I own neither Harry Potter or Warcraft.
In Warcraft, last I knew anyway, 'Intellect' increases a caster's available mana, (the amount of magic one has to throw around at any given point) the regeneration of said, and the strength or impact of cast spells. That's the way I'm using it. 'Agility' in this fic gives a bonus to speed of movement and the ability to dodge. It's helpful for Harry because he has pretty good reflexes in cannon and my fic; why cast a shield when you can dodge incoming spells instead?
Harry's current magical gear:
Two Wands:
Holly and Phoenix Feather: A very precise wand, not a perfect fit for Harry anymore.
Alexestraza's Boughs and Basilisk Heartstring: Made from the species of tree cultivated over millennia by the Red Dragonflight of Azeroth and the heart of the creature slain by Harry Potter, it it a more aggressive wand, capable of shaping much more magic at the cost of being worse for precise spellcasting. It is capable of channeling more magic than Harry is capable of using right now.
Necklace of the Deep: Agility and Stamina, Intellect and Precision gems, gifted by the mortal compatriots of the second group of dragons when they separated. Due to the nature of the materials used to craft it, the simple pendant feeds pure water into the wearer through the skin, though not enough to keep one hydrated alone.
Skin of the Great Snake (5 out of 8 equipped): Leather Armor set crafted from the hide of Slytherin's Basilisk. Stine, a skilled but not yet master of Leatherworking, has crafted a series of magical items out of the significant amounts of hide available. A simple set, the leather armor provides benefits to Stamina, Agility, and Intellect. It's an attempt to bolster Harry's strengths: to help him not tire easily, dodge incoming spells when possible so as not to waste magic shielding them, and strike harder. The 'set bonus' is increasing his ability to dodge and empowering his spells. Visually the Armor is simple emerald leather, no excess adornments.
Equipped Items:
Chest
Waist
Bracers
Legs
Boots
Chapter 11: Ninja-Looting Hogwarts Castle
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
Under Hogwarts Castle, Stine had been busy. In fact, he'd been so busy, his fingers had begun to bleed. Mock him as much as they want, his mortal form had proved exceedingly useful; an elf's fingers would have given out hours ago, leaving his task unfinished. He wished he'd had more time, how ironic.
But when he and Aurogos had restored Slytherin's wardstone, the Bronze drake had cheated. A little bit of himself left in the stone, and he had a limited warning from himself in the future. He'd actually gotten the message when they first entered the Chamber of Secrets, written to him, by him, some time yet in the future. It wasn't terribly uncommon magic for the Bronze Dragonflight back home: Past, present, and future were difficult to keep straight at times for creatures that lived in the Caverns of Time.
Stine himself had been born thousands of years ago, apprenticed before the War of the Ancients, and performed his duties across the timeline of Azeroth. An idiot of a Dalaran mage had been his most memorable assignment, he'd tracked the fool that had created an unstable temporal device back through twenty five thousand years of history.
When he finally caught the fool, the mage had been grateful to see a Bronze drake, even knowing he was in serious trouble for mucking with temporal magic. Bronze dragons were usually limited to never travel to the time before their Dragonflight was created, but he had followed the mage through the device. At that point, it was clear the item was only capable of backwards time travel. Stine had made a deal with the mage, don't threaten the timeline again, agree to destroy all his notes and devices, and Stine would get him back to his correct era.
The mortal carefully placed in a stasis spell, Stine had observed from a distance his distant ancestors, what history now only knew as 'Proto-Dragons.' It was a joy, as he traversed the young world, to see their great diversity, the magic that was such an intrinsic part of them flow wild and free. Stine had stolen across the world, silent as a ghost until he reached the Titan's Halls of Origination.
Though prickly, the Titan-Forged constructs had agreed to allow him a corner where he could sleep in a stasis spell until the Dragonflights were created. From there, he'd flown to the Caverns of Time and navigated the timeways far into the future. When the time was right, he'd escorted the mage to his workshop, watched him destroy all that was promised, and cast a subtle spell on him that would alert him if the mage ever touched temporal magic again.
As feline hands shook, he carefully wiped his creations clean of the detritus of their crafting and the drops of blood falling onto them.
His Lord would be going into battle in only a few hours, and while there was a chance he could have survived that battle without Stine's greatest work yet, the message had told him that the armor crafted from the snake his Lord had slain two years ago had helped. Without knowing everything about the situation, it was impossible to know whether his contribution made the difference between success and failure.
"I hate working within a time-loop. Shame I can't place blame on anyone else but myself for this one." Hearing the scraping sound of talons on stone, he was glad to see Alira behind him. Scenting his blood, she rushed forward and began to channel healing magic into his hands. While not a fully-trained healer, she would have to do for now; both Reds would be needed elsewhere in the coming days. But first, a more urgent task loomed.
"Alira, I appreciate the help, but there's a more important task. I need you to write Harry and Hermione notes, then send this stack to her, this stack to him, and these to his closest friends. Dobby can do it. We must get the items sent now, before they wake up."
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, not long after the Ministry had entered the school, Harry had watched Lucius Malfoy leave. He would get more information later, but the fact that the man loved his son was true at least. Ron was bandaged after having one of Flitwick's animated forks removed from his bicep, and would be fine as long as he let it heal a bit. The Basilisk hide armor Ron wore on his chest had protected him from more than one of the forks that had been flying about.
It was a strange sensation Harry thought, wearing armor under his robes, even more so enchanted armor. Stine had been busy down in the Chamber of Secrets; his skill at working leather into useful items had proven rather useful. All the Weasleys in Hogwarts were sporting vests made from the Basilisk, while Harry and Hermione had even more. Though not visible under his robes, Harry was wearing boots, pants, a belt, chest armor, and two odd items on his forearms. The note that had come along with the armor told him they were commonly known as vambraces or bracers for short, and these were meant to take a blow if one couldn't avoid it.
Stine's note (dictated to Alira) had described the cumulative effect of armor pieces that were meant to be used together, but Harry hadn't expected it to work so well. He'd been quicker, more agile than he'd ever thought he could be during that fight. His spells had been stronger too, much of that was thanks to the armor itself and the magical gems that had been placed throughout. Still, he was growing stronger magically himself as well. His body felt stronger, healthier than ever before in his life thanks to the efforts of his new healers.
Harry was honestly surprised at the number of healers rushing to and fro in the Hall, he didn't know the country had that many. With Ron in tow, the two met up with his older brothers who were sitting with all three of the chaser girls and Ginny. Harry waved, then started drinking more water. Aurogos had given him the expanded water bottle the night before last and told him to drink it wherever he could. It was apparently water with a very thin solution of the regeneration potion he'd already taken once.
When he reached the ice block that held Hermione, his blood ran cold. Dumbledore had done something to her that caused the detection spell last night to register black. If that wasn't bad enough, he was going to use her against the students; his words when he called her name were laced with magic. When he reached the block, it was cold, but not as cold as it looked. Aurogos strode over and tried to comfort his Lord then. "This is a complete suspension spell. As soon as she's in a safe place with a mind-healer ready to help her I can release the spell. From her perspective, no time will pass at all from the ice forming to when it releases her. Be just a little careful moving her, I'd recommend an expanded trunk."
With that said, the Blue drake in disguise walked over to Dali and Senas, reminding them not to exhaust themselves, as the Ministry was not trustworthy. Cameras had arrived by then, and among other things, they captured Harry Potter leaning his head against Hermione's ice and letting tears fall.
He only allowed himself a few moment's rest before he walked over to the two Reds fussing over Ralion's ice. Apparently he would be fine, as long as the spells held. It was the way his first oathsworn screamed when his flames tore at the Fiendfyre that really motivated Harry to finish snuffing it out. To continue the deception, he inquired of the two of them, not especially loud, but loud enough to be overheard by the people running around everywhere. "There's a space I found on the second floor here. Would you like to move your friend there to keep him out of the way? I'm going to get Hermione secure there and then find a healer I can trust."
Giving him a warm smile, Senas nodded his head. "Yes, I don't trust people not to start casting spells at it. These healers don't believe the ice is a stasis spell. Here, let's get him into my trunk. With that, the trunk was opened and the ice block containing a very injured dragon was lowered in. Sirius, bless his easily bored heart, had added the same spell that allowed bottomless bags to swallow larger items, among many others, to the rim of the trunk. Soon, Ralion was inside and Dali was charging the runes again. Surprisingly, Hannah Abbott came over and asked how Ral was doing. She looked relieved when they told her that he would be fine in a week or so when the spells ended.
Moving on, Harry asked the Weasleys to assist him with Hermione as his magic was still pretty well used up. Soon she was secured, the twins offering to head down to keep her steady. Looking around one last time before withdrawing, he spied Aurogon working with Draco to get untainted food on the tables, apparently by hunting in the forest with a few Aurors as support. Everyone was feeling more than a little paranoid at the moment, so they decided to get food that had no chance of being tainted by potions. As he gazed at all the faces looking so busy, he spied someone he'd recently seen a photograph of.
With a smile on his face, he asked his friends to hold up a moment. It took a moment to catch up to her, but he was glad when he did. "Andromeda Tonks! It's nice to meet you, I'm Harry."
Pleased, the woman finished binding a fork wound (As it turned out, Professor Flitwick would gain a new nickname after this, the Fury of the Forks. He was regarded with a good deal more fear by all of his students from this day onward.) before turning to Harry. Sadly the teen she had been treating started snarling at how the golden boy Potter came through without a scratch, when most of the other students had forks jammed in all sorts of places. Harry just stared down at the teen who'd been soundly forked, not once, not twice, but three times during the battle.
"Try learning to dodge. What do you think those spells the Headmaster was throwing at me would have done? What did they do to the walls?" Harry gestured to a section of Hogwarts Castle where the stones were either cooling slag, char, or pebbles. Idiot soundly shut up, he turned to Andromeda again.
"My friends need a mind-healer I can trust, are you willing to help us?"
The middle-aged witch smiled at him. "Yes, I can help them Mr. Potter. And it's nice to meet you. Do you have a room somewhere set up?"
"Yes, my friends and I were just on our way to the second floor." They met up with Ron, Ginny and Senas, as they were waiting for them near the exit. Before exiting, Harry turned back to the room. "Accio Harry Potter's wand." There was a great ripping sound of fabric, and the wand flew into his left hand, with a piece of pocket still attached. Harry met the hateful glare from a man he recognized as Walden Macnair, unflinching. The man turned away when Harry smirked.
"It's still my wand, even if it is a mind-control device of some sort." Harry did hand it off to Andromeda, where she placed it into a small iron box.
As they approached the stairs, finally away from the mass of people, Harry asked Andromeda a question. "I heard my godfather was trying to bring you back into the family, have you been able to speak with him?"
Smiling as they waited for a staircase to fall into position, Ron and Ginny gave Andromeda a curious look as she replied. "Yes, and I've accepted, but we shouldn't talk about it in the open. Is your place secure from prying eyes?"
"Yes, I've been learning to cast a certain charm the three of us experienced over the summer. It seems to get easier with each cast." Here, Ron and Ginny were looking back and forth between Senas and Harry. Senas just smiled.
"Ah, we're here. Ron, Ginny, just trust me a moment, okay?"
With that Harry dragged them into the bathroom most couldn't see, while Andromeda was picked up and carried along by the disguised drake. No one stopped until they were in the tunnel (still lit with stairs) that led down into the Chamber of Secrets.
Neither Ron or his sister recognized the place at first, thankfully. Harry tried to begin explaining. "Sorry about that. We just moved you through a Fidelius Charm, and those are weird to go through if you don't know the secret. I might as well tell you guys that I've been busy this week. You see, I found myself suddenly in need of a lot of space to hide some new friends in the castle. The Room isn't bad, but we needed something with an escape route if worse came to worst. Andromeda, did Sirius tell you anything about my secrets here?"
"No, only that I should trust you like he does, and that your secret completed Regulus's Last Task."
"Okay, how do you feel about magical creatures?" As he waited for her response, Harry found himself tackled nearly to the floor by a purple elf. Ron and Ginny were drawing their wands until they heard Senas laughing. Suddenly they noticed his ears again, which they had previously assumed had been from some stray spell during the battle. Harry felt himself redden as a 'healthy' elf rubbed her head against him for a moment; his face blushed even harder when he remembered her treatment for removing the foreign substances from his body.
"This is Alira. It's a long story, but she's one of the people I met last weekend. Anyone mind if we head into the main area? It's a bit more spacious and I have an elf that can get us something to eat. Most of us missed breakfast and I, for one, am starving." And with that, the group started moving down the stairs into the Chamber of Secrets.
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
Back in the main hall, Aurogos had thanked Draco for introducing him to the school's top three warding students before the younger Malfoy and friends went hunting in the forest with some Aurors to watch their backs. It was an eclectic group Aurogon gathered in a side room devoid of portraits a few moments later. To handle objections, Aurogon quickly produced several very simple contracts that stated his goals for what he was about to do and an agreement not to use their collective work for personal gain, as well as a clause to ensure complete secrecy.
Once done, he told them that he now had control over one of the four ward stones of Hogwarts, and wanted to capture control of the rest before the Headmaster tried to return. Everyone decided that was a wonderful idea, so Aurogon led them out in search of the general area he knew the Hufflepuff stone resided in thanks to the Slytherin stone.
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
Half an hour later, after they had dueled a number of house-elves to get at the wardstone hidden behind the largest cooking fire in the Castle's kitchen, Aurogon's team quickly got to work. "These stones are strange, they have a lot more personality than I'd expect. But with some self-repair sequences and some more aggressive defense options on sub-stones connected to the main one as offerings the Hufflepuff stone accepts!"
Wiping his face clear of sweat, the group paused to enjoy some food the other elves had prepared for them under watchful eyes. They drank deeply of condensed water as well. "I still can't decide if the Founders were idiots or geniuses. These stones each conflict with and snipe at the others. But overall the ward scheme is still very strong, and getting stronger."
Between bites of her sandwich, Naomi Lyon, a dark-skinned halfblood Ravenclaw seventh year, added her thoughts into the mix. "Well they say that there's a fine line between genius and insanity. Perhaps there's a function to the wards struggling against each other? Could the way they grind at each other be a way to gain strength?"
That was food for thought, that the group considered while they were eating their meal. Naomi continued after a moment. "What I really want to know are those rune sets you used. I've never seen any of them elsewhere. Ever."
This line of thought had Jason Atreides, a seventh year Slytherin pureblood of distant Grecian descent, (but one largely unconcerned with blood purity) and Sarah Summerland, a sixth year muggleborn in Hufflepuff with blond hair and blue eyes, both fixing their attention on Aurogon.
All three just looked at him until he sighed. "I can't tell you that yet. When things calm down a bit after this though..." He smiled as he drew out the tension. "How would you like to learn the runes I'm using? Some of them are dangerous if you don't have the right bloodline, and I'm talking about being a descendant, not 'purity.' So I won't teach you how to use runes that will actually try to unbalance and kill you, but I know a few others."
Sarah scoffed. "A few? If you weren't using at least three different runic languages I'm a goblin! And we've never seen any of them!"
"Yes my dear, I know a few interesting things about runes and warding. A few other subjects as well."
Now Jason joined the conversation. "Like whatever you did to Malfoy and those other students in the great hall? Like that glorious scythe you carry? Salonar, it saddens me that I won't be here long enough to learn all you could teach me."
Now Aurogon laughed aloud. "My friends, if we tame the other two ward stones I can usurp the title of Headmaster from the bearded twit. I find that this castle could use a few more classes, and that the defenses could use a lot more work. Hell, a few more adults in the castle could help out and I could argue they were needed as 'teaching aides.' If we can do this, tame the castle I plan on making some changes around here. Somehow, your Professors seem to have made learning magic boring! That offends me deeply.
"I'm sure the Ministry could try appointing a new headmaster, but they'd have to pry me out of here first. If I can remove the magics limiting the castle's wards, that won't be easy for them. You three help me today and as long as you agree to a simple oath or two, I'll teach you enough to keep you busy for years. What do you say?"
Sarah chugged the rest of her drink and slammed the glass down on the small table. "I say we can eat this on the way up. You said the next stone was somewhere near the Ravenclaw Head of House office? Let's get going!" Both of the other students cheered, and Naomi started leading them up out of the kitchen.
Aurogon smiled. This morning had gone to hell, but if there was one thing his life thus far had taught him it was how to make the best of things when life turned sour. Ten hours, several breaks, a couple of stunned Aurors, and two ward stones later, Aurogon yelled "Yoink!" as he appeased the spirit of Gryffindor's stone (Which for some reason was guarded by a sleeping stone dragon they'd had to tickle, then slay.) and felt the entire ward scheme of the school fall onto his shoulders.
From the stone, or something very near to it, a voice began speaking in the same tone as the Sorting Hat. "Congratulations! Headmaster Aurogos, formerly of the Blue Dragonflight of Azeroth! Hogwarts has never had a dragon from another world as Headmaster before! We will expect great things from you."
Looking at the three awed students, Aurogos could only sigh. I guess I'm collecting Dragonsworn already. "Okay, if you agree to work under me I will teach you mysteries of magic you can only imagine and offer to extend your lives by at least a millennium. You'll get stronger magically too, by how much I have no idea on this world. Oh, and that runic language I said I wouldn't teach you? Once you're able to speak the language I'll teach you to use the runes. It's a bit like Parseltongue and called Draconic."
The Blue Dragon had already gotten a good read on the three, they were excited by magic and wanted to learn more than anything else. Of course, they wanted comfortable lives too, but with the castle here that was easy enough to supply. Naturally they all agreed as he had known they would. "My people have a ritual oath that binds us together with a mortal. I want you to be sure, because once you take the Oath of the Dragonsworn there is no turning back. You're basically agreeing to serve me in exchange for knowledge, power, and a long life. I've lost a lot in my life, friends, loved ones, my home. If you agree to serve me, you will have a master that cares about your lives, and will never throw you away. Is this something you want?"
Jason was the first one to speak after their mutual agreement. "I'm not sure what you know about the outside world, but things are about to get bad out there. I refuse to join the insanity of the Dark Lord, but I can't let my family die for my choice either. In a day, you might have doubled the strength of the Hogwarts wards. I'll take my chances here with you instead of out there, dealing with two dark lords. Are you truly a dragon? How old are you anyway?"
With a sigh, Aurogos used the wards to seal the room they were in, and summon an elf to provide a meal with no potions added. Once the food and water was there, and a slight alteration of the castle linked a hallway with a forgotten Prefect's bathroom to where they sat, he took his real form once more. After stretching a bit, he answered the other question. "I'm sixty-two. I've got about forty years until I reach my first maturity, your society's equivalent to coming of age at seventeen. Then I've got another nine-hundred years after that before others of my kind would consider me wise enough to have a place in our leadership or a voice when we decide something as a group.
"I'm going to need to send for a book from the master I studied under for twenty years; he's going to make fun of me because I once told him I'd never have a Dragonsworn. To give you an idea about how long my kind can live, he's twenty thousand years old, and among the oldest of our kind. Is there anything else you need to know?" And so they ate, Aurogos back in his mortal form for the ease of using silverware, explaining one thing or another as they went.
That night, after everyone had taken a shower and gotten into comfortable clothes, he had them conjure a large bed, slipping into the corner once again in his true form. "Here's my first order. Dragonsworn, as far as I'm concerned, are family. I want you to get comfortable around me, so get sorted and we'll sleep here tonight."
A little hesitant, the three climbed up, Sarah shuffled until she was leaning against his side, close enough to hear the beating of his heart. Hesitantly, she asked: "What would you have done if we had said no to your offer?"
The Blue drake rumbled as he chuckled. "You weren't going to say no, any of you. I can see you want to know more about magic and no one knows more on the subject than a Blue Dragon. But to answer your question, I would have convinced you to sign contracts or take oaths that made you unable to tell for at least a decade. If I couldn't secure a base of power by then, I would deserve what your world would throw at me.
"I never liked the idea of mind-altering magic, not since I was a whelp. This whole thing with the old headmaster has soured it even more. Now tomorrow I'll take us where I left my supplies, you can meet a few other friendly faces while I carve the oathstones and figure out how to send a message to Senegos. Only hard part will be getting you three through a Fidelius effect, but that's not impossible. Now get some sleep. You've been immensely helpful today, and we all need rest for what tomorrow brings." One by one they got a little closer and eventually fell asleep.
Aurogos stayed up a fair bit longer. He had learned most of the magic around Dragonsworn years ago. It wasn't something he shared with anyone, but he was going to offer one of the female High Elves Senegos's clan had taken in to become his; his Dragonsworn, his partner in their mutual service of Azeroth, his lover for as long as the both of them lived. It hurt to think about, when he'd found her dead in the Nexus. He'd even carved the oathstone for her out of a precious jewel she loved. He knew she would have said yes, they'd been courting for years.
His mind drifted to the time she'd ridden on his back to a deserted beach he'd spent a lot of time warding to keep out anything that would ruin their day. He would never forget her smile when she asked him how they were getting there and he had lowered his shoulder. The intimacy of that flight, the sound of her laughter in the surf, the feel of her pressed against his true form as they enjoyed a roasted boar over an open fire, and the feelings she provoked when she had splayed out on a blanket in the light of the sunset and offered herself would never be forgotten. As she lay there, offering herself, he had just leaned close and whispered in her ear, his tone full of lust. "Soon my love. Soon we'll be together and fly across this world for millennia to come."
A few days later, they and many others had gone to the Coldarra to affirm their loyalty to their newly awakened Aspect. Maybe someday I won't hate myself for that. Perhaps that is one benefit of our long lives. With some embarrassment, he realized his memories had caused a physical reaction. At least they're asleep. If either of the females offered to lay with me I don't think I could turn them down, but at some point soon I need to tell them it isn't required or expected.
But if they're interested and willing… It's not like I've had a chance for physical relief in a long time. If not for the taboo between flights Dalistraza would have been a nice dalliance, but it isn't as if I had feelings anywhere near close enough to consider breaking the Titan's law like that. Glad the younger ones were asleep enough to miss his toothy yawn, he closed his eyes. Oh well, it has been a very long and busy day.
.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
While Aurogon was launching an expedition to punch house elves in the face and tickle stone dragons in pursuit of the ward stones, Harry Potter was leading an increasingly nervous group down into the Chamber of Secrets. When he looked back to see Ron and Ginny frozen as they finally realized where they were, he sighed. "I know you both have bad memories of being in here, but it isn't so bad now. All it took was proper lighting and some fresh faces and it's like a different space entirely. I think they were even talking about installing a garden around somewhere. Trust me, there's an entirely different secret down here these days."
Ron just gave Harry a hard look. "And what secret would that be Harry?"
Alira cut in then, as she melted into her natural form. "That Harry Potter's keeping his dragons down here. My Lord, would you like me to run ahead and get lunch set up?"
Feeling slightly exasperated, Harry answered her. "Please do. We'll get our injured taken care of right away, but Dali will need some food. Make sure she doesn't overwork herself please."
With that, she bowed to them, dipping her head to expose her neck and extending her wings above her. "Yes my Lord!" And with that she rushed away, half flying as she dashed.
Now, his friends were giving him even stranger looks. "What? You know the crazy shit that happens to me, you've been there for most of it. Friday night I got a vision that someone needed help, some goddess on their world decided to accept their offering and grant them passage off their world to someplace where they could survive, next thing I know I'm in the Room with a portal and dragons are flying out of it. The first few were pretty banged up too. Heck, Hermione and I spent hours that first night just treating injuries and keeping them calm, they didn't have it easy growing up. Couple days later we got some more, less scruffy and more cultured."
Senas cut in with a snort. "Cultured? Maybe, maybe Aurogos and Dali. The rest of us? My Lord, I told my commander to go to hell when I found out I only had one sibling left. I've been ignoring orders for almost twenty years. Luckily any sensible dragon knows healers tend to be easy, squishy, high-value targets in war, so they've let me be. Are you going to warn your friends about Stine or should I?"
Harry pinched his nose as they kept moving. "Okay, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Tonks: I have a band of dragons down here. They're fully sentient, thinking creatures that have a natural form like you saw Alira run off in. They also have something similar to the animagus transformation, where they search within themselves or something and get a form that has thumbs and can usually go shopping without people screaming 'Oh god! It's a dragon! Call the army! Call the guard! It wants to buy a side of beef and some torches for its cave, we must kill it!'"
Harry pointedly ignored Senas openly laughing at his side. "Stine, a Bronze Dragon, decided to have a form that would actually attract more notice if he went out for a stroll in the halls. He's an orange tiger-centaur creature called a Tol'Vir. He thinks they're awesome. And I admit, if I had one for an animagus form, I'd be using it all the time myself. Um, the only other shocking thing would be that Vespiona, Ralion's sister, has the form of a blue goat woman. Apparently it's called a Draenei, and I still can't square the fact that her form is the same species as the male I saw a few days ago. Damn, that feels like months ago now."
Again breaking in, Senas chuckled before speaking. "That would be the two-month plus waking dream where you taught us to speak English and we all learned mental defenses. Plus we shared our tragic backstories. And I say that in jest, but I think Hermione was the only one with an even slightly happy childhood. I'd take not having any friends over almost all my siblings dead, unless that meant I forgot about them."
Ron, who had briefly tried to imagine life if he'd lost all his brothers was pale. "What happened? I can't even imagine something so terrible..."
Looking at the red-head, and approving of the color, Senastrasz gave him a short summary. "Our world has been invaded a bunch of times. The first time we got these giant parasites that corrupt living things and can't be killed, they are why we're here. The second time, demons invaded, and we lost four-fifths of the landmass and countless lives. The third time, the demons got these creatures called Orcs to go first and kill everything they could. The Red Dragonflight wasn't ready.
"Our Aspect, the Dragon Queen Alexstrasza, was captured and the orcs used a stolen artifact from the demon invasion ten-thousand years ago to control her, and through her take control of every member of her flight except those who had the force of will, life experience, and personal power to fight back. I wasn't one of those, another couple hundred years and maybe I could have, but there was no contest. I'll never forget the violation of carrying an orc into battle on my back in a saddle. He made me chase a human woman and her child as they fled a village the Orcs were burning, told me if I let them go he'd make me watch a dozen children of my kind die slowly. I hunted down the fleeing pair, despite making every tracking mistake I could. Just before I had to choose to kill them or not, the orc got an arrow through his skull.
"I told the force that found me everything I could, but I couldn't not fight. I was taken alive and spent the rest of the war, and the time after till our queen was freed healing injuries at a hospital in exchange for my food. You see, I wasn't allowed to let myself die, and I told them how to exploit that.
"When I was freed, thankfully someone remembered to come tell the humans I was safe; you see believing someone under mind control that they're suddenly free is a horrible idea. I got back to where my people lived and found all my siblings, save one, and most of my friends dead. I was so happy to find Dali alive, you have no idea, and I hope you never do Ronald. She was kept out of the war, and if I ever find out who did that I'll owe them a debt I can't ever repay. Always appreciate your family. You'll," Here the Red choked a bit. "you'll never know how much you'll miss them till they're gone."
Harry couldn't help reaching over and wrapping an arm around the taller 'man's' shoulders, Ron doing the same thing, unable and unwilling to imagine the horror of discovering his family dead. His other arm grabbed his little sister and held her close, despite her protests. They stood there for a few moments outside the inner door to the Chamber before Senas cleared his throat. "Thank you. Let's get in before Alira comes looking. (Đ:) Open! Got to love the Draconic Parseltongue crossover. Oh god, that smells delicious! Dobby is the best damn elf I swear to the Titans!"
All of them filed in before helping the twins and Dali out of the trunk. Harry helped remove Ralion, because he still needed the rune charged often, while Hermione would be safe where she was for now. The Weasley family had a quiet moment with a group hug, Ron and Ginny just telling their brothers how glad they were their family made it through the morning. Quickly, he introduced the group to Talion, Caliona, Stine, and Vespiona. There was indeed a nice spread, set out on a very impressive oak dining table. Harry decided not to ask where it came from, as he honestly didn't care if it was stolen as long as it came from Voldemort's supporters. He had fun telling Ron what each dish was.
"No, those aren't dumplings! They're flavored bones. Those are hearts, Dobby's gotten good at them, try if you want but you might want to avoid the spicy ones unless you can breathe fire." Ron actually did enjoy a smoked cow heart to everyone's surprise. No one that wasn't a carnivore seemed to enjoy it besides him sadly.
Andromeda decided to excuse the poor table manners because the children had just fought against a dark lord in pitched battle and not died. When she had been called to Hogwarts as part of an emergency summons for a potential mass-casualty event, she had been so very, very worried. Thankfully it seemed to have ended with no deaths, just a lot of forkings, assuming 'Ralion' pulled through. She was not at all worried at leaving the cases above to the other healers, there were tons of them all over the castle now. Harry's group needed someone trustworthy, so here she was.
When the Green dragon saw that she wasn't eating much (Unlike those living in the castle, the healer had eaten breakfast.) Andromeda accepted her invitation to take a look at some toxins from Harry, finding his raging blush very curious. After giving her respects to Sirius, who was on mirror call now, talking to the students, she realized why when the toxin sample turned out to be a preserved semen sample.
Her outrage was mollified somewhat when the dragon explained her usual method for removing, say a snake's venom, involved a splash of blood, but Harry had so many things in his system she'd have had to exsanguinate the boy twice and not get all of it. So, having to get creative she used a few stories that Andromeda would consider belonging in a naughty nurse sexual fantasy to begin removing the toxins. When she went on to add in the health and mental benefits of the procedure, Andromeda was a little out of her depth arguing against it. Especially when the drake admitted that something she hoped to accomplish was Harry feeling like he was worth the attention she was freely heaping on him.
As they discussed the rest of the treatments the boy had been given, the life-fire intrigued her professionally. Alira admitted they had a much stronger source of it in stasis, along with a number of their children, but were hesitant to bring them out before a food supply was ready. As a mother, Andromeda certainly knew how much pregnant women and kids could eat. Between the two of them they started to plan the treatments for everyone down here. "Call me Andy if you wish, we're both healers of a sort. Do you have a place for brewing potions? I can get started on some strong purging potions after I call my elf. If we bring in my husband, he can help with the potions. He's been a great help when I've needed him over the years, and I'm afraid we're going to need a lot of purging potions in this school."
Between the two house-elves that were willing to help, Ted was soon introduced to everyone, taking the dragons in stride but the Tol'Vir that had gone back to helping render the Basilisk less so. When Sirius had mentioned the possible goose-chase Remus was on, (And yes, Sirius had contacted Remus to tell him that Albus had been possessed by something but everything was fine! Really! Now just go find what you're looking for and come back, but possibly not to Number 12.) Ted had decided he wanted to look into the animagus transformation if he could turn into a tiger centaur.
In other news, the Order had been mostly at headquarters that morning, and between the house wards, Sirius, and a crazy little house elf, had been stuffed into expanded boxes with instructions on how to spell their own amenities. The boxes were behind apparition and portkey wards near the ruins of Potter Manor. They were not happy, but helpless as upon leaving the trunks to remove the wards, they became disoriented and were quickly stunned and tossed back into the box. Dora Tonks had been given one of the few purge potions on hand and instructed by her mother to help Sirius. The elves had been busy but had gotten her what she needed to remember the secret, along with the note that she now had the ability to betray Harry Potter, but if she did her life would be short and unpleasant. Dali was usually the best with words, but Aurogos had elevated threats to a form of art.
While much preferring mischief potions, the Weasley twins were happy to help brew the needed potions. Half were sent to Sirius to get some Order members on their feet, including a frantic Molly Weasley that Sirius honestly just wanted to make someone else's problem. Ginny was violently unhappy when she was tapped to head upstairs to placate her mother, even though she was a little glad to get out of the Chamber.
(Molly was glad to hear that Ron was helping out Harry, just being there for him. When she heard the twins were helping Healer Tonks produce the needed potions, she felt a deep well of pride in them. Medical Grade potions were, by definition, nearly perfect. If their joke shop failed to pan out, such skilled brewers would always find work.)
Molly still wanted to see Harry for herself, and did explode when told he was otherwise occupied. Hogwarts was now considered a crime scene, and dinner was served in the common rooms and was gone over with a series of spells that would have made Alastor Moody proud if he had actually been a teacher the previous year.
Night fell, and Draco reported to his father that Salonar had disappeared earlier that day after being introduced to the best warding prospects in the castle. After some thought, both agreed that he had likely decided to secure the castle, not trusting the Ministry to do it correctly. And since Draco was still in the Castle where Dumbledore was the Headmaster, he wished the teen good luck in his efforts.
Only those under a potion slept well in the castle that night. Much of the night was passed in quiet conversations where students discussed mortality, morality, and how their perception of the world had changed. Fighting alongside every other house, every other student, alongside Potter and the Malfoys and the newcomers… It made one realize how petty some of their divisions truly were. Badger, Lion, Raven or Snake, they had all nearly died this day.
Inside the chamber, purging potions were administered and were found to be effective for some. Harry didn't register much of a difference sadly, the substances within him protecting each other from the purge in a strange balance. He did end up blushing as he followed Alira into the medical area for another 'treatment' while Ron and the twins got rid of the trust potions in a truly unpleasant fashion. Andromeda had made several trips up, Stine volunteering to carry the completed potions as far as the bathroom. She didn't expect to make conversation with him, but didn't mind speaking with an immigrant from another world.
"Honestly? I'll take any distraction I can to take a break from cutting up that snake. Bronze magic is keeping the thing preserved so I actually have to do most of it. We've made some wands out of the heart, and armor from the hide. Most of the meat will make a good introduction to the whelps in storage, 'Here's our new leader, look at the big snake he killed, come eat.' Is probably about the best way to break it to them that Tendrion didn't make it.
"I heard that the young ones adored him after a couple days; he was the leader of the group that saved them. You should ask Caliona or Talion if you're curious about the whole story, though parts of it are pretty depressing. Aurogos is running around the castle doing something, I think the twins said he's got three Ancient Runes students skilled with wards with him. My guess? He doesn't want Albus able to get inside the castle if he can help it."
When she exited the Fideliused bathroom Andromeda discovered that reporters and Aurors knew she had stepped out of view with Harry Potter and several of the new faces. Suddenly finding herself disseminating information, Andromeda reported that Harry Potter was being treated for magical exhaustion and a variety of potion effects and was expected to recover. When the Daily Prophet asked about Ms Granger, she had said that the young woman remained in stasis for the moment, and she hoped to have an update on her condition tomorrow.
She also said that the young man that was the first reported dragon animagus was expected to fully recover, but that was expected to take at least a week. By now, pensieve memories had been viewed of the entire battle and more questions were being asked about how he had weakened the Fiendfyre enough for Harry Potter to destroy it. Andromeda had no information on that, she could only say that he was in rather rough shape afterwards. (Those who had watched the memories could only cringe, those were not happy sounds the young man made while fighting the cursed flames.)
When the Ministry demanded their healers be allowed to see Harry Potter, Andromeda had refused, citing that she was a fully-accredited healer and mind-healer, in addition to being a relative of Harry Potter through his Grandmother. She also said that the boy trusted her, and trust was essential to the treatments he required. Andromeda also praised her husband and Fred and George Weasley for their work around the cauldrons, producing the high-grade purging potions that were so desperately needed. Eventually, Molly Weasley had pushed her way forward and asked about her son Ron; she was told that he was helping Harry through this difficult time after enduring a purging potion.
At that point, she handed the box of verified Healer's Grade potions off to the healer leading the operation to get all the students cleaned out. Andromeda told the older man that she had four skilled brewers and as many cauldrons as they could handle ready to brew if he needed anything else made.
As she turned to begin a merry goose chase that would involve a secret passage on the fourth floor leading to the second and back into the Fideliused bathroom, there was one last question about what Harry thought Britain should do about Dumbledore. Andromeda paused a moment, Harry had been rather vocal about that as he felt the sting of betrayal.
"In remembrance of the great man Albus once was, Harry would ask that the Headmaster be put down swiftly and humanely before the man manages to kill anyone. I'm not sure any of us will ever know when Albus began down this path, but perhaps it is best to simply eliminate the threat before he tarnishes his own legacy with a massacre like he attempted this morning. No good man would want to be remembered for killing a school filled with children. Harry will likely not be ready to give interviews for some time I expect, and we would appreciate the press and Ministry giving him time to order himself. Thank you."
When Andy reached the chamber again, she found both ice blocks out, and the students and dragons sleeping near them. Ted had transfigured a bed for the two of them, as well as appropriate sleeping attire. "Have a good time with the vultures Andy? Vespiona is taking the first watch, we saw you get swarmed. Here, we might as well sleep in the open for now too. I think that with everything they've been through, sleeping together like that should be soothing. It's interesting watching them in a pile like that, I was talking to Stine, he said it was comforting for them. He started to wax on about his youth, how his 'clutch' would wear themselves out playing in the desert sun and then sleep in a pile in the shade."
Together, they moved to the fully modern bath and shower room just off the main study. (Between several magicals skilled with transfiguration and a very helpful house elf, this room had seen its first remodel since Slytherin himself walked the halls.) Thinking aloud as she began her nightly rituals, Andy aired her thoughts. "And it gives them comfort, physical touch. Possibly more so than humans even. Have you seen the way they brush against each other, as if they're reaffirming they're still here? And that's not even counting the green one." She said after ensuring Ted and herself wouldn't be overheard as they showered together. "She's especially touch oriented."
"I learned a little more about them while you were busy today Andy. Apparently all the ones we've seen today are considered teenagers in their culture. The 'Drake' stage of development is the time they use to choose a career and they usually end up apprenticed under an older dragon.
"Alira was training to become a Broodmother, a career which is essentially a professional mother. It leans much more towards rearing than birthing though. Her personality would seem to be a good one for comforting small ones. There were two groups, before they came here to our world. Alira was considered the 'little sister' of the second group. Essentially war came and she got drafted along with the rest of them. Apparently, both groups were working to keep her alive. She's no fighter though, and some of the things she saw really shook her up."
"What sort of things Ted? If they've told you."
"Heh, some of them are positively chatty Love. And the others are making an effort to learn to socialize. The one they mentioned was probably what caused the most damage. Now, Alira was learning how to care for their children, and she would have been doing that while working under an experienced Broodmother, meaning she was learning by doing. The second group was hunting down remnants of an opposing army, and at one point followed a trail into a cave. They had taken at least a dozen of the 'child' dragons in there, the cult they were fighting. Now, their enemy was a Twilight Cult, which were humans and others that had chosen to join, and Twilight Dragons, which were kidnapped as eggs and very forcefully brainwashed.
"When they broke into the cave, there were dead 'whelps' everywhere. Rather than let the whelps be freed the cultists killed them. And then the kicker. There were as many Twilight Whelps as the others dead in there. The cultists knew that the other dragons wanted to find a way to save them, and just decided to kill them too. No one argued when Aurogos ordered them drug out of the cave, interrogated to within an inch of their lives, healed, then burned alive on the bonfire they used to cremate the whelps, theirs and the Twilight both. She wasn't the same after, but they've said she's doing better here. Harry apparently makes her feel safe."
A few tears rolled down Andromeda's cheeks as she stood under the water. That was truly awful, and she'd seen a lot of awful things during the last war. While the Death Eaters didn't spare children, they didn't generally target them either, not unless they were old enough to fight. "If she were a human girl, I'd encourage attachment but not obsession in her case.
"I was told about how they've bound themselves to Harry, it's a two way bond. If that boy wasn't leader material to begin with the magic is going to warp him until he is. I don't know what kind of negative effects it might have, but there is a positive in that the bond is giving him purpose. That will see him through a lot. What do you think of his mental state Ted?"
As the two shared an intimate, but not really sexual moment washing each other Andy was never more glad her husband had supported her when she became a healer, then eventually a mind-healer as well. He'd joined her in taking most of the oaths and learning as much as he could too. While he wasn't a true mind-healer, Ted was better learned than most muggle counselors, and helped with patients that found it difficult to talk to a woman. At other times, he ran a small business helping magicals navigate the muggle world.
Thinking for a moment, Ted gave his thoughts slowly. "Right now he's in a lot of pain, probably has a lot of trouble trusting people too. It might end up a blessing that he's surrounded with people that can't betray him. To be honest, they're all messed up in some way. Even Ron has problems comparing himself to his brothers. I think as long as they lean on each other they can all heal.
"On a note I hate to bring up, with Albus playing mind games with the boy, is there any chance You-Know-Who is still dead?" Feeling his wife flinch and shake her head, he knew things were going to get bad in the time to come. Albus, insane or not, was someone Voldemort feared. Without that fear…
"Well, let's just focus on getting the kids healthy. While it could use a few things, this isn't the worst hideout I've ever seen. Plus, there's something ironic about hiding from him in Slytherin's personal chamber."
Later, dry and wearing much more to bed than they had in years, the married couple adjusted their bed, chuckling at the mess of teens and dragons curled together across the way. Ted watched Talion stretch and wake Dali before taking his place at that wonderful Marauder's map. Dali, seeming to luxuriate in her natural form, quickly checked the translucent ice block, charging it with more of her healing power, before sliding back into the pile. Oddly, the pile was shifting without those within being truly awake now that the main heat source was taking his turn at watch. Shaking his head with a chuckle, Ted slipped into bed and held his wife close as they both fell asleep.
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A/N: Ninja-looting is a practice from the early days of World of Warcraft where you would work with a group to kill a monster, some of them requiring forty players back then, and then steal or renege on agreements about the loot.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and all the reviews made me happy! Well over 100 on all sites now : )