Chapter 14- A Visitor
AN: I am indeed alive! After seven years, two degrees, and a career later I'm finally back to writing. This fic WILL be completed in the very near future. It turns out I struggle starting other writing projects when others are left unfinished. My original plan for this story will change a bit as after seven years of teaching high school I am not willing to write certain scenes with such young characters. Thank you for your patience!
Saturday morning found Harry bouncing in Victor's basement at the designated port key spot. This was the first time Harry felt confident since Blaine's atrocious and lovingly misguided advice to Kurt. After imagining increasingly horrifying scenarios, Harry felt like he had control of the situation. Usually it was Hermione who figured out the complicated solution to their problems.
But not this time.
This time it was Harry.
He was showing everyone that he was able to deal with problems. He had something more to contribute than his status as the Chosen One. It also didn't hurt that his solution let him spend time with his best friend!
At exactly 9am US Central Time a whirlwind of magical portal spun into existence depositing a rusty tin can at Harry's feet. Clutching the tin can was none other than Harry's favorite redhead.
"Harry! Mate, is it good to see you!" Ron Weasley could scarcely stand up before being engulfed in a massive hug. Harry had only just begun to register how much taller and muscular Ron had become through Auror training when the hug abruptly ended with Harry being flung into a protective position and his first friend bodily blocking him from view.
"Ron-what is—?"
"What the bloody Hell is HE doing here?" Ron snarled. Harry was impressed and a bit frightened at how fast Ron had reacted. The war and Auror training had clearly sharpened Ron. However, all contemplation of Ron's awesome ninja-prowess halted when Harry saw Victor standing calmly in front of this with his hands up, eyes focused on Ron's wand pointed at his chest.
"Mr. Weasley, allow me to welcome you to Dalton Academy."
Ten minutes later Harry was rolling his eyes as Victor and Ron chatted as old friends over breakfast. Ron's appetite and habits clearly hadn't changed over the last few months, but also neither had his trust in Harry.
"I'm still not over Malfoy having a squib for a twin!" At Harry's raised eyebrow, Ron continued, "I mean, there's nothing wrong with a squib! My second cousin is an accountant. It's just that it's Malfoy!"
"No offense taken, Mr. Weasley. It is just those prejudices that resulted in the life I have now and I can't say I have regrets of what might have been." Ron had the decency to look abashed.
"Now, gentlemen, I believe it is time to begin preparing for a ritual?"
By the time Kurt arrived an hour later, Harry and Ron under the guidance of Victor were able to lay out the ritual space. They prepared a perfect circle with chalk with an equilateral triangle inside. At each intersection of the shapes Victor traced specific runes while Ron charged them with his wand. The last touch was Harry placing the amethyst from the Black Vaults in the center. Ron had visited the Black vaults with an authorization from Harry to collect a ritual jewel and Harry thought Kurt would appreciate the vibrant color on something he would wear so often.
Harry's initial worries of his oldest friend and his newest friends getting along were thankfully unnecessary. When Kurt first arrived, Harry could tell he was nervous and shy to be around new people, but the younger wizard tried to hide behind an icy exterior. Luckily Ron and his general Ron-ness broke the ice. The moment Kurt entered the ritual space, Ron bounced up to him, "Hey mate! You must be Kurt! I'm Ron." Before Kurt could respond Ron had shaken his whole arm and began to go into details about how weird it was to see Victor, the brilliant ritual space, and how much he liked Kurt's cufflinks.
"I think they will get along just fine," Victor quietly spoke to Harry as they watched the gregarious red head lead around a flabbergasted Kurt.
Harry called out to his friends, "Let's do the final set up and get this started!" Victor directed everyone to their places.
"Ron, you will stand and the right corner of the triangle. Harry, you go to the left, Kurt, you at the top. Kurt, do you have the biological material?"
Kurt pulled out a plastic baggie containing a lock of hair from his pocket. "Harry and I secured this yesterday afternoon."
"Excellent work! Both the biological material and the anchoring stone need to be placed in the pewter bowl and put in the exact center of the triangle." As Victor demonstrated to Kurt and Ron how to find the exact center of the ritual space, Harry thought back to the previous afternoon.
Harry went to McKinley's parking lot and snuck into Kurt's backseat where the other wizard waited for him. "This is not how I intended to spend time with another boy in my backseat," Kurt murmured as Harry took out his wand.
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind," Kurt blushed. "Let's just get on with it." Harry spent a few days considering the best method for their heist. Kurt had told him that there were hidden security cameras all over school, so no active magic could be done on campus. Harry's initial thought was to go with the tried and true invisibility cloak, but there would be problems if the cameras picked up objects moving on their own. The same issue would happen with an disillusionment charm.
Harry finally settled on the Notice Me Not charm, and a quick phone call to Hermione showed him how to pull it off with multiple people. In order for Kurt and Harry to still notice each other while under the charm, the castor had to use both intent and physical contact. Since Harry had more experience of channeling his magic through his HarryHugs, they decided he would be the castor.
Harry gently pushed Kurt to lay down on the backseat and carefully lowered himself on the other teen conscious of not crushing him. A beet-red Kurt starred at the car's roof while Harry performed the spell. The whole experience took less than a minute, but Harry still enjoyed the contact with his friend, though he suspected it would have been more enjoyable if Kurt was more relaxed.
Armed with their magical anonymity, Kurt led Harry through the school to the boys' locker room. There weren't any cameras in the locker room, so there was no footage of them confounding Karofsky while they removed a chunk of hair. By the time they were safety back in the car Karofsky was back to normal with no one the wiser.
With the ritual space ready, the three wizards stood in their assigned spots. Victor helpfully had brought a marker board into the space and wrote the words of the ritual out so no one had to worry about forgetting their lines. Within minutes the ritual was complete. Harry appreciated the elegance of the way the chalk lines sparkled with the magic they channeled into the shapes and how the amethyst and hairs rose within the bowl circling each other before they joined as one amulet.
Kurt picked up the completed amulet. The ritual transformed the raw crystal to a small pendant the size of a grape wrapped in a series of gold lines like someone had begun to wind a ball of yarn and quickly became bored. "It feels welcoming." He carefully laced it through the chain he brought for the purpose and slipped it over his neck. The purple and gold pendant stood out against Kurt's black shirt in what Harry had to admit was a pleasing look.
"What are the lines for?" Ron asked as he stepped up for a closer look. He gently picked up the amulet and let it catch the light.
"The design of the amulet reflects the biological material used. Hair makes lines," Victor explained. Ron nodded seriously and placed the amulet back against Kurt's chest.
"Well," Ron said, "You know what comes next, right?" At three confused faces he smiled and said, "We test it out!"