Chapter 44
Two days after Christmas, Hayato and Miwa arrived at Potter Castle to retrieve Harry. Today was the day they would be going to the Citadel and meeting the Magus tribunal; the two teens were ecstatic to be going finally. But to also get some answers. Hayato told them to dress in warm clothes as he took them to the Himalayas, which was very cold. Especially when it was in the winter season, they both added warming charms to their robes and erected runic arrays to keep them in place, taking the other necessary precautions. Talismans, swords, wands, standard potions kit, clothes, etc. When they were sure that they had everything they needed for their trip, Byakko and Suzaku were in their tattoo forms as they refused to leave Harry. They hugged their respective guardians goodbye and left.
Hayato apparated them in front of a cave. As soon as they regained themselves, they instantly felt some snow and the cold air. Looking around, they saw that he apparated them into a middle of a blizzard. The snow coming down, combined with the intensive, made it hard to see. They followed the man into the cave, where some torches started to light up in their surroundings. The more they ventured into the cave, the more magic they felt. It was almost overwhelming. Especially for Harry as his elemental sight was letting him see the different enchantments in the cave.
"I see a lot of magic," he commented while looking around "there's a lot of very old and powerful enchantments and wards around here."
Miwa responded, "if the cave is like this. I can only wonder what the citadel will be like when we get there," she added. While she didn't possess any special sight like him, her ability to sense magic told her that everything was heavily enchanted. That was when she heard something and whipped her wand out "please tell me you heard that?"
"Oh yeah," he flicked his wand out, "it feels like something else is here with us."
Hayato chuckled "you two are right to be on guard," he said as they approached the exit. "What you two heard was them" pointing to the bridge, they saw two wingless dragons who did not seem affected by the cold."
Both their eyes went comically wide. Miwa replied, "oh… my… god are they-" she couldn't even finish as no words would come out of her mouth.
"Cocytus dragons!" Harry finished for her. Like the Genesis dragon, Cocytus dragons were very powerful and very dangerous. Not only that, instead of breathing fire, but they also breathed ice and could sense a person's fear "best not to show any signs of fear or they will attack."
Miwa looked at him as if he'd grown a second head "that's easy for you to say," she said in a low voice. "You can turn into a dragon whenever you please. Me, I'm a thunderbird!"
"Quiet, you two," Hayato shut them up, "it's important to seep your composures around these types of dragons. Remember your training in occlumency and proceed forward, and whatever you do, don't lower them."
The two took a breath and reinforced their occlumency shields to shut their emotions down. Walking forward to the Citadel, they heard the dragons let out a low roar. Miwa was about to pause, but Harry helped her to keep her composure. Arriving at the giant runic door, Hayato pushed the necessary runes and showed his badge, which showed that he was a magus. The doors started to rumble till they eventually opened, revealing a dark hallway with a set of unlit torches on the walls. As they went inside, the torches started to light up with every step they took.
Hayato escorted them to the elevator, making sure that they were all inside. He pressed for the fifth-floor button. The elevator took them up to their destination and led them down a long, narrowed hall. After walking for a few minutes, he stopped them when they arrived at a set of luxurious double doors "you two are to wait here. I will be back in a few minutes."
He opened one of the doors and walked inside, leaving them outside.
Miwa gave him a curious look "so…" she hesitated for a moment, "your dinner with the Japanese Minister of Magic's family was eventful." Miwa was aware of what the Minister's daughter did the night they were at Merlin's Palace.
Harry groaned and gave her a bland look. "I would rather have preferred eating snails than have her kiss me again," Miwa patted him on the shoulder.
"Look at it this way," she began, "you got your first kiss," offering a weak smile.
"Thanks, Storm," he grumbled, "though I have a bad feeling. That she is going to do any she can to get me locked into a betrothal contract" his voice was laced with disgust. He is damned to the lowest pits of hell if he ever got put in a contract like that. If anything, he soon burns Potter Castle to the ground before ever submitting.
"By the way, how is your potions project coming" Miwa wanted to change the topic of conversation, seeing the distressed look in his eyes.
"It's still in testing phases," he answered. "However, I am very close to fixing the problem. That said, there is a new wrinkle."
She raised a delicate eyebrow, wondering what the problem was. Noticing the look she was giving him, he continued, "Minister Shiba wants me to test it on the Japanese people who have gone insane."
Miwa was completely shocked "he can't ask you to do that. You bought all those ingredients. By right's you have the freedom to do whatever you want with them," he said with anger in her voice.
"Believe me, I know," he replied "however, I just ensured peace between Japan and Great Britain. And besides, if this keeps the peace, then it's a small price to pay," trying to placate her.
While she understood his reason, it didn't mean that she had to like it. That and the fact that she was slightly mad "still, though, it's hard to believe that they called you to settle the dispute. No offense, but why did the British Minister have you clean up the mess he and the others created? From what you've told me, he is a spineless weakling who only does what he is told."
Harry smirked at the way she described the British Minister of Magic. "Fudge is nothing. The only way for that little shit to get his position right now is because he is greedy and wanted to bolster his reputation and account. Most of me wanted to tell him to kiss my arse and clean up his shit. However, I had to think about the other citizens of Magical Britain first. They didn't ask to be put in the middle of the debacle between him and the Japanese Minister."
At that moment, the doors opened, and Hayato stepped in front of them "they're ready for you now. Follow me," he leads them inside, where they saw the seven other council members sitting around a circular table with a bright fire in the center. Harry briefly looked to his left and saw someone sitting at the desk. He could only guess that that person was the leader.
His attention drew to one of them as their magic signature felt familiar. A small smile grew on his face as he knew who the person was. "Welcome, you two," the man at the top said, bringing their attention to him. "I can see that you two have some questions you wish to ask," he pointed out.
Miwa and Harry looked at each other from the corner of their eyes before nodding at one another. Harry took a step forward and spoke, "it's nice to see you again, Madam Marchbank," he said while looking at one of the council members.
The members were talking amongst themselves, wondering how he knew she was on the council. All except for the person in question whose lips twitched up "and to you, Mr. Potter. I'll have to admit that I am curious as to how you knew I am a magus."
"I wasn't sure you were one at the time," he admitted "however, the times we've talked, not to mention seeing you at the ministry a few times, made me wonder. The respect and power that you command both in and out of the Wizengamot were staggering."
That received a small chuckle from the woman. "I was wondering when you put the pieces together" she got up from her chair and faced him. "I will say that I have had my eye on you for a while now. Ever since you used your father and grandfather's wishes to have you attend Mahoutokoro and make Severus Snape your adoptive father."
Harry tensed a bit at how she knew Severus was his adoptive father now. "How did you know I wished for Severus to be my adoptive father?" narrowing her eyes at her.
"Calm down, Hadrian, your secret is safe with us," she assured "the only people who are allowed to know what you wish for are magi's. Even then, the information is completely classified and can't be retrieved unless the person who wished for it wants it to be public knowledge."
Harry kept his eyes trained on her and was still tense, though he did settle somewhat. "Forgive me for getting straight to the point, but why did the magus council not make much more of an effort to bring down Grindelwald and his forces?"
"Or why none of you did anything about him after the war? Miwa came in "he was a squib and imprisoned in his fortress."
One of her colleagues growled a bit, "stem your tongues when you speak to us. You two should be honored that we are even speaking to the both of you."
"It is fine," the High Magus spoke, "their questions are valid, and they deserve some answers." He then turned to face the two "the reason why we weren't more involved is that Grindelwald had proven to be a formidable foe, especially when compared to a magus. That said, we did get involved and dealt several blows to him and his forces. As for him being a squib, we believed him to be dead. It was only after receiving a report from Hayato that we learned that he was still alive. Powerless but alive. Due to that, he is not worth our time."
He could tell that they were not particularly happy with that answer but wisely kept their mouths shut. They then asked about the war with Tom Riddle, aka Voldemort, and his death eaters. The flames allowed Harry to see a brief wash of anger on Marchbank's face. The High Magus answered that they did get involved on a few occasions and worked with the ICW agents to bring them down. When questioned about doing something about the bastard's Horcruxes, the other members were apoplectic at hearing about those abominations. Hayato didn't tell them that information. Their leader was the only one not screaming at the top of his lungs, though the anger on his face was visible.
When they all eventually calmed down, they spoke with the kids more about the issue that they've been facing. "Magus Yamamoto told us about your conditions, should you two decide to join us. And they are accepted. Magic has already decided that you two are ready to become Magi's. The only thing left is for you two to agree. Do you wish to become members of our order?"
"We accept," Harry and Miwa answered in unison.
He grunted a bit before waving his hands and conjured a large table made of marble before them. Then he reached into his desk, pulled out some documents, two quills, and levitated them to their table.
They could only stare in amazement as he did wandless magic like it was nothing. Miwa spoke, "can we read these contracts first?"
"Yes, of course."
She would have started to read the documents but glanced at Harry and saw him tense up again. "Harry, what is it?"
He slowly reached for the quill "this is a blood quill," he said, holding it up. Which made her freeze as she was aware of what they were. They're classified as dark magic and Class- B offenders. So much so that they are only used for signing certain documents and are heavily regulated by the ICW.
"Why do we have to sign with blood quills?" she asked with a twinge of harshness in her voice.
"It is just to finalize your agreements," he answered, "once you finished. "We will treat the both of you with Murtlap essence," pulling out a jar with a blue potion on the inside.
Harry and Miwa looked at each other and silently spoke in Japanese. Agreeing, they each gave a curt nod and read over the documents. It was well detailed, and Harry saw that there was nothing nefarious nor anything dangerous. Twitching his right eye, telling her that it was safe, they signed it after thoroughly reading it. When they were done, the Magus came over with a large bowl and placed it on the table, then poured the potion in. The two placed their hands inside and felt a small amount of stinging on the affected wounds. Pretty soon, the marks were gone, and they took their hands out of the bowl.
The man collected the documents they'd signed and went back to his desk "from this moment on. The both of you are now Magi's in training. You two will be under the tutelage of councilmember Hayato Yamamoto" turning his head to his colleague. "Hayato, please escort these two to their barracks."
Hayato got up, gave a respectful bow, and then escorted his new protégés to their quarters. The two bowed respectfully before following out of the room. They were lead back to the elevator, where Hayato pressed number 3. Riding the elevator in silence, they reached there and were escorted down the hall. The only difference was that the hall had a few more doors coming up on the main door at the end of the hall. Hayato opened it where they soon met a few of the others trainees. The very moment they walked in, all of the teens were on their feet with their hands behind their backs "listen up, everyone. We have just gained two new trainees, and I expect you to treat them with courtesy and respect. Am I clear?"
"Yessir," they all said.
Hayato surveyed the room, looking to every one of them. "Trainee Truong steps forward" a Vietnamese boy stepped forward. He appeared to be either 21 or 22 and was a few inches taller than Harry, who was 5'9, but he was more built than the boy.
"Sir," he said respectfully.
"These two," gesturing to Miwa and Harry, "are my apprentices," that momentarily stunned not only him but the others at hearing what he said. For as long as any of them could remember, Master Yamamoto never had a magus trainee. To hear that those two were his apprentices was shocking "show them to their rooms and give them a tour of the citadel."
"Understood, sir," the man said.
Hayato gave him a nod then turned his attention to the two teens standing next to him. "I suggest you two get settled in and go to bed early for the night. Because tomorrow you're going to learn the meaning of the word: hell." Turning his attention back to the man named Truong, "make them feel at home," he then whirled around left the room.
Truong narrowed his eyes at the both of them. Neither were fazed by his glare and stood their grounds "welcome to hell," he coolly said, "follow me." He immediately escorted them up the stairs to their rooms, arriving on the third floor. They saw a variety of different doors. Turning his attention to Miwa first, "your room is here," jabbing his thumb at the door to his left, "the same with your room," he said to Harry while pointing to the room a few doors down. "You are allowed to personalize them any way you want. However, you are solely responsible for keeping your rooms clean, they're no house-elves here, so there is no one to pick up behind you two. The chef prepares the food. Lessons begin at 5:30 in the morning. There's no excuse for delay. You each have twenty-five minutes to go check out your rooms; you'll find a change of robes in the closets. They are meant to be worn by everyone."
"Be back in the sitting room when you're through, or I am leaving without you" turning his back, he went back down.
The two went to their rooms immediately. Miwa entered the room and found it to be spacious enough for her. It wasn't as big as her room back at Mahoutokoro, but it was still nice. A single bed, with a table to work. There were two other doors, one leading to a bathroom and the other was a closet. Other than that, a window opening out into the mountains, the snow was pretty visible. She would have felt the cold, but the warming charms around the room with the aid of the runic arrays help keep things warm. Clearing her mind, she changed out of her clothes and put on the new robes in her closet.
They were not bulky as the ones she came in with, but they were still a good fit. Evidence by the runes embedded into them to help make them easy to move in. Walking out of the room, she was about to go back downstairs but caught sight of her brother in all but blood coming out of his room wearing the same robes as her "you nervous too?" she asked as he was coming.
"I will be lying if I said I wasn't," Harry replied, "come on, let's go." They proceeded down the staircase, where they found some of the others staring at them. A moment ago, they were chatting, but the very moment they came in, everything dies down. They made their way to Truong, who was standing by the wall next to the door. The man grunted.
"Follow me, and we will get started," was all he said before walking out of the room with them behind.
They were shown where the cafeteria was and the classrooms, training stations, library, medical bay, and conference rooms. Unlike the first room they saw, which was strictly for the tribunal. These were meant for the Magi's to meet, share information, master to speak with their protégés about their performances, or discuss mission assignments. When the tour was over, they returned to the barracks to familiarize themselves with the others. Most of the other cadets were either cold or standoffish with each other. Harry and Miwa concluded that the Citadel was designed to test their survival skills, among other things.
(0^0)
The days leading up to them, having to return to their schools, were HELL if they thought the training they went through before was grueling; it was nothing compared to what they went through at the Citadel. The training, the drills, and the lesson were so intense that they could barely stand, let alone walk. After countless times in the healing chambers, they finally adapt to the work environment. True to his word Hayato kept their guardians up to date about their progress and said their dueling lessons would be more intense. In other words, Harry will no longer study under master's Sakai and Robinson. He had taken the liberty of assigning a new dueling master to the boy—one who was a master with both transfiguration and charms. The person was a master of battle magic and had high expectations of the people he trained. Miwa received the same as Hayato decided to train her himself in both categories personally.
Arriving at the train station Emily and Harry were soon met by their friends, and after exchanging greetings, they boarded the Express and went to find their compartments. After finding a few open compartments, they sat down and added some wards to lock the door and keep others out. Harry, as usual, sat by the window and stared out the window. At the moment, he just wanted to relax on the train while they headed back to Hogwarts.
While the others talked about their Christmas holiday, Harry was almost close to falling asleep. That was until he got a kick in the shin, bringing his attention to "what?" The ice in his voice said that he better have a good reason for waking me.
Blaise smirk "dude, we were asking about the ICW meeting with the Japanese Minister," he explained. "The Prophet only said that they agreed to not go to war with each other. So, what happened?"
Everyone turned their heads to Harry, waiting for him to respond. Looking at all of them, he sighed and explained what happened at the meeting. Explaining how he did most of the talking and after a few hours of negotiating and promising some considerations, Minister Shiba agreed to peace. When the meeting was over, he and his family were asked to stay behind by the Japanese Minister, who invited them to dinner at Merlin's Palace. Where they discussed the project Harry was currently working on. When the others tried asking what he was working on, they brushed them off, saying it was confidential. Only Daphne, Emily, and Miwa knew what he had been working on.
The others knew that they would not get much out of him as he was a private person who liked to keep things to himself. Blaise gave him a knowing smirk and asked if anything else happened at the dinner. Harry momentarily tensed up, "nothing important happened," remembering that the Shiba girl kissed him. It was still fresh in his mind, and he hated it. He was silently cursing his eidetic memory.
Daphne shot him a curious look that said I don't believe you. Having spent most f her time with him, she could tell when he was hiding something. Something did happen at the restaurant, but it was clear that he didn't want to say anything. That, however, didn't stop her from being curious. It wasn't that she doubted him. It was more of what that Japanese girl would have liked to do. From what she heard, the Shiba girl was a spoiled over-privileged brat. Who believed that she could do whatever she wanted because she came from a powerful family and the Minister's daughter. The thought of them being together plagued her thoughts, and it made her stomach turn as she didn't like the images.
She was mentally slapping herself for thinking such things. She and Harry were not dating; they were just friends, which means he could date whoever he wanted. Though, she got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Silently, cursing her teenage hormones. Why was she behaving like this, surely? She liked being with him. He may be reclusive, antisocial, and cold, but that was just him. And after hearing what he went through as a child, she couldn't blame him for being wary of people. Dumbledore, for one, sentences him and his parents to death and was trying to make him a martyr for the light. At the same time, others sought to use him for his fame and reputation. They couldn't understand that he was his person and wanted to be happy.
In her opinion, he deserved better than that. Sure, he may have his faults, but that was just him, and she respected him for acknowledging his faults. She found it liberating to speak with someone who understood her troubles. Also, whenever Daphne was with him, she always felt safe and happier. More than with any other person that she had ever encountered before in her life. She was immediately brought out of her thoughts when someone was banging against the door. Turning her attention to the door, she saw that Cho Chang and some of her other friends were trying to get into the room. Daphne saw the Chinese girl glare maliciously at her, along with her friend Edgecombe. Edgecombe was trying to get into the compartment, but the wards they put up prevented them from entering. Even magic wouldn't work; eventually, they all became red in the face and were panting. The girls finally had enough and left to go back to their compartment.
The rest of the train ride went by smoothly with no other interruptions. Eventually, arriving at the station in Hogsmeade, the students went to the carriages to be taken to the castle. Luckily, it wasn't raining this time, and they remained dry. Arriving at the entrance, they exited the carriages and went inside the great hall. Because they just returned, all students had to sit with their respective houses for the night. At the Gryffindor table, Harry sat with his quidditch teammates. As they were busy catching up, he noticed that the Weasley twins and the youngest male were all downtrodden. In the case of the youngest Weasley, he seemed rather put out and looked ready to snap at someone. The color of his face matched his hair. It didn't also help that he was shooting death glares at Harry, not that he cared. To him, the boy was of no concern. When dinner finally ended, Dumbledore gave his welcome back speech, though the usual twinkle in his eyes was missing, and his body language told Harry that he was not happy.
According to Jack and Arcturus, the old headmaster was livid about not being invited to the ICW meeting. The latter could barely keep his laughter under control when the goat finally left as he bet that Dumbledore would have sold a body part to know what happened at the meeting. Harry found it quite entertaining to hear that the supposed greatest wizard in history was upset that he couldn't get his way. Another thing he noticed was that Granger was also a bit unhappy, and he could only guess that her parents got onto her. Smirking at the idea of Granger being punished, her parents probably stopped her from buying any new books. Still, though, whatever punishment she got from her parents paled in comparison to what his guardians would do to him.
When Dumbledore told them to go back to their common rooms, they all left the great hall. Harry discreetly went to the Room of Requirement, where the room gave him the same room he had before leaving for the holidays. From the corner of his left eye, he saw Suzaku flame himself and Byakko into the room. The two were back from their hunting trip, which Harry could tell that they enjoyed immensely.
(0^0)
In the third-year girls' dormitory of the Slytherin common room, Lilith and Tracey were currently sitting on the bed of the former while talking. At the time, the room consisted of Tracey and Lilith, who shared a dormitory, Daphne would have been in the same room as them, but she was in a different year. The only other two females in their House were Parkinson and Bulstrode. Both girls didn't want any of them as roommates as they didn't know what those two might do to them while they were sleeping. Lilith invited Daphne to come and chat, but she refused, saying that she had training tomorrow morning with Harry and Emily.
This just left Lilith and Tracey to talk to each other. The two were currently talking about the former's brother and his girlfriend Bianca "you will not believe what Ulrich told me yesterday." She was positively giddy.
"Really, what did he say," Tracey leaned in with interest, curious as to what her former housemate.
"Well, he and Bianca were having dinner at Merlin's Palace and while he was going to the bathroom. He saw Harry and that Shiba girl on the balcony talking with one another, and then it happened," she mysteriously said with a glint in her eyes.
The suspense was killing Tracey as she wanted to know what happened that night at the restaurant "well, what happened, come on," shaking the smaller girl. She got the sneaking suspicion that something juicy happened.
"Ok, but please stop shaking me," she replied, a blight a dizzy. Tracey let go and waited for her to resume "my brother saw them kissing on the balcony."
"Oh my god," Tracey was torn a bit between either squealing or surprised, "did they really" then it hit her. How was Daphne going to react when she found out? She knew her best friend well and that she secretly harbored feeling for Harry.
Lilith only nodded "although," she said, bringing Tracey out of her thought, "Shiba took him by surprise when she kissed him. He even pushed her off him after a few seconds."
Tracey could only chuckle "how many times did they kiss," she asked inquisitively.
"Twice!"
The brunette's eyes opened wide. "That would explain why he didn't say anything when we asked him," she muttered.
Lilith looked slightly confused "what do you mean?"
"A few times before the break, Harry mentioned how much he detested and didn't want to be with her," Tracey explained. "According to him, being with her was like a living nightmare."
They continued talking about the topic for a while before going to sleep for the night. As Tracey drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but think about what would happen if the Daily Prophet got wind of this. She could only imagine what would happen if this got out. The news would spread like fiendfyre, and the rumor mill at school would go into a frenzy. Her last thoughts were about how Daphne would take the news.
The next morning Tracey and Lilith grudgingly got out of bed, quickly showered, dressed, then went to the great hall for breakfast. Neither was in the mood to get back into school mode, so they just grumbled about getting up early again. Soon they were accompanied by the others who dropped down next to them at the Ravenclaw table. As they were filling their plates and pouring drinks, the news owl came in to deliver this morning's edition from the Daily Prophet. It was initially met with some of them rolling their eyes as the Prophet liked to gossip for the most part. However, that was not the case today as he spits out his pumpkin juice. Which, unfortunately, hit Aaron, who was drenched in juice.
Aaron fixed a cold glare on him "what was that about Zabini" he asked while taking his napkin to clean himself off. Instead of replying, Blaise gave him the paper so that he could see for himself. What he saw on the front page shocked him to his core, "that lucky bastard he always gets the girls. So, not fair."
Adrian looked over his shoulder and read the paper with a smirk "well, it's a good shot of them," he added.
"Cuffe had better deal with this quickly," Nicole came in, "because Harry is not going to be happy when he reads this." Some of the people from the Daily Prophet will soon be kissing their jobs goodbye. Having spent enough time around Harry, she knew that he didn't take well to people using his name to bolster their stories.
"Why is my brother not going to be happy" a familiar voice was heard. Turning their heads, they saw Emily and Daphne walking up towards them; only Harry wasn't with them.
"Morning to you ladies too," Blaise said as they sat down "where's the raven-haired boy we come to know and love?"
Emily noticed that he was attempting to change the conversation and decided to play along "harry wasn't hungry and went straight to potions," shrugging her shoulders. "Now again, why will he not be happy?"
Tracey handed her a copy of the morning newspaper. Emily grabbed the rag, wondering what the idiots at the Daily Prophet wrote about this time. Daphne read the paper, and both girls were completely shocked "oh, this is bad," Emily pointed out. Though, she wasn't completely shocked as she knew that the Shiba girl kissed him first.
"You got that right. This is bad," Blaise said, "the damn bastard got a smoking hot girlfriend and didn't say anything." Tracey, Nicole, and Emily glared daggers at him. "What," he said, wondering why they looked ready to kill him "the girl is hot; I'm serious."
"I know right," Aaron added. "Any man would kill to have a girl like that," he said while looking at the girl Harry was with.
While they were busy talking about her, a deep frown appeared on Daphne's face, and she was feeling both angry, sad, and cut up on the inside. Harry and that Shiba girl kissed. He told her that he didn't like her, yet the picture clearly showed that he enjoyed being with her. Daphne couldn't help but also feel a bit betrayed without thinking. She got up and left the great hall in a huff.
Tracey noticed the look on Daphne's face and the way she left. Turning her attention back to Emily and Nicole, they nodded their heads and either kicked both the boys in their shins or slapped them in the back of their heads. The two boys winced in pain.
"Why did you guys hit us," Aaron asked while rubbing the back of his head and his leg.
Emily answered, "this is not funny," slamming the paper on the table. "What happened that night is not what is on the Daily Prophet. My brother hates the Japanese Minister's daughter, and nothing is going on between them."
"Emily does make a point," Blaise chimed in. "Harry does not like Miyuki and would rather be frozen to death than be with her."
Adrian spoke up "no offense Blaise, but this does not look like he hates it," he said while pointing to the picture. Quickly backing off when he saw Emily glaring at him with fire in her eyes, "Hey, don't look at me like that," putting his hands up.
"I'm just saying this picture says something different."
"This will likely cause some problems," Nicole said, bringing the attention to her. Lilith spoke, "you man from the rumor mill in Hogwarts."
"And anyone who believes this garbage," Nicole added, "this is the kind of stuff that cow Skeeter would do. However, the person who wrote this article is not her, but someone named Nicholas Benson. This person has no idea of the trouble he is in. If Cuffe is smart, he will fire the man, and I mean quickly."
Astoria came in. "I smell a lawsuit coming," she said, pretending to smell the air around her "better pray that Hadrian doesn't find out about this."
Emily thought to herself, "Yeah, right. My brother will either find out from the other students, Severus, or he will get a copy of the paper." Leaving her thoughts, she pointed out, "he might have another problem at the moment."
"What do you mean?" Tori asked.
"Them," she pointed behind her. Everyone turned to where she was pointing and saw most of the other girls talking about the paper. Some were even crying and were cursing the fact that Potter was off the market.
When they all turned around to resume their conversation, Emily was gone, much to their surprise. Except for Blaise and Tracey's, as they wished they could disappear like that as well.
Adrian exclaimed, "how do they keep doing that!" Emily and Harry were good at disappearing
whenever they wanted.
Blaise and Tracey just laughed and got up to go to their classes for the day.
Harry was sitting at one of the tables in the front row in the potions classroom, silently talking with Severus through their connection. It ended as the other students started coming in, and they cut off communications. His dad began his class the way he usually did, asking them questions about different ingredients. A few of them gave answers that were not satisfactory, and Severus took points off. He eventually waved his hand at the board where the instructions for the day appeared. Giving Hadrian his assignment for the day, he told them to get to work. The students didn't waste time moving to the cupboards to retrieve the ingredients they would need for the day.
After Harry got his ingredients, he set up his station and began working on an advanced potion. Having already done the theory behind it and brewing it a few times before, he knew what to do. The potion he was working on was challenging, required precision, and took 12 days to create. That would be the case for most, but Harry was different as he already made the potion before and wrote notes on making it better and more potent.
As the students were working, Severus made his rounds looking at each of their potions, often commenting how bad some were. A few he just didn't bother, which usually meant that they were fine. Soon arriving at Harry's station, he looked for any errors. After verifying that it was alright, he went back to his desk. When the bell rang, he told them to put their cauldrons on suspension charms and said they would pick up where they left off next class. Just as everyone started cleaning up their stations, Snape gave them their homework assignments, Much to their annoyances. Harry received his essay to the right, mentally groaning as he had a feeling he would be a lot busier than before. Leaving the classroom, he went to charms.
Professor Flitwick had him working on ninth-year spells rather than eighth, and the tiny professor was bouncing on his feet when he saw Hadrian's magnificent spell work. Flitwick was among a few teachers who started taking him seriously and was determined to keep pushing him. From what Harry heard from his late mother, the professor put her through the same regime as him. During the last few days of the break, Lily told him how she was offered to be his apprentice. Harry began thinking that Professor Flitwick might offer him an apprenticeship after he's finished with his NEWTs.
After executing the spell, he was assigned Flitwick awarded him 30 points for masterful use of spell work. Then asked him to show the class his Patronus charm. Harry complied and summoned his dragon Patronus. Filius explained how to cast a Patronus properly and what they could do. Sometimes he asked Harry to come in with what he had learned about the Patronus, conjuring some instruments to demonstrate how the Patronus could change—even demonstrating the different functions of the charm from the standard shield, corporeal and the true solid form. The other students listened with interest as many of them wanted to try and perform the Patronus charm themselves.
The rest of the class went by smoothly, and at the end, Professor Flitwick gave them their homework assignments for the day. Exiting the class, Harry went to his other class before lunch. As he was heading to Ancient Runes, he noticed that the other students were giving him side-glances. Many of the males were giving him thumbs-up, and others were giving him looks of pride. Most of the females had predatory looks, which was nothing new as they often stared at him, but this time there was a glint in them. His usual expressionless mask was in place, but he was somewhat nervous on the inside, wondering why they were staring at him the way they were. It wasn't until he reached the moving stairs when he heard a group of Hufflepuff girls gossiping. His enhanced hearing allowed him to hear their conversation "I never knew Potter was interested in the Japanese Minister's daughter."
"Believe it, you saw it in the morning paper," one of them said. That, however, piqued his interest as he decided to hear more. What did the Daily Prophet gossip about this time?
The same girl continued, "still, though, you have to admit. They do look cute together. I didn't even know that they were dating."
That got Harry's attention. He would never date the Shiba girl. Besides, she kissed him. Pushing that thought out of his mind, he stepped on the stairs and waited for it to take him to the next floor. It didn't take more than a minute before the stairs changed, and he ascended to the next floor to where his class was. Arriving at the class, he walked inside, took a seat by the window in the second row, and stared out the window. Pretty soon, the others started filing in. When they spotted him near the window, they gave him speculative glances and started whispering. Among them was Nicole, who didn't look at him sideways and just took a seat next to him. As their classmates took their respective seats, the two sat in silence, and Professor Babbling walked in, closing the door.
"Afternoon, everyone," she said. A few of the students replied, and she continued, "I hope you all had a relaxing Christmas break and were able to get you're the homework I assigned you complete." At that, everyone started taking out the essay she assigned them and placed them at the corner of their desk for her to pick up. Moving from desk to desk, she collected the essay, making sure that she had everyones. She put them on her desk and began class. Her gaze fell on Harry. "Mr. Potter, would you please come to the front? You have a test to do. Once you're, you may leave," conjuring a desk and chair for him in the corner.
Harry and Nicole briefly looked at each other with the older girl mouthing "good luck." He gave her a single nod and went to the desk Babbling conjured for him. When he sat down in the chair, she gave him his test booklet and put privacy wards up so he wouldn't be bothered. She then turned her attention back to the others and told them to start working on pages 312-323 in their books.
Twenty-six minutes later, Harry brought the wards around him down and placed his completed test on her desk while grading essays.
Raising her head to him, "are you ready for the next part of your exam Mr. Potter" she gave him a small smile. He became one of the best students she taught in a while, and considered taking him as an apprentice. But part of her knew that was not likely to happen as he wanted to be away from Professor Dumbledore. Their relationship was not great, and it was not likely to improve anytime soon.
"I am professor" was his only reply.
She rounded her desk, and he put up different wards around certain objects, which he accomplished without fail. After that, he created different matrixes and inscribed them on conjured items without overloading them. This would have provided a challenge for most as combining runic matrixes with conjured items sometimes resulted in the objects exploding with magical residue. However, Harry had a natural affinity for Ancient Runes and a few other subjects.
Burbage was blown away by his level of skill when it came to her branch of magic. She watched as he put the final touches on the sword she conjured him. What he was doing was not something taught at Hogwarts, something at which she frequently brought up with Albus. But he would always deny her when it came to teaching that particular level. She never agreed with him about it, but there was little she could do to change his mind as she was not the Deputy Headmistress. However, ever since Septima took the post, things have changed. "I'm done, professor."
She checked his work thoroughly to make sure the blade was working the way she wanted. Putting it through a series of tests, she placed it back on her desk then looked back at him "full marks, Mr. Potter. Well done!"
He gave a curt nod before returning to his seat next to Nicole, who was still working from her book. Harry just sat down and looked out the window toward the horizon. Spending a few minutes looking out the window, he felt a nudge in his side, turning his head to her. He saw that she was putting her book back in her bag "need something?"
Nicole replied, "did you by any chance read the Prophet this morning?"
Shaking his head, no "however, I did hear a group of girls talking about me being in a relationship with Shiba," he said with disdain.
It didn't go unnoticed by her, and she visibly cringed; reaching into her watch, she pulled out the newspaper from the Daily Prophet and handed it to him. Harry accepted it and saw a picture of Miyuki kissing him on the balcony that night. What irked him was that they claimed that she won his heart and named her his sweetheart. On top of that, they were inquiring how long they've been together. Making up his mind, he decided to sick Mrs. Schwarber on them. He had been impressed with her reputation and the results she brought to dealing with the people who wrote those books about him years ago. And her performance during his trial at the Wizengamot.
"This never happened," giving the paperback, "she kissed me. "After a few seconds, I pushed her off."
"Lilith said as much," Nicole commented.
Harry tilted his head a bit to the right "how did she find out?"
"That would be from Ulrich. He and Bianca were having dinner at the Palace, and he saw the both of you."
He sighed. "I'll write to him. Then I'll deal with Benson and Cuffe" his voice became cold as he mentioned the reporter and his boss. Nicole shuddered involuntarily and wondered how much those two would lose because of the paper they printed.
When the class ended, they all headed to the great hall for lunch. Harry and Nicole went to sit at the Ravenclaw table, where the others soon joined them. While they talked about the classes they had thus far, Harry tried to catch Daphne's eye, but the only thing he got was a deep frown. Her normally blue eyes held more cold than usual. It was a bit unsettling, in his opinion, but he quickly brushed it off.
He whipped his wand out "Expecto Patronum," his Hebridean dragon manifested "message to Liselotte Schwarber. You're free to go after the people in the Daily Prophet for the lies they printed in this morning's edition. I never permitted them to expose my privacy in such a way. Go!" he said. The dragon opened his wings and flew out of the great hall with incredible speed.
"May Merlin, pray for those sorry sods," Blaise commented. "They're going to get it," he and the others started chuckling. He then turned to Harry "something you want to say, man," he jokingly asked.
Harry narrowed his eyes at him. "Blaise," he said in a warning voice.
Blaise immediately held his hands up in surrender "easy. I was only kidding. We want to know what happened."
Harry rolled his eyes "it's not important," he dejectedly said. "I have other things to worry about than deal with her."
"Let me guess," Tracey began, "it's confidential, and you won't tell us." She silently laughed and shook her head. "I swear you; Potters sure do love your secrets a little too much."
Harry rolled his eyes and took a swig of pumpkin juice.
Daphne soon spoke with a bit of coldness in her voice, "guess we know why you refused to say anything."
"Whether I choose to say anything about my personal life is my business," Harry responded. "If I want people to know, then they'll know."
"Isn't that the truth" she commented "you barely say anything to anyone," Daphne's cold voice was present.
"Well, excuse me if I like to have my privacy," he bit back. "What I choose to do in my free time or who I choose to spend time with is my business. And it does not affect anyone else."
Daphne felt a bit hurt at what he said. "Well then, maybe you should go and chat her up then. Or play a song for her," she heatedly fired back.
Harry narrowed his eyes at her "what crawled up your butt and died?" The two just looked at each other "what happened at the restaurant doesn't have any impact on you. So, how about you try taking a chill pill and relax. What happened with Shiba and me is not your business."
She didn't take her eyes off his "in case you've missed it. The Daily Prophet wrote about it, and now everyone in Magical Britain knows that you and she are a thing."
"There is no "thing" between us," he replied heatedly "besides, what do you have against her so much anyway?"
"Not my lips, that's for sure," angrily pointing to her lips.
"Last I checked, you and I are not anything but good friends. So, why do you care so much?" he raised his voice.
The others noticed that the bickering between the two was starting to get rather heated.
"I don't!"
"You don't!"
"No!"
"I don't know!"
Adrian then tried to divert the attention "hey guys, do you want" he didn't get to finish.
"No," they both shouted at him, making him recoil away. While at the same time attracting a few of the other students.
"I can't believe you're getting so worked up about some stupid picture," he said.
"I am not worked up!" she bit back "you're the one who lied about nothing important that happened. You care more about keeping your secrets than anything else."
"What happened at Merlin's is not important," he dismissively said. "And don't act like you don't keep secrets from people."
"As for my personal life, your input is irrelevant and not important to me" the cold steel in voice was in full effect. It was after he said that, that he thought he pushed it too far.
Daphne was very hurt by what he said, even though she tried to cover it up and control her emotions. Her eyes said it all, and she replied, "well, if that's how you feel, then fine," was all she said as she stomped out of the hall, feeling very hurt. Tracey and Lilith shot him death glares before rushing behind Daphne.
Harry sat back down, feeling horrible at what he said to her. Rubbing his eyes, he left the hall in a huff.
Rest of the day, he was in a bad mood and did not speak to anyone except Emily and Blaise. His final class of the day was Herbology, where he sat alone and completed an exam, which was both theory and practical. The whole thing took utmost class, and after leaving, he went to Salazar's private chamber to complete his project. Salazar may be a grumpy bastard, but he knew his stuff. He also hoped that the project would take his mind off of what happened today. Byakko had chosen to stay and keep him company, Suzaku went out hunting for dinner. Salazar may be a grumpy old bastard, but Harry couldn't deny that he knew a lot about potions.
So far, Harry had been closed to making the potion the way it was supposed to be. He ran into a few errors, but after rechecking his work, he improved the potion. However, brewing it was one thing. Making sure it did what he wanted it to do was another. The Wolfsbane Potion was a prime example as the creator rushed ahead and didn't conduct enough tests. Instead of the potion being a complete cure, it was only a partial.
(0^0)
Daphne went up to her room in the Slytherin common room and fell face-first into her pillow after throwing her bag to the other side of the room. The fabled Ice Queen of Slytherin felt a wide variety of mixed emotions. After eating dinner in the kitchen, she immediately made her way back to the Slytherin common room. The fight she had with Harry at lunch plagued her mind, no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't stop thinking about it and what he said. He called her irrelevant and unimportant. That hurt more than any spell ever did. A few silent tears rolled down her face, trying to make sense of the whole ordeal. It wasn't that she wanted to be mad at him, but when she saw the newspaper about the Japanese Minister's daughter and him, that struck her.
While she was silently crying, a knock was heard on her door "go away," she said.
"Daphne," Tracey's voice came, "it's Nicole, Astoria, Lilith, and I. Please let us in."
Daphne thought for a moment before flicking her wand and opened the door. The four girls walked in and sat next to her. "Daphne, you know Harry didn't mean what he said. He was just angry."
"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," she added while rubbing her back.
"Why are you apologizing?" she asked with her face still in her pillow.
Tracey swallowed a bit, thinking about the best way to explain the conversation she had with Lilith the other day. After a few minutes of pondering, she decided to say everything "last night when we were in the dormitories. Lilith and I talked about our vacations when she mentioned that Bianca and Ulrich were having dinner the same night. Harry and his family were with the Japanese Minister family," she explained. "While Shiba did kiss Harry on the balcony, he pushed her away."
Lilith added, "it's the truth. According to Ulrich, the moment she kissed him, he pushed her away. From the look on his face, he could tell that Harry was taken back by her actions and didn't enjoy it."
Daphne raised her head and looked at them "but why did he say nothing important happened that night?" she asked dejectedly. "Why did he lie about it?"
"I wouldn't say he lied," Nicole spoke up, "bringing more like he didn't want to talk about something private. From what I remembered last semester, Harry said he disliked the girl. His body language and tone in his voice didn't betray the words that came out of his mouth."
Being the oldest among them at the moment, she was the most mature and took the job of being an older sister to them "as for him not saying anything. It would be best if you remembered how stubborn and reserved he is. Don't forget that he's a Potter, and they are notorious for being private. Even though he may not have said anything, his body language and micro-expressions said everything."
"I just thought he would have trusted me enough by now," Daphne said in a low voice. "I'm not mad at him for keeping secrets. It's the fact that he didn't trust us enough to tell us" silently she said me "and what he said about me being irrelevant."
Tracey spoke again. "Daphne, you have to remember who his guardians are," she pointed out. "The Blacks are known for their cold-blooded natures. At the same time, not all of them are as cold as Lord Black or his sister. They can be when they want to be. And Harry is no different; no question, he can be cold, ruthless, and hard to talk to sometimes. But he is capable of companionship."
"Remember that he only had two friends growing up, Blaise and Miwa," pausing for a moment. "That said, you have to have noticed that he doesn't seem as reserved as he was in the first year. If anything, he considers you to be the closest female friend he has here, and I'm sure he didn't mean what he said."
"What was he like before coming here?" Nicole asked. Curious as to what he used to be like before they met.
"That I cannot say" Tracey shook her head. "Blaise only told me a little bit, but that's it." An idea suddenly came to her "you can try asking him or Emily."
"You think they talk" Astoria raised an eyebrow. "There is no way Emily will say anything about his past, and Blaise forget about it. He and Harry are as close as brothers; getting something out of him about Harry will be very unlikely."
She then added, "and you have to remember that Harry hates it when people go digging into his private life. Evidence at what happened at lunch today."
The girls began talking about a different topic after seeing the look on Daphne's face. Daphne occasionally spoke while they were talking, but it was only half-heartedly as her mind was on Harry. Part of her wanted to go to bed and forget about today; the other part wanted to find Harry and apologize for the way she acted. 'What is it about him?' she mentally asked herself.
While it was true that he may be secretive, he also had a lot on his plate, considering what was pushed on him. She wanted to be with him as more than just a friend, but after what happened in the great hall. She didn't know if the damage could be fixed between the two. For that matter, she didn't even know what he thought about her. As much as it irked her to admit, other girls were vying for his attention. Two people came to her mind. The youngest Weasley child and that girl Kawada. At the same time, she knew how he felt about most of the Weasley family. It didn't take the worry away as the youngest Weasley shot death glares at her whenever she saw her. That didn't bother her as she was not afraid of the redhead girl.
But the way she looked at Harry annoyed her. The way she would look at him was as if he was a piece of meat. Weasley only cared about his money and fame. The way she would always try to get his attention was irritating. If that weren't bad enough, she went around and spoke about how she would be his wife and have his kids in the future. Not only that, but she was also the president of the Harry Potter fan club. That was disgusting. In her opinion, the girl lived in a fairy-tale.
Next was Miwa Kawada. She and Harry met when they were seven and have been very close for years. Daphne had to admit that she was quite pretty and got along famously with him. More so than she ever did. She thought sadly the girl was not only pretty but quite smart and powerful both magically and politically. While Daphne knew that Harry didn't care about status as others did. It still bothered her. Soon screaming and cursing herself mentally, she wondered why that popped into her head.
Raising her head, she looked at the others "look, guys, I appreciate the pep talk, but I think I'm going to turn in for the night."
The girls looked at each other before getting up and wishing her goodnight. Astoria and Tracey were the last ones to make it to the door before the brunette turned around "if you need anything, Daphne. I'll be downstairs."
"Thanks, Tracey," Daphne replied as her best friend closed the door behind her. With a wave of her wand, she put up some wards and went to sleep for the night. All the while, she was thinking about Hadrian.
(0^0)
In the RoR, Harry plopped down on the couch, mentally exhausted. He had just spent the last four hours completing the potion in Salazar's chamber, but his thoughts were not entirely on the potion as much as they were on Daphne. He knew that he stepped over the line when he called her irrelevant and unimportant to him. He didn't mean it, but the hurt look in her eyes made his blood run cold. Harry didn't know why it affected him so much, but it did. For whatever reason, he felt drawn to her, and he didn't know why. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he got back to his feet and activated the crystals on the wall.
Taking a breath, he placed a call "Japanese Minister of Magic's office." At the moment, he just wanted to go to bed as he was already tired from the day.
The Minister of magic's face soon appeared. Harry gave a respectful bow "good morning Minister Shiba, I trust that you are well?" He brought his occlumency shields to full power to clamp down on his emotions. Regardless of what he thought, he dealt with the man to test the potion on the people from Japan first.
"I am well, Mr. Potter," Yuichi spoke in a business voice. "I trust this is not a courtesy call! And shouldn't you be asleep at the moment? It's past midnight in Great Britain."
Harry answered, "I am simply fulfilling what I said at the restaurant, Minister." That immediately got the man's attention as his eyes opened wide "yes, I have three samples ready."
A ghost smile appeared on Yuichi's face "your integrity is to be commended," he praised. "To confirm, you're attempting to reverse the effects of those who have gone insane!" It wasn't a question, after doing some research about the boy and his family. He learned that he came from both members of the grey and dark families. That slightly caused him to be worried, but Hayato and Yoshi vouched for him, which made him feel relieved. The boy was a magical prodigy, not to mention very powerful both magically and politically and quite mature for his age. The way he carried himself, most would mistake him for an adult rather than a teenager.
He then resumed, "what your trying to achieve has never been done before," clasping his hands together.
Hadrian responded, "be that as it may, Minister, we live in the magical world. Anything is possible. Just because others have failed in the past doesn't mean that people shouldn't try."
The Minister silently chuckled. "I said it before at the restaurant you are ambitious. I'm rather curious why you've chosen to remain in Magical Britain than return to Japan. At the same time, I understand your doing it for your sister. I can't help but wonder that your talents are rather wasted there."
Harry had to bite down his tongue and keep his rational mind. "I appreciate your concern, but there is no need for you to be concerned. Magical Britain may not be as advanced as the other countries, but that doesn't mean it has any less value." He then cleared his throat "before I send the potions to you. I have to be certain on a few things."
"Such as" Yuichi looked at him.
"One that they are not used on innocent civilians," he began. "Second, no one will try to steal my work. Last, I like a full report about the effects they have on the people who take them."
The Minister pursed his lips then replied, "agreed! I'd expect nothing less from you, young man." He was quite taken with the boy's mannerism and skills. Perhaps he could get a marriage contract signed between him and his daughter Miyuki. Of course, he would need to speak with the child's guardians first.
Harry flicked his wand out and walked over to the corner where the potions were. Swishing his wand, he levitated them over, making sure that they were sealed shut. "Bucky, can you come here?"
With a silent pop, the head elf at Potter Castle appeared in front of him "what can Bucky do for young Hadrian?"
Harry took a knee. "I'm sorry to call you here so late. But I was wondering if you can take these potions to Minister Shiba's office in Japan," pointing to the Minister who was still on the screen.
Bucky looked at the Minister then turned back to him. "Bucky can do it" he took all three cauldron handles in his hands and silently popped away.
Yuichi turned around and saw the elf appear in his office with the cauldrons. Bucky snapped his fingers, levitated the cauldrons on the Minister's desk, and apparated back to the castle.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter," he turned around. "I'll send you a letter with the results from the testers. I already have a few people in mind."
"If I may ask. Who will you be testing them on" Harry asked while raising an eyebrow?
"During the last war, a few people in Japan were tortured into insanity," he explained. "Among them were dangerous criminals, and ever since, they have stayed in our Ministry's holding cell under tight security."
Harry wasn't entirely convinced but gave a respectful bow "if that is all, sir. I will retire for the night."
The Minister said farewell then cut off communications. Deactivating the crystals, Harry went up the stairs to his room and straight to bed.
A/N: Harry and Miwa are now trainees and are now under Hayato's tutelage. The gang has returned to Hogwarts and the Daily Prophet wrote about what happened at the restaurant. Yes some of you may be thinking why Skeeter didn't write about it, even though she did see it. Simple the woman is scared of the Blacks and wants to live. So she paid someone else to write about it. However, that doesn't change the fact that the Daily Prophet is now in trouble. The other person to see what happened was Ulrich.
Harry and Daphne had their first fight and there is now tension between the two of them.
Next Chapter: Wizengamot session and the Weasley twins strike again.