Harry Potter and the Hermetic Arts
Chapter 28: The Temptation of Hermione Granger
When he returned to the Forbidden Forest the next morning for his usual foraging and hunting, Harry was almost instantly found by Liv, and she followed him through his usual Saturday expedition, chattering away in Draconic whenever they were not on the trail of a rabbit or a deer. Every time he missed a target, she would chase it down and devour it, and Harry found himself wondering whether releasing a dragon into the Forbidden Forest would impact the ecosystem in ways he had never foreseen.
Later that day, after the end of gaming club, he found himself being accosted by the Gryffindors who had asked him to solve Hagrid's dragon problem.
"Did you do it?" demanded Fay, almost angry.
"Do what?" Harry asked innocently as he continued to pack up the board games that had been used that day.
"Hagrid's hut caught on fire yesterday afternoon," said Neville. "When they put the fire out, Norbert was gone. Did you do that?"
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Norbert, the dragon," Fay said.
"She prefers Liv," Harry said before pretending to catch himself. "I mean, were there any witnesses?"
"Rumor is Draco Malfoy was seen going into the hut, and then it caught a little while later," Neville said.
"In that case, I can neither confirm nor deny any involvement in the incident in question," said the Hufflepuff lightly. "I would, however, like to mention that the bakebrain was trying to raise a fire-breathing dragon in a hut made entirely of wood."
Fay closed in on Harry, incensed. "Harry, if you killed Norbert…," she snarled, seizing him by the shoulder and turning him around before pushing him backwards against a table and grabbing hold of his shirt collar.
"I didn't kill her, if that's what you're worried about," Harry said brusquely, calmly brushing the girl's grasp from himself with the back of his right hand. "You ever touch me like that again and you'll pull back a stump."
"Harry…," said the Gryffindor girl, a warning in her tone.
"I can't prove anything to you either way, so you either believe me or you don't," Harry said. "Just remember, you're the ones who came to me about this, so either you trust me, or you've made a terrible mistake."
He left it at that.
~ooOoo~
By the end of Sunday morning's foray into the Forbidden Forest, Harry was deeply annoyed by the dragon constantly showing him up, but at the same time, realized it was probably what Hermione must have felt whenever he tried to teach her anything or change her perspective. It was a humbling experience, an ego check, and it reminded him of how much work he had ahead of him in the future just to keep pace with any genius who might show up, let alone Liv, who he had no chance of ever being a match for.
Through it all, the dragon remained cheerful, alternating between her native form and a naked human one; were he anybody else, he would probably have felt embarrassed, but for Harry, it made no difference. After all, she was already naked all the time in her reptilian form, and she did not understand the human form well enough to reproduce genitalia or even nipples, so all it really looked like was a young girl in a seamless flesh-colored bodysuit.
When Monday morning came around, Harry was back to his regular class schedule, though he did make a point of checking in on Liv as part of his morning run before going about the rest of his day as he normally would. It was already the back half of May, and there was only fourteen days left before exams began on the first of June; unfortunately, with the additional time sinks the dragon required, he was not going to be able to spend as much time as he had wanted revising for the exams, because there was no way he was going to sacrifice time spent for his independent study of the normal school curriculum or for the research and development of his Hermetic magic to revise, and he would rather have inferior exam results than an unhappy dragon on his hands, so he opted to trade his afternoon library research sessions for time spent with Liv in the Forbidden Forest.
Harry's dragon problem was turning into a much larger time drain than he had ever anticipated, and he cursed himself for wanting to retain Dunbar and Longbottom enough as assets to burn so much daylight babysitting the reptilian creature instead of murdering her outright. Then again, if he worked it right, he could have Liv as an asset too, and there would certainly be benefits to having a dragon who could replicate magic by sight without needing any components as an ally.
~ooOoo~
The calm of the new routine lasted just a week and change; the following Wednesday morning, Harry took his usual run into the forest to check in on the Norwegian Ridgeback and found her au naturel, spattered with droplets of viscous, argent liquid and tearing through the carcass of a single-horned horse that laid in a small puddle of similar silvery fluid with her razor-sharp teeth. There was a savage beauty in the sight of the sunlight refracting off the pool, but that wasn't what Harry was concerned about.
"Well, I guess that answers that," Harry remarked, and Liv looked up from her meal. "Dragons are better than unicorns."
§I didn't kill him,§ the dragon said cheerfully, tiny morsels of meat tumbling from her maw as she chewed with her mouth open. §He was here when I passed by this morning, so I thought I'd have breakfast.§
"A scavenged killed?" Harry asked, and Liv bobbed her head up and down in what Harry could only guess was the dragon's version of a nod of affirmation. "How was it when you found it?"
§It was dead, a cut its side, in a pool of its own blood, but otherwise untouched,§ the dragon answered with her mouth full.
"Nothing harvested?" Harry asked, and the dragon shook her head vigorously, sending more tidbits flying. "What that's silvery stuff?"
§Blood,§ Liv answered.
With this new information, Harry assessed the scene again. "Adult humans have, what, about four-and-a-half to five-and-a-half liters of blood in them?" he asked, rhetorically, since there was no way the dragon could know the answer. "For a unicorn this size, this seems like an unusually small amount of blood."
The dragon once again did not answer, sitting back on her haunches for a moment as she studied the boy, who clearly had something on his mind. Then, she pushed the carcass towards the boy with her snout. §Want some?§
"I don't think I could eat unicorn raw without getting sick," Harry said. Then, he paused as he realized something. "You mind if I take the hide and the horn?"
§The hide tastes terrible,§ Liv said. §If I could remove it, I would. And what would I want with a bone sticking out of a dead unicorn's head?§
"Fair enough," said Harry, pulling out his switchblade and flipping it open before squatting down besides the carcass. He had read about skinning animals when he was researching how to hunt and prepare game, but this was his first chance to actually put what he had read into practice.
Carefully, he searched for an edge that wasn't badly shredded; once he found one, he slid the blade of the knife between skin and flesh, then started to peel hide away from the carcass, meticulously using his knife to cut where he could not pull the two apart. The entire skinning process took more than fifteen minutes; once he finished, he looked around, trying to find a place to clean his hands and blade.
§What are you looking for?§ asked the dragon.
"Water, to wash up."
§This way.§
The boy followed the dragon to a creek; once the dragon had a drink, he carefully washed his hands, scrubbing them vigorously with the gravel in the riverbed before finally shaking them dry and taking a zipper-topped plastic bag from his haversack and stuffing the rolled up hide into it. Stashing the hide in his ever-present bag, he then washed the switchblade before drying it on the hem of his robe and stashing it back in his pocket.
With the cleanup complete, the boy and the dragon returned to the carcass, and while Liv tucked into what was left of the unicorn, Harry tried his hand with the horn, first tugging to see whether he could get it loose that way, then trying his switchblade and finding it wanting when simple force was not enough to remove the horn.
Finally, Harry drew his friction folder, carefully flipping it open before lightly pressing the blade lightly against the horn; instantly, bone gave way like it was not even there at all, and in a heartbeat, he was holding the unicorn's horn in hand. Stashing it in his bag, he carefully closed the folding monoknife and returned it to his pocket, watching the dragon finished breakfast before saying his goodbyes and returning to the dormitory he shared with Malone.
There were so many questions he needed answered, but right now, he was late for his independent study of English literature, and he could not afford to fall behind, not with the disadvantage of having nobody to teach him.
~ooOoo~
Harry did not have time on his own to research the property of unicorn blood, not with the looming threat of the exams and his continued inability to use the magic taught in the lessons. Thus, it was not until after Defense with the Ravenclaws on Thursday that Harry finally had time to do something about the mystery on his hands.
"Hey, Danger, you busy?" asked The-Boy-Who-Lived shortly after the lesson had ended and the professor had departed for whatever his next engagement was.
The bushy-haired Ravenclaw looked up from her packing, sparing Harry a glance. "What is it?"
"Walk with me? It's kind of private."
Hermione Granger let out a beleaguered sigh; despite having not met with Harry to study the Hermetic arts since she began preparing for her exams, it was clear she was still under a lot of stress from her comprehensive revision.
Still, she picked up her bag and followed Harry out of the classroom, going with him in silence to find an abandoned classroom.
"So, what it is?" the Ravenclaw asked again.
"I need a favor," Harry said. "I need you to find out what uses there are for unicorn blood."
Hermione's eyes instantly narrowed in suspicion. "That's oddly specific," she said. "Why?"
"I found a dead unicorn in the Forbidden Forest with less blood than it should have had."
"You shouldn't have been in the Forbidden Forest."
"Well, I was."
"What were you doing there?"
"I have a dragon problem."
"A dragon problem?"
"It's a long story."
"Then give me the short version."
"Fine. The trog had a dragon egg that turned into a baby dragon. Dunbar and Longbottom approached me with a run to solve the trog's dragon problem, since he lives in a wooden house and raising dragons is a criminal offense. I did some legwork, then went and visited the dragon while the lunk was out doing his job. Dragon sets the house on fire, dragon and I escape into the Forbidden Forest, and the big lug doesn't have a dragon problem anymore."
"Except now, you've got a dragon problem."
"Exactly."
"So, where does the unicorn come into this?"
"Dragon found a unicorn carcass. From what I could tell, it was missing blood."
"What makes you think that?"
"Pool of blood it was in was too small."
"Too small?"
"Average adult human has about five liters of blood in them? Unicorn's about double that size, but the puddle was smaller than if you dropped a bottle of milk and broke it."
"What about the dragon?"
"She said she found the carcass like that."
"So, dragons talk."
"In draconic. Or English, if she feels like it."
"And you believe her?"
"Something like that."
"That's why you want me to find out what unicorn blood can be used for."
"Yes."
"Why can't you do it yourself?"
"Well, there's the dragon problem, which is eating in my research time, my research into why I still can't cast any of the magic taught here, and my work on the Hermetic arts. Then there's the extra curriculum I have to study independently just to stay current with students my age who are attending normal schools."
"And you think I'm not busy?"
"You have a dragon that might burn down the Forbidden Forest if you don't visit it and keep it company regularly that I don't know about?"
"That's a good point."
"So, will you do me this favor?"
"What're friends for?"
"You don't want the answer to that one."
"I'll take your word for it, then. I'll see what I can find."
"Thanks, Danger. I'll owe you one."
"I'll hold you to that."
~ooOoo~
June came, and with it, end of term exams, two a day over the course of four days. With his relentless work ethic, Harry managed the written portion of every subject with ease, his revisions having covered far more than was on any exam. He performed well on the practical exams too, at least for Astronomy, Herbology and Potions; when it came to Charms and Transfiguration, he failed as miserably as he had expected, still showing no signs of being able to cast even the most basic of magic, drawing looks of disappointment from the professors as he stood before the combined class of first year Hufflepuffs and Slytherin students and fell short despite what seemed to be apparently perfect wand motions and pronunciation.
It was only after the final exam of the term, History of Magic, had concluded that Hermione approached him, catching up with Harry just as he exited the classroom where the exam was being given. A quick shared glance between the two, and they were headed for an abandoned classroom halfway across the castle.
"I found out what unicorn blood is for."
The words tumbled out of Hermione in a hurry as soon as she and Harry secured themselves inside the classroom.
"Yeah?"
"Apparently, the blood of a unicorn will keep a person alive if they drink it," the Ravenclaw said, talking rapidly. "They have to drink it right from the unicorn, though, but that'll kill the unicorn, which is why the drinker would have a cursed life."
"Huh," said Harry, processing the information. "Well, that explains a lot."
"Explains what?" the girl asked.
"That's definitely the Philosopher's Stone the cerberus is guarding," Harry said. "Both the Stone and the unicorn's blood…"
"Have life-extending properties," Hermione said, finishing Harry's thought. Then, as Harry rose to go, she asked, "Wait, where're you going?"
"To find Dunbar and Longbottom."
"Why?"
"You don't want to know."
"No, I do."
"You really don't."
"You know what? That favor you owe me, I'm calling it in. Tell me why you're going to look for Fay and Neville."
"You won't like it."
"I don't care."
Harry studied the girl's face for a moment, then sighed in defeat. "I'm going to steal the Philosopher's Stone."
Hermione seemed to be at a loss for words, opening and closing her mouth several times yet unable to utter any words for several moments. Finally, she managed to croak out, "Why?"
"There's only one person who knows how to make the Philosopher's Stone, and he's not sharing the process with anybody," answered The-Boy-Who-Lived.
"But stealing is wrong," Hermione argued.
"Flamel isn't sharing how to make the Stone," Harry countered. "He's had centuries, and he's still the only person who knows how to make it, which means he's hoarding the knowledge."
"Just because he's not sharing it doesn't mean you can steal it!" the Ravenclaw contended. "Society would break down if people went around stealing whatever they wanted!"
"People go around taking whatever they want all the time," Harry argued. "How do you think the Commonwealth came to be?"
"Just because it's been done before doesn't make it right!" Hermione protested, her voice soft.
"History is written by the victors!" Harry snapped back. "With the Stone, Flamel could solve global poverty, fund research to cure cancer and create clean energy, or even extend the lives of humanity's greatest minds! Instead, he sits on his ass and twiddles his thumbs, enjoying his retirement in Devon! Tell me, what's right about that?"
Hermione couldn't find an answer to her friend's challenge and could only look at him like she wanted him to stop.
"Listen, right and wrong is a line in the sand," said The-Boy-Who-Lived, pressing onwards. "Flamel had the Stone and so much time do something with it, and all he's done is a whole lot of nothing for no one, not even teach someone else how to make it so they could use it to make the world a better place."
"We don't have to steal it," Hermione pleaded weakly. "We could ask him for his help."
"Danger, he's had the recipe making the Stone for centuries," growled the Hufflepuff. "If he was going to share it, he'd have done so by now, and yet, he's the only person to have the knowledge to produce the Philosopher's Stone.
"This is the one and only opportunity you'll ever have to get near it."
Hermione looked absolutely torn over Harry's argument; she clearly had reservations about doing something she believed was morally wrong, even after he painted a picture of a selfish Flamel being in the wrong too, but at the same time, the temptation of a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire knowledge almost nobody else had and a chance to examine a unique alchemical artifact was strong.
Harry could see her teetering on a decision; all she needed was one last push, and he was happy to give it to her what she needed to go over the edge.
"Someone else is going to try to steal it, and if they succeed, this chance will be gone forever," Harry said. "If we don't do this, you'll never find out anything about the Philosopher's Stone that you didn't read in a book, and we've already read everything books have to say about it."
It was what she needed.
"Just this once," Hermione conceded, even as she looked conflicted. Then, "Why do we need Fay and Neville?"
"We're going to need a distraction to get in without being noticed," said The-Boy-Who-Lived. "Last time, everyone was at a feast; this time, the exams just ended, which means the hall is going to be full of people.
"Also, we're going to need an alibi."
Author's Notes: A shorter chapter compared to the previous couple, as it sets up the transition into the climax of the book. When the shoe drops, it drops hard.
It was necessary for Liv to just be on a completely different level than Harry; for somebody who is usually the most experienced and hardest working in the room, putting him in the room with an absolute prodigy gives him a sense of his place in the world, and it's important to demonstrate just how powerless he is compared to somebody with real power.
Harry being unembarrassed by human nudity is something that makes complete sense for him; in Cyberpunk 2020, nudity is an actual fashion choice characters can have, and in Shadowrun, nudity and sexuality is extremely liberated, so I see this as much more a cyberpunk influence on his cultural perception.
Harry choosing to prioritize Hermetic magic and general education over the Hogwarts curriculum makes sense for him; while wand magic is taught in the school, the other two are things he has to study on his own, so if he doesn't spend time developing those, he'll fall behind and have nobody who can really help him with either.
I love the idea of Liv as a scavenger, and the reason Harry finds the dead unicorn, since he was never going to get detention anyways. Also love the fact it's a scenario that gives him the chance to gather rare ingredients without having to actually kill a unicorn; in the future, I imagine he's going to gain even more rare ingredients and components for his crafting.
Hermione not even blinking at the idea of Harry having a dragon for a friend is funny to me, but also fits their relationship; at this point, I kind of imagine her being a little bit exasperated by his antics. I think her being willing to help him in exchange for a favor to be named fits into their relationship as well as her growth as a character by taking certain cues from Harry.
Up until now, everything Hermione's been involved with could be justified morally; the troll was self-defense, learning Hermetic magic was expanding her own horizons, and manipulating Neville and Faye to get information didn't really hurt anybody, but this time, she in a situation where she has to make a moral choice and consciously came down on the side of her own self-interest. I think this decision is a great look at just how Harry is slowly manipulating of her thought process and influencing her into becoming more morally flexible. I look forward to her further descent into being morally ambiguous, and I hope she eventually becomes a shadowrunner like Harry.
PM, Review, etc... I've run out of puns about this.
Credit to Shinshikaizer for the original story pitch and goalie12345 for copy-editing. Furthermore, my thanks to Romantically Distant for additional editing and proofing.