Matou Shinji and the Broken Chains

A Harry Potter / Fate Stay Night Story

Disclaimer: Though I wish it were otherwise, I do not own or in any way, shape or form hold a legal or moral claim to elements of either the Nasuverse, the Potterverse, or other works I may reference in the course of this story.

Summary: It is a time of seeming peace, as the British Ministry prepares to host the Quidditch World Cup - the greatest sporting event in the Wizarding World. But unbeknownst to them, a grand army of Giants and Werewolves is gathering in Eastern Europe, under the leadership of the vicious Fenrir Greyback, their sole objective - revenge. In the East, Matou Shinji and his comrades have arrived at the hidden bastion of Mahoutokoro to hone their skills, given that they are likely to become Champions of the two Tournaments this year – the Tri-Wizard and the Potions. And if their struggle against the Acromantulae has shown them anything, it is that only through power can they gain victory - and only through victory can their chains be broken.


Chapter 54. Soft Power

As he stood at the window of the penthouse suite in his London manor, looking out at the mist and fog lingering in the air, Matou Shinji couldn't help but sigh. He'd been hoping for a bit of sunlight on the morning of Christmas Eve, a bit of warmth to add color to the land, in a pleasant change from the polar night of Svalbard, where, there was no sunlight, no day – just darkness, or at best, an eerie twilight that hung over everything, turning white into grey and black and blue.

'Christmas Eve already…it's hard to believe….'

It didn't seem possible that the end of the year was already fast approaching, but the boy knew that his sense of time was…still very much recovering from his extended stay above the arctic circle. Without the rising and setting of the sun providing a helpful division of day and night to mark the passage of time, and the artificial schedules of others to measure himself against, the moments had bled into one another, and since his return to Britain, he had been so busy that everything seemed a blur.

Having burned through so many ofuda on his expedition, he'd had to devote much of his time to rebuilding his stockpile, as even the best onmyouji was decidedly less dangerous without the tools of his or her trade.

Explosive ofuda, binding ofuda, sealing ofuda, elemental ofuda and more.

He'd worked tirelessly, filling them with prana and binding them with intent – with Zelkova, his kodama familiar, helping as best he could.

'By which I mean that he made a number of ofuda as well, so now I have as many of mine as his.'

He supposed that it shouldn't have come as a surprise to him that his familiar could create – and use –ofuda. True, he'd seen Kaiduka, the kitsune familiar of the Maiden of the Tree, do just that, but while he had acknowledged that such would have implications for what Luna might learn from Pandora in the future, he hadn't even considered that a kodama – a spirit of the forest – might use ofuda at all.

'We don't tend to use them, but that does not mean we are not capable of doing so,' Zelkova's voice commented in his mind. 'Our kind does possess an affinity for things like us. We can hear the voices of the trees, feel their latent impressions, and more.'

'And paper is made of wood, which is ultimately derived from a tree,' Shinji mused, nodding. 'But, doesn't it feel strange to use things made of paper? Given that to make paper, we have to cut down trees?'

After all, Matou Shinji knew he would feel a little strange if he was using trinkets of human bone or grimoires bound with human skin. Did youkai not feel that way about things made from things of their ilk, really?

'It is as I said before, Master. When beings like myself cease to exist, we have no claim on anything – even that which we once were, thus I cannot begrudge humans recycling a fallen tree into something of more use to them. That is the cycle of nature, after all.'

"…so you don't fear what comes after death, but you still fear fire, which can kill you?" Shinji wondered aloud. "Why is that?"

'Tell me, Master, do you enjoy pain?" The kodama's voice was somewhat arch, for all that it was gentle enough. 'Would you like being burned to death?'

'Well, no, but…'

'Neither would I.'

'…point very much taken,' Shinji conceded with a silent sigh. He rather thought 'I do take it that your ofuda do not work entirely like mine?'

'Correct, considering our affinities and natures. Unlike you, I have no need to use the prana stored in ofuda to give me a sense for the earth around me, or to bend it to my will. My ofuda would simply bind enemies at a distance, to drain them of prana, to curse them – or as a catalyst for flow-walking, however.'

'Supplementing your core abilities, not substituting for them.'

'That is correct. Of the youkai, only kitsune who have become skilled at the magical arts are likely to use them extensively, but then they are the youkai who are most used to placing a portion of their power…elsewhere.'

'You mean the hoshi no tama?'Shinji inquired, by which he meant the white jewels glowing with foxfire that kitsune were often depicted with in artwork.

'Yes, Master. They are capable of separating their spiritual cores from their bodies for a time, meaning that even should their physical vessel suffer a moral blow, they can recover.'

'…isn't that somewhat like how you go around in astral form, separate from your physical vessel?'

'I suppose, although they can only separate their spiritual core from their vessel for a limited amount of time, whereas I can continue to exist indefinitely in astral form, so long as the tree that sustains my existence continues to exist. Remember, Master, I am a spirit by nature, whereas kitsune are beings of flesh and blood.'

Shinji nodded slowly. In the past few days, Zelkova had taught him much about other youkai – things he hadn't really thought about, or understood before – things he'd never really thought to ask. It humbled him, really, to be aware of just how little he knew, of how much there was yet to know. Yet at the same time, discovering all these new things was…exciting.

…far more exciting than the sessions of makeup work with Professor Slughorn he'd had to endure these last few days, to their mutual displeasure.

After all, to Horace Slughorn, Matou Shinji had simply skipped out on the advanced potions tutorials the potioneer had kindly arranged to offer, wasting time that the Potions Master could have spent productively doing almost anything else. And now that he was back, the Potions Champion offered no explanations for what he had been doing, no apology for the inconvenience, or token of appreciation for the effort Slughorn had wasted on the youth.

Shinji, for the record, hadn't known how long he'd be out, and hadn't really thought that Slughorn would believe any explanation he offered, given the rumors floating about. Further, while he could have taken Harry's suggestion and given Slughorn the ticket to the Potions Championship, the Boy from the East didn't feel it worthwhile to salve the hurt feelings of a man who he doubted he'd be interacting with in the future anyway.

He'd sent it instead to the Director of Atlas, with a note that she might find it useful to have an agent onsite who wasn't him.

Knowing he didn't have much time to waste, however, the onmyouji had sent Zelkova to run some errands for him while he was otherwise indisposed, as there were other tasks that were also quite important to take care of.

For example, making sure that Christmas Eve plans had been made, as he didn't intend to spend it alone, or ensuring that the formal outfits that Fashion House LeShin was creating for the Yule Ball, as well as the dresses he was having made for some of his friends and acquaintances, had been finished in time to be shipped out to France – whereupon Rachelle Lestrange would take possession of them and bring them to Durmstrang, where they would serve as an official gift of the Beauxbatons Tri-Wizard Delegation to Champions in attendance at the Ball.

Or something like that, anyway.

Contrary to what one might assume from the name, Fashion House LeShin was not a French couturier, but a Japanese venture, born out of a partnership between Matou Shinji and Surein Toroi of Mahoutokoro. LeShin specialized in using exotic materials like spider silk, possum fur, and cashmere wool to create bespoke garments that blended effortless elegance and casual sophistication, and had apparently launched to rave reviews in the City Beneath the Earth (as Shinji had learned after coming back from his expedition).

Shinji, however, had always dreamed of expanding his reach beyond a single city, no matter how grand, and so, he had worked out a deal with Rachelle Lestrange, where she would place a complimentary order on behalf of the Beauxbatons delegation (since he couldn't very well bring them to Britain, and then to Durmstrang himself, since he was not supposed to be able to travel). He wasn't entirely certain how Lestrange had gotten Madame Maxine to approve of the cover story, but he didn't really care. All he wanted was to give Fashion House LeShin's Moonlight collection a stunning debut at an internationally attended event, as he felt that a good first impression in the public eye was just what was needed to kickstart foreign sales.

…and it had better, he now owed Lestrange, who was helping him promote his business, even more of a debt, beyond that accrued during the tanuki pacification excursion.

But what could he give the Beauxbatons Potions Champion that she would accept in place of the rather sizable favor he owed her for her instrumental role in capturing the tanuki?

That had been the question plaguing him these last few days.

In the aftermath of the expedition, the boy had found himself having nightmares of what might transpire if he allowed her to simply call in the favor at a time of her choosing – with scenarios of being forced to give up the Book of Potions (the sentient tome that was his one advantage in the Potions Championship) or having to buy Lestrange time against some implacable, illimitable threat flashing through his mind.

The thing was, he had little idea that would interest her, as she didn't seem the sort to be dazzled by riches or magical artifacts (unlike Tohsaka), and it wasn't as if he had a spare familiar he could offer her (not that he thought she was looking for one to begin with).

He supposed that an introduction to the Director of Atlas might satisfy the favor, given Lestrange's interest in Alchemy and her lineage's past involvement with the Eltnam, but he thought that probably wasn't something he should do without consulting with Sokaris first.

'I've written Sokaris about the French Champion already, given their shared…history, but she hasn't given me any direction, so I should probably not presume on her name. The last time I did that, she scolded me. Mildly, but still.'

If he had not already given the notes of Nicholas Flamel to Sokaris last Christmas, he supposed those might be a suitable substitute for the favor, but…

'…that's right. There were those other books the goblins bought for me at the auction.'

Among them were the collected notes of Paracelsus, a number of tomes on the forbidden art of necromancy, and a strange illustrated codex written in a strange, flowing script that he couldn't make heads or tails of.

'I was going to give offer Paracelsus' notes to the Director for Christmas, and I don't think Lestrange would appreciate a tome she wouldn't be able to derive any use from.'

The necromancy tomes though – those held a good deal of promise, given what Lestrange had mentioned about her soul-devouring blade, and the dark magics used to create it. He had little enough use for them himself, having little knowledge of blood magic, or other such things, but he imagined she'd find them quite nice.

…the trouble was, if he tried to bring them to Durmstrang so he could show them to her, they would likely be confiscated by the Aurors who guarded the Vanishing Cabinet link between the two schools.

'I suppose I could have shipped them along with the dresses, but that doesn't sound like a good idea,' he mused, shaking his head. 'Maybe I'll just bring them to the Potions Championship, and offer them to her there?' He thought it over for a few moments and nodded. That was probably the idea with the least potential for catastrophe, though he was too jaded to think there was no potential for such whatsoever.

Everything else risked people connecting the books to him and labelling him a practitioner of the Dark Arts, especially after the Cornerstones play had painted him as a likely villain, someone whose path would be forever cast in shadow due to his "obsession" with the late Sialim Sokaris.

'Soon, it will be Christmas, and unlike last year, there will be no gala at the Clock Tower – not that I could go if there was, since dead men do not dance, and "Matou Shinji", son of the fallen Makiri, is dead…'

Matou Shinji, Potions Champion of Hogwarts, however, would indeed be dancing on Christmas Day, given that the Tri-Wizard Champions and their partners traditionally opened the Yule Ball with a waltz, wand given the fact that there were three Potions Champions in attendance, it had been deemed an elegant solution to pair them off, at least for the first dance.

Rachelle Lestrange and Viktor Krum.

Rachelle Sondrol and George Weasley.

Matou Shinji and Fleur Delacour.

'I suppose I'll be the center of attention, as I was at the gala – and at least this year, there are no Magicians around to terrify me.'

Just envious students from all three schools, many of whom seemed to think he was sleeping with both of the Beauxbatons Champions – never mind that if made an unwanted move, he was sure that Lestrange would gut him like a fish.

Or well, something less bloody, but no less deadly.

'And I thought I was the one training under a modern-day Assassin…'

Speaking of which, he'd have to see Lockhart sometime during the winter vacation between Christmas and the New Year, to see if the man had any advice for him, or could propose a training regimen for him to follow in the last weeks before the Championship.

Whatever else, he wanted to come back alive, after all!

Today though, was supposed to be a day away from all of that, a day to be spent with close friends and family.

'Not that I have that many people to spend it with, not if I want to be in London…'

After all, most of his peers were at Durmstrang, and they would not be going back to Britain for the holidays, given security concerns on both ends, though he knew that the upcoming break from classes was considered a good time to hold Capture the Flag events, or other such.

Harry and Daphne, of course, due to being British Youth Representative and the daughter of the Head of the Department of War, respectively, would be back, but they had other obligations, as they had been invited to attend a state dinner with Minister Malfoy and his cabinet.

Even they hadn't, Shinji wasn't sure he wanted to spend the eve with his old friend, given that at this point, the fortunes of one Harry Potter were bound up inextricably with that of Wizarding Britain, and Shinji still felt…hurt and betrayed by how Harry had questioned him so. That and he didn't want to face the Boy-Who-Lived wondering why he'd chosen to ignore his advice about what to do with the spare 'ticket' Harry had given him.

As for his peers at Hogwarts, while there were some winter festivities for the army and for the students to keep up morale, including an authorized (and supervised) liberty excursion to Hogsmeade, none of them would be allowed to go home until the end of the year. Luna, his usual companion, had sadly been given a leading role in some of the festivities, due to her status as a Stone Cutter, so she was out as well.

The Fujou family had other obligations – though they had invited him to visit for a special event at New Year, with Shiroe teasingly adding that he should bring his shiroi koibito – for which Shinji had flat out told his old friend to expect no gift that year.

…he hadn't expected Shiroe to bow and tell him that Shinji had already given the family more than they could ever repay, so no gift was necessary – not for someone who might as well be his brother.

His former Master, of course, was unavailable, and Tomas was apparently spending the day with Tsuchimikado Hokuto, something which suggested to the Boy from the East that the automaton and the grand-daughter of the head of the Japanese Council of Magic weren't just...sparring partners, as it were.

Which really just left Tohsaka and Mashu as possible choices for his companions.

'This year…it wasn't at all what I had expected when it started, as I'm used to driving events, not finding myself at their mercy. Still…'

Things hasn't been entirely bad, and Mashu Kyrielite, his observer from Atlas, had always been an island of calm in the sea of chaos, with quiet conversations with her helping him keep up his spirit and maintaining his sanity.

'She mentioned she'd be unavailable for about a month or so after Christmas, so I might as well invite her to spend the day together – it's only right that I do something nice for her after everything she's done for me.'

Though if he was going to spend it with Mashu, he supposed he should invite Tohsaka along, since he didn't want her to feel left out, since no one should have to spend the Eve along unless they wanted to. And it wasn't as if Rin would be terribly busy at the Department of Archaeology over the holidays, save for any demands on her by her Master – and Touko herself was away.

It would be a quiet day, he thought – one spent at his manor (and otherwise in London), a day he well needed, given how grueling the last few months had been, with all the mandatory training for the Potions Championship running him ragged, the events of the Tri-Wizard Tournament dragging him in unwittingly, and the hunt for the rogue Tanuki.

Though…

"Hey, Zelkova," the Boy from the East said aloud.

'Yes?'

"What do you want to do today?" Shinji asked of his familiar, with the kodama seeming confused. "For Christmas Eve, I mean."

'…I do not know, Master. Trees don't really celebrate holidays.'

"Not even Greenery Day?"

Greenery Day being the Japanese equivalent of Arbor Day, a day to commune with nature and to be thankful for blessings.

'…no. Not that you celebrate it either, Master.'

'Well, I can't at Hogwarts. They don't celebrate Golden Week here, sadly,' the boy groused silently. "Look, I've asked a lot of you this year. I know that. I just wanted to know if there was something you wanted."

There was a long moment of silence, as if the kodama was considering something for the first time.

'Something I wanted?'

"Yes."

'…I suppose I would like to speak with Miss Kyrielite, if you do not mind, Master.'

"Oh? Why is that?" Shinji inquired, willing Zelkova to materialize into his usual form of a silver-haired boy with golden eyes, white Japanese clothing and small horns like those of a deer.

"Because she is like me, in a way," the kodama said quietly. "Accepting of what is to come, always learning more about the world, and more of a protector than a warrior."

"A protector…?"

"She is not simply an observer, Master – of that much I am certain," Zelkova concluded. "Not with the power I sense in her…"

"…and so you want to meet her," Shinji echoed slowly. He thought it over for a moment, then nodded, as he recalled that Zelkova hadn't really ever asked for anything before – and that his familiar had been formed fromthe curiosity of the Great Tree of Shiretoko. He smiled, slightly. "Yes, that would be more than fine, Zelkova. Though…"

"Yes, Master?"

"If you could forego the horns when we go out in public, that would be preferable."

"Is there a form you would prefer me to take? Yours perhaps?"

Shinji grimaced at the suggestion.

"…no, I think that could be a bit awkward. Your default form will work, unless you have another preference. Just no horns for our outing."

"Of course, Master," Zelkova said agreeably, moving to stand beside Matou Shinji as the two looked out the window. "It's a lovely day, with the mist and fog, is it not?"

"…you really don't think like a human being, do you?"

"I believe, Master, that I was upfront about that from the day we met."

"…point."