Dark Love
Author request: even if I go in a way you don't like, please be CIVIL about complaining about it. No cussing me out about it, please. Someone did so in the latest two chapters of this story, simply because they didn't like the Oni I added. There is no need for that much cursing.
AN: this is how I'm attempting to portray the oni. Shuten-Douji as an elegant, mostly calm one, while she has emotions she's more of a 'get even' type and shows them by actions more than showing the emotions, rather than a raging type. While Ibaraki-Douji is a fiery temperamental sort, whom will explode against those she doesn't like and shows emotions fully.
Chapter 8: Weighing of the wands.
Harry, in a slightly scorched and smoking uniform, was waiting in the room he was told to report to for the weighing of the wands. He was very early, and so he started his homework, which for today was potions, charms and his apprenticeship homework, illusions.
His elementals were scouting, hoping to find some clue about the first task. Since Harry has been being trained into the ground each day, and not having as much energy as he usually did, the two decided to help him however they could, in hopes of improving his survive-ability.
It was unfortunate that he wasn't informed of what else would be involved in the traditional event.
The people started filing in many giving Harry's clothes disapproving looks, both for being not robes, and the obviously damaged nature of them. Ibaraki-Douji and Shuten-Douji also arrived and proceeded to distract Harry from his nearly completed homework. The two has stepped up their physical affection, because they knew that in under a month and a half they would need to go all the way, at least once.
Progress has been slow, but at least the redhead hadn't been around lately. The two oni and two elementals were wondering about that, it seemed like she had given up too easily.
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Meanwhile, said redhead was putting the finishing touches on her letters. She planned to send them both to her mother, the head of the DMLE, and the headmaster. The letters were full of how the two oni had trapped the boy-of-her-dreams in a marriage contract, and he planned to marry them.
She emphasized that they are dark creatures, who used dark magic to ensnare the hero of the British magical world, and tempt him away from a proper wife, after all, why else would he choose two nonhumans over her?
Plus the fact that at least one had no issues using physical violence against her, being married to a brute like that would ruin his reputation.
She also listed every slight, real or imagined against her, the other students, or Harry.
She then did the same against the elementals, as she felt that they had no right to be so close to 'her' Harry.
She finished the letter off with the fact that she had a contract made by her mother and Dumbledore to marry her to Harry.
She had conveniently forgotten that Dumbledore had told her that the contract wasn't legal.
After she finished her letter off she stormed off to the owlery to send them, unknowing of the trouble she was going to bring upon her family and the headmaster.
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Harry meanwhile was approaching the creepy wandmaker with both of his foci. The others had already gone, and he had avoided being dragged into a cupboard by an overzealous tabloid reporter. Some of the reason was the reporter couldn't drag three people at the same time.
The rest was the glares of the engaged trio.
He raised an eyebrow as the wand maker ignored his ring and concentrated on the wand, despite the fact that the ring saw far more use.
"hmmm... a custom job. What happened to the one you bought from me, Mr. Potter? You know you aren't allowed to buy another wand when you already have one," Ollivander said while he examined the wand.
"It got snapped, necessitating a replacement. Since I didn't want to spend another two or three hours trying wands, I simply went to someone who could make me one that would fit me without the waste of time," the boy replied to the irritation of the wandmaker.
"Very well, let's see. Ebony, with a... unknown Core, and an Onix focusing gem. This wand seems to be in perfect shape, but I can't get it to do anything. Could you provide a demonstration, Mr. Potter?"
Harry took his wand back and performed a simple water conjuration charm. Proving that the wand worked, at least for him. Harry again offered the ring and was ignored.
Shrugging at the blindness of the English magical community, he slipped his primary focus back on his finger. That action made him facepalm. It reminded him of something he needed to buy.
A quick illusion later and he was ready for the photograph session. It wasn't a perfect one, but it at least made his school uniform look undamaged, much to the approval of his master.
Two hours. That was how long it took for the photographer, the headmasters, the headmistresses, and the reporter to agree on the positioning of the group. It was a tight fit, but they managed to at least get everybody's face in the picture.
As the room started emptying, the reporter approached Harry again and asked, "Are you willing to give me my interview now, Harry?"
Harry started to bust a gut laughing at the reporter, which caused her to frown before he got himself under control enough to respond, "an interview to you, Rita Skeeter? The twelfth rate tabloid writer? The woman known internationally as the prime example of what not to do as a reporter? No way in hell."
He then stalked out with his engaged oni, leaving a fuming reporter behind.
A reporter that was wondering if he was actually telling the truth about how she is seen internationally, and if so how to use the reputation to tarnish the reputation of the other papers.
It was unfortunate that most reporters check their facts, and just slant them, instead of either adding them or making them up like her, thus giving her far less ammo.
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Directly outside the room, Harry met up with someone else, or rather the man, and his subordinate was lurking there, waiting for him. The man wanted to meet the boy-who-lived for the first time, away from the press.
"Harry, my boy, a pleasure to meet you!" the man crowed and made a grab for Harry's hand.
A hand that was quickly moved out of the man's way.
" I'm not your boy and I don't swing that way. Now who are you, and what do you want?" Harry said coldly, not liking the fact that a stranger was trying to grab him again.
The tone was so cold that the temperature actually dropped in the area... or was it the cooling charm Shuten-Douji cast?
The man mentally stumbled, as he had thought that the hero of magical Briton would recognize him on sight, no matter that the boy had only spent about a year and a half at Hogwarts, and was isolated from the magical world the rest of his time in England.
The toad-like woman with the minister glared at the boy, and then sneered at the oni that accompanied him, she mumbled "subhuman trash," didn't go unheard.
Harry gave the woman a glare, then the minister replied, "er, yes, I'm The minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge. I was so glad to hear that you are coming back to Hogwarts from Dumbledore."
"What," Harry said in an arctic voice, and frost started appearing at his feet due to some clever spellwork from the elegant oni, as opposed to the fiery one.
Leilah, back from scouting, got into the fun as well by causing the corridor to darken noticeably.
The minister's eyes went to pinpricks at the manifestation, but he managed to stumble out, "W-well, Dumbledore said that you agreed to come back."
"I agreed to come back for the tournament the incompetent entered me into! I have no intention of coming back to one of the worse schools in the world. Look it up in the ICW if you don't believe me," Harry stated and moved to pass by the duo when the woman spoke, and her words made him stop in his tracks.
"The great house of Potter has fallen so far. First by marrying a mudblood, then by leaving, and insulting, the premier magical school, and lastly by associating with such trash as those that are following you," she sneered.
Harry replied without even turning back, which broke Ibaraki-Douji's impending rage, "I see that the minister is an idiot hiring someone like you. Showing your jealousy though petty insults. The fact that your father or mother was a toad, and made you as ugly as sin, isn't a good reason to insult those far prettier than you are, or those that are far more powerful than you."
Ibaraki-Douji smirked as she followed her future husband past the woman who was purpling in rage. That was, in one sentence was a triple insult, insulting her lineage, power, and looks.
The woman, on the other hand, lost her temper at being insulted so blatantly, and pulled her wand out, and pointed it at the upstart, it's tip glowing a poisonous green. She was about to speak when Shuten-Douji summoned her ancestor's blade using a seal tattoo and cut the wand in half.
She was tempted to cut the woman in half but knew that would be a mistake with the minister being right there. On the other hand, cutting the wand, which was pointed directly at Harry, is perfectly acceptable.
The minister cringed as the wand half fell to the ground. He couldn't tell what color the wand was glowing from his angle, but he could tell that it was pointed directly at Harry's back.
That would've been a political nightmare for him. He could almost see the headlines, "Minister's Senior Undersecretary Assaults Boy-Who-Lived." At least now, if Harry speaks to the papers its " Minister's Senior Undersecretary Insults Boy-Who-Lived."
He will have to discipline his undersecretary for attacking someone for insulting them if only to protect his own hide.
As he saw the boy, and his attractive nonhuman girls leave, with the one who defended Harry leaving last, he turned towards his undersecretary, and said, "Deloris, what was that? You nearly caused a giant scandal! Even if they weren't human, they could still be witnesses! Especially if she brings it to the Japanese authorities!"
"I will have that thing put down for attacking me!" the woman screeched, not caring that she was acting in a manner unacceptable to even Fudge, or even hearing him. "did you see that minister! She attacked me for no reason!"
"No reason... beyond that fact that you were about to hex her friend Harry Potter in the back? In our courts, her word is nearly worthless, but the Japanese courts are a different story!"
"So we just kill them all, no issue," the undersecretary said, dismissing her boss's concern.
Minister Fudge, upon hearing that, and knowing that if she takes action that it would be his own position in trouble, he gathered his mostly unused authority and commanded, "Deloris Umbridge, if you try anything against Potter or his friends, or if anything happens to him, at all, you're fired. Am I understood? Well except for this damn tournament, remind me to fire whoever suggested it." (EN)
The toad woman looked at her boss in shock, such a threat was so unlike him, she didn't know how to respond except with a nod. She knew that she couldn't do anything, except, as much as it grated on her nerves, make sure the boy was safe. She couldn't even try and sabotage the boy, as most of those directly involved hated her.
The two decided to leave Hogwarts, to either fantasize about getting a boy's support... or killing him.
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Harry was raging inside about the actions of the toad, especially after she tried to kill him. There was only one spell that was a poisonous green.
He was approached by an individual who was either oblivious to his bad mood... or just didn't care.
Hermione Granger.
"Hello Harry, could you introduce me to your friends?" she asked in a friendly tone.
"Granger, what do you want?" Harry asked with barely concealed fury.
"There's no need to be rude Harry, as I'm giving you a second chance," the girl answered.
"Pass, I don't need a traitorous bitch near me," Harry snarled.
Hermione frowned. This wasn't how she envisioned it going. She really didn't regret her actions, in fact, she was still pissed at the loss of the books, books she felt she earned, but she was getting rather lonely in her house. Without some sort of common denominator, her friendship with Ron had crashed and burned, leaving her friendless, as she wasn't really able to connect to anyone else in Gryffindor.
Harry not even giving her a ghost of a second chance wasn't expected to her.
"But..." she began, only to be interrupted by Shuten-Douji.
"Go away. We don't need spies near us," she said disdainfully.
The bushy haired girl looked at the three girls with Harry and saw no compassion, directed towards her.
She stepped back. She had actually considered Harry a friend that first year and didn't really see a problem reporting to a professor, as the man had claimed it was for Harry's own good and had promised that Harry himself wouldn't mind.
The fact that he was wrong she felt was more Harry's failing than Dumbledore's or hers for reporting to the man in the first place.
As she watched the boy, who was her first friend since her intelligence, or at least her photographic memory, started showing, walk away he turned a bit and said with his words being a stab to her heart, "By the way, I've started to learn from those books that had been stolen from me, and given to you. So much for being too stupid to learn from them huh?"
He smirked at the stricken look on the bookworms face, as he started heading to dinner.
The meal was only half over when the next issue happened. The doors slammed open, and a greasy haired man was standing there, his chest heaving in fury, and he was glaring daggers at both Mira, and Albus, with Harry being almost ignored.
It then clicked for Dumbledore what he had forgotten on Halloween. He had forgotten his potion professor.
To be fair he had a lot on his mind that day. He did wonder why nobody had told him students weren't having potion classes.
"You bastard! You left me transfigured as a cauldron!" the man yelled angrily.
Dumbledore was conflicted, on one hand, his professor just insulted him, on the other, he probably deserved it for leaving him.
"Come to my office after supper Severus, we'll discuss how I can make it up to you, within reason," the old man stated kindly.
Snarling the younger man went to his seat so he could get something to eat before he started his negotiations.
He was going to try and get the rights to torment Potter, but failing that, the know it all and the Weasley's would be a good consolation prize.
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Meanwhile, two out of three owls were heading towards their destination, and one had already left the letter on the headmaster's desk.
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This feels like a good place to end it.
EN: yes, I gave Fudge a spine when his own position could conceivably be in danger.