AN: Next chapter will be Christmas day then polyjuice me thinks. I'm finding it a little difficult to think about how this year will end seeing as how the whole chamber thing is now resolved. I suppose there is getting rid of Lockhart left, proving Hagrid innocent, freeing Dobby, Hermione's idiocy and possibly a few other things but I don't envision taking up much typing space so if there is anything that you guys wish to see happen over the next couple of months story time then please tell me, I need inspiration. I also need to spend less time on Tickled, I get too easily distracted by it.
As always my forum can be found either on my profile or here: forum/Fate-s-Gamble-Behind-the-scenes/139203/
Beta'd by: NIX'S WARDEN
Chapter 29 – From the Chamber to Luna
Twinkling eyes observed Harry at breakfast the next morning.
To be honest, this Harry was something of a surprise. He was normally so unapproachable, so distant, so anti-social. To see that boy turn into this vibrant and happy child was simply amazing, it was something that almost brought a tear to Albus' eye.
He had initially thought that such people, those outside his sphere of influence, would be bad for him but, oh, how he was wrong. He could see all the love and care that they all felt for one another, it was like one big, happy family with Harry at the centre of it.
There were quite distinct groups in it, the two purple haired girls being one, the two red-eyed girls being another, the old man, the younger one and the Japanese woman being a third, but if Harry was there then they could all connect with each other easily.
He watched as Harry fed that black cat on his shoulder something off his plate. That cat was always there, always with Harry and usually on his shoulder too. Len, he believed she was called, had become like a part of Harry, as constant as his shadow. Some of the professors had even managed to forget that she was there, merely thinking of her as part of Harry himself.
His eyes fell on the rather large wolf patronus that was sat behind Harry and his brows furrowed. He'd heard what that girl, Altrouge, had called it and he was a little concerned. A patronus took the form of someone or something that made the caster feel safe and protected, a being called Primate Murder didn't exactly spring to the forefront of his mind so why would it be Harry's?
His gaze shifted to the two red-eyed females that were sniping at each other, he could hear little heat in it though. Listening to the two of them was like listening to two teenage sisters, they would argue and disagree with each other on concept but they were family and all that entailed.
Oh? What was this? It seemed that Severus had been dragged into conversation with the man, Waver, and the woman, Aoko. That was most unusual, Severus was normally far from sociable. Wait, did Harry really just call Severus by his first name? Severus didn't respond except to call him Harry, when did those two become that informal with each other?
At that point, owls flew into the hall, one of them flying towards Draco Malfoy carrying a letter, another to Neville Longbottom and a few more scattered throughout the people present. It was interesting to note that the owls seemed to avoid Harry and the purple-haired girls, those three didn't seem particularly fond of the owls anyway.
It seemed Albus wasn't the only one to notice this though, miss Granger had been trying to pick up any information she could about him. It had been frightfully amusing to the old headmaster to watch the thirteen year old girl try to interrogate the woman Stheno only to have the conversation redirected with ease.
"Harry," The bushy-haired brunette said. "What is it with you and owls that they always seem to try and avoid you?"
"I'm not particularly fond of owls, it's more about what they symbolise than what they are though. Stheno and Euryale don't like them either." Harry replied, his gaze fixed on the nearest owl who seemed to be a little restless around him.
"Then how do you send letters? I know you do as I've seen you write them before." Hermione asked. Dumbledore's interest definitely perked when he felt a small pulse of magic from Harry who didn't reply immediately to the question.
Dumbledore had raised his eyebrows as Harry lifted one arm in the air only for a strange looking bird to land on it. The bird had the general shape of an eagle or some other raptor but, unlike a real bird, it seemed to be made of metal and jewels. In its chest there seemed to be a large ruby instead of a heart, its eyes were chips of emerald and small sapphires were on its wings.
"It's beautiful." Neville said before looking a little embarrassed. Hermione however started asking questions about it. She asked a number of questions, a surprising number of which Harry answered without comment, he was certainly more relaxed with his family around.
Dumbledore sat back once more as he watched everything going on around him. When Harry had thrown that comment at him after they'd questioned him, well, that had been a slap in the face, a slap that he had probably both deserved and needed. Looking at how happy Harry was now he made a silent promise to himself, he promised to try and look at the world with fresh eyes, untainted by the past and unfettered of the trials he had faced himself.
xxxxx
Once breakfast was over, Harry planned to go down to the Chamber of Secrets. He was going to go down with just Stheno and Euryale, they were going because of a snake after all, but it had been a little difficult to convince some of the others to allow them to go like that.
Fran and Liz had both said that they simply had to go down there with him, he was their master after all. Those two hadn't been the most difficult to convince though, he'd told them that, with Stheno and Euryale there, he had nothing to fear from a snake. Its eyes couldn't get past both his blindfold and his own mystic eyes and the venom wouldn't kill him.
The most difficult to convince though was Len, she had become like his shadow. Wherever Harry went, she was sure to be there. The only place that he went that she didn't was the bathroom, she actually went into the showers with him! She had been really clingy recently, it had been like he'd gained a second shadow, it was like Len had become another part of him. He had begun to only notice her when she wasn't there, that's how often she was with him.
The others had been easier to convince but they still impressed upon him the need to be careful. If this was their home reality then what they were doing was the equivalent of breaking into a magus' workshop, something that could be classified as slightly below suicidal, just slightly.
Zelretch had looked him in the eye and said to him. "Harry, you have become something irreplaceable to me. Don't get yourself killed and if thing s start to look grim, you are an apprentice of the Kaleidoscope so use it." He pulled Harry into a hug and passed him off to Aoko,
"Be careful down there, you hear me?" She said before also hugging him and passing him on to the Brunestud sisters who both hugged him, both told him to be careful and both intimated the unspeakable horrors they would unleash on him if he failed to return.
The others also expressed their desires to see him stay safe before they all left to see Harry, Stheno and Euryale off into the chamber. Harry found it rather comforting that so many people cared for him, heck, even his patronus nudged him with its nose!
Leading them all to the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets must have looked a bit odd to anyone who saw them, Harry was sure the portraits would have informed Dumbledore if Lady Hogwarts hadn't prevented them leaving their frames. Thinking of Lady Hogwarts, he really needed to give her a name or something, a way to identify her as separate from the castle she was a part of. Perhaps Holly was a good name, Hazel maybe or even Sarah? It was something to think about at least.
Myrtle wasn't in her bathroom. Why she wasn't there, Harry neither knew nor cared. With her gone though they could get on with what they were doing, going to down to the Chamber of Secrets.
Nobody reacted when Harry hissed at the sinks, they all knew about Harry's language skills. It would have been different if those gathered there had been wizards, parseltongue did have a rather negative reputation after all.
Looking down the open shaft, Harry was glad that he'd brought his broom with him. The pipe looked absolutely filthy, it was encrusted with a thousand years of grime and obviously hadn't been cleaned. It wasn't exactly the grand entrance he had expected it to be, perhaps there was another entrance elsewhere.
The broom was rather clustered with all three of them on it, Harry up front with Stheno behind him and Euryale behind her, the usually joking Gorgon sister was uncharacteristically serious right now. Harry was grateful that she was taking this seriously but it was rather strange to see her like this, a little unnerving as it were.
They left everyone else, even Harry's patronus, behind on the second floor as they started to fly down the large pipe. They heard the entrance seal behind them as they continued onwards, some of Harry's orbs lighting their way as they got closer and closer to the chamber.
It was a surprisingly long flight, he hadn't realised just how far down they would have to go, and the moisture around them suggested that they were getting rather close to the lake. On a whim, Harry used a little Structural Analysis on the damp wall and found that the lake was no more than three feet in that direction, it was a bit of a scary thought.
Harry followed the twists and turns in the pipes, always following the largest opening he could see. It would be rather amusing if he came across the basilisk like this, hovering in mid-air but that wasn't the main thing that had caught Harry's attention. The pipes around him, there were so many of them, they probably went all over the castle. It was like having an entire network of secret passageways, they really would be if Harry ever found out where they all ended up.
xxxxx
Harry's feet crunched on a small pile of bones beneath his feet, probably a rat or something. Looking around himself, Harry found that they'd landed in a large and damp passageway, another flash of Structural Analysis showed that the lake was literally above their heads. The stonework seemed to be a fairly worn, much more and it could easily collapse on top of them so Harry decided that they'd best take care.
They walked along the corridor, the three of them silent and so was the dark, gloomy passage through which they walked. Their footsteps echoed loudly around them, not helped by the wet floor. They made no effort to avoid the various small skeletons that littered the passageway, it would probably be an effort in futility anyway, so there was often a crunch of crumbling bone to accompany their wet, slapping footsteps.
The tunnel twisted back on itself several times, like the body of a serpent, and they carefully looked around any corners they came across. Harry's thoughts occupied by what lay ahead. Would the basilisk even be sane after so long alone? Would it be friendly? Did it agree with Riddle about muggle-borns? Was it the only basilisk here?
They came across what appeared to be a shed skin, it was a bit over twenty feet long and it was old. As old as the skin was, the longer the basilisk must be by now. Harry put one hand on the skin and analysed it, it was incredible, it was immensely tough and was highly resistant to magic whilst also being rather flexible. The poisonous green colour wasn't his favourite but Harry had nothing against lining his clothing with it, an idea that certainly had merit.
Deciding that he could pick up the skin later, the three of them carried on down the twisting passageway. They eventually arrived at a large round door which had two serpents set into it with large and flawless emeralds for eyes. It was quite an awe-inspiring sight, the door was a dark matte black which only served to make the silver snakes stand out more. With the faint wand-light they looked rather alive right then.
"Open." Harry once again said, and what an easy password it was. Harry had to wonder at that, just how rare were parselmouths that a simple password of 'open' was acceptable to the patron of the house of the cunning?
The door cracked open, the snakes on the door slithering out of the way, unlocking it. Each half slid into the walls and, once it was over with, it was like the passageway had never been blocked to begin with, the smooth walls showing no sign of the door that had sank into it.
They entered a long and dimly lit chamber. Pillars formed into entwined serpents rose from the floor to support the ceiling casting dark shadows in the greenish glow that pervaded the chamber. It looked like old Salazar had gone more for eerie than austere where this chamber was concerned, then again, this was supposed to be his personal place so he could decorate it how he wanted to.
Both Stheno and Euryale were at his sides, all three of them had a blade that they hoped they wouldn't have to use. Neither Stheno nor Euryale were magi but that didn't mean they were useless, far from it. With their target being a basilisk, there was no one else he'd rather have with him.
Walking towards the other end of the chamber, footsteps echoing around them, they all kept an eye out for the basilisk that should be down there. They found nothing until they reached the other end of the chamber where a statue, one that stood as tall as the chamber, waited for them.
The statue was ancient and monkey-like with a long, thin beard that almost reached his feet. Truth be told, it was a rather unflattering image and Harry wondered why Salazar had put such a thing here, most people wanted any statues or portraits of them to make them look their absolute best.
"Where does the basilisk stay?" Stheno asked, looking around carefully.
Harry indicated the statue's mouth. "According to that soul fragment, the mouth of the statue is supposed to open and that is where the basilisk stays when it isn't being commanded. The password, if you want to call it that, is a little more complicated than 'open' though. You need to mention both the words 'Slytherin' and 'Hogwarts' in one sentence that's at least ten Syllables long."
"That easy, is it?" Euryale asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes, our dear Dark Lord had a favourite one: Speak to me Slytherin, Greatest of the Hogwarts' four!" That last bit had been addressed to the statue of Slytherin and Euryale had to roll her eyes at it, talk about stroking someone's ego.
The three of them watched as the statues mouth opened, wider and wider until the opening was large enough that Harry was sure that he wouldn't be able to reach across, even if he was stood on Euryale's shoulders. They heard the basilisk stir within the black hole and watched as it came out, resulting in one rather weird thought from the three observers: How good a kisser was Slytherin?
They quickly shook this irrelevant, if rather amusing, question from their minds as the basilisk uncurled in front of them. It was a thing of beauty, the vivid green scales were certainly eye-catching and the snake was like one long muscle that shone even in the dim light of the chamber. When the snake did finally unfurl itself, they came face to face with its intense yellow eyes.
It seemed to regard them curiously for a moment. "You aren't the most recent master." It said, she really as the voice was definitely feminine. "Who are you?" She asked. Harry looked at Stheno and Euryale before stepping forward.
"I am Harry Potter and these are Stheno and Euryale." He said to the snake which seemed to recognise the name. She came right up to Harry and examined him closely before looking to the two purple-haired women.
"Harry Potter? The boy-master inside the girl mentioned you often. I think he wanted you dead but he seemed to want to know things about you first. It was rather odd to hear, he didn't seem to like you at all." This conversation was going oddly, the basilisk's tone of voice was rather calm.
"Oh? Did he give you any commands in regards to me?" Harry asked warily, getting ready in case he needed to fight. The tension in the room went up and the basilisk regarded Stheno and Euryale for a moment before looking back at Harry, he could swear that she was almost smirking.
"No, he seemed to think that only he could get down here. He was rather arrogant like that, stupid might also be applicable seeing as you don't seem to have come down here on a whim." The basilisk looked curiously at Stheno and Euryale once more before returning to Harry. "What are you anyway? You feel like snakes but you walk on two legs and I feel like I couldn't disobey those two no matter what I wanted."
Harry considered it for a moment. "What's to stop you from spilling anything we tell you to others?" He asked the large magical snake who rolled her eyes at him, it was a rather weird experience.
"Nothing." The serpent said. "Except for the fact that I can only talk to a parselmouth which, as you might know, are a little on the rare side. There's also the fact of someone actually paying attention to what I say and not going 'Oh no! A big snake, I'd better try and kill it'. Seriously, I'm not exactly surrounded by friends." A sarcastic basilisk, this was fun. "Besides that, no one can make me do anything except parselmouths, I'm kind of bound by spells Salazar Slytherin cast on my egg. The only way to overcome those spells is to willingly become someone's familiar and as that would require me to bite them their aren't exactly many volunteers."
Harry smiled at the snake before looking at Stheno and Euryale, both of them seemed amused by this basilisk's sarcasm. "What if there was someone who wouldn't be killed by your venom?" He asked the snake who eyed him balefully.
"The only counter to my venom is phoenix tears and that renders the familiar binding ineffective so if that was what you were thinking, it won't work." The basilisk harrumphed. "I would love to get out of here though, I barely remember the outside world from when I was fresh out of the egg. My entire world consists of this chamber, the pipes spread throughout the castle and that's about it. I want to be out in the fresh air, when I was a hatchling I actually wanted to fly."
Harry's smile widened. "I wasn't talking about phoenix tears. Your venom might hurt like a bitch but I'm sure I'd survive it, snake venom doesn't exactly do much against me. These two would also have no problem with it, they are the two elder Gorgon sisters after all." That seemed to get the basilisk's attention.
"You would be able to break the damnable bindings that Salazar placed on me? If it wasn't for them I would have left this castle centuries ago!" The basilisk exclaimed. Harry looked between Stheno and Euryale with him.
"If you want to go through with it, Harry." Stheno told him.
"Your choice little brother." Euryale added.
Harry looked up at the basilisk who was looking at them in surprise. "If we're going to do this then I would at least like to know your name." He said.
The snake chuckled. "Very well, little snake. I was never given a name by Salazar but I do think of myself as Sasha, let that be my name, one that I chose myself." Harry grinned up at her despite the 'little snake' comment, he had a feeling that he would have some rather interesting conversations with Sasha in times to come.
Baring his left arm, removing the vambrace and the fingerless glove, Harry proffered his arm for Sasha to bite. As she let her venom spread through him, he would let his blood trickle down her throat and initiate the bond. It was rather different with his bonds to both his Heroic Spirits and Len but this was another world after all, they would obviously have different rules.
Sasha gently allowed Harry's pale arm to rest on her rough tongue as he placed his arm so that the fang wouldn't go through his elbow, adding a joint into all of this was just asking for trouble. Harry felt the point of Sasha's fang rest on his upper arm and braced himself for what was to come, the fang was as long and thin as a sabre.
It was instantly obvious when the fang pierced Harry's arm, the venom from Sasha's glands flooded his body, filling him with several pints of venom. It was agony, it might not kill Harry but it definitely damn well hurt him. He could feel it spread through his body, flooding his veins and setting his nerves on fire.
Harry didn't know how long he stood there, supported by Stheno and Euryale with their grip on his body and Sasha with his arm in her mouth. He knew that what was happening was painful, that was obvious, and it was only compounded by the fact that if this was to work then he couldn't take any pain relief potions or anything that would counteract the venom. He had to rely solely on his own resistance to snake venom and with a basilisk's, the most potent venom known to the wizarding world, this was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before.
In actuality it was somewhere around ten minutes later that it was all over. Harry could now feel Sasha's mind connected to his own and Sasha could feel his and, for the first time in her existence, she could no longer feel the binds that Salazar Slytherin had placed on her when she was still an egg.
Harry stumbled a bit but Sasha propped him up with the end of her tail and Harry gratefully took advantage of that. Deciding that they had best get out of here, Harry focused on the Kaleidoscope for a moment and all four of them disappeared only to reappear somewhere that Stheno and Euryale recognised.
"The shapeless isle! We haven't been here since we met you, Harry." Stheno said as she looked around the island, it looked pretty much the same as when they'd last been here. The rocky coast and the lush forested areas further in, the island was most certainly large enough for Sasha to be comfortable and there was still a bounded field up that prevented all but those who knew about it from coming there so no one was in any danger of Sasha accidentally killing them.
"That's true," Harry agreed with Stheno. "but I think it will do for a new home for Sasha here, at least for now. I think that I could probably purchase a flock of sheep and drop them here too so she has something to eat." Sasha snorted.
"I survived of a few rats a year, sometimes less, when I was down in the chamber. I'm a magical beast and as such I don't exactly need to eat much. My species was created by wizards, they are smart enough to make us sustainable, our magic maximises what we get out of what we eat. A single sheep would last me a few years." Sasha told them.
"Yeah but did they think up a way to protect themselves from your eyes, though?" Harry asked and was surprised when Sasha nodded.
"I have two sets of transparent eye-lids, something that snakes don't usually have. When none of my eyelids are down, my eyes are fully lethal, with one set down they can petrify and with them both down anyone can look me in the eye without harm. It was unfortunate that the boy-master, Riddle, commanded me to have both eyelids open when not in his presence, I still managed to avoid killing when I could." She replied.
"Why?" Harry asked, curious.
"Why? Because I wanted to live. Can you imagine what wizards would have done to me if I went around killing everyone? No, much better to petrify them and not give wizards any reason to actively hunt me down. I may not be fond of humans but you could quite easily exploit my weakness. All it would have taken was one transfigured cockerel and it would have been all over for me, another fail-safe the wizards put into my kind." Harry refrained from making the comment that perhaps the olden times wizards were a mite bit more sensible than the modern variety.
They decided to leave Sasha alone for now, she wanted to explore her knew home. Stheno and Euryale eyed Harry warily at one point, Sasha said that she wished she could fly and the thoughtful look on Harry's face made them curious what he was thinking, Harry did like a challenge after all.
xxxxx
They returned to the second floor girl's bathroom to find everyone still waiting for them. They noticed the mark on Harry's arm that was sure to develop into a scar and asked about it, no one was surprised how he had gotten it. In fact, no one was surprised the basilisk was female, they said things about it being common sense when Harry got involved, he wondered why that was.
Harry's patronus was beginning to unnerve even him though with the way it acted like a puppy, nuzzling him when he came back and skipping about in joy. It was a rather bizarre sight to see, something that looked like Primate Murder acting that way. Harry just decided to try and think of some way to get rid of it, it was large and got in the way.
The days after that were filled with fun and amusement, Zelretch actually had collaborated with the Weasley twins some and with input from Euryale, and surprisingly Helena of all people, everyone had to be on their toes over the Christmas holidays.
There had been that memorable incident when they'd applied a charm to the doors to the Great Hall so that if two people passed through it they'd have to kiss, Harry had a picture of Draco Malfoy having to kiss Gregory Goyle which was going in his blackmail folder.
There had been another incident, this one mostly Helena, that had brightly coloured birds following people around and singing songs at random, Euryale's yellow bird had been given Sneaky Snake by Tom. T. Hall. Somehow they'd gotten the song Monster by Skillet for Harry's black and red bird, how they got a song from a future time-line he didn't want to know. Dumbledore's white and gold bird singing the imperial march was rather amusing though.
Another incident that involved the resident pranksters was they'd managed to slip a multitude of things into the food, Harry was sure that even they didn't know what was in what. Harry avoided that one because of his habitual analysing of whatever he was going to eat or drink, others weren't as careful though.
Aoko could only speak in sonnets for a day, Dumbledore's hair and beard were turned pink and had flowers growing in them, Flitwick could only purr like a cat, Babbling's eyes now glowed in the dark, Ron Weasley had a small arming of enlarged chess men following him wherever he went and Arcueid had roller-skates attached to her feet.
All in all, it was a rather entertaining time. There were several things that Harry hadn't expected and one of them had come from the shortest professor at Hogwarts. It had been rather odd when professor Flitwick had asked to speak with him one day but Harry had listened regardless.
xxxxx
"You wished to see me, professor?" Harry asked, entering the office of Ravenclaw's head of house. Surprisingly, it wasn't wall to wall shelves full of books. Oh, there were several shelves with books on them but they didn't take over the room.
There was a large case full of trophies, medals and awards with the name Filius Flitwick on them, no doubt the proof of his experience in duelling. The furniture in the room was regular sized, only Flitwick's chair being altered to account for the man's size.
"Yes, yes I did. Mr. Potter, Harry if I may." Harry nodded, he didn't mind Flitwick using his first name. "Harry, after your display against Dumbledore I believe you to be eligible for the international duelling tournament. With your, and your guardian's, permission I would like to put your name forward for it."
"What would happen over the course of the tournament?" Harry asked, he was curious about it and he was quite happy to compete, he was sure that Stheno would give him permission.
"Well the tournament is a week long, it lasts from Monday the twenty-sixth of July to Friday the thirtieth this coming summer. There would be a match each day, the first round is a free-for-all between eight competitors from which only one emerges, the second day would try and match up people of the same nationality, the third would be a two versus two match, the fourth would be the semi-finals and the fifth would be the final. There are one hundred and twenty-eight places available and I am willing to put your name forwards for it." Flitwick told him.
"Do you really think I'm eligible, professor? I didn't exactly duel professor Dumbledore, it was more freestyle than that." Harry asked.
"Exactly. The linear style of duelling went out of fashion internationally more than a decade ago. Duels held these days are on circular platforms and are much larger than the platform you and the headmaster used. There is also the fact that, as long as it isn't illegal, you can take whatever you wish on stage with you. I think that someone once brought a pre-prepared summoning circle with him, couldn't activate it quick enough though and he lost but it was ingenious anyway." That made Harry pay attention.
He could imagine how the ofuda that he was in the process of making, with ink from the kraken, could be useful in a real duel. He thought that this international duelling tournament would be a great way to test his creations, it would certainly give some good field results. He could perhaps add a few of his potions to his arsenal, they would act very similar to grenades and could cause all sorts of effects, mixing potions and his ofuda together would get him results like flash-bangs and concussion grenades, the potential was there at least.
"I have noticed the way you duel and have several... less common spell books that may prove useful to you." Flitwick told Harry. "This one is about inanimate to animate transfiguration and modifying it, this one has some more aggressive hexes and curses and this one, well, I think you might like to take a look at it." Harry looked at the three books that Flitwick handed to him, the first and second seemed fairly straight forward but the last one caught his eye especially. The third tome that Flitwick had given him was titled 'Curiosities and Mysteries: Spells without restraint'. He flicked his wrist to open it and found a rather curious spell before flicking through it a little more.
The spells in the book did the most random of things, from turning someone's hair into snakes to making their feet smell of lavender, from forcing them to dance to switching the thumbs on either hand but there were several that definitely caught his eye.
There was one spell that he'd flicked through that transfigured something into an animated stone warrior that obeyed the caster, it was a derivative of golem creation. There was another spell that caused the ground to undulate, something that would throw people of balance. There was another spell, an enchantment, which caused a blade to maintain a keen edge no matter how hard someone tried to blunt it. There was another spell that allowed someone to call a familiar to their side, that one Harry really paid attention to.
Leaving Flitwick, and determined to get permission from Stheno in regards to this tournament, Harry also had one more book that Flitwick had given him. Whispering his incantations was all well and good for stopping people from knowing what he was casting, but if someone silenced him then he needed a way to counter that, learning to cast silently seemed to be the best way to go and that was what that fourth book was about.
Harry headed off to the guest quarters where everyone would be waiting for him. It was as he was walking down the hallways that he realised how odd the stuff he came to think of as normal was. Here he was with Len sat on his shoulder and being flanked by Liz and Fran and he saw that as something so ordinary it wasn't even worth commenting on. How many twelve year olds had six hundred year old, cat-shaped succubi sat on their shoulders as they were followed by a part-dragon woman who had died three hundred and eighty-two years before after having killed over six hundred women and bathed in their blood on one side and, on the other, an artificially created woman that had scared her creator into fleeing after dismembering her, had put herself back together, tracked her creator down and killed his family, drove said man insane and then drowned herself?
Add to all of that that he called Medusa the Gorgon's sisters his own sisters, his grandfather was a dimension hopping vampire and his closest friends included two vampire princesses and he now had a thousand year old, highly venomous and highly deadly, almost ninety foot long snake for a familiar, one with a definite sense of sarcasm and his life had gone so far past bizarre that it wasn't even applicable any more.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by anything else that may happen to me, eh?" Harry muttered to himself as he wandered through the castle.
xxxxx
Arcueid was enjoying everything that was happening, everything that she personally experienced and everything that she observed. The ditzy part of her was both an aspect of her personality and a mask she showed to the world that only those that knew her really well could see past.
The point of divergence could be traced back to when she had met Harry, Zelretch had been trying to get both of them to lighten up and had masterminded the whole event. She wasn't complaining though, it had resulted in her friendship with Harry, something that she found joy in.
She remembered how emotionless and blank she had been, existing only to combat Roa whenever one of his incarnations turned up only to sleep again when it had been taken care of. He'd risen sixteen times before her meeting with Harry and each one had whittled a little of her personality off, each one made her focus on nothing else but Roa's final demise.
When she had entered the place she hadn't expected the boy that she'd met, she'd expected Zelretch himself. She had expected for Zelretch to attempt something he found amusing, something that others very often didn't find fun, and he would involve her somehow.
The boy who had been sat reading a book in Zelretch's quarters, because everyone next door had been drunk, had turned her life, not exactly upside down, but he had certainly injected a fair amount of happiness and energy into it. Whatever the cause was, it certainly soothed her existence some.
Harry had a way of making everyone get along, she had even managed to get along with Altrouge, something that was certainly a surprise to her. It was a rather happy occurrence though, another thing to experience, another thread to add to the tapestry of her life.
She was quite happy to say that she had been Harry's first friend, which she actually was, but she wasn't his closest friend. That position was actually taken by Altrouge, that was unless those two were actually together, it was getting harder to tell. Harry would never be a romantic interest for her, that didn't mean she couldn't tease him though.
She remembered that little competition that Zelretch had set up in regards to the engagement thing. She wouldn't have minded actually winning it, none of them would have, but she would have been a place-holder to prevent those ridiculous betrothal rituals this messed up world had.
She knew that Harry was planning to participate in the upcoming Grail War, whether he was selected as a master or not, and she knew that he would want to go alone. She could respect that, only masters and Heroic Spirits were actually a part of that tournament after all. She didn't think the others would like it though, Stheno would worry about him but she would probably allow it eventually, Euryale didn't show it as clearly but she too would worry incessantly. Len would go, there was no way that she would let him leave without her. Zelretch, she knew, was putting together some things that would help him while he was there, he'd also managed to gather a fair few catalysts as well. She knew that the master of the Kaleidoscope was also giving him birthday and Christmas presents that would help him, that gem bird would be a good scout and she knew that he was planning to teach Harry more of the Kaleidoscope's workings.
It was really Altrouge that she wondered whether they'd be able to stop her going to Fuyuki with him when the time came. Harry was her first friend and he was one of the few people who would treat her as a person, other apostles would either serve her or be against her.
It was rather sweet to see, the Princess of the Dead Apostles, Altrouge Brunestud, and the weird but still a little human, grandson of Zelretch, family of the Gorgon sisters, Harry Potter. Actually, when she thought of it like that, it didn't quite sound how she had initially imagined it. Oh well, it was still rather cute.
What was also cute was how close Harry was with Len, she never left his side if she could help it. That might sound clingy but it wasn't actually, it suited those two. Len was Harry's eyes and ears, the one that no one suspected. She was also Harry's shadow, constantly with him and following in his footsteps.
Arcueid was definitely happy that she had met Harry that time, he was someone that she was glad to call friend. She did enjoy teasing him though, whether blatantly or subtly, but if Harry ever needed her then she would make damn well sure that she was there for him. She had heard of this 'Dark Lord' that had targeted him and he really didn't know who he was messing with.
xxxxx
When Harry had told her about Flitwick's offer, Stheno had said yes. She also said that they would be there to watch him compete, cheering him on, which everyone else agreed with. It made Harry smile to know that he had so many people who cared about him, God knows what kind of life he would have lived if Zelretch hadn't interfered.
Time went by, as time does. The time up until Christmas was filled with fun and laughter and other things people put into filler chapters when they actually have ideas to write, it was fun. The regular castle residents got used to the presence of Harry's visitors and all of them became included in some of the activities that went on.
There was a snowball fight that almost all of them got in to, the regular Hogwarts residents on one team, including the professors, and Harry with his family and friends on the other. There was a lot of cheating that went on in that game, the Weasley twins enchanting snowballs to fly directly at one of the visitors, Dumbledore conjuring a large amount of snow just above their heads, no one could prove it but Severus was the main suspect when several vials of potion animated some of the snow, creating some kind of golem that went after the snowball throwers.
That last incident reminded Harry of the potions that he was brewing, aside from the polyjuice with Hermione and Neville that is. He had the variations on the potion that Helena had come up with that would be ready soon and he was brewing the animagus potion as well, that would be ready a bit before his thirteenth birthday if he'd gotten the timing right.
It was also before Christmas that Harry decided to approach one Luna Lovegood.
xxxxx
She was skipping down a corridor, affecting a completely carefree attitude. She had just had breakfast and had decided to do a little exploring, who knew, she might find some interesting new creature to document and tell her daddy about. Humming merrily to herself, she had not been expecting to turn a corner and literally walk into Harry Potter.
The elder boy didn't fall over, he slid one foot back to keep his balance, but Luna almost hit the floor. She was caught before she did though by two pale arms, thin though they were she could definitely feel the strength in them. Though not particularly tall, Harry managed to lift her up and set her back on her feet, seemingly without effort.
Luna didn't know what to do, she had never been this close to Harry before and all of this conflicting natures were right before her. Actually, there was some discrepancy with two particular natures. The artificial nature, that which was like a golem, was slightly off to one side but there was nothing there. The dragon-like nature was also off to one side, the opposite of the golem-like nature, but it seemed like both of them connected with Harry's own nature somehow, like he was the reason they were there.
The huge patronus behind them didn't help matters, it emanated comforting feelings like all patronuses did but it also put her on edge. She didn't actually know what this form it had taken was but hearing the vampire girl call it Primate Murder didn't exactly conjure up an image of cuddly bunny rabbits, whatever it was, it felt rather deadly which was really strange for a patronus.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked the blonde girl. "You hit me quite hard there."
"I'm fine, thank you." Luna replied. She tried to adopt her usual dreamy look but Harry saw a flicker of confusion cross her face, the fact that she was looking where Liz and Fran stood only served to make it more curious.
"You aren't as out there as people think, are you?" Harry asked her.
Luna tilted her head to one side. "What do you mean? I'm right here, aren't I? I'm not being abducted by aliens for human experiments and this is merely a clone left behind, is it?" She asked before starting to count her fingers and toes, as if to see if they were all there.
It amused Harry to watch her poke herself in the side, now that he'd seen that look of confusion on her face he could see the act she was putting on. "You know, acting like that isn't going to convince me."
Luna heard the amusement in his voice but tried to persevere anyway. "Convince you of what? Are you one of those people that doesn't believe in nargles?" She asked.
Harry just shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Why don't you tell me about nargles and I'll tell you whether I believe in them or not, sound good to you?"
Luna nodded her head and the two of them left to sit by a window, that large patronus and the two Heroic Spirits following them. She began to talk, she spoke of all the creatures that most would deny existing, she didn't realise that Harry had that calculating look in his eye, how could she when he wore a blindfold all the time? She spoke at length, it must have been about half an hour later when Harry actually said something longer than a single word.
"So, these nargles." He said. "From what you're saying, they hang around people who have difficulty in accepting others opinion's, stubborn people who always believe they're right, yes?" Luna nodded. "Damn, Hermione must be absolutely infested with them then."
That startled a laugh out of Luna. "She is. You though, you don't really have any and nor do the people you came with. The old man, Zelretch, they seem to fly away from him."
Harry snorted. If there was anyone that caused logic to fly out of the window it was him, Zelretch was the type of person that told the concept of impossible off simply because he wanted to see a chocolate reindeer start a jazz band.
"Why do you hide like that?" Harry asked her. "Don't say you don't because it won't work, why do you hide behind that mask of lunacy? From what I can gather, you are a smart young girl but everyone always focuses on how you act as if you're insane. Is that it? You wish people to see you as insane?"
Luna looked at Harry again, she'd been initially frightened of him, heck, she was still somewhat scared of him. There was something about Harry that whispered in her ear, it's high, cold voice spoke to her, it told her that if she was ever deemed a threat to him or those he cared about then she would be better of killing herself than letting him find her. It was both horrifying and intriguing but it was most definitely scary.
It seemed that scary didn't mean bad though, as long as she remained non-threatening then he was quite willing to speak with her. His razor sharp intuition, what had stripped her down of her usual defence, was scary by itself but she found that she wasn't too averse to it, like people who went into those haunted house things at theme parks.
"It's easier." Luna said, all the dreaminess gone from her eyes. "People always want to be with the popular people but popular people stab you in the back. I used to be friends with Ginny Weasley but then it was all decided that she was going to be Mrs. Potter and she didn't spend so much time with me any more. It got worse as she was coming to school, it was like something was focusing her on you, even more than she was before, and no one seemed to notice it."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Mrs. Potter? What gave her that idea?"
Luna smiled at him. "Didn't you know? She was a big fan of those Harry Potter adventure books and her mother told her that she could grow up to be your wife. She used to play pretend games of marrying you, she used to play husband and wife with you as the husband, I think she even practised her Mrs. Potter signature too. I'm guessing that ring on your hand, the one underneath the glove means otherwise."
Harry looked down at his hands, the fingerless gloves that he always wore were still there but a close look showed a slight bump where the ring was, it was so slight as to be nearly noticeable unless you were looking for it. He wondered how she had noticed it and tilted his head to one side in curiosity.
"I saw the Potter ring on the vampire girl's finger, I think her name was Altrouge, and the only known Potter left is you. That means that the two of you are engaged, aren't you a little young for that?" Luna asked him.
Harry chuckled. "My engagement with Altrouge wasn't entered with romantic intent, it was primarily done to prevent things like betrothal rituals and things like that. I may one day end up marrying Altrouge but, then again, I may end up with someone else."
"Sensible." Luna said. "I guess that you'd have to worry about that, what with being famous and all. I heard that Blaise Zabini's mother caught two of her husbands with betrothal rituals, that was unusual as she's normally more subtle than that."
Harry snorted. Blaise Zabini's mother was known as the Black Widow and it had nothing to do with her tanned complexion. She had had a number of husbands who all died in mysterious circumstances and left her with a lot of money, if Harry remembered right then there had been a marriage contract from her amongst those that Zelretch had discarded. That just went to sure how messed up some things were, she had a son in his year after all.
"If you hadn't noticed, the females that I am friends with are a little... different than most. I doubt that I would ever consider Ginny Weasley as a possible romantic interest, I find the fact that she grew up like that fairly creepy. There's also the fact that I don't get along with her brother and I wouldn't want someone to choose between family and me, it wouldn't sit right with me." Harry told the younger blonde girl.
Luna nodded. "I noticed. Your friends do include two vampire girls and a Japanese woman. Your family includes two with Greek names, one with a German name and only one with an English name. It's almost like you don't like Britain, do you prefer to spend your time elsewhere?"
"I don't particularly care where I am, though some places mean something to me that others don't. Greece means something to me, or at least their myths and legends do. I have a few friends in Japan, we send each other a few letters over the year and we do keep in contact. I live in England so I suppose that means something to me, not much but it still does." Harry replied. To be honest, he'd never really considered it before.
"What about you?" Harry asked. "Anywhere that you're particularly fond of? Some place that your parents like to take you?"
"I like Sweden," Luna said. "I like Norway as well and I like jungles, there's always so many interesting things to find there. Daddy takes me every summer to some place new. Mummy liked to come to but she can't any more, she passed away."
Harry nodded his head. He wouldn't give his sympathies or his condolences as he knew that it didn't matter, they would all still be as did if he didn't and he wasn't going to pay lip service to it. Luna seemed to understand, he imagined that her unique point of view, the fact that she could switch it and look at things from a different perspective, allowed her to understand people better than they might expect her to.
"Well, I think we've sat here long enough. I'm heading off to the lake and I'm sure you have people to talk and play with." Luna said as she swung her feet forward and got to her feet. Harry didn't bother commenting on the fact she would be alone, if she wanted company then she could find it herself easily enough. He did say that she was always welcome to come and find him, he'd always be willing to chat with her if she wanted to.
Luna watched him go, that large wolf-like patronus following him, the two presences she'd felt, the dragon-like one and the golem-like one seeming to get closer to him, so close as to be indistinguishable from his own nature at this distance. She still found him frightening, perhaps even more so than she had before, it was simply a part of his nature. Ferocious might have been the word she had applied to him in her mind but maybe monster was a better choice.
He was a monster, he would rampage if someone he cared about was in danger. He would not stop until that danger was torn to bloody pieces and damn the consequences, he would be single-minded, focused, deadly. He was the last person you would want as an enemy and among the first choices for allies but he would only help those he wanted to, those he cared for, those he owed favours or those that caught his interest. Yes, he was a monster, yes, he was scary but, perhaps, scary didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, perhaps being a monster could be one of his charm points.
xxxxx
"Ah, Harry." Said boy looked up as he entered the guest quarters at Hogwarts to see that only Zelretch was there. A quick question to Lady Hogwarts, and she really needed a name of her own, told him that everyone else was out on the grounds, enjoying themselves.
"Yes gramps, is there something you needed?" Harry asked.
"No, not really. I was just wondering if you'd like another lesson on the Kaleidoscope. I imagine you want your wand back, I did leave it in the Clock Tower after all." Harry grimaced slightly at that. When he'd handed his wand to Zelretch in an effort to get rid of his patronus, the old vampire hadn't brought it back and Harry didn't know exactly where he'd left it.
"Yes, I do. I can't exactly start the next term without it now, can I?" Harry asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice.
"Come here then, come here." Zelretch said as he set a large cushion down on the floor before getting one for himself. Harry sat on his and laid back against his Primate Murder patronus as he waited for Zelretch to continue.
"You know, I find myself wondering how that thing would react to an exorcism. I think that it might be a good idea to track down some tomes on the subject regardless." Zelretch muttered as he saw how comfortable Harry was getting.
"I don't know," Harry replied. "This is rather comfortable, though I don't know how the magi at the Clock Tower would react to it following me around, they might make a mess of themselves." He said innocently.
A chuckle escaped the wizard marshal's lips. "I suppose that I should be grateful of what little of my tendencies that you did pick up, it does me good to know that the world will never be without tricksters and pranksters."
Harry just looked at Zelretch and just said. "You have met Fred and George Weasley, haven't you? I dread to think what your influence on them has done, they were bad enough to begin with. There's also the fact that Helena seems to be getting into the thick of things and that has me really worried!"
"Ah, yes. Helena is your ghost friend, isn't she? The wraiths and apparitions here are most curious, nothing like what we have back home. I suppose that your element has allowed you to experiment, has it?" Zelretch asked.
Harry frowned. "Not really, the ghosts here tend to avoid me, Helena being the exception. They sense something is different about me and are wary of me as a result, even Peeves the poltergeist avoids me and he is an avid prankster that targets pretty much everyone. I got rid of Riddle's soul piece by the way, I burned it up with black fire when I modified my aria."
Zelretch nodded his head. "I was surprised that you figured out what it was so fast, none of your alternates did. Most assume the diary to simply be enchanted with dark magic or something, others don't really give it enough thought and simply dismiss it."
Harry's frown deepened. "I interrogated it before of course, I got a fair bit of information from it. This summer I'm going to look for the Gaunt residence near Little Hangleton and Riddle's orphanage, if it still exists. I also got it to tell me the ritual necessary to create a horcrux." Here Harry paused and Zelretch looked at him with concern.
"It is actually a rather crude form of soul magic. It uses the soul of someone pure to shatter that which isn't and place one of those fragments in an object. The object can be anything but its nature as a horcrux lends it some incredible defensive properties, only that which destroys the non-physical aspect of it, that which targets the soul piece itself or the magic binding it to the physical object, can destroy it. The ritual uses the soul of the sacrifice as fuel and it is that soul which has me rather pissed off at him, after all what comes to mind when you think of an innocent and pure soul?" Harry asked Zelretch.
"A maiden is thought to be pure, a virgin too." He blinked before looking at Harry again. "That's not what you're thinking of though, is it? You're thinking of something too young to be stained by sin, a baby."
Harry's jaw tightened at that. It was one of the few things other than those he cared about that would get under his skin. He wasn't one of those 'protect women' sort of people, he viewed them as just as capable as men so they can sort out their own problems. He wasn't the patriotic sort either, he didn't really care about nationality. He was unconcerned racial hatred as well, if a species wanted respect then they earned it. What did get to him though was people who beat, abused and killed those who were too young to do anything about it, he well remembered his childhood with the Dursleys, his occlumency wouldn't allow him to forget it.
"I don't care about his death eaters, I don't care about his supporters. Anyone can take them but Voldemort himself is mine and I will destroy him, I will rend him to pieces and I will be the one that shows him death. I will take out anyone that stands between us and I will walk over their corpse if I have to but Tom Marvolo Riddle will die by my hand and my hand alone." Harry said, his voice filled with conviction.
Behind him, the two astralised servants looked at one another and nodded. He was their master and they would protect him, they would even rip Voldemort's arms off but they wouldn't kill him, he was to be their master's prize and they would respect that.
"Understood, Harry." Zelretch said. "Now, let is focus on bringing objects to you and sending them away via the Kaleidoscope. I think that you'll be able to retrieve your wand within a few hours if you work at it."
Harry nodded and settled down for his next lesson with Zelretch, sending and retrieving objects to and from separate dimensions. The focus he applied allowing him to forget for a moment just what he would do to the so called 'Dark Lord; when next they met, it wouldn't be pretty.
