The Master of Death
Chapter 3
WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.
A/N: I would like to thank god of all, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, anarion87, hunzbookwrym, The Howling Behemoth, hellfire45 InfinityMask, Namikaze Uzumaki Potter, phantomsoul2015, god of all, fez8745, Haades, naruto, Guest, PascalDragon, David305, doctor of supreme awesomeness and Peertje for your reviews.
"Normal speak"
'Normal thought'
"Spells,"
§Parseltongue§
-X- Line Break -X-
He had to spend another few hours in the Medical Wing with Madam Pomfrey casting diagnostic spells every hour to make sure his body was healing. Once she had made sure that he was fully healed she allowed him to go, but not until he had something to eat.
It was midnight by the time he got back to the Slytherin common room and no one was awake when he got there. He was thankful for this, the last thing he needed was to deal with a bunch of people praising him for something he accomplished. He wasn't shy of praise or his fame, but he didn't want to deal with people praising him at this time.
When he arrived in his dorm room he found that Blaise and Theodore were still awake, though they looked to be on the verge of falling asleep.
"Why are you two still awake?" It was a stupid question, he could already guess the answer, but it didn't stop him from asking it. Judging by the raised eyebrows he received from the two, they thought so too.
"We were waiting for you." Theodore answered, Blaise nodded his head.
"Yea, we needed to make sure that what happened was true and not made up." Blaise added.
"So glad you care that I'm alright." Both boys waved off his physical condition as mere semantics. Seeing this, he gave them a fake glare in response.
"Meh, we can see that you're alright and besides, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let you out unless you were in perfect condition. Anything less and you'd still be in the Medical Wing." Blaise explained. "So, was it true, did you kill a Troll?"
"Yea I did. Though if it wasn't for Balthazar here." His snake familiar removed itself from his right arm and dropped to the bed, slowly curling into a ball. "Somehow he fused with my hand and when the Troll hit me with its club, it managed to withstand all the force. Without his help, my body will have probably been crushed.
§You're welcome human. § Balthazar hissed in response to the praise been reaped upon him.
"What'd he say?" Theodore asked curiously.
"He said that I'm welcome." Theodore nodded his head in understanding.
"You know, because of that little act, Millicent Bulstrode, Graham Montague and Peter Pike have withdrawn from Draco's powerbase and came to us to speak to you." Blaise spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Also, Greengrass has agreed to meet with you tomorrow."
"While your little act was Gryffindor-ish in nature, it does seem to have helped your position greatly." Harry nodded his head, while meanwhile thinking of what this would mean for him. If he convinced Greengrass and her little faction of followers, it would mean that he would have nine votes from his year group, however he wanted to completely destroy Draco.
"Well, I'm going to bed." Blaise spoke up, Theodore copied his actions.
Harry meanwhile, entered his mind once more. The first thing he saw was that one of the bottles containing the separate entity was cracked and small amounts of dark shadows were seeping through the gap. The shadow collapsed to the ground, turning into a thick black puddle. He watched in grim satisfaction as a face formed out of the puddle and raised into the air. A screeching sound came from its open mouth before the puddle collapsed in on its self. Afterwards the puddle began to steam before nothing remained.
Looking towards the now empty glass bottle he saw it smash into thousands of tiny pieces. Whatever just happened he was sure of one thing, it had made his first line of defence much weaker.
He would have to think of something else instead of the separate entity when it disappeared completely. Right now, though he used his most recent memory, the memory of fighting the Troll and moulded it into a bottle, with black smoke filling it. An exact copy of the other six bottles.
Exiting his mind, he could already feel a difference in both his mind and his body. He felt lighter and cleaner, like his body had lost some great burden and a great illness had been partly cleansed. His mind also felt clearer, like a fog had been cleared from his mind allowing him to think at a much quicker rate.
Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes once more and allowed sleep to claim him.
-X- Line Break -X-
The next morning, after waking up and doing his daily exercises he made his way towards the Great Hall. When he entered there was only three students awake. All of them in Ravenclaw. He ignored the looks they gave him and instead walked towards his table and began eating.
"Hello Potter." A cold feminine voice sounded from behind him. Finishing off his last bit of food, he turned around to see Daphne Greengrass staring at him with indifference.
"Greengrass, lovely to meet you again." He smiled kindly, indicating to the place next to him as an invitation to sit down.
"I'll stand." There were a few moments where she studied him. "You want me to vote for you. Why should I vote for you? Despite losing Pike, Bulstrode and Montague, Draco still has Flint in his pocket and whoever owns Flint has the Quidditch team." Daphne explained gaining a smirk in return. "What?"
"You were right until you got up to Flint and the Quidditch team. You see, Marcus now works for me and like you said, whoever owns Flint, owns the Quidditch team." Harry said in return. "So, tell me, who has the real power?"
"You do." Harry nodded his head with a crooked grin on his face.
"Exactly. So, about your stance on staying neutral?" The doors to the Great Hall opened and in came most of the student body. Daphne gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod before moving to sit with Tracey and the Carrow twins.
"Did she accept?" Theodore asked while sitting down beside him.
"Yep, now I have the Neutrals on my side. Guess I can now speak to Flint about showing Draco his place." Blaise nodded his head in agreement. Christmas was just around the corner and so was the vote for first year leadership. Harry was confident in his victory, but they also knew that if they were to grow confident now it would give Draco a chance to strike. Though he wasn't smart enough to do anything about it, to dismiss him so easily would be foolish.
"Mail's coming." Blaise spoke up, breaking Harry from his thought process.
Hedwig landed down in front of him and with a smile he stroked her feathers while removing the letters in her grasp. All the while Hedwig ate the bacon laid out on his plate.
"Someone's popular." Theodore piped up. Blaise chuckled in amusement.
"Maybe it's all of his new fangirls." Blaise teased before his face morphed into one of horror. "Merlin's balls! It-it could be fanboys!" Blaise said in horror, causing both of them to burst into laughter, even Harry found himself chuckling amusement.
"Prats." He shot back causing them to laugh harder. Looking down at the letters in his hand he read what was said on each envelope. One was from Gringotts, one was from Augusta Longbottom and one was from the Ministry of Magic. Placing the letters from Gringotts and Augusta Longbottom to the side he opened the one from the Ministry of Magic.
Before he could even begin reading it, Theodore began reading out the front page of the Daily Prophet.
"The Boy-Who-Slayed-A-Troll. How boring." The heir of house Nott said after reading out his new title. "In a shocking turn of events, a Troll, that's right my dear readers, a Troll, entered Hogwarts and nearly killed two students. One was a muggleborn student by the name of Hermione Granger, the second was the niece of Amelia Bones our Head of the DMLE, Susan Bones. Harry Potter, vanquisher of You-know-Who, along with Neville Longbottom, fought the Troll. While Neville Longbottom helped the two witches escape, Harry Potter single-handedly defeated and killed the Troll. That's right, killed the Troll!" Theodore took a pause to catch his breath.
"Say what you want about Rita Skeeter, she does know how to make a story sound interesting." Blaise said after a few moments. Shaking his head, Harry turned back to the letters.
Dear Mr Potter
We would like to personally thank you for your act of bravery in facing down the Troll. Your actions saved not only the lives of two students, Hermione Granger and Susan Bones. But also saved countless others in the process. Therefore, you and Mr Longbottom are invited to the Yule Ball we are hosting at the Ministry of Magic where you shall be given awards for your acts of bravery shown on Halloween night.
Yours sincerely,
Cornelius Fudge
Minister for Magic
Order of Merlin's. An award bestowed upon any wizard or witch that had achieved great things. He was getting two, one for 'slaying' a Dark Lord. Whoever thought that a child barely two years old could slay a wizard with decades of knowledge and had killed hundreds of wizards and witches, was stupid. At least he was gaining an award he actually deserved.
"What's got you so shocked?" Blaise questioned. Still thoroughly brimming with laughter at their earlier joke. All Harry did was pass over the letter before opening up the letter from Augusta Longbottom. "Bloody hell!" The exclamation made him smile in mirth.
"What?" Theodore looked over Blaise's shoulder before he too went quiet.
Shaking his head at their antics, Harry began reading his second letter.
Dear Mr Potter
I would first like to say, thank you. My grandson, Neville, seems to have finally come out of his shell and begun to act like a member of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom; all because of you it seems.
'That's a lie.' Harry thought, it sounded to him like Augusta found it impossible for Neville to do anything. All Harry did was tell him of heritage. Everything else was all done by Neville himself.
Not only that, but I would like to thank you for facing the Troll to allow my grandson time to escape with the two girls. As a thank you I would like to invite you to stay at Longbottom mansion after the Yule Ball for the rest of the holiday.
Yours sincerely,
Augusta Longbottom
Acting Head of Longbottom Family
Harry studied the letter for a minute before placing it to the side. He would take up the offer of course, it would be an insult not to. Insulting the Longbottom's – a long-term ally of his own family – was not a wise decision.
He then opened the letter from Gringotts.
Dear Mr Potter
I would like to inform you that the carcass of the Troll has been stripped of all valuable pieces and has been currently placed on both the pen market and the black market. However, like you asked, a section of the muscle and skin have been separated along with the skull, which is now inside Potter Manor.
On another note, the Manors belonging to Peverell, Ravenclaw and Albion have been refurbished and all the defensive wards you have asked for have been put into place along with some extra ones of my choosing. As for the Manors belonging to the Le Fay family, it is currently on its way to completion.
As for the shops, you are now the owner of eleven shops in Diagon Alley and have shares in seventeen other shops. In Knockturn Alley you own nine shops and you have shares in fourteen others.
If there any changes you would like me to make just let me know.
Yours sincerely
Ripclaw Ragnok
Potter Account Manager
Smirking, Harry put the letters back in their respective envelopes before placing them inside his robes.
"Shall we?" His two other friends nodded their head and they made their way towards their next lesson.
-X- Line Break -X-
The following week had been filled with people trying to speak and praise him. Thankfully, with the help of Peter Pike and Graham Montague who were more than willing to act as bodyguards for him, he had managed to get through the school without been mauled to death by his many fans.
"You go on ahead." Harry said to Blaise, Theodore, Graham and Peter. The four boys nodded their heads and walked outside the classroom, leaving only himself and Professor Flitwick remaining in the classroom.
"Can I help you, Mr Potter?" Harry nodded his head and he moved forwards till he stood before the diminutive Professor.
"Yes, you see I never got around to asking you before, what with me trying to get used to everything. But, you see, I've entered myself into a Duelling tournament and I was wondering if you would be willing to help train me up for it." Professor Flitwick seemed to swell with excitement.
"Of course, Mr Potter, of course." He contemplated something for a minute before speaking once more, "come to me here every Saturday after lunch."
"Thank you, Professor." Giving a slight bow, Harry left the Charms classroom. Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham joined him. In the past week the five of them had become friends in a way. Harry, Blaise and Theodore being much closer than the other two.
"So, what do you plan to do about Draco?" In the past week, Draco had been trying desperately to get more votes. It had all gone down for him the moment Peter, Graham and Bulstrode had left his group. It had only gotten worse when he tried to have the Quidditch team to threaten Harry's group, only to be rebuffed. Then, when the neutrals joined Harry, Draco had begun trying to get Crabbe and Goyle to attack his group. The two were easily beaten by Harry and his group's superior knowledge of magic.
"We do nothing Blaise; Flint will do it." They entered the library, and moved towards one of the tables in a far end corner. Sat around the table were five people – Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Neville Longbottom, Terry Boot and Hermione Granger.
He liked three out of the five. One he did not like, but would help him in later life, the other was to his end goals and only stayed for protection.
Susan Bones was very valuable. She hailed from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Bones, a previous ally of the Potter family. More specifically, the Grand Alliance created by Charlus Potter. However, after Charlus' death the alliance members split and formed their own alliances. The Bones family became allies with the Most Ancient and Noble House of Macmillan, Ancient and Noble House of Abbott and the Ancient House of Smith. By fostering friendships with them he was bringing back Bones into the Grand Alliance with additional houses as well.
For you see, in the wizarding world, the leading family of an alliance was decided not by who formed it, but who had the most influence. So, if a leading family of an alliance choose to join another, the families they were once allied with would have to join as well. They could only leave if they went to the new leading family and was given permission to leave.
Then there was Neville Longbottom, the only family from the Grand Alliance who had not abandoned the Potters. While they had no additional allies, they were a Most Ancient and Most Noble House and therefore was extremely influential. Not only that, but Neville had lots of magical potential and would be a very formidable fighter with the right training. Hopefully, with his visit to the Longbottom's, he could convince Augusta to give him that extra training.
Hannah Abbott was by far the least influential person on the table, except for Hermione. She was allied with Susan and therefore was only at the table because wherever Susan went, Hannah went.
Terry Boot was the final person of use on the table. He had never been a member of the Grand Alliance, but in recent years, the Ancient and Noble House of Boot had joined a very large alliance of lower houses. In it was the Ancient House of Chang, Edgecomb, Belby, Goldstein, Brocklehurst, Corner, MacDougal and the Ancient and Noble House of Patil and the Li's. A large alliance of smaller houses. Alone, they were nothing, but together they made quite an influential group. Not enough to threaten others, but enough to make a difference.
Hermione Granger was the last one on the table. She was skilled in theory, but at the practical side she was average. She had lots of control, but that was easily accomplished when you had next to no magical power. In fact, the only reason he allowed her to stay was because she was the only one who could be bothered to pay attention in History of Magic.
"Harry, is it alright if I talk to you alone?" Nodding his head, he followed Neville, while Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham sat at the table.
"What'd you reckon their talking about?" Blaise asked the three other Slytherin's. Terry, Hermione and Hannah shrugged their shoulders while Susan simply gave him a meaningful glance that made him nod his head in understanding.
"So, what'd you need, Neville?" Harry asked behind a bookcase.
"It's about the night we faced the Troll." Seeing Harry's inquiring stare, he elaborated. "When me, Hermione and Susan were running away we somehow ended up on the third-floor corridor. While there we saw Professor Snape come out of this room, holding his right leg that was bleeding. So, I decided to, you know…" He trailed off embarrassedly.
"You went to investigate didn't you?"
"Yeah." He chuckled sheepishly.
"So, what'd you find?"
"A Cerberus." Neville said simply.
"A Cerberus?"
"Yea, and under one of its paws was a trapdoor." Neville explained.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I went to go find Hagrid, you know because he's the Groundskeeper." Seeing the inquiring stare, he continued. "Well, I found that the Cerberus is called Fluffy; I know stupid name." He spoke up once he saw the formation of a smile on Harry's face. "I also found out that the Cerberus is guarding something to do with Nicolas Flamel."
"Nicolas Flamel? Isn't he the immortal alchemist?" Harry questioned.
"Yea he is." Nodding his head, Harry began to think of what could possibly be hidden in Hogwarts, which was so valuable that it needed to be guarded by a Cerberus and also belonged to Nicolas Flamel. Harry knew he would have to research this, but whatever it was; he would have to get his hands on it eventually.
Nicolas Flamel was a historically renowned genius, who was rumoured to be six hundred and sixty-five; some even speculated that he was older, but no one actually knew that. One thing everyone did know was that he was master of alchemy and the creator of the Philosopher's Stone. This itself was only able to turn something to gold; however, it was the key ingredient to the creation of a Potion called the Elixir of Life.
Nodding his head, the two moved back to the table where everyone else was sat.
"Finished talking?" Blaise asked in good humour.
"What does it look like?" Harry shot back while sitting down.
"Touché, touché." Blaise acknowledged.
-X- Line Break -X-
Most of the student body had left to go home for Christmas; only a few had not gone. Harry and Blaise were some of the only ones that had not gone on home, each for different reasons. Harry had no home he wished to return to and Blaise's mum was away with her new husband and therefore he had no one to return to.
The time they spent in the first week was doing odd bits and bobs.
Both had got into a routine for the first week. Without any lessons to occupy some of their time, they had found after the first two days that doing nothing was tedious. So, Blaise had woken up at six o'clock every morning and had begun doing exercises alongside Harry. Then after having breakfast the two would go to the library and study all types of magic. After having lunch, Harry would then spend three hours training with Professor Flitwick, Blaise on the other hand would spend time in the common room relaxing.
After that the two would just spend the day relaxing, playing Wizard's chess, reading, and in Harry's case, improving his Occlumency shields.
His training with Professor Flitwick had been a mix of multiple things. They would start off with the Professor throwing multiple stinging hexes at him and Harry would be forced to dodge as many as he could. This was because dodging an enemy's attacks are much more reliable. Blocking spells was good unless someone overpowered their spells to the point it would just break your shield; there was also the fact that the Unforgivables would just bypass any shield put up. Redirecting/catching spells was much better than blocking, but you needed to place your wand directly in front of the spell at exactly the right time, otherwise it would not work.
Then they would be going through the rules and regulations of the Duelling competition, before moving onto Spell Chaining. Professor Flitwick had taught Harry the best ways to chain spells and what spells to use in spell chains.
The final thing they would do was learning how to under and overpower a spell. If a wizard/witch underpowered his spells it would dissipate before it hit your target and therefore would act as a distraction that would stop your enemy from seeing what you really planned to do. However, if a wizard/witch overpowered his spells they could potentially end a fight in one hit.
It was Christmas morning when they woke up, both excited like any child was on Christmas Day.
Clambering out of bed, he looked to see Blaise was already sat on the floor looking through the pile of presents piled up.
"I've sorted through them all. That one there is yours." He inclined his head at the group of presents just chucked randomly in a corner. Turning to face Blaise with a raised eyebrow, the brown-skinned Italian simply shrugged in return. "What, they're your problem, not mine." Shaking his head, Harry made his way towards the 'pile' of presents.
The first one he opened was a gift from Ripclaw, he was shocked. From what he had heard of how Goblins had acted around other wizards was that they were rude and downright nasty. So, to receive a gift from one was rare. There were two long daggers, of similar shape and size to that of Elven daggers used by Legolas in Lord of the Rings. Due to his current size they were similar to that of a long sword, and therefore impractical to use. He marvelled at the blades and found that they were very light, almost weightless, and along the blade multiple runes were inscribed on to it.
Enclosed along with the two blades was a letter.
Dear Mr Potter
I believe you humans call this season Yule or Christmas. Normally, I nor any Goblin would dare give a human a gift due to them believing we are beneath them. You however have treated me like an equal and I have also found the past few months working alongside you to be very enjoyable.
So as a thank you and insurance that you continue to remember who helped you get to where you want to be, the two blades are made from Goblin-forged steel. It is as light aluminium and ten times stronger than steel.
The runes on the side do different things. There is an unbreakable, strength, sharpness, weightless and also a personal Goblin rune, the knowledge rune. I have personally infused my knowledge on wielding a blade into the sword. When you wield it, the information will not make you master, but instead act as a guide for you to follow. I would suggest that when you are tall enough, you should work on a style that suits your body type.
Yours sincerely
Ripclaw Ragnok
Potter Account Manager
"Who'd you get that from?" Blaise asked curiously as he looked at the two blades placed on the floor.
"My account manager." Harry replied, while re-reading the letter once more.
"A Goblin? A Goblin gave you two Goblin-forged steel blades…as a gift?" Blaise asked sceptically. "Did I ask if we were on about Goblins?"
"Yes, you did Blaise, yes you did." Harry didn't say anything after that, not even when Blaise picked up one of the blades.
"It's so light." Chuckling at Blaise's breathless comment, he began opening up his other presents. His next gift was from Theodore, it was a book on the Dark Arts from his family's own personal library. The gifts he received were mainly books called Magical Fairy Tales a Guide to Successful Flying, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, A Guide to Advanced Charms, The Greatest Empires of the Magical World, The History of the Seven Warlords of Magical Britain and finally, History's Most Dangerous Enchantments from Peter, Graham, Susan, Hannah, Terry, Neville and Blaise respectively. With only a box of sweets from Hermione.
"Thanks for the gift." Looking up from the book given to him by Blaise, he saw that the boy in question was holding onto the book he gave him. The book itself was about the history of Slytherin house.
"You're welcome." There were a few moments of silence as the two placed their gifts onto a separate pile, doing so revealed that Harry had a final gift. Studying it for a few minutes, he began to open it. When he did, it revealed a simple cloak.
"Who's it from?"
"Dunno, all it says is that my father left this in this random person's care and now he or she is giving it to me."
"Go on then, try it on." Shaking his head at Blaise's eagerness he placed it around his shoulders and to his surprise his body disappeared, except for his head. "Bloody hell, you've got an Invisibility Cloak! To be honest, I shouldn't be surprised, your family were traders, so you were bound to run across one eventually."
Nodding his head in agreement, Harry folded the cloak and placed it down on his bed.
"So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Harry asked.
"Dunno, I'll probably go spend some time in the library. I'm guessing you're going to Longbottom Manor?" Blaise asked.
"Yea, I'm packing my stuff now, then I'm travelling by floo to Diagon Alley." Harry said while beginning to pack his stuff.
"Diagon Alley? Why don't you just go to King's Cross Station?"
"I have to speak with my account manager and there's some stuff in Diagon Alley I need to collect."
-X- Line Break -X-
Dumbledore sat in his office, Christmas was never a time for him to celebrate without his sister. A knock at the door alerted him to a person wishing to enter his office. The door soon opened revealing the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Infuriate-Him. His plans had been ruined because of the young Potter heir.
He had lost a large source of funding for the Order of the Phoenix because while there is no need for the Order right now, Voldemort would eventually return, and he would need every last available resource. Whilst the Potter's had a lot of money, it was not enough to make them invaluable. He would just have to fund the Order with money from his own vaults, something he had tried to avoid in the First Wizarding War.
If the boy wished to have control of his vault, Dumbledore would indulge him if only to begin fostering some level of trust between the two. That didn't mean he would completely stay out of the boy's life, oh no.
The tests would remain, if only to allow him to measure the boy's magical growth. If he was too powerful and a threat to the world he wished to create, Dumbledore would kill; eliminate him before he became another Voldemort. If he was powerful and wished to help him create his world then he would let the Potter heir live. It was just a matter of what the boy became.
"Ah my boy, off already?" Dumbledore asked in his grandfatherly voice.
"Yes, Professor." He waved the boy over to his fireplace.
"Do you know how this works?" Harry shook his head and Dumbledore simply smiled condescendingly. "That's quite alright. It's very simple, all you have to do is take a pinch of the powder, then when you step into the fireplace, simply throw it at the ground and say where you want to go."
Nodding his head, Harry walked into the fireplace with his trunk. Taking a small amount of floo powder from a bowl presented to him by Dumbledore, he threw it on the ground and said, "Leaky Cauldron."
Dumbledore continued to stare at the place Harry once sat. His smile turning into a frown. If the Potter heir wished to be treated like an adult, the kid gloves that he had been treating Harry with would no longer be on.
-X- Line Break -X-
With a grunt, Harry found himself face first on the ground of the Leaky Cauldron. Pushing himself up to his feet he dusted his clothes of any dirt on them and looked around to see if anyone had seen his disastrous entry.
"First time travelling by floo?" Looking up he saw that it was Tom the barkeeper that asked the question. Nodding his head, Harry picked up his trunk. "Word of advice. When you throw the power down start walking out, helps keep you balanced."
"Thanks." He went towards the door and exited onto Diagon Alley. There were very few people out, something he was grateful for. His fame had grown and therefore, so had the number of fans he had. It was one of the reasons why he had not left at the start of the Yule holidays. If he left then, Harry would have to face countless parents who would wish to thank him. He didn't mind of course, but he would rather not be held up.
He passed every shop and headed straight towards Knockturn Alley. Moving past a few wizards who gave him odd looks, he entered Borgin and Burkes.
The bell behind the door chimed, and a man he assumed to be Mr Borgin entered from a door. Paying him no heed, Harry looked at the various artefacts and books. Two books and a single artefact caught his attention the most. The books were called, Greatest Necromancer's and Est autem necromantia, roughly translated to Necromancy. Whilst he would never bring a soul back from the dead, to do so would be an insult to the Death, the body, however, was something he would use without care.
The object was a single, right handed gauntlet. It was deep black in colour with spikes coming out from the knuckle. Imprinted on the back of it was a faded symbol. A triangle with a line cutting directly through the middle with a circle in the centre of the triangle. He didn't know what they symbol meant, but Harry knew it held something of great value.
"How much for these?" Harry asked, while placing the gauntlet and the books on the desk. Mr Borgin looked from the three objects to Harry.
"I can sell you the books for a price of three hundred galleons. Very rare books they are and worth the extra galleons. The gauntlet however, is already reserved." Mr Borgin said.
"One hundred and fifty for the books and I'll double whatever the wizard or witch is paying for the gauntlet." Harry bargained.
"Two hundred and fifty for the books." Mr Borgin countered.
"Done. And the gauntlet."
"Yours." Mr Borgin pondered something for a few moments. Obviously trying to find the total price. "That will be five hundred and thirty two galleons." Nodding his head, Harry passed over the necessary amount before taking his things.
Moving through the streets, Harry made his way towards Moribund's where he collected something that Ripclaw had ordered. There was no fuss or anything of the like.
-X- Line Break -X-
Longbottom Manor was just like he expected. Large expanses of green fields, filled with different types of flowers and plants. The manor itself was magnificent, large towering gates, glass windows and that old-fashioned building style that had a certain appeal to it. Beside him, Neville chuckled in amusement at Harry's shock. It wasn't surprising, anyone who had not been raised in the Magical World would find the lavish lifestyle of the Magical Families amazing.
Neville and his Grandmother had found Harry exiting Gringotts, apparently he had just had a meeting with Ripclaw.
The meeting between Harry and Augusta had been very amusing to Neville. It had been the first time he had seen Harry nervous. Even when he fought the Troll, he seemed calm, cool and collected. But when he met Augusta, he looked like he was struggling to find the correct words to say.
It took him around five minutes before Harry was finally able to say what needed to be said. The shock on his grandmother's face when Harry told her that it was her insistence that Neville should have his father's wand that nearly got two students killed was an eye opener.
For the first time in his life, Augusta had apologised. Then they went to Ollivanders to purchase another wand for Neville and both boys had to admit, there was a massive improvement in Neville's ability to use magic. Spells that he had once been unable to use, came as easy to him as breathing.
Augusta watched from the doorway as the two boys continued to practise magic. Both were having fun. They had just come up from the basement, which had been turned into a duelling room by her grandfather-in-law. Now they were using the harmless, but embarrassing, spells on one another. It warmed her heart seeing her grandson finally have a friend.
Maybe she had been too harsh on Neville as a child. Always pushing him to be exactly like his father, Frank. But, looking at him now, she realised that Neville was never going to be like his father.
He was going to be better.
"Neville, Mr Potter, it's about time you go upstairs and get ready. The Yule party will be starting soon." Augusta spoke up, interrupting their current activity. The two boys nodded their heads and began making their way up the stairs, pushing each other and laughing all the way.
Entering his room, Harry closed the door behind him and looked around it.
It still shocked him that this was just a single room of many in the Longbottom Manor. The room itself isn't very extravagant. Just a large four poster bed, with a bedside table on either side, and some drawers and a cupboard. His clothes for the night were already laid out on his bed, no doubt the work of Gabbey, the Longbottom's House Elf.
The House elves were something else that fascinated him about the Magical World. The fact that they were the last species of elves on the planet was something that warranted looking into. Thankfully, Augusta had saved him the time and effort.
Apparently, the House Elves were descended from the True elves as they were called. The True elves were wiped out during the time of Merlin. According to the history books, the True elves sided with Morgan Le Fay and Mordred. The elves apparently, had grown tired of been mistreated by the humans and had sworn an oath to serve Morgan Le Fay and her legacy. Merlin however, defeated her, and Arthur and his armies defeated Mordred and the True elves.
The elves, to stop their people from been hunted to extinction, came to Merlin.
The wizard stripped them of most of their magical power and cursed them to never be able to survive without serving a master. According to legend, the House elves were waiting for someone to free them of Merlin's curse so that they could serve the House of Le Fay once more.
The thought made him smirk. A wise person once said, that all legends have some measure of truth to them. If this legend was true, then he would have a valuable resource.
Changing was a tedious affair. Having a shower, styling his hair and then getting changed into his dark green, with a silver lining, robes made of Acromantula silk. Once he was done, he checked in the mirror to see that he looked presentable before walking down to the main living room.
This room was much more extravagant than his bedroom. With old-fashioned sofas, chandeliers, pictures of previous Longbottom family members and a single large fireplace.
Neville and Augusta were already stood waiting.
"I hope I haven't kept you waiting?" Harry asked sheepishly.
"Nah, I only just got down." Nodding his head with a relieved smile, he stepped forwards into the fireplace beside Neville. Due to its larger than normal size, it allowed more than one person to travel at the same time.
"Ministry of Magic." Augusta spoke clearly, while throwing floo powder to the ground. Remembering Tom's advice, he began walking and found that when he came out on the other side, he was still stood upright. "Follow me." Doing as Augusta said, Neville and Harry followed after the woman.
"Wands please." A man asked from behind a security desk. Each of them pulled out their wands and handed them over to the wizard stood behind the desk. Of course, what none of them knew was that Harry had his second wand hidden up his left sleeve. Call him paranoid, but Harry wouldn't put it past some pureblood supremacists to get revenge.
The journey to the area in which the Yule party was being held was enjoyable for both Neville and Harry. The lift was the most interesting part of it all. The way it kept moving from side to side, backwards, forwards and downwards at high speeds.
Already many people were sat around the multiple tables. In total there were sixteen tables. Five tables for each faction; Light, Neutral and Dark. They passed those tables and headed straight for the only remaining table. This was the only table that was full except for three seats. There was Dumbledore, Amelia and six others he didn't recognise. Augusta took a seat next to Dumbledore, while Neville sat next to her. Harry meanwhile, was seated in-between Neville and Amelia.
"Hello Mr Potter, it's absolutely wonderful to meet you." A man with a top hat and looked to be a bit overweight said in a delighted tone. "I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic here in Magical Britain." Harry took the extended arm and found that the enthusiasm in a single hand shake nearly dislocated his arm.
"Nice to meet you, Minister." Harry replied unsteadily.
"Yes, yes. I believe introductions are in order. You already know Amelia and Dumbledore. This is Dolores Umbridge, my Senior Undersecretary." He indicated to the woman in a pink outfit that Blaise would describe as being "ghastly." The thought made him smile. "Then there is Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office." Rufus was a stern looking man with tawny, long hair. "Ludo Bagman." He was a man who had once been a muscular man, but since his retirement his muscle had decreased in size and was reminiscent to fat. "Barty Crouch Senior." He was another stern looking man who, like the Minister, wore a top hat. "And last, but not least, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy." Lucius and his wife wore the most expensive looking robes. Lucius had white-blonde hair with pale skin, while his wife had brown hair with white-blonde highlights and pale skin.
'They make quite a pair.' Harry thought as he stared at the Malfoy's.
"So how are you enjoying school, Mr Potter?" Rufus Scrimgeour asked.
"It's…interesting." Harry said after a few moments of silence. "Though, I would like it to be a bit more challenging."
"How so?" Rufus questioned further as everyone took note of what Harry was saying. Dumbledore, despite being Headmaster of the school, couldn't find it within him to argue this point. Harry was a prodigy, as the teachers had said numerous times. They had all talked about giving him extra work, but Dumbledore had refused. Perhaps, he should allow Harry to have extra work just so that the boy could continue to learn the wonders of magic. Of course, Dumbledore would have to make it clear that it was he, who gave the teachers the permission.
"Harry here is a prodigy in the art of understanding magic. He wields it with great skill for his age. Not even I was as skilled as he when I was his age." Dumbledore answered for Harry. Lucius and Narcissa, who had been speaking with each other privately, turned their gaze to Harry.
"Is he now?" Lucius drawled. Ludo seemed to be practically brimming with excitement. "That is to be expected, is it not? After all, he is the vanquisher of the Dark Lord, the great Boy-Who-Lived." Beside him, Umbridge seemed to sneer in disgust at the mention of his title. Harry didn't know Umbridge personally, but he could already tell he would not like this woman.
"What I did as a child has nothing to do with what I have accomplished now." Harry said, though everyone clearly heard the angry undertone in his voice. He hid it well, but it was still heard.
"Of course not." Lucius replied simply in a mocking tone. "Who am I to question the great Boy-Who-Lived?"
Narrowing his eyes, Harry replied. "I don't know, Lucius Malfoy of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy." It was Lucius's turn to narrow his eyes, only those who knew of what Draco had been spouting were aware of the true meaning to Harry's words.
"Wa..." Lucius never got to finish his sentence as Cornelius Fudge stood up and tapped his spoon against the side of his goblet. Harry tensed, his left hand gripping his wand tightly as he prepared for Lucius to attack, it never came as he looked around the room. Copying his action, Harry looked around to see that all the tables had been filled in their time of talking amongst each other.
"W-welcome everyone." Fudge stuttered at first as he hastily cut in to stop a conflict between Lucius and Harry. "As you know, today we celebrate the brave acts of two young wizards who risked their lives to save countless others."
There was a light applause around the room. Fudge smiled as he quickly made his way towards the small stage. On it was a desk with three medals.
"On the night of Halloween, a Troll somehow managed to enter Hogwarts grounds and nearly killed two students." Here he looked at Amelia. "However, due to the brave acts of two young boys, they were saved and probably countless others in the process. They faced the Troll and managed to kill it. So, will Neville Longbottom please come to the stage?"
Nervously, the boy got up and walked up towards Fudge until he was stood beside him.
"Neville here, distracted the Troll long enough for Susan Bones and Hermione Granger to escape from harm. He then took the two girls to safety. For his bravery shown in the face of danger, I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you, the Order of Merlin: Second Class." A large golden circle with a purple ribbon. Neville bowed his head allowing Cornelius to place the medal around his neck.
Once again there was a light applause around the area.
"Harry Potter, please come to the stage." Once Harry was beside him, Fudge spoke again. "What hasn't this boy done? On Halloween, Harry Potter along with Neville Longbottom faced against the Troll. While Neville helped lead the two witches to safety, Harry risked his life to distract the Troll, and went one step further. He killed the Troll." Here there was a light applause. "For his service in saving many lives, I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you the Order of Merlin: Second Class."
A medal exactly the same as Neville's was placed around his neck. Following this was an applause from the crowd. Harry went to move away, however was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Fudge giving him a look that told him to wait.
"Mr Potter's conquests do not stop there. Oh no. Barely older than 1 year old, You-Know-Who attacked the Potters. Sadly, that day we lost two valuable members of our society." There was a moment of silence for James and Lily. "However, their sacrifice was not in vain. Harry Potter, in an act that shocked us all, slayed the very monster that had terrorised our homes for eleven years. I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you the Order of Merlin: First Class."
Harry bowed his head and a medal with a green ribbon instead of purple was placed around his neck. All around the room, the Neutrals and the Light faction gave loud cheer and round of applause, while the Dark faction kept it polite.
Taking a seat at the table once more, Harry gave a smirk in Lucius' direction, which infuriated Lord Malfoy even further.
-X- Line Break -X-
Harry had never known he could miss a place more than he would miss Hogwarts. He had been away for two weeks and being away had felt like he was missing a part of himself. Now that he was back, he felt at home. It was an odd concept for him; no place had felt like home for him.
They were currently sat in the Charms classroom. It was their last lesson for the day and for the first time he felt challenged. The Professors had given him extra challenges and made other parts more difficult. It seems Dumbledore had taken his words to heart. The thought pleased him; now he had something to look forward to in lessons. Now they were no longer a chore to do, something he hated as it reminded him of his treatment at the hands of the Dursley's
On his left-hand side was Blaise, with Theodore on his right. On the row above them was Peter and Graham. The six of them had been unable to meet each other over the holiday, except for Neville and Harry.
They were currently learning the severing charm, pronounced with Diffindo.
Amongst them, Theodore was the first one to be able to perform the spell on a small piece of cloth. Following him was Peter, Blaise and then Graham. Harry had already been able to do this spell already, however, he had been given a thick block of wood. So far he had been able to split it in half with his wand. Though when it came to doing it wandlessly he was only able to split the block halfway down the middle.
"Diffindo." Harry whispered and swiped his hand downwards. The block of wood instantly had a large split going down the centre. Beside him, Blaise chuckled. Shooting him a glare, Harry looked at the wood that had miraculously repaired itself. It was one of Professor Flitwick's personal charms. A charm that would not repair an object magically, due to that making it weaker, but instead it took the same materials from a nearby source and used that to repair an object.
The thing that really confused him, was the fact that he had been using magic to repair his body after the beatings he suffered at the hands of the Dursley's. Every time he did so, it made his body stronger, not weaker. He didn't know the reason why, but he knew he would get the answer from someone or something eventually.
"Diffindo." Harry tried again and this time it made a cut three-quarters of the way down the block of wood. Waiting for a few moments, he allowed the wood to repair itself before trying again.
"And here I thought you were meant to be good at magic." Peter spoke from above him. With a wave of his hand, Harry listened to the sound of Peter's jaw closing shut with a click.
"I am." Theodore chuckled in amusement from beside him.
With a deep breath, Harry tried the spell once more and to his never-ending joy, he finally got it to work. With a sigh, Harry leaned backwards.
"About time you got it to work." Blaise said.
"I will kill you." All five of them laughed lightly at the byplay.
The clock tower chimed not long afterwards, indicating the end of the lesson. Saying goodbye to the other four, Harry made his way towards Professor Flitwick, who was already making space for their Duelling practise.
"So, what are we doing today, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.
"The usual." Harry had barely any warning, the only one being Professor Flitwick drawing his wand. Moving without thought, Harry leant to the side, only just avoiding the stinging hex sent his way. Ten minutes went by, with Harry constantly weaving and dodging as many stinging hexes as he could.
He could tell he was making progress due to him not feeling as much pain as he normally did after they finished this exercise.
"You've improved a lot since we first did this." Professor Flitwick said. Harry's lips tugged upwards at the praise being given to him. Heaving in a few more breaths, he stood up and looked to Professor Flitwick.
"How much?"
"Well, I would say you dodged around six out of ten on your first go, now you're dodging around two out of ten." Nodding his head, Harry drew out his wand. Professor Flitwick gave a flick of his wand and a large wooden figurine appeared beside him. "I'm going to teach you a very useful spell. It's called the Bombarda charm. It is not officially part of the school curriculum, but this charm will help you in your Duelling matches. The pronunciation is Bombarda and it is an explosion spell." Professor Flitwick turned to the wooden dummy and waved his wand around. "Bombarda."
As soon as the spell struck the target, it caused the wooden dummy to explode. Harry, as soon as he saw the effect of the spell, realised how useful it would have been in his fight against the Troll.
Following this was a few minutes of Harry practising the wand movements. Once he had them down, he turned to face the dummy.
"Bombarda!" The spell shot from his wand, but it was more like a harmless wind that hit the dummy and not an explosion spell.
"Remember Harry. Visualise what effect my spell had on the dummy. When you perform yours think of that memory and will that to happen." Filius explained. Nodding his head, Harry once again faced the dummy.
"Bombarda!" The spell shot from his wand and hit the dummy. This time though it caused the entire right arm to explode, the remaining half however, simply fell to the ground due to the force.
"That's good for your second try. Now, this time imagine a chain reaction. Imagine that when one part strikes the wooden dummy, the rest of the body explodes."
"Bombarda!" The spell struck the target once more and this time the top half exploded, while the remaining half dropped to the ground.
"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "Now, again."
-X- Line Break -X-
Three hours, that's how long he had spent trying to get to sleep. He had tried working on his Occlumency shields to calm himself. It had done nothing, he had tried doing a few exercises to tire his body, but nothing had worked. There was something he needed to do, something that was calling to him.
Getting out of bed, he looked around and allowed his magic to spread out around the room. Something latched onto his magic.
§What isss it human? § Balthazar asked, his head tiredly raising up from its position on Harry's bed.
§It'sss nothing Balthazar. Go back to sssleep. § Instead of doing that, Balthazar instead slithered across the ground and up Harry's body. §I thought I asssked you to go back to sssleep? §
§You did, I'm choosssing to ignore you. § Giving a small laugh in response, Harry looked through his trunk, gently placing his two long daggers on the ground before picking up his Invisibility Cloak. §What isss it? §
§For sssome reassson, I feel the need to go out and it'sss ssstronger when I'm wearing thisss. § Harry hissed in wonderment.
§Why don't you put it on? It'sss obviousss that you can't sssleep, why not go on a little walk? § Balthazar asked. Harry pondered the thought for a few moments before nodding his head. Grabbing hold of the cloak, Harry walked out of his dorm and began making his way to the common room. Luckily no one was awake and therefore he had no need to put on his Invisibility cloak.
Walking through Hogwarts at night was entirely different to walking through it during the day, Harry decided immediately. Not just because of the lack of other students, but because everything seemed dead.
While his eyes and mind were taking in his surroundings, his body moved by itself. He didn't know where he was going, but something was telling him to go somewhere.
Slowly he came to a stop before a door. Looking around to see if anyone was present, he reached out and opened the door. Carefully closing the door behind him he looked to see what was in the room. The only thing that stood out was a single mirror. In fact, that was the only thing in the room.
It was very large and as he looked in it he didn't see himself, but he saw two adults. One was a man looking exactly like him with glasses, the other a beautiful woman with red hair and eyes the same shade of green as his own. Both were smiling down at him, but behind him he could make out a mountain of bodies, looking down at the feet of his mirror self he also saw himself stood on a pile of bodies.
Looking back up at his mirror-self he saw that it had changed. He was dressed in a Dragon-hide top, with a Goblin-forged chest plate and Goblin-forged armguards, covering his hands was the gauntlet he bought from Borgin and Burkes, with another on his left hand formed from Goblin-forged steel. However, on the original was a single black stone and attached to his chest plate was his Invisibility cloak and stuck to his left hand were three wands, one he did not recognise. Held tightly in both hands were his two long daggers.
His mirror-self looked at him with amusement and then Harry took in the sight of the mirror changing. He watched in different ways as enemies he recognised, Dumbledore, Snape, Lucius and Draco been killed by himself, while many others he did not were also struck down by his own hands.
With each kill, Harry watched as the mountain of bodies grew higher and higher till they were back to its original height.
§What do you sssee human? § Balthazar hissed from beside him.
§I sssee myssself, ssstanding upon a mountain of bodiesss made from my enemiesss. § Here, Harry paused for a few moments as he stared at his two parents. §And my parentsss. §
"Hello, my boy." A voice piped up from behind him. Turning around he saw Dumbledore looking at him. Quickly Harry looked to see that his cloak had dropped to the ground. Dumbledore looked to the mirror, then to Harry and the cloak before nodding his head. "I see like many others before you, you have found the Mirror of Erised."
Harry turned away from the Dumbledore and studied the mirror with greater scrutiny. On it he noticed that it said, 'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.' He read it for a few more moments before he finally realised what it said. 'I show you not your face but your heart's desire.'
"Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible." Dumbledore continued. "May I ask, what do you see?"
"I see myself and my parents." Harry said, choosing to keep the other part hidden. Not knowing how Dumbledore would react if he knew about the other part of his desire. "What do you see, Professor?"
"I see myself holding a pair of thick, white, woollen socks. No one can have too many socks." Dumbledore said. "I must ask you, Mr Potter. Do not look for it again." Nodding his head, Harry picked up his cloak and walked past Dumbledore. Quickly he put it on and made his way back towards his dorm room. Already he could feel the desire to sleep creeping up on him.
Dumbledore watched Harry go with something akin to accomplishment.
The elderly wizard was glad to know that not all of his plans were completely destroyed. The boy still craved the love of a family. Dumbledore knew he could use his desire into the plans he had for the boy. While he was no longer taking a keen interest in the boy's future as much as he did, he knew that Prophecies could not be disobeyed.
Therefore, he would have to get someone who could foster a good relationship with the boy. The Weasley's were out of the question for now, Ronald had seen to that. With time the boy may still warm up to the Weasley's, if not, Molly would certainly revert to her old ways of using Love Potions to get her way.
Sirius, while being innocent, was also out of the question. He had only ever been loyal to the Potter's who had in turn, only sided with him due to Lily's respect for authority figures. If she hadn't, the Potter's would have never joined the Order of the Phoenix.
The only other person was Remus Lupin. However, he was God knows where. He would have to cash in some favours that are owed to him, but it was all for the greater good.
Eventually, Remus would meet Harry and then would gain Harry's trust. In doing so, the Werewolf would help Harry to see that Dumbledore was not the bad guy he believed, but in fact someone that only wished to help. If not, well, it was no great loss. No matter what happened, whether Harry worked for him or not, Harry would kill Voldemort.
This night had proven that Harry desired a family. Voldemort took that from him and so he would kill him as a way to ensure that his parents were avenged. That part made him the most secure in Voldemort's future, however, not in the future of his dream world.
He would have to think on ways to ensure his dream world comes too being.
For now though, he would study the Boy-Who-Lived. See what areas he excelled, which he did not and which areas he seemed to show the most interest in. In doing so it would allow him to properly plan on how to defeat Harry if he grew to threaten his dream world.
A/N: Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable. This chapter was just a filler, the next one is the chapter where Harry gets the Philosopher's Stone. So please leave a review if you have any questions. Also, I've posted a review about who should be in Harry's harem.
