= DISCLAIMER =
All characters, settings, and trademarked whatnots in this fanfic trademark is owned by the copyright holder of each, except the plot and the author thoughts. This fanfic is made only for entertainment purposes only and not intended for any material gain.
For Megaolix, who wanted to see one of my fic in English.
Having Faith
"Huu! It's bloody cold…" Ron muttered as he blew warm air into the grip of his hand, "I heard that the Earth's temperature is on the rise, but instead, we keep getting colder winters like these…"
"The concept of Global Warming is not as simple as that, Ron," Hermione said as she inserted his hand into her jacket pocket.
"Okay, enough with Global Warming for now. Let's get into the Three Broomsticks," Harry growled as he took Ron's hand. He knew Hermione would explain many things about Global Warming for two full hours, enough to make people freeze where they are standing outside the room in winter weather like this.
"Right... Brrrr! I can't stand it!" said Ron as he snaked his way through the crowd, coming out of the Three Broomstick's shop.
"Please donate to our temple! Please donate... "
Harry was stunned for a moment. The voice of the girl was a voice he had never heard before.
"Oi, Harry, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!" Ron shouted from behind the door of the Three Broomstick.
...
"So, now you should be clearer in understanding..."
Harry just stared out the window without emotion while Hermione explained at length about Global Warming. His warm, half-filled glass of Butterbeer sat on the table in front of him.
He again caught sight of the girl with the small donation box, walking to and fro fervently, asking for donations. Poor girl, Harry muttered inwardly as he watched the girl's dark moss-green hair. The clothes she wore did not seem very suitable to deal with the frigid air of English archipelago's winter either.
"Er, Ron ... I heard your mother knitted an exceedingly long scarf this time around?" Harry intoned simply as he sipped his Butterbeer.
"Yeah! The length is nearly two and a half times normal length of a scarf!" Ron exasperatedly replied, wiping the froth of his own butterbeer from his thin mustache.
"Good," said Harry quickly as he walked out.
"What's he doing?" Ron asked as he watched the figure of Harry walk toward the young girl asking for donations.
"Being generous and donating his own scarf, perhaps?" Hermione simply said, leaning back into her seat.
"Wait... I had to share a scarf with Harry?" Ron half-bellowed incredulously, "Hermione, you lend your shawl to-..."
"Too bad, Ron. As you can see, today I'm wearing a turtleneck because my scarf is being washed," Hermione shrugged with a smile and blew on her hot coffee.
...
"Miss, er ..." Harry greeted, trying to find the attention of the girl in blue and white.
"Yes, how might I help you, sir?" the girl replied, smiling.
"This... Your clothes do not seem too good to keep the cold out... please, wear this scarf," Harry offered, handing her a thick scarf patterned with red-yellow stripes.
"Ah ... er... oh, I do not want to be a bother... I can't possibly…" replied the girl, trying to avoid accepting the scarf.
"It's OK, my friend happened to bring a spare scarf. Oh, and this small donation of money is for you," Harry cut quickly, slipping a gold galleon into his donation box.
"Oh... T-thank you, mister-..." replied the girl with, bowing deeply in gratitude.
"Potter. My name is Harry Potter," Harry replied with a smile as he left the girl.
"Harry, this is all your fault."
"Shut up, Ron... it's not that bad."
"Not that bloody bad you say?" Ron angrily bellowed, his face flushed, interrupted by a suppressed laughter from Hermione, "Did you count how many MALE students are smiling strangely to us since we left Hogsmeade?"
"Gossips like that will just fade away, really," said Harry, taking all in a stride. "Once we get to the recreation room, I'll let go of this scarf..."
"It's too God-damned long!" Ron spat back impatiently.
They quickly met with Ginny, who was walking in a clumped batch with her contemporaries. Both parties stopped for a moment. Ginny's face flushed instantly, causing her to immediately look down.
"Ron... I knew that you've been together for a long time with him..." Ginny murmured softly. "Harry... He is a good lad; really ... I would gladly give him up... if it is for you, Ron..."
"Ginny… you got it all wrong..." Ron gasped in shock while Ginny quickly turned tail and ran. "No, Ginny! NOOOOO!"
...
"Are you happy now ...?" Ron grumbled, burying his face in a pillow.
"Yes, yes..." Harry replied sheepishly with a wry smile and wiped his hands. He has just wiped his face with water from the basin at the end of the room. "I'm sorry. But that girl… she looked so pitiful in clothes like that..."
"I'm just wondering, but why did you help her?" Ron, who was now lying on his back, idly wondered. "You don't even know her. I have to admit that she's quite beautiful, actually..."
"I have no sure reason for that, Ron," Harry grunted as he threw himself into his own bed. "I guess I was simply in the right place and the right time for the deed..."
...
The donation-asking girl opened the door of a small, partly-dilapidated shrine, and immediately went inside. In the middle of the temple was a small pile of fire-burned charcoal filled in a fireplace with the remains from last night. Not far away, an old blue sleeping bag sat in its bag, neatly rolled up. One can still feel a little warmth emanating from the walls of the temple, which was named the Kochiya Shrine.
"Yasaka-sama, Moriya-sama... I'd be happier if you both did not waste your spiritual energy to keep this temple warm..." Sanae softly whispered as she stacked some twigs and pieces of the driest wood she could find outside. With a gas lighter, she lit the smallest piece, letting the fire ignite and spread to the other pieces of wood.
"You met a certain interesting young man this afternoon, Sanae," a whisper moved the eardrums of the girl. "We know."
"Moriya-sama... Yasaka-sama..." Sanae replied, blushing, "He... was simply a contributor..."
"We feel that spark, Sanae..." replied the formless voice. Sanae was almost certain that the owners of the voice were smiling at her.
...
The next day, Harry hurried off to Hogsmeade, carrying a large bag containing some clothes, blankets, and his used jacket. These trivial things would be more useful in her usage than in mine, thought Harry as he passed a group of giggling Slytherin girls. In his money pouch, Harry had even prepared some money to donate.
Hogsmeade Square immediately greeted him and without much trouble, Harry found the girl in blue. She was apparently being pelted with snowballs by some teenagers. Soon, however, Harry was stunned when the gang started to throw stones at her. In Harry's horror, some rocks hit her arm and her forehead.
"Hey, you! Stop it!" Harry shouted as he ran toward the girl in the blue, "Or I'll turn you all into frogs!"
The children immediately dispersed, shouting hurtful words that made Harry cringe. Is there still racism like that on English soil...? the Voldemort slayer thought as she helped the girl up.
"Are you okay?" Harry gently intoned as he checked the girl's arm. The wounds are nothing more than small cuts and bruises, but they still shed a little blood.
"Ah... I'm okay, sir... Ah, aren't you Mister Potter… from yesterday?" replied the blue-clad girl as she got up.
"Er... Yeah..." Harry replied, scratching his head. "Where is your donation box? Did they take it?"
"Well, I suppose so, sir..." replied the girl, patting off the snow that stuck to the skirt, "But don't worry, I still have some spare donation boxes in the temple."
"They really are heartless..." growled Harry as he handed her a large bag that he brought. "Inside the bag you'll find a jacket for you. I'll buy food, too… then I'll walk you home. "
"But sir ..."
"Come on, don't object too much."
...
"Thank you so much for the help, sir..." the girl began the conversation. They both were walking in the not-too-heavy snowfall.
"Don't worry about it. Oh yes, come to think about it, I didn't catch your name," replied Harry, glancing at her.
"Sa-Sanae. Kochiya Sanae..." Sanae said, faltering slightly.
"Ah... is that so," Harry said with a smile. "So, where is this temple you work in, Sanae?"
"Ah-... um..." Sanae replied haltingly. "The temple is located just outside the village limits... Moriya-sama thought that if we build a temple within the village limits, it can be difficult for us..."
"Ah... is that so. Well, I guess it will be quite difficult, especially with a winter this bad..." Harry commented as he continued trudging through snow toward the direction shown by Sanae. "I wonder how long it takes for you to... "
...
"…Walk back and forth from the temple to Hogsmeade? "
"As I suspected, Headmistress," said Hermione, showing the events that are currently happening in the scrying ball to the principal, "Harry's attention has been diverted by the believer girl."
"It's an interesting development," said Argus Filch, who stood across from the principal, "Many years had passed since the last violation of the Act of Magical heresy..."
"He has yet to violate the act, sir," Hermione intoned as she drew a long breath like she would a wine. "And I don't want him to break it. We need immediate pre-emptive action, or we'll lose him as a symbol of hope we all believe in. I ask for the wisdom of your judgement, Headmistress. "
"Give him detention, Filch," the principal finally spoke up after a few tense seconds. "As soon as he has entered the gate, preferably. One hour of 'that' punishment should be enough to discourage the growing belief in his heart. Does this satisfy you, Miss Granger? "
"It should be plenty enough, Headmistress," Hermione replied with a curt nod. "I hope this is the last time I invoke my rights as a member of the Triskelion Council..."
...
Harry hurried as he walked briskly toward the school gates. He believed that there are still a few hours before students' curfew, but he was not taking chances. Even so, deep in his mind, Harry still thought about the Temple of Kochiya and Sanae's determination to continue supporting the gods she believed. Her determination was new to Harry, who has never seen or participated in such worship. Harry was still thinking about it as he crossed the main gates of Hogwarts' Castle.
"Ah ... there you are," Professor Trelawney cooed, patting Harry's shoulder. "I felt something moving again... something that would shift a few bricks... something that will... Oh, yes, and you have to go to Filch's room, Mr. Potter. You have strayed away outside the boundaries of Hogsmeade, and will get a detention for it. "
"I can't believe this, Potter... detention on the night before the Yule Ball? You are such a bumbling boy... "Argus Filch muttered as he made his knuckles crack. "What in the name of Merlin are you up to, this time?"
"Uh... leaving Hogsmeade without permission, sir, "Harry said weakly as he stood across the table from the groundskeeper. "I think ..."
"What in the bloody hell would you want to search? According to Headmistress McGonagall's edict, all students are prohibited from leaving the confines of Hogsmeade on this holiday, barring any justifiable reason..." grunted the caretaker. "Aaah, what the hell. Tell you what, I'll tell you a story about our magery. Sit on your calves."
"Errr... am I not mistaken, sir?" Harry pleaded as he slowly sat in the position Filch requested.
"No, you heard me right..." Filch replied with a feral grin. "This is a detention, Mr. Potter. You are expected to follow my guidance. To the T."
Harry thought there was a mild electric shock that ran along his back.
"Well, to start... Welcome to the course of Argus Filch's Comparative Theology! During the next hour you will learn the deepest, most coveted secrets of magical theology an ordinary wizard will kill for! You should feel lucky!" Filch bellowed with a fire Harry had yet to see in him as he started the 'course'. "As a warm-up, Potter! What or who you believe to be God? "
"Ah ... err… I don't know..." Harry mumbled, befuddled. "Er... forces of nature… possibly?"
"Your answer is spot-on, Mr. Potter!" Filch replied, smiling mysteriously. "We, as a wizards and witches, do not mandatorily think much about a higher power. In addition, for us wizards, the universe is not much more than a set of rules that can be broken or strengthened using the right way! You must have missed it in your basic spell tomes!"
Harry was pretty sure that even Hermione would not find that strange discourse in their standard textbooks, much less the custodian. The girl never spoke about religion and the divine since their first year here.
"One of the most significant and basic natural laws that humans can grasp are living and dying. Many religions have their foundations laid against death and the dead, that God is the controlling force behind one's life and death, yadda, yadda, yadda. When you're dead, then you're dead. Risen to a higher existence. Met the Creator. Kaput. Shinda. And various other expressions in thousands of languages," Filch intoned in vehemence. "But… but, but, but... We've seen that Lord Voldemort has cheated that, right? He got up again several times by using high-grade magic technique that we call a Horcrux. This method alone ground away all the idea of 'God' in the public perception of modern magecraft. Very… ironic, yes."
Harry began to feel the ants biting on his leg, but he did not see any of these ants. As if understanding Harry's pain, Mrs. Norris, the groundskeeper's guarding cat, hissed threateningly. Harry could only stare in mute pain while Filch sat on a bench.
"Haha, I can see that this detention is beginning to show results, Potter," Filch hissed, grinning happily. "So! As I had already described earlier, beliefs about God does not exist in practical magic community. Some worshippers of Wotan here, some students there venerating Ishtar, some priests of Susanoo there... but never enough to drive the wizarding world as Muggle Gods move the world of Muggles!"
Harry would have sworn on behalf of any entity previously mentioned by Filch that the ants that he felt had already started to crawl into his skin. Those ants had infiltrated Harry's capillaries and are now biting at his calf and thigh muscles. Stinging ant poison began to spread into Harry's blood, but Harry didn't want to give up.
"Haha! That's the spirit!" Filch said, laughing eerily. "Well, where were we... Ah, yes! About the role of God in the world of Muggles..."
An hour later, after a long lecture about the various beliefs and how it can undermine one's magic, Harry could have sworn that he was out of the room Argus Filch without using his original feet. Her feet and Pinocchio's wooden one have traded places. Another possibility is that Filch had transfigured leg bones and muscles into the wood.
"Honey...?"
Harry faced the sound and found his girlfriend standing there.
"Uh ... er... hello, dear... My legs felt strange after detention..."
"What have that crazy coot did to you, Harry? Here, lean a bit onto me..."
"Not much ... he just told me to sit on my calf as he lectured me for an hour..."
"Horrible... oh, and Mum just sent us new blankets and robes for the Yule Ball party tomorrow..."
"Is that so... Don't tell me your brother's robe got pink lace decorations again..."
"Fortunately not. Mum gave him a high-collared black cape with insides of red silk. Suits him well... until he made a Phantom of the Opera mask this afternoon..."
"Ahahahaha..."
Harry suddenly felt a gentle twitch of his scar. It felt like the shake of a trembling finger over his scar, but it did not cause pain or heat. Harry paused for a moment.
"What is it, dear?" Ginny said as she too halted her steps.
"No, nothing... seems that I need to go to the bathroom..." Harry quietly mumbled.
...
The Yule Ball party was very lively. With a world that has been freed from the threat of the Death Eaters, all parties are more carefree and festive.
"You got better, dear," Ginevra softly murmured to Harry, her lithe self dressed in a red evening gown studded with bright decorative crystals of ruby red. "Phew, sure is hot tonight."
"Uh... must've been because we just finished dancing..." Harry replied, scratching his head.
"Can you get drinks for us, dear?" Ginny said as she walked away, "I'll wait on the balcony…"
Harry then walked to the drinks table. A few of the lads whisked away with a couple of drinks on their hands, ostensibly doing the same thing as Harry.
"Wohoeeee! Hawwre shohabat aing ..." Ron said from behind as he wrapped his hands around Harry's shoulder, "Dina kumaha aing adingna? Creepy linings' loco? Madre loco madreeee~"
"Argh... I never understood why Ron always bumbled like this..." she murmured as he separated Harry, Hermione and Ron, "I bet he transfigured some part of the drink to ethanol..."
"Errr... What do you mean, Hermione?" Harry asked, taking two cups of butter for him and Ginny.
"Well, he told me about how good a cold drink Charlie brought to a family party once and asked me to teach him the know-hows to change the composition of food and drink... Transfiguration basics, actually..." Hermione grunted as she pried Harry from Ron, who had started singing the song "Clementine" on the top of his voice. "Who would have thought he screwed up and even change the composition of the butterbeer into... I don't know, maybe whiskey..."
"Aw... I'm sure Filch will hand him a suitable detention," Harry intoned with a wry smile as he turned from the scene Ron was making.
"Stupefy," murmured Hermione while pointing her wand at Ron "Oh, and Harry..."
"Yes?" answered Harry, turning back to face Hermione.
"Make the right choice this time," Hermione cheerily hollered with a smile and a thumbs-up. "You have our permission to land on the third base!"
...
"Snow ..." Ginny demurely murmured, admiring the falling snow.
"Yes, the snow is falling pretty well this year..." Harry cut in as he approached with two glasses of butterbeer on his hand. "It appears that we'll get a white Yuletide this year... Here, your drink."
"Thanks," Ginny replied as she drank.
"Ahh, cold butterbeer sure hits the spot when you're sweaty ..." Harry said as he drank the butterbeer from the glass in his hand.
"Harry, am I beautiful?" Ginny murmured in a sultry tone as she narrowed the distance with Harry.
"Urm... but of course," Harry stammered, totally taken by surprise.
"Hold me, dear," Ginny whispered, holding out his hand and expecting an embrace.
At that very moment, Harry felt his scar twitching in a fervent pace. His stomach immediately felt the butterflies.
"Ah... erm... Ah, yes, I have to go the bathroom! Wait a minute here, okay?" Harry yammered quickly, holding his crotch as if in dire need to urinate.
"If you meant that someone is doing a standing ovation..." Ginny replied in a breathy half-whisper. "Why don't you let me just take care of it... right here… right now…?"
"Don't be silly, Ginny!" Harry grunted a reply as he hurried back into the Great Hall.
"Harry, don't spill them all over the bathroom floor, okay?" Ginny hollered loudly as she smiled knowingly.
...
Harry ran through the heavy snowfall like there was no tomorrow. He knew that he had triggered a good many security wards in Hogwarts, partly because he was not wearing his Invisible Cloak, yet he did not care anymore. Even if Hagrid knocked him down and sat on his body, Harry would still go to that place. The twitching of his scar, by this point, was so fast that Harry thought his forehead vibrated.
That girl.
Lessons Harry had learned from Sybil Trelawney's prophecy classes had taught him well enough to always care if something unusual happened with his scar... and this is the first time that the scar had reacted weirdly after the death of Voldemort.
Sanae, Sanae, his mind screamed.
Not wanting to waste more time, Harry hurried to the storage of brooms in the Quidditch Fields of the magical school. Usually, the small storage would be locked after dark and the light of winter's twilight has all but gone now. As Harry had half-expected, it turned out that the warehouse was locked tight.
"Alohomora!" Harry grunted anxiously, holding up his own wand to unlock the door.
The incantation inexplicably failed. The door did not open. It seemed that the last person who locked the shack added extra protection.
"Alohomora!"
Failed.
"Please... Alohomora!"
The mantra still failed.
"Argh... Incendio Maximus!" Harry finally shouted desperately.
At last, a successful effort. The entire door exploded inward, smothering the brooms behind it with smoldering pieces of wood. Harry quickly grabbed his Firebolt, and immediately took off riding his prized broom.
...
"Coming home sooner than the party, eh Miss Granger?" the Headmistress addressed when Hermione stepped into the office that night in a decidedly distraught expression. "Fortunately, I also decided to not stay for too long at the party..."
"Harry had left the Yule Ball. This is too soon… gosh, and I've even given him an offer that he can't reject! My guess is that he went to Hogsmeade to help the believer. We must do something, right now," Hermione stammered quickly.
"Yes, I had already foreseen this. Filch had just reported that the broom storage shack got forcibly broken into and on fire right now," McGonagall said as she opened a secret drawer in the principal's desk. "I'll activate the Manhunt protocol to hunt Harry and that believer. The protocol will be active by the end of this hour. If we have not succeeded by tomorrow night, we have to be prepared to return of him here... by whatever means necessary."
"You mean... Oh no, you don't mean... Code Geass?" Hermione murmured with narrowed eyes. "That... other prophecy could be realized?"
"It is possible… hope all you might, Miss Granger. Hope for the G Protocol not to be used," said McGonagall, blowing a keyboard hidden in the secret drawer.
...
Sanae, as usual, had been making rounds in the torrential snow, still expecting donations from generous residents of Hogsmeade.
"Not bad... some people donated..." Sanae mumbled happily with a smile as she shook the donation box. There were sounds of coins hitting against each other in it.
All of a sudden, a few burly men surrounded her.
"Subject has been found," said one. They sounded flat, almost emotionless.
"Starting termination sequence," said another as he shot Sanae with a ball of light that came from the tip of his wand.
...
Flying through heavy rain was one of Harry's skills that had won more than a few Quidditch matches for him, but today, Harry learned the hard way about flying in a blizzard. Buffeting winds and low visibility stood in his effort to reach Hogsmeade quickly. Snowflakes, melting from impact and Harry's body temperature, now seeped into his robes, making them heavier and colder. The stuffy dress-robes he was wearing to the ball didn't help, either.
After the difficult flight, Harry landed in the middle of Hogsmeade's village square. Harry frantically started looking for Sanae, combing the alleyways, dragging his broom behind him. The twitching on his scar grew weaker, but the concern in Harry's heart is increasing.
"Potter… -san…?"
Harry finally found what he was looking for. Sanae laid weakly in an alley in the more remote part of Hogsmeade, still wrapped in the Gryffindor scarf given to her by Harry the first time he met her. Sanae's condition itself was quite severe, with pale lips, bruises peeking out from torn clothing on several places on her torso, and fingertips that had started turning blue. All around them, lay the assaulters.
"Sanae! Hang on!" Harry shouted, taking off his scarf while trying to warm the poor girl. "I'll take you to Hogwarts' hospital wing!"
"Do-... don't... I... don't want to... cause you more trouble..." Sanae weakly whispered, trying to stand. "I... I'm going home..."
"All right, I'll take you to the temple!" Harry grunted as he prepared his own broom.
The trip from Hogsmeade to the Kochiya Shrine was not at all easy. Harry, much to his own dismay, found out that the Firebolt was not made for taking more than one person. Different equilibrium points were affecting the precision control settings of the high-class broom because of the heavier load. Several times, Harry had to fly in a high angle of inclination and low speed because it was difficult to maintain the broom's altitude.
Finally, after a cold and tense flight, they landed in the courtyard of the shrine. Harry had to carry Sanae into the living area of the modest temple because she was close to fainting. After putting Sanae into a sleeping bag in the middle of the room, Harry immediately shot back out to retrieve a few pieces of the driest firewood he could find in the chopped wood pile outside. With firewood already stacked neatly that he could, he was prepared to burn it all with his magic. "Incendio!"
Nothing happened.
"Incendiooo!"
Not even a streak of smoke.
"Incendio maxima, dammit!"
Not even a flash of sparks.
"Please! Incendius Maximus!"
If anything, more cold wind was seeping into the room.
"Please! Please! Please! Incendii maxim! Incendii maxim!"
Harry's shouts echoed in the empty temple.
"Please, God damn it! Pleeeeaseeee! Incendia Maximii! Incendia Maximii!"
Harry's heart turmoil deepened as his increasingly wet clothes clung to his skin.
"I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HEEEEER!"
In despair and anger, Harry slammed his wand upon the firewood, breaking it to pieces... and the miracle finally happened. A flash of spark appeared in the middle of the firewood stack, getting a hold of the slightly damp wood. Initially the ember was small, but as tense seconds trod past, it was becoming evident that the fire was getting bigger. It steadily burned the firewood that has been stacked by Harry. Harry sighed with relief, until he realized that Sanae was still shivering and was starting to wheeze.
"What should I do ..." Harry desperately muttered as he quickly scanned a few corners in that dilapidated temple, hoping for a solution.
"There's one way..." a weak whisper moved Harry's eardrums.
"Apparently it had to be done..." Harry murmured softly as he took off all her clothes, before also stripping all of Sanae's clothes, putting her back under the blankets, and held her under the same blanket.
...
"Sa…na…e… Wake up, kero~"
"Mmmh... Moriya-sama...? Please don't spend... your energy..."
"Ah, it'll be fine, kero~! We've got new energy sources, kero~" replied the woman named Moriya said with a knowing smile. "It should be secure for the moment, kero~"
"Mmm... Er... you mean... Po-Po-Po-Po... Potter-san?" Sanae nearly screamed once she realized that she was naked under the covers and was hugging a stranger, also naked. Sanae got straight up and wearing his best clothes.
"Yes, kero~ He has shown that he has the capacity to believe in the two of us, kero~" Moriya continued happily.
"S-so... Yasaka-sama..." Sanae whispered between faint sobs.
"Ummm... Kanako did say that she still wanted to sleep until eleven o'clock, kero~" Moriya said with a peaceful smile. "Let's just prepare some food from what is available, okay kero~?"
...
"Hey, kiddo..."
"Nnnrrn ..."
"Wake up, kiddo ..."
"Nnnuu..."
*SPLASH!*
"FIREEEEE! Wake up, lazy lout! Dunderhead! It's the goddamned broad daylight!" A woman shouted, right into Harry's ear while splashing him with cold water.
"WHOA! Fire, fi-..." Harry fumbled as he stood. A few steps in front of Harry, Sanae was standing with her back to him. Harry instantly remembered what happened last night and ran for her clothes.
"Potter-san... your clothes are on that corner..." Sanae said softly, pointing to one of the corners of the temple.
…
"OK! Now we've known each other and fed, it's time to talk about bigger things," the woman who had woke Harry up hollered, placing the eating utensils she just used. "You, Potter, have burned the focus that lets your magic function last night, and as the result of that, you can't attend that magical school of yours. Am I wrong?"
"Well... actually I still had one more wand... but I'm not sure if I ever want to use it, "said Harry, looking downward.
"Then, kero~... Let us teach you a special brand of magic to overcome the loss of your wand, kero~" Moriya said as she swished her fingers. The wind immediately spun around the four of them, following the finger movement Moriya. Needless to say, Harry was stunned to see such a controlled display of wand-less magic.
"This technique has many names. In China, this technique is called the Ba Gua Palm, but in mainland Europe many call them Elementalomancy. With the technique you can use the energy in your body to move and affect objects made from the four basic elements... wind, fire, water, and earth," the woman explained as she rose from her seat. "Let's go to the yard. We must start the practice sessions immediately if you are to master it quickly. Sanae, be a dear and take care of these utensils."
"As you wish, Yasaka-sama," Sanae replied with a smile and got up.
"Huh? Begin practicing? I do not even know the theory!" Harry protested, still sitting.
"Rats, I forgot that. Well... what else can I do..." Yasaka muttered as she walked towards the door. "Suwako-chan, can you please?"
"Ok Kanako-chan, kero~" the girl named Suwako Moriya replied, getting up and kissing Harry's forehead. Harry passed out promptly.
"Ah... apparently the quickest way to introduce such knowledge to the kid's brain will still knock him out..." Kanako Yasaka grunted, turning to face Harry and face-palming.
"Brain overload, kero~" Suwako thoughtfully chirped in a tone of pity as he watched Harry.
...
"Headmistress, how has the Manhunt Protocol yielded?" Hermione inquired as soon as she set foot in the headmistress's room.
"As much as you had the privilege to do so, Miss Granger," McGonagall sourly interjected. "I appreciate it when you enter the door with the standard method without flashing your Triskelion Emblem."
"She's right, little lady. We are, after all, a secret society…" Filch grunted from her seat to the right-hand side of Hermione.
"We got a tracker on him, alright," the Headmistress sighed. "But there's bad news. Harry Potter had crossed to the other side, and he had awakened two Old Gods."
"Oooh, search and rescue had just shifted to search and destroy," Filch gleefully cut in. "Been awhile since Falklands…"
"I must break the news to the children…" the Headmistress grunted heavily. "How am I going to tell them? That the hero of the last war had defected to the enemies' side?"
"We must tell them what's what," Hermione solemnly settled her idea. "It's the first adage of the principals of good governance. Do not lie to your subjects."
"Well, let's do our jobs, then," the Headmistress concluded. "Filch, prepare the wards to activate Code Geass, both in Hogsmeade and in the castle. I want the Geass Install to be performed two days from now, at zero AM sharp. Hermione, try to instill as much hatred as possible into the populace. It will make them more susceptible to Geass."
"Yes, Ma'am," both of the Triskelion Council's members complied. "For the glory of Hogwarts!"
The two members dutifully got out of the Headmistress's Chamber, as Minerva McGonagall stared blankly into the distance.
"So, the secret meeting has been concluded," the portrait of Albus Dumbledore spoke as the veil of black mists in front of the paintings of all former headmasters and headmistresses started to recede.
"Harry has fled, Albus," the current Headmistress sighed heavily. "He has knowingly broken his own wand. He has committed a treasonous act against the Act of Magical Heresy."
"That is a dire predicament you have painted upon him," the former Headmaster replied, a knowing twinkle adorning his wizened feature.
"What am I to do, Albus?" the current asked wearily. "He is like a son to me…"
"Do what your heart wants you to do, Minerva," the former answered with a smile. "And have the strength to carry it until the very end."
Making up her mind, Minerva McGonnagall began to write a short letter to all of the faculty members.
…
Attention everyone,
Earlier today, Harry Potter, a seventh-year student of Hogwarts' School of Magic and Wizardry, has knowingly committed a treasonous act of wand self-breaking and summoning Old Gods to our world. Due to such act, that student is assumed to be armed and in possession of forbidden magics of possible extraplanar origin, and will be brought down with extreme prejudice when encountered. Curfew will be strengthened and enforced with heavier penalties. For students under the fifth year, please report to your prefects should you encounter him, and do not try to reason with the said student. Students of fifth year and older are allowed to use force should all else fails. For faculty members, there shall be a coordination meeting regarding this matter, today at six PM sharp.
Sincerely yours,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress of Hogwarts, School of Magic and Wizardry
…
"How are you taking the news, Ron?" Hermione asked softly. Ron was sitting right across her, Ginny on her right-hand side. The overall mood of the school had taken a turn for the worse.
"I still can't believe it," Ron grunted angrily. "How dare him! Bringing cosmic horrors and alien doctrines into our peaceful home… it's just… unthinkable! Bloody hell…"
"Now I see it," Ginny mumbled softly, her eyes bleary of tears. "Now I see it. It's not homosexuality… or simple fixation to sports… it's… it's…"
"I'm taking it hard, too…" Hermione confided. "I used to think that he had the true Gryffindor spirit in him… now I guess it had changed since he defeated Voldemort…"
"He made my sister cry," Ron added. "Not even a thousand Dementor's Kisses can right this injustice, damn it…"
"Then… I guess it's our point of no return…" Hermione said resolutely. "I will slay him the next time he surfaces."
"Let me in, Hermione," Ginny pleaded. "Let me wash this injustice with his blood… please…"
"See if we can still right his twisted mind," Ron pitched in. "I'm in."
…
"Well, that wraps our training for today. You can now use Elementalomancy to substitute your wand," Kanako intoned as she indicated for Harry to stop his motions.
"Thank you, Yasaka-sama," said Harry as he exhaled, normalizing his breath. A small mound made of snow, soil, and rock collapsed without a voice behind Harry.
"Now you had more than enough power to match any wizard, kero~" Suwako said, tossing a few glasses of tea at Harry and Kanako. "Here's afternoon tea, kero~!"
By manipulating the wind, Kanako and Harry slowed the fall of the cup of tea while keeping the contents from spilling. The two glasses safely reached the hands of their recipients and they drank.
"Yasaka-sama, if you do not mind... I need to go back to Hogwarts," Harry stated as he finished drinking his share of tea. "It's been two weeks since I was gone and there are some important things I have to take back from there..."
"I can't say I mind your plan," Kanako replied as she finished his glass of tea. "Though I think it'll be better if you let us go with you. I feel bad omens are waiting for you there."
"Wait, field trip, kero~" Suwako cheered happily.
"But... we can't be sure of things that will happen, Yasaka-sama, Moriya-sama?" Sanae quickly interrupted. "The power of faith the two of us and some people we leave behind will not be enough..."
"Do not worry too much, Sanae," said Kanako, patting his shoulder Sanae, "Trust us. Believe... in Potter-kun."
...
"It's pretty quiet, kero~" Suwako commented as they reached the front courtyard of the castle of Hogwarts.
"Yes... I didn't see many people in Hogsmeade, too..." Sanae added, a little tinge of worry evident in her voice, as the gates opened at Hogwarts." Maybe the weather got too cold?"
"No… not that..." Kanako growled as they reached the middle of the plaza outside Hogwarts. "This is why... Be prepared."
Hundreds of people suddenly came out of their hiding places around the plaza. Soon they surrounded Harry, Sanae, Suwako, and Kanako with leveled wands and red glowing eyes. Amongst them was Ginny and Ron Weasley, also leveling their wands at Harry's general direction, although their eye colors did not change.
"Traitor," Ron growled as he raised his wand.
"I thought you loved me, Harry ..." Ginny hissed as she beginning to tear up. "What did I lack… for you to sleep with that… that…"
"Ron ... Ginny..." Harry muttered as he approached the siblings. "You two... why...?"
"What of us? What? Look at you, Harry Potter, LOOK! What have you done to yourself, mate. Once, you were our light, our hope," Ron shouted, still threatening Harry with his wand. "Now look! You're now nothing more than an ordinary Muggle! You are a slave of God! A slave of God, chained by whatever rules your God put to effect! Traitor!"
"Ron... You..." Harry sighed mournfully, quietly taking a step back. "Why... why does it have to be like this...?"
"ATTAAAAAACK!"
Along with Ron's command, the wizards and witches cast spells simultaneously. Not finding any gap to avoid the attack, immediately Suwako stomped the ground to create a protective circular wall for holding simultaneous attacks coming from all directions.
"Leave the earth element to me, kero~!" she shouted as she pounded the stone wall she had created, sending thousands of sharp pieces of stone, like a fragmentation grenade exploding amidst a crowd of rioters.
"I summon thee, o Hallowed Wind of Takeminakata!" Sanae hollered, tossing a few arrays of ferocious gusts of wind hurtling towards the attackers. "Potter-kun, are you okay?"
"Tch, this is such a downer..." Kanako growled, tossing car-sized firestorms home into attackers in front of her.
"Stop! Please stop!" Harry yelled futilely as he defended himself by using a wall of ice. "What are you all doing? I'm not your enemy!"
"Not your enemy? All Godslaves are the enemy of the wizards!" Ron yelled as he made wide arcs in the air with his wand. "Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra! Sectumsempra! SECTUMSEMPRA! SECTUMSEMPRA!"
"Ron! Stop it!" Harry cried as he neutralized the magical wind-blades with a thick stone wall.
"Alegria Physica ..." Ginny whispered, holding up his wand at his own head, "Good-bye, Harry..."
"Ginny! Listen to me! This is all a huge mis-" Harry intoned as he suddenly saw Ginny a few paces in his own right hand side.
"Avada Kedavra."
Too late.
A bolt of green had slid towards Harry from Ginny's wand. Time seemed to slow down as Harry narrowly missed it, but Ginny had ran to another direction and shot the next green bolt, one that Harry again narrowly grazed. A few seconds later, she had done it again from another direction. Harry was struggling to dodge the shots, but her speed seemed to rise with each of her steps. This predicament would seem to end in a very painful way for Harry.
Or not.
As if already knowing that Harry is being overwhelmed, Suwako sent some large stones toward Harry. Harry quickly made use of stones to again prevent death by green killer rays. The fridge-sized rocks also proved vital in slowing Ginny down by preventing her to run in a straight line.
"Return her blows, kero~!" Suwako shouted to Harry while holding back a magical attack coming to her. "She wants to kill you, kero ~!"
"I can't!" Harry desperately cried as he defended more of Ginny's attacks with the boulders Suwako gave him. "She is the girl I loved!"
"Well, does she look loving to you now?" Kanako shouted while joining forces with Suwako, seemingly driven by the wizards' attack from the opposite direction.
"Die, you Godslave!" Ron shouted from a distance. "Avada Kedavra!"
"Ron, wai-"
Harry managed to avoid the sure-kill of Ron's spell, but his defense has unwittingly opened. Ginny immediately stopped within half an arm's distance from Harry, pointing her wand at the boy's throat.
"Potter-kun!"
In that precarious situation, Harry's reflexes finally acted on its own. In an instant time window available, Harry hit her solar plexus with a punch that he usually used to throw bathtub-sized stones around. Fresh blood immediately spurted from Ginny's mouth as she was blasted back, hitting the water fountain with enough force to shatter the marble. She ceased to move immediately.
"GINEVRAAA! YOU BASTAAAAAARD!" Ron yelled, a bellow not unlike that of a wounded tiger. Immediately he threw as many lethal spells as he knew to Harry.
"Ron, wait-"
"Potter-kun, no-"
Realizing that Harry was too sad and stunned to avoid the lethal barrage, Sanae pushed him towards the side. Harry escaped the brunt of Ron's attack, but Sanae received several spells with her delicate body. She was thrown back a good distance away, unmoving.
"RON! You've gone too far!" Harry furiously bellowed.
"Why? Little Godslave wench got fried on the inside by a cocktail of yours truly's spell? HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ron gloated, taunting Harry by giving him the finger.
Harry replied to Ron's foul gesture by throwing a fireball the size of a car at his former best friend. Ron, however, was too busy laughing and gloating to avoid being burnt alive from head to toe. His charred but whole corpse fell to the earth accompanied by a look of horror from Harry.
"Potter-kun, we must back off for today, kero~!" Suwako shrieked as the Frog God protected Sanae, who is lying helplessly in the middle of the battlefield. "Sanae's still alive but her condition is unstable, kero~!"
"Oka-"
"Stop."
Simultaneously, all those seemingly-possessed wizards and witches stop their attacks. Some retreated into a line surrounding the four, still with wands raised, while others take care of the dead and wounded. Harry quickly realized how much destruction they have made at that short time, as well as the vast number of his enemy.
"So many people dead and wounded, only for two Godslaves and two Gods who have lost most of their strength..." commented Argus Filch, as he calmly walked towards Harry, stopping only a few tens of steps before the younger adversary.
"You're the mastermind behind all this, are you dirty bastard?" Harry growled dangerously as he prepared himself for all possibilities.
"You inspired us all, Harry. You have always believed in the power of hope, while we all believe that Voldemort could not be defeated," Hermione said as she floated down to the courtyard, clad with skin-tight costumes and a pair of black wings. "We all trusted you, Harry, and you upheld the truth. Why now...?"
"So what? Only for that trivial matter, you forbid him to be somebody else's ray of hope?" Kanako shot back fiercely while securing Suwako and Sanae's position.
For a few seconds, the belligerents were silent. Soft winter winds gently rustle through them all.
"You have no place in this age, Old Gods!" Argus Filch roared as his powers surged out in the form of purple lightning arcs. "I, the Third Duke of The Triskelion Council, call forth to those who were under the power of Geass! Kill these relics of the past!"
"Get out of here, Suwako! Protect Sanae!" Kanako shouted, throwing a stone-laced tornado at the enemy crowd as they started chanting incantations again. Suwako barely nodded before sinking herself into the ground with Sanae, using the power of the earth Elementomancy to escape.
The battle went back in full force. Argus Filch's power clashed against Kanako Yasaka, while Harry Potter took to the air and exchanged blows with Hermione Granger. The wizards and witches who were under the influence of Geass power continued to launch spells at Kanako and Harry. Some had even used their brooms to help Hermione defeat Harry.
The battle raging on the ground was as exciting as it was deadly. Burning rocks went flying from Kanako's direction, sweeping everything on its path. Some magicians, who are not lucky died horribly by the stones, crushed by stones the size of a closet. Filch, after his display of power, also rebutted in kind. With amazing magic, he sent many lightning bolts with a variety of colors towards Kanako. Kanako was almost hit several times, but with her wind-enhanced speed she was able to avoid the worse of the lightning bolts.
"You old fart! You could actually use thunder-element Elementalomancy, eh?" Kanako grunted, barely avoiding the umpteenth lightning bolt thrown by Filch.
"Members of the Council of Triskelion shall never be underestimated!" Filch replied sharply, throwing lightning again. "Besides, you're way older than me, Grandma Ugly!"
While Filch and Kanako collided spectacularly on the ground, the action of air combat between Hermione and Harry were no less interesting. With her black wings, Hermione matched Harry's agility in wind Elementalomancy-powered flight. Hermione occasionally sent deadly spells with a very precise shot towards Harry, while Harry fought back by creating air pockets and turbulence to harass Hermione's flight. This battle, for them, was a game of speed chess in Mach 1.
"Harry, take that winged girl into my range! I'll stop her with my earth Elementalomancy!"
The sound echoed loudly in Harry's head, a sign that Kanako is sending a telepathic message to Harry. Harry, starting to have trouble with Hermione's attacks of surgical precision, had no choice but to fly right into the battle Filch and Kanako were having below them.
"Filch, let's pin these two God-refusers and finish them!" cried Hermione as she tailed Harry's dive at Filch and Kanako's battleground.
Filch, hearing Hermione's command, immediately threw a greenish lightning bolt towards Harry, barely grazing Kanako in the process. Hermione, in the meantime, prepared her ultimate mantra to stop Harry.
"Avada Ked-"
Harry grazed Filch's lightning in the last minute, while Kanako threw a large slab of stalactite hard at Filch. The thigh-sized stalactite directly ripped through Filch's left chest and heart without much resistance, ending the old groundskeeper's bolt-slinging. Hermione, on the other hand, was squarely struck by Filch's lightning bolt, her soul flying away before she could deliver her killer spell on Harry.
Harry instantly fell sprawling in front of Kanako. As if scripted, the wizards and witches who were under the orders of Geass all fainted. Kanako rushed to Harry with worry, intent on keeping her disciple safe.
"Potter! You okay, kiddo?" Kanako grunted while mobilizing her water Elementomancy abilities to heal the wounds in Harry.
"No... But I'll be fine..." Harry stated, cutting the goddess off quickly as he sat down to normalize his breathing. "Let's finish my business here..."
...
"Potter-kun, I thought you didn't want to use this magic tool," Kanako asked, watching a magic wand that Harry unearthed from a tomb from the school grounds. They gathered it, alongside some of Harry's more mundane possessions.
"This wand is the most powerful magical object known to exist, Yasaka-sama," Harry explained as he briefly showed her the Elder Wand. "I am its rightful owner. I'm afraid that this thing will be misused to hunt us if I left it there."
"Good..." Kanako sighed in relief.
They both finally reached the yard of Kochiya Shrine. Suwako immediately greeted them with joy.
"Thank God, you two came back safely kero~!" Suwako shrieked while rushing into the arms of Kanako. "You two took your sweet time, kero~!"
"Thank you for waiting for us, Moriya-sama," Harry returned the greeting politely, "How's Sanae?"
"She's much better now, kero~" Suwako replied with a smile.
"Really?" Harry interjected quickly as he rushed inside the shrine's main hall.
"It smells… of romikomi, kero~!" Suwako commented with a smile.
"Well, let's leave the youngsters..." Kanako said, sitting in the courtyard of the temple, "There are more important things that we must take care, Suwa-chan..."
...
"Potter-kun..." Sanae sighed, trying to sit up straight.
"Don't move too much before all of your wounds heal, Sanae... it's bad for your recovery..." Harry interjected quickly, preventing Sanae from sitting.
"Ah...It's okay..." Sanae said softly. "Moriya-sama has improved most in my wounds, and replaced the used body fluids..."
"Sanae... listen, I... want to apologize..." whispered Harry, stammering in his words, "My friends... they..."
"Shh... Don't mention it..." Sanae whispered back, hugging Harry gently. "They are merely influenced by the wrong people... I could never hold a grudge for them..."
"But they... they..." Harry sobbed as he hugged Sanae back tightly. "Are not coming back..."
"Then, we will pray for them..." Sanae said with a smile. "You still have me, Potter-kun... You still have the wisdom and guidance of Moriya-sama and Yasaka-sama… and most importantly... we all still have hope, even if only as a candle in the thick darkness of the underworld..."
Harry's emotional dam finally broke apart, releasing his sorrow in a torrent of tears.
...
"We've decided to freeze this temple in time and space with our capabilities," Kanako explained, opening her grand plan to Harry, Suwako, and Sanae. "People will never be able to find this place with ordinary means and mortal magic. This method is the most appropriate way to trick the witches who were chasing us now. They're much too proud to ask for divine help, so it guarantees our safety."
"But if you do so, the faith-based magic you possess will weaken with the passage of time, Yasaka-sama," Sanae quickly interjected, "and it will start happening soon!"
"Here is where you two enter the equation, kero~" Suwako intoned with a smile. "Find as many followers as possible for both of us. Among a thousand people in this world, at least one or two will believe in the truth of your teachings and in turn strengthen our faith, kero~"
"That's quite true," Harry replied curiously. "But how long will you two survive? You will never last a thousand years with only the strength of our faith, or can you?"
"I suppose we can last about a generation or two more... three generations, tops," Kanako said while brandishing the Elder Wand. "Luckily we can tap this magical item's power through you, Potter-kun."
"You can do a variety of ways to gain faith from the people, kero~" Suwako continued with a smile. "You can terrorize them, perform miracles, teach them Elementomancy, whatever, kero~! The important thing is that they give us faith, kero~!"
"Well, we'll try, Yasaka-sama, Moriya-sama," Harry affirmed firmly. "I'm not going to let you both just disappear from the surface of the earth."
"I will help Potter-san to achieve our goals," Sanae closed the conversation with a sincere affirmation.
"Good. I want each of you to take these keepsakes. This is a small fragment of the Elder Wand, and you can use it to communicate with each other or to seek our wisdom," Kanako said, handing the couple two small talismans, each containing a piece of wood from the Elder Wand.
"Yasaka-sama... Moriya-sama..." Sanae whispered as her sobs become evident. "Thank you... thank you for everything..."
They all got to their feet and embraced in a group hug.
"Oh, yes, by the way, kero~" remarked Suwako amidst the group-hug. "Do you want us to marry you first before going around the world, kero~? While we both can bear witnesses, kero~"
Harry and Sanae's face was suddenly flushed pink with embarrassment.
...
"Report the damage, Pomfrey," McGonagall inquired to the school nurse, who sat across her on the Headmistress's desk.
"Bad enough," replied the nurse grimly. "96 students and 100 wizards under Geass, Hermione Granger, and Argus Filch were killed, and 450 people were injured with more than half critically. Reconstruction of damaged school properties will take up to a month, at least two weeks… or so Hagrid reported."
"So many victims... and two vacant positions on the Triskelion Council," the principal snorted, looking around with a neutral gaze. "Will you take the position Filch held, Poppy?"
"Well... if it would help cure our pupils, I'll take it," Madam Pomfrey replied carefully.
"Fine then... take the Triskelion Emblem from Filch's office, and hide it in your office or your bedroom," explained the Headmistress as she took a breath. "Oh, and take the second Triskelion Emblem from Miss Granger's room while we're at it. We must immediately set a candidate from the students."
"Very well, Headmistress. Excuse me," the nurse said as she excused herself.
"Why must everything play out this way, Harry..." Minerva McGonagall whispered as she covered her face with her hands. A grain of tear fell from the corner of his eye.
A/N: Here you are, mate! I've translated one of my Indonesian fics that piqued you fancy. Additional thanks goes to GregsMadHatter, who beta'd this fic. Hope your leg heals fast and well!