takes a great amount of intuition to see through the type of Magic that I use.”

Harry took the compliment but his mind quickly locked onto the part about Magic. “And what Magic is that? Is it the same type that allows you to summon an Oni with a piece of paper?”

Yasashī took a sip of his tea. “Indeed, it is.” He looked at Harry with a grin. “What you saw earlier is called a shikigami. It’s one of the Magics of Onmyōdō. Several centuries ago, I was a normal cat that happened to be the pet of an Onmyōji. After growing old, I became a Bakeneko and learned the art of Onmyōdō from years of watching my master.”

“Interesting.” Harry smiled at learning about a type of Magic that didn’t exist in Europe. “Can you tell me more?”

“I can.” Yasashī laughed lightly at Harry’s clear interest. “To start with, Onmyōdō means ‘The Way of Yin and Yang’ and it deals with Divination, Timekeeping, Astronomy, Natural Sciences, and the Wuxing, also called the Five Elements.”

Harry perked up at the last part. “I know the five phases from Chinese magical principles.” He’d studied whatever he could get his hands on growing up and with a small population of Chinese Magicals in Britain, the five elements or phases had been something Harry had learned a little about. “Wood generates fire, which generates earth, which generates metal, which generates water, which generates wood. Wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, and metal overcomes wood. Or at least that’s how it’s explained in the book that I read about it.”

“You have some basic knowledge then, I’m impressed. Not many in the modern age bother to learn about the Magics of other lands.” Yasashī said before taking a sip of his tea. “I can already see the questions in your eyes.” He laughed at the obvious inquisitiveness that practically poured off of Harry. “Normally you’d have to join the Onmyōryō, one of the oldest groups that makes up the Ministry of Magic of Japan, to learn the old rites, rituals, and spells of Onmyōdō.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’…” Harry raised an eyebrow at the Bakeneko.

Yasashī snickered for a second. “But… I was one of the Six Elder Onmyōji of the Onmyōryō for almost a century. I have quite a bit of leeway in who I decide to teach anything to, especially since I retired and don’t work for them anymore.”

Harry smiled at the thought of learning any kind of cultural Magic from the ancient Bakeneko. “Brilliant.” Looking thoughtful for a moment, Harry felt like he’d explode if he didn’t ask the biggest question in his mind. “That shikigami…was that a type of Spiritual or Soul Magic?”

“Shikigami are conjured beings, spirits, yokai, monsters and the like. Their power is connected to the magical power of their master and the abilities they can use grow stronger and broader in scope in proportion to said master’s skill and power.” Yasashī explained to Harry. “As the Shikigami arts deal with spirits, they fall under the rather broad term of Shamanism, much like any other form of Soul Magic does.”

“Fascinating.” Harry finally had a lead on figuring out Soul Magic, or at least one type of it. That would hopefully help him find ways to deal with it. Voldemort apparently knew some form of it himself, if that diary ‘memory’ from his Second Year was any indication. “Why are you willing to teach me any of this though?”

Yasashī looked at Harry for a moment. “It takes a great deal of intuition to actually use Onmyōdō and become a full-fledged Onmyōji. Your intuition is so great that you managed to perceive my gaze even through my spells. While I doubt you have the time to undergo a full apprenticeship right now, I’d like to give you a test to see if you have the aptitude for Onmyōdō.”

Harry could sort of understand Yasashī’s reasoning. He’d also agreed to teach his friends that had shown a desire to learn, after all. Perhaps the Bakeneko was so ancient now that he just wanted to teach someone that he saw potential in? Harry wouldn’t miss an opportunity like this. “Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself.” He nodded to the cat.

“To begin, let’s run down the list of skills that all Onmyōji must know.” Yasashī began with a grin. “We’ll start with the various forms of Divination.”

It was almost twenty minutes later that Tonks, Sirius, Andromeda, and Ted found Harry, sitting on a bench and talking to a rather large cat wearing human clothes that was also smoking from a kiseru pipe.

“Wotcher, Harry…who’s your friend?” Tonks asked as the four approached.

Harry smiled at his family and introduced his new friend. “This is Yasashī, a Bakeneko, and a retired Onmyōji from the Japanese Ministry of Magic. He’s teaching me a bit about Onmyōdō to see if I have the aptitude for it.”

“Pleased to meet you, Yasashī.” Sirius greeted the cat with a polite smile. “Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather.”

“Wotcher, just call me Tonks.” Tonks gave a short bow to the cat.

“Andromeda Tonks, Harry’s aunt.” Andromeda gave a polite and proper greeting to the Bakeneko.

“Ted Tonks, Harry’s uncle.” Ted copied his daughter and gave a short bow to the ancient magical cat.

Yasashī nodded to the four with a polite smile. “A pleasure to meet you all.” His English was nearly perfect, only a slight accent and none of the humans were sure if that was because his native language was Japanese, or if it was because he was a cat. “We were just going through the list of skills that make up Onmyōdō. Young Harry has proven to be remarkably talented so far, I’m sure he could have the basics of the few parts that he doesn’t know well in hand before you all return home.”

Tonks let out a long sigh. “Harry, must you turn our vacation into you going to Magic class?”

Harry held his index finger and thumb apart by a fraction of a centimeter. “Just a little Magic class, Nym.” The little smirk on his face made Tonks flick his forehead. “Oi!”

“We do still have plans for most of the days of our vacation, Harry.” Andromeda reminded him that they’d be traveling to various parts of the country to see the sights.

“I’d be more than able to fit in a few lessons at the end of each day.” Yasashī offered with a small smile. “The rest I’ll write up for Harry to study and refine his lessons after you all return home.”

Sirius gave the Bakeneko a smile. “That would be much appreciated.” It meant that their family trip wouldn’t be interrupted, and Harry still got to learn this new Magic that he clearly wanted to. Sirius was nothing if not a doting parent.

“Not a problem.” Yasashī waved off with a chuckle. “It also gives me a chance to shake the rust off of my English writing skills. I haven’t had a need for them in quite a few years now.” He stood up from the bench and took one last drag from his kiseru pipe and then blew the smoke out into a cloud off to the side. “I’ll see Harry for a lesson this evening, if that’s alright?”

Sirius and Harry both agreed that would be fine after sharing a look between them.

With the agreement made, the smoke cloud formed into the shape of an Eastern Dragon and Yasashī jumped on its back, revealing that it was now a solid shikigami. “Once you advance far enough in your studies of Onmyōdō, you’ll be able to use almost anything as a medium for it, Harry.” The Bakeneko was then flown away on the back of his white dragon shikigami.

“Okay, that was kind of cool…” Tonks admitted once the magical cat was out of sight.

So it went that the Family spent their days in Japan visiting various locations, cities, and sights. They went to the Tokyo Tower, were able to join a tour of the Imperial Castle (what parts were open to such things, of course), saw many of the special wards of Tokyo, such as Shibuya, Roppongi, Yokohama, Ginza, and Shinjuku. Tonks and Harry convinced the others to return to Akihabara at night to see all of the lights, which had been worth the trip in their opinion. They went to Kyoto, the old capital, and visited gardens, shrines, they’d seen the famous Ginkakuji and Kinkakuji temples, and saw traditional kabuki theatre as well. Nara Prefecture had been fun with various parks filled with Sika Deer that would bow if they were bowed to first and then given a ‘deer cracker’ which could be bought from small stands that were set up around many of the parks. They visited Osaka and the famous Dotonburi area filled with shops and their various large and colorful signs, including one that was a giant crab that moved! Seeing various ancient castles, a few of which were as old as Hogwarts if not older, had been interesting as well.

The Magical sites in Japan had Harry the most excited. There were hidden forests and springs filled with magical creatures native only to Japan, small islands hidden by Magic where various workshops and artisans practiced magical crafts that had been honed and refined for almost two-thousand years. They’d even gotten to see students of Mahoutokoro (Japan’s premiere Magical School and one of the eleven largest magical schools in the world) that had been visiting one of the workshops. Seeing their robes, Harry wondered why Hogwarts only had plain black. The Mahoutokoro robes apparently changed color based on a student’s academic performance with gold being those that got top marks in every subject. Harry saw a range of colors, but no more than twelve for sure, and he wasn’t absolutely certain that at least two of the colors weren’t just regular robes since they seemed to be worn by Professors.

-Final Night in Japan-

Yasashī stood across from Harry under the night sky. “Whenever you’re ready, Harry.” He said, motioning for Harry to attempt a shikigami summoning.

“Right.” Harry breathed out and focused on the single leaf on the ground in front of him. His goal was to manifest a simple spirit known as a ‘Kooni’ or ‘Small Oni’, though Yasashī also called them ‘Leaf Sprites’ because of their medium being a leaf. They were just little earth spirits with no will of their own, being that they were based in pebbles and leaves. It was a simple and safe beginning shikigami because of the lack of sapience and the fact that they vanished the moment that the Onmyōji stopped giving them Magic.

A soft green glow surrounded the single leaf as Harry used his Magic as Yasashī had taught him. Recalling the five phases and knowing that the Kooni were earth spirits, he focused his Magic to that specific element as he tried to call forth the little sprite. A moment later and a spherical little spirit formed around the leaf. It was a rather cute thing, having two small eyes, two stubby arms and an equally stubby pair of legs, with two horns atop its spherical body that were both larger than its tiny limbs.

“Oo…” The little Kooni made a soft noise as it floated upwards until it was at eye-level with Harry. As it hadn’t been given any instruction, it simply floated near Harry for now.

“Oh ho… Very good, Harry.” Yasashī praised his sort-of student with a smile. “You managed to summon a Kooni shikigami in just over a week. Most beginners take a month or more for such results.”

Harry smiled at both the praise and the little shikigami in front of him. This was what he wanted the most while traveling abroad, new Magics, esoteric Magics, cultural Magics, things that he’d never see or know if he stayed in Magical Britain his whole life. “Thank you very much, Yasashī-shishou.”

The Bakeneko let out a meowing laugh. “Who’re you calling ‘Master’, boy?” Yasashī shook his head at Harry’s address. “You can only call me that if you undertake a formal apprenticeship. Maybe in the future, but something tells me that since you now know the basics, you’ll figure out the rest yourself easily enough.”

“I hope to improve, at the very least.” Harry confirmed with a laugh of his own. “Should I try giving this little one an order?” He looked at the floating Kooni.

“Give it a try.” Yasashī said while taking a drag from his kiseru pipe.

Harry looked at the Kooni and directed it with merely thought and intention. The little green Kooni shot towards Yasashī at speed, only to be smacked away by the kiseru pipe while the Bakeneko exhaled the smoke.

“You’re a few centuries too early to be trying that on me, Harry.” Yasashī smirked at the young man. “Trying to take an old cat’s pipe from him. How rude of you.”

The Kooni had ‘popped’, Harry noticed of his first shikigami. “You put a little Magic into your pipe and broke the medium to undo my shikigami, right?”

Yasashī nodded with a smile at Harry’s quick deduction. “Indeed. It doesn’t take much when you know how to undo a Shikigami. Using an element that is overcoming against the spirit also makes it easier to strike directly at their medium.” He held up his kiseru and lightly tapped the wooden length. “Wood overcomes earth, after all. The medium itself is also important in shikigami when it comes to the five elements. The Kooni you summoned is a tiny earth spirit, a plucked leaf can be a good medium as can a small pebble. However, if you were to try using either of those as a medium for a fire spirit, the Kooni summoned would quickly disperse as the medium was burned up.”

Harry thought about the new information. It made sense that the elements between medium and spirit would need to be compatible. “Is that why natural sciences are part of Onmyōdō?”

“That’s part of it, yes.” Yasashī confirmed with a smile at how quickly Harry picked up knowledge from even brief lessons. “I believe that will conclude our lessons for now.” He took out a book, bound in the traditional way with a thick string through one edge of the pages. “I almost bound the edges on the right side, but I stopped before I did so, given that English is read left to right.” The old cat laughed as he handed the book to Harry. “It’s no Senji Ryukketsu like Abe no Seimei’s, but it’ll serve you well on your further studies into Onmyōdō.”

“Thank you very much.” Harry accepted the book with a polite bow.

“Your girlfriend seems to be waiting for you, so I’ll be on my way.” Yasashī nodded his head to Tonks who was standing at the edge of the inn’s garden where they’d been having Harry’s lessons each night. “Good evening to both of you.” The Bakeneko nodded as he walked by Tonks and headed out into the Magical District of Tokyo. He was soon lost amongst the crowd, his short form easily hidden by the taller Witches and Wizards.

Tonks approached Harry with an amused grin on her lips. “So… I’m your girlfriend now, huh?”

Harry rolled his eyes at her playfully. “I never said that. Yasashī just assumes it because of how close we are.”

“You know you love me.” Tonks wrapped Harry into a hug.

“How could I not?” Harry asked rhetorically, just a hint of sarcasm heard in his tone as he returned the hug.

Tonks grinned at Harry as she pulled back from the hug a bit. “Ara ara it is then.” With that she leaned down slightly and kissed him gently.

Harry blinked at the unexpected kiss before looking at Tonks with a raised eyebrow. “And how long have you been waiting to say that?”

“Since the manga bookstore.” Tonks said without shame. “Come on, lover boy, time for bed.” She took his hand and started leading him back towards the inn.

“With you?” Harry asked with a smirk.

“You wish.” Tonks shot back with her own smirk.

Harry laughed as he let Tonks lead him along. Part of his mind was still thinking about his last lesson from Yasashī about compatible mediums for shikigami. ‘I know I can’t summon a shikigami from anything that’s not natural, so conjuring mediums is out. But as long as they’re compatible…’ A few different ideas would form before he went to sleep that night, but he’d have to try them out to determine their actual practicality.

-Tonks Family Home ~ Midnight-

“Oof!” Tonks lost her balance and toppled over, taking Harry with her to the floor.

Sirius shook his head once. “International Portkeys really disorientate you.”

Andromeda and Ted appeared fine for the most part as they got their bearings.

“Alright there, Harrikins?” Tonks asked as she lay on top of him.

“Take your time, I’m brilliant.” Harry said with a joking grin.

Tonks rolled her eyes, but pressed her breasts against his chest a little before she pushed herself off of him and stood up. Taking his hand, she pulled Harry to his feet, the two of them sharing a look with each other.

“So… We’re back eight hours now. Should we stay up and try to resynchronize?” Sirius asked the group.

“Absolutely not.” Andromeda shook her head. “I have Sleeping Draughts for all of us.” She walked into the kitchen and came back with five stoppered vials. “These will put us to sleep for about eight hours and we’ll all wake up and have a nice breakfast. The Japanese food was nice, but after so many days I’ve grown a bit of a longing for some home cooking.”

“Sounds wonderful, luv.” Ted kissed his wife’s cheek.

The five of them downed their potions and then headed for bed, knowing they only had about fifteen minutes before they’d be asleep.

“Night, Harrikins.” Tonks said as they both headed for their bedrooms (which happened to be across the hall from each other’s).

“No kiss goodnight?” Harry asked with faux shock.

Tonks scoffed at him. “Give you one and suddenly you start expecting it forever.”

Harry only smiled at her.

“Here.” Tonks kissed him softly and pulled back. “Better?”

“Better.” Harry nodded sagely, getting a flick to the forehead from Tonks. “Oi!”

Tonks laughed at him before entering her room and closing the door.

Harry headed to bed with a little smile on his face.

-Junior Dueling League-

“Hmm… Maybe like this?” Harry mused as he let his Barrier spell block every jinx, hex, and curse thrown at him by his opponent. He gathered water from the air with his Magic until he had a small sphere of it floating in front of him. With the right spell the water ball glowed and a bright blue Kooni formed with the water as its medium. “So, as long as it’s not conjured water I can use it. That’s good to know.” Harry gave the little shikigami an order just as he dropped his Barrier.

The Kooni shot across the Dueling Platform like a bullet and smacked straight into the chest of Harry’s opponent. The teen squawked as he was taken off his feet and hit the platform on his back, further knocking the wind out of him. The Kooni picked up the teen’s dropped wand and took it back to Harry.

“Disarmed!” The Wizard acting as referee declared. “Harry Potter wins the match!”

Harry and his opponent gave each other the post-Duel bow, as was tradition, and then they both left the platform for the next two Duelists to have their turn.

While Harry waited for his next turn, he continued to think about more applications for his newly learned shikigami spell. ‘I’ll read more of the book that Yasashī made for me tonight and see what it says about more advanced forms.’

“Harry, what is that?” Susan asked as she sat down not too far from Harry after her latest match. She pointed at the ‘Water Sprite’ Kooni that still floated close to Harry.

“It’s a shikigami. A type of Spirit Magic.” Harry answered simply, knowing that Susan would roll her eyes at his lack of in-depth explanation.

“I’ll just pretend that I know what that is.” Susan said with a playful huff and a joking roll of her eyes.

Harry chuckled as he had the Kooni go over to Susan and gently press itself to her forehead, cooling the girl off as she’d worked up a sweat going against one of the sixteen-year-old members of the Junior Dueling Team. “Never change, Susan.”

Susan said nothing as she rested her head against the cool water spirit.

When Harry’s turn came around again, he walked up onto the platform and saw his opponent was Theodore Nott. Another prat from Slytherin, but not nearly as vocal about it as Draco. The two met in the middle of the platform for the pre-Duel salute and then headed for their own respective ends.

“Begin!” The referee declared.

“Everte Statum Tria!” Theodore cast and the tripled hex rushed at Harry in three waves of force.

“Barrier.” Harry let his barrier spell block the hex without a care. “Let’s see…how would I go about making a ‘Flame Sprite’ Kooni?” Three more spells slammed into his Barrier as he adopted a thinking pose, occasionally he’d send out a few arcing spells that went around his Barrier to keep Theodore on his toes. “I can’t use anything conjured as a medium for these simple shikigami, but more complex shikigami require a paper talisman with written instructions on them. So, how do I go about getting compatible mediums for things like fire?”

Theodore Nott hated having to duel Potter. It was always a struggle to find a way to even hit the prodigious Wizard. ‘Hell…he’s not even just a Wizard, he’s a High Sorcerer already.’ Many of the Pureblood Heirs and Heiresses felt almost inadequate when compared to Harry Potter. Several of them had seen the looks on their parents’ faces when they read an article in the Daily Prophet about whatever new amazing thing Harry Potter had done and then looked at their own average at best children. ‘At least my parents have never asked me why I’m not a Sorcerer yet.’ His mother and father understood that Harry Potter was just a ridiculous prodigy, the type that came around once a century at most. He was fortunate in that regard. Draco had been having his nose put to the grindstone to improve by his father, Lucius Malfoy.

“Wait…” Harry spoke after firing off a round of Rejection at Theodore, nearly knocking the other teen off the platform if not for a hastily raised Protego. “A medium doesn’t have to be the same material…it just has to be a compatible material.” The thought had struck Harry after mentally going over what he’d read in his new Onmyōdō book just last night. “Natural Sciences…what does normal fire need to burn? Fuel and oxygen…as long as those two are present, even a small spark can become a flame.” With that thought in mind, Harry grabbed hold of the air with his Magic and compressed it down into a small space rapidly, causing so much pressure that heat blossomed and skyrocketed.

Fwooooosh

Flames sparked and then burst into being from the compression of the air and all of the gasses within it.

Harry quickly took control of the air as the medium and used the simple shikigami spell. A red Kooni formed, the spherical spirit containing the flames within itself, making the spirit a bright red color.

“Oo…” The Kooni made the soft noise that Harry had come to associate with the little spirits.

“What the heck is that?!” Theodore questioned upon seeing the odd thing that Harry had seemingly conjured.

The Barrier spell dropping was his only warning. The red Kooni was suddenly almost in his face.

“Protego!” Theodore cast and managed to block the spirit…or so he thought.

The Kooni went through the Shield Charm, its form wavering unsteadily for a second, before touching Theodore and making his robes smolder and smoke.

“Wah!” Thoedore yelped and scrambled backwards while patting down the smoldering area with his left hand. The Kooni slammed down on Theodore’s shoes and the teen hissed as his shoes became incredibly hot quickly. “Petrificus Totalus!” He nearly threw the charm at Harry when he saw the Barrier spell wasn’t there anymore. A brief thought that Harry couldn’t keep this weird spell going while his barrier was up passed through Theodore’s mind.

That thought was proven false as the Barrier appeared and stopped his spell cold.

The red Kooni launched itself upwards at Theodore’s face and the teen threw himself backwards to dodge…and straight off the edge of the platform.

“Oof!” Theodore lightly bounced on the cushioned ground before realizing what had happened. “Damn it…”

“Out of bounds!” The referee declared. “Harry Potter wins the match!”

Harry dropped his Barrier and the red Kooni floated over to him. “Good work, little one.”

“Oo…” The Kooni had no concept of thanks or praise, it was just too simple of a spirit to grasp such concepts. It faded away as Harry released the spell.

As Harry gave Theodore the traditional bow to conclude their duel, his mind was already going through new ideas. Finding out that he could use the air as a medium for fire opened up quite a few possibilities for even the simple shikigami spell that he knew. “So many ideas to test, so little time.”

At the end of the day, the Head of the Junior Dueling League reminded all parents that they would not be meeting during the end of August due to the Quidditch World Cup being held in Britain this year. It was something the man had done after every meeting, just to make sure it was heard by everyone.

“We’ve still got time.” Harry said to Sirius who had brought him to the meet and watched his Duels like he always did.

“Yeah, but there will inevitably be one person that complains they weren’t informed.” Sirius replied with a chortle. “Your birthday comes first though! You’ve sent out all of your invitations, right?”

“Yes, Sirius.” Harry laughed at Sirius being more excited for his birthday party than even Harry was.

-Hidden Location-

Voldemort stood over the corpse of Bertha Jorkins, a Witch employed at the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the British Ministry for Magic. The woman had served her purpose of getting him up to speed on what had been going on in his homeland since he’d been banished by Dumbledore in the summer of Ninety-Two. Her death had also facilitated his newest Horcrux Ritual as well. He now had the seven-way split that he’d been planning to use the murder of infant Harry Potter for.

The large snake that slithered around his feet was now his latest Horcrux.

“Nnngh.” Voldemort grimaced as the body he was possessing spasmed out of his control for a brief moment. “The ritual weakened my connection with this body.” He breathed in and out slowly, though it was more to calm down than a need for air. “I’ll have to procure another one.” He left the room he’d performed the ritual in and stalked towards where he felt Wormtail’s Dark Mark. “Wormtail! We’ll be departing from here soon! Make the preparations!”

“Y-yes, my Lord!” Wormtail bowed lowly, fearful of upsetting his master.

Once Nagini had finished with the corpse, they’d move once more and Voldemort would get himself a new body temporarily. He still needed time and some more preparation before he’d get himself a body worthy of his power and immortality. Until then, a temporary vessel would do while he made said preparations.

“Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts this year…” Voldemort mulled over the information that he’d torn from Bertha Jorkins. “Could I use that to my advantage?” It could be possible, but he’d need competent help, his red eyes glared in the direction of Wormtail, disgusted that he only had one near useless follower right now. “Getting someone inside of Hogwarts without them being discovered would be a difficult task. I need more information.” The need to skulk about in the shadows and not draw attention to himself at this time was making information gathering harder than it needed to be. “Once I get myself settled somewhere secure…I’ll remind those who swore their loyalty to me of their place.” That would solve the information gathering issue and the competent followers issue both. “There will be no half-measures this time.” His red eyes nearly glowed as he made his plans for the foreseeable future.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The trip to Japan went great! Harry and family got to see the sights, both Magical and Non-Magical, got to experience the culture of Japan, and Harry got a temporary teacher in the form of an ancient Bakeneko that taught him the basics of Onmyōdō!

You just have to love it when things work out!

By the way: Kooni is pronounced as Ko Oni. Ko meaning ‘small’ and Oni…well is ‘Oni’. So ‘Small Ogre’ basically. Given that none of them are bigger than a volleyball compared to the towering stature of the more well-known Oni…yeah, Kooni makes sense, right?

Tonks and Harry have some fun little moments as well and Tonks has learned ‘Ara Ara~’! *Cackles in plans*

Getting back home and the Junior Dueling League sees Harry already practicing further with his new shikigami spell! With the book that Yasashī wrote for him, just how far will Harry go with his intuitive understanding of Magic?

Voldemort has murdered Bertha Jorkins and made Nagini into a Horcrux! Where the hell was Nagini before this? Who can say?! JKR never told us in the books, that I can recall, and I never really read much of her ‘after book writings’, so if it’s mentioned somewhere out there…not caring!

Old snake face now knows about the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts in the coming school year! That might be bad…

Next is the Quidditch World Cup and the beginning of Fourth Year!

I know some of you just said: “Finally!”, I can hear you through the internet! Kek!

Will Harry be forced into the Triwizard Tournament again?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Quidditch World Cup is taking place in Britain! With so many Wizards and Witches from all over the world gathering, you can bet that Harry wants to go and see what he can see and hopefully learn! The game will probably be entertaining too. Kek! But some people just can’t let a good thing be and have to make nuisances of themselves. After summer, Fourth Year begins and Harry learns about the event taking place at Hogwarts this year.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 30 – Quidditch World Cup and Fourth Year

“Portkeys still suck.” Harry breathed out as he lay on the ground.

“They do.” Tonks agreed as she lay on top of him, both sprawled on the ground from their less than stellar landing after the Portkey travel to the Quidditch World Cup.

With merely a thought from Harry, both he and Tonks floated off the ground and back onto their feet. Tonks waved her hand and the dirt left both of their clothes. She gave Harry a grin and a wink as they moved aside so that the next arrivals wouldn’t crash down on top of their group.

“Sorry about that Harry, but all travel to the World Cup has to be done by Portkey. It gets very hard to keep this many Wizards and Witches hidden during a big event like the Quidditch World Cup.” Sirius explained as their group of Ted, Andromeda, Remus, and Hermione made their way towards the tired looking Wizard stationed next to the Portkey arrival area.

Hermione, while not an avid Quidditch fan, was absolutely thrilled to see so many foreign Witches and Wizards in one place. She’d profusely thanked Harry and Sirius for securing her a ticket to the World Cup. “How do they keep this all hidden, by the way?” Hermione asked curiously as she tried to look around at all the arriving Wizards and Witches.

“Name?” The tired-looking Wizard asked the group. The man sounded like he’d been run ragged all day.

“Black.” Sirius informed as he took out their group ticket and handed it to the other man.

“Right, let me see…there it is…Black, you’re seven hundred meters that way.” The Wizard pointed down a long path. “You’ll need to speak to Nigel Wright; he’s been put in charge of that area.” He tapped the group ticket with his wand, making an intricate black mark appear on it, before handing it back.

“Will do.” Sirius nodded and their group began walking down the path.

“The fog spell is interesting.” Harry remarked as the group walked down the long path. The High Sorcerer was looking at what was almost a wall of fog that blocked the stadium in the distance from view. “I believe that’s how they hide most of this.” Harry smiled at Hermione.

Hermione gave Harry a flat look at pointing out the obvious, but the little smile that formed a second later was cute. “What kind of spell is it? A Charm, probably?”

“Ministry patented,” Tonks chuckled at Harry and Hermione’s curiosity. “It’s a Charm that keeps large areas from being seen, so it’s good for big events like this.”

“This is a Non-Magical campground, isn’t it? How are they hiding the Wizards and Witches that aren’t so good at blending in?” Hermione asked another question as she noticed a spell or two going off in the sea of tents. Many of said tents looked rather Magical in nature too.

“The higher-ups at the Ministry argued about it for a while, from what I hear.” Tonks rolled her eyes since that was just another normal day at the Ministry of Magic. “They thought of just having the Obliviators running around and wiping memories anytime one of the Muggle workers saw Magic. But it was pointed out that would mean paying the Obliviators a massive amount of overtime. You can bet Fudgey wouldn’t have that, the cheapskate. So it was eventually decided to take every Muggleborn at the Ministry and then make them a part of the staff. The Muggle workers have a single Memory Charm applied to them, instead of being Obliviated a few dozen times a day.”

“Obliviation on that level would damage their minds. How could anyone think that would be a good idea?” Andromeda questioned, looking unimpressed with what the original plan had been. “I know most of the Ministry doesn’t really seem to care much about Muggles, but that’s just criminal!”

Ted gently took his wife’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. “At the very least, it seems like someone with some sense made a better plan.”

“That’s a fairly low bar to clear.” Tonks muttered, but it was easily heard by everyone. “The Muggleborn workers get a bonus for doing this, the campground workers don’t get their minds fried, and all monetary transactions are kept in Pounds Sterling so that no Galleons, Sickles, or Knuts are seen by Muggles or end up outside of Magical circulation.” The Auror was clearly trying to see the silver lining of the situation. It was better than focusing on how badly the event could have been bungled if it was left completely in the hands of Purebloods that didn’t know anything at all about the Non-Magical World.

“I’m almost curious about who came up with this new plan.” Remus said with a thoughtful look on his face. “There’s not too many positions in the upper levels of the Ministry that aren’t held by Purebloods after all.”

The group made it to the area that the first Wizard had mentioned a short time later and headed straight for the man with the clipboard that was clearly waiting for arrivals.

“How can I help you?” The Wizard, if the badge bearing the Ministry’s insignia was any indication, asked them as they walked towards the stone cottage that housed the campground office.

“Mr. Wright?” Sirius asked the younger man.

“That’s me.” Nigel gave the group a smile.

“Black, I booked about six days ago.” Sirius informed the Muggleborn Ministry worker with a polite smile.

“Black…Black…there we are.” Nigel nodded as he found the name on his clipboard. He held out his hand for the Pounds Sterling that would be used to pay for the reserved space. Sirius dug in his pocket for a moment before pulling out a pouch. Pulling a roll of Pound notes from it, he handed Nigel a couple large bills. Nigel quickly and efficiently made change and handed Sirius a campground map with their spot marked on it. “Enjoy the Match; the betting pools are really heating up if you want to get in on the action!”

“Maybe, maybe…” Sirius chortled as he waved back at the man. “Let’s be off!” He proclaimed as their group marched into the sea of tents. With the map it wasn’t hard to find their spot and with only a few wand waves Remus and Sirius had the tent set up. Entering the large tent Harry found it to resemble a comfortable house. It had four bedrooms and a full bathroom with a good-sized common area/sitting room.

The next several minutes were spent getting settled into their rooms; Andromeda and Ted in one, Sirius and Remus bunking together in another, Hermione and Tonks in the third, and then Harry on his lonesome in the final bedroom. It would be good to prepare for tomorrow, since they’d be leaving bright and early. Once everyone was settled in, the group met up in the sitting area. Sirius and Remus were going to walk around and see what was for sale at the various stands that had been set up. Sirius promised to get a set of Omnioculars for everyone while they were out. Remus promised to keep an eye on Sirius, much to everyone’s amusement. Harry, Hermione, and Tonks were going to do much the same. Ted and Andromeda would be going out to take in the stalls once Sirius and Remus came back since someone had to watch their tent. In a massive gathering like this, there would undoubtedly be at least a few people looking to nick a few things without anyone the wiser.

Sirius and Remus headed out together first.

“Let’s grab the Omnioculars and maybe chat with a few of the foreign ladies, Moony!” Sirius laughed brightly at getting to hang out with his oldest friend at such a large event.

“This is entirely why I have to watch you, Padfoot.” Remus chuckled at Sirius being his old self.

The group of Harry, Tonks, and Hermione left next. In no time at all their tent was lost in the sea of other tents and both Harry and Hermione were trying to take in all of the sights and Magic they could. It was fascinating for the two of them to see so many different Wizards and Witches from all over the world.

Harry saw a tent with a spangled banner and the words ‘The Salem Witches Institute’ a few minutes into their walk. There were several Wizards and Witches cooking over campfires as well. Including a trio of Egyptian Wizards (if the Egyptian Flag hanging on their tent was any indication) that were sitting around a purple campfire cooking what may have been a rabbit. Harry was quickly heading over to the men with a polite smile and a friendly greeting.

“Harry!” Hermione called after him for just randomly approaching people without a thought.

Tonks shook her head once as she followed after Harry, just in case anything went wrong. “A little self-control would be appreciated, Harrikins.”

“That’s interesting.” Harry grinned brightly at seeing the purple fire.

The three Egyptian men all grinned at the young man.

“Coquina Fire…doesn’t burn meat.” One of the men told Harry about the magical fire they were cooking their rabbit over in accented English.

“Really?” Harry examined the fire with his Mage Sight spell for a moment. “It produces enough heat to cook meat, but won’t burn it no matter how long the meat is left over the fire… That’s a well-made spell.”

Another of the three Wizards chuckled at Harry’s interest. “Used in cookery back home for a very long time.”

Hermione looked at the purple fire with interest. “Is it hard to cast?”

“No, no, not difficult.” The third Wizard shook his head. “Just like this.” He pulled out his wand and made a loop, a swish, raised it until the tip pointed straight up into the air, and then flicked it. “Ignire.” A small wisp of the purple fire escaped the tip of his wand.

Hermione so wanted to take out her wand and try the spell, but since she wasn’t seventeen yet, she knew it would get her in trouble. This was still a Non-Magical campground, so it would be held against her if she performed Magic here.

Harry, not having a wand, simply held up his right index finger and focused for a few seconds. A purple flame appeared over the tip of his finger, much like a lighter. “Huh, it is pretty simple to cast.”

The three Egyptian Wizards looked stunned at Harry’s display of wandless magic for a moment before they all smiled and gave him a short applause.

Harry, Hermione, and Tonks bid the three men farewell, letting them return to their soon-to-be meal.

“Are we going to have to chase after you every time you see some Magic that you don’t know?” Tonks asked Harry with a perfected ‘big sister’ tone.

“I will make an effort to hold back, but will promise nothing.” Harry snarked back with a grin.

Hermione sighed at Harry’s antics, though it fit her best friend’s attitude towards Magic perfectly. “There’s bound to be a lot of spells and Magics that we don’t know here. I’m interested too, but you can’t just run up to every random Witch or Wizard that you see, Harry.”

“This is one of the largest gatherings of Wizards and Witches in the Magical World.” Tonks said with a grin. “Enjoy it while we’re here since it doesn’t happen often, Harrikins. Just don’t go overboard.”

Harry took on a thinking pose, as if considering Tonks’s words. “I suppose that’s an acceptable compromise.” He snickered at the flat looks both Hermione and Tonks gave him. “Let’s go see some more interesting stuff!” He grabbed hold of Hermione’s hand with his right and Tonks’s hand with his left, nearly dragging them both along.

“Harry, I can walk!” Hermione had an adorable blush on her cheeks at holding hands with Harry.

Tonks just laughed as she went along with Harry’s excitement. It was always nice to see him so excited and in wonder when it came to Magic.

The trio explored the large gathering with curiosity as they saw various bits of Magic being done by many of the foreign visitors. Harry would nearly drag Tonks and Hermione over to some sights that caught his eye. Hermione did it more than a few times as well, pulling Tonks and Harry along with her. Even Tonks had seen a few things that she’d stopped Harry and Hermione to look at for a bit.

The smell of various foods was filling the air as the three walked into what had become the ‘food stall’ area. As they took in the various wonderful aromas and were deciding on what to try out, Harry felt something familiar brush against the very edges of his permanent Occlumency.

“Ah, I know that wonderful young man~” Fleur’s teasing tone got the group’s attention. The Veela was standing behind the three of them with a lovely smile, her left hand holding Gabrielle’s right.

“Fleur…” Harry greeted her with a smile. Then he looked down at Gabrielle with a big grin. “Gabby!” He knelt down and opened his arms for a hug.

Gabrielle burst into giggles as she let go of Fleur’s hand and nearly leapt into Harry’s arms, hugging him tightly. “Harry!” She laughed, her pronunciation of his name clearly having improved a little since the last time she and Harry had spoken.

Harry picked Gabrielle up and rested her on his hip. “Are you enjoying the World Cup, so far?”

Gabrielle nodded excitedly and started to speak rapidly in French, Harry barely keeping up at all with her words. She wanted to tell her ‘big brother’ about all of the things that she’d seen! Harry happily listened, piecing together anything he didn’t understand from context clues as best as he could.

“Ah, my beauty was snubbed for Gabby’s cuteness.” Fleur said with a dramatic sigh, her hand over her heart.

“Wotcher, Fleur.” Tonks greeted Fleur with a grin.

“Hello, Tonks.” Fleur returned the greeting with a smile.

Fleur looked at Hermione and greeted the younger girl with a warm smile. “Have you been well, Hermione?”

Hermione blinked and then nodded. “Yes. It’s lovely to see you again, Fleur.” She usually only saw Fleur at Harry’s birthday (it was also where they’d initially met) so meeting her outside of said celebration was a treat.

“It’s wonderful to see you too.” Fleur grinned, seeing Hermione slightly affected by her Allure, which could mean that the younger Witch had some interest in the same sex. The way that Hermione was able to brush off the Allure after a moment or two showed that she had some skill in Occlumency too. “You know, Harry mentions you in his letters often.”

“Good things, I hope.” Hermione gave Harry a side-eye.

Harry grinned. “Only the best, of course.” He bounced Gabby on his hip a little, the young girl happily holding onto him with a big smile.

“We were about to get crepes, if you’d like to join us.” Fleur offered the three of them. She pointed to a stall just a bit further down from where they were currently.

“I’ve never had a crepe before.” Harry admitted as the group all agreed to go.

“They’re sweet and delicious. Most certainly the ones from Café du Sucre! I didn’t know that they’d have a stall at the World Cup.” Fleur said, promoting a business that was favored by her family in France.

As they moved forward in line at the crepe stall, Harry watched the three pâtissiers make the crepes with Magic. Ingredients were levitated, sauces were made, all with skill as treat after treat was made and sold. Looking over the menu Harry figured a strawberry crepe couldn’t be too bad. When they got to the front all five orders were given to Fleur so that she could order from the Witch behind the counter that seemed to recognize her. In quick French, Fleur ordered a Strawberry crepe for Harry, a Chocolate one for Hermione, Blueberry and Chocolate for Tonks, Cherry and Cream with Caramel and Chocolate drizzle for Gabrielle, and Strawberry Cheesecake for herself.

“Hmm, sweet, but not too sweet. I like it.” Harry nodded as he finished his first bite.

“You can’t go wrong with chocolate.” Hermione smiled as she took another bite of her sweet crepe. It was a huge event, she’d let herself have a bit of sugar, even if her parents often warned her away from it. The ‘perils’ of having dentists for parents.

“We should fill up before the match in the evening.” Tonks smiled at the others, a small bit of chocolate on the corner of her lip.

“Uh, Nym, you’ve got a little…” Harry tapped the side of his own lips.

Tonks grinned; Harry saw the gleam form in her eyes, as she licked the chocolate off the corner of her lips almost seductively. “Thank you, Harry…” Tonks said with a lilt in her tone.

“Uh huh…” Harry deadpanned at her attempts to fluster him, making Tonks pout playfully.

Fleur and Hermione both noticed the exchange with some interest, but let it go without saying anything.

“I’m surprised that you didn’t bring Luna, Daphne, and Astoria.” Fleur mentioned as the five of them finished off their crepes.

Harry shrugged, having Gabrielle sitting in his lap as he floated in the air, his legs crossed. “Luna and her dad are in Sweden looking for Crumple-horned Snorkacks. Daphne’s not a big fan of Quidditch at all, and I don’t think Astoria is either. No reason to spend the Galleons on tickets in that case.”

Fleur nodded in agreement. “Fair point.” Tickets to the World Cup weren’t exactly cheap.

From there the group continued their exploration. They tried food from various stalls crossing multiple regions and countries. Harry enjoyed a kebab of lamb meat with veggies from one stall especially. He was fairly certain the stall used sea salt instead of table salt and while he couldn’t identify all of the herbs and spices used, it was quite delicious. After stuffing themselves with various foods the five of them went on to the vendor stalls and looked at the many things for sale.

“Harrikins is going to spend all of his money.” Tonks playfully jibed as Harry bought another magical trinket from a stall.

“Souvenirs, Tonks!” Harry waved her off with a laugh. “Not to mention what I might be able to learn from some of them.” He patted one bag in particular that he’d put a few specific trinkets into.

All in all it was a fun day of seeing all the different people and the Magics they brought to the Quidditch World Cup. When night began to fall they walked Fleur and Gabrielle back to their tent where Appoline and Marius were waiting. Both parents thought it was quite cute how Harry was giving Gabrielle a piggyback ride.

Harry, Tonks, and Hermione returned to their tent and had a light dinner with Andromeda, Ted, Remus, and Sirius. After dinner, Sirius passed out the Omnioculars he’d bought for everyone and the group made their way towards the stadium in the distance. Harry was slightly annoyed they had to walk up a large set of stairs to get all the way to the top box. They had Magic! Lifts would be beyond simple for Witches and Wizards!

Seeing the Malfoys in the Top Box next to Minister Fudge had also been annoying too. But Fudge had clearly wanted as many ‘influential’ people around him as possible for such a large event.

“Lucius, how’ve you been?” Sirius had a grin on his face as he addressed the Senior Malfoy. “Cissa, nice to see you again.” He greeted his cousin with formality afforded to a relation, though there was no warmth in his voice.

“Black.” Lucius replied with a small nod.

“Sirius.” Narcissa Malfoy gave her cousin an equally cold greeting.

“That’s not polite, Malfoy, you forgot the Title again.” Sirius was enjoying this; getting to use formality to prank the ‘former’ Death Eater was just too good.

“Lord Black.” Lucius nodded stiffly to Sirius.

Harry thought it was amusing how red Draco’s face was turning from this, honestly. The teen still thought so very highly of himself and his family. Harry had no idea why though. Neither Draco, nor the Malfoy Family, had done anything of real note in Magical Britain in decades.

Andromeda and Narcissa seemed to have a silent conversation between sisters, before Andromeda gently nudged Sirius and got the old Marauder to drop the prank as their group moved to their seats in the Top Box. Harry thought he saw Fudge attempt to get his attention, but a look from Sirius in the Minister’s direction had stopped that immediately. It was nice to have such a caring godfather like Sirius. Getting settled into their seats; Harry was surprised to see the Weasley’s in the Top Box.

“Harrikins!” Fred and George greeted with bright smiles.

“George, Fred.” Harry greeted both brothers in turn and smirked slightly when he saw them droop a little at correctly identifying them.

Tonks smiled at one of the older Weasley’s that Harry didn’t know. “Charlie, surprised they got you to leave the Reserve.”

Charlie Weasley chuckled as he greeted Tonks. “Nice to see you again, Tonks. Dad sent an Owl saying that he’d won the tickets from the big Ministry drawing, and it seemed like a great time with the family, so, here I am.”

Harry knew that Tonks and Charlie had dated in Hogwarts for a time. Tonks had talked about it a bit when she’d been home during the school year the two had dated. The two had broken it off and stayed as friends when it was clear that their wants for the future were very different. Still, it was nice to finally put a face to the name.

Once greetings had been exchanged between everyone, Harry took his seat and had Hermione on his left and Tonks on his right.

Before the match began both Team’s Mascots took to the field for a show to get the fans fired up. Bulgaria’s Mascots were a group of beautiful Veela that began to dance and quickly whipped the men of the crowd into frenzy.

Harry noticed some of the men in the Top Box forced themselves to remain still, but did find it amusing that during the Veela’s show, Lucius’s hand hadn’t left Draco’s shoulder. The blonde teen seemed to be enthralled by the Veela and their dance. Which was made more humorous because Harry knew Draco looked down on ‘creatures’ just as much, if not more, than he did Muggleborns and Muggles.

“Leprechauns!” Tonks cheered as the Irish Team’s Mascots started flying in formations around the stadium while dropping their fake gold on everyone.

The rainbow trail following the small Fae Folk as they flew around was a nice touch in Harry’s opinion, his Mage Sight helping him examine the Magic of the Leprechauns. He briefly wondered if it would be possible to chat with a Leprechaun about how they used Magic.

Shortly after the displays by the mascots, the Ireland versus Bulgaria match started and everyone in the stadium was amazed at the skill and speed displayed by the Irish and Bulgarian Quidditch Teams. Even Harry, who wasn’t much of a Quidditch fan, could admit that the skill on display was incredible. Needless to say, the rest of the match was just as amazing and when Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, caught the Snitch it was to a raucous cheer and applause from the crowd of one-hundred-thousand.

It was with great cheer that the Irish Team supporters left the stadium, though the Bulgarian Team supporters were still in high spirits too since Krum had caught the Snitch and the match had ended at a close 170 point to 160 point game. Already, late night parties were breaking out and renditions of both Teams’ Official Cheers were being sung, horribly off-key, by the Witches and Wizards that were already tipsy from drinking during the match. Thankfully the group made it back to their tent before things got too raucous. Tonks was already laughing about the Aurors probably having to be called in to keep the celebrations from getting carried away. It paid to be on a three-day break for her!

After a quick round of showers for everyone, it was time to call it a night, or very early morning. Harry had a little grin on his face at seeing Tonks and Hermione ready for bed. Tonks was wearing a baggy t-shirt and some cotton short shorts, rather normal for her at home. Hermione was wearing a flowing nightgown that stopped just past her knees; though she seemed to fidget a little with Harry seeing her in it, she didn’t seem to want him to stop either.

“Bedtime.” Tonks yawned as she and Hermione headed to their room for the night.

Harry relaxed in his bed with a smile after such a good day. There were many trinkets to send to his friends as souvenirs from the World Cup. He had a few to further examine to try and figure out their Magic. And he got to spend the day with people that were important to him. Now he was going to enjoy a good sleep so that he could get up in the morning and pack up with everyone.

So he thought, at least.

-Campgrounds ~ Just after Two in the Morning-

“What was that?” Harry questioned dazedly after being awoken by a loud blast going off a distance away.

“Harry! Wake up! There’s trouble! We need to get out of here!” Sirius called out after throwing open the door to his godson’s room in the tent.

“What’s going on?!” Harry demanded as he quickly got out of bed. A series of explosions and screams were heard and he was quickly awake. With a quick thought along with a flex of his magic Harry had switched his pajamas for his day clothes on his body.

“A group of Wizards are attacking the campground from what I’ve heard! They’re heading our way so we’re getting out of here!” Sirius explained quickly as he ushered Harry out of the room.

Sirius and Remus led the group out of the tent, wands drawn and on alert. Tonks followed them with Harry and Hermione behind her, while Ted and Andromeda brought up the rear. It seemed they hadn’t left quickly enough though. The group causing all of the panic and destruction was already in sight. The masked Wizards continued to set tents ablaze with spells and they quickly took notice of the group.

“Death Eaters?” Sirius looked confused, but he and any Witch or Wizard that was alive in the Seventies would know those masks and robes anywhere.

The Death Eaters were quick to turn their wands on the group.

“None of that.” Harry said as he reached out with his magic and grabbed hold of not only the wands aimed at them, but the robes the Death Eaters wore.

Riiiiipppp

Harry snatched the robes straight off the men’s bodies, making many of them fall to the ground in the process. Had the situation not been so serious, he may have made a remark about the grown men being left in nothing but their skivvies in the middle of the panic that they’d caused.

“What?!”

“Who dares?!”

“My wand!”

The Death Eaters were clearly confused as they scrambled back to their feet and realized they’d all been disarmed already. A few of them vanished instantly in the swirl of Portkey travel. Those left behind quickly found themselves bound and unable to move as Harry locked them down with his Bind spell.

The fires were still spreading, and the panic was still high; the group of Death Eaters had already caused enough chaos that people were solely focused on fleeing. Sirius and Remus moved forward and stunned the captured Death Eaters for good measure while Tonks tapped her Auror Badge with her wand twice to send a signal for other Aurors to come to her location.

“Harry?” Hermione nearly had a death grip on Harry’s arm and was surprised when he started to levitate into the air.

“I’m just getting rid of the fires, Hermione.” Harry said with a quick nod. Hermione let go of his arm after a second and Harry rose high above the tents that filled the massive field. Seeing the flames were widespread, but only in one area of the entire gathering, Harry quickly got to work.

Reaching out with his hands, Harry let his Magic spread across the area. Once he had reached everywhere the fire had spread, he ‘took hold’ of the flames with his Magic. Clenching both hands into fists, the flames were instantly snuffed out. The sudden drop in light and heat actually made some of the fleeing Witches and Wizards stop screaming and look around. Some smoke was still in the air, but it was clear that the true danger had passed now.

A bolt of green light shot high into the air before it burst and twisted into the visage of a green skull with a snake coming out of the jaw and hissing at everyone below.

Even at the height that he was at, Harry heard more than a few screams and several shouts of ‘Dark Mark’ among the remaining Wizards and Witches in the area. Even the newly arrived Aurors saw the mark in the sky as they Apparated around Tonks’s location in response to her emergency signal.

“So, this is Tom’s symbol, huh?” Harry wasn’t much of a fan, though the spell itself seemed somewhat interesting. “That’s enough of that, though.” He swiped his hand in the direction of the Dark Mark. Two lines cut the mark into fourths and destabilized the spell. The Dark Mark began to fade away much more quickly than it was supposed to while Harry floated back down to the ground. Had he known that he’d be questioned by the Aurors for the next hour (with Sirius present, of course) he may have delayed his descent for at least a little while.

The madhouse that this incident would undoubtedly make the Ministry into was already giving Tonks a headache, though she kept her complaints to herself as she started working with her fellow Aurors. They had to take the Death Eater’s wands and robes into evidence, while the men themselves were freed from Harry’s spell; only to flop to the ground since they were still unconscious from Sirius and Remus’s Stunning Spells.

-Next Day-

Death Eaters Attack Quidditch World Cup?!

The headline took up the entire front page of the Daily Prophet by itself. The article below it was rather lengthy for being mostly speculation, as the Aurors hadn’t released any kind of statement on their investigation. There were only a couple of pictures of the scene as well, though nothing that actually showed the Death Eaters, only the aftermath of their attack. The damage wasn’t even severe, given that Harry had snuffed out the fires before they could spread too far and cause a real disaster.

Harry had immediately Floo called Fleur to ask if she and her family were safe when they’d returned home. To his great relief, they’d been far enough away that the panic of the attack hadn’t even reached their tent by the time Harry had ended the incident. They’d still left and returned to France hours early compared to their scheduled morning Portkey departure time, but that was to be expected.

A letter to Fred and George was sent with Hedwig to ask if they and their family were alright shortly after Harry had finished talking to Fleur. He didn’t know their Floo address and with Sirius out meeting with people that he called ‘the old crowd’, Harry only had Hedwig to try and contact the Weasley’s.

“Still…” Harry mused to himself after Hedwig had disappeared over the horizon. “This was a rather uncoordinated and small scale attack.” That wasn’t anything like what he’d heard about the Death Eaters from Sirius, on the rare occasions that Sirius would talk about such things with Harry.

-Hidden Location-

“WHAT?!” Voldemort nearly burned the copy of the Daily Prophet that Peter had brought to him. “WHO DARES ACT IN MY NAME WITHOUT MY ORDER?!” The Dark Lord raged as his hateful red eyes raced through the article, picking up every detail of actual importance. “My mark was seen and then erased? Is someone trying to insult me?” The newspaper crumpled from the strength of his grip. “It was not yet time for anyone to know that I had returned.” Voldemort nearly ground his teeth in rage at his plan to lie low, for now, being ruined. “It seems that I’ll need to contact Lucius earlier than scheduled. He’d better have that fool Fudge in his pocket like his father kept Bagnold strung along.” This story needed to be written off as a bad joke as soon as possible, something that Cornelius Fudge would more than likely be happy to do if anything that he’d learned about the man while possessing Quirrel was true.

The Daily Prophet turned to ashes in Voldemort’s hands as he stood up from his seat and stalked towards the Floo. He had much to do before he could strike back at those that stood against him. A permanent body, one powerful and worthy of him, first and foremost. Then a compatible wand of equal power. Then he’d be ready to punish those that had betrayed him and bring them back under his heel where they belonged. But now, because of said fools, he was forced to speed up his contact with his remaining subordinates before he was prepared.

“I’ll make sure they all suffer before I finally let them die.” Voldemort swore to himself as he wondered just who among the ones that renounced him to save their own skins had been part of this idiotic attack. “Wormtail!”

A moment later and Peter entered the room with his head bowed and his body visibly trembling. “Y-Yes, my Lord?”

“Feed Nagini and don’t disturb me! I have to contact Lucius and get this story buried.” Voldemort hissed at the sniveling coward.

“Yes, m-my Lord! It w-will be done!” Peter quickly backed out of the room, never having raised his head to look at Voldemort even once.

-Diagon Alley ~ August 25^th-

“Why do we need Dress Robes?” Harry felt like he had to ask again after seeing the item on the list of requirements this year. He’d been wondering what they were necessary for since he’d never seen anyone wearing them at Hogwarts before.

Sirius shrugged since he didn’t know either. “Not sure. We never needed them back in the day.” He looked thoughtful as they headed for Twilfitt and Tatting’s, a higher end shop for clothing. “Maybe they plan to hold a ball this year for some reason?”

“A ball?” Harry couldn’t imagine why they’d hold such a thing when they never had before. “I doubt I’m going to enjoy formalwear anymore than I do already.”

“Cheer up, Harry.” Sirius chuckled as they entered the shop, the little bell over the door ringing. “If it is a ball, you can take one of your girlfriends to it and have some fun.”

Harry gave Sirius a flat look. “Hermione and Daphne aren’t my girlfriends.” He wouldn’t say ‘no’ if they wanted to try dating him or anything. But as it stood, they were all just friends.

Sirius gave Harry a smirk. “Yet.”

Harry’s retort was put on hold as Madam Twilfitt herself came over to the pair with a smile to ask about what they needed.

-September 1^st-

“Harry.” Daphne greeted Harry when he opened the door to the compartment that she, Astoria, and Tracy were occupying.

“Daphne.” Harry smiled at her before catching Astoria in his arms. “Hello, Astoria.” He grinned at the new Second Year.

Astoria laughed as she hugged Harry. “Hi Harry! I haven’t seen you since your birthday! You should come over to visit more!”

Harry chuckled and levitated her back into her seat next to Daphne. “I’ll make a note of it for next summer.”

“You were packing your summer pretty full, from what I remember.” Tracy teased lightly.

“Perhaps.” Harry admitted with a shrug as he levitated his trunk into the overhead rack.

It wasn’t even two minutes after Harry sat down that the door was opened again.

“Hello everyone.” Luna smiled at her friends before tapping her trunk with her wand and letting it float up into the overhead rack next to Harry’s.

“Luna.” Harry pulled her into a hug as she sat down beside him.

Luna eagerly returned the hug and pulled back with a smile a long moment later. “Hello, Harry!” She smiled brightly at her ‘brother’. “We didn’t find a Snorkack. But the pizza bagels were tasty while we camped out.”

Harry chuckled as Luna told him about her long trip to Sweden with her father. He’d heard about most of it from Luna’s letters while she was on the trip itself, but he’d happily listen again for his ‘little sister’.

“Am I the last one?” Hermione asked rhetorically when she opened the compartment a few minutes later. Her trunk floated up into the storage rack with barely a thought and motion of her wand, no incantation or movement required.

“You’ve been practicing.” Daphne said, noticing the ease with which Hermione had used the silent and point-casted Levitation Charm.

Hermione smiled. “Just mental exercises mostly, since I can’t use Magic at home. But they’ve certainly helped!”

“Harry, whatever happened with your ‘Potion Pills’?” Daphne asked a bit later as the Hogwarts Express left Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters.

“I should be getting confirmation about their acceptance sometime soon.” Harry shrugged at the time it took for his creation to be tested and verified by St. Mungos. “Keep an eye on the Daily Prophet, since it’ll be announced there when ‘Potter Potion Pills’ are verified and approved.”

Tracy snorted at the name. “Alliteration much?”

“Already got a slogan too.” Harry said with a grin. “Pop Potter Potion Pills! They’ll cure what ails you!”

That got a round of laughter from everyone in the compartment for a bit.

Daphne got her laughter under control a moment before the others. “So, after they’re approved, you’ll show me how to make the basic one, right?”

“Yeah, sure, I’ll show you the recipe.” Harry smiled at her. “It’ll cost you though…” He teased with a little chuckle.

“Oh? You’d charge me? Your friend?” Daphne asked, pretending to be affronted, though the grin on her lips kind of ruined the image. “I suppose I could give you a Galleon or two.”

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. “What? I don’t recall saying that I would charge you money.”

Daphne raised one of her own delicate eyebrows. “Oh? Then what do you want?”

“Well…” Harry jokingly gave Daphne a once over, his eyes trailing up from her feet to her blue eyes. “I could think of something.”

The Stinging Hex impacted a small Barrier right in front of Harry’s forehead.

“Ha…ha…” Daphne fake laughed as she put her wand away. “You’ll have to do better than that to get me out of my robes.”

“But I could get you out of your robes?” Harry asked with a ridiculous ‘suave’ look on his face.

“Harry!” Hermione lightly swatted him on the arm.

Tracy burst into laughter while Luna and Astoria giggled at the back and forth.

Daphne, her cheeks now dark pink, lightly kicked Harry in the shin as she looked out the window.

“No worries, Daphne.” Harry consoled his friend. “I’ll teach you. I know you want to be a Healer in the future. If my basic recipe can broaden your horizons when it comes to Healing, then I’m more than happy to give you that first step.”

“Thank you…” Daphne was now blushing for an entirely different reason as her stomach filled with butterflies from the way Harry smiled at her.

-Hogsmeade Station ~ Later-

When the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station it was to a veritable downpour. The sky was thick with black clouds and Harry didn’t fancy getting soaked. He held Luna back for a bit as the other students either disembarked and ran for one of the carriages, or they hung back as well, not wanting to get soaked by the rain.

“Watch this.” Harry smiled at Luna and Astoria as he conjured a Protego and held it over his head like an umbrella. The Shield Charm was able to block both spells and physical objects, but was better at blocking spells. Rain, however, didn’t have nearly enough force to break a Protego. Harry trotted off the train in front of all the other students and even did a lively little step as he walked along, showing off his solution to the downpour.

In no time at all, Fred and Geroge, both with their own Protego over their heads, were on either side, matching Harry’s jaunty steps like something out of a musical.

The laughter that erupted from the train as more and more students got the idea and created their own Protego ‘umbrellas’ made all three boys smile and laugh.

“Thank you, Harry!” Luna beamed at him as she stepped off the train under the safety of her own Protego.

“Don’t mention it, Luna.” Harry chuckled as he sent her off towards the carriages. “I’m going to go cover the First Years.”

Bidding a temporary farewell to his friends, Harry trotted over to Hagrid, who was standing beneath his large, pink umbrella, and calling out for the new First Years.

“Firs’ years! Firs’ Years over here, please!” Hagrid called out loudly. “Alright there, Harry?” He smiled at the young man coming over.

“Just fine, Hagrid. Thought I’d give you a hand keeping the First Years dry in this downpour.” Harry offered while expanding his Protego so wide that it was practically a roof over the area where the First Years were starting to gather around.

Hagrid couldn’t help but chuckle as the new First Years marveled at the display of Magic while gathering around him. “I appreciate that, Harry.” He turned to smile at the First Years. “Is everybody here? Any more First Years?!” Hagrid called out to the platform, but there were only a few upper years walking towards the last of the carriages. “Alrigh’ then, follow me!” He led the way down the rocky path towards the lake and the small fleet of wooden boats that awaited the group. “No more than four in a boat!”

The new students quickly got themselves sorted, many still amazed that the heavy rain wasn’t beating down on them. The incredibly massive, off-white spell kept them all completely safe from the downpour.

Hagrid sat in the lead boat and looked over his shoulder at the rest of the boats. “Looks like there’s not a seat left fer ya, Harry.” He apologized genuinely, not sure how Harry was going to keep the new students dry if he couldn’t travel across the lake with them.

“I’ll just walk then.” Harry waved it off as no big deal. Seeing the disbelief on the faces of the new First Years, Harry grinned at them and then stepped onto the surface of the lake.

“No way!”

“He’s standing on water!”

“Can we learn to do that?!”

“That’s so cool!”

Harry and Hagrid chuckled at the amazement; though Hagrid wasn’t doing the greatest at hiding his sheepishness for forgetting what Harry was capable of.

“Right then, forward!” Hagrid tapped the front of his boat and the small fleet began to float across the lake, the downpour almost forgotten as the students ‘oohed’ and ‘awwed’ at the sight of Hogwarts coming into view. Harry easily kept pace with the boats as they didn’t travel very fast. It was part of the ‘show’ to let new First Years see the castle in all its glory on the first night. “Heads down!”

Only Hagrid really needed to duck as the boats passed beneath an ivy covered overhang and into a small cave with a rocky beach that connected to the castle.

“And this is where we part ways for now, little Firsties.” Harry conjured a wide-brimmed pointed hat, the point facing downward from two ninety-degree bends in the top of the hat, and held it over his chest as he bowed. “Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!” After his little bout of showmanship, Harry put the newly conjured hat on top of his head properly and flew over to the double doors that led into the castle. He smiled as he heard the amazed gasps and exclamations of the First Years before opening and closing the door behind him.

“Excellent work, Mr. Potter, take twenty points for Ravenclaw.” Professor McGonagall said as Harry nearly ran into her behind the double doors.

“I didn’t expect to run into you, Professor.” Harry admitted with a grin. “How do you know what I did?”

“Miss Granger told me what you were up to, Mr. Potter. The carriages are a bit faster than the boats for a reason, after all.” McGonagall gave Harry a small smile before motioning him towards the Great Hall to join the rest of the students before she brought the new First Years inside.

Harry quickly entered the Great Hall, slipping in and letting the large double doors close right behind him. He made his way to the Ravenclaw table and sat between Luna and Hermione, the two having clearly saved him a seat.

“Did you take care of the First Years, Harry?” Luna asked with a smile.

“Sure did.” Harry confirmed with a grin as he gave her a quick side-hug. “Thanks for saving me a seat.” He then leaned over and pulled Hermione into a side-hug as well. “You too, Hermione.”

“Harry!” Hermione blushed cutely at the unexpected hug.

When the First Years had entered the Great Hall, led by McGonagall, the Transfiguration Professor gave him a slight nod. Harry noticed several of the First Years look at him with smiles and realized that his conjured hat made him easy to spot. He smiled back at the First Years and even waved to a few of them that waved to him first.

‘Maybe I should keep the hat?’ Harry thought to himself with a barely suppressed chuckle. ‘I could even do whole outfits, maybe?’ Sure, he might get in trouble for breaking the Hogwarts uniform, but what were a few points lost when he could have a little fun?

Harry listened to the Sorting Hat’s song and applauded politely like most of the Great Hall. The Sorting moved along as it always did. Some students were sorted near instantly, while others took a few moments. All in all, the Sorting only took about ten minutes this year. Once the Sorting Hat and stool had been taken away by McGonagall, the feast started as it always did, with food appearing on every serving platter on every table. Harry helped himself to some steak, potatoes, and greens first, with a nice bit of gravy for the potatoes. Once dessert came around Harry had a bit of treacle tart and once finished waited for the plates to become spotless again. When the last of the food disappeared Dumbledore stood up. The chatter filling the Great Hall died down quickly, leaving only the howling wind and pounding rain of the storm outside to be heard.

“So!” Dumbledore smiled at all of the students of Hogwarts. “Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. First and foremost: Defense Against the Dark Arts this year will be taught by my good friend and recently retired Auror, Alastor Moody!” He motioned to a grizzled and haggard looking man with a scarred face and a magical false eye. The former Auror stood up for a moment, the magical eye swirling around to take in every student and all of the teachers as if it could see through physical objects.

‘It probably can.’ Harry thought to himself, wondering what kind of Magics had gone into making such an item.

Harry continued to listen, sort of, as Dumbledore went over what new items Filch had banned this year. Then the Headmaster gave the standard announcements that the forest was forbidden and that Hogsmeade was only for Third Years and up. It was only after these, standard, start of the year announcements, that Harry realized Dumbledore had more to say.

“It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.” Harry heard a lot of muttering and whispering at that announcement. Dumbledore continued on before the mutters could grow too loud. “This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the Professors’ time and energy. But I am certain that you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year!”

“You're joking!” The Weasley Twins exclaimed loudly. Both looked like they were a hair’s breadth from leaping to their feet in excitement.

‘That might explain why Dress Robes were on the Items List this year.’ Harry realized that such an event likely included other events around it.

“I assure you that I’m not.” Dumbledore chuckled at the loud exclamations from Fred and George. “Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament... Well, some of you will not know what this Tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.” Dumbledore chuckled even though McGonagall looked distinctly unamused by the Headmaster giving the students permission to daydream. “The Triwizard Tournament was first established around seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of Magic. Those three being Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young Witches and Wizards of different nationalities. Well, until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued.” The Headmaster looked a trite sheepish at that admission.

“Death toll?” Harry mumbled as he cocked an eyebrow that a school event had led to deaths.

“There have been several attempts over the last century to reinstate the Tournament,” Dumbledore continued with his explanation. “None of which have been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.”

‘Why don’t I believe that?’ Harry snarked to himself while the rest of the students listened on.

“The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short list of champion hopefuls in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which three students are the most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons of prize money.”

“How interesting…” Harry murmured to himself at the idea of the Triwizard Tournament. Looking down the Ravenclaw table, Harry saw a great many of his House mates chatting excitedly. It wasn’t just the Ravenclaws though. At every House table, Harry could see people either focusing intently on Dumbledore and what the Headmaster was saying, or else they were whispering fervently to their neighbors. Dumbledore raised his hands for attention before he spoke again, and the Hall quietened once more.

“Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts,” The Headmaster began, “The Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have all agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age, which means seventeen years or older, will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This…” Dumbledore had to raise his voice slightly, as several people had made noises of outrage at the restriction already. “Is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the Tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below Sixth and Seventh Year will be able to cope with the trials. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student can offer their name to our impartial judge to try and become Hogwarts’ Champion.” His light-blue eyes twinkled as he glanced over at the Weasley Twins. “I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.”

‘So he admits that the tasks will still be dangerous?’ Harry ran over the Headmaster’s words in his head. ‘What about earlier when he said that the Champions wouldn’t find themselves in mortal danger?’ A contradiction right off the bat, but one that could prove interesting.

“The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October, and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts Champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. So now I bid you all a good night.” Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Alastor. There was a lot of scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet. The four Houses all headed towards the double doors and into the Entrance Hall.

As Harry headed up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower, he pondered on the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament. It would be interesting to see what the other two premiere Magical Schools in Europe taught their students. Durmstrang was a complete mystery to him, but after his visit to Fleur and his tour of Beauxbatons earlier this year, he knew a decent amount about the French school.

“Wait a minute…” Harry perked up as he made the connection. “Fleur is in her last year at Beauxbatons and one of their top students. I bet she’ll be coming to try and become Champion.” A bright smile formed on Harry’s face at the thought of having a school year with Fleur.

His Fourth Year at Hogwarts was shaping up to be very interesting, indeed!

-End Chapter-

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Well, the Quidditch World Cup was fun…right up until the end there.

Too bad for the Death Eaters, but Harry is just SO FAR out of their league as a Magic user! Kek!

Voldemort rages at the stupidity and foolishness of those that abandoned him after Halloween of Eighty-One. Now he has to speed up parts of his overall plan! Those responsible for this will be begging for death by the time that he’s done with them!

Harry meets up with his friends on the Hogwarts Express and enjoys a fun journey. You can tell they’re all getting older as they joke with each other in more mature ways.

Harry takes care of the new First Years to help them avoid becoming completely soaked in the downpour that greets the Hogwarts students this year! Quite nice of him and he even got rewarded with House Points for it.

The Triwizard Tournament has been announced!

Will Harry end up forced into it?

Is Alastor Moody really ‘Mad-Eye’ Alastor Moody?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As Fourth Year begins and both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang head for Hogwarts, what will the reveal of the Goblet of Fire bring? Will Harry be forced into the Triwizard Tournament? What Magics will Harry be exploring? Will anyone else figure out their ‘right question’? Will Harry sit still in Hogwarts with Fleur around, or will he still wander off to who knows where to satiate is unending curiosity?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 31 – Accomplishment, Understanding, Arrival

September second fell on a Friday this year. As such, the students of Hogwarts were eating their breakfasts and preparing for their first day of classes in the Great Hall. As was normal in the mornings, the Hall was filled with owls delivering mail shortly after breakfast had begun. One particularly beautiful snowy owl glided towards the Ravenclaw table and flapped her wings twice to stall her momentum before landing softly between Harry’s plate and the platter of food closest to him on the long table.

“Prek!” Hedwig chirped at Harry, holding her leg out with an envelope tied to it.

“Good morning, Hedwig.” Harry smiled at his owl, giving her a few gentle pets as he took the letter from her. He moved water and a bit of his bacon into the air for Hedwig to enjoy with barely a thought as he opened the letter and started to read.

Luna looked curiously at the letter as she enjoyed petting Hedwig as the owl finished off the bacon. “Is it good news?”

Harry gave Luna a smile. “Brilliant news, Luna!” He chuckled as he showed her the letter. “My ‘Potter Potion Pills’ have passed all the tests and stringent safety evaluations from St. Mungos. The top Healers in the country have certified them as safe and effective and are hoping to work out a royalty deal with me to legally produce and sell them.”

“Congratulations, Harry!” Hermione beamed at her best friend, happy for the success of his newest creation. Not that she’d ever doubted him, of course. He’d proven time and again that when it came to Magic, Harry Potter’s understanding was not to be doubted. It was why Hermione still kept her ‘Potter Potion Pill’ that Harry had given her on her person at all times, just in case of emergency.

“That’s another accomplishment, right?” Luna smiled at Harry, happy for her ‘big brother’.

Harry chuckled lightly as he nodded. “Indeed, it is.” He watched Hedwig fly off; no doubt headed for the Owlery to get some rest. When it came to bringing Harry mail from home (where the letter from St. Mungos had originally been sent) Hedwig was always firm in being the one to deliver it. “Now that it’s been approved, I’ll have to teach Daphne the recipe and see where she takes it in the future as a Healer.” Harry smiled, fully believing in Daphne and the path that she’d chosen for herself.

“I wonder if the news will be in the Daily Prophet tomorrow or the day after?” Hermione pondered as Harry passed the letter from St. Mungos to her so that she could read it.

“Probably tomorrow, knowing the Prophet.” Harry wondered if they’d just write the article as a boast about him (and ostensibly how good he made Magical Britain look with his many accomplishments). Or if it would be spun to insinuate that he was trying to change the longstanding Healing Arts by turning away from traditional potions. ‘I’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.’

After breakfast, Harry greeted Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria as they all headed for their classes. With a grin he held the letter out for Daphne to read.

“So, when are you going to teach me, Harry?” Daphne asked with a small grin on her lips. She was doing her best not to let her cheeks burn at the thought of spending time alone with Harry as he taught her how to make the Potion Pill.

“We could do it after class today. It’s only mildly complex now that the recipe has been proven to work.” Harry waved off the complex brewing required to make Potion Pills.

Tracy snickered at Harry’s lackadaisical attitude. “For you, sure. But think about us normal people, Harry.”

Harry chuckled at her quip. “I did. That’s why I went through all the hard work of making the recipe myself.”

“So humble.” Daphne deadpanned at Harry.

“Aren’t I?” Harry grinned, only to get a swat from both Daphne and Hermione.

-Lunch-

“How was Runes and Arithmancy, Hermione?” Harry asked as Hermione showed up a couple of minutes after he and Luna had arrived.

Hermione set her bookbag down before sitting next to Harry. “It was interesting. We started on Wards today and are learning the orders of runic sequences.” She started making her plate with a smile. “I really like how ordered and neat both Runes and Arithmancy can be.”

Luna giggled at Hermione’s enjoyment of the Branches of Magic that focused on mathematics and script. “Are they your favorite classes now?”

“Favorite electives, yes. Not sure about favorite class overall.” Hermione grinned at Luna before focusing on her food.

“Runic sequences are basically giving written instructions to Magic to act in a certain way.” Harry commented after swallowing his mouthful of food. As a well-known and well-studied Branch of Magic, Harry had naturally looked into it growing up. “But I’ve always wondered if Runes weren’t being overly complicated as well.” Several Runes, when imbued with Magic, could produce the effect related to the rune with nothing else required, after all.

Hermione shook her head once. “The complexity is how you make more intricate effects take place, Harry. You wouldn’t expect a Ward to work with only a single Rune, right?”

“Maybe not a Ward of any complexity, no; but simple effects can manifest with a proper Rune and just a bit of Magic.” Harry said before taking a sip of his tea. “Runes and other magical scripts are, in general, just the written forms of spells. A clever way for a Witch or Wizard to use a spell that they don’t actually know how to cast.”

Daphne, Tracy, and Astoria sat down across from the trio of Ravenclaws. The three Slytherins had become such a common sight during meals at the Ravenclaw table, that no one batted an eye at it anymore.

“What’re you three talking about?” Astoria asked with a curious tilt of her head.

“Runes and how they function in relation to spells.” Harry and Hermione answered at the same time, both looking at each other for a second afterwards. Harry grinned at Hermione, while Hermione smiled as her cheeks went slightly pink.

‘Are we going to start finishing each other’s sentences soon?’ Hermione wondered in her mind, fidgeting just a little in her seat at the idea of it. Her parents did it fairly often and always seemed happy (often sharing a quick kiss) whenever it happened.

“Nerrrds…” Tracy teased with a silly expression on her face.

Daphne grinned at her best friend, the two sharing a quick laugh at Harry and Hermione never giving their scholarly pursuits a rest.

“You said something about Witches and Wizards using spells they don’t know, right?” Astoria asked Harry as she picked out what she wanted from the food on the platters nearest her. “How?”

“With Runes…or runic sequences?” Luna answered, looking at Harry for confirmation.

Harry nodded to her with a chuckle. “Yep.” Seeing the curious looks on his friends’ faces, Harry explained after a second to think of a good example. “Take a broom, for example. I eventually figured out self-flight, after a bunch of trial and error to create the spell. But since no one else seems to have figured it out, they invented the flying broom to do it for them. A broom is a Flight Spell that any Wizard or Witch can use, and they don’t have to have any idea about the Charms work, runic sequences, or spells that make the broom fly.”

Daphne and Tracy nodded as they understood the example easily. Luna smiled at Harry for the explanation. Astoria took a moment longer before her eyes lit up with understanding.

“I get it!” Astoria smiled brightly. “So enchanted items are just ways to use spells without having to learn them!”

“That’s a simple and concise way to say it, Tori.” Harry agreed with a laugh.

Unnoticed by the others as they continued to eat was the way Hermione was looking deep in thought, even as she continued with her lunch. ‘Enchanted items are spells that any Witch or Wizard can use… A spell performed by an object instead of a person… But aside from brooms…what else is there that performs a spell on its own? Why not ANY spell? Even complex Magic can eventually be written out with runic sequences according to Professor Babbling and all the books that I’ve read for class. Getting the Arithmancy correct in relation to the Runes is the only really difficult part…’ Hermione’s mind was filled with various thoughts and ideas for the rest of lunch. She definitely had things to look up in the library later, enchanted items and their functions being one of them.

“So, Daphne, Tracy, how was Professor Moody’s class?” Harry asked the two Slytherins, since they’d had DADA before lunch.

“Pretty similar to Professor Shacklebolt’s classes from last year.” Tracy said before a grin crossed her face. “Just WAY more intense!”

Harry cocked an eyebrow at that.

Daphne continued when it looked like Tracy was going to drag it out for longer than necessary. “Professor Moody focuses on ‘what Wizards can do to each other’ as he calls it. Today’s class was focused on the most common Hexes and Curses used by Dark Wizards.” Daphne ignored the pout that Tracy was directing at her for ruining her fun of keeping Harry in suspense. “We even had a brief overview of the Three Unforgivables. No demonstration aside from the Imperius curse on a spider though.”

“Well yeah, not like a retired Auror is going to be using the Cruciatus or the Killing Curse.” Tracy said with a scoff at the idea of it.

“Sounds like it might be interesting at least.” Harry had actually been considering asking Professor Moody to just skip DADA now that he had his Mastery in the subject. ‘But if he’s actually going to share decades of knowledge on obscure and even ‘Dark’ spells, it might just be beneficial to check out his classes.’

-Defense Against the Dark Arts ~ Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff 4^th Year Class-

The rather haggard form of Alastor Moody stood before the class and introduced himself to the students. His scarred face, magical false eye, and the prosthetic leg made for a rather intimidating Wizard to be under the scrutiny of. “Alastor Moody, Retired Auror, Ministry Malcontent, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.” He turned and wrote his name on the chalkboard for all the students to see. “I’m here because Dumbledore asked me to be, end of story. I won’t be back next year, so hopefully you’ll all learn enough this year to make it through your O.W.L.s next year.” Moody made it clear, without saying it aloud, that he knew how disjointed the DADA class was at Hogwarts. “I believe in a practical approach to Defense Against the Dark Arts, so don’t expect much in the way of written assignments.”

That got more than a few sighs of relief from some of the class.

“Miss Brocklehurst, put that away.” Moody said without turning to face the class.

Mandy Brocklehurst’s eyes widened as she put away a small box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans that she’d pulled out of the pocket of her robes. “Can he see out the back of his head?” She whispered to her desk mate.

“I can also hear across classrooms!” Moody raised his voice, shooting a look at Mandy, making her go silent. The magical false eye swiveled about in the eyepatch strapped to Moody’s head.

‘A magical eye that can see through physical objects, or just the user’s own head?’ Harry wondered about the abilities of Moody’s prosthetic. Tonks had mentioned that her old mentor when she’d been a cadet was paranoid to an almost ridiculous degree. Being able to see behind him or through physical objects would both be in-character from what Tonks had said. ‘I’m sure that I can find out in time.’ That was already an interesting little find and they hadn’t even started with the actual lesson.

With the class properly cowed, Moody began his lesson. “We’ll start with the Three Unforgivable Curses, as the use of any single one of them on another person will get you a one-way ticket to Azkaban.” Moody tapped the chalkboard with his walking cane where he’d previously written ‘Unforgivable Curses’.

Throughout the lesson, Harry was very much aware of how Moody’s eyes (both his remaining real one and the magical prosthetic) seemed to watch him. Not letting it bother him, Harry did as he usually did in classes by helping out with terms or spell mechanics that other students were having problems with as they went over the Three Unforgivable Curses all the way down to common Curses and Hexes that Aurors were guaranteed to see while performing their duties.

Once class ended, Moody held Harry back. A quick bark to leave from the grizzled man sent the rest of the students scrambling out of the room.

“Yes, Professor?” Harry asked once they were the only two in the classroom.

“I’ve heard from Dumbledore that you’re quite the prodigy, Potter.” Moody nodded once to the High Sorcerer. “You’ve accomplished quite a lot in the last few years. If you want to self-study in my class, you have my permission.” Moody didn’t beat around the bush at all. “Or, if you’d like, I’ll take you on as my Professor’s Assistant during classes and you can help me out with teaching a bit.” He grumbled something under his breath that sounded vaguely like ‘too soft on children’ to Harry.

Harry thought about it for a bit before replying. “Would I need to know the course material before each class, Professor?”

Moody snorted once. “Aye, Potter. I’ll make sure to give the lesson plan to you a few days in advance. If there’s anything you need to know to be able to help, tell me before it comes up in class.”

“Alright, I don’t mind helping out from time to time, sir.” Harry accepted the unofficial position of Professor’s Assistant. “Could I ask a few questions right now?”

“Is it about the false eye?” Moody knew it was just based on how Harry glanced at the prosthetic once while asking.

Harry nodded.

“Yes, I can see through my own head.” Moody answered the unasked question. “Yes, I can see through some physical objects.” He answered the second question before Harry could ask it.

“I see.” Harry hummed with a small grin on his face. “A bit of a risk with so many girls in the castle, isn’t it?”

Moody gave Harry a flat look that wiped the grin off the teen’s face. “I can see through one layer, the outer robes, that’s all this eye is made to do. I wouldn’t want to see what some Wizards and Witches have under their clothes anyway.” His expression didn’t change, but Harry winced slightly anyway as the thought of seeing through Snape’s robes bounced off his brain once.

“Can I ask who made it?” Harry questioned about the false eye.

“Full of questions, aren’t you?” Moody drawled at Harry’s curiosity.

-Harry’s Practice Room ~ After Classes-

“Why are there so many steps…?” Daphne nearly gaped as Harry showed her the recipe for his Potion Pill. “Eight days… Two-hundred-fifty-five stirs in alternating rotations while adding the final ingredient… And you can only use ingredients with proper Magic development?” She knew of certain potions that were incredibly difficult to brew, at least from books, and Harry’s recipe was definitely up there, even though it used mostly readily available ingredients and not anything incredibly rare, or prohibitively expensive, or outright illegal. “Are you sure there’s not a simpler method?”

Harry grinned at her. “What? Already giving up, Daphne?”

Daphne’s eye almost twitched. “I didn’t say that I was giving up. I asked if there was a simpler method.”

“Given that this recipe was the only one that I came up with that even had a chance at working, and I haven’t made any other recipes yet…no.” Harry snarked a little.

“Prat.” Daphne said with a little huff. “Well, no time like the present.” She started filling the cauldron in front of her with water. “I guess I should count my blessings that the stirring can be done with a self-stirring rod and I don’t have to be here every eight hours on the dot.”

Harry laughed at Daphne’s little sigh of relief. “That’s the spirit, Daphne!”

Daphne wouldn’t admit that she was thrilled to be spending this time alone with Harry as he showed her how to prepare the ingredients properly to get the most out of each one. ‘Not quite a date. But I’ll take it.’ She thought to herself with slightly red cheeks.

-Weekend-

“Harry, can I ask a question?” Luna smiled at Harry as they were practicing spells outside while they still had warm weather.

“Of course.” Harry returned her smile, always having time for his ‘little sister’. “Do you think you know your ‘right question’?” He had been wondering if Luna would ask, given that she’d had her own interpretation of Magic for a while now.

Luna tilted her head slightly. “Maybe, but I just wanted to ask if you’d teach me how to make those cute spirits.” She beamed at Harry, referencing the Kooni that he’d shown his friends after learning the basics of Onmyōdō in Japan from Yasashī.

Harry laughed and pulled Luna into a hug. “Never change, Luna.”

“Do I need to know wandless Magic to learn how to make the spirits?” Luna asked.

“No, wandless Magic isn’t necessary to learn Onmyōdō, it’s not a wand-reliant Branch of Magic to begin with.” Harry assured her with a smile. “Shikigami range from simple to very complex though, so it might take you a while.”

Luna looked determined to learn, which looked rather cute on the short blonde. “Can I make Magic into a friend?”

Harry blinked at Luna’s question. With a fond smile he patted Luna’s head and gently ruffled her long hair a little. “And that…is the right question.”

“It is?” Luna looked at Harry curiously.

“What is your interpretation of Magic, Luna?” Harry asked, hoping that she’d see why she’d managed to ask the right question.

“Magic is whatever it is and whatever it wants to be.” Luna said with a small smile.

Harry nodded at her interpretation. “I still like your interpretation of Magic too. So, if you interpret Magic as whatever it is and whatever it wants to be… Why couldn’t you make it your friend?” He grinned at her.

Luna perked up after a second to think about it. “Oh! That makes sense!” She laughed brightly, making Harry smile at how happy she was at this moment. “Can I make a bunch of those…Shee-key-gah-mee as friends?” Luna sounded the foreign word out to try and familiarize herself with it.

“You could.” Harry nodded with a chuckle. Trust Luna to not care about power, or being the greatest Witch of the Age, or anything so grandiose and ambitious. All Luna wanted was to have her friends and make more friends, being happy and emotionally content was enough for her. Exploring Magic and its mysteries as one would explore a new friendship was a very interesting take on Magic that Harry felt fit his ‘little sister’ perfectly. “How about we start with the basics of Onmyōdō and work our way up to Shikigami?”

“Okay!” Luna giggled happily at getting to learn how to make Magic her friend.

“How did she ask the right question without even trying?” Hermione asked, making Harry and Luna turn to her. The brunette was looking at Luna in confusion, wondering how the younger girl had figured it out by accident.

Astoria only smiled at Luna and gave her friend a quick hug. “Congratulations, Luna!”

“Thank you, Astoria.” Luna smiled back just as brightly. She turned to Hermione with the same smile. “I meant to ask the question, but I didn’t know that it was the ‘right question’…does that still make it an accident?”

Hermione had to stop and actually think about that. She’d asked Harry a plethora of questions over the last couple years. Any time that she felt like she’d come to an understanding of Magic, she would go ask Harry what she thought the ‘right question’ would be. She’d just never been right.

“Luna’s interpretation makes for an interesting insight and a different way of looking at Magic. It was only a matter of time before she eventually asked the ‘right question’ whether she was trying to or not.” Harry said with a shrug. “If she wants to learn all of her spells wandlessly now, I’ll teach her. If she only wants to learn Onmyōdō to a level where she can make a bunch of Kooni, then that’s fine too.” He pulled Luna into a one-armed side hug with a smile. “Exploring the mysteries of Magic isn’t about becoming the most powerful or gaining the most recognition. It’s about looking at Magic through your own interpretation of it and exploring it in a way that resonates with you.”

Hermione and Astoria couldn’t find anything to say to that. It was a very ‘Harry’ thing to say, and both of them once more realized just how different Harry’s mindset was when it came to Magic.

Luna, eager to begin learning to make ‘spirit friends’ as she called Shikigami in her thoughts, lightly tugged on Harry’s arm to get his attention. “What’s first, Harry?”

Harry let out a playful snort at Luna’s impatience. “The first thing to go over is the Five Phases. They’re the five traditional elements of Eastern philosophy: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.”

Even if Hermione didn’t really have any interest in Onmyōdō, she still paid attention as Harry began his first lesson with Luna.

Likewise, Astoria happily sat nearby Luna and listened as well, wondering if she’d ever figure out her own ‘right question’.

- October 30th ~ Welcoming Feast-

It was a rather chilly evening in Scotland as the Hogwarts students stood outside of the castle awaiting the arrival of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons contingents that were coming for the Triwizard Tournament.

“Did they forget what Warming Charms are?” Harry cocked an eyebrow as he saw a large number of students shaking in the cold night air. The entire faculty and student body of Hogwarts were waiting for any sign of the visiting schools. Harry had cast a Warming Charm on himself a few minutes into the wait. Luna and Hermione had copied him, and he saw a few others not shivering either. A good number of them were Upper Years that had done the obvious. “Well, let’s fix that.” With a grin he focused on the area around the gathered students and cast a wide area Warming Charm.

“Huh?”

“Hey, it’s not cold anymore!”

“I thought Warming Charms only worked on one target at a time?” One of the Seventh Years that had cast their own Warming Charm said to the student standing next to him.

Dumbledore chuckled quietly, though it was heard in the rather quiet evening air. “Fifteen points to Ravenclaw, Mr. Potter.”

“Thank you, sir.” Harry replied as he watched those that had their own Warming Charms cancel them and enjoy the ‘area warming’ that Harry was providing.

“Hey look!” Someone from Gryffindor shouted with their hand pointed towards the sky. Everyone’s attention focused on a small dot in the waning light of day as the object drew closer.

Closer and closer the flying object got until everyone could see it was a massively large carriage being pulled by equally large, winged horses! The carriage got closer and began to descend. Harry was pretty sure that he heard Hagrid call the large horses beautiful. They looked to be Abraxans, which meant that no normal man would be able to guide them. The large Magical horses could easily drag a dozen or more full-grown men around without trouble. The carriage landed with the thundering of the Abraxans’ hooves and the sharp thud of the carriage’s wheels hitting the ground.

When the carriage came to a stop, the door opened and a teen boy, dressed in the blue uniform of Beauxbatons, tapped his wand on the doorframe. A set of metal steps unfolded from beneath the carriage and the young man stepped down them before standing off to the side. The next person to appear from the carriage was a massive woman, easily as tall as Hagrid, maybe taller, and with a statuesque build that made her look imposing. She walked down the metal steps and took a few steps forward before the next students emerged in two lines. One line was entirely girls, while the other line was all boys. Harry noted that the girls’ line was a bit longer than the boys’ line and wondered if that was intentional for this visit to Hogwarts.

“Madame Maxime, lovely to see you again.” Dumbledore smiled brightly as he greeted the large woman. “Welcome to Hogwarts.”

“It has been a long time, Dumbledore.” Maxime replied back with her own smile down to the old man. Her French accent was noticeable, but it was clear she spoke English well enough to not mispronounce words or names. “It is warmer than I remember. A spell, perhaps?”

Dumbledore nodded to Maxime. “Indeed. A large area Warming Charm provided by Mr. Potter.”

Maxime’s eyes moved over the Hogwarts students, stopping when she saw the familiar face from many a newspaper article about his varied accomplishments. “Please give him our thanks for the comfort.”

“Of course, I’ll make sure to pass along your regards.” Dumbledore agreed with a small nod. “Please make yourselves at home while we await Durmstrang’s arrival.” Dumbledore offered genially. “Mr. Filch will lead you to the Great Hall; the Ravenclaw table will welcome your students with open arms.”

“Thank you, Dumbledore.” Maxime nodded as she led her students up the stairs following after Mr. Filch.

The surly caretaker had actually dressed up a bit for the occasion and was trying his best not to sneer at MORE students coming into Hogwarts. Instead, he motioned for Maxime to follow him before turning and heading inside.

Harry looked over the Beauxbatons students and caught Fleur’s eyes. The two smiled at each other warmly and Fleur even winked at him. Harry grinned and shook his head as he heard the boys around him start acting up from just the passive Allure of Fleur and the other Veela among the Beauxbatons students.

Shortly after the Beauxbatons students had entered the castle, someone else called out.

“What’s that?!” A younger student questioned as the Black Lake began to churn and throw up waves.

Everyone watched as the water roiled before beginning to swirl around into a massive whirlpool. From the whirlpool a large sailing ship began to emerge. The bow and figurehead rose over the edge of the whirlpool. Then the main body of the ship breached the water and the whole vessel tilted forward and landed on the lake. The ship bobbed violently for a few moments before it sailed right up to the edge of the lake and then dropped anchor. The gangplank was lowered and a man in a large fur coat began walking down the ramp. He was followed by students all wearing the same red uniform. Each of the young men had a fur-lined cloak over their shoulders and a staff in their hands.

“Albus, it has been too long!” The obvious Head of Durmstrang greeted Dumbledore with a smile.

“Igor, good to see you again.” Dumbledore returned the warm greeting and the two men gave each other a brief hug with a strong pat on the back. “The Beauxbatons students are already inside. We can join them and get the Welcoming Feast started.”

“They came to Scotland in the autumn in those thin uniforms, didn’t they?” Igor gave a rough laugh. “Though it seems to be unseasonably warm for this time of year.”

Dumbledore shook his head once. “Just a Warming Charm cast on the area to accommodate our guests, Igor.”

Igor nodded with a grin as he motioned his students to follow him.

Harry noticed that there were only male students among the Durmstrang group and briefly wondered if Durmstrang was a male-only school. He also heard someone exclaim ‘Blimey! It’s Viktor Krum!’ but didn’t bother pinpointing who as he saw the famous Quidditch player right behind the Durmstrang High Master when the visiting students entered the castle. Once the Durmstrang students were inside, the Hogwarts students were led back into the Great Hall by their Heads of House.

Once the Professors were all seated, aside from Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster stood to his full height and spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard by the entire Great Hall. “Welcome, Durmstrang! Welcome, Beauxbatons! Hogwarts is pleased to have you with us once again for another Triwizard Tournament!” All of the students and Professors applauded the visiting schools to welcome them. “As is the longstanding tradition of the hosting school, we’d like to welcome our guests with a show of Magic to entertain you before we feast!” That got all of the students talking, wondering if Dumbledore himself would be showing off some of his famous skills. “As always, the Magic displayed will be from one of our best students.” His twinkling eyes met Harry’s and the High Sorcerer realized what the Headmaster wanted.

‘He couldn’t tell me this beforehand because…why?’ Harry sighed when a light shone down on him from above. ‘Huh, I didn’t know Hogwarts had the capability to mimic stage lights.’

“I think he wants you to perform the show, Harry.” Luna offered helpfully, but the way she was smiling and barely holding back giggles made it obvious that she was amused by her big brother being literally put in the spotlight.

“So it would seem.” Harry let out a sigh, already feeling all eyes in the Great Hall on him. He stood up and left his seat and with a wave of his hand his regular Hogwarts robes turned into resplendent robes fit for a great Wizard of high standing. The colors of the robes shifted from the blue and bronze of Ravenclaw, to the green and silver of Slytherin, the black and yellow of Hufflepuff, and then the red and gold of Gryffindor. A large, wide-brimmed pointed hat appeared atop Harry’s head a second later, making many of the First Years point at Harry after seeing the hat again. It too cycled through all of the House colors in time with the robes. On the back of the robes was the Hogwarts crest.

Harry raised his hands up to around shoulder height, both palms facing the high ceiling. Flames shot into the air from his right hand, while water burst forth like a geyser from his left hand. The two elements twisted through the air, taking the form of snakes and perfectly mimicking their serpentine movements. When the fire snake and the water snake came together, they exploded into a cloud of thick steam. The steam split further into a flock of eagles that flew around the Great Hall before bursting into leaves that quickly formed into badgers which scampered around and between all of the student tables. Before anyone could touch them, they exploded into confetti that was shimmering red and gold. The colorful confetti became lions that strutted proudly between the long tables before being consumed into sparkling flames and disappearing

With a large grin after seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, Harry clapped his hands together, the sound louder than it should be given the excited murmuring buzzing in the Great Hall, and his entire body glowed with a myriad of colors similar to a kaleidoscope. The ever shifting colors and designs seemed to bleed off of Harry’s form and into the very air around him, quickly covering the entire Great Hall. Only a second later and everyone gasped as they found themselves in a new area: they were all atop the Hogwarts Express. The whistle blew and everyone, even the Professors all looked towards the large doors that led into the Great Hall, but instead of the doors, they saw the front of the train as it puffed with smoke from the smokestack and began to move down the rails.

“How?!”

“We’re still sitting, right?!”

Harry could only grin as the illusion showed a shortened version of the ride on the Hogwarts Express, the passing countryside and the view of the Scottish Highlands on a bright sunny day.

The visiting Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students spoke rapidly (many in their native languages) as they got to experience riding the Hogwarts Express to the castle.

The illusion pulled into Hogsmeade Station and the entire Great Hall followed the winding rocky path down to the boats in the dark evening, getting on boats -one for each long table and one for the Professor’s table- and sailing across the dark surface of the lake before seeing Hogwarts in all of its glory, with every window lit up and the moon hanging high in the sky above. More than a few people ducked their heads as the illusion passed under the ivy-covered rocky overhang and the boats docked onto the rocky shore. The illusion took them up the stone steps and through the doors, across the hall and then the large double doors of the Great Hall opened and more than a few people audibly gasped as if they expected to meet themselves on the other side of the doors.

Wooooossshhh

The illusion faded away and everyone saw that they were in the Great Hall, not having moved from their original places at all.

Harry stood in the middle of the Hall, still in the resplendent and shifting robes. With a grin he placed his hand on top of the pointed hat and took it off his head, holding it to his chest as he bowed at the waist. With a laugh he tossed the hat aside and it burst into glowing silvery mist. The resplendent robes did the same and the shimmering mist spread across the entirety of the Great Hall in a wave making everyone smile, even if only for a moment as pure positivity touched them.

Harry had undone his initial conjuration and turned the leftover Magic into a weak version of the Patronus Charm, the silvery mist was the happy emotion required for the spell given form by Magic and touching it was similar to a Cheering Charm, if not as potent.

The applause and cheers that erupted from all of the students, and more than a few of the Professors, nearly deafened Harry as he returned to his seat.

“Well done, well done, Mr. Potter!” Dumbledore applauded even as he amplified his voice with the Sonorus Charm. “And with that amazing spectacle for our guests, we now begin the Welcoming Feast!”

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, every golden platter, bowl, and pitcher on all of the tables filled with food. There was the standard fare that Hogwarts always served, along with many dishes that the students had never seen before. The exclamations of surprise and even a few cheers from the visiting students made it easy to figure out that the unknown dishes were regional cuisines from the various countries that both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons took their students from.

“That was amazing, Harry!” Hermione praised him with a bright smile.

“It was fun!” Luna beamed at him happily, clearly having enjoyed the entire impromptu performance.

Harry laughed warmly. “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all school year!”

Seeing more than a few of the guys near them going silent and just staring, Harry grinned.

“That was most impressive, mon chéri.” Fleur praised from behind Harry, her voice light and filled with warmth.

“Thank you, Fleur. I do have my moments.” Harry looked at Fleur with a smile. “Did you come to sit with me?”

Fleur raised one delicate eyebrow and a teasing smirk played on her lips. “Non. I wanted to know if you are finished with the Bouillabaisse?” She motioned to the fish soup sitting on the table near Harry.

“Ah!” Harry placed his hand over his heart dramatically (just like Sirius had shown him growing up). “My heart! To think I would be struck down by a beautiful Witch like so many great Wizards before me!”

Luna giggled brightly at the ‘performance’.

Hermione let out a playful sigh. “Six out of ten, to over dramatic.” She laughed when Harry shot her a faux betrayed look.

“Make room for me, mon chéri?” Fleur stopped the teasing to ask.

Harry moved over a bit, Luna happily scooting over on his opposite side as well to make room for Fleur.

“Merci.” Fleur smiled as she sat down next to Harry. “It has been too long, Harry.”

“It has indeed, Fleur.” Harry agreed before both smiled at each other and laughed lightly at being back together again.

They all started to take food for themselves and Harry, Hermione, and Luna all happily tried anything that Fleur recommended to them. The four chatted about what they’d been up to since the start of the school year and Fleur (for the first time in person) congratulated Harry on the success of his Potion Pills.

“But ‘Potter Potion Pills’? I didn’t know you had such a love of alliteration, mon chéri.” Fleur laughed softly, the sound warm and bright, making everyone that heard it smile a little.

“It rolls off the tongue.” Harry grinned unrepentantly for the simple, but marketable, name of his creation. “Making them isn’t too difficult, Daphne got it right on her first try.” That had been a happy day for the future Healer, and she’d even hugged Harry and kissed his cheek before she could stop herself. “Now she’s pulling a Hermione and almost burying herself in Herbology, Potions, and Healing texts to try and work out a new version of her own.”

Hermione didn’t look amused. “Will you stop calling it that…”

Harry looked at Hermione with a smile. “…maybe.”

“Prat.” Hermione slid forward on the bench and kicked Harry’s shin under the table.

“Oi!” Harry grimaced and rubbed his shin, nearly putting his chin on the table to be able to reach.

Fleur laughed at the antics between the two before she sipped from her goblet. It was nice to have friends here at Hogwarts already. Had she been here and known no one, she definitely would’ve stuck to the other Beauxbatons students almost exclusively.

After the desserts disappeared sometime later, the Welcoming Feast began to die down. It was as the last of the students turned their attention to the Professors’ Table that Dumbledore stood up again. Everyone listened and watched attentively as Dumbledore had Mr. Filch bring in a case and open it. The Headmaster withdrew a wooden goblet from within and placed it on a pedestal so that all could see it. Harry’s eyes (glowing just slightly with his Mage Sight spell) quickly took in the simple-looking object.

‘That’s interesting. The Magic reminds me of the Magic that is infused into every part of Hogwarts. That thing must be ancient.’ Harry thought to himself before ending his spell.

Dumbledore went on to explain that the Goblet of Fire would be the impartial judge that would pick the three Champions that would compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Harry and Fleur’s hands found each other’s under the table and entwined their fingers as they listened. Harry wouldn’t mind looking over the Goblet in greater detail, especially after it ignited magical blue flames within itself, but knew he probably wouldn’t get the chance to do so.

“An Age Line? That’s a Ward, if I recall correctly.” Harry whispered to Fleur after Dumbledore told the students in the Hall how the Goblet would be protected against underage students.

“Oui, one that is impossible to fool.” Fleur whispered back. “It will prevent anyone below the set age from crossing it, no matter how they try and disguise themselves.”

After the explanation on how the eligible students would submit their names to the Goblet of Fire, the students were ushered off to bed.

“I’ll see you in the morning, mon chéri.” Fleur smiled warmly at Harry as they were about to separate for the night.

“I’ll meet you at breakfast, Fleur.” Harry agreed with a smile of his own.

Fleur kissed both of Harry’s cheeks before leaving, her deep blue eyes not breaking from Harry’s green until she passed through the doors leading out of the castle.

“Ready for bed?” Harry asked as he walked with Hermione and Luna up the stairs towards Ravenclaw Tower.

“Yes.” Luna yawned cutely and leaned on Harry a little.

Hermione nodded, hiding her own yawn behind her hand. “I think I’ll sleep well tonight. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” It would certainly be interesting to watch everyone submitting their names after classes tomorrow. Everyone anywhere close to Fred and George had already heard them talking about finding a way to enter since their shared birthday was only a couple months away.

“It should be interesting.” Harry agreed with Hermione as the three of them continued up the stairs, which seemed to be behaving tonight as they didn’t change and move as the students were walking up them. ‘I want to look at this Age Line up close.’ Harry thought in the privacy of his mind. It sounded like an interesting bit of Magic. ‘If a paper with my name on it happens to end up inside the Goblet of Fire, well… That’s just an accident.’ The prodigious Spellcrafter barely kept the little grin off his face as he walked towards Ravenclaw Tower.

-End Chapter-

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Potter Potion Pills are on the market! Woohoo! Time to make some money!

Daphne is learning to make them and wants to improve them too! Yeah!

Hermione seems to be reaching some understanding of her own as her curiosity is piqued by Runes and Arithmancy and an idea that she had after she talked about things with her friends. It figures that Hermione would like the Branches of Magic that’re the most ‘orderly’ and structured, huh? What could be taking up part of that intelligent mind so fervently?

Luna asked her ‘right question’! Woo! Go Luna!

What does she want to learn? Grand Magics? Arcane secrets? A spell to make pudding?

Nope.

Luna wants to learn Onmyōdō so that she can make Shikigami friends! Literally wants to make friends with Spirits and Magic itself! So very Luna, isn’t it?

Harry has accepted an unofficial position as Professor Moody’s TA. Will that lead to something? Or is everything on the up and up?

Will Hermione’s secret fantasy be fulfilled? Hehehe~

Fleur has arrived at Hogwarts! The Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! But what is Harry himself about to do?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Goblet of Fire has been lit! Champion selection begins for the Triwizard Tournament! Which three students will be chosen? Will there be a fourth Champion? Harry just kinda wants to check out the Age Line and, if possible, the Goblet of Fire itself. But the Triwizard Tournament could be interesting too.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 32 – The Goblet of Fire, Champion Selection

It was very early morning, well before dawn, and the Goblet of Fire was on a pedestal in the Entrance Hall, surrounded by a faintly glowing circle of runes. Unseen, unheard, and unnoticed, a single person approached the pedestal after a quick cast of the Revelio Charm, silently and wandlessly. With nothing of note being detected by the spell, the invisible person raised an unseen eyebrow.

‘No watchers? No faculty at all? Just the paintings?’ Harry wondered about the lack of any kind of security for the Goblet of Fire. He noticed more than a few of the paintings on the walls were asleep in their frames, but several were indeed keeping watch, glancing at the Goblet of Fire occasionally, whether because they’d been asked to watch it, or just out of curiosity, was up to debate. ‘Lucky for me that what I want to do won’t be noticed.’ With that, Harry approached the Age Line with curiosity and interest. Activating his Mage Sight spell, Harry looked at the Age Line and started to decipher the way the Ward worked as he walked around the outside of the faintly glowing circle.

After making a complete circle around the Age Line, Harry quickly went through the entire structure of the spell in his head. It was certainly a foolproof bit of Charms work that made up the temporary Ward. Anything that wasn’t at or above the age set by the caster couldn’t cross the line without triggering its defenses. There was also nothing within the structure of the spell that said one couldn’t do the opposite, setting a maximum age that prevented anyone of that age or older from crossing the ward line.

‘Quite the useful Ward, if a bit limited in its function.’ Harry mused to himself after finishing his inspection of the Age Line. Now that he understood the spell, it wouldn’t be hard to ‘put it together’ from its various features and learn how to cast it himself. ‘Interesting and a new bit of Magic for me. Now…about that Goblet.’ Harry turned his sight on the Goblet of Fire, the blue flames not making a sound as they danced within the wooden vessel.

The Age Line had been drawn with a roughly three-meter radius from the pedestal in the center. Six meters in diameter was more than enough to keep any underage student from stretching their arm to drop their name in from the edge of the Age Line, that was obvious. However, as Harry had quickly discerned, the Age Line had a very large flaw in its defense.

It only worked on living things.

‘I’m hesitant to levitate anything into the Goblet though, since Magic is very much tied to the one casting it, a Levitation Charm may be noticed by the Age Line.’ Harry pondered on his current quandary with a small grin on his lips. The problem with spells that were held to keep their effects was that the link between the item being bespelled and the Witch or Wizard casting the spell could potentially be detected. ‘But it’s a bit far to lob a piece of balled up parchment and get it into the Goblet. I’m sure Dumbledore considered that when he made the Age Line as wide as he did.’ Not that Harry believed there wouldn’t be dozens of balled up pieces of parchment around the pedestal by the time of the Halloween Feast tonight from underage students trying just that. ‘However, simple solutions often have the highest likelihood of succeeding, especially when it comes to very specific Magics like this Age Line.’

Harry, still unseen beneath his invisibility spell, pulled out a single piece of parchment from his pocket. On the parchment was his name, written in his neat script, and also kept invisible so long as it was held by Harry. With just a thought, Harry made the small parchment fold itself into an origami crane (something he’d seen on his family’s trip to Japan), then he used an Animation Charm on it. The origami crane flapped its tiny wings and was airborne a second later. The Animation Charm required no upkeep after being cast and would naturally fade once it used up the magic that Harry had supplied it with, so the chances of it being detected by the Age Line was zero. The animated origami crane became visible just after crossing the Age Line, Harry’s invisibility no longer covering it, but it flew straight into the Goblet of Fire and was consumed in a brief flare of blue flames only a second later. Not hearing a sound from any of the paintings around the entrance hall, Harry’s unseen grin became a little smirk. It looked like he’d be getting away with his early morning hours excursion.

‘And if I do get chosen, it’ll be a successful prank that Sirius could never top since there was no Triwizard Tournament during his school days.’ Harry chuckled to himself, his spell keeping everything silent regardless. ‘Besides, this tournament could make the school year much more entertaining.’ Harry smiled in amusement. ‘Let’s see if I can glean anything from you.’ He looked directly at the Goblet of Fire with his Mage Sight spell; his eyes glowing brighter than usual as he poured more of his magic into it (though still going unseen because of his invisibility).

The Magic within the Goblet was still the same dull hue of blue light, much like the stone that made up Hogwarts. The Goblet was ancient, just like the castle, and much like Hogwarts, held its secrets close. The only things that Harry could parse out was that the Goblet of Fire was self-sustaining, requiring no outside Magic to function, and that its purpose was to choose three competitors for a competition involving three events. What criteria it judged by was unseen, even as Harry looked deeply into the Magic that he could see and tried to delve further.

‘Ow… Gonna have to refine the Mage Sight spell a bit more if I want to look into the Magic of an object for long periods of time.’ Harry thought to himself as he closed his eyes from the strain that prolonged use of his Mage Sight spell had caused. ‘Still, this was quite interesting. I do wonder who made this Artifact though.’ The Goblet of Fire was far more than any mere Enchanted Object, and Harry had read about Artifacts before. ‘But to commission an Artifact just for an inter-school tournament seems a bit excessive.’ Then again, Andromeda, Ted, and Sirius had all said that a number of Witches and Wizards had more Magic than sense, so perhaps this was just another showing of that?

With his curiosity settled for the moment, Harry walked back up the stairs and returned to Ravenclaw Tower. He’d catch a few more hours of sleep before joining everyone for breakfast.

-Breakfast-

“Good morning, Fleur.” Harry greeted his friend with a warm smile as he got to the entrance hall and saw her waiting for him. The gaggle of boys staring at her as they walked into the Great Hall was expected, as were those that walked into the stone walls on either side of the large double door that led into the Great Hall when they wouldn’t take their eyes off of Fleur.

“Bonjour, mon chéri.” Fleur smiled beautifully at Harry. The boys staring at Fleur all stopped walking entirely and just stood in place now. “Bonjour, Hermione, Luna.” Fleur greeted the two girls on either side of Harry with warmth.

“Good morning, Fleur.” Luna smiled back brightly.

Hermione gave the Veela a smile as well. “Good morning, Fleur.” She then narrowed her eyes at the gawking boys all around the entrance hall. “Could you all stop staring, please?”

Harry chortled in amusement. “They can’t help it, Hermione.” He motioned to the Goblet of Fire, still on the pedestal and waiting for students to submit their names. “Fleur is just more enchanting than entering their names for the Triwizard Tournament.”

Fleur playfully rolled her eyes, even as her smile grew a little more. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Harry.”

The reminder of the Triwizard Tournament seemed to snap a few of the older teens out of their staring. More than a few quickly straightened themselves up and practically marched towards the Goblet of Fire. Hermione let out a small huff when she saw the older teens puffing themselves up in an attempt to look impressive as they each put a slip of parchment with their name on it into the magical blue flames of the Goblet of Fire. Not a single one of them hadn’t been at least glancing at Fleur while they did so, obviously trying to impress the beautiful Veela.

As the group of friends entered the Great Hall, it was to the sight of the Hall decorated for Halloween. Live bats flew about in the air in small groups before resting on the stone walls for a while as another group flew from the walls and around the Hall, above the floating candles and jack-o-lanterns. Stacks of more jack-o-lanterns took up every corner of the Hall as well, flames flickering inside them. With a grin, Harry blew out one of the floating jack-o-lanterns and took control of the smoke let off by the snuffed out candle. The smoke multiplied into a cloud, turned a glimmering blue color and then separated into a dozen ‘Muggle style’ ghosts that flew about the Hall, sometimes sneaking below the tables and coming out the other side to startle a few students.

“So, who all have submitted their names?” Harry asked curiously, as if he hadn’t just added to the ambiance and decoration of the Great Hall for his own amusement.

Fleur answered once she sat down. “All of the Durmstrang group did so when I arrived at the entrance hall. A few others after that, mostly girls from Hogwarts, and then several students from Beauxbatons as well.” She grinned as a yelp was heard from down the Ravenclaw table as one of Harry’s ‘ghosts’ flew from under it and back into the air. “A nice bit of Charms work, mon chéri.”

Harry just grinned at her as he made his plate.

“The boys from Hogwarts were too distracted, I guess.” Luna giggled as she levitated the food she wanted onto her plate…noticeably without her wand. After most of September learning from Harry, simple spells like the Levitation Charm were easy for Luna to do wandlessly.

“So it would seem.” Hermione shook her head once as she made her plate. “I almost feel like I should apologize to Fleur for their actions.” She looked at Fleur with an apologetic smile.

“Non, it’s fine.” Fleur waved it off. “I’m used to it. Most especially from those who have no experience with the Allure of a Veela.”

“Morning all!” Tracy greeted the group as she plopped down on the seat next to Hermione’s.

Daphne sat down on Tracy’s opposite side a moment later. “Good morning.” She smiled at her friends. “Quite a lot of people crowding the entrance hall this morning.”

Luna finished sculpting her food, her breakfast now vaguely resembling a castle with a dragon standing in front of it, before she spoke. “I wonder why?”

Astoria joined them with a laugh. “Someone just tried to get past the Age Line!”

Tracy perked up with a big grin. “What happened, Tori?”

“They were forced backwards and then grew a long white beard like Dumbledore’s!” Astoria burst into giggles.

“Hah!” Tracy laughed loudly once before controlling herself to giggles. “That seems like something Dumbledore would do!”

Harry chuckled, having seen that within the structure of the Age Line last night. “Harmless enough. Might need to get Madam Pomfrey to remove it depending on how the spell works.”

Daphne nodded with a little grin. “I’m sure they will. A light-hearted prank for those trying to break the rules. Dumbledore’s not one to be malicious after all.”

“Quite benevolent, considering that entering the Triwizard is a binding magical contract that forces each selected competitor to see the Tournament through until the end.” Fleur said after a sip of her juice. “Considering how dangerous the Tournament is supposed to be, a much harsher punishment wouldn’t be out of line as a warning.”

“I did read about the death toll in the history of the Triwizard Tournament.” Hermione agreed with a nod. “Smacking a child’s hand to prevent them from touching a hot stove is better than letting them touch it, after all.” A single instant of sharp pain was much better compared to the intense and lingering pain of a burn.

The conversation carried on, but no one seemed to notice that Daphne had gone quiet for a while. Her eyes were looking at her food, but she didn’t take anything from her plate. ‘Not malicious… Benevolent… Painful, but for a good reason…’ Daphne’s mind circled these points for a while before she snapped out of it when Astoria nudged her, looking slightly concerned for her big sister. Daphne gave Astoria a smile before starting to eat again.

After breakfast, Fleur placed her name in the Goblet of Fire for all of her friends, both Hogwarts and Beauxbatons, to see. A round of applause came from almost everyone that had watched, especially from the male population of Hogwarts.

Harry, Luna, and Astoria convinced Hermione, Tracy, Daphne, and Fleur to watch others put their names into the Goblet of Fire for a little while. It didn’t take much convincing though as all of them were curious about who was entering and what underage students might try to get past the Age Line and submit their names too.

They didn’t have to wait very long before a ruckus from the staircase got everyone’s attention. Fred and George Weasley, along with their friend Lee Jordan, were clambering down the stairs with laughter.

“Just done it!” Fred declared with a bright smile.

“Only a drop!” George had a big smile on his face too. “Only needed to be a few months older!”

Lee Jordan saw curious eyes, especially from the younger students, and stage whispered to all of them. “Aging Potion! We’re going to split the one-thousand Galleons prize money if one of us wins!”

That got quite a bit of excited chatter and murmuring started among the students.

Fred approached the edge of the Age Line, George and Lee right beside him. All three boys were visibly shaking with excitement as they pulled out their parchments. Even from a distance, everyone could see the names on the parchments, written in big letters and with ‘Hogwarts’ written in smaller letters after the names.

“This hasn’t worked for anyone else; you know?” Hermione spoke up to warn the three Gryffindors.

She was ignored entirely.

“C’mon then, I’ll go first.” Fred said before taking the first step into the Age Line.

When nothing happened for a second, George and Lee both smiled and jumped into the Age Line as well. All of the students cheered…for a second. With a sound similar to the sizzle of a skillet, all three boys were launched back from where they stood, stumbling and staggering before they hit the floor in a heap. A ‘pop’ was heard and Lee, Fred, and George each grew a long white beard very reminiscent of Dumbledore’s own.

“Ahahahahaha!!!” The gathered students laughed loudly, pointing at the three boys as they got back to their feet.

George, Fred, and Lee took it in good stride, the three laughing along with everyone else, even stroking their new beards as if they were wise old men thinking deeply about something.

“I did warn you.” Dumbledore’s amused voice quieted the students as he exited the Great Hall. “I suggest you three head to Madam Pomfrey. She’s already helping Miss Fawcett from Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers from Hufflepuff, both who aged themselves up a little as well.” He gave Lee, George, and Fred a friendly smile. “Though I must say, neither of their beards were quite as nice as your three.”

Fred, George, and Lee all headed off to the Hospital Wing, laughing the whole way.

“Would you all like to see the Beauxbatons carriage?” Fleur offered her friends with a grin.

“Yes, please.” Harry returned the smile, waggling his eyebrows like Sirius had shown him as well.

“Harry.” Hermione gently swatted his arm with a roll of her eyes, though her little grin gave away her lack of any crossness with him.

Tracy snickered behind her hand while Astoria and Luna both giggled.

Daphne shook her head, shooting Harry an unamused look. Harry laughed at the look and Daphne sighed before a smile crossed her lips. “No mischief out of you, Harry.”

“Mischief? Me?” Harry placed his hand on his chest with a mock look of shock on his face.

“Yes, you.” Hermione, Daphne, and Fleur all said at the same time.

Harry laughed at the three of them, along with Luna, Astoria, and Tracy.

Fleur smiled at Daphne and Hermione. “I’m sure we can get him trained properly in time.” She said with a playful wink.

Daphne and Hermione both felt their cheeks burn red and looked away from everyone else, much to Astoria and Tracy’s continued amusement.

Fleur led the group out of the castle and across the lawn towards Hagrid’s hut. The powder blue Beauxbatons carriage was parked close, roughly two-hundred meters away, and a paddock made of roughly hewn trees held the Abraxans that pulled it. The almost elephant-sized equines were munching on the grass or taking large, gulping drinks of single-malt whiskey from a large trough at the edge of the paddock.

“You think we’ll be having a lesson about them this year?” Tracy asked while motioning to the Abraxans.

“I’m sure Hagrid will at least let us look at them from the edge of the paddock while he talks about them.” Hermione said with confidence, knowing how much their Care of Magical Creatures Professor loved large (and potentially dangerous) beasts.

Fleur stopped at the door of the massive carriage and tapped it once with her wand. The door opened and the metal stairs came down a second later. “Welcome to our home away from home.” She laughed softly while inviting them inside.

“Oooh…” Luna and Astoria let out awed sounds as the interior of the already massive carriage proved to be even larger than it should be.

“Wow, you all don’t want for space, I see.” Harry commented on the scale of the Space Expansion Charms.

The inside of the Beauxbatons carriage was resplendent with hues of blue, silver, and gold. The floor was white marble and the interior was filled with living vines full of flowers. Couches and coffee tables were set up in the large common space while a pair of staircases clearly led up to a second floor that was separated into a boys’ side and girls’ side.

Tracy let out a low whistle. “This is nice. Is this what Beauxbatons is like?”

“Yes.” Fleur and Harry answered at the same time.

Harry shared a quick grin with Fleur, even as he felt the eyes of his friends nearly burning into him as they stared. “What?”

Hermione opened her mouth to ask a question, but then closed it a second later. “Hah, no, no, I’m not going to ask.” She exhaled heavily.

“You’ve been to Beauxbatons, huh?” Daphne looked into Harry’s eyes closely. “That wouldn’t have been during school last year, would it?”

Harry merely shrugged. “I can neither confirm nor deny.” The grin on his face made it all too obvious what the answer was though.

“Come, I’ll show you my room.” Fleur giggled melodiously as she took Daphne’s hand and pulled the girl up the stairs. “Sorry, Harry, but the wards won’t let you pass.”

“Too bad for you!” Astoria teased Harry as she quickly followed after Daphne.

Luna gave Harry a quick hug before following the other girls.

None of them seemed to notice the brief look that Harry shared with Fleur, both knew that no wards would stop Harry if he really wanted to get to Fleur’s room.

Harry managed to hold his smirk until the girls were up the stairs, deciding to sit on one of the couches and wait for a bit while activating his Mage Sight spell to examine the carriage. ‘Space Expansion Charms are interesting. I wonder if an expanded space could have multiple exits? If it existed in a nebulous point between two trunks or something, it would be impossible to find by a great many Locator spells. Then again…expanded spaces always run the risk of being compromised. It would be quite the loss if one of the points was damaged and the entire spell came undone. Maybe something that I could experiment with at a later date?’

“Mr. Potter?” The deep voice of Madam Maxime brought Harry from his musings as he deactivated his Mage Sight spell. “How did you get into our carriage?”

Harry stood up and gave Maxime a polite bow. “Headmistress Maxime, pleased to meet you.” He greeted her properly before straightening up. “Fleur invited me and her other friends from Hogwarts to see the inside of your lovely carriage. However, as I am a boy, I couldn’t go with them to see her room.” Harry made sure to over exaggerate his disappointment at that.

Maxime let out a small exhale (though given her size it was comparable to a heavy sigh from most people) as she looked at Harry’s face. “We have those Wards for a reason, Mr. Potter. As long as you cause no trouble, you may visit here with Fleur escorting you from time to time.”

“Wouldn’t dream of causing any trouble, Headmistress.” Harry assured her with a smile.

“See that you do not.” Maxime gave him a short nod before moving across the common area and to a large door. The incredibly tall woman entered what appeared to be a chamber behind the elegantly carved wooden door before it closed behind her.

Harry knew that he wouldn’t cause any trouble within the Beauxbatons carriage. ‘After all, I wouldn’t want my easy access to be revoked.’ He glanced up the stairs that led to the girls’ side with a little grin.

-Halloween Feast-

The feast had been quite lavish this year, with desserts and sweets from many of the foreign countries that both Durmstrang and Beauxbatons took their students from. Every House sat at their own table, along with all of the Durmstrang students at the Slytherin table and all of the Beauxbatons students at the Ravenclaw table. It was only a few moments after the golden plates and platters cleared themselves of food that Dumbledore stood up and moved around to the front of the Professor’s table to stand next to the pedestal the Goblet of Fire rested on. The entire pedestal had been moved shortly before dinner and watched over by Dumbledore himself since then to prevent any underaged students from entering their names without the Age Line to stop them.

Harry had been amused to find out that he’d been correct about the many attempts from younger students to lob parchments with their names on them into the Goblet. Had it not been for the House Elves that served Hogwarts, the entrance hall would probably still be littered with the many scraps of paper.

The unexpected guests of Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry, along with Bartemius Crouch, Head of International Magical Cooperation, had been a brief surprise at the beginning of the Halloween Feast. However, the two men were to be part of the five judge panel for the Tournament, so it made sense that they’d be here for the Champion selection.

The Goblet of Fire’s shimmering blue flames spiked and Dumbledore waved his wand to lower the lights in the Great Hall. Only the flickering candles inside the floating jack-o-lanterns remained to give illumination alongside the blue flames of the Goblet. Dumbledore stood next to the Goblet as the blue flames swirled about. When the flames turned red a spark leapt from the fire and a singed piece of parchment floated through the air. Dumbledore plucked the falling parchment from the air and opened it.

“The Champion for the Durmstrang Institute is…Viktor Krum!” Dumbledore announced and the Hall erupted into cheers. The large teen was congratulated by his peers and Karkaroff was applauding more than most of the students. Viktor made his way up to Dumbledore and was motioned towards the antechamber behind the Professor’s Table.

“I knew it’d be Krum!” Ron Weasley declared loud enough to be overhead above the applause.

The red flames flared high again as Viktor headed into the antechamber. With another blast of sparks, a new piece of lightly singed parchment floated downwards. When it was in reach, Dumbledore caught it and proceeded to open it. After a second to read, the Headmaster looked up and spoke.

“The Champion for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is…Fleur Delacour!” Dumbledore declared and the Hall, most especially the male students, broke into raucous cheers. Fleur playfully rolled her eyes as she stood up from her seat across from Harry. As she walked towards the front, Fleur was congratulated by her friends from Beauxbatons and more than a few of the Hogwarts students (all of the boys especially). Fleur and Dumbledore exchanged a few short words before Fleur also headed for the antechamber just as the Goblet’s red flames flared up once more.

With an impressively high burst of flames, the last parchment that held the Hogwarts Champion’s name began to flutter towards the ground amid a shower of sparks. Harry noted that the magical flames turned back to blue and died down a second later, the Artifact’s work done until the next Triwizard Tournament. When Dumbledore caught the parchment, covered with many lines of creases, the blue flames were fully snuffed out as if someone had blown out a candle. All that was left was the wooden goblet, sitting on its pedestal.

“The Champion for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is…” Dumbledore stopped as he read the name on the parchment. A perplexed look of confusion filled the old man’s face as he stared at the name on the lightly charred parchment. The Headmaster looked up and his eyes landed on Harry’s for a rather long and silent moment. “…Harry Potter?”

“HAH!” Harry barked out a laugh as he stood up from his seat.

Hermione looked at Harry incredulously. “Harry?!”

“What?” Harry looked at her with a brilliant grin, his green eyes filled with mirth. “You know this is absolutely something I would do, Hermione.”

Luna hugged Harry around the middle and Harry returned the hug for a moment. “Do your best, Harry!”

“I will, Luna.” Harry patted her head before he started to walk towards Dumbledore. He noticed the entire Great Hall was silent as he walked, almost every face he saw stared at him in either shock or outright suspicion. When he reached Dumbledore, he gave the Headmaster a smile. “Should I wait in the antechamber, sir?”

Dumbledore shook himself once and nodded. “Yes, yes, Harry, go on back and wait. We’ll be there shortly.” He wanted to ask questions, of course, but now wasn’t the time.

Harry nodded to his Professors as he walked the length of the table and smiled at Hagrid as he passed the friendly man at the very end. Hagrid looked just as shocked as everyone else, just staring at Harry instead of giving him a wave or a smile like he usually did when they saw each other. He opened the antechamber door and stepped inside, seeing many portraits of Witches and Wizards, along with a crackling fireplace. Viktor Krum was standing beside the fireplace, his arms crossed and a surly look on his face. Sitting in the plush armchair in front of the fireplace was Fleur, looking a mix of expectant and calm.

When the door was fully opened, both Fleur and Krum looked at the third Champion that they’d both be competing against in the Triwizard Tournament.

“Good evening.” Harry greeted them with a smile.

Krum looked confused, wondering why someone that was clearly not yet seventeen was here.

“Merde…” Fleur let out a little sigh before a smile crossed her beautiful features.

The door closed behind Harry just as the quiet murmuring that had begun nearly exploded into noise as all of the students and Professors (along with the two guests of Bagman and Crouch) burst into loud questions and exclamations.

Harry only smiled as he walked over to Fleur and took a seat on the armrest of the chair she was sitting in. “Looks like we’ll be competing, Fleur.”

Fleur made sure Harry could see her blue eyes roll at his words. “So it seems, Harry.” She held his gaze for a second. “Could I ask how you managed this little surprise?”

“You just did.” Harry replied with a barely repressed snicker. Fleur didn’t look amused and Harry playfully pouted at her for a second. “The Professors are probably going to burst in here to ask that very same question shortly, and I’d rather only have to explain it once.”

“You are too young to be a Champion.” Krum spoke with certainty, his accent noticeable even though he hadn’t mispronounced anything.

Harry nodded once to the Professional Quidditch player. “Indeed, yet the Goblet of Fire clearly thought I was the best for Hogwarts.” He gave the surly-looking teen a smile.

The door to the antechamber nearly burst open as a large group of people entered all at once, the loud ruckus from the Great Hall had died down, but was still more than loud enough to be heard while the door was open. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Maxime, Karkaroff, Bagman, and Crouch were now taking up a large amount of the space in the room. The vanishing of the sound from the Great Hall as the door was closed made the antechamber seem almost silent.

“What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?” Madame Maxime asked as she straightened herself up to her considerable full height, her head barely brushing the chandelier above.

“I’d rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore.” Karkaroff’s smile was steely and his eyes were like chips of ice in their coldness. “We were under the impression that your Age Line would prevent younger students from entering.”

“It’s no one’s fault but Potter’s, Karkaroff.” Snape said in a soft tone, even as he glared at Harry with malice. “Don’t go blaming Dumbledore for Potter’s determination to break rules. He’s been crossing lines ever since he arrived at Hogwarts-”

“Thank you, Severus.” Dumbledore shot Snape a very blatant warning look as he cut the man off. It was clearly a reminder that the Potions Professor was on thin ice in regards to Harry as a student of Hogwarts. One altercation between Professor and student was already one too many.

Snape still glowered at Harry from behind his long, greasy hair.

Dumbledore turned to look at Harry and asked calmly. “Mr. Potter, did you place your name into the Goblet of Fire?”

“Yes, Headmaster.” Harry admitted with the same calm tone.

There was almost an outburst from Karkaroff and Maxime…

“Shh.” Harry shushed them and both the Headmistress of Beauxbatons and the High Master of Durmstrang moved their mouths, but no sound was heard.

“Mr. Potter!” McGonagall looked at Harry sharply while Karkaroff and Maxime realized they’d been silenced.

Flitwick looked at Harry for a moment. “Mr. Potter.” It wasn’t a request and Harry merely waved his hand lazily.

“How dare…” Karkaroff looked like he was about to go for his wand.

Maxime only eyed Harry warily now, though she didn’t make any moves she did turn to Bagman and Crouch. “Mr. Crouch, Mr. Bagman, surely this will not be permitted?”

“Well, I mean…with the rules…” Bagman was wiping his round face with his handkerchief, clearly not used to being put on the spot like this.

Crouch had no such problems. “Being chosen by the Goblet of Fire constitutes a binding magical contract. Mr. Potter must compete now…” The man said curtly as he approached Maxime. In the light of the fire, he looked almost sickly, his eyes clearly had bags under them and his skin seemed almost paper-like in both texture and color.

“Well, Barty knows the rulebook back to front, so if he says so…” Bagman was clearly throwing the other Ministry Head under the bus, as it were.

Karkaroff looked furious still. “I will be lodging formal complaints against the British Ministry of Magic and with the International Confederation of Wizards! Mark my words!”

“Sure thing, what would you like them marked with?” Harry asked with a prankster’s smirk.

“Mr. Potter!” McGonagall gave him a severe look that warned him not to open his mouth again unless spoken to.

Dumbledore stepped in to try and quell the building tension. “Mr. Potter, could you enlighten us as to how you entered your name into the Goblet of Fire? Did you have an older student submit your name?”

Harry shook his head. “Oh no, that wasn’t necessary. As you know, I’m a High Sorcerer; so all I had to do was use my vast knowledge of Magic and…” Seeing he had the attention of everyone in the room, he barely stopped himself from laughing. “Cast an Animation Charm on the parchment I wrote my name on and have it fly into the Goblet.” Harry let out a small snort at seeing the stunned looks on everyone’s faces. “I never had to cross the Age Line at all. I noticed many had my first idea which was to try lobbing their parchments into the Goblet from outside the circle, but the distance made that a bit difficult given the Goblet’s size and how poorly paper travels when thrown.”

Bagman, looking like he wanted to not be in the growing tension within the room once the shock started to wear off, quickly spoke up again. “Well, now that we have our three Champions, should we crack on?” He wiped his face once more with his handkerchief. “We’ve got to give our Champions their instructions, right? Barty, would you like to do the honors?” He passed the buck onto Crouch again.

“Very well.” Crouch took a breath as he looked at the three Champions. “The first task is to test your daring…so we won’t be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a Witch or Wizard…very important.” He nodded once, as if confirming that for himself. “The first task will take place on November Twenty-Fourth, in front of all the students, Professors, and judges. The Champions are not permitted to ask for nor accept any help from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The Champions will face the first challenge armed with only their wands. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the Champions are exempt from end-of-year tests.” Crouch turned to Dumbledore. “I believe that’s all of it, Dumbledore?”

“Yes, I think so.” Dumbledore agreed with a nod. “Would you like to stay the night at Hogwarts, Barty? You look a bit under the weather.”

Crouch waved Dumbledore off. “No, no, Dumbledore. I need to get back to the Ministry. I left young Weatherby in charge…very enthusiastic…perhaps a bit too much…” Crouch looked a bit more exhausted than he had even a minute ago.

Sensing the end of the meeting, Karkaroff quickly motioned for Viktor to follow him and nearly stormed out of the antechamber.

Likewise, Maxime put one of her large hands on Fleur’s shoulder and spoke to her quietly in French. What Fleur whispered back seemed to stun Maxime as the large woman blinked twice before standing back to her full height and beginning to head out of the room with Fleur following after a moment later. Fleur shot Harry a look and motioned with her eyes towards the door.

“Harry, I believe you should head to Ravenclaw Tower.” Dumbledore did his best to give a pleasant smile to Harry, despite the prodigious young Wizard’s prank having caused quite the situation tonight. “I’m quite certain that Ravenclaw House will wish to celebrate tonight.”

“I’d also like to see you in my office tomorrow, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick said, sharing a long look with Harry.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry knew he’d be getting a lecture for this, but he still couldn’t wait to tell Sirius about it over the Communications Mirror later tonight. He left with a quick nod of his head to Dumbledore, Flitwick, and McGonagall. He met Snape’s angry eyes and blasted a short but powerful message against the Potions Professor’s Occlumency. ‘Why were you even here?’

Harry nearly snorted as he saw Snape visibly straighten up, the dour man looking to be barely restraining himself from shouting. Not giving him the chance, Harry left through the door.

It was little surprise that Fleur was waiting for him at the far end of the Great Hall as Harry exited.

“Have fun, mon chéri?” Fleur asked with an amused grin on her lips.

“A little.” Harry replied with his own amused chuckle.

Fleur turned and placed both of her hands on the wall on either side of Harry’s head, trapping him. “Don’t think that I’ll go easy on you, Harry. I’m very competitive, you know?” She said with an almost predatory grin. “I’m well aware of your strengths as well.” Fleur stared into Harry’s eyes. “So, I’ll be using everything I have to beat you.” She leaned forward suddenly and Harry’s eyes were drawn to the movement of her chest. The way her bosom bounced in the thin, blue silk robes could only mean one thing.

“How daring.” Harry said, putting on his best smirk to hide the fact that Fleur was having an effect on him. ‘Thank you, dad.’ Harry thanked Sirius mentally for his many ‘secret’ lessons about dealing with women.

“I’m very daring, mon chéri.” Fleur leaned into Harry’s ear to whisper breathily. “It comes with being a Veela~” She lightly blew on his ear before pulling back with a grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Harry.”

Harry nodded, glad that the Hogwarts robes were so loose and flowing right now. “See you tomorrow, Fleur-mmh” His words were cut off as Fleur leaned in to capture his lips in a soft kiss.

Fleur pulled back with a smile. “Goodnight, mon chéri~”

“G-Goodnight…” Harry said, before internally cursing himself for the stutter when he saw Fleur’s smile widen.

It was definitely Fleur ‘1’ to Harry ‘0’ now.

Fleur made sure to sway her lovely hips as she left and Harry watched the show unashamedly until Fleur was out of sight.

“This is gonna be a fun year.” Harry smiled as he made his way up the stairs, barely even thinking about it as he used his Flight spell to change staircases whenever the stairs moved.

-Ravenclaw Tower-

“Harry!” Luna hugged Harry the second he came through the door.

“Luna!” Harry spun her around once with a laugh, making Luna giggle brightly.

“Harry!” The rest of Ravenclaw cheered loudly for ‘their’ Champion.

Harry was quickly inundated with his friends and housemates. Hermione looked a bit cross with him, for a bit, for breaking the rules of the Triwizard Tournament though.

“You could get hurt.” Hermione said when Harry suddenly pulled her into a hug. Her feelings couldn’t be hidden behind her normal respect for rules when Harry held her like this. “I don’t want that.”

“I’ll be fine, Hermione.” Harry squeezed her a little closer, making Hermione squeak and blush. “If this tournament can harm me, imagine what it would do to any other student.” He used Hermione’s greatest weakness against her…logic.

Hermione squeezed Harry tightly this time. “That’s not fair…”

Harry smiled into her bushy hair. “I know.”

Hermione smiled a little as she pulled back, looking into Harry’s emerald eyes with her warm brown. Harry gave her a playful grin, seeing Hermione’s cheeks turn pink just a little.

“Group hug!” Luna said as she wrapped her arms around both Harry and Hermione.

“Luna!” Hermione blushed as she was flush against Harry’s chest again.

“Group hug!” Harry repeated with a laugh as he squeezed Luna and Hermione both. He snuggled into Hermione’s soft bushy hair and grinned when he heard her squeak, even as she squeezed him closer.

-End Chapter-

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Well now…that’s a bit of a deviation from Canon, huh? Harry actually entered HIMSELF into the Triwizard Tournament! You don’t see that in every story!

Harry is such a little prankster when he wants to be! Makes Sirius proud! Kek!

Karkaroff is angry. Krum is still a bit confused. Snape is angry. McGonagall is exasperated. Flitwick knows he has to have words with Harry about this. Maxime is surprised and now a bit wary of Harry. Dumbledore clearly knows this is going to be a whole slew of extra work for him now.

All in all, a damn good prank that Harry can brag to Sirius about.

Andromeda probably won’t be amused though. Ted will probably worry about Harry, but also know that, logically, Harry will almost assuredly be fine.

Tonks is going to let out the BIGGEST sigh when she finds out. Heh!

Hermione is worried, of course. Harry, her best friend (and crush) just entered himself into a Magical Tournament that was cancelled BECAUSE of the death toll! But hugs and snuggles make things better! Lol

Fleur seems very interested in the challenge! She’s a very competitive girl! She also knows just how to start her and Harry’s little battle. The first ‘victory’ is already hers! Harry’s not complaining too much though.

How will the Triwizard Tournament play out?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! Harry has entered himself into the Triwizard Tournament! The Professors are either exasperated or worried about that, while his friends are a mix of happy, curious, annoyed, or competitive. But they have some time before the First Task, so what will Harry and friends get up to in the meantime? Is Voldemort having a hand in the Triwizard Tournament this time around? There was no ‘Fourth Champion’ after all. Perhaps things have deviated a bit and different plans are in play?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 33 – Results and Preparation

Harry sat alone in the Charms classroom after classes. Well not entirely alone, Professor Flitwick was with him and giving him a lecture and punishment for breaking the rules and entering himself into the Triwizard Tournament.

“Mr. Potter, are you listening?” Flitwick raised his voice just a bit.

“Yes, Professor.” Harry replied promptly. He was half-focused on what Flitwick was saying, the other half of his focus was currently on just what the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament might be.

Flitwick nodded once. “As I was saying, you’ll be in detention for a week for your…prank.” The Charms Professor didn’t seem to agree with the descriptor for this incident, but that’s what he had to work with. “You’ll be writing lines, because I know the monotony of it will be the worst kind of punishment for one with such a curious mind.”

Harry visibly sagged at what he’d be doing after classes for the next week. Leave it to his Head of House to know exactly what kind of punishment he’d hate the most. “Yes, Professor Flitwick…”

“Very good, Mr. Potter.” Flitwick said with a short nod. “For today, you’ll write: ‘I must not violate rules meant to protect me’, until your detention is over with."

Harry let out a small groan as he picked up his quill and put it to parchment. Flitwick would notice if he used Magic on this punishment, so he’d just have to drudge through it.

-November 1^st-

“Are you sure it’s okay for you to skip classes?” Hermione fretted over Harry missing classes, even if he self-studied in most of them.

Harry nodded at Hermione with a grin. “I checked the rules of the tournament and it says that Champions can skip classes so long as they’re using the time to prepare for the Tournament.” He then playfully poked her shoulder. “You read all of the rules front to back by now, so you know I’m right.”

Hermione looked away for a second. “Maybe…”

“I’m sure Professor Snape will be thrilled.” Daphne said with so much sarcasm her friends practically felt it.

“Given how he doesn’t like Harry, I’m sure he will be.” Tracy laughed brightly and got a little smirk from Harry.

Astoria had a little pout as she looked at Harry. “No fair, you get to skip Potions.” The younger Greengrass sister didn’t care for Snape much, not liking the seemingly unwashed and dour man that made every class with the Gryffindor’s feel like it was one small mistake away from Snape shouting at the students.

“Are you going to be working on spells?” Luna asked, a small Kooni resting on her shoulder. The little ‘Leaf Sprite’ was the same soft green as any other, but Luna’s little ‘friend’ was only about the size of a baseball, a small leaf resting in its center as the medium for the little shikigami.

“That and trying to figure out just what the First Task entails.” Harry gave Luna a smile. He was quite proud of how well Luna had taken to the basics of Onmyōdō and managed to summon a Kooni.

“I read about the Tournament’s history; the First Task is usually dealing with a Magical Creature in some way.” Hermione told Harry with a worried look. “Sometimes it was to outwit the creature, other times it was besting it in combat, and occasionally it was to take something from it.”

Harry pulled Hermione into a one-armed hug. “Brilliant, Hermione!” He smiled brightly at her. “If they haven’t changed the format, then I just need to find out what kind of creatures they’re bringing in.”

Daphne waved off Harry’s concerns. “It’s almost guaranteed that the format has stayed the same as previous Tournaments. Tradition wouldn’t be changed when they’re trying to bring back the Triwizard Tournament.”

“True… Too many staunch traditionalists would oppose a Tournament that was too different from what it was ‘back in the day’.” Harry agreed with Daphne’s assessment. “Brilliant deduction, Daphne!” He pulled her into a one-armed hug as well.

“I didn’t say I wanted a hug.” Daphne mentioned, looking at Harry flatly.

Harry only smiled at her. “You didn’t say that you don’t want a hug either.”

“She likes it~” Tracy teased with a giggle.

“Uh huh!” Astoria laughed at Daphne’s reddening cheeks.

Daphne turned on her best friend and her little sister. “I will hex you both!”

The group of friends headed off to their classes with mirth and laughter, Harry grinning as he headed out to the grounds preparing to check everywhere he could think of that Magical Creatures could be kept safely and comfortably until the First Task rolled around.

‘If they could secure part of the Forbidden Forest, that would be the most likely place. Then again…’ He looked over at the Black Lake as he stepped outside. “Nothing says the Magical Creatures would be land dwelling.” Hiding even large creatures underwater wouldn’t be an issue with Magic.

-Ministry of Magic ~ Auror Bullpen-

“Hah…” Tonks let out a long and heavy sigh as she saw the front page article of the Daily Prophet.

High Sorcerer and Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, becomes Hogwarts Champion in Triwizard Tournament!

“Of course he did…” Tonks shook her head as she read the article further. It didn’t take long to find out that Bagman had been the one to spill the beans to the Prophet, the man briefly mentioned by name in the article. “I wonder if those rumors about him being in gambling debt with the Goblins is true?” Bagman certainly seemed the type, being an Ex-Professional Quidditch player that had supposedly squandered the vast majority of the money he’d made while playing, and just a few years after his retirement from the league at that.

Reading further, Tonks noted who Harry would be going up against in the Triwizard Tournament. “Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour. Well, I don’t know anything about Viktor Krum aside from his Quidditch, but Fleur might give Harry some competition at the very least.” She chuckled to herself and wondered if she should tease Harry a bit about going against Fleur. “Just a few little innuendos here and there… With any luck, Fleur will get in on it as well.”

-Tonks Home-

“Hahahaha!” Sirius laughed loudly as he read the Daily Prophet article. Sure, Harry had already contacted him on the Communications Mirror last night to tell him about his successful prank, but seeing it in the paper was just too hilarious for the old Marauder not to laugh. “Alright, I have to give it to him, none of our shenanigans in Hogwarts ever made the front page of the Prophet!” Sirius continued to snicker to himself even as Andromeda shot him a reproachful look.

“This isn’t something to be laughing about, Sirius.” Andromeda said tersely. “Harry could get hurt, or worse, in this tournament!” She worried about the prodigious nephew of hers, and always wondered when the day would come that he’d put himself into a dangerous event like this. “Honestly, why they felt the need to bring back this old bloodsport I’ll never understand.”

Ted didn’t look pleased by Harry’s situation either. “I understand that he’s a great Wizard, despite his age, but this was just needlessly reckless.” He took a moment to look over the article again as Sirius handed the newspaper back to him. “He’ll probably be fine, I realize that, but Harry knows that we’ll all be worried about him, and yet he went and did this anyway.”

Sirius was still all smiles for Harry’s great prank. “Don’t be too hard on him. Harry’s just at the age where he’s feeling a little rebellious. It’s perfectly normal for a young man to want to pull a prank or two, chase some girls, have some fun; we all did it.”

Both Ted and Andromeda gave Sirius a rather deadpan stare. “Some of us much more than others, Sirius.” The husband and wife said in unison.

Andromeda looked at Ted with a smile, Ted smiled at his wife, the two shared a quick kiss for being of the exact same opinion on this matter.

“Alright then…” Sirius downed the last of his morning tea and set the cup down. “If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey together today, then I’ll go hang out with Remus and let you have at it.” He tossed a flippant wave over his shoulder and was out the door and Apparating away with a laugh, even as Andromeda shouted at him for being an immature man-child.

-Hogwarts ~ November 4^th-

“Already skipping all of your Potions classes, mon chéri?’ Fleur smiled teasingly at Harry, seeing him walking across the grounds, the light snow from the previous night moving aside to clear his path.

Harry blinked once, seemingly snapping out of his train of thought, and gave Fleur a smile. “You seem to be skipping class yourself, Fleur.”

Fleur shook her head once, her long silvery-blonde hair swaying from the motion. “Non, I do not have classes this afternoon.” She corrected Harry with a cute smirk on her lips.

“My apologies for thinking that you’d be a truant like me.” Harry apologized with an over dramatic bow.

“What are you doing out in this cold, Harry?” Fleur asked him, a melodic giggle escaping her lips at his act. She was wearing a lovely, powder blue cloak over her normal Beauxbatons uniform to keep the cold at bay.

Harry looked out over the snow-dusted grounds for a second before answering. “Trying to figure out what kind of creatures they might be bringing into Hogwarts for the First Task. But I have to find out where they might be keeping them first.”

“Any luck with that?” Fleur questioned curiously, having found out about the Triwizard Tournament earlier than Harry, given that Beauxbatons had to travel and make arrangements for the Headmistress being away for the better part of the school year along with a portion of the Seventh Year class. Fleur had known the basics of the Triwizard Tournament, its history, and its traditional format, for almost two months now.

Harry grinned at Fleur, making the Veela smile back at him. “Not a bit.”

Fleur’s smile dropped into a flat and unimpressed look while Harry snickered at her.

“Such a prankster, Harry.” Fleur was clearly not impressed. “I suppose I’ll have to discover the truth of the First Task for the both of us.” She looked at Harry with faked disappointment. “You clearly don’t seem to be up to the task.”

“Oh?” Harry cocked an eyebrow at Fleur. “That sounds like a challenge.” The air seemed to shift as Harry and Fleur locked eyes. “Need I remind you which one of us has never beaten the other in a Duel?”

Fleur waved Harry’s words off like a small annoying gnat. “Raw power and a little skill with spells seems to be all you have, Harry. Perhaps you should leave solving problems like this one to me?”

The air felt charged as High Sorcerer and Veela Witch continued their stare down.

“Someone’s confident.” Harry smirked at Fleur. “Winner gets a reward from the loser?”

“If you’re prepared to do whatever I want, Harry.” Fleur grinned at him confidently. “I’ve been thinking and practicing with my interpretation of magic for a while now. After so much work, I did want to see just how far I’ve come, and you’ll make the perfect target.”

Harry grinned at Fleur’s words. “Now I’m interested in just what you’ve discovered for yourself, Fleur.”

The two were quiet for a moment, both not breaking eye contact with each other. There was no way to tell when they’d begin this impromptu Duel of theirs as neither made a single sound.

A cold breeze crossed the grounds, kicking up a brief cloud of powder snow. The instant the small cloud fell back to the snowy ground, both Fleur and Harry moved.

Fireballs, the flames purple mixed with the normal yellow-orange, rocketed towards Harry from Fleur’s hands. The Veela fire closed in, only for all the snow in the area to swirl together under Harry’s control and swallow up the magical flames in a huge wave. Without a wasted second, the snow shifted into jagged icicles that launched themselves at Fleur like spears.

Fleur merely looked at the incoming icy death.

“How interesting…” Harry couldn’t help the grin on his face or the sparkle in his eyes as his large number of spear-like icicles slowed to a crawl in mid-air, eventually stopping all together. Fleur merely drew her wand and vanished them with a simple point. “Did you figure out a few spells wandlessly and never tell me, Fleur?”

“Did I?” Fleur answered Harry’s question with a question even as she moved her wand in simple, but quick, motions. From the tip of her wand a torrent of brightly colored spells raced towards Harry. Some went straight for him, others went flying in wide arcs to both sides and even above, while others took spiraling paths or made zig-zags through the air.

Harry’s Barrier appeared as a sphere around him as the bright spells rained down upon the area. Magical sparks appeared across the surface of the Barrier a split-second before the rest of the spells slammed into it from all sides and Harry couldn’t help but grin wildly. “Clever girl…” These bright and flashy spells were mostly to mask the invisible ones that she’d sent just ahead of them.

Fleur was on the move while Harry was blinded by her barrage of bright spells. She made a few quick conjurations, focusing on a specific emotion as she did so, further playing into how she’d come to interpret Magic. ‘Let’s see how you like this, mon chéri.’

“What’s this?” Harry looked around as the last of Fleur’s barrage faded and saw dozens and dozens of Fleurs, all of them aiming their wands at him from every direction. “A guessing game?” He really enjoyed roughhousing with Magic like this, probably because he was a teenaged boy entering adulthood and the desire to fight was just instinct, or maybe it was because seeing all the various ways that Magic could be used in a fight kept his interest. Whatever it was, Harry was having a ball!

A spell came from behind Harry and to his left the instant he dropped his Barrier to use a spell of his own against the dozens of copies of Fleur.

“Gave yourself away!” Harry pivoted and unleashed his own magic, his De-Spell, but this time focused into a spiraling wind that shot forward like a spear. Fleur’s spell scattered to nothing the instant it touched Harry’s spell and the bolt of Magic-removing wind slammed into her a half-second later.

Only for Fleur to vanish, revealing that it was a copy.

Harry blinked as the wands of all of the Fleurs lit up and launched a spell at him from various ranges, a few even launched Veela fire at him in blurring fireballs that closed the distance in a blink.

Blasts and explosions tore up the ground and scattered snow and dirt through the air. Before the dust and snow cloud could even clear, multiple holes appeared throughout the obstructing debris without a sound. Half of the Fleurs vanished instantly, parts of their bodies missing as if the space that had previously been occupied had ceased to exist for a fraction of a second. The remaining Fleurs all cast more spells or launched more Veela fire at Harry’s location.

The flames suddenly veered off course before seemingly condensing into a single point. The snow cloud in the air shrunk down into a small sphere and turned to water. Torn up earth rose into the air and then compressed into a solid mass. Metal shot across the grounds from the castle and twisted together before seemingly melding into a single ball. Even sticks from the Forbidden Forest shot forward as fast as broomsticks to Harry’s location before being crushed into a wooden sphere.

“Not bad, not bad!” Harry laughed as he became visible again. “You had me fooled, Fleur!” The five spheres around him glowed before being surrounded by Kooni, each the size of a volleyball. A red one from the flames, a green one from the earth, a blue one from the water, a grey one from the metal, and a light brown one from the wood. “What emotion is this, I wonder?” The five Kooni surrounded Harry in a pentagonal formation as he spread his arms wide.

Fleur’s answer was for the remaining Fleurs to once more bombard Harry with spells and fireballs.

The five Kooni moved rapidly as Harry’s eyes glowed slightly and darted around, looking at each spell for a fraction of a second, as he gave his five shikigami their instructions through his intent alone. The fire sprite blurred as it easily stopped every fireball with its body. Every spell that conjured anything was blocked by the metal sprite, some of the conjurations even being absorbed. The wood sprite stopped every spell that was just an effect easily. Steam and snow were easily consumed by the water sprite. The earth sprite blocked the debris thrown into the air from any spell that went wide and missed.

Fleur, hidden among her remaining conjured copies, narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out just what Harry was doing. When the barrage stopped, Fleur could only widen her eyes at seeing the small little sprites now larger than they had been, each almost as tall as Harry and looking much more humanoid with proportionate arms and legs to their new height and large horns on their heads.

“You like it?” Harry asked the multiple Fleurs with a wide smile on his face. “It’s called the Five Phases Shikigami Formation!”

Fleur had her copies prepare to cast again, knowing this was their final shot before their finite magic was used up. But she didn’t get the chance as the five Kooni, if they could even be called that anymore, all launched a blast of magic throughout the area, destroying all of her conjured copies in an instant.

“There you are!” Harry locked onto Fleur, the only one that had moved and dodged the simultaneous attack of his shikigami. A red Stupefy bolt was rocketing towards Fleur like a comet across the sky a second later.

It splashed harmlessly against Fleur’s Protego as she held her wand before her. “This won’t be over so easy, Harry!” Her expression changed and a proud smile crossed her face while her magic visibly rippled the air around her for a moment.

Harry couldn’t believe his eyes at what he saw with his Mage Sight spell. ‘She just got stronger!’ It was as if she’d cast those Veela empowerment spells on herself again, but she hadn’t said a word nor used her wand. Harry saw the brief flash of anger on Fleur’s face before his metal shikigami was between him and Fleur.

Clang

The sound of metal being struck rang loudly through the air.

Harry widened his eyes at seeing his metal Kooni nearly split in two at the torso from blocking whatever spell Fleur had thrown at him. “What was…?” He didn’t get to finish his question as Fleur’s angry expression became harsher, now looking absolutely enraged.

CLANG

The sound was even louder this time and the metal sprite shattered before dispersing, leaving only the ball of metal that was its medium behind to hit the ground.

“Emotion of anger, got it.” Harry easily pieced together how Fleur was using her magic in relation to her own interpretation. “You just keep impressing me, Fleur!” The metal ball on the ground shot back into the air before glowing for a fraction of a second. The metal Kooni reformed, like it had never been destroyed at all.

“Oo…” The human-sized shikigami let out the sound that was now familiar to Harry.

“Merde…” Fleur’s tone and expression shifted from anger to frustration. “You’re really making me work for this, Harry.”

Harry let out a quick laugh before he blurred forward along with his five shikigami. “Of course! It wouldn’t be as fun otherwise!” All six of them spread out and came at Fleur from different directions.

Fleur flicked her wand twice, the same frustration on her face. The wood Kooni and the water Kooni both slowed down noticeably, as if they were suddenly trying to run against the current of a river. The fire Kooni launched a torrent of flames at Fleur, scorching the grass that had been revealed after the snow had been blasted away in their previous exchanges. Fleur’s expression became excited and the flames swirled around her before forming a large sphere held above her raised left hand.

“For me? You shouldn’t have!” Fleur giggled excitedly before launching the huge fireball at the metal Kooni. The shikigami was knocked back and slowly fell apart under the intense heat of the flames.

Harry focused on the earth Kooni and synchronized his next spell with his shikigami’s. The earth Kooni slammed its hands onto the ground and huge walls of soil erupted from the ground surrounding Fleur. Harry wasted no time as he cast his De-Spell straight at the enclosed Fleur to strip her Magic away from her.

Fleur’s expression and the way her magic looked to Harry’s Mage Sight changed again. Now she looked confused as the De-Spell barreled towards her. The wind suddenly veered off and struck the earthen wall off to the right side for seemingly no reason.

“You’re kidding…” Harry marveled at what he’d just witnessed. Fleur’s Magic had changed the course of his De-Spell, even as the magic was stripped away, it diverted his magic-removing spell so that it wouldn’t hit Fleur. “It’s like my spell got…confused…” A huge smile spread across Harry’s face and his eyes were practically sparkling as he understood more of what Fleur was doing with her Magic. “Imparting emotion to change the effect…so long as the magic is touched, the effect passes over, at least partially.”

“Hah.” Fleur let out a breath, her expression completely calm.

Harry moved backwards quickly even as his remaining shikigami all stopped moving and even began to gradually shrink as their magic slowly came apart. “Calmness?” He asked Fleur as he made it outside the range of her newest ‘spell’.

Fleur was the one on the move now, but Harry quickly kept up with her. The two looked like they were running, but their strides were taking them to ridiculous lengths with each step.

“Catch!” Fleur’s excitement had shifted the ‘look’ of her Magic to Harry’s Mage Sight and he had to adjust the Float and Levitation spells that he was using in tandem to keep up with Fleur’s newfound speed. A trio of spells lanced out from Fleur’s wand and Harry practically skated along the ground to avoid them. When Harry launched a trio of Rejection at her, Fleur moved around the first one, and the second, but when she shifted to ‘calm’ and tried to stop the third her eyes widened just as she was forced to throw herself to the side.

Three pieces of the ground were cratered by the Principle of Rejection. Not a speck of dirt or dust rose up, the ground simply compressed into smooth, semi-circular indentations. Whatever was hit by the Principle of Rejection moved in the opposite direction…in the case of the ground, it went straight down, leaving the craters behind.

“Gotcha!” Harry said as he was almost on top of Fleur, his hand moving to cast another spell.

Fleur erupted into Veela fire, the intense purple-tinted flames scorching everything around her and forcing Harry back before he blocked with a Barrier.

“Not yet, Harry!” Fleur was amused as her natural flames swirled around her, her interpretation of magic empowering her use of the fire.

Harry only grinned in his own amusement too.

The Veela fire was pulled aside by the fire Kooni, the shikigami consuming it and slowly growing bigger. The ground beneath Fleur’s feet came apart and rushed up her legs before solidifying again, locking her in place. Wooden tendrils grew from the ground to tie Fleur up a fraction of a second after her legs were trapped. Then she was surrounded in a large sphere of water that completely submerged her, snuffing out the last of her Veela fire.

“You only destroyed one of my shikigami, remember?” Harry smiled at the trapped Fleur.

Fleur shook her head, bubbles escaping her mouth once, before she nodded in Harry’s direction. Harry saw Fleur’s Magic recede and took it as her accepting her defeat.

The water splashed onto the ground at the same time that the bindings of wood and earth receded. The four Kooni dispersed and the two physical mediums (earth and wood) floated over to Harry as he held out his hand. After stashing the two mediums away for potential use later, in the space-expanded pocket of his robe, Harry held his hand out to Fleur and helped her to her feet.

“It seems I’m still not a match for you just yet, mon chéri.” Fleur let out a sigh, moving her soaking wet hair back out of her face. “My new use of Magic is also still a bit draining.” She admitted, though she maintained her posture, not looking any less strong and beautiful than before they’d started their sudden duel…though it was certainly nothing like a traditional Duel.

Harry smiled warmly at Fleur and in just a second she was suddenly dry. “I’ll have to help you recover then.”

Fleur grinned at him before putting on a show of sighing. “And what does the winner want from me?”

“Hmm… That’s a good question.” Harry took on a thinking pose. “I probably shouldn’t ask for anything crazy.” He grinned at Fleur and she let out a cute huff. “Maybe I should ask to cuddle with you all night again?”

“Aren’t you a bold young man, mon chéri?” Fleur said with a soft giggle. “I hope you don’t have any impure intentions.”

Harry placed his hand over his heart. “Why Fleur, how could you think such things about me?” Fleur looked at him with one delicate eyebrow raised. “I could help you recover much easier while I was enjoying my reward, you know?”

Fleur reached into her Beauxbatons robes and pulled out the gift that Harry had made for her, the tiny spark of Primal Fire contained in the crystal charm on the necklace still as simple and yet entrancing as the day it had been created. “This already helps with that, mon chéri. You’ll need a better excuse to get into my bed.”

“I can make more.” Harry stated simply, conjuring another small spark of Primal Fire on the tip of his index finger.

Fleur’s clear blue eyes locked onto the Primal Fire as she felt the pull from the little ember, and felt the slight warmth of the diffused Magic it began to let off in trace amounts. “What are you implying, Harry?”

“Nothing…” Harry grinned at Fleur as he let the Primal Fire disappear.

“Tease.” Fleur said with a grin.

Harry chuckled at her. “Perhaps.”

Fleur looked into Harry’s eyes, their back and forth game was over now. “My room, tonight, mon chéri.”

“Of course, Fleur.” Harry said with a smile of his own.

-Beauxbatons Carriage ~ Night-

“So cold.” A Beauxbatons male student said with a shiver as he and a few friends came back from exploring a bit more of Hogwarts. It was very interesting to have a chance to tour and explore the ancient castle, one of the oldest Wizarding Schools in the world that still stood to this day, at that.

The group of students hurried to open the carriage door and get inside. As the last of the students was about to step in, a gust of icy wind kicked up and made them flinch against the biting cold.

“Ack!” The student cried out.

“Close the door!”

“It’s freezing!”

Various other students inside the carriage called out as the cold wind invaded the common area. The last student quickly hurried up the metal steps and closed the door behind them.

No one noticed the silent, invisible, and flying ‘guest’ that was now within their home away from home.

-Fleur’s Room-

Knock Knock…Knock

Fleur perked up a bit and smiled at the pause that happened between the second and third knock on her door. She approached the door and opened it just enough and then closed it without a sound.

“Good evening, Fleur.” Harry greeted Fleur as he faded into view.

“Good evening, mon chéri.” Fleur smiled at Harry, enjoying how his eyes took in her body clad only in a half sheer nightgown. “I noticed you seemed excited during dinner.”

Harry let out a short laugh. “Can you blame me?”

Fleur shook her head once. “Non, I’m flattered.” She smiled at Harry and then took his hands in hers. “So…what did you mean when you said that you could help me recover my magic reserves?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Harry conjured just a small spark of Primal Fire in each of his hands, the Flame of Creation lightly brushing against Fleur’s palms and making the Veela inhale sharply.

“Mm…” Fleur exhaled slowly at the tingling pleasure of touching Primal Fire again. “I see…” She sighed at the warmth and the pleasure. With a sly little smirk on her lips, Fleur looked into Harry’s eyes and spoke. “I think you’ll need to touch more of me for this treatment to be effective~”

Harry inhaled sharply this time. “Maybe. It couldn’t hurt…”

Fleur giggled as she guided him to her bed and reluctantly let go of his hands. She looked over her shoulder as she turned around and pulled up the hem of her nightgown, showing Harry her heart-shaped ass in rather small, lacey panties. Fleur laid on her bed face down before turning her head and giving Harry an inviting look. “Come on, Harry, start the treatment.” She wiggled her amazing ass a little to tempt him. “You can touch wherever you need to~”

“R-Right…” Harry stuttered for a second but Fleur just gave him a sexy little smile. Both of Harry’s palms were covered in a larger amount of Primal Fire before he softly touched Fleur’s bare skin.

“Mmm~” Fleur let out a low moan from the feeling.

Harry took that as a good sign and began to trail his hands along Fleur’s back, amazed at how soft her skin was and how warm it felt even with his hands wreathed in the Primal Fire. Fleur kept to her offer, not saying a word no matter where Harry’s hands wandered on her body, only letting out light moans, mewls and coos of pleasure the whole time. Harry trailed his hands down her back and, after hesitating for a second, placed both hands on her butt before gently groping and massaging it. Fleur’s moan was all the encouragement that Harry needed as he got to indulge in her amazing ass for the first time. Eventually his hands trailed down her thighs, making Fleur spread them a little, and Harry marveled at the strength that he could feel under her perfectly smooth and soft skin.

Fleur cooed as Harry’s flame-covered hands trailed down her thighs and to her calves, feeling like a wonderful massage. “You’ll spoil me, mon chéri~” She mewled softly as Harry’s hands gently rubbed her feet.

“Is this good, Fleur?” Harry asked as he started to trail back up her legs again, stopping to play with her thighs and then enjoy the feeling of her ass in his palms for a bit.

“Mhmm…” Fleur hummed in contentment as Harry played and explored her body. When his hands ran up her sides, Fleur only grinned and pushed herself up a little with her arms so that Harry’s hands could softly cup her tits over her nightgown. “Such a man.” She teased as Harry was smiling like a goof at getting to touch her breasts even this much.

Harry kept playing with her clothed breasts, the Primal Fire seeping through the thin material and into Fleur’s skin. “Oh…” He felt Fleur’s hard nipples and ran his index fingers over them.

“MMMmmmm~” Fleur moaned and then trailed off as her body shook lightly.

It took Harry a second before he realized what had happened. ‘Did Fleur just?’ Harry recalled Fleur’s reaction after being bathed in Primal Fire during their Duel in the Junior Dueling League. ‘Oh. Oh…! I made her…’ Harry didn’t say it out loud, just continued to enjoy what Fleur was letting him experience, but he thought he felt a small bit of what Sirius described as ‘masculine pride’ at the thought that he could make Fleur feel so good.

It was well over an hour later when Fleur, looking a mixture of relaxed and worn out, asked Harry to let her rest. ‘How many times was that? Four? Five?’ Fleur felt like that was still too low, but she’d been in a hazy fog of pleasurable contentment for the last while and stopped counting. “I think I have the essence of fire within me again…” She said with a little smile on her lips as she looked at Harry. “I’ll be a bit stronger after tonight, mon chéri~”

“Happy to help, Fleur.” Harry smiled at her, his hands still tingling, and not from the prolonged use of Primal Fire.

“Join me.” Fleur moved over a little and invited Harry to sleep next to her again. “I don’t want to let you out of my arms tonight, Harry.”

Harry wasn’t dumb enough to deny Fleur, quickly removing everything except for his boxers, he slipped into the bed and snuggled up to Fleur, wrapping one arm over her waist while one of her arms went over his shoulders to pull him closer. Once again, Harry found his head resting on Fleur’s large, soft tits and the smile on his face wouldn’t go away in the slightest.

“Goodnight, mon chéri.” Fleur kissed Harry’s lips softly.

“Goodnight, Fleur.” Harry said after their lips separated.

The two had the blanket over them and were asleep just a short time later as the lights were put out by a mere flex of Harry’s magic.

-Little Hangleton ~ Abandoned Riddle Manor-

“The boy entered himself into the Tournament?” Voldemort looked at the Daily Prophet front page article suspiciously. His red-eyes were nearly burning the paper as he read the entire article. “How very foolish of you, Harry Potter.” Voldemort turned to look at the man kneeling at his side. “You overheard things while under your father’s care, did you not, Barty?”

“Yes, My Lord.” The kneeling Wizard informed the still weakened Dark Lord. “I know at least the basics of the three tasks of the Triwizard Tournament.”

“Excellent, it is good to have a competent follower back at my side.” Voldemort offered some praise to the bowed man.

“Your words honor me, My Lord.” Barty remained bowed, not daring to insult his Lord by rising to his feet before ordered to.

“Rise, Barty, there is still much to be done.” Voldemort gave off a dark, hissing chuckle. “Tell me about these tasks. Perhaps one can be used to get the boy away from Dumbledore’s protection and deal with him.”

“As you command, My Lord.” Barty replied as he stood up. The man looked like a younger Bartemius Crouch; though his dark-brown hair was not yet flecked with grey. The ruckus at the World Cup had let him escape over a decade of Imperius control by his father. Now, Bartemius ‘Barty’ Crouch Jr. had finally returned to his Lord’s side.

-End Chapter-

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Oh, it seems like things are starting to move forward now.

Harry has to do the most monotonous and boring school punishment ever for entering himself into the Triwizard Tournament! Curse Flitwick for knowing how best to punish the curious-minded!

Harry is already hunting for clues as to just what kind of Magical Creatures will be brought to Hogwarts. So far though, there’s been nothing to find…

Fleur and Harry have an impromptu battle…because that was the furthest thing from a traditional Duel… and we see how far along Harry has come with Onmyōdō and Fleur’s own progress with her interpretation of Magic!

The two even further their relationship a little bit. Hehehe~

While Harry is allowed to outright skip classes, aside from helping as Moody’s TA, just what will he spend his time on? Practicing his various Magics? Work on whatever idea pops into his head? Help his friends with their own Magical studies? Spar and ‘hang out’ with Fleur more? All of the above?

Barty has made it to Voldemort with some knowledge of the Triwizard Tournament! The Dark Lord wants to know everything so that he can try to strike at his nemesis! Will Voldemort interfere in the Tournament early on or wait until the Third Task to try and whisk Harry away from Hogwarts?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! As the First Task draws closer, Harry still hasn’t found out what kind of Magical Creatures are being brought to Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament. However, information can come from the most unexpected places sometimes. Friends can bend the rules a bit while looking out for one another. But before the First Task, Harry still has a responsibility or two, not to mention ceremony to go through for the Triwizard Tournament itself.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 34 – Here There Be Dragons, Wand Weighing

Harry casually maintained a Protego while Professor Moody taught the Fourth Year Class of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. He was half-focused on the lesson, the other half of his mind still trying to figure out just what kinds of Magical Creatures would be used in the first task.

‘I couldn’t find any traces of Magic being used to conceal something in the lake. There’s nothing within the castle that I can find either. That only leaves the Forbidden Forest, but where exactly would they keep whatever they’re bringing in? Closer to Hogsmeade would make more sense to prevent any of the Champions from discovering them…but then they’d have to worry about transporting the creatures all the way up to Hogwarts on the day of the First Task.’ Harry mused over his current lack of success, trying to put himself in the place of the Tournament organizers. Magic made many things easier, of course, but Harry couldn’t shake the feeling that those in charge would want the Triwizard Tournament to be as showy as possible, especially for the first task.

“Locomotor Mortis!” Moody cast the Leg-Locker Curse at Harry suddenly, with more than enough power to break his Protego.

Harry pivoted to the side, a simple and standard movement learned by anyone that was taught Dueling, and dodged the curse, the nearly invisible spell hitting the wall behind him.

“Constant Vigilance!” Moody said loudly, looking at Harry sharply before turning his eyes (both real and artificial) onto the class as a whole. “A Shield Charm can block many common jinxes and hexes, but it is not infallible! Most curses carry enough power to break through a standard Protego. However…” He motioned for Harry to send a curse at him.

Harry pointed at Moody and spoke the incantation for his curse so that everyone in class would know what he was casting. “Defodio.” The Gouging Curse hit Moody’s Protego and made a brief shower of sparks, but the Shield Charm held up.

“As you can see, a Shield Charm can be strengthened with more magic and stronger intent, but simply not being in the path of a curse is better than taking a gamble on whether or not your shield will hold.” Moody said and several students wrote down his words into their notes. “Now, who can tell me why the Gouging Charm is classified as a curse?”

Hermione’s hand was the first one in the air.

“Granger.” Moody nodded to Hermione.

“The Gouging Curse was created as a Charm to help clear a path through earth and stone, assisting with digging and other such tasks. It gained the ‘Curse’ designation when it started being used against people, rather than for its intended use.” Hermione answered succinctly, having learned in her time at Hogwarts (and from her friends) that overly long answers weren’t what the Professors wanted when they asked a question in class.

“Correct.” Moody nodded sharply. “Five points to Ravenclaw.” Hermione smiled at that. “Make note of that.” Moody told the students. “Many spells that were created for simple reasons or to make certain tasks easier have been weaponized by Dark Wizards and Witches throughout history. If you hear someone casting a spell that has no business being cast where you are, assume the worst and move! Constant vigilance!”

The students quickly wrote Moody’s words into their notes.

When class ended a short time later, Professor Moody made sure to give the students their next assignment before anyone could start packing up.

“Your assignment is to research the history of Charms that have been turned into Curses, pick one of them, and then give a detailed report on what the Charm was created to do and what it was actually used for that got it designated as a Curse. I want at least eighteen inches, but no more than two feet!” He had no patience to read some long-winded report that would more than likely be copied word for word from a book. “I’ll be collecting them during our next class. Dismissed.” He hobbled out the door first, his artificial eye moving this way and that to check his surroundings.

As the students began to pack up their things and leave, Harry, in his position as TA, spoke up. “Miss Granger, could you stay a minute?”

Hermione stopped what she was doing and looked at Harry in confusion.

Once the last of the students had left, Harry merely waved his hand and the door shut behind them.

“What’s going on, Harry?” Hermione asked her best friend curiously. Inside, however, her mind was running fast and she felt butterflies in her stomach. ‘Is…is Harry going to…to…’ She couldn’t even finish the thought as her cheeks turned pink, her secret fantasy seemed like it was about to play out right now!

Harry smiled at Hermione as he walked closer, putting Hermione between himself and the long desk behind her. “Nothing bad, Hermione. I just wanted to ask a question.”

Hermione swallowed once before speaking. “What kind of question?”

“You read up on the Triwizard Tournament’s history… Would you happen to have noticed any patterns to the Magical Creatures that they’ve used in past tournaments?”

“O-Oh…I…not really.” Hermione managed to get out after pulling her mind from the ‘less than pure’ track it had started to go down. “It’s usually just a dangerous creature and the goal of the task changes. But they don’t seem to use any specific creatures or anything. It might be that the chosen creature is decided upon by the organizer’s ahead of time and the First Task is built around the creature in question.”

Harry nodded at that, thinking over what information that he had. “I’d guess that they wouldn’t use a Cockatrice like last time, given its rampage is what led to the last tournament being cancelled and the entire Triwizard Tournament being shelved for over a century.”

“Probably not.” Hermione agreed as she felt the heat fading from her cheeks.

“Hm? You’re looking a little red, Hermione…are you alright?” Harry asked as he softly placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

Hermione’s face went straight back to bright red. “I-I’m fine, H-Harry.” She managed to stutter out after a second. “I feel f-fine. I was just thinking.”

Harry pulled his hand away after not feeling the heat of a fever from Hermione’s forehead. “What would you be thinking about that would make your face turn red like that?”

“N-Nothing important.” Hermione shook her head, looking around the room, specifically anywhere that Harry wasn’t.

Harry looked around the room, wondering if Hermione was looking at something. He even briefly activated his Mage Sight spell to look, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Seeing the way that Hermione was starting to fidget as she packed up the last of her things, Harry blinked as his mind made the connection (courtesy of his experience with Tonks and now Fleur). “Oh…”

Hermione almost flinched at the word.

“What has become of our sweet, rule-abiding Hermione?” Harry grinned at Hermione playfully. “Having such thoughts in the classroom about the TA.”

“Harry!” Hermione swatted his shoulder and looked away, her face burning red as she grabbed her things. She came to a dead stop as Harry pulled her into a warm hug from behind.

“Sorry, Hermione… I was just teasing.” Harry apologized and squeezed Hermione a little tighter for a moment.

Hermione would never admit how readily she practically melted into Harry’s hug as she let him hold her. “I-It’s fine, Harry… I just…wasn’t expecting it.”

Harry smiled as he placed a soft peck on Hermione’s cheek.

“H-Harry?” Hermione felt her cheeks burn as she turned in Harry’s arms to look at her best friend.

“Yes, Hermione?” Harry asked with a little grin.

“Does…I mean…is this…?” Hermione didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to know.

Harry tilted his head a little. “Is this…what?” The little grin had become a smirk now.

Hermione pouted cutely. “Prat.” She still pulled Harry into a hug and laid her head on his shoulder though.

“Who, me?” Harry questioned, even as he returned the warm hug.

“Yes, you.” Hermione said as she enjoyed their shared embrace.

The two stood there, just holding each other for a while, before eventually pulling away. With her heart beating like a drum, Hermione leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Harry’s cheek, just a bit more than the peck that Harry had given her. She pulled back and looked at Harry with a blush on her cheeks that just made her look adorable. Harry smiled and pulled her back into a hug, holding her close and making Hermione smile as she returned the hug.

“So…” Harry drew out the word as he let Hermione pull back a short time later. “What kind of thoughts were you having about being alone with the TA after class?”

“Shut up…” Hermione lightly swatted Harry’s chest and turned away. She put the strap of her book bag over her shoulder without looking at Harry.

Harry chuckled and opened the door for Hermione, walking side by side with her towards her next class, which was Runes. Hermione had a cute smile on her face as Harry walked her to class. As they were heading towards the stairs, Hermione spoke up.

“I’ve been thinking more about how I look at Magic…and how I understand it.” Hermione revealed as they reached the stairs.

“Oh?” Harry looked at Hermione with the gleam of curiosity in his eyes. “Are you going to try and guess your ‘right question’ again?”

Hermione shook her head once as they walked up the stairs together. “No…not yet. I don’t think I have my own interpretation of Magic right now; but I’m trying to look at it in a way that’s different than just what the books say.”

Harry nodded in understanding. “That’s a good place to start.” He knew Hermione, who believed in the knowledge imparted by books, would have a difficult time with seeing past what she’d already read. But she was trying to move past that stage and open her mind to a way of seeing and understanding Magic that was her own. ‘She’s not trying to force it anymore.’ Harry smiled at Hermione’s progress, knowing that with a bit more time his best friend (and maybe something a little more now) would reach her own understanding of Magic.

“I’ve also been looking more into Arithmancy and Runes too.” Hermione said as they reached the next floor landing. “I think I might have an idea for creating something myself, but I don’t know enough just yet.”

“That sounds interesting.” Harry said with a little gleam in his eyes. As they continued walking up the stairs his curiosity couldn’t be held back. “Are you going to share your idea?”

Hermione smiled at Harry. “Not yet.” She nearly burst into giggles at the way Harry’s expression dropped into a flat stare.

Harry shook his head once as they reached the next landing. “Tease.”

“Harry!” Hermione’s cheeks turned pink at the implication.

Harry only chuckled at how flustered Hermione got from the simple teasing.

Hermione smiled as the two got to the door of the Runes classroom. “Thanks for walking me to class, Harry. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to.” Harry said, returning her smile with his own.

“Once I learn a bit more and get closer to an actual plan for my idea, then I’ll tell you about it.” Hermione promised with a grin.

Harry let out a dramatic sigh. “I guess I’ll just have to wait.”

Hermione nodded once. “You will.” She headed into her Runes class with a little laugh.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing, Hermione.” Harry said under his breath as he continued on his way. He fully believed in Hermione and her brilliant mind, whatever she was working towards would undoubtedly be interesting.

-Later ~ Care of Magical Creatures-

“You’re doing a great job, little guy.” Harry said to the Porlock that he was feeding leafy greens too.

Porlocks were rather small, only reaching a height of two feet on average when they were fully grown, and covered in a large amount of rough, shaggy hair that could range from dark brown to a reddish color. They had large noses, small arms ending in four stubby fingers, and they walked on two cloven hooves.

Hagrid had gotten a small group of them for the Third Year class after Beauxbatons’ Abraxans had arrived at Hogwarts, since Porlocks guarded horses as part of their instinct, keeping pests and small predators away from the herd. But Porlocks were wary of humans, mistrustful even, and usually ran away if humans approached. Hagrid’s lessons for this first part of the school year were focused on gaining the Porlocks’ trust, taking care of them, and studying their behavior as the small group ‘protected’ the Abraxans in their pen.

Given that the Abraxans were absolutely massive and had a Ministry Classification of XXXX, when fully grown, they didn’t really need protection. But the giant equines didn’t seem to mind the Porlocks’ presence, even grazing right beside their ‘protectors’ during the day.

“Mnnh.” The Porlock let out an odd sound, but accepted the fresh leafy greens as a snack. It still wouldn’t let Harry touch it, bolting away any time that Harry tried, but it would accept food from him now.

Hagrid, keeping his voice low to not startle the Porlock, stopped next to Harry with a smile. “Doin’ alright there Harry?”

Harry smiled at the Porlock and then looked at Hagrid. “We’re making progress, I think.”

“I think he’s startin’ ta warm up to ya, Harry.” Hagrid agreed with a chuckle as he watched the Porlock finish off its snack and then wander back towards the Abraxans’ pen to ‘guard’ the near elephant-sized winged horses again. “Say, Harry…” Hagrid lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned down a bit to get closer to Harry. “Do ya think ya can stop by my shack after dinner tonight? There’s somethin’ I think ya need to see.”

“Something I need to see?” Harry looked at Hagrid curiously.

Hagrid nodded slightly. “Aye, but I can’ be sayin’ nothin’ here…not technically supposed to be tellin’ ya.”

Harry didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what Hagrid was trying to help him with. “I’ll be there, Hagrid.” He nodded to the large Professor, one that he could easily consider a friend, especially if he was going to go out of his way to help him with the Triwizard Tournament.

“Good lad, Harry.” Hagrid smiled at Harry before heading over to some other students that weren’t having as much luck getting their Porlocks to trust them.

-Hagrid’s Hut ~ After Dinner-

Harry had told his friends about seeing Hagrid after dinner, hinting that it was for help with the Triwizard Tournament. Sneaking outside wasn’t hard when Harry could become invisible, soundless, and could fly; so he’d made it to Hagrid’s hut without any trouble.

“Hagrid, what is it you want to show me?” Harry whispered to the Gamekeeper. Hagrid was oddly dressed up, as much as the large man could be given his sheer size. He even looked like he’d tried to comb his thick, shaggy hair and beard.

“Shhh…Harry, just keep yerself invisible and follow me.” Hagrid instructed with a whisper. “Don’t make a sound, alright?”

“Alright…” Harry agreed as he reapplied his spells and vanished from sight again.

Hagrid waited for a few minutes with the invisible Harry before they both noticed someone approaching across the grounds. “Ah, Olympe, over here.” Hagrid called out to the Headmistress of Beauxbatons.

“Mr. Hagrid, you said you had something important to show me this evening?” Madame Maxime appeared from the gloom of the night. The large woman was clearly curious about whatever Hagrid had told her at some point during the day.

“Aye,” Hagrid nodded to the woman, and if Harry wasn’t mistaken, his Care of Magical Creatures Professor was actually blushing. “I thought we could take a little stroll towards what I’d like to show ya tonight.” Hagrid offered with his best smile. “I promise ya won’t be disappointed.”

“Very well then,” Madame Maxime took Hagrid’s arm when he offered it to her. “Lead the way.”

Harry followed at a slight distance behind the two of them as they made their way through the Forbidden Forest. The pair made a path through the forest just by walking, so it was easy for Harry to just follow along. As they got deeper into the dark woods, Harry began to hear strange sounds. It almost sounded like muffled roaring? He followed along until a bright light lit up the forest. The Spellcrafter stopped in his tracks as he saw what he was sure Hagrid was trying to show him.

“Dragons.” Harry mumbled under his breath; his eyes were wide in surprise at seeing the three massive beasts.

There were three fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons rearing on their hind legs inside three separate enclosures that were fenced with thick planks of wood. The great beasts were roaring and snorting, shooting torrents of fire into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths. The flames were blasting out, fifteen meters above the ground on the dragons’ outstretched necks.

Harry had studied up on Dragons a bit out of curiosity and easily recognized the three species that had been chosen for the Triwizard Tournament. The dragon with the scarlet, smooth scales and a fringe of golden spikes around its snub-snouted face with extremely protuberant eyes was a Chinese Fireball, sometimes called a ‘Lion Dragon’ due to the spikes around its neck. The scales of the second dragon were silvery blue, and the powerful flame it was shooting into the air was also a brilliant blue color. From the spikes on its head and the rather short muzzle it had, Harry was easily able to identify this one as well, a Swedish Short-Snout. They were rumored to have the hottest fire among all Dragon species.

But it was the final Dragon that took the cake in Harry’s opinion. It was massive, with black scales and a lizard-like appearance. Its baleful yellow eyes, bronze horns and similarly colored spikes that protruded from its long tail were all well-known to anyone that had ever looked into any book that featured Dragons. The Tournament organizers had brought a Hungarian Horntail to the Triwizard Tournament!

‘Safer than previous years, my arse! That thing could easily kill someone in the First Task!’ Harry cursed internally as he quickly headed away from the clearing. Dragons were all classified as XXXXX Beasts, known Wizard Killers, and unable to be tamed at all. Even one of them was worse than a Cockatrice, and even though the Dragon Handlers that were taking care of the three Dragons seemed competent, this was definitely far more dangerous than the beast that had gotten the Tournament cancelled so long ago. ‘They probably just wanted the biggest spectacle that they could make for the return of the Triwizard Tournament and didn’t think about the actual competitors.’

A shadowy figure made leaves crunch several meters from Harry’s position. In the light from the dragons’ fiery breath, Harry saw Karkaroff’s face clearly for a brief moment. The Durmstrang High Master was disappearing into the shadows and gloom of the trees a second later, clearly heading back towards the Durmstrang ship.

‘Looks like all three Champions will know about the Dragons ahead of time.’ Harry mused to himself as his feet lifted off the ground and he flew through the forest until he broke through the treeline and was back on the grounds not too far from Hagrid’s hut. He didn’t stop there though; he flew towards the Beauxbatons carriage to tell Fleur what he saw. Even if Maxime was going to tell Fleur, and Harry was certain that she would, he wouldn’t leave it up to chance.

-Hogwarts Library ~ Next Afternoon-

“Dragons?!” Daphne barely stopped herself from shouting when Harry told her what the three Champions would be up against in the First Task.

“That’s mental…” Tracy seemed stunned by the knowledge.

Hermione was worried, and she handled that worry by bringing a stack of books about dragons to their shared table and setting them down with a thump. “I’ve gotten the most well-known books about dragons that I could find. Surely there’s something that will keep you two safe.” Hermione looked at Harry and Fleur, worrying her lip in the way that Harry (and Fleur) found cute.

Luna smiled as she sent her almost ever-present Kooni over to grab the top book from the stack and bring it to her. “Thank you, Leafy.” She smiled at the little spirit, even patting it atop the head affectionately.

“Oo…” The Kooni made a noise before moving to rest on Luna’s shoulder like it normally did.

“Let’s help Harry and Fleur look up safe ways to handle dragons.” Luna smiled at her friends as she opened the book.

Astoria looked at Luna flatly. “I don’t think there is a ‘safe’ way to handle dragons.”

“Still, we should help however we can.” Daphne said as she took the next book in the stack and opened it. “I wish I was further along in my Healing studies… I might’ve been able to brew something that would prevent burns.”

Tracy took the next book as Hermione handed it to her. “Isn’t that what a Flame Freezing Charm is for?” She perked up and turned to look at Harry and Fleur. “You two should definitely learn the Flame Freezing Charm!”

Fleur giggled softly at Tracy’s small outburst. “Veela learn that particular Charm very young…for obvious reasons.”

“Already know it.” Harry nodded, giving Tracy a small smile. “But dragon fire might be able to overcome it. The spell was made with the idea of not burning yourself on fires for cooking and heating around the home back in the day. It can handle any normal fire easily, but dragons are another matter entirely.”

“Do you actually have to fight the dragons?” Astoria asked as she accepted a book from Hermione. “That doesn’t seem like much of a competition between the three champions.”

Hermione hummed thoughtfully at that. “It’s true that the goal of the First Task changes and can be any number of things. Maybe it’s about not fighting the dragon?” She opened up her own book and started to read. “We should look up protective spells first and foremost anyway.”

“Thank you all for looking out for us.” Harry smiled at his friends.

“It’s much appreciated.” Fleur agreed, giving a soft smile to the younger girls.

Daphne looked at Harry. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Harry.” She locked eyes with Harry for a moment before she blushed and looked at Fleur. “I don’t want you to get hurt either, Fleur!”

Astoria giggled behind her book.

Tracy was snickering behind hers.

Hermione peeked at Daphne over the top of her own book.

“Thank you, Daphne.” Fleur said with a melodious giggle that made Daphne hide behind her own book.

Harry could only smile. ‘I’m lucky to have so many good friends.’ His eyes drifted over to Daphne and then Hermione. ‘Or maybe more than friends?’ He wouldn’t want to assume, but Hermione’s feelings seemed clear now, he just wasn’t one-hundred percent clear on Daphne’s feelings yet.

-November 21^st ~ Weighing of the Wands-

“I’m here…” Harry said with a slight yawn as he walked into the room designated for the Weighing of the Wands Ceremony. He was technically on time, though everyone else had clearly shown up several minutes, or more, earlier than he had.

“We were starting to wonder, Mr. Potter.” Dumbledore smiled genially at the prodigious Spellcrafter. “Everyone else had arrived, but we were missing one-third of our champions.”

“I get caught up in my studies, Headmaster, my apologies.” Harry said with a lackadaisical grin.

“Studies, mon chéri?” Fleur questioned playfully as Harry sat next to her.

“Studies.” Harry nodded with a little grin. He gently took Fleur’s hand in his, making her smile as she lightly squeezed it.

The room chosen for the ceremony was a fairly small classroom with most of the desks pushed to the back so as to leave a large space in the middle of the room. Three of the desks, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long velvet cloth. Five chairs were set behind the velvet-covered desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a Witch wearing magenta robes that Harry had only ever seen a few pictures of before.

Viktor Krum was standing in a corner with Karkaroff and neither of them was talking to anybody. There was a paunchy man, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly. He was clearly watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye the entire time. Fleur was ignoring the cameraman entirely, well-versed in doing so thanks to the countless men that got caught up in even the tiniest amount of her natural Allure.

Bagman suddenly spotted Harry. The slightly portly man got up quickly, and nearly bounded forward to speak with him. “Ah, here he is! Champion number three! Good to see you, Harry! Nothing to worry about, it's just the Wand Weighing Ceremony!” Ludo informed Harry, even though all three champions already knew about the Wand Weighing in advance. Honestly, the former Professional Beater was a bit much with how strongly he came on.

“I am aware, Mr. Bagman, thank you.” Harry replied as politely as he could. He’d much rather be working on his spellcraft right now, even more so if he could convince Fleur to come with him, given what the two could get up to together after a good ‘magic fight’.

“After the ceremony there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter,” Bagman added, gesturing toward the witch in magenta robes that was walking up to the three of them. “She’s doing a small piece on the Tournament for the Daily Prophet....”

“Maybe not that small, Ludo,” Rita Skeeter cut him off with a smile, her eyes on Harry. Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously rigid curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled spectacles. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two-inch nails, painted crimson.

“I’m very aware of who she is.” Harry responded as he gave Rita a flat look.

Sirius had rejected every request for an interview that had been sent his way over the last few years. That didn’t stop Rita Skeeter from sending more though. The vile ‘reporter’ -though calling her that seemed like an insult to genuine Journalists- wasn’t one to give up on getting her scoop and then twisting it into a story of half-truths and speculations that painted the subject in a negative light.

She’d only stopped her near harassment after Sirius had threatened a lawsuit against the Daily Prophet near the beginning of 1990. But Skeeter’s very next article, conveniently labeled as an ‘opinion piece’, had made more than enough speculations about why no one had seen Harry Potter since Halloween of Eighty-One. None of said speculations had been good, and one had practically accused Sirius of keeping Harry locked up against his will.

Andromeda and Ted had BOTH had to step in to keep Sirius from hunting Rita Skeeter down that day. It was a memory from before Hogwarts that Harry was sure he’d remember forever.

“I wonder if I could have a little word with Harry before we start?” Rita asked of Bagman, her gaze still fixed on Harry. “The youngest Champion, you know...to add a bit of color?”

“Certainly!” Bagman agreed with a quick nod before blinking. “That is, if Harry has no objection?”

“No.” Harry replied instantly, his tone both flat and final. He noticed Fleur giving the older woman an unimpressed look out of the corner of his eye.

“If everyone could take their seats, we can begin the Weighing of the Wands.” Mr. Crouch spoke up strongly, though the man still appeared tired. Harry noted the heavy bags under the man’s eyes, Mr. Couch’s condition certainly didn’t seem to have improved at all since the last time that Harry had seen him.

Rita gave a small ‘tch’ as she walked away.

Harry and Fleur were joined by Viktor as the three Champions were now all sat in the three chairs facing the Organizers. Fleur was in the center chair, Viktor to her left and Harry on her right. Harry looked over at the Organizers, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Mr. Crouch, and Ludo Bagman had all sat down already. Rita Skeeter had settled herself down in a corner; Harry saw her slip a parchment out of her ugly, crocodile skin handbag, spread it on her knee, suck the end of an acid-green quill, and place it on the parchment. The magical writing instrument stood upright by itself, poised and ready to write down everything that Rita wanted it to.

“May I introduce Mr. Garrick Ollivander?” Dumbledore introduced the Wand Maker while taking his place at the Organizers’ table. “He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition before the Tournament.”

Harry looked at Ollivander for the first time as the old Wizard with large, pale eyes entered the room. Having never needed a wand, Harry had never been to the well-known Wand Maker’s shop. The old Wizard gave off a slightly odd feeling of mystery that Harry couldn’t place.

Ollivander came to a stop in the middle of the room and looked at the three Champions briefly. “Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?” Ollivander requested with a polite smile.

Fleur stood up after giving Harry’s hand a gentle squeeze. She walked over to Ollivander and handed him her wand gently. Harry saw the instant the Wand Maker’s eyes lit up with interest and curiosity.

‘Is that what I look like when I find interesting new Magic?’ Harry briefly wondered to himself before focusing on Ollivander again.

“Hmm...” Ollivander hummed as he looked the wand over. He twirled the wand between his long fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it up to his eyes and examined the Focus more closely. “Yes,” he murmured quietly. “Nine and a half inches...inflexible...Rosewood...and containing...dear me...”

“A hair from the head of a Veela,” Fleur nodded to Ollivander with a smile. “One of my grandmother’s.”

“Yes,” Ollivander nodded in understanding. “Yes, I've never successfully used Veela hair myself, unfortunately. I find they make for rather temperamental wands on the few occasions I’ve tried. However, this suits you remarkably well, Miss Delacour. It’s an excellent match.” He smiled at Fleur before he ran his fingers along the length of the wand, checking for any small scratches or bumps and then he held it properly. “Orchideous!” The old Wizard cast and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

“Excellent, it's in fine working order.” Ollivander nodded as he scooped up the small bouquet and handed it to Fleur along with her wand.

“Thank you, Mr. Ollivander.” Fleur gave him a smile and nod as she returned to her seat next to Harry.

“Mr. Krum, if you please.” Ollivander nodded to the Professional Quidditch player.

Viktor got up and half-slouched as he walked over to Ollivander. He held out his wand for Ollivander to take and stood with his hands in the pockets of his robes. Viktor didn’t seem at all perturbed by the inspection of his wand.

“Hmm…” Ollivander hummed before a small smile came to his face. “Ah, this is a Gregorovitch creation, a fine Wand Maker, though the styling is never quite what I would do…” He trailed off as he began to examine the wand. Ollivander lifted the wand and examined it minutely, turning it over and over before his eyes. “Yes...Hornbeam and Dragon Heartstring?” He looked at Krum, who nodded in confirmation. “Rather thicker than one usually sees...quite rigid...ten and a quarter inches…. He does love to give his creations a bit of extra strength. But no one is here to hear about our little rivalry.” Ollivander chuckled softly. “Avis!”

The wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the sunlight. Harry watched them get a good distance away before they all poofed back into non-existence. The Conjuration didn’t have a very large range before it failed, it would seem.

“Very good,” Ollivander smiled as he returned Viktor’s wand. “It’s in excellent working order.” Viktor nodded to the old Wand Maker before heading back to his seat. “Which leaves…High Sorcerer Potter.”

Harry gave Fleur’s hand a gentle squeeze just as she had done before. He got to his feet and walked straight up to Ollivander. He smiled at the old Wizard before presenting his empty hands. “I’m afraid I have nothing for you to examine, Mr. Ollivander.”

“Ah, yes,” Ollivander nodded, his pale eyes looking at Harry intently. “Yes, yes, yes. I remember that you never stopped by my shop, Mr. Potter. I had considered that you may have simply gone to another wand maker for your wand, or perhaps had been chosen by a wand from one of your forefathers.” Ollivander smiled at Harry with an air of mystery. “But to my surprise, you had simply never needed a wand at all. Most curious…”

“Magic doesn’t require a Focus, only understanding and focus.” Harry said to the Wand Maker with a small smile.

“True enough, I suppose.” Ollivander said with a nod.

Harry’s smile turned into a grin. “But if you’d like to share some knowledge of the Magic of Wand Making, I wouldn’t say no.”

Ollivander laughed lightly for a moment. “I’m afraid the secrets of wandlore aren’t so easy to obtain, Mr. Potter.”

“Of course, Mr. Ollivander.” Harry gave a nod to the Wand Maker before he returned to his seat next to Fleur. He didn’t expect Ollivander to agree or tell him anything. ‘But it could’ve been interesting.’ Harry thought as he held Fleur’s hand when her hand sought out his.

“Thank you all for your time.” Dumbledore spoke as he stood up from his seat at the Organizers’ table. “You may go back to your lessons now, or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as today’s classes are about to end.”

Being a bit hungry, Harry was more than fine with heading straight to dinner with Fleur. The two stood up and prepared to leave, still hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, someone had to ruin those plans.

The camera man standing next to Rita cleared his throat, none too quietly, and Bagman opened his mouth.

“Photos, Dumbledore, photos!” Bagman called excitedly. “All the Organizers and the Champions, what do you think, Rita?”

Harry really wanted to hex Bagman right about now…but was pretty sure he wouldn’t get any of the spells he wanted to use past Dumbledore.

After almost a dozen more photos than Harry thought were necessary, everyone was finally able to leave. On the way out, he once more spotted Rita Skeeter, this time taking her acid-green quill and putting it back into her crocodile skin handbag. Wondering what ‘speculations’ she’d written about the relatively simple Weighing of the Wands, Harry summoned the parchment to his hand faster than Rita could react.

“Hey!” Rita squawked a second later.

Harry held up the parchment, letting Fleur read it too, and quickly saw far more embellishments and outright lies written than would’ve been possible to fit into the relatively short time they’d spent on the actual ceremony.

“When did Ollivander say my wand was ‘inferior’?” Fleur asked as she read over the line on the parchment.

“Must’ve been before I was misquoted as calling wands ‘useless’ and ‘only for those too foolish to really use Magic’.” Harry replied, as he read Rita’s ‘quote’ from him.

Viktor, having been able to read the parchment over Harry’s shoulder even from a distance (sharp eyes being an almost mandatory trait for a Professional Seeker), scoffed at the parchment. “Vhen did Ollivander say Gregorovitch wands are ‘from a second-rate Wand Maker’?”

Ollivander turned his pale eyes onto Rita, the look devoid of any warmth and seemingly boring into the woman’s soul if the way she recoiled was any indication.

“Also, you’ve apparently bewitched me with your ‘Veela charms’ Fleur, and are trying to eliminate me as competition.” Harry read off with a roll of his eyes.

“I believe that I’m starting to understand why so few people in Britain know any truth about Veela.” Fleur looked annoyed by the accusation that Rita had written. The Veela had gone through centuries of distrust and even persecution from Witches and Wizards because of jealousy, envy, and lies like this.

Madame Maxime was outright glaring at Rita now, her large frame imposing as her shadow practically swallowed up the lying reporter.

Dumbledore stepped in at this point before things got truly out of control. “I believe that will be enough.” He said with a calm tone that had been perfected over decades as an educator. “Miss Skeeter, I see that some of your ‘disagreeable’ tendencies haven’t changed since you were a student here at Hogwarts.”

Rita now looked like she was reliving just such a time as she practically cowed before Dumbledore’s disappointed gaze.

Fwoosh

The parchment of lies in Harry’s hand was reduced to tiny ashes that fell to the floor.

“Well, we’re heading to the Great Hall for dinner. Someone should probably talk with Miss Skeeter about her lack of integrity.” Harry said as he and Fleur left, leaving the room hand-in-hand once more.

Both gave each other wicked little smiles as they walked down the corridor together. It was good to nip a potential problem in the bud whenever possible.

-End Chapter-

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Rita Skeeter…SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!

Harry is shown the three dragons by Hagrid. Now knowing what they’re up against, Harry and Fleur start preparing with help from their friends.

Speaking of which… Hermione and Harry have advanced their relationship a little further! So cute~

Hermione is finally starting to make headway into her own interpretation of Magic too! What’s this ‘idea’ for making something that she hinted at?

As the First Task rapidly approaches, what methods will the Champions use to deal with their individual dragons?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The First Task is now upon the three Champions! Three dragons have been brought to Hogwarts: A Chinese Fireball, a Swedish Short-Snout, and a Hungarian Horntail! Who will face which Dragon and what will their methods be to overcome the Task?

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 35 – First Task

-November 24^th ~ First Task-

“You alright, Harry?” Sirius questioned his godson as they sat in the antechamber just off the Great Hall.

The families of the Champions were allowed to attend every event of the Triwizard Tournament without restriction. Harry and Fleur were both sat next to each other and surrounded by their families. Sirius, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, Marius, Appoline, and even little Gabrielle were gathered around the two Champions.

“I’ll be fine, Sirius.” Harry reassured his godfather with a slight grin. He was only a little nervous, who wouldn’t be going up against a dragon all alone? But Harry had an idea as to how to safely (for a given degree of safe) deal with any dragon he might be put up against.

“I swear I’m going to find a way to make Bagman and Crouch pay for this.” Tonks muttered as she pulled Harry into her side for a hug. This tournament was supposed to be safer than previous ones, and yet the FIRST FUCKING TASK was against dragons of all things!

“Harry put himself into the tournament.” Andromeda sighed while giving Harry a stern look. “We can’t really blame anyone for that.”

Ted nodded once, also giving Harry an exasperated half-smile. “Couldn’t help yourself, eh, Harry?”

“It seemed too interesting to pass up, Uncle.” Harry freely admitted with a grin.

Appoline hugged her eldest daughter close and placed a gentle kiss on Fleur’s cheek. “I just want Fleur to be safe.” Then she hugged Harry, surprising the young man, and kissed his cheek as well. “I want you to stay safe as well, Harry.”

Harry blinked once before giving Appoline a smile. “I’ll be fine, Mrs. Delacour.”

“You’re sure that you’ll be okay, ma petite fleur?” Marius asked his daughter, slipping into their native French every now and then out of worry for his eldest child. He hugged her close for probably the eighth time since the pre-task meeting had started.

“Yes, Papa, I have a plan that should be very effective against dragons.” Fleur smiled at her father and hugged him back to ease his worry. She’d prepared for this, taking inspiration from documented accounts of Dragon Handlers and even the known history of the few Witches and Wizards to earn the Title of ‘Dragon Slayer’ in the past.

Andromeda gave Harry a warm hug again as well. “Worry about yourself, more than this Tournament.” She advised her nephew in a soft whisper. The Triwizard Tournament could be relegated to the past forever in Andromeda’s opinion; she just wanted her family to be safe.

“I will, Auntie.” Harry agreed as he gently returned her hug.

“Remember that you probably don’t have to defeat the dragon, Harry.” Sirius said with a smile meant to ease Harry’s nerves. “You just have to complete the Task, whatever it may be.” Left unsaid was that defeating the dragon might ACTUALLY be the Task, for all that they knew.

Harry nodded to his godfather with a small grin of his own. “I’ll remember, Sirius.” But even if the Task WAS to defeat a dragon, Harry had spent quite a while studying up on the great lizards and had found a rather obvious weakness when it came to a certain Branch of Magic.

-Later-

Thirty minutes before the Task, the Champions had to head down to the arena that had been built for the Tournament. They would be waiting in a special tent just for Champions and be given the last details just before the First Task was underway. As Fleur and Harry waited, holding each other’s hand, the three Champions were intruded upon by none other than Rita Skeeter. Harry frowned at the annoying woman -dressed in green robes today- as she walked into the tent as if she belonged there. Following behind the woman was the same camera man from the Wand Weighing that immediately zeroed in on Fleur.

“Champions!” Rita’s smile couldn’t have been more sinister in Harry’s eyes. The woman’s look absolutely oozed smugness and a desire to cause trouble. “If I could have a moment of your time before the First Task.”

“You have no business here.” Viktor glared at the woman; his surly look compounded by his nerves. Not to mention that his first meeting with the vile ‘reporter’ had been nothing but negative.

Fleur looked at Rita disparagingly, the other woman had made it very clear just what kind of person she was at the Wand Weighing ceremony. “I don’t believe any of us has anything to say to you.”

“Get out.” Harry stated plainly and simply to Rita.

Rita smiled at the three of them as if they hadn’t all told her (in politer ways) to fuck off. “Now, now, I only want to ask a few questions.”

“Miss Skeeter, might I inquire as to what you’re doing in the Champion’s Tent?” Dumbledore’s calm, but sharp, voice spoke up from behind Rita and her cameraman. The smile left Rita’s face so quickly Harry would have missed it if he blinked.

“I was just leaving, Dumbledore.” Rita gave him a fake smile as she and the cameraman left the tent in a hurry, passing by Bagman and Crouch on their way out.

Harry, not one to let Rita get away with her nasty attitude and writings, managed to lay a quick Curse upon the woman’s crocodile skin handbag. ‘That should be activating right about…’

“MY PURSE!!!” Rita’s loud cry was even heard inside the tent.

‘Now.’ Harry barely kept his expression from changing. All his curse had done was Vanish the ugly crocodile skin purse as soon as it was opened. Rita hadn’t been able to resist opening it, most likely to get her poisonous quill and start making up a story for the Champions’ Tent, not even a few seconds after being chased away from the tent by Dumbledore. ‘I’m sure it won’t take her long to replace all of her things that got Vanished along with that ugly purse of hers. But for today, there won’t be any of her ‘speculations’ or half-truths.’

“Well, now that we're all here it’s time to fill you in!” Bagman informed the Champions with a bright smile. “When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag,” He held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it slightly. “From which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different, uh, varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too...ah, yes! Your task is to collect the golden egg!”

‘They want us to collect a golden egg from a dragon? So, that whole spiel about this Tournament being safer than previous ones was just an outright bloody lie!’ Harry snarked to himself. Truly, Wizards and Witches didn’t know the difference between danger and entertainment.

Fleur spoke up with a flat stare at Ludo and Crouch. “I fail to see how this Tournament is in any way safer than those in history.”

“Agreed.” Viktor said with a surly glare at the two Ministry officials. “Facing a dragon, any dragon, is close to suicide. You have us taking an egg from nesting mother dragons?” He looked like he wanted to spit at Crouch and Bagman’s feet.

Harry, wanting to pile onto the two men for their outright lies, decided to speak as well. “I’ve always heard the Ministry was staffed by nepotism rather than capability. You two seem to prove that quite well.”

Crouch, if he didn’t look nearly dead on his feet from exhaustion, might’ve been much sharper in his retort. “Every safety measure has been put in place to ensure that the Champions won’t be overly harmed.” But all he managed was an almost mechanical platitude.

“L-Ladies first.” Bagman, now sweating quite a bit from the rebukes of the Champions, offered the purple silk bag to Fleur.

Fleur put her hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a silver-scaled dragon, the Swedish Short-Snout, and it had the number two around its neck.

“Mr. Krum?” Bagman held the bag out to Viktor next. The professional Quidditch player reached in and seemed to grimace as he pulled out a red dragon that appeared to be trying to breathe fire on him, the Chinese Fireball. It had the number one around its neck to match Fleur’s model.

“F-Finally, Mr. Potter.” Bagman stuttered out and even looked sympathetically towards the Spellcrafter.

Knowing what was left in the bag; Harry put his hand into it and pulled out the model of the Hungarian Horntail. The tiny model of the vicious dragon was trying to dig its miniscule fangs into Harry’s thumb. The model, as one would expect, had the number three around the neck.

“Well, there you are!” Bagman nodded to the three Champions, looking more than a bit nervous after the previous lambasting he’d received. “You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Krum, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear the whistle, all right?”

Viktor only gave him a short nod in response, his glare not lessened at all.

“Do remember, that the rules state you are only permitted your wands.” Crouch spoke up as he turned his tired gaze onto the three Champions. “If you have anything else on you besides your robes, please remove it before you enter the enclosure or you’ll be breaking your contract with the Goblet of Fire.” Seeing that none of the teens were moving to take off any hidden items, Crouch gave them a nod. The three Organizers left to head up to the Judges’ booth so that they could score the Champions’ attempts at the First Task.

Viktor headed over to the tunnel that led into the enclosure while the murmurs of the crowd began to grow louder as the time neared for the First Task to begin. A series of shrieks let Fleur and Harry know when the Chinese Fireball had been revealed to the crowd. Both took each other’s hand for comfort just as the whistle blew loudly and the crowd roared as Viktor entered the enclosure to face the Dragon.

-Arena-

“Hah…” Viktor sighed at seeing the red and gold dragon standing protectively over its nest of eggs.

“ROOAAARRR!!!” The Chinese Fireball roared at Viktor threateningly, a warning not to get closer.

Knowing that he was being timed, Viktor looped his wand, swished it twice, and then pointed at two of the large rocks that littered the floor of what was once clearly a Quidditch pitch. The two large rocks levitated into the air and were launched at the dragon.

FWOOOOSSSHHH

The two small boulders were bathed in fire as they got close to the Chinese Fireball. The wave of flames obscured the dragon’s vision though, which is exactly what Viktor wanted. He rushed forward, ducking between the large boulders and rocks scattered about to hide from the dragon’s gaze.

“ROOOAAARR!!!” The Chinese Fireball bathed the area in fire in hopes of killing or at least scaring off the one approaching her nest.

“Shit…” Viktor hissed out as the temperature of the air alone spiked to nearly burning levels. He peeked around the boulder he was hiding behind and aimed his wand at another large rock. With a bit of focus and five swift wand movements, Viktor cast his spell. “Draconifors Maxima!”

The boulder that the Transfiguration spell hit quickly morphed into a dragon. It had grey scales, was similar in shape to the Chinese Fireball, but was noticeably smaller than the real dragon. Such was the limit of even a powerful and modified Draconifors spell.

“ROOAARR!!!” The transfigured dragon roared at the Chinese Fireball.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The Chinese Fireball roared back while spreading her wings to make herself look even bigger.

Viktor made his move while the two dragons stared each other down. He ducked behind a few boulders, always making sure to keep the large rocks between him and the two dragons. Finding a path through the boulders wasn’t difficult as he heard the Chinese Fireball and his transfigured dragon start fighting. He just needed to keep the mother dragon distracted long enough to grab the golden egg.

Fwoooossshh

The transfigured dragon breathed flames at the Chinese Fireball.

However, the real dragon shook them off as if they were merely a warm breeze.

FWOOOOSSSSHHHH

And then bathed the transfigured dragon in intense flames that destroyed the Transfiguration spell entirely.

The blackened stone hit the ground with a heavy thump, smoke rising from it in a thick cloud.

Viktor had managed to get close to the nest, but froze when he saw the mother dragon’s head whip around and catch sight of him. Before the Chinese Fireball could bathe him in flames like it had done to his transfigured dragon, Viktor struck first. “Conjunctivitis!” He whipped his wand through an oval shaped motion and the Chinese Fireball quickly reacted.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The mother dragon bellowed as one of her eyes swelled shut, irritated and burning. She staggered a bit before turning her good eye to face the human that had attacked her.

Viktor wasn’t about to let up though, just as he was taught at Durmstrang! Three quick, sharp, and powerful slashes with his wand were followed by the incantation: “Fumus Cultro!” The smoke still rising in the air from all of the flames twisted into itself and became a swarm of daggers. “Oppungo!” A quick wave of his wand and the multitude of blades all shot straight at the Chinese Fireball’s good eye.

The metallic ‘ting’ of metal meeting dragon scales was heard as the mother dragon tilted her head and closed her good eye to protect it from the sharp blades. Without looking, she opened her jaws and unleashed an inferno in Viktor’s direction.

“Aqua Eructo!” Viktor bellowed out as he hastily slashed his wand in an upward motion. A massive burst of water exploded from the tip of the wand and formed an immense spray that protected Viktor from the flames like a wall.

Steam filled the air just as Viktor lunged for the golden egg, managing to grab it and start running while he had some cover.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The Chinese Fireball’s roar followed Viktor and he cast over his shoulder.

“Conjunctivitis!” Viktor fired the spell behind him, never slowing down in his run. The thudding steps of the dragon behind him let him know that, by some miracle, he’d hit the Chinese Fireball’s other eye. Just as Viktor got to the exit, he finally paid attention to Bagman’s commentary.

“And he’s done it!” Bagman roared to the crowd. “In an impressive display, Viktor Krum of Durmstrang has gotten the golden egg!” The crowd cheered and applauded loudly. “Unfortunately, I think he’ll lose a few points for the crushed egg.”

Viktor looked back towards the nest and noticed the single crushed egg at the edge. “Damn…” He hadn’t meant for any of the eggs to be harmed, but with the Chinese Fireball now blinded, the mother dragon had clearly not been able to watch where she was staggering around.

Once the Dragon Handlers had the Chinese Fireball safely subdued and both mother and eggs removed from the field, Viktor was called back into the arena to receive his points.

Crouch lifted his wand and the number ‘9’ appeared above it in a soft orange color.

Bagman threw up his arm and from his wand came a sparkling yellow ‘9’, matching Crouch’s score.

Karkaroff, as expected, gave Viktor full points, a red light forming the number ‘10’ above his wand.

Madame Maxime held her scoring for a moment as she used a Sonorus Charm to amplify her voice. “Mr. Krum… Can you tell us why you chose the Conjunctivitis Curse to use against your dragon?”

Viktor kept hold of his golden egg under one arm as he looked up at Maxime and the other Judges. “I’d heard that dragons’ eyes were their weak points back at Durmstrang. When up against such a magically resistant creature, it seemed appropriate to take advantage of its weakness.”

Maxime took a moment to think about that before raising her wand and a flowing ribbon formed the number ‘8’ above her.

Dumbledore held up his wand and a purple ‘8’ popped into existence for a moment before fading away.

“With the points given, Mr. Krum has earned a rather impressive score of forty-four points!” Bagman announced to both the crowd and those listening into the Wizarding Wireless broadcast covering the Triwizard Tournament.

That got another round of applause and cheers from the crowd as Viktor walked out of the area so that the next dragon could be brought in.

-Champions’ Tent-

Fleur exhaled to steady her nerves after hearing Viktor’s task complete. Harry leaned over and pecked her cheek before giving her a smile. Fleur looked at Harry warmly and then their lips quickly met for a kiss. The two pushed their love into their lip lock for several long moments until the exclamations of the crowd alerted them to the Swedish Short-Snout being revealed. The two separated as Fleur stood up and made her way through the tunnel. Harry sat alone in the tent, naturally a bit worried for Fleur, and with a rising agitation knowing that he couldn’t interfere without upsetting the Goblet of Fire, the Artifact that all three Champions were bound to for the duration of the Triwizard Tournament.

Fleur waited for the whistle to sound before she stepped out into the enclosure. She instantly saw the silver and blue scales of the Swedish Short-Snout as it crouched between her and the nest of eggs behind it. Among the real eggs was a large golden egg atop the rest of the clutch. Nesting mother dragons were known to be the most dangerous of any dragon; only the males in rut during their breeding season came close to the ferocity a mother dragon would show when defending her nest.

“Safe my perfect ass.” Fleur huffed as she looked at the snarling dragon. She stepped forward and simply blocked out Bagman’s annoying commentary along with the sound of the crowd. The Swedish Short-Snout exhaled a blast of its incredibly hot, blue fire in her general direction as a warning.

Fleur had her wand at the ready as she took hold of her emotions and began to apply her interpretation of Magic to her spellcasting. “Diffindo!” She flicked her wand twice in quick suggestion with a snarl of anger tearing its way from her throat.

Every rock and boulder in the path of the two spells was cleanly cut in two. The rumble and crashing of the stones falling apart and hitting the ground was loud. The dust thrown into the air from the rubble helped obscure Fleur’s form

With an excited grin taking over her previous angry expression, Fleur zipped along the ground at speed, easily skipping across the rubble as if it was a flat footpath. This got more than a few amazed sounds from the crowd and Bagman, not that Fleur heard it as she was entirely focused on the Swedish Short-Snout.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The dragon roared before unleashing a blast of blue flames at the approaching Fleur.

“Thank you.” Fleur’s mood shifted from excited to acceptance, her smile becoming small and soft as she raised her left hand and Veela Fire burst forth. The blue flames hit the purple-tinged yellow and orange flames and the two clashed for a brief moment. Then Fleur’s flames spiraled into a single point, taking all of the blue dragon fire with it and forming a sphere of intense heat and flame that rapidly shrank into nothing.

The Swedish Short-Snout spread her wings in a threat display after seeing her powerful flames not working. “ROOOAAARRR!!!”

Fleur moved her wand into what looked like a backwards ‘P’ and then her expression changed to one of calmness, serene as one could be, before she cast her spell. “Orchideous!” A pink light filled the air as thousands of flowers began to fall from the air above the Swedish Short-Snout and Fleur.

The dragon growled and a burst of flames torched the falling flowers, reducing them to naught but ashes instantly. But that didn’t stop more from falling, eventually touching the Swedish Short-Snout one after another. Most fell off its body, but some lay across its back, atop its head, and even on its feet as the mother dragon continued to protect her nest.

“What could Miss Delacour be trying to do?!” Bagman questioned the odd use of the Bouquet Charm.

Dragon scales and hide were both incredibly resistant to Magic. Most dragons could shrug off spells with ease. However, what Fleur was doing wasn’t trying to overcome the protection of the Swedish Short-Snout’s scales and hide, but to impart the same emotion that she was currently feeling: utter calmness. That effect could transfer through the color of the flowers that she’d conjured, as well as their scent. It was a more subtle use of Fleur’s emotional interpretation of Magic.

It proved to be effective as the Swedish Short-Snout began to lower her wings, ending her threat display. The thick smoke that had been emerging from the mother dragon’s jaws became thin and wispy as the dragon calmed down and slowly allowed itself to be covered in the seemingly unending rain of flowers.

“Rrrrmmmsss…” The Swedish Short-Snout let out a low grumble as she laid down, curling around her nest and lightly blowing the piled up flowers off her eggs with a hot breath filled with wispy smoke.

Before the stunned eyes of all of the spectators (including the Dragon Handlers) Fleur approached the nest among the falling flowers and carefully picked up the golden egg. The mother dragon watched her, but made no move to attack Fleur as the fake egg was removed from the nest. Fleur walked across the arena and reached the exit without issue before the crowd snapped out of their daze and burst into raucous cheering, applauding, and whistling.

“Fleur Delacour has done it!” Bagman finally roared out. “In a spectacular display of non-violence, Miss Delacour managed to pacify the Swedish Short-Snout and simply take the golden egg from the nest and walk away!”

-Champions’ Tent-

“Show off.” Harry chuckled to himself with a grin. “Guess I’ll show off a slightly more overwhelming approach.”

-Dragon Pens-

The Dragon Handlers found the Swedish Short-Snout to be rather easy to move, the mother dragon still covered in the flowers that Fleur had conjured. As they moved her, a few of them became calmer, their bodies releasing the tension they’d been under as they all were waiting to rush in and restrain the dragons should anything go wrong. It was only after the mother dragon was safely back in her massive crate with her nest did the flowers begin to disappear as the conjuration was undone. The Dragon Handlers all realized that they’d been affected by the remnants of Fleur’s spell, especially when the Swedish Short-Snout let out a rumbling warning growl with smoke pouring from her nostrils.

“You think she could teach us that?” Charlie Weasley asked his colleagues with a grin as they all moved away from the huge metal crate to not agitate the Swedish Short-Snout.

-Arena-

With the dragon removed, Fleur returned to receive her points, holding her golden egg in front of her with both hands.

Bagman quickly shot a sparkling firework into the air that exploded with a small bang and formed the number ‘10’ in multi-colored sparks.

Crouch merely raised his wand and the number ‘10’ appeared in blue light.

Dumbledore happily gave Fleur a ‘10’ made from flowers, a chuckle escaping the old Headmaster.

Madam Maxime conjured another ribbon, this one a nearly shining powder blue, that formed into the number ‘10’ above her. The proud smile on the Headmistress’s face made Fleur smile back.

“Miss Delacour,” Karkaroff spoke up before he gave any points. “In this Task, you are set with the goal of overcoming a dragon to take the golden egg. Why is it that you did not use some form of concealment Magic, or barring that, more combative Magic to deal with the dragon?”

Fleur looked at Karkaroff for a moment before speaking. “As you said, High Master, the task was merely to retrieve the golden egg. While I could’ve tried to hide from the dragon and steal the golden egg, it proved to be unnecessary. As for not using more combative spells, that was simply due to my own reasoning.”

Karkaroff looked down from the Judges’ stand with an unreadable expression. “And what was your reasoning?”

“Bringing force against force is not always the best solution.” Fleur said simply with a little shrug. “Not every problem needs to be solved with violence. A more calm and measured response can be much more effective in getting the result that one wants than trying to force it.”

Karkaroff nodded and raised his wand a flaming ‘7’ appeared above it a second later.

Fleur heard Madam Maxime calling Karkaroff ‘petty’ in French a second later.

With four perfect tens and a seven, Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons takes the lead in the Triwizard Tournament with an amazing forty-seven points!”

Once Fleur had left the arena, it was time for the last Champion to step forward.

-Champions’ Tent-

“Looks like it’s my turn.” Harry said after he heard the announcement of Fleur’s perfect takedown of her dragon. The tension that had been in his shoulders mostly went away after the announcement and hearing Fleur’s score. Now it was his time for him to face a dragon alone. When the crowd shrieked and several screams rang out, Harry steeled his nerves with a deep breath and a slow exhale. The Hungarian Horntail was obviously on the field now. The whistle went off and Harry stepped out to face the dragon.

-Arena-

“They ARE bloody insane!” Tonks shouted as soon as she saw the Hungarian Horntail. “That thing has probably killed people before at whatever Reserve it’s from!”

Andromeda nearly had a vice grip on Ted’s hand as she looked at the huge dragon in fear and worry.

Ted wasn’t much better, just staring at the great lizard as it stood protectively over its nest, large wings already spread wide to threaten and intimidate while its viciously spiked tail swung behind it.

“Harry has a plan…” Sirius said, even though both of his hands were clenching his robes so hard that the knuckles were white. “We know how powerful he is…how advanced…he’ll definitely be fine.” It was hard to tell if Sirius was trying to convince the others or himself.

Harry stepped into the arena and immediately saw his ‘opponent’.

There, on the other end of the arena, was the Horntail, crouched low over its nest of eggs, its wings wide and covering a large area, the baleful yellow eyes locked onto Harry. It was a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing its spiked tail about and leaving meter-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whatever was being said, Harry didn't know or care as he’d already blocked them all out. He was given no time to think about anything else as the Horntail lunged forward a bit and a blast of fire was launched at Harry.

“Vicious, aren’t you?” Harry used Magic Manipulation to take control of the magic within the flames. He whipped his hand to the side and the wall of flames followed the motion. The massive amount of fire swirled into a ball of incredible heat and bursts of fire.

“ROOOAAAARRRRR!!!” The Hungarian Horntail didn’t let the redirection of its flames deter it from unleashing an even greater blast of fire at Harry a second after its thundering roar.

Harry, seeing the massive wall of inferno headed his way, fed his magic into the ball of flames he’d taken control of. In the second that it took for the conflagration to reach his location, a glowing red sphere of magic had surrounded the condensed fireball.

FWOOOOMMM

The entire area that Harry had stood in was now a sea of flames. Stones and boulders became red hot and began to sag as they became semi-molten. The heat was so great that a massive heat haze was radiating through the air above the blaze like a tower of agitated air.

-Stands-

“HARRY!!!” Hermione and Daphne both screamed at the same time, drowning out all other screams or yells from the crowd around them.

Luna looked stunned; her eyes wide as she watched the sea of flames that had engulfed her ‘big brother’.

Astoria was no better, tears beginning to fill her eyes as she grabbed onto Daphne.

Tracy was on her feet, but no sound escaped her as she watched the flames burn intensely. She couldn’t fathom Harry being killed after everything she’d seen him do before.

All of Harry’s Ravenclaw friends were either sitting in stunned silence, or were on their feet yelling for someone to do something.

Neville, surprising many, was not only on his feet, but was leaning over the railing of the seating area and yelling his head off for the dragon Handlers to do something.

Sirius was already trying to shove his way down the stairs towards the arena, his wand in hand, as he yelled at people to get out of his way.

Tonks was following him, having escaped the hold of Andromeda and Ted as her hair rapidly cycled through various colors in her panic.

-Arena-

The roaring and crackling flames visibly shook.

Then the panic that was building in the stands was silenced by a voice that seemed to reverberate in the air.

“Spirit of Fire.” Harry said and the flames were consumed utterly as a truly immense giant rose from the scorched ground.

The burning red spirit was at least twenty meters tall, had a humanoid form with thin upper arms and large forearms and hands, its legs were more normal in proportions compared to its arms, and its head was facing forward at the end of a slightly elongated neck, at the sides of its head were what appeared to be branch-like spikes, straight at the base, but then branching off at an almost ninety-degree angle about two-thirds of the way to the two ends. Its body was completely red and indistinct, lacking the musculature of a living creature, though it appeared solid…its form also wavered like flames here and there.

The ‘Spirit of Fire’ as Harry called it had its right arm raised slightly, the palm of its hand facing upwards, and in said palm stood Harry, completely unharmed.

“That was close.” Harry smiled down at the Hungarian Horntail. The great dragon now looked much more like a winged lizard from this height. “I’m not used to using this particular form just yet, so it takes me a second.”

The Hungarian Horntail still had her wings wide in a threat display as she looked up at the Spirit of Fire. It was clear the mother dragon wouldn’t back down from defending her nest.

Harry nodded, briefly reminded of the stories that Sirius had told to him about his parents and how they’d given their very lives for him against Voldemort. “This form is called Over Soul, and you cannot defeat it.” He told the dragon plainly as the huge Shikigami’s burning yellow eyes looked down on the Hungarian Horntail. “But you’re a parent protecting your offspring, and my task is not to slay you.”

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The Hungarian Horntail roared and unleashed another burst of flames.

The Spirit of Fire held out its left hand and the dragon fire was drawn in. The conflagration was consumed entirely in just a second or two, the red of the spirit’s body glowing brighter for a moment and the parts of its body that wavered like flames flared up for a second before settling back down.

Harry focused his magic and performed a series of spells one after another in quick succession.

Large and small, red, wooden torii gates were conjured into being high in the air, no one noticing them at all as they stared at the Spirit of Fire. Upon each of the wooden torii gates, Harry used his magic to inscribe a specific Rune. Once the gates of various sizes were all inscribed and moved into position, Harry slapped his hands together, amplifying the sound on purpose with his Magic to get the crowd’s attention. “Renzoku Fūjin no Seimon! (Sacred Gate of Continuous Sealing)”

The confusion from the crowd was audible, but quickly silenced.

The torii gates slammed down on the Hungarian Horntail one after another, merely a blur to most people’s eyes. First the dragon’s neck was pinned to the ground, then a smaller torii laned atop its snout and forced its mouth shut, two more torii gates, larger than the first two, pinned the Hungarian Horntail’s wings down near the base, four of the largest gates locked the body down, followed by four smaller ones that trapped each of the legs, then a series of torii gates going from large to small, pinned down the dragon’s dangerous tail until it couldn’t move at all either. In mere seconds, the Hungarian Horntail had been completely immobilized without being able to do anything.

Harry dispersed the Over Soul of his ‘Spirit of Fire’ and floated down to the ground gently. Once his feet touched the ground, Harry simply walked past the Hungarian Horntail and picked up the golden egg before walking out of the arena.

It took several seconds, stretching into a drawn out moment, before everyone snapped out of their shock.

“He’s done it! Harry Potter has trapped the Hungarian Horntail and retrieved the golden egg!” Bagman cheered loudly. It was the first easy thing he’d been able to commentate on as Harry went through the task. Bagman had never seen such Magic before and had a hard time describing them accurately. He was sure that he’d get at least a few letters of complaint from the Wizarding Wireless listeners about his ineffective commentating on Harry Potter’s first task.

-Stands-

“I’m going to throttle him!” Daphne swore as she collapsed into her seat. How dare Harry make her…all of them…yes, all of them, worry like that!

Luna and Astoria were all smiles as soon as Harry was revealed to be okay.

“That was awesome!” Astoria cheered for Harry’s performance.

“Can you get that big, Leafy?” Luna asked her little Shikigami on her shoulder.

The little Kooni merely let out a small sound. “Koo…”

Hermione let out a heavy breath of relief now that the task was over. “I’m just glad he’s okay.” She was going to hug Harry so tight as soon as she got the chance!

A bit further away and Sirius was chuckling a bit. “I can’t tell if that was on purpose or not…which makes it a great prank if it was.” Once his worry that Harry had been hurt was proven wrong, Sirius had marveled at his godson’s showing of knowledge and power. “Did he learn all of that while we were in Japan?”

“No…” Tonks was fairly certain that all Harry had learned from Yasashī was the Onmyōdō stuff. “I bet he made that second spell up.” She narrowed her eyes at Harry as he walked out of the arena. “I know he still looks at the English-Japanese dictionary he bought as he goes through those scrolls and books we bought in Japan.” She was SO going to give Harry a noogie for making her worry like that!

The two returned to their seats, seeing both Andromeda and Ted looking much more relaxed than earlier when Harry had been engulfed by dragon fire.

“That boy is going to be the death of me.” Andromeda let out a long sigh.

Ted hugged his wife close. “He’s definitely gotten some bad influence from someone.”

Both Ted and Andromeda shot glances at Sirius.

“Oi! You can’t blame this on me!” Sirius denied with a shake of his head and his arms crossed in front of him.

The looks he got from Tonks, Andromeda, and Ted said that ‘Yes, they could blame him and they were going too’ quite clearly!

Harry was a bit surprised when a red-haired man, one of the Dragon Handlers, came to meet him before he was called back out to receive his points. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Dragon Handler Weasley, High Sorcerer Potter, pleased to meet you!” The man introduced himself politely.

“Weasley?” Harry could easily see the family resemblance. “You must be Charlie, right? I heard about you from George and Fred.”

Charlie chuckled and nodded. “That’s me. I hope my brothers aren’t giving you too much trouble.”

Harry grinned. “No, of course not.” He waved it off. “They know better.”

“You’re a scary young man, Mr. Potter.” Charlie said as he saw the wicked little smirk on Harry’s face. “But about why I’m here. We can’t remove those wooden constructs you pinned the Hungarian Horntail down with.”

“Oh, yeah, just destroy the runes on top and you can undo the Conjuration.” Harry said as they walked back out into the arena together. Once they got to the side of the -now stunned- dragon, Harry pointed at the Rune in the center of the top bar that made up the torii gates. “That vertical line is the Rune ‘Isa’ of Elder Futhark. It means ‘Ice’, but also means ‘Stillness’. Imbuing it with that intent, the gates became immovable as soon as they touched the ground.” He explained before pulling the magic out of the Runes on each torii with Magic Manipulation. With a clap of his hands, the various-sized torii gates vanished as the Conjuration was undone.

“Thank you, High Sorcerer Potter.” Charlie smiled as he and his team quickly got to work to move the Hungarian Horntail back into her pen.

Dumbledore’s amplified voice got everyone’s attention as he spoke to Harry. “Mr. Potter, as you’re already here, why don’t we go ahead and give you your points?”

Harry held his golden egg under one arm and faced the Judges’ booth.

Crouch, actually looking more awake and alive from what he’d just witnessed, held up his wand and a large black ‘10’ appeared above him.

A glowing green ‘10’ shot from the tip of Bagman’s wand a second later, the former Professional Beater looking amazed and excited. It was like he’d just won a huge bet or something.

“Mr. Potter, if I may ask, what sort of Magics were those? I’ve not seen the like of them in Europe.” Madame Maxime asked politely, seemingly giving a bit more respect to Harry after witnessing his knowledge of Magics that she’d never seen or heard of.

“The Over Soul is a branch of Onmyōdō, a regional Magic of Japan that I was lucky enough to find a teacher for while on a trip with my family.” Harry answered the Beauxbatons Headmistress with a small smile. “The torii gates were merely an application of Conjuration and Runes, just the form was made Japanese. Unfortunately it wasn’t perfect…”

All of the Judges -along with most of the crowd in the stadium- all looked confused at the clearly powerful spell ‘not being perfect’.

“Could you explain what was ‘imperfect’ about it?” Madame Maxime requested.

Harry nodded once. “I wanted to see if I could handle this task with just ‘Japanese Magic’, you see. But as I am still a bit of a novice with the language, I had to use an Elder Futhark Rune to give the torii gates the effect that I wanted them to have. For it to have been perfect, I’d have needed to use a Kanji for the effect and to complete the aesthetic. Unfortunately, I don’t know that particular character yet…so Elder Futhark it was.” He shrugged a little. “I’m fairly certain the grammar for the name of my spell was also off, but I’m still learning Japanese.”

That stunned the crowd almost as much as seeing Harry use these foreign Magics to such amazing effect.

The simple fact that Harry had been vastly limiting himself only made his overwhelming success even more impressive.

“Thank you for explaining, Mr. Potter.” Madame Maxime thanked Harry as she hid her own shock at what the young man had just explained. With a flick of her wand, a ribbon spun through the air to form a ‘10’.

Karkaroff had been looking at Harry with barely disguised fear throughout the task and simply raised his wand as a flaming ‘10’ appeared in the air above him for a few seconds before it vanished.

“Mr. Potter,” Dumbledore started with his normal calm and grandfatherly voice (even amplified by the Sonorus Charm). “You could’ve completed your task much faster if you had used your…Over Soul, as you called it. Clearly it was strong enough to kill the Hungarian Horntail. I’m curious why you chose the actions that you did.”

“True strength comes from knowing, not when to take a life, but when to spare one.” Harry answered simply, his voice heard by all as he and Dumbledore looked at each other.

Dumbledore raised his wand and large a golden ‘10’ appeared above the Judges’ booth. He gave Harry a smile that only a proud teacher or perhaps a proud grandfather could give to someone. “Very well said, Mr. Potter.”

“High Sorcerer Harry Potter has gotten a perfect fifty points!” Bagman announced loudly and with cheer. “He places Hogwarts in the lead going into the Second Task!”

That got another loud round of cheers and applause from the audience in the stadium. And, unbeknownst to Harry, from hundreds of Witches and Wizards throughout the British Isles that were listening in on the Wizarding Wireless.

-Hidden Location-

“Incompetent fool!” Voldemort hissed at the Wizarding Wireless. He was cursing Bagman’s lack of any detailed explanation of Harry Potter’s strange and foreign Magics. But what did he really expect from a fool of the Ministry that had been hired and placed as Head of a Department based on being friends with several higher ups? “Barty!”

Barty Crouch Jr, was kneeling before his Lord almost as soon as he stepped into the small room. “Yes, my Lord? What can your loyal servant do for you?”

Voldemort let out a slight hiss. “Find someone that was present at the Triwizard Tournament’s first task and acquire their memory of the event. I wish to see the boy’s abilities for myself. Do not draw any attention to yourself.” The warning in Voldemort’s tone couldn’t be missed.

“As you command, my Lord. I will find someone that was there and extract their memory without them remembering anything.” Barty said with his usual fanatic loyalty.

“Fetch Wormtail before you go, I need him to retrieve a necessary ingredient for my work.” Voldemort ordered as he turned his back on Barty and looked through a very worn tome on the desk. “We will not have to skulk about soon enough.”

They’d already taken more than enough risk revealing themselves to Lucius and getting him to bury the Death Eaters at the World Cup story by ‘advising’ that fool of a Minister, Fudge, that it could cause unnecessary panic.

“Yes, my Lord.” Barty was out of the room quickly, eager to fulfill Voldemort’s orders.

Now that he was alone, Voldemort flexed the fingers of his left hand…or his current body’s left hand at any rate. He was losing more and more feeling as the days went by before, but now he felt less response from this shell every day. It was going to fall apart on him soon enough. He needed to prepare a body worthy of his soul and power as soon as possible.

‘Once my immortal body is secured, then I can begin my plans to make followers that can never betray or forsake me again. I will show this world that Lord Voldemort is the Greatest Wizard that ever lived!’

His red eyes practically glowed, even in the well-lit room.

-End Chapter-

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Quite the showing from each of the Champions!

All of them managed to successfully complete the First Task!

Fleur uses her growing understanding of her interpretation of Magic, while Harry shows off his own advancements in Onmyōdō and even creating a ‘Japanese’ spell of his own.

The fact that he limited himself when facing down a Hungarian Horntail of all things stuns everyone!

Harry has got some lovely ladies that’re gonna make their displeasure with him known soon! Kek!

Voldemort is curious about Harry’s abilities and how they’ve grown since he was possessing Quirrel. He needs to see the memory of the First Task for himself!

But what is this immortal body that he plans to create for himself? What type of dark and twisted Magic is Voldemort planning to use now?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! With the First Task completed, the three Champions now have to figure out the secret of their golden eggs for a hint at the next Task. Who will be the first to figure it out and what will the clue to the next Task reveal? But first, Harry has some annoyed women that want to have a ‘word’ with him about the First Task!

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 36 – The Golden Egg

Harry flailed and struggled as his head was held tightly by Tonks’s left arm, her right fist dug her knuckles into the top of his messy hair and gave him the harshest noogie she could. “Ack! Nym! Get off!” Harry tried to escape the Metamorph’s hold.

“Never!” Tonks denied as she continued her noogie. “Making us all think you’d been roasted by that dragon! This is punishment, Mister!”

“I was fine though!” Harry squawked as he tried to pull away more.

No one watching commented on the fact that Harry could’ve easily escaped if he used magic. It was clear (especially to the adults) that Harry was letting this happen so that Tonks could vent a bit.

Tonks eventually stopped giving Harry a noogie, only to pull him into a hug and squeeze him tightly. “Don’t you ever worry me like that again.” She mumbled into his messy hair as she held him.

“Okay. Sorry, Nym.” Harry mumbled back…straight into Tonks’s tits given their height difference. He wasn’t going to complain about that, of course. Harry wrapped his arms around Tonks’s waist and hugged her back instead.

When Tonks finally released Harry, a small smile on her lips and an affectionate gaze in her (currently purple) eyes, her hair turned pink and semi-long as she often preferred it.

Harry didn’t get more than a few seconds before he was the recipient of another girl’s frustration with him.

“You idiot!” Daphne grabbed the front of Harry’s robes and began to shake him back and forth with tears in the corners of her eyes. “I thought you died! Stupid! Idiot! Prat!” The more traditional upbringing of the Pureblood Greengrass House was nowhere to be seen as Daphne shook Harry furiously.

“S-So-Sorry…” Harry managed to get out as he let Daphne shake him.

Daphne slowed her shaking of Harry and glared into his eyes. The tears in her eyes caught Harry’s attention and he quickly pulled Daphne into a hug. “Don’t touch me…” Daphne said weakly, even as she let Harry pull her close.

Harry hugged Daphne close and gently ran his hand up and down her back. “Sorry, Daphne. It took me a few seconds to use my Over Soul spell. I didn’t know how it would look like from outside…but I wasn’t in any danger, I promise.” He whispered to her softly as Daphne buried her face into his shoulder to hide the small tears that escaped her eyes. “Thank you for worrying about me.” Harry said softly so that only Daphne could hear it.

“Mm.” Daphne made a soft sound, rather than saying anything.

The two just held each other for a few moments before Daphne pulled away. She quickly turned away from the others and cleared her eyes so that no one would know that she cried.

Almost everyone could tell, but no one mentioned it.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay, Harry.” Hermione nearly crushed Harry in a tight hug, practically snuggling into him with all the warmth she could provide.

Harry squeezed her back with a grin. “I’m fine, Hermione.” To show her this, Harry picked her up and twirled Hermione around once before setting her back on her feet. “See?”

Hermione pulled back with a cute smile. “I see.” She giggled at Harry’s smile and the two separated. Hermione’s pink cheeks were warm and she felt her heart beating quickly in her chest. Being affectionate with Harry in front of others gave her a fluttering feeling in her tummy.

Luna and Astoria both hugged Harry at the same time, followed quickly by Gabrielle, nearly burying Harry in hugs from the younger girls.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Harry!” Astoria cheered with a smile. “Your Over Soul thing was cool!” She beamed at him.

“Can I make Leafy that big, Harry?” Luna asked with an adorable grin, clearly wanting to make her Shikigami friend bigger and be carried around.

Harry laughed and hugged the three girls back. “Thank you, I thought it was cool too.” He chuckled along with them. “We’ll work on your Onmyōdō more and work our way up to Over Soul in time, Luna.” He promised his surrogate little sister with a grin.

“Carry?” Gabrielle asked in her more heavily accented English, still working on learning her second language.

“Come here, Gabby!” Harry chuckled as he picked the eight-year-old up and held her.

Gabrielle giggled and hugged her ‘big brother’ tightly.

“Spoiling all three of them.” Fleur said with a little shake of her head.

“They’ve got him wrapped around their fingers.” Tracy giggled as Harry spun himself and Gabrielle around a few times, making the little girl laugh.

Hermione smiled at the scene. “It’s cute.”

Daphne, her fear and frustration gone now, sighed before a little grin spread on her face. “We should make him do something nice for us too.”

“Agreed.” Tonks said with a wide smirk. The two Witches looked at each other before turning their eyes on Harry.

Once the three younger girls were assured that Harry was okay, they allowed the adults to approach Harry. Sirius quickly pulled Harry into a hug and ruffled his hair a bit.

“You had us worried there, Harry.” Sirius said as he looked into Harry’s eyes. “A bit much for a prank though.”

“It wasn’t a prank, dad.” Harry said with a wave of his hand. “Over Soul is something I just learned recently, so it takes a short time for me to use it. I knew I could handle the dragon fire and use it to my advantage.”

Sirius hummed thoughtfully, a look of faux contemplation on his face that quickly grew ridiculous as he hammed it up more. “I suppose… But you could’ve told us all in advance.”

Harry pulled back from Sirius and looked at him with over-the-top suspicion. “And ruin the surprise? Who are you and what have you done with my godfather?”

“Hah!” Sirius cracked up and clapped Harry on the back, the two sharing a bright laugh together.

“This proves that you’re the bad influence, Sirius.” Andromeda said as she pulled Harry into a gentle hug, which her nephew quickly returned.

Sirius faked an affronted look. “Me? I’m a great influence!” He put his hand over his chest.

Ted gave Sirius a flat look. “Uh huh…” He patted Harry’s back once Andromeda released him from their hug.

“Oi!” Sirius managed to look serious for all of a second before he chuckled and put his hand on Harry’s shoulder and the large group moved back towards Hogwarts together.

“You and Charlie had a conversation about freeing the Horntail from your spell, right, Harry?” Tonks asked as she recalled seeing Charlie talking to Harry beside the trapped dragon before Harry had undone his ‘Japanese’ spell.

Harry nodded with a small grin. “Yeah. He introduced himself and it was nice to meet the older brother that Fred and George told me about, putting a face to the name, you know?”

Tonks and Hermione both deadpanned at Harry.

“Harrikins…you met Charlie at the World Cup, remember?” Tonks said, trying to jog Harry’s memory.

“I did?” Harry blinked as he thought back to all the interesting things from the World Cup.

Hermione nodded to Harry. “In the Top Box, Harry. He was with the rest of the Weasleys.”

Harry considered that for a moment. “Ah, you’re right. We did meet briefly.” That got Tonks to playfully roll her eyes. “We barely talked, and he didn’t leave that much of an impression to be honest.” There had been much more interesting things at the World Cup…not to mention the Death Eaters that had shown up after the actual match.

“You might want to try harder to remember people you meet in the future, Harry.” Andromeda said to her nephew with a little sigh. Trust Harry to not recall people that weren’t ‘interesting’ enough.

“I’ll try, Auntie.” Harry said with a small smile.

As the castle got closer, Fleur held up her golden egg and looked at Harry.

“They said that these eggs are a clue for the Second Task.” Fleur said as the group continued walking towards the castle. “They clearly open.” She traced her fingertip along one of the seams of the golden egg.

Harry looked at his own golden egg closely for a moment before looking at Fleur. “On three?” He suggested with a grin.

Fleur grinned back as the group stopped. “One.”

“Two.” Harry put his hand atop the golden egg.

“Three.” Fleur said as she and Harry both opened their eggs at the same time.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!” A horrendous shriek came from both eggs.

Everyone recoiled and covered their ears quickly as Fleur and Harry quickly slammed the golden eggs closed again.

“What the bloody hell was that?!” Sirius demanded as he slowly removed his hands from his ears.

“Language!” Andromeda gave Sirius a sharp look, even as she lightly rubbed her ears.

Marius and Appoline both shot an annoyed look at the two golden eggs.

“That is supposed to be a clue?” Marius asked, clearly confused by what the loud screeching could’ve possibly meant.

Appoline shook her head a little. “Screaming doesn’t tell the Champions anything.”

“How about you guys never open those things again?” Tracy suggested as she rubbed her ears.

Hermione looked between both eggs in confusion. “They both just scream? So, the clue is the same for all three Champions?” She tried to puzzle the clue out logically from just opening the eggs.

“Hopefully the Task isn’t having to deal with that screaming the whole time.” Tonks said as she looked between the two eggs. “Could drive a person mental with that.”

“Maybe not the screaming…but whatever is doing the screaming?” Daphne guessed as the ringing in her ears stopped.

Harry held the golden egg up to eye-level. “Another Magical Creature challenge seems a bit repetitive.”

Luna, Astoria, and Gabrielle were still lightly rubbing their ears from the loud screaming of the two golden eggs.

“That was loud.” Luna said with a small grimace. Her Kooni gently nuzzled against her cheek and Luna reached up to pet her Shikigami.

“Why did it scream?” Astoria glared at the golden egg for hurting her ears. Daphne quickly pulled her into a side-hug to comfort her little sister.

Once the group got back to the castle, the families of the Champions were allowed to stay for a short time to say farewell before leaving Hogwarts. The Floo in the antechamber was opened for the Delacours, the Tonks, and Sirius to leave after they said their goodbyes. Fleur had hugged Gabrielle tightly and peppered her cheeks with kisses after her little sister had left Harry’s arms. Marius and Appoline hugged their daughter and kissed her cheeks before bidding everyone farewell, for now. A flare of green flames and Appoline, Gabrielle, and Marius vanished.

“We’ll see you soon, Harry.” Ted hugged his nephew with a smile.

“Don’t do anything that’ll get you in trouble, Harry.” Andromeda said as she gave him a hug.

Sirius pulled Harry into a hug and patted his back. “Get into a little trouble, Harry; especially if it’s with a pretty girl.” He encouraged his godson with a roguish smile.

“Sirius!” Andromeda lightly swatted Sirius’s arm for his encouragement of rule-breaking.

“Andy!” Sirius said back with a jovial laugh.

Andromeda sighed and pushed Sirius towards the Floo. Ted chuckled as he followed behind them. In a flash of green flames, they returned home.

Tonks pulled Harry into a hug with a smile. “Don’t get into any trouble with girls.”

“How about no other girls except Fleur?” Harry bargained, shooting Fleur a quick grin before looking back at Tonks.

Fleur had a smug little smirk on her lips now.

“Hmm…” Tonks pretended to consider it as she looked over at Fleur. “We do need someone to keep you out of too much trouble.” She grinned at Fleur and received a matching grin in response.

Harry chuckled a bit. “So, I have permission, Nym?”

Tonks leaned down a bit and captured Harry’s lips. Harry returned the kiss, his arms around Tonks’s waist sliding down until his hands rested on her bottom.

Fleur raised a delicate eyebrow at seeing the kiss between the two, but didn’t comment on it.

“If Fleur will put up with your mischief.” Tonks said once she and Harry separated from their kiss.

“I can hope.” Harry had a dopey grin on his face and he gently squeezed Tonks’s bottom a bit.

Fleur shrugged. “I suppose I can handle Harry’s attention for a while.” The look in her eyes made it clear that she’d be the one instigating more than a little of the said ‘attention’ to come.

Tonks smiled at Fleur. “This is why we get on so well, Fleur.”

“A shared love for Harry…or our desire to ‘corrupt’ him?” Fleur teased as she sauntered closer to the pair and pressed herself into Harry’s back.

“Corrupt away.” Harry encouraged with a smile. He was a young man and was sandwiched between two absolutely gorgeous women.

“Maybe leaving him in your hands is a mistake?” Tonks eyed Harry and Fleur with a faux speculative look in her (now orange) eyes. “Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” She pressed Harry into her breasts and leaned forward to put a little kiss on Fleur’s cheek. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, you two.”

Fleur kissed Tonks’s cheek in return. “I won’t push Harry beyond what he’s ready for.” She promised with a smile.

Tonks tried to take a step back, but Harry’s hands on her butt prevented her. “Harry, you have to let my bottom go.”

“Don’t wanna.” Harry denied as he raised his face from Tonks’s bosom. “I’m in a happy place.”

Fleur and Tonks both cracked up, their laughter beautiful to Harry as he smiled just from hearing it.

“Fine.” Tonks jokingly rolled her eyes as she grew her tits a bit with her Metamorphmagus ability. “We can spoil you for another minute, I guess.”

“Just a minute or so,” Fleur agreed with a little nod before pressing her breasts against Harry’s back a bit more and kissing his cheek from behind. “Wouldn’t want to spoil Harry too much.”

It was a couple of minutes before Harry and Fleur left the antechamber and met up with Daphne, Hermione, Tracy, Astoria, and Luna again.

“Hmm…” Daphne looked between Harry and Fleur after seeing the little grin on Harry’s face.

The group split up to return to their common rooms (and Fleur to the Beauxbatons carriage) mostly so that the Champions could put their golden eggs away for now. No one wanted to risk the eggs coming open and releasing their horrible shrieking again.

Harry, Hermione, and Luna stopped outside the Ravenclaw common room as the bronze door knocker asked its riddle.

“What do you add to a full barrel to make it lighter?” The door knocker asked the three.

Hermione answered easily, having heard this riddle before. “A hole.”

The door to the Ravenclaw common room swung inwards and the three entered to cheers from the entire House.

“Our Champion returns!” Anthony Goldstein cheered loudly.

Harry was quickly drawn into the crowd of Ravenclaws and hoisted up onto the shoulders of two of the upper years. The cheers and excitement within the common room were loud and jovial as everyone enjoyed the success of one of their own.

“What’s the clue, Harry?” Cho Chang asked as she looked up at Harry.

Harry held up the golden egg with a wide smile. “It’s in here.”

“Open it up, Harry!” Michael Corner hollered over the cheers of the other Ravenclaws.

“You want me to open it?” Harry asked the rest of the House with a smile.

“Yeah!” The Ravenclaws cheered loudly.

Harry cast a spell to protect his ears without a word or gesture. He saw Luna and Hermione doing the same as he activated his Mage Sight spell and opened the golden egg. As the wailing and shrieking was unleashed again, making all of the Ravenclaw students scream and recoil from the cacophony, Harry looked at the inside of the egg and quickly discerned the spell being used.

The fact that the two upper years had dropped Harry as they moved away from the wailing egg hadn’t disrupted Harry’s study of the spell cast on the golden egg. He simply sat in the air, floating as if it was perfectly normal. Harry closed the egg a second later, cutting off the shrieking as he lowered his feet to the floor while canceling his Float spell and his ear protection spell.

‘Just a Recording Charm. The only other spells on it are the Impervious Charm and the Durability Charm.’ Harry thought to himself, now confirming that the clue had to be the shrieking that was recorded.

“Ow!”

“My ears!”

“What the bloody hell?!”

“Why did it scream?!”

Hermione gave Harry an unamused look for his prank as she and Luna walked over to him. “Must you?”

“Every once in a while.” Harry replied with a grin. “I made sure that you and Luna were safe first.” He pulled Luna into a side-hug.

“That wasn’t very nice, Harry.” Luna said simply as she returned her big brother’s hug.

Harry chuckled as he squeezed Luna into his side a little. “But they asked me to open it.”

“Please don’t open in the common room again.” Hermione requested and most of the other Ravenclaws called out their agreement with her.

“Sure thing.” Harry agreed with a smile.

-Next Morning-

Harry read the Daily Prophet with unamused eyes. The article covering the First Task covered the entire front page, but the amount of space was clearly favoring Harry as his completion of the Task was about half of the front page while Fleur and Krum had a quarter of the page dedicated to each of their completions of the Task. “At least it wasn’t Skeeter this time.” Harry muttered under his breath.

“It’s mean that they wanted you to kill the dragon.” Luna said as she used magic to artfully sculpt her breakfast into the rough form of a dragon.

“It would’ve been another Title for me to acquire, I guess.” Harry shrugged as the Title of ‘Dragon Slayer’ wasn’t something that most Witches and Wizards would ever earn. “Not very sporting to earn a Title like that against a dragon that was trapped in that arena with me.”

“They certainly took a lot of pictures of your Task.” Hermione mentioned as she was looking over the Daily Prophet article. There were several pictures on the paper, all moving as was normal for magical pictures, that kept switching places after a few seconds.

Fleur looked at a few of the pictures taken of her and the Swedish Short-Snout. “I think I might keep this picture. It looks rather impressive to be able to take a golden egg from a nesting mother dragon.” She smiled at the best picture that the Prophet had of her Task.

-Transfiguration Class-

Harry, as usual, was self-studying as the end of class neared. Conjuration was a very diverse part of the Branch of Magic that was Transfiguration and Harry was always interested in learning what was and wasn’t considered possible to conjure. It was only a few minutes before the bell rang that McGonagall called the class to attention.

“Students,” McGonagall only needed to say the one word to have everyone focused on her. “I have something to say to you all.” Seeing the class paying attention properly, she continued. “The Yule Ball is approaching…a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to Fourth Years and above…however, you may invite a student of a lower year if you wish.”

A few of the girls from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw giggled at the announcement, one or two even brave enough to look back at Harry before quickly turning to face the front again.

McGonagall let the brief bout of giggles die down before she continued. “Dress Robes will be worn, and the Ball will start at eight in the evening on Christmas Day and finish at midnight in the Great Hall.” Her look became a little sterner to preempt any more giggles. “Now, the Yule Ball is a chance for us to…er…let our hair down. But it does NOT mean that we will be lowering our expectations for behavior from Hogwarts students.” McGonagall’s tone brooked no argument. “I will be displeased if any Hogwarts student causes trouble during the Ball.”

The bell rang and ended the class, prompting the students to pack up their things and leave the room. There was already a bunch of murmuring and gossiping about the Yule Ball heard from the students as they headed towards their next class.

Harry and Hermione were walking towards the door when McGonagall called out.

“Mr. Potter, stay a moment.” McGonagall beckoned Harry over to her desk.

“Go ahead, Hermione.” Harry smiled at his best friend as he walked over to stand in front of Professor McGonagall’s desk.

Hermione gave Harry a smile. “I’ll see you soon, Harry.” She was out the door a second later.

“Mr. Potter, the Champions and their partners, by tradition, open the Ball with the first dance.” McGonagall explained with a strict look. “You’ll need to find a partner and as the Hogwarts Champion perform the role and duties expected of you as the school’s representative.”

“I’ve never really danced before…” Harry mused as he thought about who to ask to go to the Yule Ball with him. “I suppose I’ll have to work on that.” He looked at McGonagall with a grin. “Are there any requirements for who can be my partner?”

McGonagall looked at Harry with some suspicion for his question. “Traditionally each Champion has their own partner so that all three schools are represented during the opening of the Ball, so it is…discouraged…for Champions to pair up with one another.”

Harry thought about that for all of a second before commenting. “Well, that kind of goes against the whole ‘international cooperation and socializing’, doesn’t it?” He chuckled at the narrowing of McGonagall’s eyes. “Well, I’ll find someone to ask, I’m sure.”

“See that you do, Mr. Potter.” McGonagall gave him a brief nod and dismissed him.

‘A date for a Ball, huh?’ Harry thought to himself as he left the Transfiguration classroom. He already had two girls that he could ask, even with the dumb ‘discouragement’ of not pairing up with another Champion.

-Lunch-

“Vexing.” Fleur said as soon as she sat down with Harry and their friends.

“You were told about the Yule Ball as well, I take it?” Harry said with a small grin.

Fleur gave him a little ‘look’ before letting out a sigh. “I’ve known about the Yule Ball for quite a while. I didn’t know that we’d be discouraged from having one of the other Champions as our date for the evening.” She looked at Harry with eyes that practically swam with affection and desire.

“You’re not allowed to go with each other?” Daphne asked curiously. “Doesn’t that go against the whole idea of the three schools coming together?”

“That’s what I said!” Harry chuckled at Daphne coming to the same conclusion.

Fleur huffed a little. “It’s a foolish and shortsighted unwritten rule.” Her blue eyes drifted over to Hermione as a little grin spread on her lips. “Would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me, Hermione?”

Hermione’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth as her eyes widened in shock. “M-Me?” She blinked once as she looked at Fleur.

“Yes, you.” Fleur smiled at the younger girl. “We’re close enough to enjoy an evening together.” She then looked over at Harry, drawing Hermione’s eyes to her best friend. “Plus, this way, neither of us has to worry about some other boy putting his hands on us. We can just ask Harry’s date to let him dance with us too.”

“I…I…” Hermione’s cheeks were dark red now as she looked between Harry and Fleur. “I w-wouldn’t mind…Fleur.” She gave the older girl a smile before hiding behind her hands as her cheeks burned more. ‘Why does she make me feel this way?’ It was a similar fluttery feeling in her tummy that Harry gave her…and she was sure that she fancied Harry quite a bit.

“Well, as Fleur wants to take Hermione…” Harry put on a suave smile (or as much as a young man like him could manage) and looked at Daphne. “Would you do me the honor of going to the Yule Ball with me, Daphne?” He held out his hand to her, as proper Pureblood etiquette stated that he should.

Daphne’s normally composed look was quickly ruined as her cheeks went pink. “I…I’d be delighted, H-Harry.” She gently put her hand in his across the table (which was technically a small breach of etiquette itself) as her heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest.

“Your face is red, Daphne~” Astoria teased her big sister with a giggling laugh.

Tracy was snickering behind her hand. “I’ve never seen you this red before.”

Daphne slowly pulled her hand from Harry’s and then lightly swatted Tracy on the shoulder before pulling Astoria into a side-hug and ruffling her little sister’s hair. ‘I’ll teach them to tease me!’

“Hey!” Tracy pouted at Daphne, playfully rubbing her arm.

“Daphne, stop it!” Astoria whined at her hair being messed up.

Luna smiled at her friends. “I wonder if someone will ask me to the Ball?”

Harry pulled Luna into his side gently. “If they do, then I’ll save you a dance at the Ball.”

“Okay!” Luna beamed at Harry as she hugged him back.

Daphne looked at Harry after letting Astoria go. “Do you know how to dance, Harry?” She could talk normally if they were discussing a topic not directly related to them going to the Yule Ball together. Her heart had only just settled down, after all.

“Never really had a reason to learn.” Harry answered honestly. “But I’m willing to learn and practice if you’d like to help me.”

“Of course, it’s only right that I help.” Daphne agreed with a smile; her cheeks nearly permanently pink at this point.

Fleur smiled at Hermione. “Do you need to learn to dance as well, Hermione?”

Hermione, still hiding her red cheeks behind her hands, nodded. “I never really had a reason to learn either.”

“Wonderful. We’ll work out some time after classes to practice together, if you’d like?” Fleur offered the other girl with a warm and comforting smile.

“Thank you, Fleur.” Hermione smiled back at Fleur, her cheeks now a dark pink rather than burning red.

-Afternoon ~ After Classes-

Daphne knocked on the small door of the large landscape portrait that Harry had shown her back when he’d removed the Blood Malediction from her. The painting seemed to zoom in on the cottage until just the door filled the entire frame. Daphne grabbed the handle and opened the door inwards, stepping inside and seeing Harry waiting for her.

“Right on time, Daphne.” Harry smiled at his date for the Yule Ball.

Daphne closed the door behind her with a small smile. “And you’re early.”

Unseen by either of the teens, the portrait returned back to its picturesque landscape, once more hiding the hidden space within it from view.

Harry unshrunk a Wizarding Wireless and turned it on, a gentle instrumental piece of music playing a second later. “Shall we?”

“We shall.” Daphne smiled brilliantly, her cheeks a rosy hue as her heart thumped in her chest. “First, you’ll need to put your left hand on my waist.” She guided Harry’s hand to the proper spot. “It’s important that your hand doesn’t trail lower…” She looked into Harry’s eyes as her cheeks darkened a bit. “Holding onto my hip would imply a much…deeper…relationship than we currently have, understand.”

“Okay.” Harry kept his left hand on Daphne’s waist. “And your hand goes on my shoulder, right?”

Daphne nodded as she gently placed her right hand on Harry’ left shoulder. “That’s right. Our free hands hold each other.” She entwined their fingers with a cute smile, even as butterflies fluttered about her tummy.

Harry nodded in understanding as he held Daphne’s hand. “So…then we start moving, right?” He looked down at his feet.

“Don’t look at your feet.” Daphne corrected him with a little giggle. When Harry’s green eyes looked into her blue eyes, she smiled softly at him. “Just look at me and follow my lead.” She took a step and Harry mimicked it as best as he could without looking. “Good. Now the next step.” Daphne took another step and Harry copied her movement, his foot almost brushing against Daphne’s on accident.

As Daphne led Harry through a simple waltz, with a few close calls for her feet being stepped on, the two began to find their rhythm together. The music coming from the Wizarding Wireless was certainly helping as it was almost perfect for a waltz. But as it switched to the next song, a slower melody played and Daphne blushed as she leaned into Harry, gently wrapping both of her arms over his shoulders.

“Th-This is…slow dancing.” Daphne managed to get out as she gently swayed with Harry.

“This seems easier.” Harry said as he held Daphne’s waist with both hands, matching her gentle swaying with his own.

“Mhmm.” Daphne hummed as she gazed into Harry’s emerald eyes.

The moment had clearly shifted and even Harry, a teenaged young man, could tell. The two swayed together as the music continued, and without thinking about it, they both leaned forward a little, gently resting their foreheads against each other as they continued their slow dance.

“Harry…” Daphne said as she took her chance, tilting her head upwards a little and placing a gentle, chaste kiss on Harry’s lips.

Harry was surprised for a second, before gently returning the kiss.

When the two pulled back, Daphne’s cheeks were bright red, but there was a smile on both of their faces.

“Should I take this to mean that we now have a deeper relationship, Daphne?” Harry whispered to her with a little grin.

“Don’t ruin the moment.” Daphne whispered back as she laid her head on Harry’s shoulder as they continued to sway.

Harry held back a chuckle as he just held Daphne and continued to move with her slowly. It would seem that he had his answer on Daphne’s feelings for him now. ‘Four girls like me at the same time… Sirius would definitely be proud…and jealous.’ A little grin spread across Harry’s lips at the thought.

“Hey…” Daphne drew out the word as Harry’s hands had lowered to her hips.

“Sorry, Daphne.” Harry moved his hands back up to her waist.

Daphne smiled at Harry listening to her about proper etiquette like this. “Save it for our next lesson.” She threw him an offer to continue their lessons and spend some more time alone together.

Harry smiled as he pulled Daphne just a little closer to him. “Alright.”

The two would continue to practice dancing in the hidden space within the portrait for the next hour, barely leaving each other’s embrace the entire time. Only when it would be a problem for Daphne to be able to complete her assignments did the two finally separate.

“Same time the day after tomorrow?” Daphne asked with a happy little grin on her lips.

“I’ll be there.” Harry agreed with a small grin of his own.

The two leaned in and kissed once more, still simple and rather chaste, but neither of them was in a hurry to rush this new closeness of theirs.

Daphne opened the door and stepped out of the portrait first. Harry followed after her and closed the door. The two walked hand-in-hand towards one of the shortcuts to the ground floor before they separated for the evening. Daphne returning to the Slytherin dorms and Harry heading up to Ravenclaw Tower.

-End Chapter-

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Oh my… Very adorable!

The golden eggs’ screeching has been revealed, but tells Harry and Fleur nothing.

It’s just VERY loud and irritating to anyone that hears it.

Tonks and Fleur are making it rather obvious that they’re perfectly fine with sharing Harry, much to the Spellcrafter’s delight! Heh!

The Yule Ball has been announced to the Hogwarts students!

Unfortunately, there’s a rather dumb little ‘stipulation’ about Champions not pairing up together, foiling Fleur’s initial plan of going with Harry! *Veela pout*

But a good alternative is sitting right across from Fleur at the Ravenclaw Table! Hermione and Fleur will be going to the Yule Ball together! Cute~

Harry asked Daphne to the Yule Ball a second later and our cute Healer-in-training accepts with burning cheeks.

It seems Harry will have at least three dance partners at the Ball…and four if Luna gets asked by someone!

(Said someone better understand that Harry will unmake them if they hurt his little sister in any way, shape, or form!)

Daphne and Harry head for the secret space within the cottage portrait to practice dancing together! Daphne takes her chance to show Harry how she feels, and to no one’s surprise, Harry feels the same way.

How will the Yule Ball go this time around?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!

Chapter Text

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is here with another chapter of Arch Mage, the Path of Magic! The Champions have to try and figure out the secret of the golden eggs…aside from the ear-splitting screeching, of course. But with the upcoming Yule Ball there will at least be something interesting to do between attempts to crack the secret of the eggs. Not to mention all of the things that Harry is studying and looking into for his own infinite curiosity.

For links to my Fanfiction.net page and all of my TVTropes Pages: https://linktr.ee/Kairomaru

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 37 – Progress, Dark Research, and Yule Ball

Harry hummed to himself as he entered the greenhouse where his (and other students’) extracurricular projects were kept. He was coming to check on his fourth generation of cultivars as he wanted to keep producing better and better material for any future development of Potter Potion Pills.

“Harry?” Neville looked up from his Thunder Ginko and smiled at his friend.

“Hey, Neville.” Harry gave his buddy a small wave. “Your tree is looking good.”

Neville grinned at the compliment as he turned back towards his Thunder Ginko. The sapling still waved slightly back and forth, but not nearly as much as it used to when it was smaller. The thick rubber gloves that Neville required to handle it as he lightly pruned the sapling and cared for it showed the ever-growing danger of the Thunder Ginko.

“Thanks, Harry.” Neville said with a little smile. “It’s really getting to the point of earning its ‘Touch Me Not’ classification.”

“I’ll be careful around it then.” Harry joked with a laugh as he headed over to his cultivars.

The two friends worked in silence for a while on their individual plants. Harry looked at all of the fourth generations of cultivars with his Mage Sight spell. Seeing that this newest generation was showing noticeable and consistent improvement in overall health and magic potency, Harry couldn’t help but smile at the progress.

‘These are much better than the first or second generation, for sure.’ Harry thought to himself with a little grin as he added a bit of dragon dung solution to the soil of each pot.

The door to the greenhouse opening got Neville and Harry’s attention, making both guys look over.

“Harry?” Daphne blinked at seeing her boyfriend…maybe…they hadn’t outright said it to each other yet…in the greenhouse.

“Good afternoon, Daphne.” Harry smiled warmly at Daphne.

Daphne smiled slightly at Harry. “Good afternoon.” Seeing Neville on the other side of the greenhouse, Daphne gave him a small nod. “Longbottom.” Her tone was courteous and polite, as was expected of a greeting between members of longstanding Pureblood Houses.

“Miss Greengrass.” Neville returned the greeting, looking slightly to the side as his shyness flared up. Daphne was one of, if not the most beautiful girl in their year. Neville found it hard to maintain eye contact with her as his cheeks went a bit red.

Daphne walked over to Harry with a smile. “What brings you to the greenhouse, Harry?”

Harry motioned to his cultivars. “Just taking care of my fourth generation of cultivars. Further improvements to the Potter Potion Pills will be easier with even better ingredients.”

“That makes sense.” Daphne said as she looked over the growing plants. With a little giggle she ran her index finger along one of the green leaves. “Speaking of improving the Potion Pills…”

“Potter Potion Pills.” Harry corrected with a chuckle.

Daphne playfully rolled her eyes. “Potter Potion Pills…of course… As I was saying, to improve the Pills, I was wondering if I might be able to procure a few ingredients?” She pointed over to a section of the greenhouse where other similar plants to Harry’s were growing. “My own cultivars are still only in their first generation…so I’m not sure they’ll be of good enough quality to produce the Potion Pills as they are.”

Harry laughed a bit at Daphne’s request. “We’ve only just gotten close…and you’re trying to get some benefits from it?”

“It’s not like that.” Daphne said with a flat look at Harry’s joke.

“I know.” Harry said with a grin.

Daphne sighed at Harry. “Why do I like you again?”

Harry leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Daphne’s cheek.

“Harry…” Daphne said as her cheeks went pink.

Neville blinked in shock at seeing Harry kiss THE Daphne Greengrass’s cheek and not be hexed for it.

“Of course you can have some ingredients.” Harry smiled at Daphne. “Seeing you improve your skills as a Healer makes me happy too.”

Daphne smiled back at Harry, feeling her heart thump in her chest, she leaned up and kissed Harry’s lips softly. “Thank you, Harry.”

“Ouch!” Neville cried out in pain. He’d been distracted seeing Daphne kiss Harry and had let one of his arms touch his Thunder Ginko, receiving a painful shock for his inattentiveness.

Harry and Daphne looked over at the sudden noise and saw Neville holding his arm.

“Neville?” Harry called out to his friend.

Daphne was already walking across the greenhouse to get to Neville. “Let me see.”

Neville didn’t know what to do as Daphne helped him take off the thick rubber glove and then pushed up the sleeve of his robe and then his arm. The red mark on his arm was clearly a burn with the way it was slightly blackened in the middle. Without so much as a second of hesitation, Daphne took hold of Neville’s forearm and looked closely at the electrical burn.

“It’s not too bad.” Daphne said after a moment to inspect the injury. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the injury. “Episkey.”

“My arm.” Neville said as he watched the electrical burn heal in seconds. “You healed me.” He looked at Daphne in surprise. “Thank you, Miss Greengrass.”

Daphne gave Neville a small smile. “It’s no problem.” Being able to put to use the spells and knowledge that she’d been learning for months now made her feel happy. “It was just a little burn.” She put her wand away and let the sleeve of Neville’s robe fall back down.

Harry walked over to see the aftermath with a grin. “You’re becoming quite the Healer, Daphne.”

“It wasn’t anything difficult.” Daphne said with a single shake of her head.

Left unsaid was the fact that even the simple Healing Charm ‘Episkey’ wasn’t usually taught until Sixth Year at the earliest, and only for those students that approached Madam Pomfrey for lessons while assisting in the Hospital Wing. Not many students took up the chance each year, only a handful at best, but Daphne hadn’t approached Madam Pomfrey for any such thing and had still managed to learn Episkey on her own along with a fair few potions, salves, and Harry’s Potion Pills. Daphne Greengrass was learning the Healing Arts quickly, even without formal instruction.

“I think you’re doing amazing.” Harry said to Daphne with a smile.

“Is that why you asked me to the Yule Ball?” Daphne asked with a little grin.

Neville nearly gaped at hearing that Daphne and Harry were going to the Yule Ball together. But then he remembered that he’d seen them kissing only a minute or so ago. “Congratulations, you two.”

Harry and Daphne looked at Neville before they turned to look at each other. A grin spread on Harry’s face and Daphne smiled at him softly.

“Thank you.” Daphne and Harry said in response to Neville’s congratulations.

Neville was happy for Harry, one of his closest friends, even if they weren’t in the same House. But knowing that Daphne and Harry were going to the Yule Ball together only reminded him that he didn’t have the courage to ask any of the girls in school about going with him to the ball. “I’m probably not going to be able to go, myself.” He mumbled to himself.

Harry heard what Neville said and perked up as an idea came to him. “You don’t have a date yet, Neville?”

“N-No…” Neville’s cheeks nearly burned that his self-deprecating words had been heard.

“Would you like to take my little sister?” Harry asked his friend with a hopeful smile.

Neville looked at Harry in confusion for a second before understanding his meaning. “A-Are you sure, Harry?” Luna Lovegood was known by everyone in school to be Harry’s surrogate little sister. ‘I wouldn’t mind taking her…it could be nice.’ The fact that Luna was rather cute didn’t hurt at all either.

Harry nodded to Neville. “Of course, as long as you treat her right. But we’re friends, so I feel like I can trust you.”

“You should still ask her out yourself, though.” Daphne commented, sharing her opinion on the situation forming right in front of her. “A girl feels appreciated when a boy asks her out.”

“R-Right…” Neville nodded after a second to think about it. “I’ll…I’ll do that.”

The three of them spent quite a while in the greenhouse talking after that.

-Great Hall ~ Dinner-

Luna sat next to Harry with a bright smile on her face. She was practically radiating happiness and even her little Kooni seemed to be humming delightfully. “Hello, everyone!” She greeted Harry, Hermione, and Fleur.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Luna.” Hermione said with a smile of her own.

“Uh huh!” Luna nodded and levitated some food from the various platters onto her plate with a giggle.

Fleur couldn’t help but giggle at how cute Luna was when she was so happy. “Are you going to tell us what has you in such a good mood today?”

Luna looked at Fleur with a cute smile. “I got asked to the Yule Ball!”

That single statement got Hermione and Fleur to look at Harry instantly, just to see the ‘big brother’ reaction that he might have about this.

“Who asked you, Luna?” Harry asked as he smiled at his little sister.

“Neville Longbottom.” Luna said with a cute smile. “He was very nice about it, so I said yes.”

Harry pulled Luna into a one-armed hug. “That’s great. I’ll save you a dance at the Yule Ball.”

Luna beamed at Harry. “Thank you, Harry!” She hugged him back with a giggle.

Fleur and Hermione both shot Harry a curious look. But seeing the look in his eyes, pure happiness for his little sister, they both let it go. Hermione knew Neville was a nice boy and wouldn’t do anything that would hurt Luna.

“Congratulations, Luna.” Fleur smiled beautifully at Luna.

Hermione smiled at Luna too. “We’ll all save you a dance at the ball, if you want.”

“Okay!” Luna smiled happily, a giggle of pure joy escaping her. “I can’t wait!”

It was a very warm and happy dinner for the four of them with Luna as the center of attention.

-November 28^th-

“What’re you up to, Hermione?” Harry asked as he came up behind Hermione sitting at one of the tables in the library.

“Aaah!” Hermione yelped out in fright at someone talking to her without her even knowing they were around. “Harry!” She turned to look at Harry with her hand over her chest. “Don’t do that!”

Harry chuckled at startling Hermione. “Sorry, Hermione.” He sat next to her with a smile and curious eyes at the various parchments spread out before his friend. The multiple books around the table that she sat at was only making Harry even more curious as to what she was working on.

“It’s alright.” Hermione said with a little sigh. “I’m working on the idea that I told you about a while back.” She pointed at the parchment that she was writing on at the moment.

“Hmm…” Harry looked at the parchment and saw dozens of lines of notes in Hermione’s neat and tidy handwriting. “Runic sequences… Long form sequences to arrays… Spell construction…” Just from these few key terms, Harry could figure out that Hermione was trying to make a spell from runes, but not much else. “Interesting.”

Hermione smiled at Harry as she flipped the page in the book closest to her. “It’s quite interesting, indeed.” She jotted down another note onto her parchment. “I’m not close to done, but I’m making progress.”

Harry’s eyes scanned over what he could see from the other parchments that Hermione had written as well as the titles of the various books that he could see. “That’s a lot of books about Magical Theory, Spell Creation, and Runes… I’m really curious as to what you’re trying to accomplish, Hermione.”

“You’ll see when I’m done.” Hermione teased him with a grin, playfully moving her current parchment away from Harry.

“Well now you’re just teasing…” Harry reached out for the parchment, leaning over when Hermione moved it away more.

Hermione shook her head, her long bushy hair swaying about as she giggled. “Not yet.”

Harry grinned at Hermione. “Just let me see.” He reached further for it, practically leaning over Hermione now as she moved the paper to the very edge of the table.

“Nope!” Hermione denied with a smile, enjoying their little back and forth.

“Hey…woah!” Harry cried out as he leaned a bit too far and barely managed to catch himself with one hand on the table. That stopped him from falling on top of Hermione completely, but didn’t stop him from nearly lying atop her with their faces mere centimeters apart.

“I… S-sorry…” Hermione managed to get out as their playfulness had gotten a bit out of hand.

Harry didn’t apologize. Instead he looked into Hermione’s brown eyes and then leaned in. Hermione’s eyes widened a bit as Harry’s lips met hers in a soft kiss. Without thinking about it, Hermione pressed her lips against Harry’s in return. The two were lost in each other for a long moment before they separated for air.

“Wow…” Harry said with a smile.

“Yeah…” Hermione replied with a little grin.

Harry stood up straight and then sat back down in his chair. Hermione straightened up in her seat as well and her left hand sought out Harry’s beneath the table. The two held hands as Hermione continued with her research.

“You know that Daphne and I…” Harry began, but stopped when Hermione squeezed his hand.

Hermione looked at Harry with warm eyes. “I know.” She gave him a little smile. “We girls don’t like to keep secrets from each other.”

Harry squeezed Hermione’s hand back. “Oh, I didn’t know that. So…?”

“So…” Hermione leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Harry’s cheek. “We’ve decided to keep things simple for now and see where things go between us.”

“I see. That makes sense… I think.” Harry said with a contemplative look on his face. ‘It’s better if they don’t fight over having feelings for me…that’s true. But how long are they going to ‘see how things go’ exactly?’

Hermione giggled at Harry’s confused look. “I can practically tell what you’re thinking, Harry. We’re not going to fight between us. We know you like the four of us and we all like you too…”

Harry let out a sigh. “I feel like this is my fault though.”

“It’s no one’s fault, Harry.” Hermione said as she squeezed his hand under the table. “I think this could be a good thing between us all.”

“Not exactly normal, huh?” Harry gave her a lopsided smile.

“We’re Witches and Wizards, Harry…being ‘normal’ is a matter of perspective, isn’t it?” Hermione said with a logical statement to explain the ‘abnormal’ of their slowly forming relationship.

Harry chuckled and left a quick peck on Hermione’s cheek. “You girls are too good to me.”

Hermione smiled at the simple affection from Harry. “We’ll continue to be so as long as you stay the Harry that we all l-love.” She stumbled over the last word as her cheeks burned red.

“Love you too.” Harry said as he squeezed Hermione’s hand gently.

“Harry…” Hermione blushed adorably, the butterflies in her tummy fluttering about again.

Harry chuckled and let Hermione get back to her work. Occasionally squeezing her hand under the table as they sat together in the library.

-Hidden Villa ~ Voldemort’s Safehouse-

The current location that Voldemort was using to hide himself belonged to the Yaxley Family. He’d added more layers of protection on his own, of course, but for now he still needed more time to complete his research and enact his initial plans for his return.

“It requires… Yes, I see…” Voldemort’s hissing voice passed through the air like a whisper in the room filled with shelves upon shelves of books. Only a fraction of the books stored on these shelves had been taken down and browsed through. The ones most important to Voldemort’s plans were a few old and battered tomes that were closest to him on the table.

Knock Knock