Chapter 52
Those scheduled to leave for Japan arrived at Potter castle after breakfast and flooed to the manor in Japan. The Zabini's said they would join in a week. Cariana and Blaise were going to Italy for a while to visit their relatives. As soon as everyone arrived at the manor, Hadrian called some house-elves and told them to show the others to their rooms. Harry, Emily, and Miwa went outside while the others got settled. A moment later, the elves gave them potions to help adjust to the different time zone. Byakko decided to show Suzaku around the manor. After that, the three teens went to relax in the garden. Emily and Miwa decided to play chaos ball while Harry chose to rest under a tree. It was nice to be back finally. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he felt a familiar presence approaching from the manor.
"Well, Sapphire, welcome to Japan," he said while closing his eyes and taking in her presence as she came near.
Daphne grumbled. "How did you know it was me?" removing the disillusionment charm and taking a seat next to him. She thought she'd surprise him, but he somehow felt her presence.
Harry tapped his nose "the nose knows," he casually answered. Daphne shook her head amusedly. "So, how was the talk with your parents? Did they give you the green light?"
Daphne knew he was referring to the subjects for her O.W.L.s "yes, they said I could take my exams at the I.C.W. Father was skeptical at first, but he came around." She was still finding it had to believe it herself, her father was initially against the idea, but her mother convinced him.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck," sitting up as Iroh licked his face. "Those exams can be exhausting," he scratched behind the hound's ear as Byakko and Suzaku returned from exploring. "Do you know what you're taking?"
He listened as she listed the three other subjects she wanted to test in and had to admit that they would be tough. But "I'm pretty confident you'll do well in them. Given how hard you've been practicing, you should be fine."
Daphne gave him an appreciative smile. They sat by the tree talking about the upcoming Tanabata festival; Harry explained the different festivals in Japan and their purposes. Giving the way Harry was talking about them, Daphne figured that they must be something amazing. "Tomorrow is going to be great!"
"We're also getting our yukatas tomorrow," she replied with a grin on her face. Already knowing what kind of yukata she wanted, "however, I have a feeling that the fireworks festival is going to be even better. Emily and Astoria have been talking about it nonstop."
"No, surprise," Harry commented. "Emily's always loved the festivals here. Tomorrow is the Tanabata festival; it's when we write our wishes on ofudas and hang them on trees. Legend says that the highest one gets a wish."
"That is tradition," Miwa said as she and Emily came over after playing chaos ball "besides, don't act like you never have fun."
"I always enjoyed them, especially when Byakko comes and joins us," Byakko happily growled as he too loved the star festival.
"It is nice to be back, after a while," he admitted. "I don't know about you all, but I'm going to love the festival tomorrow."
Suzaku trilled in agreement.
Harry then stood up and stretched his body "you guys want to go flying?" They looked at one another before answering "yes!"
Astoria and Tracey came out as he was about to transform. Daphne explained what the group was about to do and asked if they wanted to join. She received affirmative nods from them both. One by one, they morphed into their respective forms; Emily and Astoria hopped on Hadrian's back while Tracey got on Miwa's. The next moment the aviation group flapped their wings and ascended into the air with great speed. Together they started flying in the air, executing complex aerial maneuvers over the forest. Emily and Astoria were having fun, especially the former, who was joyously screaming while the wind blew on her face.
The next few hours were spent flying high and performing different maneuvers until Byakko called Harry and Suzaku, telling them it was dinner time. When everyone was finally on the ground, they adamantly chatted about how great it was to be in the air. Finally, Miwa said her goodbyes and used the floo to go home. Soon, everyone was in the dining room; the elves prepared a variety of Japanese-themed foods. While eating their meals, the adults talked about politics while the teens talked about what to expect next year.
"I just we get a new History of magic teacher," Astoria said. "While I do enjoy the occasional naps. Binns has to leave," she adamantly declared.
"Here, here," Tracey agreed. "I find it strange why no one has filed a complaint to have him removed. Merlin knows we'd be better off without him. All he ever does is talk about goblin wars, which is completely boring."
Daphne suddenly hatched an idea, "what if we got written complaints from the other students?" bringing the attention to her. "If we gather enough signatures and present them to the board of governors and the W.E.A., then we might be able to get rid of him for good."
The others looked at one another as if they were silently talking about what she was proposing. Finally, Harry broke the silence between them "it's a good idea, and merlin knows we need a new history professor. However, we're going to need signatures from more than ¾ of the student body, a few teachers, and have to find someone who'd be willing to take his place."
"I'm a member of the Slytherins council now, and between Nicole and me, we can put the motion on the floor," Daphne pointed out, "and I'm pretty sure they'd agree."
"We could even contact Susan, Padma, Neville, and Hannah and ask for them to gather some signatures."
"The professors, on the other hand," Emily began, "that's a different story. We're going to need more than five signatures. And we have to find someone who'd be willing to teach."
Astoria's eyes went wide. She immediately turned to her mum, speaking to the others, "I might have the perfect person in mind" a satisfied smirk appeared on her face.
Daphne caught onto who she was referring to and nodded in agreement. She then turned to her mother, "mum can we ask you something?" bringing the adult's attention to her. "What would you say about becoming a professor at Hogwarts?"
The adults stared at her with wide eyes in surprise. Nobody was more shocked than Roxanne as she was taken back by her daughter's question. "What are the five of you up to?"
"We were wondering if you'd be able to replace Binns as our History of Magic professor."
Roxanne understood what they wanted as she remembered how bad of a teacher he was when she was in school. Even if she scored an outstanding on her O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. for the subject, it was only because she self-studied the material. Given the recent events at Hogwarts, maybe it was time for things to change as the school needed to improve. More than that, she was a mother and wanted her children to thrive in their classes. "I will have to think about it more" she would need to weigh the pros and cons.
They finished eating dinner for the night and went to retire for the night.
The next day everyone dressed and went down for breakfast. As they took their seats, the elves brought them food. Tracey noticed someone missing "is Harry still sleeping? He should have come down by now," eating a strip of bacon.
Daphne noticed that Byakko and Suzaku also weren't present. After swallowing some scrambled eggs, Emily answered, "you have to ask where he is," raising a delicate eyebrow. "He hasn't been here since six a.m."
"That would explain why Byakko and Suzaku are not here," Astoria said. "Any idea when he'll be back? I want to get my yukata for the festival tonight" the delight on her face was visibly clear.
Emily sighed "probably in another hour or two. Sometimes I wish he would take the time to relax and have fun." It was the truth cause she'd noticed how tired he's been lately. Not many people were capable of seeing it, but she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. Hopefully, she'd be able to convince him to take it easy for a while. His newest project has taken up much of his time. Whenever would she ask what the project was? He always says it was important and probably counter abominations.
It took a while, but she was finally able to learn what it was called: Project Guardian. Whatever the project was about must be pretty important because he's been spending most of his time in the lab.
(0^0)
At Kawada Manor, Harry and Miwa were in the dueling chamber with Hayato and the two gods. Both teens could see why someone like him would be on the council as he was powerful, very wise, and knowledgeable. Since earlier today, when Harry arrived, they were taken to the chamber and began working on different types of the magic of a higher caliber. The spells he had them perform were extremely taxing and not to be used likely as they were equivalent to what the I.C.W. agents practiced. Seeing as how the escaped death eaters are likely reunited with their master by now, the only viable option was to make themselves stronger and be ready for when they strike. At the moment Hayato was locked in a ferocious duel with the both of them, the looks on their faces indicated that they were extremely tired.
During the last hour when the clock read a half-hour after eleven, Hayato called time, his apprentices crumpled to the ground sore and completely drained. "That will be enough for today. You two are getting better," he praised them, but all they could do was groan. "We will pick up where we left off next week. Same time, the same location. For now, I believe some medical attention is in order."
The two struggled off the ground with great difficulty as their muscles hurt in every part of their body. Together they trudged out of the chamber and went straight to the medical wing of the manor leaving Hayato to speak with the gods. After leaving the room, they went to the third floor, where the medical room was on the east wing of the manor. Arriving inside, they met some elves who saw their states and immediately rushed the two inside. They prepared the tubes and filled them with healing potions. The teens stepped inside and allowed the elves to close the tubes. Once the doors were closed, the elves snapped their fingers and created bubblehead charms for the two, so they could breathe while the potion took effect.
Twenty minutes later, the potion changed colors, and the elves let them out. The two looked at each other "mind if I use your shower?"
Miwa shook her head. "Can you guys get Hadrian and me some towels? We like to grab a shower."
"Of course, mistress Miwa," the elves said in unison before popping away for a moment then returning with their towels.
"Let's move," she said to him after receiving her towels. "You brought your clothes, right?"
Harry smiled at her and tapped his watch. "Cool, see you downstairs" they went to separate showers. Miwa went to the one in her room while Harry used the guest bathroom.
After a short shower, they met downstairs, where the gods and adults were talking in the sitting room "they are growing in their powers," Hayato commented.
Karai stopped him before he could continue as they were in the same room with them. "How are you two doing?"
"Drained," they answered at the same time.
Hayato chuckled to himself, and with a wave of his wand, he created storm clouds above their heads. Two bolts of lightning came from the clouds and zapped the two restoring their magic levels "that should do it," he said while vanishing the clouds. "I'll see the both of you at our next training session" after saying goodbye to the other adults, he flooed back home for the day.
Karai clapped her hands together "well, I believe it's time we are off. There is still time before the Tanabata festival starts, Miwa you and the others can go into the shopping district and explore. While the other adults and I do some much-needed shopping."
"Ok, mom," hugging her, she and Harry used the floo network to head to Potter manor. The gods were already in their tattoo forms when they vacated the manor.
Arriving at Potter manor, the two saw the others lounging on the couches, talking adamantly about what they would do during the festival. That came to an end when Tracey saw them "it's about time you guys got here. We were beginning to think you two would never show up."
"My, my, someone's impatient," Miwa stated while looking at the brown-haired girl "in case you haven't noticed, we have to prove ourselves to the proctors at the end of next year. And that there will be a very difficult task as we're taking our NEWTs. So how about you cut us a little slack!"
"Speaking of which," turning her head, "we should be getting our exams list in a couple of days. Do you know what your testing in?"
"Yep," Harry nodded. "Charms, Potions, Herbology, Alchemy, Healing, Ritual, DADA, CoMC, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Dueling, Transfiguration, and Magical language."
"What? That's thirteen NEWT exams," Astoria exclaimed and looked at him as if he grew a second head. "You have to be crazy to try and do that many NEWT level exams."
Harry shrugged his shoulders "it's me, you know. I'm just glad that I will never have to take a history of magic or astronomy ever again."
"Care to make a bet?" Daphne adopted a mischievous look. Harry knew the look she was giving him and inclined his head for her to continue. "I wager that an international star will come to Hogwarts this year."
Harry was in deep thought "what are the stakes?"
"If an international star comes to Hogwarts, then you will have to take another NEWT exam at the end of the year."
"And if I win, then you will have to take another O.W.L. exam. Do we have a deal" holding out a hand?
"Deal," she shook his hand.
Tracey cleared her throat "alright. You two have your bet now. Can we leave now?" she wanted to check out the Japanese shopping district.
Daphne was about to say something to her but was cut off by Harry "you guys go on. I'll join you guys after I get done speaking with my grandfather." He turned and went up the stairs as Isabella came into the room.
"Are you ladies ready to go explore Magical Japan?"
They all nodded excitedly and exited the manor via floo network.
On the other hand, Harry walked into his family library, where he was sure his grandfather would be present and waiting for him. Entering through the doors, he saw both his grandparents in the portrait above the fireplace's mantle. "There's my grandson" Charlus smiled at him. "My, you look like you've grown again" he could see the powerful magical aura around the boy. It eerily reminded former of himself and Arcturus when they were his age, only that Harry was far more powerful.
"Hello grandfather, grandmother," Harry respectfully greeted them. "Thanks for coming on short notice."
"Any excuse to see my favorite grandson."
"I'm your only grandson!" Harry pointed out.
"Which is why you are my favorite," Charlus cheekily replied.
Dorea pinched her husband's arm and gave him a mock glare before turning back to Harry. "How are you doing, sweetheart? Where are your friends at?"
"I am well, and they are currently in the magical shopping district."
"Right tonight's the Tanabata festival. You excited?" she asked him, to which Harry nodded. "How are you and that Daphne girl doing?" giving him a mischievous grin.
"We're just close friends," Harry answered. Dorea raised her left eyebrow "really? Just friends! From what I've heard, you two spend a lot of time together."
Harry's face went red at what she said. While it was true that he did have feelings for Daphne, he didn't know how she felt about him. "We happen to enjoy each other's company."
"Mmhm sure," giving him a nod. "That is what your grandfather and I use to say before he finally got the courage to ask me out. You remember, don't you dear" nudging his arm.
"I was waiting for the right time," Charlus defended. "Besides, I had to leave a trail of broken hearts behind. Remember Harry put on a little Potter charm, and you will have women vying for your attention at the snap of your fingers" he started laughing but stopped when she hit behind the head. "Right! We'll talk later, Harry."
Dorea glared at her husband then turned to Harry. "Ignore your grandfather. So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
Harry began explaining how he had been experimenting with wandless magic and what he discovered about it. Both of their attentions were firmly on him as he continued explaining. Dorea sometimes commented on how alike he was with Charlus. Instead of being flustered, the former Lord Potter swelled with pride at his grandson. Wandless magic was exceedingly difficult, and very few could do it. Only a few people were capable of performing wandless magic as it required both magical and mental discipline. Even then, only a few could do it and use it in combat. For instance, he and Arcturus could do it when they were around 17 or 18, though it was only through intense training. A few others who were on par with them when it came to wandless magic were Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore, and Voldemort, as they were exceedingly powerful.
A few others could manage about 20 to 35 percent max. The two former Potters watched in amazement as Harry managed to do basic wandless magic, though each time he had to say the incantation, his spells were only functioning at 11 percent of his maximum power.
(0^0)
The girls were enjoying the shopping district of magical Japan, for it was better than magical Britain's. Emily and Miwa shared a knowing look as Daphne, Tracey, and Astoria were mesmerized by the shopping district. They spent hours going from shop to shop, trying on different clothes or looking at the different attractions. That was until they stopped to get some food before they went to pick up their yukatas.
Arriving at a restaurant, a waiter escorted them to an empty table and took their orders before departing to the kitchen.
"This is amazing," Astoria said with a happy expression on her face. "Why can't magical Britain have shops like the ones here?" In her opinion, magical Japan was far more advanced than Britain ever was, which irritated the little girl.
"Right," Tracey responded in kind. "This place is amazing and much livelier than Diagon Alley."
Astoria turned to Emily "shouldn't Harry be here at the moment? Last we saw him; he went to speak with his grandfather."
"So glad to know you missed me," a familiar voice cut in. Turning to the source, they saw Hadrian coming forward and taking a seat next to Emily. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing much," Daphne replied. "We ordered you a spicy Katsudon sandwich and a butterbeer."
Harry chuckled to himself, "I appreciate it." The waiter came back and levitated their lunches to them.
"So, what were you doing that was so important?" Miwa asked as she took a bite out of her sandwich.
"Had to speak with my grandparents about wandless magic" everyone looked astonished at how he casually responded. "What?" he asked, confused at their shocked expressions.
"Your studying wandless magic" Daphne was the first to regain herself and reply. "Isn't that dangerous?" Even Miwa looked at him with disbelief. Most people lacked the power and skills to use wandless magic.
Harry immediately put his hands up "easy, guys. I take precautions whenever I'm performing them, and I'm never alone. Father refuses to let me practice alone. So, I always have either Takashi or Kai with me whenever I practice. Even then, I only do it to understand control."
"Still though, wandless magic is not something to mess around with," Daphne bit back. "People have either died or lost their magic completely because they would often lose control of it completely."
"Yes, I know," he said after taking a sip of his drink. "That's why I am taking it step by step. I have no intentions of dying or losing my magic." Then, taking a bite of his sandwich, "however, I want to understand it more. At the moment, I can only manage about 11 percent of the necessary power for the most basic of spells."
They continued talking about it through the remainder of lunch. Daphne occasionally glanced at Harry as he seemed drained and very stiff. She knew Emily shared her concern, given the way she was looking at him. Harry may be capable of fooling most people, but she saw through his expressionless mask. After eating, they paid the bill and exited the establishment to pick up their yukatas at the store. While walking through the streets, they could see people putting up decorations for tonight's entertainment. Finally, they arrived at the store and saw it was packed full of people; luckily for them, they preordered their uniforms beforehand. Moving through the crowd, they walked toward the register, tapped the bell where a woman in her early thirties came out of the office.
"How may I help you?"
Isabella stepped forward "we're here to pick up orders for Greengrass, Davis, Stevenson, and Potter." That caused the cashier's eyes to go wide when Isabella mentioned the name, Potter.
"Mr. Potter, it's an honor to meet you. I have heard much" she gave him a respectful bow. Harry gave her a respectful nod "likewise, milady. This is quite an impressive establishment you have here," looking around the crowded store. "You see, we are on a schedule. May we have our orders?"
"Yes! Yes, of course, let me get them" she ran back into her office to go retrieve them. It wasn't long before she returned and levitated a few wrapped packages on the table "here you are. Would you like to use some of our open dressing rooms?"
"Yes, please," Isabella said.
The woman summoned some house-elves and led them upstairs to the section of the changing rooms since the ones downstairs were full. Even when they arrived on the second floor, people were still browsing through the collection of different uniforms. So the elves took them to the changing room section and gave them their separate yukatas to put on. Then, after closing and locking the doors, they began changing out of their clothes.
Ten minutes later, Harry was the first to emerge from his stall; he ordered a midnight blue yukata with white and grey dragonflies flying around. His obi belt had a pattern that complimented his outfit. As he continued looking at the mirror, he saw Emily and Miwa coming out of their stalls. The little bundle of joy was positively giddy with excitement as the two approached him.
"What do you think of my yukata?" Emily asked him.
Harry placed a hand on her head "you look great, Shizuku," giving her a warm smile. "The yukata looks like it was made just for you" she spun around at what he said for her to like the yukata she had chosen. The yukata she was wearing was black and had a pattern of white and blue flowers on it. "Oh, and you too, Miwa" she donned a dark purple with sakura and Amaririsu floral patterns on her yukata.
Not long after, the others came out of their rooms wearing yukatas of different colors and designs, which only left Daphne, who still hadn't emerged from her stall yet. While they talked amongst themselves, the door to Daphne's room unlocked, and she stepped out. When Harry saw her coming out, he was awestruck at how beautiful she looked in the yukata. Her's were dark blue with a pattern of burning blue roses and a group of ice phoenixes flying over them. Part of her hair was braided, and the rest flowed along her back. Quickly, finding his voice, he snapped back into reality, "wow, you look beautiful."
Her cheeks went pink at what he said "thanks, Harry. You look great too." She liked the yukata he had chosen as it suited him.
The two stood still, looking at each other with smiles across their features for what seemed like an eternity. That was until Tracey clapped her hands together, bringing them back "you two can fawn over each other later. The festival is about to begin." Both their faces went red at what she said, much to her enjoyment. Daphne tried to cover it up by giving her a scathing glare.
Isabella leads them downstairs and out of the building before Daphne could say anything to Tracey. Together they left the establishment, and Miwa leads them to where the festival was going to start. After fifteen minutes of walking, they arrived at a large park with a big lake; there were concession stands, some of which held games and different varieties of foods, along with decorations meant for the festival. At the moment the drums began, so did the festival. Harry and Miwa showed everyone around, even telling them about the (star festival). Luckily for them, they were in the magical district this way. Muggles couldn't see or interfere. Harry even let Takashi and Kai out so they could enjoy themselves.
Two hours later, it was finally nighttime, and the stars were shining bright in the sky. Harry purchased them some telescopes so they could view the stars. Unlike the muggle telescopes, he got them magical ones as they were designed to see far deeper in the sky. The lanterns floating around provided some light so people could see better. Looking through the telescope, Daphne could swear she see the stars dancing, and it was absolutely beautiful in her opinion. She then took a seat next to Harry on the warm grass "it's beautiful."
"It sure is," he agreed, looking up at the sky. "And this is just the beginning."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, we each right a wish on an ofuda and hang them on trees. Legend says that the higher you hang them, the more likely your wish will come true."
Spending another hour near the lake, they eventually got up and went back to Potter Manor to make their wishes to hang up on the trees. Harry called some elves to bring them the materials they would need. Two minutes later, the elves returned, and the teenagers started writing their wishes down before hanging them up.
Astoria wanted to remember the night they had and asked to take some pictures to celebrate the day. Once again, Harry called an elf and asked if she could bring down a camera. She happily complied and popped away only to return with a camera and a stand. Group by group, they took pictures, and after talking about a dozen, he had the elf finalize them.
(0^0)
A week later, Harry and Miwa were sent on missions to Moscow and Egypt, both of
which exhausted them heavily and took a toll on them. They had to shut down a criminal organization specializing in racketeering, murder, illegal experimentations, selling class A materials, and other black-market goods in Moscow. Egypt was a different story as they had to fight a branch syndicate of the Five dragons, which wasn't easy as it was fifty-seven of their guys against twenty-one Magi's. After each mission, Harry would always collapse on the couch from utter exhaustion. That and his training sessions with Hayato became all that more intense. The man seemed hellbent on making sure they were ready for each mission. Not long after, Blaise and his mother arrived at the manor to join them.
The night after his third mission, Harry had difficulty sleeping as he'd been dreaming about Voldemort again. Only this time, it was far more intense as he saw Riddle speaking with a pudgy man called Slughorn, who seemed rather upset at the fact of him working at some rundown shop in Knockturn Alley. The more he witnessed what Riddle was like, the more disgusted he was, that was until Tom's eyes brightened when he held Helga's cup and Salazar's locket. One of his employers, Burke, seemed especially pleased with the amount of gold the boy earned them. Unfortunately, that was as far as Harry got before he woke up panting and sweating. Looking around his room, he saw Byakko and Suzaku still asleep, though it didn't last much longer as his alarm went off.
Byakko was the first to notice his distress "bad dream?"
"More like another memory courtesy of Voldemort," Harry replied. Suzaku began trilling in earnest, attempting to ease his pain. "When you're ready, we'll talk about it!"
Harry flashed him a smile before getting out of bed and changing out of his pajamas. Ten minutes later, he was dressed in some casual clothes and out of the room on his way to breakfast. Entering the dining room, he saw Sarah, Cariana, and Roxanne sitting down talking about politics. He took a seat next to Sarah and filled his plate with food as the others came in. Once everyone was seated, they began eating.
When they were all done, the teenagers went outside to enjoy the fresh air. Harry stayed quiet for a while, choosing to under a tree with Byakko sitting next to him. Astoria and Emily could be seen playing with the animals. While the two were playing, Daphne and Tracey pulled some books from the library and read by the lake. Blaise, however, wanted to fly and, after getting Harry's permission, started using his Nimbus 2001.
While his friends were enjoying themselves, Harry decided to meditate and connect with his magical core. A couple of hours later, Miwa arrived and engaged Daphne, Tracey, Astoria, and Emily in a game of chaos ball. Meanwhile, Harry, Suzaku, and Byakko discussed the recent dream about Voldemort and what it meant. After their discussion, the three went back inside and made their way to the Lord's study.
Back outside, the girls were still playing chaos ball until they eventually called for a timeout.
"That was fun," Tracey said, relaxing on the ground next to the water. So what's next?"
"I say we go to the Magic Mixer," Blaise said above her. The girls watched as he came down from the air "besides, we're on summer vacation. Let's enjoy the time we have before school starts again in September."
"I'm with you, Blaise," Miwa replied, "We should take advantage of the time we have to ourselves. Especially since this is me and Harry's NEWT year, and once school begins, we're going to be up to our necks in paperwork."
"Speaking of which, where is our raven-haired companion?"
Emily responded, "he's in the Lord's study."
Miwa groaned. "What could he be doing that is so important?" She knew that he was spending a lot of time on his new project, though she couldn't help but wonder what he was working on.
"Knowing him. He is probably working on some advanced magic again," Daphne commented. "Hang on. I'll get him," activating her communicator. She turned it a few clicks to the right. "Harry, you there?"
"I'm here!"
"We're going to the Magic Mixer. Do you want to come?"
"Sure. Let me put some stuff away, and I'll be down."
Daphne turned her communicator off and faced the others "he's on his way."
Together they started walking back toward the manor. Miwa filled them in on what they should expect at the Mixer, considering it differed from Britain's. Unfortunately, Emily only heard half of what she said as her mind was currently on Harry. Something was off about his attitude this morning, and it must have been pretty bad to rattle his nerves. They found the adults sitting on the couches and Harry leaning against the wall in the main sitting room.
"You guys ready?"
They gave him affirmative nods. "Alright, let's go!"
Roxanne stood up before they could use the floo network, "make sure you have your communicators with you."
After ensuring they had everything, the group stepped into the floo and transported themselves to the shopping district. Once they were out of the house and in the shop, they walked out to the Mixer. The day after the festival, the streets were crowded, and decorations were still up.
While walking, Emily reached through her connection with him. "Harry, are you feeling alright?" When he didn't reply, she spoke again, "I heard you last night."
"I'm fine, Shizuku!"
"I can sense that you feel uneasy" she didn't believe him when he said he was fine.
"It was a memory," he replied.
"Voldemort?"
He gave a slow nod "there was an evil glee in his eyes when he held the cup and locket. A man named Slughorn was upset that he chose to work in a rundown shop instead of at the ministry. One of his employers was Burke."
"You going to tell Arcturus and Severus what you saw?"
"I'll pass the information to them because I have no clue as to what it means." This was going to be another headache while he knew Voldemort converted the objects to Horcruxes. He didn't know why he chose them in the first place. Also, how did Voldemort get his hands on the objects in the first place? Then there were the two individuals. Harry couldn't put his foot on it, but those two seemed rather important to Voldemort in a way. This would only bring in more questions.
Resigning himself, he followed the others inside, and the interior was indeed different than the one from Magical Britain. The place had the same design but was much more spacious. They maneuvered themselves across the dancefloor and found an open table.
"Damn. Now, this is what I'm talking about," Blaise commented as he looked around.
The D.J. then started playing a new track, which the audience seemed to enjoy, as many of them got up and started dancing.
Daphne looked at Harry "wow! It's great. You coming?" She got up from her seat and went to the dancefloor with Harry following close behind. Finding an area, they began dancing to the music, and so did the others.
Harry had to admit that he was having fun dancing with her and couldn't help but think how great her moves were. Her movements resembled that of a professional dancer that, coupled with her natural beauty, made her that much more attractive. Not that there was any doubt in his mind as she already was!
After dancing for a couple of hours, they finally decided to get something to eat. One of the waitresses asked what they wanted to order, and one by one, they ordered what they wanted.
Unknown to them, a group of girls from Mahoutokoro were silently talking about them. "See that guy with jet black hair?" Her friends nodded. "I think that's Harry Potter."
"Ming, I think your right," her friend commented. "He sure is handsome!"
"Not to mention a magical prodigy!"
The girl to their left spoke, "I heard he's insanely rich and very powerful. So it's no wonder why Shiba wanted him."
"His friend is also quite good looking too."
Making up their minds, they went to approach them. "Hello there," the one called Ming greeted Harry and the others. However, her gaze was directly on him "are you really, Harry Potter?"
"I am," he replied, giving her a once over. She was slightly above average in the appearance department, at least in his opinion. "Can I help you with something?"
The girl with twin tails spoke, "my name is Akiko Konoe. My friends and I were wondering if you and your friend there," gesturing to Blaise, "would like to join us at our table" she batted her eyelashes at him.
"No, I'm good" was his only response.
Blaise said, "same here."
Akiko put an arm on his shoulder "then how about a dance? The way you danced was incredible! Maybe you can show me how good you are!" taking a step next to him.
Harry saw a look of irritation on Daphne's face from the corner of his eyes and removed the girl's hand from his shoulder. "I'll have to take a rain check. As you can see, I'm here with my friends," gesturing to the others who were sitting down.
"Well, if you ever change your mind and want better company. All you have to do is ask," she sneered at the other girls before leaving with her friends.
When they were out of earshot, Harry said, "that was random" he took a bite out of his buffalo nuggets.
Blaise snorted. "Random my arse. They were checking us out. Not that I blame them. We are good-looking."
"You have a girlfriend genius," Tracey pointed out.
"I know! And that is why I refused to go with them," Blaise defended. "Besides, I'm happy with Eleanor."
They continued eating and listening to music, and after they were done. The waitress came with the bill, and they all paid before departing back to the manor via floo network. An hour later, after arriving back home, Harry went to the Lord's study and placed a call to Severus, Arcturus, Jack, and Alex, explaining the dream he had of Riddle.
(0^0)
At Black's castle, Arcturus and the others finished a conversation with Harry and debated how to proceed with the information they got. Arcturus was massaging his temples "this is quite vexing. Not only have we been unable to gather any information about Riddle's parents, but now we have to find out how he got his hands on those items. From what we know, it is clear that Slughorn knew Voldemort when the boy was in school. Apparently, old Slughorn was displeased with him taking up a job at Borgin and Burke's. Why Voldemort chose to work for them is a mystery. And how he got a hold of Helga and Salazar's items is another."
"How are we going to proceed from here?" Alex enquired. "All information regarding Riddle has been wiped clean from both the Ministry and I.C.W. files."
"I know Burke died during the last war" Jack came in. "Borgin, however, is still alive and maintains his shop in Knockturn Alley. We could try bringing him in along with Slughorn."
"That is easier said than done," Severus coolly responded "after the first war, Horace went into hiding and is rarely seen. Attempting to find his whereabouts will not be easy." He scoffed at the memory of his old potion professor "despite being a social collector. Horace was no fool as he was capable of disappearing without a trace. Even if we could find him, I doubt he talks about the Dark Lord at all and attempting to look in his mind will prove to be difficult as his shields are quite powerful. I should know as he was capable of keeping Dumbledore out."
"Then there's old Borgin," Sirius came in "he may be a sneaky deplorable bastard, but he is also well-respected, and his absence will not go unnoticed." He remembered entering the shop a couple of times in the past with his family, and the oily man had many dark objects in his store. A light bulb his head suddenly went off as he remembered that Cassie was meeting with King Ragnok and Griphook "when is Cassie supposed to be back?"
"Look behind you," the voice of his great aunt let him know she was back. The unreadable expression on her face indicated that she indeed found something.
"How was your meeting with the goblins?" Arcturus asked.
Cassie poured herself a glass of old Ogden and took a swig of it. "We spent over three hours looking through the Slytherin line," she began taking another gulp of her drink "we had to go back to Salazar himself. From there, we had to narrow our search to a branch family as the main one had been extinct for three centuries."
"What was the name of the branch family?" Arcturus narrowed his eyes when he asked her.
"The Gaunt family."
Arcturus kept his eyes narrowed as he never heard of that family before; even when he was the captain of the I.C.W., that name never came up. A cold sensation ran down his back, and it told him to tread carefully.
Severus faced her "do you know who or where they are? Maybe we can question one of them and probably get some answers."
"Unfortunately not," she began "according to Ragnok, they're all dead, and any information on where they lived is gone." Severus groaned. "However, I did manage to get their names, Marvolo, Morfin, and Merope. Those were the only names that came up with a possible connection to Voldemort."
"Well, it's a start," Arcturus said.
"They're dead! How is that a start?" Sirius was confused as to what he was getting at. His grandfather only sneered at him. "It's a start because we now know which family to look into; the more we know about the bastard's origin, the more we have a chance of being rid of him." He then got a look on his face that meant an idea came to him. "I need you to get ahold of Amelia and Nymphadora."
Sirius wondered what his grandfather would want with the two of them.
(0^0)
July soon fell into August relatively quickly; Harry's birthday was spectacular as his friends threw him a party and gave him things they thought he would enjoy. Surprisingly enough, Severus was able to come, something for which Harry was happy as he missed his father. Not long after, it came time for the day of the fireworks festival, and the gang was looking forward to it, mostly Harry, Emily, and Daphne. The latter because it would be her first, and if the festival was as good as the Tanabata one, it would be a sight to behold. That and the fact that Harry and Emily told her how they got more and more amazing each year.
At the moment, Harry and Daphne were currently having a picnic in the garden next to the lake. The warm grass underneath them felt nice as they talked about the upcoming quidditch match between Ireland and Bulgaria.
"I still can't believe Sirius was able to get us tickets and seats in the Minister's box," Harry said excitedly.
"Who do you think will win?" Daphne finished off her sandwich.
"Hard to say," Harry shrugged his shoulders, "both teams are very skilled. It'll come down to who wants it more. Even with Viktor still being in school, he is an amazing seeker. Though I think Ireland will win as they have a better group of chasers."
"So, have you decided what kind of career you wanted?"
She gave him a nod. "I would like to work for the Department of Mysteries. However, I'd still want to obtain some masteries first. What about you? Still want to become an agent for the I.C.W. after you've gotten your masteries?"
"Yep," adding a popping sound, "besides, it might be nice being an agent. They're certainly more competent and powerful than the standard Ministry Aurors." He then leaned back until he was lying on the ground "this is nice!"
A smile appeared on Daphne's face as she maneuvered herself over and sat on her knees. Seeing him calm and happy brought delight to her being.
"And there's the fact of me getting too hot, then I have the Ice Queen next to me" he gave her a mischievous smile.
"Oh really" was all she said before she pounced on top and started tickling him. His attempts at getting her to stop were futile as she had his arms pinned with her feet. "This is how the Ice Queen keeps snarky prats like you in check," she said while tickling him. The more she tickled him, the more laughter increased until he managed to flip her over, so he was now on top tickling her.
"Looks like the shoe is on the other foot now," tickling her sides. However, it didn't last long as she was now on top again. The two continued rolling around the garden to gain an advantage over each other until they were both tired. They eventually fell asleep under the shade, with Daphne lying comfortably next to him.
Unknown to both of them, Astoria and Emily came outside and saw them sleeping under the shade. The former was about squeal in laughter, but Emily placed a hand over her mouth before she could. "Don't make any noise," she whispered into her ear. "I have a better idea!"
Astoria watched as she pulled out a camera from her watch and knew what she was thinking. Emily quickly snapped a picture of the two sleeping before motioning for Astoria to follow her back inside. Together the two younger sisters ran back inside, giggling at what they just got.
Two hours later, he woke up and looked around to see Daphne still asleep. He briefly thought she was a beautiful angel who looked quite peaceful not long after she began to stir until her eyes opened "morning! You slept like a log."
Daphne yawned as she rubbed her eyes, attempting to get the blur out. Then her attention snapped back to reality "what time is it?" Looking at the sun as it was about to go down.
"Relax," Harry said. "We have an hour and a half before the festival begins," he said after looking at his watch and rising to his feet. "You ready to go back inside?" extending his hand to her.
She took his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull her up. The two made their way back inside, where they were met by their respective sisters and Daphne's mother. A mischievous smile appeared on Astoria's face when she saw them "about time the both of you came back. Did you enjoy your little alone time?"
Daphne's cheeks went pink "we didn't do anything, you little snot."
Astoria showed a picture of the two of them sleeping on the grounds. Harry and Daphne's flushed with embarrassment; Astoria didn't stop there "so Daphne, when are you going to make Harry your boyfriend?" Emily was having a hard time trying not to laugh but was failing miserably.
"Harry and Daphne sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Tori sang as she bolted out of the room away from her heavily embarrassed sister. Roxanne had an amused look on her face as she watched Daphne chase Astoria out of the room. Then, quickly composing herself, she went to make sure Daphne didn't go overboard.
"I'm going to get dressed for the festival" Harry beat a hasty retreat upstairs, his face still flushed. Then, quickly changing out of his clothes, he put on his yukata uniform. Then, after tying his obi belt, he went back downstairs to join the others.
On the sofa near the fire, Roxanne worked on fixing Astoria's hair as Daphne turned it neon green. Although speaking of Daphne, she was trying to avoid answering Tracey's questions. The brunette was looking at the picture of the two of them and wanted to know what else happened. After Blaise and his mother came down and Miwa came through the floo, they all left the manor and went to the location of the fireworks festival. Daphne, in particular, didn't waste a moment when she bolted toward the fireplace and flooed out of the manor.
Once they were at the lake, the group found a clear space in the crowd and set up a blanket to sit down. The committee did a fantastic job with decorations as they were much better than the previous years. All of the lanterns were shining bright, and the drums were being magically played. Spying a concession stand that sold sparklers and fireworks, Harry motioned for Blaise and to follow so they could light them up. The man in charge had a wide variety of different sparklers and fireworks on sale, so they just grabbed one of everything. A smile formed on Harry's face at the items they bought as it was an improvement, making their way back to the others. They showed them the items they got.
When asked how they start the festival? Emily immediately said they should light some of the fireworks when everyone agreed! So Harry, Miwa, and Roxanne started lining them up. Harry created a medium-sized ball of fire out of his left hand when they were done and carefully levitated it towards the fuses. The next moment they shot off the ground, then exploded into several different colors. Blaise lined up the next batch, and Harry maneuvered the same ball of fire to their fuses. When they exploded, a bright red wingless dragon formed in the air and started flying in the air performing aerial maneuvers.
They continued setting off different fireworks. Some became magical creatures like wing horses, griffons, other breeds of dragons, and lions. Next came the sparklers. The fire Harry manifested was still in the air, so the only thing the others had to do was hold them high enough for them to catch on fire. Astoria and Emily were having a grand time playing with their sparklers, the former more than the latter, as she loved the different colors. Eventually, it came time for the main event when the announcer blew into his magically amplified horn. The fireworks committee began setting off various fireworks.
This year the committee decided to go with muggle and wizarding fireworks. When they exploded in the air, not only did it provide a good show, but they also formed various words like Magic is might, Wizarding world, Long live the Magical World, Titans, among various other things.
The entire festival lasted for two and a half hours, and as soon as the last of the fireworks was released, people started to either leave or set off sparklers and other firecrackers. When one of the workers came by, Roxanne asked if he could take some pictures of them, which he happily obliged. After taking several pictures, the group went back home for the night.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait I was so caught up in doing other things that I forgot about my fanfic. Anyway Harry saw another memory from Voldemort's past and was surprised that he worked for Borgin and Burkes, though he doesn't know why. I know that Slughorn wouldn't be introduced until Book 6, but he is tied to Voldemort's past in a way. I've read some of the reviews and I would first like to apologize as Harry will be competing in the tournament. However, before any of you say anything, understand that it is important that he competes. Not only that I also have plans for Book 4.
I will say this though: Their will be drama and deaths.
Next chapter: Trouble at the World cup!