Harry, Ron, and Hermione were spending time in the common room of Griffindor tower together at the close of their sixth year. Harry and Ron were playing chess, with Harry losing as usual, and Hermione was reading a book. Ron had just put Harry in checkmate when Hermione shrieked and jumped up to run over to them.
Harry immediately leapt to his feet and said, "What's wrong?"
Hermione merely showed them the book, or more appropriately pamphlet, she had been reading. Harry looked down and read, with Ron peeking over his shoulder. The writing was blurry and thick in places like it had been printed with a printing press.
The soul catcher, or haboolm kasinaalgat, is a device used by tribes of the North Pacific Coast to capture the soul of a person whose soul has wandered outside their body. SEE: THE FALLING SICKNESS.
"Doesn't that sound familiar?" Hermione asked.
"So you're saying that this device can catch pieces of soul?" Ron asked.
Harry answered for her. "Yes. This is what this does. This could change the war."
...
After a long time discussing what to do about the discovery, they turned the book over and read the small, hand-lettered cover.
NATIVE AMERICAN TOTEMS, AMULETS, AND MEDICINE MAGICS, It said.
By John Rains.
"I'll contact him." Hermione said. "He has a telephone number in the back."
...
Later that summer, Ron, Hermione, and Harry all snuck away from their families and met in a field not far from the Burrow. They had agreed to meet there because Ron did not have the option of public transportation.
Hermione took out a programmable portkey, and carefully enunciated, "Four Totem Lodge, Denali, Alaska." The portkey, a worn wooden disc about the size of the frisbee, did its job and whisked them away.
...
They landed in the yard of a longhouse, with four tall totem poles. A teenage boy, who looked about seventeen years old, played a handheld game on the steps of the lodge. The front yard had a well kept herb garden, and everything was worn but neat and clean. To Hermione, it seemed as if a strange force permeated the dwelling, one speaking of a long past time and ancient practices.
She shook the feeling off and went up to the boy.
"Hello, is this the residence of John Rains?"
The boy looked up to display a roguish grin and eyes that somehow told of mischief and seriousness at the same time. "Yes, he's my uncle. I'm Caleb Walker, I stay with him while my parents are away. I'll show you in, we've been expecting you. He would like to talk to you about your call." He rushed toward the door, unlatched it, and hurried in, beckoning them to follow. They did as they were told, and disappeared into the dwelling.
...
Caleb skidded to a stop in front of an open door and knocked on the doorframe before proceeding in at a more sedate pace. He stopped again in front of a man who was reading a book before the fire. He leaned to whisper in the man's ear, and suddenly Hermione was fixed with a piercing gaze from a pair of dark brown eyes. They spoke of intelligence, wisdom, and a fierceness long lost to any wizard in Britain. She could almost have sworn that they flashed a black like the night, a night void of any light save that of the moon and stars. He stood up, and Hermione could swear he had just walked out of another century despite the fact that he was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt instead of buckskin.
"My name is John Rains. Pleased to meet you." He murmured. Hermione could feel the strange force around him, almost as though it was a part of him. She shivered reflexively, and noticed Harry and Ron doing the same. As she shook his hand, she couldn't help but wonder just who or what this man was.
...
He led them to a study and closed the door behind them, when gestured for them to sit.
"I was surprised that you contacted my about my pamphlet. I was unaware that anyone actually read it. It was part of an exchange program between Britain and America. I wrote it, had a friend print it and another friend bind it. All I received in return was a pamphlet showcasing the superiority of wizard pure bloods. I'm glad someone learned something."
Hermione stiffened at the insinuation about wizards. However, from what she had learned of the Ministry, she had to admit that that was a likely scenario.
"We wanted to ask about Soul Catchers." Harry took the lead in the conversation. Rains raised his eyebrows and retrieved something from his desk.
"Before we begin, I must tell you that not all soul magics are illegal here. Some are used help trauma victims, others aid young warriors in seeking guidance, and the kind we are speaking of helps the sufferers of a certain kind of sickness.
"We called it the falling sickness. Those who contracted it were weak and sickly for no apparent cause, and often would be seized by odd sensations and fall down. The cause was isolated as a piece of their soul wandering outside their body. We made soul catchers to hold the soul until we could return it to the body."
He took out a case with ten small tubes made of bone or ivory, inlaid with abalone.
"Did you get my message about the use we hope to put them to?"
"Yes. Splitting the soul is undoubtedly one of the worst crimes, especially if it involves murder. If it happened, this man would be put to death." Rains looked grave and pushed the case forward.
"I have heard of the deeds of the wizard you hope to stop. This is my gift to you, along with my hopes that they will do the job. The only other information I could give you is that if he patient had died by the time we had captured their soul, we either buried the catchers with him or burned them. In this case, I would suggest burning."
"How do we use them?" asked Ron, who had been listening quietly until that time, said.
"To use them, merely put them near the piece of soul. It will take care of the rest. The abalone will turn color once the soul is inside. To demonstrate-"
He abruptly stood and slammed a tube, end first, against Harry's scar. Harry's eyes rolled back in his head and he started screaming. The strange power that seemed to permeate the residence abruptly increased until it seems almost tangible. Hermione, in a panic, immediately drew her wand and pointed it at Rains, while Ron almost fired off a stunning spell before Caleb, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, clamped a hand on his mouth and immobilized his arm.
"Wait!" He hissed. He watched Rains intently as he gently laid Harry, who had stopped screaming and appeared to be peacefully sleeping, on the ground. Rains stood up and offered a soul catcher to Hermione, except the abalone was a dull black.
"Your friend had a passenger. He's fine now."
Hermione took the catcher in a state of shock and was about to ask more questions when Harry woke up.
"What happened?"
"A soul that wasn't yours was riding around in your head. Uncle got it out. You're fine now." Caleb interjected. He seemed fidgety for some reason.
"You had better go, Uncle is no longer young and this takes a lot out of him." Hermione looked over to see Rains appear to nurse a headache as he slowly sat down on his chair. Caleb ushered them outside and bid them a hasty goodbye as he pressed a webbed hoop with feathers dangling off it into each of their hands.
"For nightmares." He said, shortly.
Ron, who was still suspicious, asked, "Why are you doing this?"
Caleb merely paused, looked tired, and said, "My uncle has a saving people thing."
Ron looked at him, and in that moment, Hermione swore she saw the closest any two men would get to understanding each other completely and totally, and still agreeing with each other wholeheartedly. Ron later said it was like looking in a sort of murky mirror. Then Caleb started hustling them toward the portkey again.
Hermione only just remembered to pay him before the portkey took them away.
...
Caleb returned to the house and found his Uncle standing in the front entryway looking out a window.
"I wish you wouldn't do that, Uncle."
The man known to the Golden Trio as John Rains just looked at him.
"You know it is my job to help when I am needed."
"But did you have to seek a job in Britain, Uncle? There's plenty to do here."
"That boy has been through more than any child should be. I have a soft spot for children. Also, this way the twins you like so will stay alive."
The Trickster Coyote, also known as Caleb, smirked at his Uncle Raven.
"In other words, it was an early birthday present, old man? Thank you. It's much better than socks."
"Glad you like it. Now, impudent pup, go do your chores. I know that you were playing that infernal video contraption again."
...
In the Room of Requirement Hermione looked at the gathering of determined young people and then back at the case with the inscribed bird on top, and wondered, as the rest of the gathering plotted and planned and dreamed.
...
Notes:
The soul catcher is an actual device. Its use was a bit more complicated than described, as the art of the shaman often relied on tricking the body into getting better, but I simplified it for story purposes.
Coyote and Raven are actually characters in many Native American mythologies.
Coyote is a trickster spirit, and often called Old Man Coyote. However, tricksters have always seemed more teenagery to me. I imagine he dressed up to make people believe he was older.
Raven is a guardian spirit. He sometimes tricks people into helping others, but I blame that on Coyote's influence. He is not actually Coyote's uncle in mythology, again, artistic license.
Raven and Coyote are, obviously, my OCs. Please do not use them.
