So…. um well, okay welcome to Chapter 11 of Harry Cora Mills. So before I introduce what this chapter is about… I will explain my hesitance to typing this chapter. Well um first of all, as you guys know all writers get plot bunnies every so often. My plot bunnies however keep popping up and multiplying so it's making it difficult for me to stick to this story. But I will because I promised you guys and myself that I would actually finish a story. The slight issue with this? This story covers all the years at Hogwarts and along with the things happening in Storybrook. What does this mean? Well it means it's going to be a relatively long story and with the fact that I'm already at 34,000 words with just 10 chapters and I'm not even halfway (well technically I am) done with HP Book 1 that says something. On the bright side however, the further I get into this story the more I'll get attached to it, because it will branch out as the books progress and when I hit Book 4 I'll be pushing hard to finish it because that's when the relationship brouhaha starts :D Anyways this chapter's going to be about all four of the Raven Quartet exploring a bit and the beginning of them brewing a 'certain' potion.
Disclaimer: Do we seriously have to go over this every chapter? I'm pretty darn sure my readers get that I do not own Harry Potter or OUAT *cries in corner *
Harry Cora Mills Chapter 11
The rest of the break went pretty normal. Well as normal as the delicate town of Storybrook could be especially in the Winter Holiday Season. Though the cold left something to desire, as it made both Harry and Henry wish her mother had tied a weather spell into the curse so that she could make winters somewhat more pleasant than they were normally. His mother's reply was that weather was the furthest thing from her mind when she was casting the curse and then she told them to put on a jacket if they were cold. Sadly however everything had to come to an end soon and soon it was time for Harry to head back to school. There however was a slight problem with that.
"What are you going to do if they attack you on the platform again?" Emma voiced the question that everyone was thinking.
Regina let out a sigh and turned to face Emma, Harry and Henry.
"While I would hope they won't attack us, I know that's a false hope so instead I'm preparing a special spell to use for when we get there. Hopefully I have enough control of the magic here to use the spell." Regina explained to everybody.
"But mother what if it doesn't work?" Henry asked, a bit worried.
Regina's response was to look down and avoid her children's looks.
"Mom! Don't sacrifice yourself for me, please I can't lose another mother that way please!" Harry begged.
The tear that slipped from Regina's face to the ground did not go unnoticed.
"What else would you have me do! I haven't mastered the use of the magic in this world! Using magic in the Enchanted Forest was easy, here it's like trying to grasp fog!" Regina argued back, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly there were multiple arms wrapped around her. She opened her eyes and saw what it was; it was Emma, Henry, and Harry hugging her.
"Mother, calm down, maybe you're just going about it the wrong way? Maybe instead of grasping it you contain it?" Henry suggested.
Suddenly Regina's eyes lit up with recognition and she quickly pushed everyone aside.
"That's it! It all makes sense, especially why people like you Harry have a Magic Core instead of the people from the Enchanted Forest who draw magic from their surroundings. Since I don't have my own Magic Core I have much more trouble drawing on it, but if I try containing it and mixing it with the magic from the Enchanted Forest…." She said, going off on a tirade.
However mere seconds later she snapped her finger, opened her palm, and a fireball appeared instantly in it causing her to cheer (Read: Squeal) in happiness. Everyone around her congratulated her and they began seeing Harry and her off.
Harry and Regina's departure was just as usual with them swirling away in a cloud of purple smoke. Harry never really thought about it but when they smoked away it felt as if their body was being merged into a sea of magic as it carried them to their destination. He embraced the amazing feeling that came from being drenched in magic. Soon they arrived at their destination, an alley behind King's Crossings. Regina then held up a hand telling Harry to wait.
"I'm going to cast the spell now." She said as she closed her eyes.
A dark pool of black liquid started to form around their feet and began to bubble. It then started to creep up their bodies, encasing them in the black liquid. Once they were fully covered their bodies vanished from sight, of course they could still see each other.
"Mom, this is ingenious! I can't sense you, if it wasn't for the fact I could see you I wouldn't have known you were there." He said, giving her a hug, making a big smile appear on her face.
"Okay, alright then let's go." She said, easing out of the hug and walking into the train station.
Regina was really glad that her son hadn't brought anything with him and had sent his stuff back to the castle because then the spell wouldn't had worked for it doesn't work on things they're carrying that isn't on them (i.e. trunks, bags, etc.) They quickly made their way through the train station, weaving past the mundanes that all swarmed through the place before running through the barrier that separates King's Crossings and Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. When they arrived on Platform Nine and Three Quarters they saw that it was guarded heavily. There were Aurors posted at every part of the platform.
However there was one that caught her eye, it was an old man with a peg leg and a moving eye. Regina could sense powerful magic in the eye and could tell that it could sense magic. Thankfully however she was using Enchanted Forest Magic for this as it wouldn't be seen by the eye. They snuck past each of the guards and managed to slip onto the train. From there they went to the compartment that felt the most familiar to Harry and went in. Inside of the compartment was Draco, Hermione, and Blaise. Regina had the magic that was covering them drop, the black liquid evaporating off their skin, and it revealed them to the others in the compartment, making them jump slightly an inch.
"Harry! Ms. Mills!" All three shouted out in shock.
"Hey kids." Regina said with a smirk as she nonchalantly looked at her nails.
"Mom, stop posturing, I know you want to brag about the fact your spell worked." Harry said with a knowing look making Regina acquire a sheepish expression on her face.
"But come on, you have to admit that it was awesome." She said, a full blown grin now on her face.
The years of not having magic had gotten to Regina so it was quite safe to say that the fact that she could use magic again at her fullest capacity made her feel like a kid in a candy store. However, that effect didn't last long as Regina soon felt the guards come heading this way.
"Gotta go, like now, see you at the end of the school year son." She said, giving him a quick hug before smoke coalesced on her form and carried her away back to Storybrook.
Suddenly the compartment door opened and the man with the moving eye was in the door.
"Potter! How did you get on here!?" The man barked out.
"I walked, and my last name is Mills, sir." Harry said, putting a sarcastic tone to the last word.
"Don't lie to me boy!" The man yelled.
"I'm not lying to you, now please vacate my presence, you are holding up the train." Harry said with all the 'Queen Regina' attitude he could pull.
The man scowled at Harry and left the compartment, not before giving a brief glance over the area. After the man left Draco and Blaise were sputtering at Harry, while Hermione was howling in laughter.
"Do you realize who that man was Harry?" Draco blurted out.
"Uh, No… should I?" Harry said, a confused look on his face.
"That was Mad Eye Moody. He's a real famous Dark Wizard hunter that is considered the best Auror that there ever was. His eye is rumored to be able to see magic and see through illusions." Blaise explained to the others.
"Well, that rumor I can confirm. Having been trained the way I was, I can feel magic and when that man was looking at me I felt as if something was staring at my magic." Harry said.
"Well, anyways, let's move onto a lighter topic. So how was everyone's holidays, we didn't really get to talk about it at the ball." Hermione proposed to the rest of the Quartet.
"Well mine was perfect, we managed to get Emma to believe though it took me and mom smoking into the house and me nearly bleeding to death to get her to do so. Also I loved the gifts you guys sent me." Harry started, a giant smile appearing at the end of his sentence.
"That's great, well not the 'you nearly bleeding to death' part. Oh Harry! I absolutely loved the book of Enchanted Forest magic you and your mother sent to me! Who knew that there were other ways to do magic!?" Hermione said, gushing.
Draco raised his hand to say something in response but both Harry and Blaise whacked him upside the head before he could say it. The reason being that it would have led Hermione into one of her 'Lecture Rants' and both boys didn't feel like listening to her rant on for hours. So to be safe, Blaise spoke next.
"That sounds like an amazing gift you got 'Mione. Thanks for the boxes of chocolate too. Though I honestly loved the painting oils that you sent me Harry. How did you know I'd like them?" Blaise asked Harry.
"U-Um, It was r-really easy. I just a-asked around." Harry said blushing, mostly because he was put on the spot while a tiny bit was because Blaise noticed the effort.
Draco decided to take pity on Harry and butt in.
"Oh Harry, thanks for the potion ingredients! They're much better than the ones I'd find at the Apothecary in Diagon Alley." Draco said, Harry giving him a weak smile for the save.
"Ah! That's because they're from Mom's personal storage of potion ingredients. She makes sure they're stored around magic so that the punch they pack is stronger." He explained, relieved that he was out of the previous situation.
They then descended into small talk as the train was chugging along down the countryside. They then descended to play a game of Exploding Snaps until they finally pulled into the station at Hogsmeade. They took carriages up the hill to the castle where they would have dinner and head off to bed.
Their next History of Magic class was when they were finally going to act. They were going to exorcise Professor Binns.
"You three have memorized your part of the spell?" Harry asked them on their way to the class, getting a synchronized nod from them.
"Good, that means that we can finally get a better History of Magic teacher!"
They proceeded into the class where they would position themselves perfectly, as the class didn't have assigned seats, so they could activate the spell. Harry took the Northern Center-most seat, Blaise the Southern Center-most seat, Hermione the Middle Western Side seat, and Draco the Middle Eastern Side seat. This had seemed to have caught the attention of the students because they knew that the Quartet always sat together, so the fact they weren't meant they were up to something. That theory was soon proven to be true as Binns floated into the class and began to drone; Harry then beginning to speak.
"I call upon the Northern Spirits of Magic to reveal the doors to Death's Realm." Harry chanted, the room starting to acquire an ethereal shadowy glow.
Suddenly there was a crack like sound as the upper part of the air in between the four began to show a thin arch.
"I call upon the Southern Spirits of Magic to grant shape to the doors of Death's Realm." Blaise intoned.
The line then suddenly grew wider and started forming black doors with two scythes crossed on the doors.
"I call upon the Western Spirits of Magic to open the doors of Death's Realm." Hermione spoke.
There was a loud creak like sound as the two doors began to open inward, vanishing as they did so. Behind the doors was a black like abyss that spooked the other students because it was radiating death and fear.
"I call upon the Eastern Spirits of Magic to call forth a Reaper from Death's Realm." Draco spoke with a tone of near finality.
Suddenly all random noise no longer sounded. The only sounds left were the breathing of the students and the oblivious tone of Binns. Then it happened. A pale, skeletal like creature, dressed in black robes and wielding a scythe stepped through the doors. The creature itself made all the students feel like they were going to die for its mere presence suffocated their breath.
"What is it that you call of me mortals." The creature spoke, in an eerie tone.
"We, the four that have called thee, offer our blood in return for the exorcism and passing on of the ghost Cuthbert Binns." Harry, Blaise, Hermione, and Draco all spoke at once.
They all then held out an athame and sliced their hands and let the blood drip. However the blood did not fall to the floor, no it floated up and flew to the skeletal creature before the cuts sealed themselves.
"I accept your offering, young mages." The 'Reaper' spoke, before floating over to Binns.
"Cuthbert Binns, it is now your time to move on. I, a reaper of Death, hereby take your soul so you can pass on." It spoke as it swung its scythe at Binns.
When the scythe passed through Binns it bisected him in two. Afterwards Binns shrunk and turned into a small white orb that the Reaper picked up. The Reaper then floated to the doors and gave one look at Harry and spoke before leaving.
"I see what She sees in you, Death's Chosen One." The Reaper said.
When the Reaper left the doors slammed shut and vanished from the air. The students blinked as the oppressive air vanished before breaking out into cheers, picking up the four and throwing them into the air. However Harry was far from reality at the moment as he had something on his mind.
'What did it mean by 'Death's Chosen One'?' He thought.
And boom! Done! Yes! This one took a while but hey I did it! I hope the ritual wasn't all that corny or stupid. Anyhow.. you guys may have noticed how I don't really focus on canon, well, don't worry canon will happen it's just that Harry's been occupied. For one, he has to start brewing Felix Felicis soon and that is a very, very, very difficult potion to brew. Also he hasn't found out really about the Cerebus, but he will. Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter! Review Please!