DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or Harry Potter. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.
Italics text = character thinking to themselves.
Underline+Italics = character communicating with telepathy
Bold text = shouting
Bold+Italcs = Casting Spell/Ability
Chapter Seven
Red Stone, Black Stone, Red and Black Eye
Harry was expecting many things when he entered Dumbledore's office after realizing that the old Headmaster was having two rather famous guests over for tea.
The pink spell that he reflexively absorbed as soon as it was within his range, however, earned a raised eyebrow. He was well aware that unlike raw magic, the magic he absorbed from active spells contained only a minuscule amount if memory baggage, mostly restricted to the spell itself, the intent behind it and how powerful it was. He also knew that there were ways to lessen even that information and it was apparent that Nicholas Flamel had done so. If he head to guess, the wand he was using was inscribed with the same signature scrambling runes that he had used for his own poaching-wand, as he had nicknamed the focus he had used while steeling the Colchian Dragons, Re'em and Golden Winged Rams. As such, he only got the spell he had absorbed and how to cast it himself.
Still…
"A jinx that makes my eyebrows grow and tie themselves in a bow?" Harry asked with a twitching eye towards the young looking man under so many glamours that he had doubts he could have seen through them all with just his Byakugan. "Really?"
"What's wrong with that?" the man asked, looking just a step from pouting.
"…You know, I always wondered where Professor Dumbledore picked up the 'maturity' he's displaying in his old age." Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. "And now that I found out, I'm fearing for my own sanity for when I reach his age, never mind yours, Master Alchemist Flamel."
"Ho, so old Garrick was right." the woman smiled widely, herself looking like a teenager under her glamours. "You really can recognize one of our kind on sight. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mister Potter, I have heard many things about you." She offered her hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Rituals Mistress Perenelle Flamel." Harry returned the smile as he took her hand and applied a gentle kiss on the back of her hand… while in the process steadily draining some of her magic.
He was more cautious then ever, draining little at a time but in a steady stream through direct skin contact before he let go not ten seconds later.
"I have to say, you look absolutely ravishing under these glamours, Master Flamel is a lucky man." he complimented her.
"Don't I know it?" Nicholas smiled as he shook Harry's hand, he also unknowingly donating some magic, almost twice as much as his wife as he chose to test Harry's strength a bit and was a bit surprised when he found it to be almost on par with his own… or at least that was how much Harry was willing to show off at the moment. "So how do you do it?"
"Well, let's just say that I have yet to see such bright silvery white auras from non-immortals, and I doubt I will." Harry flared a bit of magic in his eyes and was pleased to see that while his Dojutsu did not activate, his glowing emerald eyes were now capable of seeing magic, if in rather unrefined way compared to the clarity of the Byakugan.
"Ah, Mage Sight!" Nicholas smiled widely. "That explains it. It took me quite a while to pick up that skill, but then again it's said that it's easier when you're younger. Your internal magic not having been stabilized in a certain pattern and all that."
"Kinda like accidental magic no longer occurring and being almost impossible to use wandless magic?" Harry tilted his head curiously.
"Something along those lines." Perenelle confirmed.
"So, I take it you wanted to speak with me about something?" Harry inquired as he met Dumbledore's eyes.
"Oh, I merely wanted to introduce you to your fellow immortals." Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling merrily.
"…He tried talking you into making me feel sorry for myself, didn't he?" Harry deadpanned toward the two other immortals.
"Pay up, Albus." Nicholas smirked holding a hand open toward Dumbledore, palm upwards.
"Hmph, fine, but I'll have you know that I am not obvious." the venerable Headmaster huffed.
"Sure you're not, Albus." Perenelle patted the pointed hat Dumbledore was wearing.
"Of course. It's not like you told the entire school where the Philosopher Stone was hidden during the welcoming feast of that year. Oh wait." Harry deadpanned.
"Really Albus?" Perenelle asked incredulously.
"I told them nothing of the Stone." Dumbledore protested.
"I don't know how things were in your time, but these days telling a school full of curious teenagers that they should not go somewhere is basically an invitation to investigate." Harry shook his head. "That you told the entire staff what was there only meant it was a matter of time before Hagrid spilled the beans. I love the guy, but he would tell anyone anything they wanted to know after bottle of mead."
"Well, I admit I made a mistake with that, considering Quirrell's unfortunate condition." the Headmaster sighed.
"Unfortunate? The man allowed a Dark Lord to possess him. Willingly." Nicholas reminded him.
"Don't mind him, he's still miffed about that. He spent that whole year trying to redeem him." Harry shook his head. "I bet Tommy-Boy was barely holding his laughter in."
"Tommy-Boy?" Perenelle giggled.
"He's a psychotic coward with daddy issues." Harry shrugged. "Reminds me of Snape, to be honest."
"Harry, professor Snape…" Dumbledore began.
"Snivellus sent Voldemort and the Death Eaters after my family and the Longbottoms." Harry cut him off. "I want you to go with Neville when he visits his parents in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mundo's, tell him that it was Snape that delivered the first half of the Prophecy to Riddle and his potential role in it. Then, let's see if you can look him in the eye when you tell him that Snape is in no way responsible for his parents being all but brain dead." he hissed.
Never mind Neville, Dumbledore could not even meet Harry's or the Flamel's eyes in shame.
"And you put someone like that as Neville's teacher, where the sick fuck gets his jollies by mocking him every few minutes even if at least half of the potions Neville messes up are due to his precious Slytherins sabotaging him." Harry spat. "Bravo headmaster, as expected of the Leader of the Light." he mockingly clapped.
"Well, as interesting it is to hear of Albus' many failures, the reason we're here is you, Harry." Nicholas spoke up after a few seconds of silence. "Why don't we go somewhere to talk in privacy?" he suggested.
"I know a place." Harry nodded as he headed for the door, the Flamels following him.
As they walked through the corridors towards the Room of Requirement Perenelle spoke up.
"So, why are you really giving Albus a hard time?" she inquired.
"…Until that Dementor tried to Kiss me on the Hogwarts Express, the curse scar on my forehead contained a small fragment of Tom Riddle's soul." Harry said quietly.
"Ah." Nicholas closed his eyes. "Let me guess, Albus thought you to be a Horcrux and that you needed to die for Voldemort to be mortal again."
"Bingo." Harry confirmed.
"But you no longer have it, so that is no longer the case." Perenelle remarked.
"Is it?" Harry snorted. "The Prophecy says that 'either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives'. If you want to really be anal about it, one could also interpret it as 'while both live, both are immortal'. Especially now."
"…I hate to say it, but young Harry has a point." Nicholas sighed. "I can actually see Albus believing just that."
"So, in other words…" Perenelle trailed off.
"He will plan to have me get killed by Riddle as soon as he returns to physical body." Harry said darkly. "For the Greater Good, of course."
"Of course." Nicholas actually sneered at that. "Well, you can be sure that Albus wont be getting any help from us with his schemes. We've already lost our youngest daughter to Grindelwald's Greater Good. We don't want to have anything to do with Albus' version of it either."
"Hold on, we're here." Harry said before quickly passing three times in front of a troll-depicting certain tapestry, causing a large door to appear.
"Hm, I believe I heard of this." Perenelle mussed. "The… Come and Go Room?"
"That's what I think the House Elves are calling it." Harry agreed. "Though I believe that the Room of Requirement is more appropriate since it can take the form the caller requests."
"Albus mentioned it to us when he was younger, though he never managed to enter it again after that one time." Nicholas looked around curiously. "Have you discovered its limits?"
"In size it can become as big as the entire castle. As for the things is provides, it can copy whatever has been in Hogwarts ever, but you can only remove from the room things that have been stored here beforehand. In fact…" Harry smirked "Riddle stored one of his Horcruxes here."
"Oh? What is it? Albus believes he used the Hogwarts Founder's artifacts." Perenelle asked with interest.
"Ravenclaw's Diadem." Harry replied. "I managed to remove the soul fragment and the extra magic Riddle added on top of the original enchantments, but I won't be putting it on anytime soon. Riddle tried it on and it almost boiled his brains."
"Ah, that's a good deterrent." Nicholas winced. "Any others?"
"Well, I destroyed his first last year, his Diary." Harry began. "And I got lucky and ran across Slytherin's Locket. Apparently he entrusted three Horcruxes to two Death Eaters, Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, and enlisted a house elf from a third Death Eater to test the defenses of another Horcrux."
"Well, Albus said the Diary was from Malfoy." Perenelle mussed. "Did Lestrange get the Locket?"
"She got Hufflepuff's Cup." Harry shook his head. "Still working on that one. But young Regulus Black didn't approve of his master using Horcruxes and retrieved it and had his house elf take it to a Black Property and destroy it. Found it a few weeks ago with my Godfather when we visited his childhood home."
"So that's four you know of at least." Nicholas mussed.
"Five, he turned a Ring passed down in his mother's family into one as well." Harry added. "I plan on going after that one soon, I know where it is."
"Oh? Need any help? I'm up for a challenge." Nicholas offered.
"He hid it when he was pretty young, I seriously doubt it will be a challenge. Plus, if he set the key in Parseltongue this time as well, I'll probably just walk right through and take it." Harry shook his head.
"Oh. That's rather disappointing." Nicholas seemed rather nonplussed.
"Well, the defenses for the Locket included a hidden door that required a blood sacrifice, a hidden boat that could carry only one person over a lake full of Inferi, and the Locket itself was on the bottom of a stone bowl full of what I believe to be the Draught of Despair that you had to drink to be able to take the Locket." Harry explained and then added as an afterthought "Oh, and if you touched the water all the Inferi attacked you."
"Charming." Perenelle rolled her eyes.
"Good thing you didn't have to go through that then." Nicholas mussed. "But if you had…"
"I would have blasted the damn bowl to pieces, taken the locket and set every Inferi that got in my way on fire." Harry shrugged.
"Good plan." Nicholas grinned.
"At any rate, we still haven't spoken with you about the reasons why we came here." Perenelle spoke up.
"Right." Nicholas' smile faded a bit. "Tell me, have you noticed anything irregular with your body?"
"You mean besides that I've stopped aging despite being in the middle of a growth spurt?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's what we were worried about." Perenelle sighed.
"Well, I figured I could try my luck with aging potions and glamours until I can properly transform with my Metamorphmagus abilities." Harry admitted. "It shouldn't take me more then a few years."
"A Metamorphmagus? Well, that will certainly help you blend in once you reach a high enough age to fake your death or just disappear for a while from the public." Nicholas nodded happily.
"Be that as it may, with us publically dead after the destruction of our Stone here, it would draw uncomfortable attention to you should it be discovered to be immortal. Not to mention kidnapping attempts." Perenelle said darkly. "So we decided to lend you some aid in faking your aging process." she reached into her purse and brought out a plain slivery flask which she handed to him. "The liquid in this flask is the exact opposite of the Elixir of Youth. It's called the Elixir of Aging and for every 15 millimeters, a table spoon worth, that a person drinks, they will age a year. Now, had you been a normal human you would not have needed more then a few decades worth at most. However, both Nicholas and I have noticed through our experiments with both the Elixir of Youth and the Elixir of Aging that our bodies have the tendency to regress towards the age at which we took the Panacea. Usually, in our case means aging faster but for you it will mean getting younger toward your current state."
"We know that the Elixir of Aging will work for you, but we also don't know to what degree the effects will last due to your body de-aging rather then aging faster like we do." Nicholas admitted. "So we gave you three centuries worth just to be sure. In the unlikely case that you run out, get in touch with Ollivander and he'll be able to reach us. We would normally give you the means to contact us as well, but…"
"No, it's alright. I'm young and inexperienced. I would be a security risk." Harry waved off his apology. "Once I'll get on my feet properly, we can get to know each other better. But for now, you two will be going into hiding for a few decades anyway."
"Exactly. Which brings us to the second subject we wanted to discuss with you." Perenelle smile.
"You might not be aware, Harry but several of your ancestors…" Nicholas began.
"Have apprenticed under you, I'm aware. I've been looking into my family's history since it became accessible to me." Harry smiled. "From what I could tell, dad was quite the Transfiguration prodigy and would have done well in the Material Transmutation branch of Alchemy."
"Yes, it was a shame he was taken before his time." Nicholas smiled sadly. "I offered him am apprenticeship, but he decided that fighting off Riddle and his underlings was more important at the time. But now, I'm here to make you the same offer. In a few decades, seek me out if you're interested in alchemy. I have not had an apprentice since Albus and if I'm lucky I might get a longer lasting partner out of you." He said, appearing giddy at the prospect.
Harry could not help but raise an eyebrow at this. Glancing at Perenelle, he noticed she seemed amused.
"Is he really that bored?" he inquired.
"Not quite yet, we haven't been in hiding for more then a year and a half now. But in a couple decades…" she trailed off. "Being immortal, especially one several centuries old, means that you've either mastered your field of expertise to the point that you can no longer improve on your own, or have become proficient in several, if not all fields. With Alchemy, Nicholas has little to improve on by himself and even with me giving him ideas. I'm reaching that point with Rituals myself. Ollivander is lucky since Wandcrafting depends so much on the magical core the wand is supposed to bind itself to. That's why he's so giddy when a customer is to difficult to find a matching wand. It means that there is still plenty of room to improve for him in both increasing the compatibility of his wands and in developing his senses to recognize what wand would fit his customers."
"I see, I guess that makes sense." Harry nodded in understanding. He got that impressing from the brief glance he had taken at the memories of his fellow immortals. "Well, with Riddle around I'll be focusing on combat magic at least until he and his supporters are dealt with. After that, Potions, Alchemy, Runes, Arithmancy and Warding will be my focus. So if your offer will still be open, by the time you two resurface I will be more then happy to accept the Alchemy Apprenticeship."
"Excellent!" Nicholas grinned.
"And if it catches your interest, it has been quite a while since I had taught the art of Rituals to another." Perenelle smiled. "Now, I'm afraid we must be going."
"If you need a Floo connection, the Room can provide it." Harry offered.
"That would be wonderful." Perenelle smiled and a minute later the two immortals were off in a flash of green flames.
An effort of will later and the Room had analyzed and removed the spells the two had placed on him and the room itself. It was nothing nefarious, merely tracking and health monitoring charms, but Harry had placed to be at that he wanted nobody to know he had anything to do with.
"So, what do you think?" Harry inquired as he went through the memories of Nicholas Flamel, in particular his progress in the creation and refining of a certain crimson stone.
"I would like to say that I'm surprised, but I'm really not." Kaguya remarked as she viewed the same memories as he did. "Even back in my day, the level of regeneration granted by the Elixir of Life required sacrificing some of a person's life span. And the years given by the Elixir of Youth certainly have to come from somewhere."
Harry remained silent for several more minute as he skipped a few centuries up to the most recent advancements to the Philosopher's Stone, the Cinnabar Panacea.
"Hm, so it requires the sacrifice of life to be able to be turned into the Elixir, the younger the sacrifice and the long-lived its species, the bigger the Stone and thus the large the amount of Elixir it can be turned into." Harry mussed quietly.
"But for it to be capable of Transmutations, the sacrifice needs to be magical in nature, the stronger its magic the better." Kaguya added.
"Well, now I know how whale really became endangered." Harry deadpanned.
"Well, in his defense it was definitely easier to hide that he kept using them in his experiments then surface creatures." Kaguya pointed out.
"True. Who would have thought though that Giants are so magically powerful though?" Harry remarked as he viewed a few memories where Nicholas used a Giant as a sacrifice to make a Philosopher's Stone.
"If I had to guess, it's because of their thick magically resident skin that they can't take advantage of their magic." Kaguya opined.
"Perhaps, but personally I think their near animal intelligence is to blame." Harry shrugged as he finally left the Room of Requirement and headed down to the kitchen to get a snack.
"So, what do you plan on using? Giants? Dragons? Unicorns? Nundu? Phoenix?" Kaguya offered ideas.
"…Fire Crabs." Harry eventually answered.
"Fire Crabs?" Kaguya blinked. "Why those?"
"Some non-magical turtles can live over a century with ease. Being a magical variant of the species, there have been several Fire Crabs discovered to be around five hundred years old." Harry replied. "Also, while a Phoenix may seem as the perfect sacrifice, in fact it's the opposite. A Phoenix can live up to a couple decades before it has to have a burning day, where it dies. Just because it revives from the ashes does not mean it has an infinite life span." He paused for a second before shuddering. "And if it DID have an infinite life span I would be creating an infinitely large Philosopher's Stone, possible destroying everything in the Universe by squashing it."
"Oh, right, that's why Flamel avoided doing that. Smart man." Kaguya blinked as he reviewed the memory in question. "But what other reasons for using Fire Crabs?"
"Did you notice what happens during the creation of the Stone?" Harry smirked. "As their magic and lifespan is ripped from them and crystallized, the sacrifice ages at an accelerated rate until all that's left of it is its bones."
"…Fire Crab shells are extremely sought after if I remember right. The bigger – thus older – the more valuable it is." Kaguya realized. "You'll make a fortune on the Black Market with them!"
"There's also that while possessing Fire Crabs over a certain age is illegal, it's rather easy to get a permit for small ones." Harry admitted. "I'll get a permit, buy a couple small ones, a male and a female, age them to a breeding age, encourage them to have a few eggs… and they lay over 100 eggs on average in a single nest. As soon as they hatch, I'll feed them all drop of the Elixir of Life that I can make out of a third Fire Crab just to ensure they are as healthy as possible and thus will have as long a lifespan as possible, before make Cinnabar Panacea out of them."
"…Remind me how many nest can a Fire Crab lay in a year?" Kaguya asked slowly.
"Hm, it can lay up to 7 nests in a single season, I believe, and can lay eggs in two seasons – Spring and Autumn – so we're looking at around a maximum of 1400 Philosopher's Stones in a year, each around 500 years worth." Harry replied.
"So… essentially we're looking at 700.000 years worth of life." Kaguya said in shock.
"In a year from a single breeding pair. I can have several, it's not like it would be hard to acquire and age to the proper age." Harry pointed out calmly.
"Okay, I will wholeheartedly admit that this is a brilliant plan. Just a word of caution, however." Kaguya said seriously. "Do not attempt to market the Elixir of Youth or the Elixir of Life, or give any of it to others without Secrecy Oaths on par with the Unbreakable Vow, if not more strict. I've taken a look at what the Flamels dealt with due to their immortality becoming public knowledge. You do not want to go through it."
"I know that much even from what Ollivander knew as a third party. I'll be swearing Dumbledore to Secrecy by the end of the day." Harry assured her before raising an eyebrow when the Headmaster turned a corner.
"Ah, Harry, I was just looking for you." Dumbledore said in a more subdued manner then usual.
"Your guests left a few minutes ago." Harry informed him.
"Would I be too intrusive to ask what was it they wished to discuss with you?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Nothing much." Harry shrugged as he continued on his way. "They gave me a temporary solution for my… height issues." he said after a small pause. "It should last me well into my twenties."
"Ah, that's relieving to hear." Dumbledore smiled.
"They also gave me an apprenticeship offer for when they finish their… holiday." Harry added.
"Ah, I remember my own time with him. Truly, some of my most interesting memories." Dumbledore chuckled.
"Well, I look forward to it." Harry agreed. "On another note, I'll need an Unbreakable Vow from you. Let's do it in here." He opened the door of an empty classroom and after a quick check for any surveillance spells or eavesdroppers he closed the door after Dumbledore.
The old man drew his wand and cast a few privacy spells.
"I suppose this is about your status as an immortal." The Headmaster sighed.
"Indeed. It was brought to my attention that if would best for my continued existence for only my fellow immortals to be capable of revealing such information. That way, if we backstab each other, it would mean mutual assured destruction." Harry smiled thinly as he drew his wand.
"And if I refuse?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, the tip of his wand lighting up.
Harry could tell the man was faking it, that he had no – current – plans of taking advantage of his situation, but this was an opportunity he could not let up.
One moment Harry was locking eyes with Dumbledore, then the moment passed as he closed his eyes as he activated his Rinne-Sharingan and called upon the power of the Preta Path and expanding the absorption area well outside his body, enveloping Dumbledore entirely and dispelling the passive sensory and shield charms that were part of his robe as well a the several charms on his glasses. The man barely managed to widen his eyes as the tip of his wand became unlit and before he knew it, he was staggering back as his white wand was arching through the air and landing in the open hand of the immortal before him.
On his part, Harry felt as if he had just recovered a piece of his home – or rather another piece as the same thing had happened when he had first worn the Cloak of Invisibility after his bloodlines awoke. He knew that both were of the three Deathly Hallows, but beyond that now even Kaguya knew how they were made. While the legend of Death itself crafting them for the three brothers may seem exaggerated to the average wizard, Harry was well aware of the existence of the Shinigami. And if the Shinigami was willing to allow itself to be summoned for a price as well as leave a certain Mask in the care of the Uzumaki Clan, then it was not out of the question for doing something similar to happen several millennia later.
Dismissing that line of thought for now, Harry met Dumbledore's gaze, took in his pale complexion… and tossed him back the Elder Wand. Not that it mattered, he felt the bond with the wand and knew simple possession would not pass it to the older wizard. That, and he could likely summon it whenever he wanted.
"Hm, I'll have to test that with the Cloak later." He mussed.
"That will happen, and more. I've had enough suffering in my life because you thought you knew better then everyone else. I believe I've already warned you that I have taken my well being into my own two hands and will not risk it." Harry gave Dumbledore a scowl. "Now, your Unbreakable Vow please." He held his left hand out.
Taking a couple seconds to calm his nerves, Dumbledore nodded and reached out his own left hand and grasped his student'.
"Do you swear to not reveal that I am immortal?" Harry inquired as both he and Dumbledore tapped their joined hands with their wands.
"I do." Dumbledore replied solemnly as a strand of fire coiled around their arms.
"Do you swear to not reveal that Ollivander is immortal?" Harry continued and tightened his grip on the old man's hand.
"I do."
"And do you swear to never reveal the means through which one could make the Elixir of Immortality?"
"…I do." Dumbledore replied somewhat surprised.
With that final fiery strand the three joined into one thick one before disappearing as in phased into their flesh.
"I'm surprised; do you not what to know the means through which you achieve your… condition?" Dumbledore asked.
"I know that it required Fawkes to go through an early burning day." Harry shook his head. "I know enough for now."
"I believe that is a wise decision… at least for now. If needs be, you can ask Nicholas when you see him next." Dumbledore nodded in approval.
"True enough. Now I don't know about you, but I missed lunch so I'm heading for the kitchen." Harry dispelled the privacy ward.
"Ah, I believe I could do with another lemon sherbet." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"Hm, they're good if a bit sour. Personally, I'm partial to treacle tarts." Harry replied.
Later that night, Harry was walking down a desolate path to an abandoned shack hidden by an encirclement of trees, a hood over his head hiding his features. He soon reached and opening and paused, his Tenseigan glowing in his left eye while his Rinne-Sharingan did in his right.
"Hm, as far as the outside of the shack goes, it's mostly what we expected." Harry mused.
"Except that thing, five feet away at 11 o'clock." Kaguya pointed out.
"Hm, it used to be a Proximity Ward layered over a Collapsing Ward." Harry reviews the memory of Voldemort casting them. "If I had to guess, they somehow strengthened so much they merged to a degree."
"Yes, I believe that's it." Kaguya said slowly. "This should allow you to drain both at the exact same time. That should allow you to bypass the need to make sure the Collapsing Ward won't trigged while you work on the one layered over it."
"Or I could simply avoid the majority of the wards altogether and get to the door." Harry remarked as he did just that, a few wand flicks and whispered incantations allowing him to suspend the activity of the handful of defenses he could not avoid entirely.
Reaching the door, however, he smirked at the skeleton of a snake nailed onto it.
§"Open for the Heir if Slytherin!"§ Harry hissed in Parseltongue and the skeleton was instantly animated raising its head, then giving a slight bow before assuming its initial position just as the door opened silently, the silencing ward on the door becoming active to hide the irritating screech it must have had.
Taking one step inside, Harry then tapped the opened door behind him causing the majority of the protections within the shack to become temporarily inactive. That done, he calmly walked straight into the kitchen and tapped a certain floorboard causing it to fade away, revealing a black box. Quickly pocketing it, he tapped seven spots around the opening in the floor counterclockwise causing the floorboard to reappear. With that he walked out of the house after making sure the layer of dust in the shack was not visibly disturbed by his entry.
Tapping the skull of the snake skeleton, he hissed once again.
§"Guard my soul. Lord Voldemort commands you!"§
With that, the door closed and all protections inside reactivated. Without another glance, he walked out of the small yard before removing his minor alterations to the defenses, returning everything to what it had been, before walking a distance away and activating a Portkey to Potter Manor.
"First things first." Harry quietly remarked as he walked into the house and into one of the magically isolated rooms.
Opening the box, he raised an eyebrow as the compulsion hit him.
"Well, I can say for sure now that I did gain a higher magical resistance along with everything else." He decided before activating the Rinne-Sharingan and ripped apart not only the Compulsion Charm and the Withering Curse, but the Horcrux protections and the soul fragment within as well.
Nodding in satisfaction, he gently placed a finger on the cool black stone and sent a pulse of chakra through it. He smiled when he felt the connection being forged once again… before dropping it as he held his head in agony as pain ripped though his brain, memories not only being forced into his mind by being experienced at the same time.
He remained there, kneeing and doing his best to smooth things over with his Occlumency and his Rinne-Sharingan, but at the same time he was intrigued and disgusted by how far this branch of the Peverell Family had fallen. Soon enough, it all reached its end he experienced the memories of the first possessor of the Stone of Resurrection just as he had the memories of those that followed.
Manannán Peverell, descendent of the Uchiha Clan, Immortal, possessor of the Mangekyo Sharingan, father of Cadmus, Antioch and Ignotus and likely most recent user of the Creation of All Things, Banbutsu Sōzō… had somehow managed to follow in the steps of the Rikudo Sennin by physically materializing the weapons of his Susanoo.
It was a little known fact – only by Kaguya, Hamura, Hagoromo himself and more recently Harry – that the Treasured Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths as well as the original Sword of Kusanagi that had last been claimed by the Snake Sage Orochimaru had originally been the ethereal weapons materialized into the six arms of Hagoromo's own Susanoo.
"Harry?! Harry! Talk to me, say something!" Kaguya seemed to plead.
"Headache. Inside voice." Harry grunted.
"Oh. What happened?" Kaguya asked softly.
"Give me a minute." Harry requested. "Teffy!"
"Yes Lor… are you unwell?" the house elf that popped before him asked worriedly.
"Headache relieving potion, please." Harry said softly and not five seconds later there was a vial in his hand. Nodding in satisfaction, he downed it and soon enough he felt the ache in his skull fading away. "Thank you, Teffy, that's all for now."
"You're welcome, Lord Potter." The elf bowed before popping away.
"I just saw the memories of every possessor of this stone, including its maker, Manannán Peverell. Take a look at it while I recover a bit more." Harry suggested as he picked up the ring and sat down, eyeing the black stone set in it curiously.
"Well, that's certainly intriguing." Kaguya spoke up thoughtfully after a few minutes. "Now, I believe I remember that Muggles depict Manannán mac Lir as the guardian of the Otherworld and one who ferries souls to the afterlife, possessing a powerful sword named Fragarach, a cloak of invisibility and a boat named Scuabtuinne."
"The Cloak is self explanatory. The Sword could be compressed into the form of a wand while maintaining a large portions of its powers. The Fragarach is also called the Answerer and the Gouging Sword of the War God, so having such power compressed into a wand would definitely make it appear invincible." Harry mussed.
"And since he was the one who ferried souls to the afterlife, it makes sense that he could bring them back as well. Only he did not use a boat for it." Kaguya chuckled.
"He allowed the rumors to evolve like that intentionally. It's harder to steal a boat – that he could replace anyway – rather then a small stone." Harry snorted.
"Hm, I have an idea. Find a mirror first." The former Rabbit Goddess instructed and moments later Harry was holding a conjured one.
"Now what?" He inquired.
"Focus on the bonds with the three Hallows. Then, when you've fully grasped all three connections at the same time, send that magic into your eyes, both of them." Kaguya instructed carefully.
Intrigued, Harry did as told and after a few minutes of complete concentration he felt a strangely comfortable coldness momentarily pulse through his eyes. Snapping them open, he saw their reflection in the conjured mirror was shocked. Instead of the two differing Dojutsu he was used to seeing, an entirely new black pattern on a crimson iris was reflected. A circle surrounding the black pupil and around the circle was a triangle. It was almost identical to the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, with the exception of the 'Wand' which as not standing vertically, bisecting both the 'Stone' and 'Cloak' but rather pointed outwards… or inwards.
"I knew it." Kaguya said smugly. "Obito Uchiha was able to temporarily lend his power to Kakashi Hatake, his full Mangekyo Sharingan, after his death though a transfer of chakra. These Hallows, however, don't actually give you Manannán's chakra but rather take yours, convert it into his, and then sends it back to you, allowing you to access his Mangekyo."
"Should I worry about going blind since this is just a Mangekyo?" Harry asked warily.
"No, even in the off change you do receive some damage when you use it, it will be healed by your regenerative powers. Or, worse case scenario, you'll need to use some of the Elixir of Life that you would be brewing and trying anyway." Kaguya shrugged.
"Good point." Harry nodded in satisfaction as he pushed more chakra into one of the eyes, the right one, which seemed to have a smaller pupil for some reason…
"Harry!" Kaguya exclaimed in shock.
…and the mirror was distorted while being pulled into a small hole, quickly disappearing.
"…Did I just use Kamui?" Harry asked incredulously.
"It certainly appears so." Kaguya replied dryly.
"Well, that's bloody awesome." Harry grinned widely.
So far, he had only been able to use the Kotoamatsukami among the Mangekyo Sharingan powers, and the Deva Path, Preta Path and Human Path of the Rinnegan.
"So, what will you do now?" Kaguya inquired in the same tone.
"Well, while I would love to see what my left eye does… if it's a Kamui as well and one that brings back what I sent to the other dimension… well, that mirror might behead me." Harry admitted.
"Nice of you to start thinking again." Kaguya said approvingly. "You should also consider what might already be in that dimension. For all you know it might be one of the dimensions I've created and anchored to the world, so you might end up pulling an ocean of acid or a lake of lava."
"So I'll leave it alone for now and get back to my usual training." Harry sighed as he deactivated his new Dojutsu before reactivating his original ones just to see if they worked, the familiar vision either granted being enough for the moment even without a mirror. "With all the excitement with the Flamels, I haven't even began training to use the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Once I learn that, I can send a clone there and when it dispels I'll know what I'm dealing with."
"There is more then that, Harry." Kaguya chuckled in delight. "Once you can safely use the Kamui, I can guide you to my own dimensions, where I have left a few scrolls and other materials before my first sealing."
"So that's six more dimensions?" Harry grinned.
"Actually, I made ten. You only saw six because that's where I fought the Uchiha and Uzumaki brats. Of those, five are rather close to each other and thus easier to access and the sixth, that desert one, is further away hence why I tried stranding the Uchiha there." Kaguya explained. "In case you're wondering, I also have a regular ocean dimension, a forested one, a mountainous one and a grassy plain one."
"You know, I do need a safe place for all the magical creatures I seem to be collecting…" Harry trailed off thoughtfully.
"Why do you think I made all those dimensions for?" Kaguya asked smugly. "This world was my nursery, but those dimensions were my incubators."
A.N.: Well, I can say that this chapter I'm perfectly satisfied with. I hope you are as well.
I'll be honest with you, I was just looking up Celtic Death Gods on Wikipedia and got lucky with Manannán mac Lir. I honestly though I would have to twist a legend more to fit my purposes. Now, whether I might do something like this again in the future… tempting, very tempting. Still, I have other plans for now. It might come up later – I mean, the Japanese Regalia is all but daring me.
For those interested, I added an image of this Deathly Mangekyo Sharingan in my profile page. Check it out.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter at least half as much as I enjoyed writing it. If so, please leave a review.
