MoD - Master of Defense
Ch. 4
He echoed her "Peace and Security to magic." before bowing a last time to the trio and moving toward the door on the opposite side of the room, more than ready to go to the adventure.
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Harry applied the Cooling Charm again, brooding just the appropriate amount. He tried to listen to the spiel the Master Curse-Breaker was ranting about, something concerning foolish youngsters and how they didn't have an ounce of respect for their elders.
Oh… he was probably referring to him. It may be a good idea to start paying attention…
He ducked under a flying chalk, rolling away from an Entrail-Exploding Curse. He hastily erected an Aegis Shield, which immediately suffered the onslaught of an impressive selection of painful and esoteric curses.
Once standing he turned to face of Arsenius Jigger, the Master Curse-Breaker assigned to his instruction during his stay in Nigeria.
The old man, who had a few seconds before tried to spill his guts on the ground, had a distinct look of satisfaction.
"At least you know how to use your wand, boy. Now start paying attention or I'll show you why I'm the only Curse-Breaker alive to be over one hundred and fifty!" he snarked.
Harry nodded slowly, inwardly cursing himself for his idiocy. He should have known that those damn goblins would have given an old-crackpot as a mentor!
He thought back on how he ended up in this situation, shutting out the inane babble of how good the old times were.
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Harry had just managed to get out of a very pompous ICW meeting where he was inducted.
He had to dodge out of the way of many old wolves of the political arena, all dying to chain him to some political faction or the other.
He nodded gratefully to Albus Dumbledore, dressed for once in 'normal' tones, for how much Caribbean green could be a subdued color, who had understood his plight and managed to redirect some attention to himself, allowing him to slip away.
The old man simply smiled cheerfully at him, eyes twinkling.
He probably had enjoyed seeing him squirm away, before swooping down and saving him.
Harry allowed himself a small fond smile for his old mentor. He had his grievances with his own Dumbledore, but it didn't mean he hated him.
The Headmaster had been the grandfather he always wanted, and had thought him much, more important than any lesson about magic. He had thought him about life itself, when to forgive and when to come down on someone without mercy.
The man had been happy to see a new Master from England. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to have an actual conversation, only exchanging a few polite and formal words. He knew though that if the confused frown meant something, some serious digging would be done about him.
He was thankful that he had not left any loose ends, what with the ritual he had performed in the Forest of Dean and the steps he had taken to stabilize his new persona.
He pondered a bit, taking in the greedy looks the various councilmen had thrown at him.
Harry knew he had to get out of the way for a bit. Already too many people had started making plans for him, and he certainly didn't want to become a part of the daily political machinations of the ICW!
He still had almost two years till Quirrel died, leaving behind a free DADA post.
He was confident enough to know that he could dismantle the Curse on the position if he found the anchor, and he had an inkling about what it could be.
He and Hermione had decided to let First year play as it did in their world, as it made every important player aware of Voldemort still being alive. Lockhart, instead, would be easily supplanted.
He was thinking of exorcising Binns to bring Remus to the castle in third year, just so that the younger Harry could experience the same bond he did with his own version of the man.
They had also regrettably decided to leave Sirius in Azkaban. Even if it pained him to play chess-master, nothing short of breaking him out early would get him away from there, and from conversations with his own Sirius he knew that it was Wormtail's image that provided enough strength to return from the shadows of insanity the Dementors' presence brought. He had, however, made sure with liberal use of Compulsion Charms to send him enchanted clothes to keep him healthier and stave off the doom and gloom.
He had received the ping of magic that signaled the activation of Sirius new outfit and relaxed a bit, for the first time in months feeling less like a monster.
Once all the drama was done with, he took the first chance out of the country, and it fell in his lap on a rainy day in Diagon Alley.
"Master Fleamont, Senior Governor Maimlimbs would like to speak to you" said a Teller, interrupting the amusing 'discussion' he was having with Spearguts, who was trying to get him to agree to buy shares of a few goblin-backed businesses, all the while insulting him whenever he could without even trying to be subtle.
Harry looked down at him, wondering whatever could a high-ranking goblin want with him, but nodded to the messenger and motioned for him to lead him. He nodded to Spearguts who merely scowled at him.
The small goblin lead him through a maze of marble corridors and luscious wooden doors. He had felt the Disorienting Wards came into being the second he stepped away from the main Hall.
While not being the most skilled Occlumens, as it required a type of personality completely different from his untamed one, he could more or less resist the effects through sheer will-power.
It was almost an entire new branch of the Mind Arts, more similar to the projection of Legilimency than the concealing of Occlumency.
It had taken him a few years to bring it up to snuff, but nowadays he could meet head on any attack on his mind, be it Veela allure or subtle probes from an invader as if it was a contest of wills, like the golden dome of the Priori Incantatio that saved his life in the Graveyard.
He shook his head to focus on the present when they reached an ornate and elegant door.
His guide placed his hand on the door, before speaking a few words in Gobbledygook.
Eventually, he was led inside a tasteful office, reminiscent of high end solicitor's in the muggle world.
He was met by a gnarly goblin, whose left ear was missing and left eye was withe and cloudy, unseeing. A warrior then.
"Mr. Fleamont. I'm Maimlimbs, the one responsible for any Curse-Breaking venture engaged by Gringotts'. You are here because we know you to be an extremely proficient wizard in Battle Magicks and offer you a position in our ranks"
Harry leaned back, stapling his fingers together on his lap, mulling over the offer. Really, he should have known to expect this type of offer.
There weren't many independent Masters these days, many of them being either scholars or government officials.
He was, indeed, a great prey. He kept his face impassible, not wanting to give away any of his thoughts.
"I have no intention to chain myself to either Gringotts or any other, at least for the time being; therefore I will have to refuse your original offer -"
The goblin in front of him nodded, probably knowing already that he would have refused thanks to some kind of dossier they would have prepared with all their info on him.
"But I'm willing to work for Gringotts' for a limited amount of time, if you'll meet a few conditions" he said calmly, thinking of the various expeditions around the world he could visit and learn from.
Maimlimbs motioned for him to continue, clearly willing to at least listen to him.
"I'm willing to work until June 1, 1992, as I'll be otherwise occupied" he stated firstly, this being the most important point.
"Secondly, I'm not going to be working for you only to be shown off or having to teach a few wide-eyed Hogwarts' graduate, as you have the necessary personnel already"
The Senior goblin nodded, as it was still into the realm of possible.
"It seems to me that you seek the knowledge of the ancients, Master Fleamont. We are willing to employ you as a guard in some of our most dangerous ventures, and let you into, say, 5% of the discoveries as a payment"
"I don't think I understood well, did you say 5%?!" Harry asked, incredulous at the sheer audacity.
Maimlimbs barely twitched, raising an eyebrow.
"If I am to work as a scarecrow, you will provide me with knowledge from previous explorations and everything from those I'll protect. I do not care for moneys, but I will not accept less" he bartered.
The old goblin grinned, sharp theet out for a show. A human with a bit of spine was always a good surprise.
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And here he was, listening for the rare gem in all the ramblings of his momentary teacher.
Still, he knew that, while old, Arsenius Jigger was one of the best around. He was, curiously, also the writer of Magical Drafts and Potions, Potion Opuscule and The essential Defense against the Dark Arts.
Son of Mareb Jigger, potioneer and first owner of Sluggs & Jiggers he had taken his mastery under the great Curse-Breakers of XIX century, taught at Hogwarts for ten years, before the 'Merrythough era' and was still one of the best around.
He was also a git, delighting himself in making him learn useless little fact and hiding useful information in his usual spiel.
He had spent six months already in Egypt, studying the very first wards humanity ever used, delving deeply into 'conceptual' curses, or those that attacked dynasties and positions. It was thanks to this that he made a breakthrough in his search to break whatever Voldemort did to the DADA position.
It was obvious that the budding Dark Lord had wanted to either control what the new generations knew and therefore increasing his influence, or destroy any attempt to raise resistance against his movement.
There were three places he could have placed the anchor for the curse, as an anchor-less one required an in loco living sacrifice, and the only time he had time for that was when he killed Myrtle, but he used her death to make a horcrux.
He could also have taken a few hags and sacrificed them in the Room of Requirement, but it would have hardly been conspicuous to do so.
Therefore, it was either the trophy for Special Services in the Hall of Trophies, something in the unexplored parts of the Chamber of Secrets, or the Diadem of Ravenclaw.
This last one was the most likely, as it was both out of the way of preying eyes (hm hm Albus Dumbledore hm hm) and satisfied Tom Riddle's ego, as it was literally under their noses, unlike the Chamber.
These days the crew he was protecting was working around the tomb of a Nigerian Prince who decided to entomb the whole village with himself, as he was considered a god in life.
The history behind it was pretty boring, but the fact that the knowledge of a centuries old magical civilization, that was completely cut off from communication with anyone else, was a few nasty traps away led the Curse-Breakers to work themselves to exhaustion.
Suddenly, he heard a low rumble echoing through the site, followed by shouts of panic and fear.
In the time of an apparition, he was on the East entrance, standing ahead of the panicked workers, wand held high.
He immediately understood their dismay, as a towering figure, as high as a three story building, stalked silently toward them.
A Nundu had arrived.
Harry felt the first trickles of fear, knowing that this beast was considered the most dangerous in the world for a reason. His strength was on par with that of a dragon, his lethality with a basilisk, his speed with a snidget.
As the beast assessed him, Harry felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins, and steeled himself for what appeared to be a fight to death.
"Run away, fools, the portkeys will work from the start of the camp! RUN!" he yelled, not even turning away from his opponent.
The crew of Curse-Breakers and various aides run away like death was on their heels, which it actually was. There was a movement of stillness, where the beast and the wizard just looked at each other, before the Nundu struck, his powerful claws gouging the earth where Harry had been a split-second earlier.
The young Master moved his wand in a sharp gesture from the ground to the sky, and the earth followed, a twenty feet long snake-like creature rising as a tree, coiling itself around the feline.
Sweat trickled down his brow, Harry started strangling the beast as hard as he could. It lasted only a few seconds, before with a mighty swipe his construct was battered down, merging back with the ground.
Harry trapped the Nundu in an optical illusion, aimed to gain him a bit of time for his next move. The beast followed where he thought Harry was running, catching up in no-time, powerful jaws closing where his mid-section should have been.
Great roots spurted from down below, trapping the feline, too tight to simply swipe away. It raised his head to look at where Harry was, his natural resistance to magic having broken the illusion; it was indeed a testament to the wizard's skill that it had even worked for a bit.
As it opened its jaw and let out an enormous cloud of poison that ate away at the bindings, Harry thrust his wand ahead, which caused the currents of air he had gathered and redirected to explode in a single direction, leaving gashes in the earth.
Once the smoke and sand settled down, the Nundu had a few small gashes on his side, and behind him was a stripe of blackened and torn vegetation, clearly the result of the strong winds channeling and compressing all the toxicity of the feline's breath.
In a flash, the giant leopard was on him, claw slashing down on a hastily erected Imprimis Patrocinor, which didn't even waver under the assault. While it was occupied on this new challenge, Harry moved his hand, forcing himself to concentrate on the task while keeping the shield up.
He used every ounce of wandless skin he had to gather moisture in the air, directing it in a direct path from himself to the magical beast.
As it seemed that the Nundu had given up on taking him down directly and had started to gather strength, his poison sack pulsing with effort, Harry unleashed his most trusted elemental spell, 'Zeus' fury'.
As he yelled 'Keraunós' , this time putting behind it all his rage and killing intent, the divine lightning exploded from his wand, sapping everything he could give it, his path already easier thanks to the water residue he had gathered.
Blinding in his intensity, it crackled with superhuman power. The Nundu met it heads on, releasing his venomous breath.
As the two forces met, the electricity ionized the venom, changing its charge and rendering it useless. The thunderbolt, on the other hand, didn't stop, and the beast was hit. It convulsed, a high pitch wine echoing in the air, followed by two flashes from behind.
This caused Harry to lose concentration and release the spell. As he turned he saw a couple of trembling aides, holding cameras.
He wanted to yell at them and bash their heads, but he couldn't allow himself any more slack. The Nundu, even though charred, the skin on his muse blackened, climbed to its feet.
It saw the two new preys and was upon them in a flash. Before it could register, one of them was already tore in sheds by the beast's claw.
Harry sent the most powerful blasting curse he could, hoping to save at least the second.
The 'Horyaheexia', a spell used to batter down wards and fortifications, hit the Nundu, lifting it in the air. With feline grace, the magical predator righted itself, landing crouched, ready to attack again.
With another wave of Harry's wand, the surviving wizard was sent flying away, as far as he could.
The two titans met each other with a pinning stare, with a bit of genuine respect.
Then Harry grinned, feeling exhilarated as he sent Explosive Hexes and jets of white-hot fire all around, trying to hit his opponent.
He moved his wand in a circular gesture, collecting debris from all around and spinning them around himself, before making them all explode towards the beast, with a few conjured and transfigured blades together.
With all its speed and agility, the Nundu was able to survive the onslaught that would have taken down anything else.
The only mark the majestic show of magical power had left was a deep gouge on one of its legs.
The beast, as suddenly as it had arrived, left through the wilderness of the savanna.
Only after five full minutes had passed and Harry had gone through any wide area revealing charm he allowed himself to relax, slumping in relief with a strangled laugh.
It had been a humbling experience. For all his accomplishments, he had managed to only char it and cut it a bit, nothing the magically speeded regeneration wouldn't take care of in a couple of days
A single creature, not even at the peak of his species, as the biggest ones could be two to three feet higher and five to ten longer, was enough to go toe to toe with him.
Harry felt resolve building up. He had a long way to go yet, but he was on the right track. He would give it his all in this year and a half left, and would become stronger and stronger!
For now, though, he had to recover a bit.
He stood up, flicking his wand to the mauled corpse of the reporter-wannabe, cleaning it up of blood and patching it up as best as he could.
Harry set up a new perimeter charm, just to be sure that nothing could come in without him knowing, and walked towards the tents.
His portkey deposited him in the Gringotts' infirmary at Abuja, Nigeria's capital.
As a healer started fussing over him, cleaning his cuts and healing the small concussion, he took the time to clear up his thoughts. His lungs were cleaned of the residual poison that he inhaled, and he gulped down a couple of potions.
Once there wasn't anything else to take care off, he exited the area, ignoring the cries for him to stay in bed and recover, he walked swiftly to the meeting room of the crew.
His entrance was met with happiness and disbelief. Everyone knew what he had done, and going toe to toe with a Nundu wasn't exactly normal. It usually took large expeditions of fifty to one hundred to subdue one, and even that wasn't done lightly.
The aide that he managed to save was still trembling, but had managed to get himself together and thanked him profusely, to which he only grunted in response.
Arsenius was the first to approach him, slapping him on the back with a large grin.
"Good job lad, I knew that you had to be good at something!"
Harry snorted, a hand mussing up his filthy hair. He smiled back " It was a good fight. We can talk about it together this evening, but right now I need a hot bath."
The old man nodded, clearly understanding that he wanted some time to himself "After you are done, you'll need to report officially to Maimlimbs, but for now, go wash yourself lad, you stink".
He nodded to the others and exited, wanting to just soak his bones in a hot tub.
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Q'umarkaj was an interesting place, Harry decided in the months he spent there, looking for clues about the great rituals of the Sun and information about the feathered serpent, the Quetzalcoatl.
It would have been a great success for the Crew, with which he had already worked numerous times since that expedition in Nigeria.
Harry, instead, was looking for clues about the ancient methods self transfiguration the Mayan magicals employed often.
This specific site was known to have hosted the Wuj, a congregation of Masters in self-transfiguration known to be capable of changing in more than one animal.
They were also the only case recorded in history of monkey animagus, as it was an extremely complex animal.
Harry wanted that type of knowledge. How did they manage to change their brains to accept the complex social structure of monkeys? How could so many of them transform in similar animals?
He cared not for the mass sacrificial rituals they often performed to keep the gods happy; nor for the chance of meeting a Quetzalcoatl, a magical winged snake, capable of wind manipulation, that hadn't been sighted for over a hundred year; nor for the treasure they were likely to find once the Curse-Breakers had managed to take down the ritual-powered Constrictor wards, called so because of the slow tightening of the chambers they were active in once an intruder was spotted, while blocking down entrances and exits. They had already taken five people, between Curse-Breakers and aides.
All in all, he had managed to get a few rare ingredients for potions while here, as they had discovered preserved greenhouses, and his animagus training was going well. In three months he had found his form, a Cave Lion, and had managed to get all of his paws to transform.
The insights he had found in the preserved tablets had been a godsend. It usually took a couple of years, even to the most talented. It was a sign of the sheer genius of the Marauders, to even manage while underage and without instruction. Sometimes he still got angry, thinking of how much good the four of them could have done if they had put their act together and stopped acting like prats.
The transformation in itself wasn't very complex, even Rita Skeeter had managed it, and she was only slightly above average in Transfiguration.
The difficult part was comprehending yourself and accepting the way you were, completely.
He had an inkling that Rita had known very well how much she liked buzzing around, snooping for anything interesting.
He liked Q'umarkaj even more, because it provided a bit of a respite from England and its chaos.
A couple of days after his fight with the Nundu, an article on the Daily Prophet had deemed him Pride of Great Britain, and he couldn't go anywhere without being mobbed. Sometimes he felt like he was still home during the days after the War's end.
Letters from admirers, both male and female, had piled his desk in his room at the Milestone. He had taken residence in the hotel's room after the first time being proposed in public. Honestly, he didn't know why he hadn't done from the start. It was an amazing place, he ate very well, and a simple Confudus Charm took care of anything. Not like they always used every room, so it wasn't like he was stealing. He paid the meals and service!
He was called to the site, as they had apparently cracked the last defense.
Harry stopped an inexperienced apprentice from trowing himself in the newly discovered Treasure Room, and together with the most able Curse-Breakers, he started sweeping the room for any hidden trap. And indeed they found a fair few.
While the crew worked at disarming them, Harry conversed with Arsenius. These days they had a warm relationship, both faking snarkiness and not to care about each other, while in truth the old man had taken him completely under his wing and taught him everything he knew. From obscure detection spells to Enchantments to Formal Dueling, something he had never had actual instruction of, if you didn't count Lockhart foray.
"This is it eh? Your last mission before going back to England and starting to work at Hogwarts huh" the old man mused.
He had told him about wanting to teach there as it had always been a bit of a dream of his, what with Fifth year and all.
"Yes, at the end of the month my contract with Gringotts will end and I'll apply for the job" he replied without looking at him.
Arsenius grunted a bit before adding "Send a letter if you get too bored teaching dunderheads. I did, that's why I'm here". Harry had to suppress a smile, knowing that the old man had wanted him to stay in the goblins's employment, but didn't want to sound as if he cared.
He grunted back "I'll do that, try not to die without me being your cane, old man!"
He ducked underneath a Decapitation Hex, grinning. He was going to Hogwarts, he was going home.
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Hello people!
So, with this chapter done, Harry will finally go back to England and start working at Hogwarts!
I thank everyone for the reviews and the tips you have given me! Feel free to say anything to me.
I am a bit worried about the fighting scene, as it didn't come out as I had originally thought it, but I'm more or less satisfied.
I'm writing chapter five already, so it'll be up in a couple of days!
See ya next time
J