CHAPTER 6:
MOTHERS' LOVE
It was at Undyne's suggestion that Harry take a few trips away from the laboratory that was now becoming his home. Undyne took him to her own home to have what she called a sleepover. In truth, it was the beginning of his training.
Now, most people would think that Undyne, regardless of who she was meant to train, would put someone through strenuous training automatically. However, even Undyne was aware that you can't just throw someone as nervous and timid as Harry was at the time into such a regimen. Hotheaded and boisterous though she was, she was far from stupid. She just tended to let her emotions get the better of her. Plus, she was surprisingly canny about how to ease Harry in. And while Harry would never be able to match her strenuous routine, he nonetheless would manage to make her proud.
Of course, that was in the future, when she was firmly rooted in his mind as his mother, along with Alphys. On that first day when Harry stayed over, Undyne started by showing off the things she could do, and Harry, like many a kid would have been, was deeply impressed. Who wouldn't be by an armoured fish woman hurling magic spears that appeared out of thin air, or could suplex a bloody boulder?
Well, you'd be scared if she was after you. But she wasn't after Harry.
Now, Undyne managed to give Harry some exercise by stealth, as the beginning of his own training regime. They had a light jog around the immediate neighbourhood of Undyne's house, Undyne mildly impressed by his stamina (though she would later learn, to her anger, that said stamina and speed was due to the Dursleys encouraging Dudley and his gang to engage in 'Harry Hunting'). Harry met Gerson, Undyne's hero and inspiration to join the Royal Guard. He found it hard to believe that the aging turtle Monster was a famous warrior, but the war had been ages ago, and some Monsters aged in different ways to others. He liked the funny old turtle, though, and resolved to meet him again.
And then, there were the Blooks, Happstablook and Napstablook, a pair of ghost Monsters who couldn't be more different. Napstablook was extremely shy and self-effacing, while Happstablook was extroverted and flamboyant, and excited to meet a human. He was the founding member of the Underground's Human Fan Club, apparently.
The more time he spent around the Monsters, the more Harry began to realise that they were far kinder than any of the humans he had known for very long. He had only known Chara briefly, and he only knew a few adults who had shown him any kindness, a couple of teachers amongst them. Everyone else, he realised, had been poisoned by the Dursleys' lies. Yet virtually all of the Monsters he met so far were nice. Okay, Undyne was rather loud and (if he knew the words) boisterous and impulsive, but she had shown him more kindness than the Dursleys did.
Case in point came after they had their little jog, and came back to Undyne's house. Harry offered to cook lunch for them, and Undyne became quiet.
As Harry cooked spaghetti quite well (though not as…heroically as Undyne would have liked it), Undyne asked, "Kid…Harry…how did you become so good at cooking? Being self-sufficient is great and all, but at your age…"
Harry fidgeted, before he admitted, reluctantly, "The Dursleys had me do it."
Now, people believed that when Undyne got angry, she got loud. In truth, that's what she did most of the time. But when she got truly, mind-bogglingly furious…she got quiet. A bizarre kind of tranquil fury that meant someone was going to get a magic spear rammed through their chest very soon. Unfortunately, Undyne lacked a target. So, she calmed herself by smelling the spaghetti bolognaise. Wow, what a scent. Made her own efforts look dismal by comparison. Then again, there were times when she narrowly avoided setting her house ablaze.
"Harry…I'll be honest," she said as Harry sat down to eat his own plate (Undyne insisted he could have a serving). "Your relatives better not be like most humans. Hell…I mean, heck, I'm hoping they're more like you. Humans, I mean."
"You don't like them, do you?" Harry asked.
"It's complicated, kid. Some humans are cool. Alphy showed me a bunch of history books and stuff. But, well, humans trapped us down here."
"Alphys told me," Harry said. "But why did they do that? The Monsters I've met have been pretty much nice."
Undyne chuckled. "Including me, eh? Well, there's plaques around Waterfall detailing our history. The truth is, the humans were afraid of us. Not just 'cause of us being Monsters. No, some Monsters have the ability to become more powerful with a human soul. You met Queen Toriel and Prince Asriel, right? Well, they're what are called 'Boss Monsters', and Boss Monsters are the ones that can absorb a human soul. And Monster souls are actually weaker than human souls. We can't handle the amounts of darker emotions that some humans can muster. I heard someone call that LOVE once, not love as in lovey-dovey, but LOVE, for Level Of ViolEnce. But a Monster that has a human soul in conjunction with their own becomes very powerful. That's why the humans, or at least their wizards, sealed us away. Hell, Chara and you are the first humans to come into the Underground, ever. Or at least the first to survive the landing. Guess you two got lucky." She ate her spaghetti, and made a noise of pleasure. "Hey, Harry, did those relatives of yours ever compliment your cooking? Or let you eat your own?"
Harry shook his head. Undyne could see the story in his eyes without needing to be told. They treated him like a servant, and abused him. She sighed in anger, and said, "Well, thanks for the grub, Harry. You're a good kid, better than those relatives of yours deserved."
Harry scoffed, the sound too cynical for one so young. "They kept calling me a freak."
"Yeah, well…they'd say worse about me, Harry. But they're worse. They call us Monsters, but humans…pfft. They think of us as monstrous, but many humans are worse on the inside. The King and Queen still think we might be able to make peace with them, should the Barrier ever come down…but I dunno. But like I said, you're a good kid." She then smirked. "And you know what? I'm gonna make you great…"
At least Toriel didn't lose her temper with Dumbledore, Harry reflected. She was very calm, just like Undyne was when she got angry. And Toriel was angry with Dumbledore, but she was better at being diplomatic than Undyne.
After hearing the whole story, Toriel sighed. "I cannot condone your actions, not wholly. I understand your reasoning, but putting all of your trust into these Blood Wards was dangerous. And given what Chara has told us of the life of her father thanks to the Horcrux within Harry…you risked creating another Voldemort by placing him with unloving relatives, who were more than willing to murder him to be rid of him. You are fortunate that I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, Dumbledore. I know you had the best intentions, but I believe you humans claim that is what the road to hell is paved with."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "All I can say, apart from offering my deepest and sincerest apologies, is to show my gratitude that Harry found a family who did care about him. And my gratitude to you personally, Toriel, for not only supporting Harry, but for raising Chara, and doing so in a way that she is certainly not what I would expect in the daughter of Voldemort."
Chara rolled her eyes. "What would you expect? Something that looked like the mutant incestuous offspring of a snake and the Wicked Witch of the West?"
"Chara, please, show a little more tact when dealing with Professor Dumbledore," Toriel chided mildly. "It would be too early to ask you to show respect, but being tactful is another matter."
"Tact?" Chara asked, cocking her head in a mock-quizzical manner. "Is that a new flavour of chocolate?"
"No, and if you give me any more cheek, young lady, I will ensure that you do not get any for some time as punishment."
Chara's crimson eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare." Noticing Toriel's look, she muttered, mutinously, "Fine."
Toriel nodded, before returning back to Dumbledore. "Now, Harry is bound to compete in the Tri-Wizard Tournament due to someone tampering with the Goblet of Fire. Am I correct?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Unfortunately, I have too many potential suspects, and not enough leads. However, I believe the culprit behind this to be ultimately Voldemort himself. I tried to lure him, or at least one of his agents, into a trap three years ago, but he managed to escape. Two years ago, one of his followers left a Horcrux in the possession of Ginny Weasley."
"The redhead girl we saw this morning?" Chara asked. "Did she get possessed?"
"Yes, and only the timely intervention of her brothers and Neville Longbottom saved her from having her lifeforce drained. She had also unleashed, under the influence of Voldemort, a Basilisk. While I suspected I knew what the creature was, I didn't know where its lair was, and it was only by chance that the students managed to enter the Chamber of Secrets, which is normally closed to all but Parselmouths. They only managed to enter by following Ginny."
"I see. So only those who speak the tongue of snakes could enter," Toriel mused. "Did Voldemort make any attempts on Hogwarts last year?"
"No, but a man called Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. He was believed to be a traitor to Harry's parents, but in fact, he had discerned the true traitor. Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger learned of this, as did my DADA teacher at the time, Remus Lupin. Unfortunately, due to interference from Severus and the Dementors stationed around Hogwarts at the time…"
"Wait, Dementors?" Toriel asked, looking shocked. "Chara told me those vile things were stationed around your prison of Azkaban, but why would they be around Hogwarts?"
"To try and capture Black. Thankfully, Severus managed to drive them away to protect the students, but out of spite, he then claimed to have captured Sirius, and presented him to the Minister to be executed. Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom managed to rescue him, and he is currently on the run. Actually, he would be most delighted to hear from Harry. He is his godfather, after all. And I believe Remus would like to hear from Harry too. How do you feel about werewolves?"
"As long as they are a decent person when not transformed, and isolate themselves when they are, I don't care."
"Good. I will send an owl, asking if they would like to go to Mount Ebott. Black will be travelling in the form of a large black dog."
"Ah, an Animagus. Very well."
Harry frowned. "Why didn't I know Mr Lupin? Why wasn't I sent to stay with him?"
"Leaving aside the issue of the Blood Wards, Harry, the truth is, werewolves were feared even before Voldemort used them as his enforcers and terror troops. One of the most infamous was the man, though I use that term loosely, who infected Remus. The moment Remus had been exposed as both a werewolf and your guardian would be the last day he would spend a free man, if not his last day alive," Dumbledore said. "It's not at all fair, I know, but sadly, this is the way Magical Britain works, with corruption too deeply rooted to remove easily, and attitudes too ingrained to correct. I have three positions of power, and I fear that I do the best as Headmaster here, for all my power, both actual, and political."
Toriel, after a moment, nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well. How do you think they will view us? The diplomatic mission sent to us was rather politic, given humans' attitudes to us in the past, but I doubt that it will remain that way."
"And you would be correct. Contempt towards anything they consider to be an impurity of blood is a cornerstone of many Pureblood families in our world. And they consider Muggles, humans with no magical blood, to be less than animals. I am sure that Monsters would be considered even less. That being said, to my knowledge, the magic used to seal up the Monsters under Mount Ebott has been lost, and there should be no way known for them to do so without you being able to counter it."
"It better be lost," Chara muttered.
"Well, I am truly glad that you are willing to treat with us, and to look after my child and her friend, along with Dr Alphys," Toriel said. "And if they are going to be here for this time, may I look at the subjects they can attend?"
"Certainly," Dumbledore said, fishing around in his desk and handing a booklet to Toriel. "Chara and Harry's education, at least by Hogwarts' standards, is somewhat uneven, though by Muggle standards, they're more learned. I would suggest learning in Potions and Herbology as far as core subjects are concerned, along with Astronomy. Of course, electives like Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, and Divination are wholly up to you."
Alphys, who had stood and looked at the book Toriel was holding down for her, frowned. "No science? No maths?"
"Not by Muggle standards, no, though Arithmancy does require knowledge of mathematics on a level comparable with high school standards, and later, university," Dumbledore said. "You are more than welcome to tutor him in such matters. Mathematics and English are considered subjects to be taught at home by Pureblood families. The closest thing we have to science, apart from Astronomy, is Care of Magical Creatures, which is not unlike biology, or at least zoology. I daresay there are a number of students who would be willing to bring him up to speed with Muggle schooling. I saw you talking with Hermione Granger, a veritable prodigy in Gryffindor, and there are a number of Ravenclaws who keep up with their Muggle subjects."
"We'll consider that," Toriel said. "Speaking of consideration, we felt that we needed someone to look after Harry, Dr Alphys, and Chara. We considered who that would be for some time. We couldn't spare anyone from the Royal Guard due to our ongoing negotiations with the humans, so sadly, bringing in Undyne is out of the question. She's not happy about that, though, and she intends to visit as often as she can. Sans considered coming, but the wizards might consider him to be a construct of a Dark wizard, and Papyrus, bless him, is a bit too kind and trusting. We then had something of a request. Mettaton wanted to come here."
"Mettaton?" Chara asked, astonished. "Why does the narcissistic junkheap want to come here?"
"Chara, my child, don't be rude. Mettaton wanted to come for a few reasons. One, he has enough weaponry on his person to be able to protect you, and his chassis, from what Dr Alphys told me, is nigh-indestructible, at least in his base form. Two, he is excited at being able to meet humans, and saw this as an opportunity. Three, he's looking to make this into a documentary for the others back in the Underground: it'll be some time before the Monsters are allowed to leave the Underground in earnest. Finally, he wants Dr Alphys to work on his EX and NEO transformations, and instead of forcing her to come back to him, he will come to her, along with any equipment she needs."
"This Mettaton…what is he like?" Dumbledore asked.
"He's the offspring of David Bowie and Gilderoy Lockhart turned into a robot, especially in his EX form," Chara said succinctly. "He's camp, egotistical, flamboyant, and self-centred…and I just listed his good points."
"Chara, you forgot about his friendship with Blooky," Harry pointed out. "And he's nice to us and Azzy, not to mention the Dreemurrs. And of course Mum."
"She's the one giving him the new body, of course he'd be nice."
"As long as this Mettaton doesn't cause too much disruption, I see no reason why he can't come here," Dumbledore interjected. "Though I would hope that he doesn't act too much like Mr Lockhart."
Chara snorted quietly. "Fat chance of that happening…"
CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:
So, here you have it: the latest chapter of Underground's Champion. Sorry about the expositional bogdown. Hopefully, with Mettaton at Hogwarts, things will get livelier.
It took me a while to figure out who the bodyguard figure would be. I considered Undyne and Sans, as noted above, but rejected them for the reasons stated above. That, plus Sans is, defence-wise, quite weak. So I thought Mettaton would be a funnier and more interesting bodyguard for these three.
Review-answering time! WhiteElfElder: Not long. Either he or Draco will end up as Chara's victim.
No numbered annotations this time.
