Omake - Harry Potter and the Alternative Tournament 'Verse
A/N: This omake was written with twistyguru's permission. There is a nod to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 couched in here. 10 points to your house if you spot it.
"Now then, Mr. Potter," began his newest instructor, an older witch named Eglantine Brown. "Mary said that there are a few magics that I can teach you, particularly spells of transportation and locomotion, that you will find quite useful."
"Thank you Mrs. Brown. I hope I can live up to your expectations."
"Oh, I am sure you will. I've spoken with your other instructors and they have had nothing but good things to say about you." That brought a blush to Harry's face. Despite all the growing he's done, both scholastically, physically and emotionally, he still blushed at the slightest bit of praise.
"Now then, Mr. Potter. There are three spells which I have had some success with. The spell which enables a broom to fly, the Travelling Spell, and Substitutiary Locomotion. In fact, my Husband, children and I were the ones to bring Substitutiary Locomotion back to the Wizarding World, back in the 40s."
"That was during the Grindelwald War, right?"
"Yes, as well as World War II. I fought the Nazi's when they tried to invade England in secret. Not long after that, Mary came to me and taught the children and I more magic while my husband went off to war."
"The children, ma'am?"
"Charles, Carrie, and Paul. You'll meet them later at dinner. I adopted them after their parents were killed during the war. Their father died in combat, and their mother died during the Blitz."
"Well, at least they had somebody," said Harry bitterly.
"And you do too, young man. Don't sell your family short," she retorted crisply. She reminded him an awful lot of McGonagall and Mary Poppins. Didn't put up with a lot of nonsense.
"I have them now, yes, but before..."
"Well, from what I've heard about those Muggles...the less said the better. Now, on to more important things. Your education, for one."
"Ah, yes ma'am."
"We'll start with the flying spell. This is wandless, so all you'll need is a broom to enchant." So saying, she walked over to the cupboard in her workroom and withdrew two brooms. She kept one for herself and handed one to her pupil.
"Now, just hold the broom in your hands, and sit astride it like you're going to ride. Then say 'Lackipo nikrif scrumpet leech'." She demonstrated, then the broom rose into the air. Mrs. Brown hovered for a few moments, before touching back down. "Now you try."
Imitating his instructor, Harry sat astride the broom, then incanted the spell. Unfortunately, he put a little too much power into the spell, and he shot out the open window, broom and all. As he flew over the countryside, he noticed two men and a woman down below, striding up the walkway to the house. He saw a few others get out of cars and assumed that they were family to the trio at the door.
"Back to the workshop, if you please Mr. Potter. We have guests," said Mrs. Brown as she flew up to meet him. "It won't do to be gallivanting around up here when we have company. After dinner, Paul can show you around with the Travelling Spell."
"What do you mean?" asked Harry as they landed in her office.
"Paul still carries the bedknob I first enchanted when I started practicing magic. It was part of a deal to not turn them into toads. Though I have a much easier time turning people into white rabbits. That's another specialty of mine, and my husband's."
"Will I get to meet Professor Brown?"
"Oh, I dare say you will. Right now, he's at a conference in Brussels, doing a seminar on Substitutiary Locomotion. He should be home tomorrow. Now, if you please, come and meet the others."
They put their brooms back into the cupboard before joining the others in the large living room of the Brown's mansion.
"Okay, Mr. Potter," began Paul, the youngest of the Brown siblings. "Get on the bed and we'll get started. Any place in particular you want to go?"
"Ummm...we could go see the Great Pyramid in Egypt?"
"Good choice." He sat at the foot of the bed and pulled a knob out of his pocket. Twisting it into place, he said, "Bed, take us to the Great Pyramid, Egypt," before tapping the knob three times then twisting it on it's post. The bed seemed to shimmer in place before they found themselves hurtling at high speed over the country.
"This spell stays mostly in the family," explained Paul. "That way, they have a harder time regulating it. It allows for much more comfortable travel than a standard portkey, or even the floo. Mum says that you've had problems with those in the past."
"Yeah, I have a tendency to land face first wherever I go," agreed Harry with a grimace.
"Well then, this will be no problem. You stay on the bed when you travel this way," said the older wizard. "We're almost there."
Moments later, the bed did indeed land near the Great Pyramid, conviently away from prying eyes. "Oh, that's another feature. It lands where no one else is nearby to witness the magic, unless it's a heavily magical area, then it just lands in a place where there's no one to get caught under the bed."
"Well that's handy, and you're right. I had no problem with the landing."
"That's because you were riding on something, just like with a broom."
"And I've never had a problem with a broom," stated Harry with a laugh.
After several more trips the pair headed back to the mansion. "By the way, I hope my granddaughter isn't too much trouble," said Paul.
"Who?"
"Lavender. She's turned into a bit of a flirt lately, so I hope she isn't causing you trouble."
"Lavender's your granddaughter? You don't look old enough to have a granddaughter my age."
"Ah, Harry, I'm older than I look. Wizards age slower than Muggles. I was but a boy back in the Forties. My son was born in the Sixties, Lavender came along later."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh. Now, you'll need to get something with a twistable part. Like the bedknob, we used. We'll practice with the doorknob, and then remove the spell so that you can use your own item. Just like with the broom spell, this is wandless. Just hold both hands over the knob and repeat after me: Hellebore, henbane, aconite. Glowworm fire, firefly light."
Harry did as instructed and watched as the doorknob glowed brightly. "You know, how come these spells work this way, but when Ron tried a spell in this format it didn't work?"
"You mean the incantation?" Harry nodded.
"Ah, these were created this way by Astorath. He was a powerful wizard back around the time of Merlin, and was notorious for his experiments on animals. He even channeled his magic differently than most wizards. He used an object known as the Star of Astorath. We managed to get hold of it, but since it was removed from it's hidden location, it disintegrated," explained Paul.
"That sucks," stated Harry.
"Yeah. But, fortunately, Da remembered the words that were engraved on the outer ring. The words to a very useful spell."
"Substitutiary locomotion?"
"The same."
"WOW!"
"Yes, well, it wasn't without it's difficulties. You see, the first time Mum tried to use it, it wouldn't work. But when the five of us tried together, it went a little haywire and we had to...well..."
"What?"
"We ended up fighting with our clothes," finished the older wizard with a blush. When Harry realized the implications, he fell over roaring with laughter.
"What's going on up here?" demanded Carrie, barging through the door.
"I told him about our first attempt at Substitutiary locomotion," admitted her little brother.
"Ah. I see. Well, when Da gets home tomorrow, Mum says we'll demonstrate that at the museum. She's feeling nostalgic again."
"Ah. That was rather amusing."
"What was?" asked Harry.
"When Mum fought the Nazis, she animated a museum full of old suits of armor. You should see the looks on their faces when they saw that their bullets were doing nothing! Perhaps Mum will show you a pensieve memory later."
The next day, Harry was introduced to Professor Emilius Brown. He found he quite liked the old con-man, despite hearing about his original forays into magic as a scheme to make money. After lunch, the group headed to the museum in town, where the armor had been replaced (and magically repaired) after their impromptu battle against the invaders.
"Shall we begin?" asked Mr. Brown.
"We shall. Children? Dear?" Joining hands, the quintet invoked the ancient words they had all long since memorized. "Treguna, mekoides, trecorum, satis dee."
Their combined voices rang through the empty space. As the last echo faded away, a very faint breeze stirred the banners on the horns and flags mounted around the walls. Charles, the oldest of the siblings pointed them out to Harry. "It's just like last time. The drums should start next."
Sure enough, the snare drums started beating a cadence, before the trumpets blared a signal. All around, the empty suits of armor came to life. Harry just stood and stared in amazement.
"This is actually the precursor to a similar spell that was used at various locations, such as Hogwarts, as an additional defense. This variation enchants objects to respond to a command word or phrase that, once spoken requires further orders to be issued to be effective," lectured Prof. Brown. "We actually researched and designed the variant after I returned from the war and we began our education under the guidance of Mary Poppins. The family ended the spell, and all the armor returned to normal.
"This spell will greatly aid you in defending your home, if necessary, especially if you are caught alone. All you need do is use repair spells on whatever's left of the objects, providing they aren't completely destroyed to restore them to normal, though magical items usually lose their enchantments once destroyed, so be careful in what you give 'life' to."
After that, Harry spent several days with the Browns, perfecting the spells and enjoying the warm family environment. There was the occasional squabble, usually resulting in someone being turned into a white rabbit (which they also taught him to do) for a short period of time. He couldn't wait to use that particular spell on Malfoy. And he actually got his chance the next time he was in London.
Father and son were conducting business, supposedly family-related, the ONLY reason for students to be away from Hogwarts during the school year. Seeing them coming out of Knockturn Alley (they were obviously up to no good), Harry couldn't help himself.
"Filigree, Apogee, Pedigree, Perigee," he intoned quietly, pointing at both blonds. He watched in glee as both transformed. He quickly snatched them both up with a wandless spell, then promptly dunked both into a handy nearby barrel filled with seawater that had earlier contained mullet. He then tossed both rabbits onto the ground and continued on his merry way, not concerned in the least about whether they'd escape being made into potions ingredients or not.