AN: New chapter up, enjoy!

Chapter 30 - Ancient and Modern magic

An old wizard with a venerable white beard and a stern-looking middle-aged witch were seated at a desk in the office of the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. The old man with the long white beard and extravagant robes was none other than Professor Dumbledore. As for the witch in question, she was wearing elegant but not opulent black robes, an outfit befitting someone of her standing - she was the Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones. Nevertheless, her greying brown hair, although mostly covered by a black beret, betrayed the amount of stress that her relatively new position put on her.

"I must admit, I am surprised that you would come to ask for my help," Dumbledore said.

"Why? Because I used to be headstrong as a student?" Minister Bones asked, making the old wizard chuckle. "People change. I'm not the same as when I was your student. For the sake of the country that I'm leading, I can't afford to let my feelings or pride blind me."

"There is also the less than pleasant situation from the previous year to consider. I did lose my position as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and that as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. I'm just an average citizen now," he said.

"You are anything but average, Dumbledore. You made some mistakes but you have paid for them. That doesn't take away anything from what you have accomplished in your life. I'd be a fool not to make use of your wealth of experience and knowledge," the Minister said.

It was not often that Dumbledore showed his surprise on his face but Mrs Bones' words had that effect on him at that moment.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let's get into it. The contacts planted by DMLE in the Knockturn Alley informed us of the rumours about the You-Know-Who's return. However, they haven't provided any evidence for that yet. What can you tell me about it? I'm sure you must know a thing or two that the Ministry doesn't."

"As you know all too well, there was a squad of ten Death Eaters that tried to assassinate Bellatrix Black and Harry Potter just a few months ago. Furthermore, Quirinius Quirrel stole a precious artefact from the school last year and got away with it," Dumbledore said and, at the Minister's inquiring look, he explained: "An artefact that would have definitely been capable of bringing Voldemort back to life. I'm afraid that all signs indicate that he is back."

"You've had such a dangerous artefact inside the school the entire time?! Is this how your Potions professor got himself killed?"

Dumbledore refused to comment on that and said something else instead: "Had Severus still been alive I would have been able to confirm whether Voldemort was back or not right away. He had been one of the most trusted members of his inner circle of Death Eaters. But Severus is gone. His death is a great loss for the British Wizarding World."

The two become momentarily silent.

"Another thing that bothers me even more than the rumours about You-Know-Who's return is the string of killings that had been happening over the past year," Mrs Bones said.

"So the Aurors have noticed the strangeness of it as well. It must be worrying that even Azkaban had been penetrated by the killer."

"You know about the Azkaban incident too?" Mrs Bones said greatly surprised.

Dumbledore's small smile was all the answer that she needed.

"Over a dozen Death Eaters had met their end at the hands of a vengeful killer," he said quietly.

"Do you have any suspects in mind?"

The old wizard shook his head. "I don't know. It truly vexes me because it's not often that I'm so out of the loop," he admitted. "I can only imagine that this person is a highly skilled witch or wizard. Not just anyone could break into Azkaban, kill so many prisoners, evade the Dementors and then also escape, all the while not revealing anything about themselves in the process. I believe that Lucius Malfoy's and Cornelius Fudge's deaths were orchestrated by the same person that has been killing the rest of the former Death Eaters. But I can't think of anyone that holds such a grudge towards Voldemort's followers that is also skilled enough to pull off something of this magnitude."

Amelia Bones did not hide her disappointment at the fact that he was as clueless as her.

"DMLE also suspects that a serial killer is behind all the murders that happened recently, that someone had killed people not related to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named too. His victims are not limited only to Death Eaters. Dolores Umbridge, Cornelius Fudge and Remus Lupin don't fit that pattern."

While they were discussing the possible identity of the serial killer, a knock was heard on the window of the office. A brown eagle owl carrying a letter tied to its left leg was pecking at the window with its beak.

Dumbledore opened the window with a wave of his wand and the owl flew straight to Mrs Bones and landed on the armrest of her chair.

"I apologise for my rudeness, this is urgent," she said when she saw a particular red sigil on the envelope delivered by the owl. Opening it up, she saw that it was a short letter and one more slightly crumpled piece of parchment. Half a minute later, she threw the envelope back on the desk and leaned back in her chair while massaging her temples with her hands.

"There's been another attack," she said.

Dumbledore asked as he reached out for the discarded envelope: "May I have a look?"

"Suit yourself," she said, her eyes closed in thought.

Picking up the envelope, he started to read the letter first. It was written with capital letters by a typing machine.

Thorfin Rowle was found dead this morning at 4:40 am by the squad of Aurors led by Dawlish, on their way back from a night raid on Borgin & Burkes. The cause of death was dismemberment and bleeding to the death. He left behind a suicide note but we exclude the possibility of this incident being a suicide. We assume that this is the work of the serial killer once again.

Head of DMLE, Rufus Scrimgeour.

Unfurling the crumpled piece of parchment, Dumbledore's eyebrows shot into his hairline as he began to read the alleged suicide note.

My entire life I've been a scumbag and a piece of dogshit. I realized this fact only this evening, after I Imperiused and was about to rape a Muggleborn witch. In the end, I did not go through with it. But I am disgusted with myself. I don't deserve to live. And that is why I killed myself, chopped myself into pieces and put myself in the garbage.

Dumbledore: "..."

Amelia Bones: "..."

The old wizard and the stern witch were both speechless.

Noticing the incredulous look on his face, the stern-looking Minister Bones almost let out a snort of laughter. She would have laughed out loud if the situation had not been so dire. Ever since she had taken the position of the Minister, dozens of killings had happened one after another. The only saving grace was that the public at large was not aware of the massacre that happened in Azkaban but she would not be able to keep the news of the serial killer suppressed for much longer because several public figures such as Byron Nott, Dolores Umbridge and now Thorfin Rowle had been murdered or gone missing. The assassination attempt on Bellatrix Black on Christmas Eve had not been forgotten by people either. Anyone with a working brain knew that something fishy was going on behind the scenes.

"There's no way that that suicide note is real. The serial killer's confidence seems to have grown seeing as he's even playing around now, pulling this kind of jokes. I don't know what type of messed up in head person would make light of a situation like this..."

"Thorfin Rowle has not been a Death Eater. He's too young for that, only in his thirties if I'm not mistaken," Dumbledore said quietly.

"He's never broken any laws either, as far as I know. And I would have known that. He doesn't fit the pattern either." Amelia Bones said.

The Rowle family was an old and respectable pureblood family. They could trace their ancestors to hundreds of years back and there had even been a Minister of Magic that had come from it. If someone like Thorfin Rowle had committed a crime, his deeds would have been all over the newspapers. But he had not; as far as Amelia Bones and Dumbledore knew, he was an innocent young man. His alleged suicide note was the only thing that hinted towards a not as exemplary life as they had thought before.

The Minister continued her tirade.

"I don't know what to do. I've heard stories of serial killers in the Muggle world and how they were caught but I've never heard of anything similar happening to us, the wizardkind. Not in Europe at the very least. Dark Lords seldom hide their deeds, they take pride in what they do. It's idiotic but it's good for us... Muggle serial killers are not impossible to catch because they will almost always leave some traces behind. But how do you catch a wizard or a witch that has been secretly killing doves of people? They can Vanish any traces of the bodies, they can wipe the memory of any potential eye-witnesses, they can Ployjuice themselves to look like another person, by Merlin, they can cast the Imperius on their targets and make them commit suicide or even force someone else to kill them. And the worst part is that we don't even know how is the killer choosing their victims. How are we supposed to know whom to protect?"

There was a pensive look on Dumbledore's face.

"If you look at it objectively, most of the killer's victims had been people of questionable morals," he suddenly said. "Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, Cornelius Fudge was a corrupt politician, Umbridge was trying to push new laws that would discriminate against non-humans and so on."

At Amelia Bones' cross look, he added:

"I do not condone the serial killer's deeds by any means. All criminals should receive a fair trial and be punished according to the law, not murdered in secret by a vigilante. But I can't help but feel that at their core, the killer has good intentions."

The Minister huffed in exasperation.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Dumbledore! How does that help me with catching him at all?"

"But it does help you," Dumbledore said. "If the killer is targeting people that they consider evil you could make great use of that. Didn't you recently capture Fenrir Greyback?"

For the second time that day, Amelia Bones looked at Dumbledore startled.

"Nothing escapes you, does it? How many spies have you planted inside the Ministry?!"

"Spy is such a harsh word, Amelia," he said with a smile. "They are self-sacrificing watchers, people that are willing to put their careers and lives at risk to do what is right. Knowing that Voldemort is back, I had to take some measures. It wouldn't be the first time that he infiltrated the Ministry and corrupted it from within. I needed to have a means of keeping an eye on what is happening behind the scenes."

"What about Greyback?" the Minister asked, choosing against her ire to not pursue the illegal nature of Dumbledore's actions. At least for the moment.

The DMLE had captured Fenrir Greyback a few days ago. To show the public that the Ministry is doing everything it can to apprehend dangerous individuals and lock them behind the bars, the DMLE - with the Minister's founding - spared no effort in capturing the infamous werewolf. Amelia Bones had not released the information to the press yet only because she was still building up the narrative to embellish the accomplishment of the Ministry under her leadership and mollify the population that had started getting restless.

"Assuming that the serial killer is targeting what they consider as evil people, what would their next course of action be if they found out that the Ministry captured such a cruel and infamous werewolf but that he escaped?" Dumbledore said.

The Minister involuntarily started to smile. She had not gotten to that position of power without a healthy measure of cunning and intelligence. She understood what Dumbledore was suggesting.

"It looks like forgoing my pride to seek the advice of an experienced and old wizard such as yourself has paid off in the end. My, oh my! What would your students think if they knew that their kind and grandfatherly Transfiguration professor was so shrewd?"

"I'd very much prefer to be called wise instead. Shrewd gives off such an unpleasant connotation."

The stern witch shook her head and smiled at his lighthearted joke.

"This was an eye-opening meeting. In more than one way. Thank you for your time, Professor," she said and stood up to leave.

"As long as your goal is to oppose Voldemort, protect the innocent and do what is right, you can always count on me, Amelia," Dumbledore said seriously and stood up too to lead her to the door. "Only by working together will we overcome the adversity ahead of us."

Mrs Bones stretched her hand and the two of them shook their hands. That day, an alliance had been forged between the Minister of Magic and the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

⁂

A thick wooden pillar, over 20 feet tall, and a scaffold as tall as the wooden pillar had been erected in the backyard of the Blackthorn. Dull sounds of knocking and harsh scraping noises were heard as the young boy perched at the top of the scaffold built around the pillar was slowly and carefully using a chisel and a small hammer to carve various symbols on it.

Somewhere not far away, Bellatrix Black was lying on a sunbed and reading a book. Every once in a while, her violet eyes would peer up from her book, looking at the boy's actions with curiosity. The wooden pillar was too tall for her to distinguish all the symbols carved in by Harry but she was very much clear about their identity: they were Ancient Runes.

"Hey, Harry, come down, take a break. Niki has brought us some smoothies."

Seeing as it was the Easter Holiday, Harry and Bella had returned home, to the Blackthorn, and he took advantage of the opportunity to start working intensely on regaining the level of power that he had once had in his past life. Obtaining the recognition and the blessing of the spirits and becoming a Shaman took time and effort. It was not something that could be done in a heartbeat. Since he had resolved himself to help Fleur and to protect his newly found family, he had no intention of passively waiting for bad things to happen before he started taking it seriously.

He put down the hammer and the chisel and then summoned his Nimbus 2000 broom from the ground to fly down with it. A smile made its way on his face at the sight in front of his eyes when he landed. Unlike her usually dark and gothic appearance, Bellatrix looked quite different now: wearing a simple yellow summer dress that went just past her knees and a straw hat, wearing no make-up, and a sweet smile on her face, she appeared like a normal, warm, and beautiful housewife... at least she would have looked like that if not for the snake coiled up in her hap.

Ever since Harry summoned Big Head to prove that he was a Parselmouth, the witch had taken a liking to the snake. She had no way of understanding the Serpents' tongue but knowing that Big Head was Harry's familiar, she was not worried about him snake harming her in any way. If anything, she found it cute how cuddly and desperate for attention the snake was. Nowadays, it had become a common thing to see Big Head in a miniature size sleep coiled up in her lap or next to her on the sofa, in the living room.

Harry took the smoothie from the tray and greedily drank it. Though it was only the end of April and despite that they were living in Edinburgh, it was an unusually hot day. Standing for a few hours in the sun and working without stopping on sculpting the large wooden pole had left him drained and sore. His body was not used to that kind of effort.

"That sure hit the spot. Thanks!"

He sat on the edge of the sunbed and grabbed the snake by his tail, twisting it lightly; not enough to hurt him but enough to aggravate him.

"Stop it, you. Always teasing the poor snake like that, just leave him alone," Bellatrix scolded him. He chuckled at the way she took Big Head's side and stood up. But when he was about to climb on his broom and fly back to the top level of the scaffold to continue his carving, she asked:

"What exactly have you been carving? Why did you even make me order a Baobab tree of all things? It's time you told me what you're cooking up, isn't it?"

She was quite amused by the situation.

"The baobab is a sacred tree. I needed a sacred tree to create a Totem."

"Totem...?"

"Yes. I'm carving on it the lore of the African Goddess of Earth, Ala. I'm going to become a Shaman again, like in my past life."

"A Shaman?" she asked doubtfully and giggled, thinking that he was joking.

As a Senior Unspeakable, she had heard about Shamanic practises before, but she had never taken them seriously. Nobody in Europe did. Of those few people who had heard about Shamanism, most of them treated it as they treated Divination: as some sort of sketchy magic not worth taking seriously.

"Shamanism is an Ancient Magic that shouldn't be underestimated. It's a major reason why I had become a one-man army in my past life. In 2020 I was already so feared by the world at large that some countries forbid me from crossing their borders, afraid that I might want to overthrow their governments," Harry said.

"Wait, you're being serious?!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Shamans are just a bunch of charlatans, scamming people of their money by claiming they have healing powers or that they can read others' destiny through their connection with the spirits. Even if they were legitimate, they're even weaker than regular wizards and worse than average healers," she said.

"There are good and bad apples everywhere. And just how there are both strong and powerful wizards in a country, there are also weak and strong Shamans too. I'm speaking from experience when I say this: a skilled Shaman who had planted all of his totems beforehand can take on even 5 Aurors at once and not feel disadvantaged."

"Are you saying that Ancient Magic is better than the magic we're using after more than 2000 years of continuous revisions and improvements?" she asked belligerently.

"Animagus Transformation, the Fidelius Charm, Blood Wards, sacrificial magic, Divination, Blood Curses, Fiendfyre... these are some of the most powerful and mysterious magics known to wizardkind and they are all thousands of years old. Just because a spell is ancient, it doesn't mean it's inferior," Harry said.

"Yeah, sure. But look at how restrictive or dangerous Ancient Magic is. Take the Animagus Transformation: what are the requirements for it? What are the risks? One has to be a genius in Transfiguration and then waste months brewing the potion for it. Just how many can achieve that? Just how many people end up disfigured for life after failing? Or take Divination, how many have the gift for it? Or Fiendyre, how many can control it? The power needed to reign in the demonic flames is something that hardly anyone possesses. More often than not, the caster gets devoured by their own spell. Modern magic created alternatives to most of the spells from ancient times. Sure, they may not be as powerful, but they are less dangerous and everyone has access to them. Modern magic is superior, by a mile."

As a spell creator - Bellatrix had created seven new types of warding spells herself and an undisclosed (but significant) number of curses - she took great pride in her work. She defended the superiority of Modern Magic with a vehemence that made Harry start smiling.

"You're adorable whenever you get all riled up like that about your field of magic~"

Anger gave way to embarrassment and the rosy colour in her cheeks spread to the rest of her face when she realized that she had unknowingly almost started an argument. Her temper had never been good.

"I'm not denying the superiority of Modern Magic in most cases," Harry said not only to placate her but also because he believed that too. "Potion-making, Charms, Medicine, and even Duelling had evolved enormously ever since the creation of wands. In most cases, a Modern Healer, a Modern Duellist or a Modern Potion master will be much better than their ancient counterparts. But there are still branches of magic where Modern wizards have not surpassed the ancient ones. There's a reason why even after all these thousands of years, we still have not finished exploring the entirety of the Egyptian pyramids. There's a reason why even up to this day, nobody has found a way to break the Fidelius Charm without killing the Secret Keeper or convincing him to give out the secret willingly. There's a reason why the Greengrass family has not found a cure to the blood malediction plaguing their line after all these centuries: it's because Modern Magic still has no idea how to crack apart those ancient spells."

Bellatrix could not find any retort to fire back. Everything that he had said was completely true.

"I have no intention of giving up on Modern Magic or the feisty little bugger I got for a wand-" At that moment, the fir and Dragon heartstring wand sent a rush of warmth into his body. It was as if it could understand exactly what he was talking about. "-but I won't ignore such powerful magic just because it's ancient."

He made a small pause seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

"Riddle is back. He is smarter and more lucid than in my past life. This Voldemort is more dangerous than anything I have ever faced before."

Turning his head back toward her, his green eyes peered into her deep violet ones.

"There is no witch or wizard that can ever hope to defeat me. Not after the life that I've lived. Not after the decades of battles I've gone through. Not after I have met Death. So I am not worried about my life. I don't question my victory."

Bellatrix unknowingly sunk back into her seat when he said that. His vivid eyes seemed to glow with a mysterious light and a feeling of oppression started oozing out of his body. Despite that he looked like a harmless twelve-year-old boy, a feeling of trepidation washed over her.

"A war is coming. Make no mistake about that. A war that will make the war from 10 years ago look like child's play in comparison. But the question is, what will the price of my victory be? Who am I going to lose in the process? How many of my loved ones will die in this war?"

Becoming aware that with his emotions out of control, his aura of magic was starting to scare her, Harry turned his eyes away from her and started petting the sleeping snake in her lap to distract himself a bit from his dark thoughts.

"I've lost my family and all my friends once. And the last relative that I had, my godson, Teddy, I wasn't allowed to see at all because Andromeda blamed me for her daughter's death."

'So that's why he's been a bit distant towards Andy compared to the rest of us...' Bellatrix secretly thought.

"Back then, I was too young. Too weak. Too green. Too careless. I couldn't protect the ones I loved. Although I won in the end, I lost everything in the process."

Lifting his eyes from the sleeping Big Head, he looked back to her.

"It won't be the same this time. I will take care of you, Bella. I will protect Sirius and Andromeda's family and I will even take care of your sister, Narcissa. You are my family now. Light magic, Dark Magic, Shamanism, Sacrificial Magic, even Blood Curses. I will stop at nothing. As long as I draw breath-"

Bella brought her hands to his face and cupped his cheeks. He saw that her eyes were wet with unshed with tears. "I know, Harry. I know."

He put his hands on top of hers while she caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. Then, she bent down and planted a tender kiss on his forehead.

"You won't have to fight your battles alone. I told you before, didn't I? You'll always have me and my wand by your side."

He nodded at her, not trusting his voice to speak. After taking a few moments to get his emotions under control, he said:

"I want you and Fleur to talk. All three of us need to talk."

Bellatrix was thrown off by the seemingly unrelated subject of discussion that he brought up. She took her hands away from his cheeks but Harry still held them as she laid them down.

"Have you fallen in love with her?" she asked.

"I don't think so?" he said, unsure of the answer himself too. "I like her, but I'm still too young physically. And both she and I carry too much baggage."

"Right...she doesn't know about everything you've been through," she trailed off.

"She does. I told her about my other life," he said.

"You did?! Did she believe you?! How come she hasn't been scared away?"

Harry chuckled lightly at the disbelieving tone of her voice.

"Fleur is far from being as simple as you think. She has her secrets too, secrets that I cannot tell you without her permission. That's why all three of us should have a chat."

They sank into a comfortable silence after that, all the while Harry still not letting go of her hands.

"I'm not sure about my feelings for Fleur," he said after a while. "But I'm completely certain about what I feel for you."

Bella's breath hitched in her throat.

"There is nobody I care more about than you. Even if I'm going to marry some girl one day, you'll always hold a special place in my heart. No-one will ever replace you, Bella. You gave me a family. A family is all I've wanted. That's why I'm grateful to you. That's why I love you," he said and brought her hand to his lips, kissing the back of her palm.

"I-,"

She swallowed thickly. She was speechless. They had been living together for nearly two years and Bellatrix had never held any doubts in her mind that Harry cared about her. However, he had always been stingy with his words and he hardly ever spoke about his feelings. It was the first time she was hearing him say what he felt for her. He loved her. Harry loved her! Bella was overwhelmed.

What was even more surprising was that he appeared to not be embarrassed in the least by his admission. He was looking her in the eyes, Occlumency shields down, allowing his vivid green eyes to project all the raw and sincere emotions that he was holding for her in his heart.

Bellatrix took him in her arms and embraced him tightly to her chest. Tears were rolling down her cheeks unhindered. They were tears of happiness. She knew that Harry's mental age was about the same as hers but her heart was telling her something else. For her, he was like the son that she had never had. A son that she had always yearned for. Her perfect boy, someone that she loved with her entire heart.

AN: I expanded a bit on the world of magic in Harry Potter, the difference between Ancient and Modern Magic, respectively between the pre-wand and post-wand eras. More of that will appear in the future. You will gradually be given more tidbits and crumbs about the wizarding world and other types of old magic as the story progresses.

But let's be honest, I'm not sure how many of you are still thinking about world-building after the emotional scene between Harry and Bella haha. I hope you liked the chapter. Until next time!