Disclaimer: I don't own this. I barely own my soul, let alone HP or the Sharingan. Any influence from Kinkoku Nasu or Jim Butcher belongs to them.
Author's Note: Super long update is in honor of Zombie, who has been a superfantastic beta. Hopefully I'll be able to send out a beta'd version of this and Finale 4 when he has the time. Because he's superfantastic.
Author's Note: This chapter... will be more polarizing than the Harry/Quirrell duel, when the story got awesome. This chapter will be more polarizing than Rome Duels. This chapter will be more polarizing than the lesbian sex, and even more than the fourth finale. You have been warned. There are some of you who will scream when you read this. Heads up given.
Opinion Poll: Harry/Aoko or Original pairing? More reviews this way and that will not persuade me. Your opinion will. If you're just going to put down "H/HR forever!" I'll ignore it. Similarly, I'll ignore "Harry/Aoko pl0x" or "H/Hr/D". I will ignore people asking for slash as well.
Check out my newest fic at fanfiction .net/ s/ 7259433/ 1/The_Hero
and my DLP inspired one-shot featuring Harry/fem!Riddle at fanfiction. net /s/ 7274298/ 1/ D_minor
Anon: They're not British wizarding families. They're Mage Lines. There is only one noted exception - the Barthomeloi hold both nobility in the Association and on the Wizengamot, making Lorelei a huge threat or boon, depending on where I take it.
Pet Peeve: When people review amazingly, ask questions, and have PM turned off. I'm like "I'm hyped! I'm gonna give all my secrets away *cue OneRepublic song*" and then I hit the reply button in my Gmail, and it says "Person does not have PM enabled." And I'm like FFFFFFFFUUUUUU!
Mangekyo
Harry had experienced many things in his life, but never had he slept somewhere so opulent and laden with magic. He could understand why people would enjoy being a part of the Mage's Association. For the first time, he felt the urge to dive back beneath the covers and roll about the multi-thousand thread count sheets.
The room was frightfully red. At least Gryffindor Tower had gold motifs. The carpets were crimson. The walls were a lighter red, but everything else was either maroon or darker. Thankfully, none of it was bright red. That would have been a terrible eyesore.
Harry reluctantly put shoes on, trainers that he had bought earlier in the year, and a loose white t-shirt that resembled Aoko's. He also put on a deep red pair of slacks to complete the somewhat comical mimicry.
He wondered if he should dye his hair blue for the day, but decided that it would be a terrible idea.
"Now that I'm off to a new place of learning, I believe I should change my name to something fitting. Perhaps Rakhe- No that's fucking stupid", he winked at the mirror, wonder where his comment had come from.
"I'm Harry Potter. At worst, I am James Evans in honor of my parents. I am the soul of the King." His right Eternity blazed red and black, while his Royal Eye flashed blue and gold.
He shut the door to his room with a simple locking charm - there was nothing of value in there, after all, and slowly walked along the hallway, which was somewhere on the African plains. He turned a corner, exiting the domain of Red and stared out a window overlooking a fantastically beautiful Norweigan fjord.
"Nice view, isn't it?" came the voice of Ao-
No, it wasn't Aoko. Her speech and mannerisms were very similar, but she was older, more refined, and had a certain intellectual curiosity that ran deeper than the other girl's. Her hair was a dull shade of orange.
"You must be Touko Aozaki. I am pleased to make your acquaintance", muttered Harry delicately, attempting to imitate the speaking patterns of the other nobles.
"I had heard that we would have a new addition to Universal Research, and that it would be James Evans. Are you he?"
"Yes, I would be James Evans. I usually go by Harry Potter, though."
"Do you share a name with the British Wizarding baby hero, or are you he as well?"
"I am that Harry, yes."
There was a moment of awkward silence that Harry never experienced with Aoko, whose bubbly personality was simply different from the more cold and calculating Touko.
"I must meet your sister along this corridor soon."
"Aoko is still sleeping, I think. What time did you set with her?"
"Eight in the morning. It's Seven Fifty Two already."
"Yes it is. Would you like to meet the rest of Universal Research, Harry?"
"Maybe after Aoko shows up."
"Be prepared for a long wait, Harry Potter."
Harry frowned. "Eight minutes doesn't seem to be much of a wait, Touko. I am quite a patient person."
Touko's laughter was akin to the sound of a wind chime, light and pretty, but pealing.
"It is Seven Fifty Two in the evening, Mr. Potter."
Harry stared at her strangely for a moment. "Do you mean to say that I slept for more than thirty hours?"
The laughter was louder this time, and Harry was struck by how similar it was to Scathach's, mischievous and full of secrets that doubled as inside jokes - guarded carefully but never blatantly.
"Time Dilation, Mr. Potter. You would think that walking through several continents would change your perception of Space-Time, but..."
"I've slept for an hour?" Harry wondered.
"Yes. This isn't Avalon, and our mages haven't the power to enchant ten years into a mere minute, but twelve hours per every full revolution of the minute hand is quite within their abilities."
They walked in silence once more, and Harry glanced at the beautiful carved images of old fairy tales on the walls in the Scandinavian corridor.
"They are quite amazing, are they not?"
Harry had paused at a work of Hans Christian Andersen and observed the hundreds of runes that had been painted seemingly at random. Put together however, they fully comprised, at a single glimpse, the timeless story of the Little Mermaid. He ran his hand over the most powerful of them all, the Nineteenth of the Sumerian Blood series.
Touko giggled. "Why are you feeling Ariel up, Harry?"
Harry drew his hand back, blushing. "I-I-I was just-"
"It's okay, Harry. I did nearly the same when I first gazed upon it. Water is a very powerful force, as you will see soon. Hector wishes to duel you upon sight."
"Hector?"
"Just another member of Universal Research you will meet. He is a Barthomeloi, and seeks to gain the acceptance of his Clan Head by defeating you. Come, we shall go through China to the Lounge." Touko smiled.
The silence was slightly more comfortable until they actually stepped into the Lounge.
There were several chairs of a deep midnight that the majority of the members of Universal Research were situated upon. The walls were a pale yellow and the carpet a warm, friendly brown.
The members of Universal Research carried stone tablets which seemed to serve as tables and paper as magic danced about between fingers. Four of the five were writing in their tablets with strange wax and iron styluses.
The most prominent object, however, was a large, flat and rectangular tray of sand.
Every several seconds, a different person on what Harry realized was a pentagram would slam their hand and magic into the tray, sending it flying to one of the other two people who weren't next to them.
The sand rippled and twisted into a different shape, and Harry realized that the point of the ritual was to build the rune for Wisdom as each person concentrated on their work.
"Mind boosting?" Harry wondered aloud. Touko nodded.
"I don't need it, myself, but it always helps." There was a certain sort of arrogance in her words that made Harry frown.
Suddenly, the mages stopped their ritual. The tray clattered to the ground, spraying sand everywhere, but someone who must have been an alchemist converted it into air with a wave of his hand.
"Greetings, James Evans. I am Cornelius Alba. I met you an hour ago, with Aoko." He extended his hand. Harry shook it. The handshake was firm, but slightly sandy. "I am a Master of Runes."
"Matthew Lenova. My last name doesn't mean anything in this world", a boy with a five o'clock shadow and bright brown eyes smiled self-deprecatingly. "But I'm damn good with crafting Systems. Gematrian Arithmancy is my strong suit. Kabbalah is my weakest by far."
"What are Systems, exactly?" Harry wondered.
"It's Inverse Magic", Matthew explained. "If you cast a spell, it's the belief that you were created to be a vehicle to the spell you cast. It makes Transfiguration far easier and Charms far more difficult." His smiles turned slightly rueful. "I'm unable to use magic the normal way. They say it's because of this." He pushed back the hair that obscured the soft behind his left ear. Harry gave a start.
"Do you recognize it?" Matthew asked eagerly. "No one at Thule recognizes it." He gave a heavy sigh. "They say it's never been seen before."
"It is a rune of my specialty", Harry said, his voice barely heard. "That is Fate/Flow, the Seventh Blood Rune. You... will do great things, despite the fact that it is the most restrictive of the Thirteen."
"Marked by Fate, huh?" chimed in Cornelius. "That's a load of crap. Sumerian Blood was lost eons ago."
It was a challenge. A challenge of magical knowledge. Cornelius clearly knew some Sumerian Runes, but he believed that Harry didn't possess the skills he claimed to. Harry rose to the challenge.
"Of the First Blood Series, there are thirty three runes. Thirteen are Fate runes and seven are Fae runes. The remaining runes are Magic, Wisdom, Phantasm, Hallow, and the Elementary Set", he lectured. Touko had whipped out her own stone tablet and stylus.
"The most powerful runes are a pair of Fate runes that represent the opposite of one another. The first is Fate/Birth, or the Rune of Merlin. The other, the fourth in the series, is Fate/Truth, the Rune of Flamel. The Lord Philosopher's rune allows him to see what was before, and what will be after. The transference from Fate/Birth to Fate/Truth are the Three Runes of Deep Magic, Fate/Kaleidoscope, Fate/Materials and Fate/Remove. When arranged in a pentagram, they spell the rune Humanity. They are the Five Miracles."
"Who possesses-"
"Myself, the Einzbern family and Aoko each have claim to one of the Three Deep. Lord Schweinorg similarily has the right to the Kaleidoscope."
"What are the other Fate runes?" asked a girl who looked Slavic in origin.
"The Seven Representations and Tranquility", said Harry dismissively, his lesson over. "Can we go back to introductions? I'm not used to... teaching. You may read my study on the Blood Series. It's been completed for quite a while..."
"Very well. I am Vija Burvis", spoke the girl who Harry had described as Slavic. It appeared that she was, in fact, Latvian. "My greatest skill is within the art of Enchanting."
Harry shook her hand.
"Barthomeloi. Hector of the Main Line, brother to the Head." Hector had brown hair and the aristocratic features of Lorelei. He, too, carried a Wand, but his was a shorter, less elegant affair than Harry's old Holly. He did not extend his hand.
"Jerome. I am of Atlas", muttered the final child, whose face was enshrouded in a Burka of all things.
"Aren't those for women?" Harry wondered aloud. Touko laughed.
"I believe a Duel to ascertain our abilities should do nicely", Hector said rather loudly.
Harry refrained from groaning loudly. It was the promised challenge from Hector Barthomeloi.
"Hector, it isn't necessary. He defeated both my sister and Albus Dumbledore, and dueled the Lord Philosopher to a standstill. It is clear where his skills are."
The placid face of the Barthomeloi took on a haughtiness that was reminiscent of his sister's. "Now, how will we judge his word without a duel?"
"You will find, Hector, that judging magical expertise has nothing to do with dueling. You are encouraging him to ignore you and your needs in the sixth months that he will be present", glared Touko rather frostily. "Is it clear?"
Hector nodded resentfully.
Touko walked over to a wall, which Harry realized was a carefully disguised wall-sized closet, and pulled open a compartment with a whole bunch of stone tablets inside. "Catch!"
Harry snatched the stone tablet out of the air and trapped the flying stylus between his fingers. It had been boosted with a burst of wind, and would have skewered him had he not done so.
Touko laughed. "There's our answer. Hector took the tablet in the face, and the stylus in his right shoulder." She turned to the Barthomeloi. "How are your ligaments working, by the way?"
Harry had discovered another trait that Touko possessed which Aoko did not. Cruelty.
Mangekyo
Dear Daphne and Hermione,
I've been living somewhere in Africa and studying somewhere in Norway for nearly a week. I have slept a total of seven hours, or eighty four, depending on how you look at it.
Magical discoveries are literally happening every day. Aoko confessed that no problems had been solved for nearly two months, and everyone had been on the verge of tears, suicide, or duels to the death when I appeared.
I have gained brilliant insight into many sorts of arcane magic that I would have never learned at Hogwarts. I feel rather guilty for not writing to you, but every single moment, it seems I stand upon the threshold of revelation. The majesty of magic is immense.
There are seven other members of Universal Research. Truly, there was never a name more fitting than UR.
My favorite people, by far, are Aoko and a seventeen year old boy named Matthew Lenova. He is what Hermione would have been if you were only capable of Systems. Systems are Reverse Casts which utilize the immutability of fate to squeeze magical power from the world in order to fuel your spells. I believe this is the key to the Greengrass bloodline. Enclosed alongside this is my work of the Gematria and Kaballah systems. Matthew is another Fatebreaker, with Fate/Flow carved into him at birth.
I am ambivalent about the presence of Touko Aozaki and Cornelius Alba. Both have experienced tragedy in ways that have changed their perception of the world, and if they change enough, they will become capable in the art of Reality Marble construction.
I do not know anything about Hector Barthomeloi, Vija Burvis or Jerome of Atlas. They believe that if I have access to their work, I will steal it. Perhaps they are justified. Hector's research centers around Water. Burvis is an enchanter and Jerome sits around furtively writing. Analysis of his stylus strokes leads me to the conclusion that he is spying on Touko Aozaki.
Aoko and I are working on a joint project to reconstruct Marble Phantasm, which will give us advantages unlike any other. She believes the answer lies in Fate/Zero, Fate/StayNight and Fate/Tranquility and will not listen to my arguments about the juxtaposition of Fate/Summer and Fate/Winter or Fae/Avalon. She is surprisingly hardheaded.
Unfortunately, it appears that we are both correct. Discovering Marble Phantasm is similar to discovering the Grand Unified Theory of Physics. To continue my analogy, I will break down the Blood Series into the Miraculous Component, the Thought component, the Fae Component and the Representations. As the key to the Strong and Weak Forces, Electromagnetism and Gravity is Magic, the key to the Four Blood Components is Tranquility.
It is, as I have noted, unfortunate because Fate/Tranquility seems to be a dud rune at the moment. It might have something to do with the fact that I know only three of the seven Fae runes and cannot comprehend the nature of Truth, unlike the Lord Philosopher. This is not a project for a pair of Sorcerers. This is a project for a team of over fifty. If world peace was achieved, I believe Fate/Tranquility could be understood at last. The irony is palpable.
Touko's mind seems to work in the same way as yours, Hermione. I believe if you had been sorted into Slytherin House, you would turn out quite similar to her. The entirety of her work is based on a stray motif. She has already developed it to the point in which she is able to control the bodies of her opponents with a mere thought, as if they were puppets on a string. She utilizes a certain weave of Strands that are difficult for even myself to break. Sharing the rune of Fate/Remove with Aoko helps greatly, as snapping them generally disorients her slightly. I have no doubt that she is an opponent very few could cross and live.
I had my first lesson with the Lord Philosopher yesterday. He was kind enough to teach everyone at Universal Research, and I have gleaned the technique to creating the Philosopher's Stone, in theory, due to a variety of vague questions. I believe he suspects me, despite my academic interest.
Creating a Philosopher's Stone is far too risky.
I would like to know how your summers have gone, and I will collect your letters twenty four hours after I have deposited this on Daphne's pillow.
Harry
Mangekyo
Dear Harry,
I (Daphne) am about to visit the Vampires of London to extend an olive branch in your name. I have prepared thirty eight silver slips, each of which have Nordic Lightning carved on them. Hopefully, that will dissuade anyone wishing my death.
Hermione has worked out a syllabus for the Defense Association.
I have completed my Reality Marble, Harry! The handwriting had become that of Hermione's. It is beautiful beyond belief, and I can feel the changes within my soul. There is nothing quite like it at all. Within it lies the Library of Alexandria, the Archive of all human knowledge.
I'm scared, Harry. Three days have passed since I entered the library, but Daphne says only a single second has elapsed.
I don't want to go in the library any more. But it feels so good. It's my soul, right? It can't hurt me, can it?
The Reality Marble is self contained, but when I enter it, no time passes, and daily, I find it more difficult to leave. When I duel, I can research the effects and counters of every single spell in existence if it is written. It's been nearly two months since I've last written. It is so very useful. I do find myself missing Daphne, but this is so new and exciting, and I've learned so much!
I don't want to ever leave it. I'll be back.
Months are passing. I don't think I need to sleep anymore. My mind never gets tired. Not when I'm assimilating experiences. I've learned so much! Do you know it's been a year, Harry?
Whenever I discover something new, I obsessively research it. I spent over a thousand hours reading about each moment in your letter. I haven't seen you in such a long time, Harry. I have to get back to my research. There's so much I can tell you about the Systems!
I think I'm going crazy, Harry. It's like a narcotic. The real world. It just doesn't have the same feeling anymore. It's so dull and lifeless. Nothing Daphne does can arouse me any more. Erotic novels are just so much better, and I have so many of them at my disposal.
What is Time anyway, Harry Potter? I haven't seen you in a decade, but it's only been five hours in the so-called real world.
I feel old. Experienced. My Marble has evolved over the years to include true experiences. I've been run through a million times, been in love like no other. I have been Juliet, I have been Romeo. I have made a deal with a million Winter Queens, have incanted magic so powerful that you would not believe it! Twenty years. Is this what you feel when you walk down the street, when you're at Hogwarts? Have you experienced as much as I?
We of the Reality Marble are Gods, Harry. I have no doubt your magic will forever be stronger than mine. But rest assured, I am just as powerful as you now. I have eighty three years of experience to back myself up! It's been eight hours.
You will never match me.
Daphne thinks I've gone insane. I suppose a century of experience does that to you.
I don't believe her. It can't be real. I think she's wanted the reality marble so bad that she's developed a sort of God Complex, Harry. I'm going to take her to a muggle psychiatrist or something.
Love,
Daphne and Hermione
Mangekyo
Harry stared at the letter in his hand mutedly as the other members of Universal Research watched him surreptitiously.
He suddenly howled in anger.
It was a terrible noise as he ripped the letter to shreds in front of everyone.
"Harry, calm down!" shouted Aoko.
"How... dare..." Harry choked, coughing. "How dare she..."
Black flames danced around him. A very alarmed Hector Barthomeloi sent a jet of water at him but the flames dissipated them before they even got close.
"I'm going to kill her!" Harry screamed to the heavens. Predictably, Aoko sent a burst of disruptive magic at him, aiming to calm him down, but Harry flipped out even further.
His hand traced Fate/Seal in the air with his arm and suddenly, she was thrown against the wall, a rune of light pressed against her.
"Put her down!" Touko glared at Harry, but Aoko had broken free already - her mastering of the Black Point was far more powerful that his usage of the Sumerian Seal.
"She'll manage", growled Harry as he burned his stone tablet into ash with his flames.
"Your research!" shouted Hector, horrified.
"Memorized."
Harry drove a fist through a wall.
"Exactly what has gotten you so worked up?" asked Aoko.
"Someone back at home. I'm gone for a week, and she's become insane. By the time I get there, she'll be incurable. Even if I go now, I'll have to figure out a way to fix her."
"Is it the plant girl, the bookworm or the angel?" Aoko queried. She had participated in long discussions about Harry's life when they took breaks. Similarly, Harry now knew more about Japanese tea ceremonies and baking pies than he would ever use.
"The bookworm", Harry muttered miserably. "She's perfected a Marble that transcends Time. I believe it is the inverse of Fate/Flow. I fear that if I do not cure her, her personality will be lost forever. Her mind was mostly knowledge to begin with."
"I don't understand, Harry."
Universal Research huddled close to him as he began to lecture again.
"A Reality Marble can be separated into two categories, Contained and Bending. Marbles which Bend would consist of the majestic Brunestud castle, my own Crimson Moon, and the entire dimension of Avalon itself. Marbles which Contain are far more rare and in most cases, less powerful, but far more deadly to the wielder. First, I must describe the concept of the Reality Marble itself."
Harry took a deep breath and a cup of water materialized in his hands. Everyone was taking down his words verbatim.
"Imagine your soul as a concept. The Mage's Association refers to it as an Origin. You can describe your soul in a single word. Those of us who have Fate runes can describe it in two, or three. For example, my Origin is Kaleidoscope, after the Rune, and all my life was Misery." Harry carefully chose not to mention his other Fate runes.
"I can describe Aoko by her Fate rune, Remove, or I can describe it as her Ethic, the thing she's structured her life after, which I confess to not knowing. Now, each soul is a deviation from the norm. Remember that! Our souls are unique to each of us. My Kaleidoscope is not Lord Schweinorg's Kaleidoscope. I possess far more finesse, and perhaps less power than he does."
Harry paused and his only visible eye drilled into each one of them.
"To create a Reality Marble is to impose your will upon the world. Lord Flamel named it such because under his interpretation of magic, instead of pull out a white marble from a jar of black with perfect certainty, you turn all your marbles white. To make a terrible metaphorical jump, you must lose all your marbles. Ever moment of life is wrestling with your own insanity."
He grinned in such a chilling manner that even Aoko took a step back.
"To call upon your Reality Marble to bend reality, you must beat down the magic of the Earth until it submits and take what is yours. It is the very definition of making your image. When you use a Reality Marble, the earth comes one step closer to dying. The line between Avalon and the World is breached for a mere moment. And more often than not, you take Hell to Earth. That is the nature of a Bending Marble. It is something that someone who hasn't utilized cannot comprehend. Only a victim would have any sort of knowledge about what it's truly like."
Harry's grin slid away and a look of pleading clouded his features. "For a soul as proud as mine, it is not easy to beg forgiveness. I would rather kill myself. But I have begged forgiveness from everyone who I have exposed to the Reality of the Crimson Moon. There is nothing quite as heinous as forcing all my life upon anyone. In less than fifteen seconds, I shattered two thousand minds at Rome Duels..."
"Including mine", muttered Aoko. "If not for the Lord Philosopher and Lady Flamel, our minds would have all been broken beyond any sort of repair. I have no doubt that I would have recovered. My very nature allows for defense against enchantments and mental instability, but the Reality Marble leaves permanent cracks upon the psyche of everyone exposed to it, the subject more than the victim."
"As twisted as the Bending Marble is, it's got nothing on the Contained Marble."
Universal Research drew in sharp breaths.
"If a Bending Marble takes a hammer to each of your minds, the Contained Marble takes all of those hammers to the same mind, repeatedly. In just a moment, you are changed forever. There is no cure, save from the most powerful of all Mind Mages, but only if the cure is immediate Obliviation of the Marble. Life will then become a battle between the deepest nature of the soul and the sanctity of the mind."
"Reach out with all of your magic. Open your Mystic Eyes. Utilize the very best of your detection skills, and feel how utterly wrong I am."
There was a moment of silence, and then concentration was etched upon seven faces.
"I am the soul of the King. Misery is my curse and magic is creed. I have incanted no spells to isolate my reality but have always walked another path." The resonance of Harry's soul rang against each of them.
Aoko's reaction was the least extreme, as she had been exposed to it before. She shivered slightly and tears dripped out of the corners of her eyes.
Blood began to dribble out of Hector's nose as he fell over in a dead faint.
Cornelius keeled over and began to vomit uncontrollably.
Touko screamed and screamed and screamed, a wild look in her eyes.
"Obliviate!" Harry roared, utilizing the power built up behind his Soul Aria to excise the mental damage caused by the projection of his innermost self, but the latent magic of the practitioners resisted him.
"Oh dear god", whispered Vija, who had been rather silence in the past weeks.
"Oh dear god, indeed." The group huddled together, shivering. They barely noticed as the hours past, lost in human warmth and the need to repair the stains on their souls.
Harry sat off to the side, contemplating on why he always hurt those exposed to him.
Mangekyo
Every part of Harry screamed out against what he was doing.
He was deep enough in her control as it was.
But he couldn't let it stand.
He had hurt too many people.
"Scathach."
He thought of Hermione. Of the seven members of Universal Research.
His pride broke and he knelt, his forehead touching the floor. An inexorable force hit the side of his stomach, and he was sent sprawling. He stood.
"I've come to sell you more of my soul", Harry muttered.
"Ok." She looked into his eyes, and everything was ripped out of his head as if his Occlumency didn't exist.
Harry stared at her. "Wh-what do you mean ok?" he whispered, cradling his head.
"I own your soul now."
"Y-you didn't do anything."
"Magic is not always done with fancy rituals and incantations. Sometimes, it comes from in here", Scathach tapped her chest.
"A-alright. I'll be able to cure Hermione now?"
"You won't." Harry stared.
"You asked for the ability to cure Hermione. I gave you the means to attain it."
"I don't understand."
Scathach turned away, but another Legilimenic probe suddenly left her, pulling Harry into a state of bliss.
"Get out of my head."
"It's my head, Harry."
Harry felt just about ready to retch from the self-revulsion at the burst of need that the innocent little possessive smile triggered.
"My head. My soul. My mind. My body. Mine. Mine. Mine. And don't you ever forget it."
Black flames danced in the wind after she left.
Mangekyo
"Tsukuyomi."
Harry had been in front of his mirror for nearly twenty hours. He had met over a thousand renditions of himself. Barely a third knew anything about mind magic. Less than three had ideas on how to proceed. Those who did have ideas had dumb ideas.
Harry sank into the world of the Crimson Moon, his counterpart tied against vines.
"I'll make this quick. What do you know about Mind Magic?"
It was another female version of him. Her name was Agatha.
"I-I know the Obliviate charm. Wh-where am I?"
Harry sighed, and released the Crimson Moon. He sank into his bed, his Royal Eye tearing blood from the exhaustion for the first time.
Damaging his left eye was a mean feat. Considering the Right Eye bore most of Susano'o's brunt and Caliburn was regenerative by definition, Harry knew he had seriously overtaxed himself.
He stared at the rune on his forehead.
"The inverse lies within the mirror. Not anti-Victory, not un-Victory. Hollow Victory. I'm batshit insane", he muttered to himself.
Mangekyo
"Hello Hermione."
"Harry!" the girl exclaimed, giving him a hug. "I haven't seen you in a long time!"
Harry smashed into her mind with the force of a dropping moon.
Hermione sank to her knees in shock.
Harry ripped through memory after memory of her life, starting from her birth.
When it was over, Hermione was passed out on the floor.
Harry grabbed Daphne by the throat.
"You were in on this."
Daphne sputtered, and Harry realized that she was actually choking.
Hermione moaned, sitting up. "Harry. Y-you're overreacting."
"That was not funny", Harry said with deadly calm.
"I-I'm sorry, Harry. It's just that I've been talking to Fred and George often, and sometimes, George will feign mental-"
"Shut the fuck up."
Daphne bit her lip. Hermione started sobbing.
"Do you know how many hours of emotional anguish I just went through? Did you know that I was ready to burn you alive, Hermione? Do you know what I asked Scathach?"
"Wh-what?"
"I told her that she could have all of my soul, Eye or no Eye, if she'd help me cure you. I showed her the letter. She laughed at me and told me that she owned me."
Hermione stared with mute horror. "You sold your s-soul. F-for me?"
"I sold my soul because you pranked me. Yes." Harry suddenly grabbed her head and brought his eyes to hers. "Tell me why I shouldn't burn you alive, Hermione Granger."
To that, she had no response.
"Do you know why I haven't?"
There continued to be no response.
"Because I love you, Hermione. I love you more than anyone save Daphne. Despite your joke, I believe your Reality Marble will be quite like that."
Harry's green eye turned Blue and Gold.
"If you continue research on your Reality Marble, I will rip you in half and burn you into ashes. Kamui."
Mangekyo
Harry saw the fist coming many times slower than it was moving, but he didn't dodge it, or even activate his Charge Step.
Aoko's fist sent him crashing into the wall behind him.
"You son of a bitch. We won."
It had been forty hours since they had been subjected to a small portion of Harry's soul.
"I had to kill you with fire. Do you have any idea how traumatic that is?" Touko muttered. "I watched as your soul imprint burned alive. You screamed. Louder than I did.
"Honestly, I'm glad that happened", decided Cornelius. "It might look like a shitty situation now, but... at the least, we know far more about ourselves than we did before. I don't know about all of you, but I spent at least half of that time discovering myself, and strengthening my soul to confront him. Your soul..." He exhaled loudly. "Your soul is far, far, far stronger than mine if your very imprint can do that."
"In the past forty hours, I've hit all of you with mind boosting charms at least twenty times each", Harry said. "You're about to feel the effects... now."
Instantly, they all passed out.
Harry waved his arm, levitating them to the armchairs, and then carried them one by one back to their rooms.
He took Aoko last, in his arms rather than with a charm. It just felt more right to him.
Her room was very... blue, as blue as his room was red. It seemed to be somewhat similar to the Raveclaw common room, with high windows that looked over mountains, though these were in South America somewhere, as there was a huge tropical jungle with species of birds flying by that were of the Amazon.
"I know you far better now than I had known you a scant two weeks ago."
Harry wasn't surprised. Her ability to recover was fantastically amazing. While he specialized in not getting hit by magic during duels, she was a veritable tank. A very, very fast one.
"You'll always be the one I loved first, Harry Potter. But I love you no more."
"Aoko..."
"Loving you, Harry, is narcissism. You are now a part of all of us, I believe. I lied, and everyone went with it. We did not win. I know because we all confronted your specter together."
"A-aoko..."
"We didn't get past this experience because we defeated you and removed you from our souls."
Aoko's electric blue eyes transfixed him.
"We absorbed you. We each took a piece of you. Do you know which piece I took, Harry?"
"Which piece?"
"I took the imprint of your desires. I may not be a Queen, as you are a King... but I'm at least a Duchess." Aoko smiled quite suddenly.
"Your power... I don't believe you understand the depths of your power, Harry. When I took your desires, I alone had access to your every secret. I believe... you can overpower her, even with your debt. And I believe she knows."
"She is one of the most powerful-"
"Yet she seeks you out. She seeks to cull those who would challenge her. Once and Future King. Arthur Took It Up first, to take Britain. If you take it up, I believe you will take Akasha, Harry."
"Those are dangerous words."
"They are not untrue. There is much strength at your disposal that you might never unlock, and I believe the key to it lies in understanding that you are more than just Misery, Harry."
"Aoko..."
Mangekyo
"You lied to him."
"Yes. I did lie to him."
"I did not think you would take my advice."
"I did, because I saw the most of his soul. I love him. It will always be him. But he is destined for things far greater than a girl who just wants to live comfortably and play with her magic. He loves those two."
"You're a fool."
There was a silence, and the sharp glare could almost be heard.
"You don't deserve him. I wondered if you're go ahead and make you move all of these two weeks and you didn't. I give you a little bit of advice to the contrary of your goals and you hang onto it like a drop of water in the Sahara."
"Wh-what should I have done?"
"You should have done what you wanted to do."
"It's too late now."
"It is."
Harry walked away from the door, feeling totally numb.
Mangekyo
"Tsukuyomi."
The haunted, crazed eyes of Alyssa Potter stared at him.
"Why... is everyone failing me this week?" Harry began the process of repairing his other self from the ravages of the Dark Arts.
"Why is your soul not whole? Why have you made a Horcrux, you silly, silly girl?"
"I-I. Harry, I didn't mean for this to happen... It just..."
"My life... has hit rock bottom, apparently. Don't call for me unless you're in mortal peril. I certainly won't call for you again in a while. Goodbye, Alyssa."
