Here's the first NEW chapter for all those patient fans out there
let's see how Herwald reacts to his true identity, eh?
If you have any ideas for Herwald's harem, tell me in reviews,m but don't just list names, gimme reasons and plausible scenarios.
The Letter.
"Was zur Hölle?" Herwald muttered, turning the envelope over and over, noting the strange wax stamp that adorned the back, bearing a shield crest that depicted a Lion, a Snake, a Badger and an Eagle surrounding the letter 'H'. The word HOGWARTS depicted over the top, with a string of Latin underneath.
"Oooh…what happened?" Taiga moaned, the normally energetic woman slowly coming round from her fall, unaware she was currently sitting on Shirou's head, giving the redhead a clear shot of her tiger-stripe underwear.
"F-Fujimura-sensei…" Sakura stammered, clearly torn between surprise at the sudden arrival and concern for Herwald's older brother "You're crushing Sempai."
"Eh?" Taiga wondered, looking down, only to yelp at the sight of Shirou's face up her skirt, leaping to her feet, dragging the semi-conscious teen with her "Shirou you pervert!" she roared, shaking the poor redhead like a ragdoll, a roaring tiger in the background "I didn't raise you to look up women's skirts!"
'Are we sure she isn't a magus?' Herwald wondered, sweat dropping as he gazed at the fire-breathing illusion behind the woman, stuffing the letter into his pocket, out of sight, even as Leysritt and Sella tended to Illyasviel, while Rider and Rin simply sat back and watched in bemusement.
While having a responsible, sort of, adult around to take care of them was handy, the fact that Taiga was not, herself, aware of Magic, meant that the rest of the Emiya house had to walk on tenderfoot to avoid letting the woman find out. This meant avoiding talking about the Grail War while she was in ear shot, instructing or practicing mage craft on the property if there was a chance she could pop by, or doing anything remotely out of the ordinary that might draw her attention like a cat to string.
It was frustrating, living a lie, especially considering how he'd spent most of his lif surrounded by magic. He had to marvel at how adept Shirou was at keeping his innate talents hidden from his smothering, self-proclaimed guardian, though that might have something to do with the fact those 'talents' hadn't been much to speak of, initially.
'Hard to believe he fought toe-to-toe with the King of Heroes himself.' The boy marvelled, looking on as Taiga put an unresisting Shirou into a headlock, unknowingly pushing the redhead's face into her right breast in her endeavour to 'drive the perversion out of him' by twisting his head off, Rider and Rin looking on in bemusement, while Sakura fluttered around like a headless chicken trying to stop her, Leysritt and Sella too busy tending to Illyasviel to care.
Later...
After Taiga had calmed down, the energetic woman had taken off like a bullet, having realized she was late for her summer-school classes, having been roped in to substitute for the late Kuzuki-sensei at the last minute. She informed them, at a run, that she would be attending the Archery Club later that evening, and so would be home late, before racing off, threatening grievous bodily harm if anyone touched her share of dinner as she went.
This left Herwald and the others relatively free to discuss the letter he'd received without fear of being overheard, the entire group gathering around the dining table the moment she'd cleared the compound walls.
"Weird…" Shirou muttered, the redhead turning the parchment envelope over in his hands with a confused look in his ochre eyes "They even got your room down…" his brows furrowed in concern "could someone be scrying the house?"
"Impossible." Rin countered, shaking her head with a frown "After the whole incident with Caster, I threw up a barrier to keep people from scrying the house."
Shirou grimaced, recalling how easily the deranged Servant had spied on them, drawing him to Ryuudou temple in a bid to steal his Command Seals, only to later break in, taking Taiga hostage to successfully do so.
"You're too naïve, Rin." Illyasviel countered, the girl having recovered from her recent flight via air-Taiga, sitting on Shirou's right, one finger raised confidently in the air "You should know better than that, the Bounded Field may keep people from scrying the house, but that doesn't mean they can't use OTHER means of finding it."
"I know that." Rin countered, shooting the deceptively younger girl a glare "But the barrier I placed around the house would've told me if someone's familiar broke in. Never mind the one Shirou's father placed over it to detect those with hostile intent."
"Can we get back to the letter?" Shirou asked, looking a little uncomfortable, both at the friction between Rin and Illyasviel, as well as the former's casual admission to placing a barrier over his house without his knowledge "Like who sent it?"
"Most Mages use familiars to deliver messages, Shirou." Rin explained, assuming what had come to be known as her 'lecturing' pose, one hand supporting her elbow, while she waved a finger knowingly "It's a little old fashioned, but they prefer it to using more modern methods like Telephones or the postal service."
"The Einzbern family usually use Homunculi to deliver their messages." Illyasviel admitted, smiling up at her step-sibling endearingly, while Sella and Leysritt inclined their heads "It's safer, because they can fight back and repeat the messages in person, instead of carrying it around."
"We performed similar tasks prior to coming here." Sella admitted, her features taciturn as ever as she inclined her head towards the redhead, who blinked, still unused to the maidservants' presence.
"It isn't the owl that bothers me." Herwald countered, looking at the letter with a scowl, "Hell I'm not even bothered with how they knew my room." He reached out to tap the name of the Addressee "what bothers me is that this letter is addressed to Harry Potter."
"Who?" Shirou wondered, blinking in confusion, even as the females in the room, with the exception of Rider, straightened up slightly, Sakura's hands clapping over her mouth, Rin's eyes widening in surprise, while Illyasviel simply looked stunned "Is he important?"
"Is he-?" Rin began, rounding on the redhead in disbelief, only to sigh, covering her head in exasperation, a sure sign she was dealing with a Kiritsugu-inspired migraine "Right, I forgot you're a basic novice at this…"
"Master Shirou, Harry Potter is one of the most famous people in the Magical World." Leysritt explained, the Homunculus Maidservant's tone gentle "He's the one who defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort, despite only being a baby at the time."
"I heard about him." Shirou admitted, looking between the assorted Magi warily "Voldemort I mean, Dad said he was a Dark Wizard that was killed about a Year before he adopted me." He blinked in confusion "So he was killed by a Baby? Wow…"
"Not only that," Sella continued, the 'elder' homunculus' tone not quite as stern as usual "But young Harry is said to be the only person in recorded history to have survived being hit by the Killing Curse."
Shirou's eyes widened at THAT, the redhead gaping at the normally strict Maidservant in disbelief. While his magical education had been, at best, half-assed, Kiritsugu had at least driven home the basics of the Magi's code, most specifically, the importance of the Three Unforgivable Curses, specifically why they deserved the capital letters. To hear that someone had survived a direct hit from the WORST of the Three, a BABY no less, only served to give him a greater respect for the powers of Magic.
"You think there's been a mix-up?" Rider wondered, quirking one of her brows as she eyed Herwald from behind her spectacles "I mean, Herwald-kun's strong, I'll be the first to admit…but survivng a deathspell at infancy?"
"Magical post might be an out-dated pain in the ass, but it doesn't make mistakes." Rin countered, looking both grim and intrigued by the subject "Besides, for someone to go to the length of putting down his EXACT location, there can be little doubt that the letter was meant for Herwald-kun."
"Grandfather DID say that papa brought you back from a job in Britain." Illyasviel admitted, a look of wonder on her face as she stared at her younger sibling "Maybe he rescued you after you killed Voldemort?"
"I find it HIGHLY unlikely that a year-old BABY could kill a fully trained Wizard." Herwald countered, his expression decidedly deadpan as he regarded his sibling "Let alone one that ran circles around the Clock Tower's Enforcers for years."
"But it lists your bedroom perfectly Herwald-kun." Sakura pointed out, looking both shocked and enawed at the probability of her crush's little brother being a living legend "And the Owl DID seem to be examining you very carefully."
"There's one way to be sure." Rin pointed out, eyeing the younger Einzbern carefully from across the table "According to rumour, Harry's supposed to have a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead." She smirked at Herwald's flinch "now I'm not a 100% sure, since that long hair of yours is always in the way, but I'm pretty certain you've got a scar in the exact same place."
"That's right!" Illyasviel exclaimed, her crimson eyes widening in surprised glee as she turned to face her younger step-sibling "I used to enjoy tracing it every time you came to me because of nightmares!"
Herwald grimaced, his hand going unconsciously to his brow, where there indeed was such a scar, hidden behind his long, messy black hair, which he'd grown out since childhood, a tradition amongst Einzbern males. He'd never really thought about it much, attributing it to an injury received prior to Kiritsugu picking him up, Jubstacheit certainly never told him anything of it.
"Harry Potter…" Rin muttered, shaking her head with a bemused smile, sending a wry look towards the equally stunned Shirou "Only you Shirou, only you would turn out to have a celebrity as your adoptive sibling."
"Seems par for the course for my life." Shirou admitted, chuckling nervously even as he glanced uncertainly towards his little brother, Herwald returning the look with a casual nod. The two of them really didn't care much for fame or glory, even during the Grail war, they'd been fighting entirely for the benefit of others, Herwald for Illyasviel, and Shirou for the innocents that would get caught in the crossfire.
Herwald could respect that, after all, it was a Magus' creed to use their abilities for the betterment of mankind, as well as to prevent others from abusing that power for the same reasons.
"So who's it from?" Rin asked, snapping the pair out of their thought, the elder Tohsaka sibling's features marred with a frown, glancing repeatedly between Herwald and the letter in his hand with growing impatience "Is there a return address?"
"Not really." Herwald countered, turning the letter over uncertainly, only to frown as he caught sight of a strange crest embedded in the red sealing wax a the back "There's something written here…looks like Hogwarts." He looked up a Illyasviel in confusion "That's that Wizarding school in Scotland isn't it? The one with that Headmaster Grandfather kept going on about?"
"Albus Dumbledore." Sella supplied, earning a few looks of surprise from the Tohsaka siblings, while Shirou once again blinked in confusion "The Current Headmaster, and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards."
"Sort of like the UN for Magic Users." Herwald supplied, catching the look of confusion in Shirou's eyes and deciding to help his elder step-sibling out before Rin could berate him "They basically make sure all Magical societies follow the rules. Even the Clock Tower can't go against their authority, though the elders don't really like it."
"I see…" Shirou noted, smiling gratefully at the younger Einzbern for his assistance, even as he glanced at the letter in awe "So this Dumbledore guy's pretty important I take it."
"He's pretty famous in Europe." Rin supplied, picking up the slack "Back in World War 2, he defeated another Dark Wizard called Grindelwald in 1945, and discovered at least twelve different uses for dragon's blood."
"He's also completed many alchemical studies with Nicolas Flamel." Herwald supplied, earning a look of shock from the redhead, which was understandable. Flamel was one of the most famous Magi of all time, the only Alchemists to create a working Philosopher's Stone. Herwald had studied the man's older research notes on transmutation in depth during his training prior to the Grail War, the Einzberns having gotten their hands on some of his manuscripts over the years, and found them both highly perplexing and deeply intriguing.
"But why on earth is he writing to Herwald-kun?" Sakura wondered, looking at the letter in the youth's hand in understandable confusion "Did you ever meet him?"
"I doubt it. Herwald countered, snorting in wry bemusement "Grandfather and Dumbledore aren't on the best of terms. The last time they were together was shortly after Grindelwald was defeated. I don't know what happened exactly, but the end result was Dumbledore being carted off to a medic with a broken nose."
"Grandfather loves telling that story." Illyasviel admitted with a small, innocent smile that didn't quite match the sadness in her eyes "It's one of the few times he actually smiles."
Herwald shivered, knowing from experience that whenever Jubstacheit smiled, he typically resembled a shark. The only exceptions were the times he fantasized about the Grail, and the time he recalled decking the Supreme Mugwump, all those years ago.
"Alright," Rin muttered, slapping a hand on the table t get them to focus "So there's no love lost between the old guys, that still doesn't explain why one of the most famous Wizards of our time is writing to Herwald-kun, and staring at the damn letter isn't going to get us any answers."
Herwald snorted, amused at the Tohsaka heir's impatience, even as he carefully slit the back of the envelop, removing the parchment within and opening it out, reading the contents aloud:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
"It's an invitation letter." Herwald noted, one brow quirked as he examined the letter, as if wondering if more lettering were on the back "A rather abrupt one at that."
"Wait, there are SCHOOLS that teach magic?" Shirou wondered, looking to Rin, Sakura and Illyasviel for confirmation, only to blink at their nod "I mean, I know all about the Magus Association, but this is the first I've heard about SCHOOLS."
"That's because there aren't any in Japan, Sempai." Sakura assured him, cutting off her elder sister before Rin could say something caustic "Japan's magical History isn't as developed as the other countries, most Magi came here from abroad, and either brought their relatives back or trained themselves, like Nee-chan."
"I learned the basics from our father, who studied abroad." Rin admitted, sending a glance at her younger sister for stealing her thunder before sighing "But it's true that, with the exceptions of the time I could stomach listening to Kirei, I'm mainly self-taught."
"Most of the weaker members of our family went to Durmstrang." Illyasviel revealed, putting a finger to her lips as she thought "Grandfather never let ME go though, said they couldn't teach me anything important."
Shirou frowned, looking at Herwald, the two of them sharing a private understanding of just what the Einzbern head's TRUE intentions behind denying Illyasviel a proper magical education had been. What would be the point, after all, of training her up, only for her to be used as the vessel for the Holy Grail.
"What I don't understand is what the mean by 'accepted'." The younger Einzbern muttered, tapping the word on the parchment in question for all to see "I certainly don't remember applying to Hogwarts…and I certainly doubt that GRANDFATHER signed me up."
"Perhaps your parents did, Master Herwald." Leysritt suggested gently, the maidservant smiling calmingly at the confused youth "With certain European Wizarding families, it is not uncommon to register their children at birth with the Academia of their choice."
Herwald frowned, honestly wondering how to react to such a revelation. To him, his family consisted of Illyasviel, Leysritt, Sella, their fellow Homunculi, and recently Emiya Shirou. He had only a passing memories of Irisviel and Kiritsugu, mere stories passed on to him from his step-siblings, which was more than he could say for his memories of his birth parents, which consisted solely of an occasional, repetitive nightmare, where he would hear a woman's scream, followed by a flash of green light that never failed to wake him up, trembling like a lamb and drenched with sweat.
"Herwald-kun?" Shirou called out, snapping his younger sibling out of his thoughts, the elder boy regarding the younger with a look of concern "You okay?"
"Fine." Herwald assured him, inclining his head gratefully at the redhead, before turning his attention back to the offending letter "Just wondering what I'm supposed to do with this?"
"What do you mean 'wondering'?" Rin demanded, the elder Tohsaka looking at the younger Einzbern as if he were insane "Do you know what an opportunity this is? Most Magi have to FIGHT to be accepted into a magical academy! You've practically been given a free-slip!"
"Nee-san, calm down." Sakura chuckled, sweat dropping nervously at her elder sister's antics. It was understandable really, as Rin had recently been applying to enter into the prestigious Clock Tower, the core of the Mages Association, only to be driven to her wits end as a result of all the red-tape associated with being a 'foreigner', never mind that the Tohsaka-clan had an established history there. The only reasons she'd even gotten THIS far was because her clan had ties to Zelretch of the Gemstone, the legendary Wizard Marshall and master of the 2nd True Magic. Though knowing the old bloodsucker, he was most likely giving her a hard time on purpose.
"It IS a good opportunity to develop my skills." Herwald admitted, frowning at the paper thoughtfully as he stroked his chin "The problem is, I'll need Grandfather's permission to go." He reminded them, causing Illyasviel and the maids to flinch "And since the deadline to let them know is LITERALLY today, I think we might want to step on it."
Needless to say, it was NOT how Herwald would have preferred to spend his Eleventh Birthday.
Castle Einzbern, abandon all hope all ye who enter here...
Jubstacheit von Einzbern was many things, most of them DANGEROUS things, but a generous, forgiving man wasn't one of them. So it was hardly a surprise, when the face of the 'stray' he'd sent out with Illyasviel to attain the Holy Grail appeared in the mirror of his study, he was decidedly less than amused, even LESS so when the little brat revealed he'd gotten a letter with his REAL name on it.
'Blast that Dumbledore!' he snarled, his mind whirling with decidedly unsavoury thoughts, even as he pretended to listen to the brat's report 'As if I didn't have enough on my plate without HIM popping up.'
It was well known that there was no love-lost between Jubstacheit and the Supreme Mugwump, it had all started when the two had competed for an apprenticeship with Nicholas Flamel, the renowned Alchemist, only for the 'twinkle-eyed Schwein-Hund' to sabotage the then heri of Einzbern, casting suspicion on him by making it seem as if he was only after the man's knowledge on the Philosopher's stone.
While Jubstacheit WAS interested in the stone, and the Elixir of Youth it could convey, he was hardly willing to sacrifice his apprenticeship for it, figuring that, with enough time, he could recreate it at his leisure AFTER learning as much as he could from the Alchemical Master. Dumbledore's meddling, in the name of the bastard's 'Greater Good', had thrown a wrench in his plans, though it was with great pleasure that he'd watched Flamel dismiss Dumbledore just as readily, citing that, while Jubstacheit's goals were suspect, Dumbledore was by no means a saint himself.
This hadn't stopped Jubstacheit from breaking the little bastard's nose the minute the door to Flamel's workshop slammed shut behind them, leaving him upside down in a barrel of alchemical waste while he himself went to get pole-axed at the local bar.
And now Harry, or Herwald rather, had received a letter inviting him to Dumbledore's joke of a School, all because the boy's birth parents had made the mistake of believing sending their spawn there would make him a half-way competent Magus. Or Wizard, rather, bloody Englanders.
'Maybe during the Founder's time.' He allotted grudgingly, 'But after a slew of Dark wars and Three Gryffindor's as Headmaster, the place is so riddled with inter-house espionage you'd be lucky to last one minute without being jinxed because you wore a different coloured tie.' He scowled in distaste 'Not only that, he's the Damned Brat-Who-Survived or whatever the Hölle they're calling him, I don't doubt for a second that Schwein-Hund has some plan for him…'
He paused, his eyes narrowing even as a slow, shark-like smile formed across his face, his mind whirling with dark, vengeful thoughts that would make lesser men shiver were they privy to them. "Grandfather?" Herwald called out, the boy looking decidedly unnerved by the old man's prolonged silence, and even more so by his smile "Is something the matter?"
"Nothing at all, my boy." Jubstacheit assured him, not missing the slight twitch at the endearing term. Jubstacheit rarely referred to anyone affectionately, and when he did it usually meant he either had a use for them, or had thought of something particularly nasty for them to do "You have my permission to go to Hogwarts if you choose." He suppressed the urge to smirk at the boy's stunned expression "However, I must caution you to be wary of the Headmaster. He is a skilled Legilimens, and won't hesitate to use this ability to garner whatever secrets he can of our family's style of magic for his own benefit."
"Jahol, I will be careful, Grandfather." Herwald assured him, the boy's expression suddenly guarded at the mention of Legilimency, a clear sign that he was even now checking his mental barricades, as he'd been taught "However, the deadline for my acceptance is today, and I don't have a means of contacting them."
"Do not worry, I shall owl them immediately." Jubstacheit assured him, waving a hand dismissively, even as he scowled "However, as punishment for your failure to obtain the Grail, do NOT expect an more help from me than this. You will have to make use of whatever support funds they possess."
"Understood, Grandfather." Herwald agreed, and Jubstacheit was impressed, despite himself, at the boy's resolve. Were he not a stray, and a failure at that, he might have considered naming him heir, he was certainly a more interesting specimen than his current one.
'We shall see.' The Einzbern head muttered, shaking such thoughts from his head, regarding the human weapon he'd sent abroad with calculative eyes 'Perhaps he shall prove himself worthy after all.'
"I shall send off a missive at once." He informed the boy, his tone commanding "I shall pass their reply on to you when it arrives." His eyes turned hard as he stared into the boy's emerald green "Prepare yourself and remember: While not of blood, you belong to the Einzbern Familly. Do nothing that would draw shame on our ancestral name."
"I shall endeavour to make you proud, Grandfather." Herwald assured him, inclining his head reverently, before vanishing from the mirror, leaving Jubstacheit staring back at himself in the dimly lit room, his shark-like smile threatening to split his face in half as he chuckled darkly to himself.
Well, that went a little better than we all thought, right?
For those wondering, Jubstacheit, to my knowledge, has never appeared in person, so take whatever liberties with his appearance as you wish. I personally envision him as a big, muscular bear of a man in the waning of his years, though still a credible threat. He's so powerfull his whole familly lives in terror of him, he doesn't NEED magic to rip you apart, he'd just as soon use his bare hands, finding it somehow more satisfying.
Some of you can guess that the conversation between Herwald and the old bear was carried out in German, in cases where more than one language is used in one scene, I'll use italics and bold to differentiate them in future, but since the only German spoke during the 'japan' scenes were Herwald's expletives, I'm sure they can be excused.
Expect chapter 3 out soon.