CHAPTER 46: The King's Gambit (Part 3)

Wizengamot Viewer's Gallery

5:15 p.m.

Harry shoved the doors open, staggering through in a daze as the ringing in his ears kept rising in level.

"You are now, until you reach your majority of age, a ward of House Longbottom."

It felt like a lifetime ago, the words were spoken. The sentence that sentenced him to nearly two years without freedom. Two years in which every decision of his life would be in the hands of Augusta Longbottom.

Why the fuck had she done this?

Over fourteen years he had been left abandoned, forced to rot with the Dursleys as everyone washed their hands of their responsibility towards him. He'd accepted it, more than that. Even as the whole world turned their backs to him, he had made due with it. He had trained himself to be a weapon, forced people to pay attention to him as he made himself too hard to ignore by proving his worth to rival those of the Weasley twins, the Golden Trio, and whatever fucking Slytherin tried to cross him.

And now… just as he was set to gain true freedom in his life, just as he had carved a name for himself. One that had commanded respect with his peers. One that had terrified someone enough to send Dolohov to murder him. One that spat upon everyone who left him behind without a second thought, Augusta Longbottom had come into his life and forced herself upon him.

"My daughter-in-law, Alice Longbottom, was a close friend to Lily Potter and godmother to her son."

And yet, that hadn't mattered when his parents were butchered by Death Eaters, who left him an orphan. That hadn't mattered over all these years, years when he'd been forced to face Montague, Riddle, and the bloody dementors. But now, suddenly now, it became important. Suddenly, now they cared, suddenly now they were willing to take on the responsibility of him.

Too fucking little, too fucking late.

Potter.

It was like a far away whisper, and yet he felt the breath tingle over his neck. Suddenly, he was drenched; his hair, his body and clothes all felt wet and soaked even as he stayed as dry as ever. He could feel the change, the floor felt less solid as everything in view began shifting. The men were standing completely still as gaps began appearing within their bodies. Gaps in their arms and faces, in their bodies and clothes, and he could almost see through them. It wasn't just them, every object, everything solid began showing gaps. Gaps that were filled by fluid, black ink.

"Potter."

Harry turned, and behind him stood an old man. His hair was white with heavy signs of balding. Dressed sharply and gazing at him with a most solemn look - the man was the only thing solid in the room besides Harry himself.

"You-" the words escaped him before he realised. "Why didn't you-"

"There isn't much time," Bedivere said softly, his voice barely audible, and yet it sharply stopped his own. The gaps around them began growing in size and spreading quicker. The black ink followed, only it wasn't black. Not anymore. Each had its own colours that didn't mesh at all with the ones they were replacing. Like crafting a jigsaw with pieces of different puzzles.

It was going faster by the second, silencing Harry as he gazed in awe. The room, the people, the furniture had all disappeared, all been replaced by a familiar palette of colours. Soon, he could make out shapes.

The walls were no longer black and cold, but a warm shade of light-brown wood. The rigid chairs and vacant tables were gone, replaced by leather armchairs and linen couches. He could see other things farther away. The kitchen with a wooden island, the grandiose stairs leading towards an upper level with a piano under them.

And then, in a second, everything turned solid once more as they stood in the living room of Parkinson Cottage.

Before he could say anything, Bedivere unsheathed his right forearm and Harry watched as blots of ink travelled down his arm before settling into two crossed wands, each rising from beneath a skull's eye-holes as they stabbed at a snake.

"Find them," he said. "Bring them to me."

The ink was gradually dispelled, leaving the forearm as bare as it used to be, without any traces of the tattoo. Bedivere sighed as he rolled down his arm sleeve. He walked towards Harry, and as he crossed into the living room, it all began shifting. The armchairs and couches transfigured themselves into tall, wooden chairs. And from the decorative furniture in the middle sprouted an increasingly widening table that made Harry step a few paces back. It was made of strong, oak wood, its base was large and rectangular, but was made to look small by the length and width of the surface. Above it, several stacks of parchments appeared as a massive, slightly three-dimensional map of Britain formed in the centre.

"You must have many questions about what happened at the Wizengamot, but you won't verbalize them. Not until the others arrive."

"How did we get here?" Harry blurted out, feeling the need to ask something, anything. "I thought you couldn't apparate in or out of the Ministry? And how did you even make it out without anyone noticing you?"

"I never left," he answered cryptically as various marker figurines began appearing all over the map. "Not entirely. Neither have you. However, while I am able to still control my form that resides in the Wizengamot meeting, yours is static and won't respond until you return."

"My… form?"

"I could spend the next five hours explaining the basics to you, and you'd still be nowhere near grasping even half the words I use."

"So I should just keep my pretty little mouth shut?"

"Preferably."

Scowling, Harry took a seat on one of the tall chairs and began admiring the map. There were nearly two dozen of different types of markers - all various creatures or symbols. A lightning bolt, a phoenix, a couple of dementors, a rat, a ship, and so many more. They were spread all over the map; and he noticed several patterns. There were various clustered on the north of Scotland, another bunch right on top of London, and then various scattered on what he knew were rural areas with no city or town nearby. Markers of the same type might be clustered together or separated completely.

But before he could ask anything, a blood-curdling screeching rang behind him. Jumping from the seat, Harry summoned his wand from his holster absent-mindedly and pointed it at a flying mass of darkness that had flown down from the chimney before crashing on the ground. An explosion of black dust nearly covered completely the man with long, blond hair and a robust goatee that stood in the middle.

Harry hurled a blasting curse that the man caught with his bare hand - shiny silver and completely unfazed by the contained explosion that resulted. His wand flew from his hand as a snap of fingers echoed across the room and the green fires of the fireplace revealed Alecto Carrow, who gave him a sultry smile.

"I'd appreciate if you don't try to kill my guests," Bedivere spoke quietly, and it was only then that Harry realised his wand had landed on the man's hands.

"Ah, Harry." Carrow said as she sidestepped the blond man, who shrugged mockingly at him. "Bad business it must be if you're here. The magical guardianship didn't go well, I take?"

"Unfortunately not. Harry, you've met Alecto, haven't you?"

"I've had the pleasure," Harry sneered as he snatched his wand from the table where Bedivere had put it down. "Not that I can say the same about the poor man's Lucius Malfoy."

The man was tall, with broad shoulders and a muscular body that his pink, orange, and purple robes failed to hide. His hair was long and rough, reaching the back of his neck. His brown eyes, dancing with glee that gave an inherent feeling of joviality that made Harry feel ten times older. Most notable of all was his silver arm that was in the stead of where his left arm should be.

"Is he always this whiny?"

"More than often, yes." Carrow drawled.

"Corban Yaxley, at your service," the man extended his hand, which Harry grudgingly shook. "Nice reflexes there, Potter. A man who lives up to his reputation."

"Nice arm. Do you always cheat in a fight, or were you just scared of being taken down by a fifteen-year-old?"

"In my experience, only deadbeats or retards call someone who bests them cheaters," Yaxley gave a toothy smile. "I didn't peg you as either of those things."

"You two will get time to get to know each other better some other day," Bedivere interjected, his voice thick with authority as the three of them turned to him. "Dumbledore has dealt us an unexpected blow, we must plan ahead."

"Dumbledore took custody of the boy?" Alecto asked.

"Not directly. Potter is now a ward of House Longbottom, something that is proving equally frustrating and relieving at the same time."

"You think Dumbledore forced Augusta to take me in as her ward?" Harry questioned.

"Perhaps not ordered, I doubt someone like Augusta Longbottom would take orders so easily. But the scheme originated from him, he knows of your participation in the murder of Montague, and I can't see a reason as to why Augusta would seek to adopt you without external prodding."

A grimace crossed Harry as he questioned just how much Pansy had told her grandfather.

"That's unfortunate, and I had such good news about the Horcrux."

"What did you obtain from the diary?"

"You still have the diary?"

"He doesn't," Alecto assured. "I put it back into Dumbledore's office myself."

"That was a copy, I'm afraid." Yaxley wove them off as if it were unimportant. "Even with my vast expertise, Horcruxes are the most complex of the Dark Arts. To gain a proper analysis on it, I had to study it for months." He suddenly sobered, the quiet in his eyes felt off. "Results proved more disturbing than previously thought."

Reaching into his inside pocket, Yaxley drew out the diary and dropped it on the table.

"As the Horcrux was destroyed, I couldn't manage to link it with the others, meaning their locations are still unknown to us. However, I can say without a shadow of a doubt this was the Horcrux of Tom Riddle, and it once contained a seventh of his soul."

"A seventh?" Bedivere echoed, and for a mere second, he looked as old as he'd imagined Nicolas Flamel looked in his final days.

"So there are seven more Horcruxes?"

"Six," Yaxley answered him. "The seventh part of his soul would have to be in his own body."

"I don't think you fully grasp what this means, Potter." Carrow told him. "Even the most renowned wizards in the Dark Arts only managed to make three, four Horcruxes at most. To split your soul in seven, and knowing you'd split it in seven since you begin the process…"

"How old was Riddle when he first made his Horcrux?"

"Sixteen," Harry answered, the words feeling hollow in his mouth. "Would he have known he'd split it into seven at such an age?"

"Undoubtedly," Bedivere answered, his composure regained. "The Dark Lord is a most ambitious man, he wouldn't have hesitated with such an impressive figure. And given his feats, there is no doubt in me that he managed to make the six Horcruxes he aimed for."

"It would've taken years," Yaxley commented.

"He had decades. And even with a fourteen-year absence, the Dark Lord has managed ventures just as outstanding as that one. If we obtained another Horcrux… will you manage to track the others, wherever they may be?"

"Yes, I could. However, there is a complication… Horcruxes are mostly unstudied magic - and that's without considering the Horcrux rituals give ample flexibility to the wizard. We don't know how they might react if linked, if they would present any defences, or worse, notify its master."

"That's a risk we can't take."

"Agreed. But it would be the best way to ensure the Dark Lord is truly gone."

"Perhaps," Bedivere conceded. "But it's something that should be done near the end of our mission. Once there are one - two Horcruxes at most."

"We still need to find and destroy them first."

"Destroying them shouldn't turn out to be exceedingly hard," Bedivere said calmly. "The Longbottom boy managed to do so with a basilisk fang. And even without procuring those from the Chamber, there's still Fiendfyre."

"The trouble is finding them."

"Indeed." Bedivere nodded to Alecto. "We'll begin with the search shortly - there are various places I've been able to come up with whilst researching the Dark Lord's past."

"Somehow I doubt Augusta will let me leave her sight."

"Most likely she won't, which is why you're no longer participating in the search."

"What? No, I should be there. I've more experience with the Horcruxes than any of you. Besides, you promised me blood first."

"And I haven't forgotten," he turned towards Alecto.

"The owner of the Hopping Pot's a friend." She told him. "According to him, a Slytherin boy met up with Elijah Montague earlier this week."

"Warrington," Harry spat.

"Most likely," she shrugged. "They talked about you, most importantly, they bonded over their desire to kill you. If anyone sent Dolohov to the Three Broomsticks for you, it was Montague."

"If he did so, he acted on his own." Yaxley said quickly. "The Knights had nothing to do with it, they won't be pleased with Elijah once I present this information. I'll have to get in touch with that barkeep, though."

"You're one of the Knights?" Harry exclaimed.

"My family has been part of the group since its inception." He smiled. "Who knows, if I grow to like you I might even aid you in killing Montague - nothing would make me more pleased than to take them off the board. Ever since your parents disparaged their name, they've been nothing but a freeloading shame on the organization. "

"Even if it wasn't a scheme of the Knights, it took you no time to gain profit from the situation," Bedivere said lightly.

"It was all the Selwyns quick thinking." Yaxley said smoothly. "Young Ryder will make an excellent informant. It'll help you too, old man, don't act as if you're not benefiting from it."

"Wait," Alecto laughed. "You mean to say that chap that took over the Three Broomstick's a Selwyn?"

"The grandson of the second cousin of the Head of the House, but yes."

"That bastard robbed me of a couple of galleons earlier today." Harry snarled.

"Has the Potter estate gone to shit so quickly?" Yaxley smirked. "Not to worry, I'll pay it back if it pleases you."

"I don't want you to pay it back."

"Regardless," Bedivere interjected. "I'm keeping up my end of the bargain, as I've shown you. However, the search for the Dark Lord's Horcruxes can't be delayed much longer. Your aid in the search would have been a great boon, but it isn't obligatory. You'll serve a different purpose."

"With your rash adoption, Dumbledore has accidentally given us access to a door I had thought locked completely."

"Which is?"

"The Order of the Phoenix."

"You think the boy's going to be able to spy them for us?" Alecto queried before Harry could ask what the hell was the Order of the Phoenix.

"No, they're too discreet to let the boy into the meetings. However, that does not mean he can't get other info. He could give us the names of the members of the Order, their base of operations, and maybe - if he's lucky - overhear conversations that would be spoken without his presence. If he becomes invisible enough, he'd be the perfect mole."

"That's a big if, have you seen the boy? He'd spark an argument with a wall if he'd get a response."

"That is, if he doesn't blast it before he comes up with a clever retort." Alecto added.

"The boy will do as his bid."

"The boy doesn't take nicely to people assuming he'll do what he's ordered."

"You will," Bedivere said calmly. " But not because I ask it of you. The Order just took you captive for the winter, and among its ranks lie the culprits. The best way for you to regain your freedom and get revenge on them is by informing me of their comings and goings. That and completing the mission for which you took your vows."

"You also took your vows for taking up Magical Guardianship of me and yet, that didn't happen." Harry said coolly.

"My vows were of releasing you in the case you became my ward. As you didn't, I have broken no vows. And the option still stands, the best way to obtain your liberty is by helping me, there's no other way."

"You promised me emancipation, that was your oath." His voice was rising, the anger shortly forgotten creeping back into him. "And yet, you stood there and let them take custody of me! You could've fought it, thrown your hat in the ring."

"It wouldn't have mattered, the Minister would have still given priority to Augusta as her daughter-in-law was your godmother. If you had made me privy to that fact, I might have been able of making a counterattack. Alas, you didn't, and if Kieran would've fought for your guardianship he'd have revealed our hand to all the players. You might consider those Lords and Ladies as nothing more than idiotic witches and wizards having petty squabbles, but they are some of the most dangerous people in Britain. Not just because of their status or skill, not just because various are war heroes and Death Eaters in the Dark Lord's inner circle - but because they have the power to reshape your life in the snap of a finger, something I had thought you learned earlier today."

His voice never rose or even became aggravated, he defended his choice with a slow, pacifying voice that held the air of the room. Harry hated how much more credibility it gave him compared to his unruly screams.

"I know," he gritted out. "I'm the one whose life got fucked."

"There was no other way, and it brings an opportunity to us, to you. At worst, this is a setback, your life is not yet disturbed, not really. Dumbledore is a man of honour, first and foremost. You'll be treated gently and with respect - I doubt you can say that about your muggle home. You won't be beaten to death or starved, you'll be a prisoner in a mansion. They'll take your wand, something you'll hate, but besides that, you'll be perfectly fine - and in excellent condition to spy for us."

"They'll take my wand?"

"Who knows, they might snap it as well." Yaxley winked at him.

"They'll do no such thing. Dumbledore would never let that happen, I assure you. Besides, snapping the wand of a witch or wizard is a crime that is seen to be just as grave as murder itself within the wizarding community."

"Why's that?" Harry couldn't help but ask, feeling slightly relieved.

"A wand's relationship with a witch or wizard is unique," Alecto answered. "More than that. The moment a wand choses a wizard, its magic gets immediately connected to the magic of its user. It completely reshapes the wizard's magical core. That's the reason why using someone else's wand is impossible. Whether the wizard is dead or alive, the wand's loyalty will not shift. The same can be said for the witch or wizard. There's a reason why even the wands of the criminals at Azkaban aren't snapped, even if their sentence is for life. To snap a wizard's wand… is to strip them of their magic, as they will not be able to wield another wand for the rest of their life."

"No wand, no magic." Yaxley said. "Unless you're one of the few lucky ones who can cast wandless magic. Unfortunately, not all of us are Bedivere."

"Indeed, though I have the feeling that Mister Potter here could still be taught that skill. He certainly seems to have the magical capacity for it."

"We'll have to test his magic."

"A subject for another day," Bedivere told Yaxley before halting deep in thought. "The Longbottoms hold a customary New Year's Ball - it's one of the most attended events hosted that night. The Parkinson family has always hosted its own New Year's ball… still will… but that doesn't mean Kieran can't attend the Longbottom's party." He turned to Harry. "He'll meet you there, you'll give him your first report on the Order of the Phoenix."

"He'll need a tattoo," Alecto smiled. "It'll make it easier to communicate his reports on a weekly basis."

"There's no time… not right now at least. Kieran will take you as his date to the ball, you can ink Potter then."

"Oooh, a Carrow and a Parkinson at the Longbottom Ball, how the heads will turn."

"A disguise would probably be best, sir." Yaxley said solemnly.

"Agreed." Bedivere sighed. "This may not have been how we intended to spend the winter break, but we'll make due. If we're lucky, this setback will prove to be more of an opportunity than a detriment to our cause."

Hogsmeade Village

8:15 p.m.

The meeting at Parkinson Cottage hadn't lasted long after their plans were established, and before he knew it, he and Bedivere had returned to the Wizengamot meeting. They had more time than they had thought, as the remaining houses dragged on with their business. It hadn't been until nearly eight o clock before the meeting ended and Augusta Longbottom summoned him to her office.

"I expect you tomorrow at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with my grandson."

"Where else would I be?" Harry asked snidely.

"If your idiotic nature is anything to go by, attempting to escape this arrangement. Maybe even seeking lodging with one of the hooligans you call friends."

There was a muffled snort beside him, and Harry turned to glare at Neville.

"I'm glad you're finding this amusing because Potter's your responsibility tomorrow. He will sit with you in your compartment and won't leave your side until he is with me. If he somehow isn't at Platform Nine and Three Quarters with us, you will suffer the consequences."

"What? That's not fair!"

"Neither is me being cursed with the two of you, and yet, here I am. The Brat and the Half-Squib, a pair of disappointments."

The pair of them returned to Hogsmeade soon after, arriving through the Three Broomsticks' floo.

"Ten knuts," Ryder told the both of them.

"Lord Longbottom," Harry drawled. "Would you mind paying a poor ward's fee?"

Longbottom looked as much of a Slytherin as any of them as he sneered at him before handing the man twenty knuts.

"Well, I do hope you're happy," Harry said as they began trailing across the village and towards the castle. "You finally got what you wanted. You finally bested me, even if you required the help of your grandma to do that."

"You think I wanted this?" Longbottom scoffed. "You're the one who knew beforehand, why else would you be there?"

"I didn't know what I was called for. I thought it was about the attack at the Three Broomsticks." He lied quickly.

"Yeah, right."

"What? You think I wanted this?"

"What I think is that a murderer will now sleep in the room besides mine," Longbottom snarled. "Well, I'll be dammed if I'm as easy to kill as Montague."

"You know," Harry spat, feeling particularly vindictive. "I hadn't thought of doing that, but it would definitely solve all my problems. So, I suggest you tell your grandmother to sleep with the door locked."

"You bastard!" Longbottom roared, pulling out his wand at the exact time Harry did.

"Pathetic. The woman takes every chance at humiliating you, and you still defend her. As if you could even beat me."

"Umbridge isn't here, tough guy." The words were cold and precise. "Take your best shot."

Harry ground his teeth before lowering his wand. "You're shit at manipulating, Next time, leave it to Granger. She sucks as well, but she isn't as obvious."

Feeling incapable of looking at Longbottom's fat face for a second longer without cursing it, Harry turned and apparated right in front of the gates at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, the Hogwarts wards extended towards the entrance of the grounds, so he was forced to trail the whole way back to the castle on foot. It took him nearly thirty minutes before he reached the doors - who opened unbidden. The smell of food from the Great Hall nearly made him vomit, so he sneaked past it and headed straight for the Slytherin Dormitories.

Regardless of what Bedivere had told him, he felt the day was nothing but a massive failure. It was overwhelming, from the moment his parents had murdered he had suffered nothing but never-ending losses. The Dursleys took him in, but they treated him like shit. He found out he was a wizard, but everyone was set on making his life miserable since the moment he arrived. Montague became his first friend, only for then to betray him and carve a massive gash over his back. He found the diary and Tom, but it had nearly killed him to possess his body. The dementors. Lupin. Moody. Getting his revenge on Montague. Escaping the Aurors. Defeating the attackers at the Three Broomsticks. Planning an emancipation scheme.

Everything he did, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how he went about it, ended up with him losing and ending up worse than before. He'd always heard people claim losses were necessary. Losses built character, losses made us stronger than we were before. How many more losses would be forced upon him before he became truly strong?

Would his spirit even last many more?

They were waiting for him, looking more like a pack of wolves, ready to attack, than a group of snakes.

"How'd it go?" Theo asked hopefully.

Harry gazed at Blaise, Daphne, and Draco before sighing. It would be front news in tomorrow's paper, it was best to tell them now.

"You're looking at the newest ward of House Longbottom."

"WHAT!?"

Harry tumbled to his bed, closing his eyes as he laid his head on the pillow.

"How'd you go end up a ward of the Longbottoms?" Blaise sneered, though he couldn't tell if it was directed at him really.

"Oh, I don't know. The world's been trying to do me in since my first birthday, I'm more shocked that I was shocked by the whole thing."

"What are we gonna do?" Pansy asked.

He didn't say anything, what could he say? Her grandfather would tell her eventually, and he didn't want to slip more secrets to the other three than he had to.

"Are you actually letting this stand?" Theo snapped when he didn't answer.

Harry almost growled as he forced himself up. "What do you want me to do, Theo? If you haven't noticed, Potters get shit luck from merely breathing! The plan went to shit, it happens."

"You can't go with the Longbottoms, bloody hell, you've managed to royally piss off Neville over the past few months! If he has any luck, he'll convince his grandmother to take you out of Hogwarts."

Harry snorted. "Doubtful, the woman called Longbottom a near squib right to my face. At least they don't deny it."

"What I don't get is why the Longbottoms made you their ward in the first place," Malfoy said. "If it was adoption, maybe they would've won something of it. But just making you their ward doesn't give them anything."

"What I don't get is what you thought was going to happen when you were summoned to the Wizengamot," Daphne rolled her eyes, something that seemed almost like blinking for her.

"He was trying to get emancipated," Pansy spoke before he could. "I got him an in at the Wizengamot, who gave him the summons to plead his case."

"Yeah, the Longbottoms were never in the picture to begin with." Harry complemented the story.

"Emancipation? On what grounds?"

"Errr… advanced magical knowledge…?"

"I forgot how daft you could be," Daphne shook her head.

"Look, you five must be enjoying this deep down," Harry said, keenly aware to avoid Pansy and Theo's eyes as he looked at the other three. "But for now, I'd rather not talk about it. You'll have plenty of time tomorrow when I board Longbottoms compartment at the train."

Malfoy snorted, and Harry turned to him.

"Oh, you're serious."

"I'm going to the common room," he rolled his eyes, grabbing one of the textbooks he'd left on top of his nightstand before leaving the dormitory.

He needed to escape, needed for everyone to get clear of his way and leave him be. If he hadn't finished the bottle of Firewhisky earlier this week, he would've drunk the whole of it. And if he thought he could go to the Room of Requirement without getting caught, he'd do it too. Instead, he was left with no escape other than the fear every Slytherin held him with, as they wouldn't dare to disturb him in his reading.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Harry quickly turned, expecting to find Theo or Pansy ready to hound him for information, only to come across Daphne. The two of them hadn't been alone since that night, and he hadn't wanted to be, either.

But she had helped him last time, hadn't she? She had helped him forget. Had helped him ignore everything happening and give him something to focus. Something other than the shit that had kept piling up.

He'd told her he'd never do that again… not with her. And yet, at the moment, he couldn't think of why.

His gaze got drawn to her lips and she noticed.

"What?"

The words died in his mouth. Last time… he hadn't really done anything, hadn't spoken. He'd been too drunk to think and had just kissed her. Fuck words, he didn't want her to talk. Didn't want her to be his girlfriend, to be anything other than a brief and pleasurable escape. Something to make his life slightly more bearable.

He leaned in, his hand going to her waist and his eyes half closed before he was suddenly pushed backwards.

"What?" She sneered once more. "What happened to you not needing it, not wanting it?"

"I've changed my mind," he said huskily, leaning in once more, only to be pushed back again.

"Good for you because so have I. And I'll rather sleep with all the Mudbloods in the school before I let you touch me again. Now let me through."

She didn't wait for him, shoving him to the side, she continued downwards. Leaving him standing alone, hands shaking as he was forced to reel from yet another loss.

That's it for the chapter! Thank you for reading, I hope you guys enjoy!

On another news, I've seen quite a few people be displeased about how Harry is getting few wins in this story. If you guys are looking for an OP Harry who beats everyone easily without consequences and a fic without any stakes, then you should probably stop reading here.

Victories aren't given out freely, they have to be earnt, and Harry has done nothing to earn them so far. Quite the opposite, if you sit by and think of everything that's happened, you'll come to find that all the consequences that are presenting themselves in these chapters are due to Harry's own mistakes.

I won't express all the how's and why's here, as it would make the chapter so much larger. I'll answer to AO3 comments that are polite and seek genuine answers to this question.

Next chapter will be the beginning of the Winter Break, which will have various arcs and will last for a while. Next chapter isn't for the faint of heart, so read at your own peril.

By the time I'm posting this, I'm three chapters ahead and have finished writing the full arc. If you are interested in learning how to get early access to them, join my discord server using the following link: discord . gg / jyPfbGqhJT

I'm also working on two fanfiction related surprises that should be revealed fairly soon! (Maybe?) I know I've been saying it for like two months now, but things just keep coming up, and I have little time to work on them. But they are coming! Eventually… More info on that on discord as well!

As always, thank you for reading, favouriting, and commenting! I appreciate all of you! :)