Chapter 4
For a good long while after that faithful day Harry couldn't stop feeling incredibly dumb that he hadn't noticed any of the horrible things that were going on around him any sooner. His parents comforted him and told him it wasn't his fault that he'd missed the horrors around him because he was still only a child.
Well, whatever it was, the veil had well and truly been lifted and once seen, the reality of the world around him couldn't be unseen. Harry now knew that he lived in a world filled with violence and death, where children were commodities to be rented out and traded and sold, and once in a while to be fucked to death.
Most of the beautiful sheen that had covered Harry's experiences in Santika had disappeared altogether, and the world that was left behind was bleak and unforgiving.
Nonetheless, Harry's parents wouldn't let him wallow in the misery he suddenly felt for very long.
"We will help you get out of here, sweetheart," his mum told him time and again while his dad nodded with a reassuring smile. "You won't always be a child and you have Karakas' favour, so you're going to use that to your advantage."
Harry's parents insisted he start summoning extended family members, because as his parents explained, they needed more people they could trust and who could help them learn about the world and spy on all Harry's enemies, but Harry wasn't sure at first. "Karakas told me I couldn't summon anyone else or he would take away my amulet."
"Sometimes you have to take risks, Harry," his dad said with a firm nod. "Don't tell anyone about this, simple as that."
"And the first thing we'll put on the list to research is how to make such an amulet yourself, so that even if you do lose it, you can simply replace it," Harry's mum added, and Harry figured that was a good enough plan so he agreed.
The first person Harry summoned was his paternal grandfather, a man named Fleamont Potter.
Harry was still only eight years old and while he was really good at summoning his parents by then, adding a third soul to the mix wasn't easy. The first time Fleamont Potter appeared alongside his parents, he only had time for a quick, excited greeting when meeting his grandson before he disappeared again.
And so the process began over the following weeks and months and years of practicing summoning more and more family members simultaneously until Harry was able to keep them all tied to the land of the living for hours on end.
Fleamont Potter and his wife Euphemia Potter-MacMillan were the first ones to join their Dream Team, as Harry's father liked to call it. It only took a brief explanation from James to convince them to join in the operation of seeing Harry free and safe. Fleamont suggested Harry summon his younger brother Charlus Potter and his wife Dorea Potter-Black next, knowing they would want in on the adventure, which was indeed the case. Charlus was a no-nonsense man who had been a curse-breaker in his life, and Dorea had been Charms Master, and they were eager to assist their grand-nephew in any way they could.
Next to join the Dream Team were Fleamont's parents, Henry Potter and Bernadine Potter-Smith. Henry and Bernadine had both been Ward Masters in life.
Henry beamed when he was introduced to his great-grandson. "Named after me, then?"
"Er…" Lily said while looking between Henry and Harry. "And after my grandfather Harry Evans."
"Ah." Henry didn't let up any of his obvious enthusiasm. "But mostly after me, I bet."
Lily wisely said nothing to that and Harry snickered and felt a wonderfully comforting glow inside his chest at being surrounded by so many family members. They might all be dead, but they were still his family and happy to meet him and to help him in his life. And that was all that mattered, really.
After Harry had summoned some Potters, Euphemia insisted Harry summon some MacMillans next, starting with Harry's great-grandparents. Patroclus MacMillan was a tall man who'd been an Auror in life and his wife Charis MacMillan-Black had been a renowned Potions Master who had improved the burn salve to such an extend that even third-degree burns no longer left any scars. Charis had looked genuinely happy to learn from Lily that her version of the burn salve was still in use when Lily was alive.
Euphemia insisted that Harry also summon her favourite aunt, Patroclus' sister, Eustice MacMillan. Eustice had been a spinster in life, insisting loudly and often that she needed neither man or woman to make her happy and that she was perfectly capable of living a successful and fulfilling life on her own. Eustice was a woman with sharp features and a tight bun, and in life she'd been a celebrated Enchantress, which was one step up from Charms Master, who travelled all over the world to study and to share her craft.
The first thing she said to Harry, after James had explained to his great-aunt why they were there, was, "Thank Merlin for you, child. Do you have any idea how dreadfully boring it is to be dead?" And after that she insisted on haunting the library, as she liked to call it, since she had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and wanted to learn as much as she could. And yes, she had been a Ravenclaw in life, why do you ask?
In the library Auntie Eustice, as she insisted Harry call her, simply hovered behind people sitting so she could read whatever book they had open over their shoulders. This quickly made Auntie Eustice an expert in many Santikan subjects, from trivial things like 101 recipes for boks, to how to use the local runes to construct the most amazing wards. She also soon became an unofficial librarian, knowing exactly where to find what book anywhere in the library.
All the other family members insisted Harry address them by their first names, because otherwise it got a little confusing with all the grand-parents and great-grandparents milling about.
The last person Harry summoned was Rigel Potter, his second cousin and son of Charlus and Dorea. Rigel had suffered from a magical wasting disease, brought on by many centuries of inbreeding in the Black family, according to Dorea. Rigel had been able to attend Hogwarts for a year and a half, before he became too ill and had to go home. He was a proud Gryffindor who'd sadly passed away a little after his fifteenth birthday.
But since he'd missed out so much in life, Rigel was more than happy to help Harry out, and Harry had a special mission for him.
"I want you to keep an eye on Rindyll whenever I'm not around," Harry said, giving Rigel a serious look. "I've already lost one friend, I don't want to lose another one."
"I'll stick to her like a niffler on gold, promise," Rigel said with a little salute and then he'd floated off to find Rindyll while Harry wondered what on earth a niffler was and why it would stick on gold.
The rest of the Dream Team soon came up with tasks for themselves as well. Both Dorea and Charis insisted that Harry learn occlumency, a type of magic that would protect his mind and help him think and learn. Charis appointed herself Harry's teacher, since she had more patience than Dorea, and from that moment on every night while lying in his cot, Harry no longer had his parents there to tell him stories, but Charis to lead him through guided meditation.
Dorea, meanwhile, decided she was going to spy on the taverns in Misty Springs. "It is important to know what is going on in the city around you, Harry, and the best way to learn about any news or rumours is from the inebriated, since they cannot control their tongues."
Patroclus the Auror appointed himself as the official spy of Bram the Red and his castle, taking over from a relieved Lily, and Charlus decided to stick himself to Karakas, freeing up James.
Henry and Bernadine Potter, meanwhile, went about exploring the whole of Misty Springs and beyond, going much further than James had been to see what lay beyond the city and how best to navigate it when dealing with all sorts of scenarios, from sneaking out in the dead of night, to evacuating in a hurry during a natural disaster.
That left James, Lily, Fleamont and Euphemia to teach Harry and guide him in his research.
And there was a lot of research to be done.
The first thing Lily did was have a serious talk with Harry, while his dad and grandparents hovered around him. "Harry, sweetheart, if I could give you a carefree childhood, I would, but you've seen for yourself the kind of world you now live in. That means that from now on, you have to grow up, and you have to do it quickly. You have to learn as much as you can, and you have to do that quickly as well."
Harry nodded, understanding that playtime was over and from then on learning new things was a matter of life and death for him. And so he quit messing about and applied himself to his studies as best as he could.
And there was plenty to study. Harry made sure he learned all the official lessons they got in the classes that the school taught, everything from potions and spells, runes and warding and healing and curses. They weren't doing much real magic yet at their young ages, but they were learning more and more theory the older they got. The only real magic Harry got to do so far were small things, like drawing a runic circle to size of a saucer to summon a bright little light, and to use certain crystals, charge them with magic in a runic circle, and then stick them in the earth to help plants grow.
His parents and grandparents put together a detailed extracurricular study-plan for him.
"First things first," Lily said with a determined frown. "You have to get access to the library."
"That would be the perfect moment to start buttering up Karakas," James added. Harry looked between his parents dubiously, but he heard them out and during his next private lesson Harry executed their plan.
"Master," Harry said innocently while he'd finished translating some runes Karakas had written down for him on a piece of slate. "You said to Lord Bram that I had the makings of a great sorcerer. Is that true?"
"Oh yes, my precious little diamond," Karakas said with a wide smile, showing off all of his very white teeth. "You are going to be great."
"Is that why you gave me this amulet?" Harry asked, still staring at Karakas with wide eyes to emphasize his youth and ignorance. "I'm really happy I can talk to my parents every day."
Karakas' face shut down for a moment before his eyebrows drew up in a thoughtful frown. "You, child, have been touched by death. I do not know how and when, but I know that you carry death in you. And because of that, I am convinced that you can become a great necromancer, more powerful than this world has ever seen."
"Necromancer?" Harry asked, unfamiliar with the word.
"Yes, my diamond." Karakas rubbed his hands together and offered Harry another wide smile. "You will one day control all that is dead and there will be no one in this world who can stop you then."
Harry definitely perked up at hearing that. "I can't wait," he said honestly. "But shouldn't I be able to read books then, to learn how to do all that. You know, in the library."
Karakas blinked for a moment. "You want access to the library? Done."
That went much better than Harry thought it would, and he happily relayed the conversation to his parents and grandparents, but they reacted not at all as Harry expected.
"No," Lily said, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she hovered in front of Harry. "No, Harry. Absolutely not."
"By Merlin's smelly underpants," James muttered, shaking his head. "They want you to become a necromancer of all things."
Fleamont and Euphemia just looked very, very unhappy as they stared at Harry.
Unsure of what to do with that kind of unexpected response, Harry summoned his other family members to him in the hopes that they may talk some sense into his parents because Harry desperately wanted to be so powerful that no one could stop him.
The newly arrived family members didn't look very happy with Harry's future career either when James and Lily informed them. Well, Dorea and Charis merely looked thoughtful, but the rest quickly joined in to loudly and vehemently voice their objections.
Well, all except for one.
"Shame on you!" Auntie Eustice snapped, while pointing a finger at each of the gathered people. "Shame on you! Harry has been summoning souls, your souls, since he was five years old, and now you suddenly have a problem with that?"
"But necromancy is forbidden," Henry mumbled, and floated backwards a little when Auntie Eustice whipped around to glare at him.
"This isn't Hogwarts, or the wizarding world. There isn't a ministry here to give you fines or chuck you in the slammer. There is only our nephew, our blood, alone in this world. Brother," Auntie Eustice turned to look at Patroclus, "You've seen what this world is truly like, haven't you?"
Patroclus gave a solemn nod. "Aye, I've seen more than I ever wanted to see up in that blasted castle."
"Now the MacMillans are as light as they come and I am proud of that, but I'd also like to think that the MacMillans aren't stupid." Auntie Eustice gave each person gathered a long, intense look. "If the only way our nephew, our blood, can survive in this world is by becoming a necromancer, then by Hecate and Isis, we will help him become the best necromancer that has ever lived. And if you don't like that, you can all bloody well scuttle back to the afterlife, you bunch of cowardly ghosts."
A few long moments of silence followed as everyone stared at everyone else, until Patroclus cleared his throat. "I believe my sister has the right of it. If we want our kin to survive, we have to be willing to help him, even if that means resorting to magics that might seem unsavoury."
"I agree," Charis said at once. "I'll help you Harry, as much as I possibly can."
"And so will I," Dorea chimed in. This caused Charlus to sigh, look between his wife and Harry and then nod as well.
Bernadine folded her hands and frowned for a moment. "We've all been working towards Harry's eventual escape, but we don't know where he will go from here. We don't know what the rest of this world is like and we certainly don't know if he can ever even return to the wizarding world." Bernadine looked towards James and Lily. "Harry has to be able to survive in this world even beyond Misty Springs. I'll help him with that, even if it means that he has to learn magics that are illegal elsewhere."
Henry considered that and then nodded in agreement with his wife. "Yeah, from what we can tell, the whole of Santika is a violent place. Once we get him out of here, he'll still be in danger. I'll help."
That left James, Lily, Fleamont and Euphemia as the last ones who hadn't yet voiced their support.
"Harry, we want you to become strong and powerful," Lily said in a pleading tone. "But you have to understand that necromancy is dangerous magic. You can lose yourself in it and become just as bad as someone like Rylan."
Harry shivered at that thought. He didn't want to be anything like that monster, ever.
"Not as long as he has us," Euphemia said, much to everyone's surprise. "Think about it, Lily. Harry has his family, dead as we are. He isn't alone, exploring dangerous magics that can overpower him. He has us to guide him every step of the way."
"I hadn't looked at it like that," Fleamont said while he gave his wife a considering look. "I do believe you make a good point, darling. We'll help you, Harry."
James looked from his parents to Harry and back and then crouched down in front of his son. "Promise me, Harry, that you will do everything in your power to be good, even when learning these kinds of magic."
"I promise," Harry whispered, feeling rather overwhelmed by everyone's serious reactions.
"James," Lily said, one hand rubbing across her chest in a nervous gesture. "James, do we really want this for our son?"
"They're right," James said, getting up and floating over to Lily. "Harry is stuck here for Merlin knowns how long, perhaps even his whole life. And this world is nothing like the wizarding world. Harry needs all the magic he can get just to make it to adulthood, but it doesn't stop there. He'll have to live his whole life and he needs to be powerful enough to do that. Besides, do you really think Karakas will take no for an answer if Harry were to tell him he doesn't want to study it?"
"All right," Lily finally sighed. She rubbed a hand over her face and then smiled down at her son. "We'll help you, but you have to promise to follow our instructions. No running off to do any magic behind our backs. And ask for our help if you need it."
"I promise, Mum," Harry said solemnly and that was that. From that moment on Harry was officially a student of necromancy and he had his whole family's support, no matter how reluctantly.
Something had dawned on a few people during that confrontation, though, and Lily urged Harry to study maps in the library, now that he finally had access to it.
"Bernadine was right," Lily said when Harry wondered why on earth he had to learn maps when there was actual magic to be studied. "You're too young to do much actual magic, but you're not too young to learn about the world around you. Once you leave here, you'll need to know where to go and what areas of Santika are safe."
And thus Harry, with the help of Auntie Eustice, found every map in the library and every book on the subject of Santika and studied them intensely. He learned all about the different regions of Santika, which was a huge continent as it turned out. Misty Springs was located in the southwest of Santika, nestled in a mountain range that crossed from one western coastline to another in the south. The jungle ran all the way to the sea in the south. To the north, beyond the mountains, were plains that were far more arid, and to the east there were several smaller mountain ranges that housed climates that were mostly temperate with a few subtropical areas further south. All throughout these regions were cities and little towns and rivers and lakes and Lily made Harry memorize all of them. Even the rivers that ran in the far north, where it was always cold and very few people lived.
To the far south, beyond the Clear Sea, was another continent that remained largely unexplored. This was due to the fact that the continent for a large part was comprised of an area called the Grim Gorges and in it, Harry learned, lived a creature known as a barok.
It was, the books all mentioned, the most dangerous creature found anywhere in Santika. The one drawing that was provided was rather unclear but the description was not. Large, with silver teeth, four eyes, a spiked tail, an armoured back and it had the ability to walk straight up stone walls. Most importantly, it was exceedingly difficult to kill and mostly unaffected by magic, and it was a dangerous and territorial carnivore and any who crossed its path had a very difficult time getting out of there alive.
One Warlord some centuries ago had offered a king's ransom for the head of a barok. Many warriors and other fools had set out to claim that prize but none had ever managed it. Eventually the warlord himself had travelled to the Grim Gorges, never to be seen again.
Even the name barok meant 'death with legs' in Santireen.
When Harry shared the discovery of this creature with Rindyll later that day, Rindyll got a thoughtful frown on her face. "I wish a barok would come and eat Bram and Ryland and Karakas and all the other evil men here."
Harry considered that idea for a moment as they sat in the smallest courtyard, the trees around them still dripping water everywhere after the most recent rainstorm. "Yeah, that would be awesome, but I doubt a barok would just show up out of the blue one day."
"You could catch one," Rindyll suggested with a hopeful shine in her blue eyes. "With magic."
"They're resistant to magic, so I don't know if I could," Harry explained.
"Then you have to invent magic that can affect it," Rindyll told him as though it was a done deal already.
"Huh." Harry thought perhaps his friend had a promising idea there. If he could ever find a way to tame a barok then he'd be unstoppable.
Next on the list of important things to learn was how the collars they all wore worked. Before, Harry had barely noticed it, but now he saw that every single person, young and old, student and staff, that lived in the school wore a collar, save for Karakas.
Harry consulted Valdis on the workings of the collars, since she seemed very knowledgeable about these kinds of things and more importantly, she supported Harry's quest for freedom and thus she wouldn't tell anyone Harry was asking questions he shouldn't.
"So many people have tried to get the collars off," Valdis told him while they were cleaning one of the classrooms together as their daily assigned chore. "But none have managed it. As far as I know they're tied to Karakas himself."
"How are they tied to him?" Harry asked, sweeping the floor with a broom that was still a little too big for him.
"They're tied to his lifeforce. As long as Karakas lives, the collars stay on." Valdis shrugged, as if this was all old news to her. "And don't bother trying to kill him. He controls the collar and so you can never act against him in aggression, with or without magic. In fact, you can only perform magic on people with Karakas' approval."
Well, that was a bit of a setback and for the umpteenth time Harry wondered why on earth he'd landed in this horrible world. "I don't get why the genie would send me here just to become a slave."
"The what sent you here?" Valdis looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"The genie. The night I disappeared from the Dursleys' house, I wished for a genie to take me away from there."
Valdis laughed, but it was a harsh and bitter sound. "You little moron. There was no genie. Karakas sends out magic to different worlds, looking for magical children without parents so they won't be missed. Karakas brought you here, there was no genie."
Harry stood very still, broom forgotten in his hand. For years and years he'd been convinced that he himself had wished to come here, but now it turned out that he'd had very little to do with it.
It had been Karakas all along.
Next on his to-study list was to learn how to make a soul-summoning amulet for himself, just in case he lost the one he had. As it turned out, it was necromancy, not that this was a surprise at this point, but it was also very difficult magic.
Harry found the right book with the help of Auntie Eustice, but once he started reading it he barely understood a word. It was all gibberish to him.
"Just let us read it for now, sweetheart," his mum said as she hovered behind him, Auntie Eustice doing the same. And so Harry tried to understand how to make an amulet, but mostly he just turned the pages so the adults could memorize what he had to do.
"A pint of blood, some grave dust and a murder, that doesn't seem too complicated," Auntie Eustice said with a small chuckle after they'd finished reading the book. His mum sighed and shook her head and Harry wondered if Auntie Eustice had been joking or not about the murder. He was too afraid to ask.
Meanwhile his parents and grandparents taught him lots and lots of theory about wizarding magic, like charms and transfiguration and defensive magic.
"You have that kind of magic inside of you, Harry," his mum said when Harry wondered why he had to learn all of that. "All we need to find is a focus that can help you cast it. In the wizarding world we use wands, but we don't have those here."
"Like the staff Karakas uses?" Harry said, wondering where he could get such a staff.
"The staff is used to cast the magic from this world. I suggest using a different focus for wizarding magic, something smaller that's easier to hide," his dad suggested, and ever since that moment Harry went in search of a focus he could use.
One by one, he nicked crystals and gemstones from the classrooms, to try them and he always put them back when they didn't work. Harry held the stones in his hand, pointed a finger and said, "Lumos." His parents assured him that was a spell even a nine-year-old could do.
For the longest time none of the objects Harry tried worked, but eventually he found one that did. A beautiful round midnight opal, black but with an iridescent sheen. It fit comfortably in Harry's palm and when Harry held it and cast the spell, a small, wavering beam of light actually appeared from between his fingers.
"Ha!" Harry cried out, jumping up from where he was sitting in a shadowy corner of an empty classroom. "I can do magic!" And Harry called all his family member together to show them what he'd accomplished.
He received many compliments and his cheeks were glowing with happiness by the time Fleamont cleared his throat.
"I know that Harry is almost ten and that it's custom to wait until the child is eleven to start their magical education, but I suggest we move that up a year," Fleamont said with a solemn look around the gathered adults. "We teach him all the most useful spells first, no matter the official Hogwarts curriculum. No changing buttons into beetles."
"Agreed," Patroclus said at once. "I can take defensive spells. I'll also teach him some combat moves."
"I'll take charms," Dorea said and no one objected to that.
"I can do transfiguration," James offered.
Charlus raised a hand. "Curses and curse-breaking."
"He will learn enchanting from me, naturally," Auntie Eustice chimed in.
"I'll teach him household spells," Euphemia suggested and when Henry snorted at that, she narrowed her eyes at him. "You never know when they come in handy. Being able to keep your surroundings clean with some quick spells goes a long way in preventing lots of diseases, you lout."
"I want to learn it all," Harry quickly said, because he did want to learn every shred of magic he could.
"I'm going to teach him a few rare curses. For special occasions," Charis said with a innocent little smile. "He's also progressing nicely with occlumency and soon I'll be able to start him on legilimency."
Henry gestured to his wife Bernadine. "We'll take runes and warding, but I suggest we wait a little with that until he has a good, solid foundation of wizarding magic."
Lily nodded. "We'll figure the rest out as we go along. There are lots of things I want to teach him, like apparition and how to make portkeys, and some healing and other practical things."
Harry smiled up at his family, incredibly happy they were all so eager to share their knowledge with him.
"Keep that gem safe," his dad said, while pointing at the opal in Harry's hand. "And find some replacements just in case you lose it."
"I do think that one of the first charms he should learn is the undetectable expansion charm," Dorea said as she gestured at the satchel hanging from Harry's belt. They weren't allowed to mess with their uniforms but everyone was allowed to carry a small satchel to keep a few personal things in. They lived in a very hot and humid climate, so everyone carried around at least one handkerchief to wipe away sweat every once in a while.
And that is how Harry learned that you could turn a very small satchel into a very big storage space. It took him a while to master the charm, but once he did a whole new world opened up for him, namely the world of contraband.
From now on he had places to hide things he wanted to keep to himself or that he wasn't allowed to have.
One thing bothered Harry as time moved on and they all got older. So one day when he found himself alone with Valdis in their bedroom, Harry decided to just ask her.
"Do you know when you'll be sold?" Harry had noticed that the older students, once they reached the age of eighteen or nineteen, disappeared one by one. But Valdis, who was at least twenty at this point was still there, much to Harry's relief.
"Hopefully, never," Valdis told him and then smiled while she winked at him. "Karakas seems to like the way I suck his cock enough to keep me around."
Harry blinked. That was certainly not the answer he was expecting.
Valdis laughed at his expression of shock. "Karakas prefers women and he likes them at least old enough to look like women, so I'm taking advantage of that. I've applied to become a healer, be Genka's apprentice and Karakas agreed. For a price. It's better than being sold off to some Warlord."
"Yeah, all right," Harry eventually agreed once the shock wore off. Rindyll still was sent on 'errands' once a month or so, and Harry was still protected by Karakas, but apparently Valdis had been busy as well finding a way to control her own life as much as she could. Well, Harry figured, good for her. He certainly enjoyed having her around and considered her a good friend at this point.
And so life carried on, and Harry spent most of his time learning and practicing and preparing himself in every way his family thought he should be prepared. Nothing much happened that affected Harry personally. There were a few more challengers for Bram's position, but those battles mostly took place outside of the city. One year, after a particularly wet spring, there was a landslide that took out a third of Shit Creek. Lots of people died, but since they were the poor living in slums no one really cared in the end. Bram had workers clear the area of debris and bodies and commanded new sturdy homes be built there, with strong retaining walls in between them to prevent more of such disasters.
Karakas filled his basement with many of the unwanted corpses and that year Harry got to work with some of them for the first time. They used the dead to practice healing techniques and curses and Harry got private lesson on how to use human bodies in necromancy. Not the most pleasant of subjects, but Harry applied himself because he knew he had to learn it, no matter how distasteful he found it to place body parts in runic circles to power them.
Meanwhile Karakas furthered Harry's education in necromancy and Harry learned about the deathlands. It was the place between life and death that only necromancers could thread. In fact, one could only become a true necromancer if one had walked the deathlands, but there were many dangers associated with doing just that. One could get lost and find themselves forever stuck between the living and the dead, never able to move on to the afterlife. Or one could run into one of the things that lived there. Demons of sorts that preyed on human souls.
Yeah, Harry decided that visiting the deathlands could wait for a while. He wanted to be a necromancer, he really did, but he was also still young and so he had plenty of time.
One time, when Harry was eleven, almost twelve, he found Karakas utterly drunk, an empty bottle of boksala by his side, when it was time for their twice-weekly private lesson in Karakas' office.
"Ah, my little diamond," Karakas slurred as he spotted Harry. "C'mere."
Harry sat down in his usual spot opposite his teacher and waited patiently for him to speak.
"He's done it again, that devil," Karakas spat, his eyes bloodshot and distant.
"Who?" Harry asked, realizing he had a unique opportunity to question Karakas, ask him things he'd normally wouldn't dare.
"Rylan. Ruined little Silmon, brought him back dead, that poor thing." Karakas seemed genuinely upset by this as he wiped a hand over his eyes.
"Then why do you do it?" Harry asked, unable to believe he could ask his teacher these questions without being scolded or punished. "Why turn your students into child prostitutes?"
"Is the only way we're allowed to be here." Karakas swallowed a few times. "I was a student of magic when being a sorcerer still got you killed if you were discovered. Warlords didn't like magical folk that could do them in with a few spells or curses. Warlords don't like what they can't control."
"Ah," Harry said with a sage nod. "So you found a way for the Warlords to control us."
"You get it!" Karakas pointed a trembling finger at Harry. "Well done, little diamond. Yes, now the Warlords could use the sorcerers and they allowed them to live. But they wanted to control every part of them. I don't think Bram even likes fucking little kids, but he sure likes to stick it in a few of my girls every now and then. And Rylan is a beast, a monster, simple as that. And for most of the rest of them it's a matter of prestige, I think. Look, I fucked a little magical brat, how fucking awesome am I, that sort of thing."
"So Bram demands that you whore us out?"
"Yeah, and I have to go along or we'll go back to being hunted." Karakas wiped a hand across his eyes again.
Harry nodded. That made sense. It wasn't right and Harry hated Karakas for it, but at least now he understood why the man did what he did. "And why do you take us from other worlds?"
"Not enough magic users left here in Santika," Karakas said with a sad little sigh. "Most of us were killed over the years. This way we get new blood and new magic." Karakas closed his eyes, leaned his head back and in moments he was asleep.
Harry got up quietly and left, closing the door without a sound. That was some information he hadn't known before. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, but he now at least understood the bigger picture. It all came down to Bram and the other Warlords in the end. They were the ones who had hunted people with magic and now they were the ones that demanded total control.
Well, it looked like Harry had a few more names to add to his to-do list. Rylan no longer was the only person Harry wanted to do away with permanently.
Harry had also volunteered to run errands out in the city for Karakas, because as Charlus had pointed out at some point, Harry was a sheltered little swot who knew nothing about the real world. And even though Harry had felt a bit affronted about being called out like that, he also knew that Charlus was right.
His family was teaching him as much as they could, but even with practicing all the spells and charms and transfigurations, Harry was still severely limited by the simple fact that he couldn't use any of the magic in real situations. He'd barely left the school ever since arriving there. And now, even with running errands in the city from time to time, Harry felt that he was visiting an alien world, not the city he actually lived in.
Yeah, Charlus was right. Harry was a sheltered little swot, but the problem was that they couldn't change much about that thus far.
Harry had tried opening Rindyll's collar with his opal one time, when they were practicing spells together that they'd learned in the classroom. And it was a good thing, too, because the moment Harry used an unlocking charm on Rindyll's collar, Karakas was somehow notified and minutes later he stood before them, demanding to know what they'd done. Harry was able to play it off as accidentally having aimed a spell wrong, but Karakas narrowed his eyes at him and warned him to never aim spells wrong again like that or the consequences would be severe. Harry hadn't dared mess with the collars again since then.
When Harry turned twelve they changed bedrooms. Girls got their own rooms, and so did the boys. He missed sleeping in the same room as Rindyll, but he understood it was more appropriate to split up the boys and girls as they got older. Harry got some new roommates, some a year or so older and some a bit younger, but they all got along eventually after a few immature attempts at establishing some kind of pecking order.
Slowly but surely, Harry grew up and got older. He became quite proficient at all the magic his family was teaching him. He learned all sorts of handy spells, like summoning charms, defensive shields, disarming charms, and even the Patronus charm, though that one was a difficult one and took him almost a whole year to master.
Harry wasn't sure at first why he should learn such a difficult spell when it was meant to defend against dementors, which didn't exist in Santika as far as Harry knew, but his mother insisted. "You never know what other creatures you might be able to ward off with it when other magic doesn't work. Besides, you can use it to send messages very quickly over long distances." And his mother taught him to do just that.
His Patronus was a stag, much to the everlasting pride of his father. "Now we should get you started on becoming an Animagus." Which turned out to be even more complicated than the Patronus charm but Harry trudged on, putting all the effort into it that he could spare, given that his to-learn list was never empty.
He also progressed really well in the magic native to Santika and even in necromancy he was doing better and better. He'd been focussing on reanimating dead bodies and so far he'd managed to get it to work on a mouse and one of the little colourful birds that nested in the trees around the school. He'd tried a cat, but that hadn't really worked just yet. He'd only made the tail and legs twitch but nothing much else. It was very draining magic, and Harry always went to bed early after he'd reanimated something.
Once Rindyll turned fourteen, she got her own room of four and five year olds to look after, just like Valdis had done with them once upon a time. Harry didn't get any kids to mind, and when he asked Valdis about it, who'd become a healer in her own right by then, she'd laughed and told him Karakas wouldn't trust any boys not to diddle the little kiddies so they weren't allowed to sleep in the same room as them.
Harry thought that was rather rich coming from a guy who pimped out little kids to keep the peace.
And then Harry turned fifteen and they still hadn't figured out a way to escape and Harry grew increasingly more frustrated about being trapped in the school.
Key was the collar, that much Harry knew. But he also knew he couldn't experiment on getting it off without Karakas knowing.
"We could try drugging his tea," Dorea suggested once Harry threw his frustrations in front of his family. "Some sleeping potion. Then you'd have a couple of hours or so to try a few things."
Harry got his hands on some sleeping potion, thanks to Valdis, and then used the disillusionment charm he'd learned from Patroclus to hide himself as he snuck inside the kitchen to spike Karakas' evening pot of herbal tea, but the moment he tried to tip the potion in the pot something stayed his hand.
Fucking hell. The magic of the collar wouldn't even let him douse the man with a sleeping potion, registering it as an act of aggression. And no one else at the school could do it either because everyone wore those fucking collars.
Yeah, Harry really was growing ever more frustrated with being unable to actually do something about the situation. All he did was learn and learn, and listen to his family's reports about all the things they learned around the school and the city and from inside Bram's castle.
There was another challenger on the horizon, that was the news of the day. And it was nothing that Harry hadn't already heard before over the years. Bram was a warlord. There were always challengers on the horizon.
Harry kicked a rock as he walked out the gates of the school to drop off an order at the distillery for more cases of boksala. He'd noticed Karakas had started drinking more and more over the years. Above him a few monkeys swung from the trees, screeching at each other. Harry watched them for a moment, amazed how they could hold on to the branches with their little hands…
Wait a minute. Monkeys had incredibly dexterous hands and could do just about anything that a human hand could do.
Like dump a small bottle of sleeping potion in a pot of tea.
If Harry reanimated a monkey, could he use it to do exactly that without the collar stopping him?
Well, there was only one way to find out. From that moment on, Harry doubled his efforts in reanimating a cat properly. The next stage after that was a dog, and then he could try a monkey probably. The more intelligent the animal, the more power it took to reanimate them.
Mood much improved and chest glowing with hope, Harry continued his journey through the city with a renewed spring in his step.
But before Harry ever got to reanimate a monkey, only barely after he'd managed one mangy cat to sit up and purr, Patroclus came flying through the wall right during one of Harry's warding lessons where all the students were drawing a large runic circle together.
"Harry, call the family now!" Patroclus all but yelled, and Harry knew it had to be serious indeed if his great-grandfather lost his calm like that.
Harry got up and held his stomach, swallowing a few times, pretending to feel sick. "Vinka," Harry said, already shuffling to the door. "I don't feel so good. I need the latrine."
Vinka waved him off without even looking at him as she walked around the room to inspect the students' work. That was one of the advantages of being a good, hard-working student. The teachers let you get away with some things here and there as long as you didn't overdo it.
Harry rushed towards the nearest empty room he could find, summoning all his family to him as he went. By the time they found a place to meet in the form of an empty store room filled with boks and sacks of dried fruit and nuts, Harry's family were all there.
"Bram is dead," Patroclus said, and immediately there were gasps and mutterings from everyone. "Aye, Rylan did him in with poison. He's spinning it as an assassination from that new challenger, Rolf the Wretched, but he did it. I saw him do it, that cowardly scum."
Harry's whole body swayed as his ears started ringing. "Is Rylan in charge now?" he barely managed to ask, his voice cracking.
"Aye, that he is, lad." Patroclus gave Harry a look that could only be described as pitying. "Rylan has sent a message to summon Karakas to the castle and he's instructing him to bring you along."
Harry lost all the feeling in his legs and sank to the floor while his chest tightened with an immediate sense of panic. Over the years Harry had hoped that Rylan might have forgotten about him, but obviously he hadn't. Bram had been a buffer, supporting Karakas in keeping Harry away from that monster, but now that Bram was gone nothing stopped Rylan from doing whatever he wanted with Harry.
"I can curse him," Harry said, though his voice quivered as he spoke. "I know magic, lots of magic."
"You can't, sweetheart," his mother said as she crouched in front of him. "The collar won't let you. Karakas won't give you permission. He can't risk you messing up the job and letting Rylan live. It would cost him his own life."
"Besides, even if Karakas gave you permission, it would be a very bad idea to go up against Rylan with magic," Patroclus said in a peculiar tone of voice that made Harry look up at him.
"Why? What can he do against my magic?" Harry fingered the opal he used as a focus.
"Because Rylan Bloodstone is a sorcerer," Patroclus said while staring down at Harry with narrowed eyes, "and the kind of magic he uses is made up of blood and death, and you, sheltered little swot that you are don't yet stand a chance against him."