Explanations

"Have you identified the recipient?" asked Aurelius Gladius as soon his eyesight recovered from the blinding light. A firm hoot was his response; and he tied a letter to the leg of the awaiting owl. Taking a small stone with a rune inscribed in it, he presented it to the bird. "Drop this near his home, where it won't be easily disturbed. It's important" The owl hooted again before picking it up with its beak and taking flight.

"I hope it won't be all for naught" the vampire said to himself, watching the owl go. After a moment, he returned to the altar to help the others clean up.

Harry Potter was a wreck.

Last night he had the weirdest dream, ever. He had been reluctant to dismiss it, but after being awake until half past three, and spending since he woke up (with the first lights of the day, mind you) trying to find anything different about himself, from his body to the way he feels about things, and finding nothing, he concluded it wasn't real.

And now, almost noon, tired from the lack of sleep and pulling weeds for two hours in the backyard, Harry wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed it wasn't. Yes, the threat of a visit from his godfather had improved his life at number four, a bit. His things weren't locked in the cupboard, and at the beginning the chores were fewer and the amounts of food almost decent. But as time wore on with no unwanted visitors, not even owls, the Dursleys relaxed. And now, after almost a month since he arrived, they were treating him about as bad as always. In barely twenty days he had lost at least eight pounds! And all because he couldn't do magic outside of school. If he could, a simple levitation spell would be enough to scare them into treating him as they should.

If only the dream would have been true, he could have received something useful to scare them, even if it was only freakish strength. Strength was something his relatives knew and respected, as it was what they usually used to "put him in his place". Lifting uncle Vernon's considerable mass with his bare hands would do the trick nicely.

'Mmm. If I had gotten fangs, a good snarl to show them off could have worked as well. O perhaps…' but his musings were interrupted by an owl, the first one in the three weeks he's spend in that house, and he jumped up to get the letter tied to its leg with a small shout of "Sirius!" But the hand writing wasn't the same he saw in the letter attached to the tiny owl Sirius got for Ron to make up for his lost pet rat, nor was it addressed to Harry Potter, but to the 'Chosen One".

Harry gulped. It was one thing to fantasize when he thought all had been a dream. Now he knew it was real, and the doubts rose again. "What to do?" he mumbled to himself. "I suppose whatever it was, it's already done. Better to know what I got myself into this time" And after taking a deep breath and getting it out slowly, he tore the envelope open and unfolded the letter.

"To our Champion,

What you witnessed last night, and unknowingly were a part of, was an altered version of an ancient ritual developed long before the first pharaoh. Its name, 'Champion's awakening', summarizes its purpose.

It was first formulated during a time of war. The opposing army had an extraordinary fighter, seemingly unbeatable, so someone who could measure up to him was needed. As there was no one who could at that time, it was determined to combine the strengths of their very best and some other sources into a single fighter. This is the origin of the 'Champion's awakening'.

We, of course, were forced to modify it somewhat so it could work with the added difficulty of the three sacrifices and the recipient being of four different races and without the physical presence of the future "Champion" while giving him or her the opportunity to witness the proceedings and understand the wording as a way to guarantee there was no catch. We needed the ritual to find someone who was capable and willing to understand us and help us politically as well as in a fight, so it was necessary for him or her to be respected in wizarding society. As you should know, it's really difficult to find a wizard or witch to fulfill all this requirements and could be trusted, so we needed magic to find someone who did for us. It is fortunate all these hurdles could not only be worked out, but that the adjustments brought an unexpected reward. The "gifts" were no longer limited to three, but to four, and they could be a great deal stronger; all because of the mixing of magic from three different magical beings working together.

There was the added inconvenience of the ritual requiring to take place at midnight of the summer solstice with a full moon too, so we had to develop a way for werewolves to participate, which turned out to be a rather difficult and power-consuming blood ward that allowed them to retain humanoid enough shape and speech to carry out with their part of the ritual.

In short, you, whoever you are, have been chosen by magic as our best shot, our "champion". But you are not forced into this position, as reluctant help would never be as successful as a willing one could. We have managed to give you a 24 hour window to accept it, so you have until midnight tonight to decide. After that it will be a waste. We apologize for the short amount of time you'll have to make a decision, but it was the best we could do.

We, vampires, are prideful people, but this time we implore without shame for you to carefully consider our request. The future of our people could depend on your decision, in the end, and one of our best as well as one of the strongest werewolves and veela, have sacrificed their lives for this chance.

In order to accept your position as one of our kin, and our champion, you have to simply spill some blood and smear it on your chest (right on where you can feel your heart), your forehead and in this letter, and swear aloud you will help. The terms of your pledge will reach us, and if they are acceptable, we will complete the proceedings from our end and this parchment will turn to ashes. All abilities transferred during the ritual will be unlocked at midnight, and all parties aware of the deal will be able to recognize you at sight any time after that, even if we don't know your name yet. You will never be attacked or harmed by one of us, and will always be able to seek help, guidance or refuge with us.

Of course, not every one of any of our kinds is part of this deal, so if you ever encounter an outcast of our people, they will not know of your relationship with us. This works as means of secrecy, but also can lead to be treated as any normal wizard or witch would be by them.

You'll find more information about your new situation inside the envelope if you accept; remember to look at it.

We appeal again to your kindness to think thoroughly before choosing.

Hopefully your new friend,

Aurelius Gladius

Head of the Council of Elders"

"Well, this explains a little" he said out loud. Harry was partially relieved, but also a little frustrated. It was good to know he really had say in the matter, and thought that since he had the opportunity to refuse he should do so. Every time there was some kind of 'adventure' in his life, it ended with him getting almost killed. But if he could word the terms so it always leaves him a way out… It was a pity he didn't have time to ask for advice to Sirius or Hermione. He was sure the two of them could come up with a good pledge that got him all the advantages with minimal responsibilities. Hermione would probably rant at him about meddling with unknown quantities but help him in the end.

'Well, I've got some time to think about it. If I can come with something good, I'll do it. And if not, well, I'll have lost nothing' and taking parchment and quill he began to try different possibilities.

Four hours and a skipped meal later, Harry took a look at his surroundings, groaning; his room was a mess. There were scraps of parchment scattered everywhere, the desk and his hands had smudges of ink and there was a miserable sandwich lying by the door, probably passed along through the cat flap. But he had something he thought could work. It was a mammoth in the History of pledges in his opinion, but it seemed to have all possibilities covered. Hermione could have done better in half the time, no doubt about that, but he was happy he had no need to rely on her for everything.

'The owl hasn't gone unnoticed, obviously, or there is a snowball chance in hell the Dursleys would have let me go this long without chores' He couldn't help the snort escaping him. 'How can anyone be so dense as to think that they can switch from their usual behavior to being nice, as nice as they can be to me anyway, when there is a hint of an adult wizard and go unnoticed?' Harry got up and stretched his limbs, rolling his eyes at the foolishness of his relatives. 'Better get on with this, so I can go and milk their fear while it lasts' Rummaging through his trunk, he got one of the small but incredibly sharp knives used in potions and thanked the only good thing living in number four has done for him: ingraining in him the habit of having care for all his thinks, no matter how unimportant they may be. Otherwise, he could get something strange when using a dirty tool to cut himself.

'This is it, here we go' And with a small wince, he made a relatively deep cut in his left forefinger and proceeded to lift his shirt to smear it over his chest, followed by his forehead, avoiding the scar, and the letter. While he was taking the piece of parchment he had worked so much to draft, somewhere else twenty one individuals stopped talking to look at a parchment, where a quill had suddenly prepared to write by itself. And Harry began.

"I swear to always hear your requests and help out if I am able to as long as the other parties comply with the following terms: That none of the integral parts of this agreement is ever forced, coerced or tricked to do something unknowingly or unwillingly in any way or form; that the way I help out is left at my discretion or at the very least agreed unanimously between me and the parties of this agreement involved in the matter at hand, provided all strive for reaching a compromise when in dissent; that there are no lies nor withholding of information between us that could endanger my life or the lives of my loved ones; that no one will give away information to anyone outside this agreement of its existence, its affiliates or its dealings without the unanimous consent of appointed representatives of your parties and myself; that there will be no alliances with either individuals or groups outside this agreement without the unanimous consent of appointed representatives of your parties and myself. In the instance of breach of these terms by any individual under the agreement, appointed representatives of your parties and I will know, and all parties will have the opportunity to withdraw from the agreement without consequences if an appropriate punishment for the culprit and/or a suitable solution cannot be agreed on unanimously by the appointed representatives of your parties and myself. I so swear with magic as my witness and judge, So Mote It Be."

Well, he had done it. Now it was all on the hands of the other guys. He put his finger in his mouth to soothe its throbbing pain and try to stop its bleeding. 'How much I'll have to wait to know?' He had been going through ideas and possibilities for four hours, and he had no one but himself to agree with. They could take a lot of time to decide if they agreed with the terms he demanded. 'Better to occupy my mind with other thinks' At a growl of his stomach, he added 'and my belly as well!'

Dealing with aunt Petunia had been easier than he thought. He had only needed to make and off hand comment about the letter being from his godfather asking for the treatment he was receiving at number four and that he hadn't answered yet, and he got a plate overflowing with food. It wasn't by any means as much as Dudley, or even Ron, could eat at one single meal, but it was the most he had ever got from his relatives. He ate leisurely at the kitchen table, fumbling with the fork because of the still throbbing cut in his finger, trying in vain to stop thinking about the letter in his room.

It had been less than an hour since he left the room when he entered it again, so it was a surprise to see said letter turn to ashes just as he was closing the door. Biting back a cry of joy, Harry ran to his desk and snatched the envelope, feeling it fuller than before. Letting himself fall on his bed, he extracted the stack of parchment it contained and began to read, full of excitement.

"Dear Champion,

As promised, you will find more information regarding ourselves and the gifts we prepared for you. Read them as soon as possible, as I will be visiting you tonight, at eleven, to explain what will happen with the unlocking, to answer any questions you have, and discuss what are we going to do in the immediate future.

Yours respectfully,

Aurelius Gladius

Head of the Council of Elders"

'Fuck!' he cursed to himself. 'A visit from a vampire here at Privet Drive. Wonderful. Wait!' AN evil smirk stretched his lips and a light of unholy mischief shone in his eyes. 'I could work this to my advantage, if I do it well. Later. Now lets see what exactly I'll be dealing with.' He put aside the letter from this Gladius person and took the next parchment.

"Dear Champion, ('This champion thing is getting irritating' Harry grumbled to himself.)

Here I have redacted a brief summary of the races which participated in the ritual and their abilities for your better understanding of your new brothers and sisters as well as the new elements of who you will be after this night.

Aurelius Gladius."

"Veela

This race is one of the most misunderstood by humans. The common misconceptions come from their beauty and how what it is commonly known as veela charm affects those who are not veela themselves. ('These would be the beautiful ones I didn't know about')As human beings exposed to them usually are overcome by the need to do everything and anything to impress them and, if possible, to gain their affections, they are seen as some sort of femme fatale whose only purpose is to gather crowds and bask in their attention. ('And that is why almost everyone there was male. But what about the two female vampires?')

What you need to know first is that there are male veela, and the only reason they are rarely ever seen is that they are fewer and much more wary of other races. The so-called charm is a lot stronger in the males and there have been many occasions that those males who risked exposure to other races didn't survive the mobs of females they usually provoke. And the few that managed to escape brought back stories of attempts of rape and enslavement, discouraging others to try by themselves. ('Holy shit! That's not good, not good at all. I had enough with the crowds wanting to touch the bloody Boy-Who-Lived! What I'm going to do?')

The truth about the charm is that it is nothing more than a mating mechanism. Between veela, the charm is successful only with those most genetically compatible, a way for individuals to locate the mate with whose combination of genetics will birth the strongest offspring. Due to the scarcity of males, there are usually at least two or three females mated to the same male, and it isn't abnormal to see females mate with other compatible races, but then they are only truly interested on those who can withstand their charm. ('Well, at least this thing about two or three mates has potential. What? I'm a hormonal male teenager, having chauvinistic fantasies that fuel my ego is my duty' he told to that voice in his head that sounded so much like Hermione.)

Veela, both male and female, are extraordinarily affectionate individuals and have a constant need to demonstrate their care physically, but cases of infidelity are nonexistent. Homosexual tendencies are only seen in female veela ('I'll shut up with this one'), and even then, only between females who lost a shared mate. When a male dies, their mates never seek another companion, and usually only avoid falling into madness if they have children to take care of. It is then when they would turn to their mate-sisters for solace.

They are strongly emotional, too: quick tempers when affronted; easily distraught under stress… It is whilst enraged that one of their more spectacular abilities manifests: the veela fire. When they are incensed, veela suffer a transformation of sorts, getting bird-like features and small, useless wings sprouting out of their shoulder blades. It is then they have access to their magic fire. In effect, their ability consists of the wandless conjuring of magical fire they can throw to enemies ('I could give Malfoy an afro with this. That should shut him up' he snickered). This magical fire cannot be put out by something as simple as water.

It is important to take a look at those of mixed blood. They are always female, and, curiously enough, they have the ability to control the charm. Unlike full-blooded veela, whose only control over the charm is singing and dancing to increase their area of effect to all those within hearing range or looking at them, those of mixed blood can tune it down, some to almost nothing, at will. They also lose the fire abilities of the full-blooded veela, so there are theories about it being a self-defense mechanism in reaction to their decreased fighting abilities 'Would I be like that? Having the ability to tune it down is great, what with the mobs a veela Boy-Who-Lived would cause, but at the price of losing the fire?). It has been observed that usually their talent with the charm turns them into vain and attention-seeking individuals ('I'll do not! What are you? Snape the Second?'), reinforcing humans believes about veela. Regrettably, they are the ones usually used as ambassadors, since there is a disturbing lack of females with high-ranking positions in wizarding society.

Werewolves:

Considered a cursed disease, lycanthropy is in reality something akin to vampirism, for werewolves, like vampires, are sterile, and the transmission of the malady is their only way to have offspring, a kind of magical adoption ('Adoption my ass! Lupin seemed to be in a lot of pain, and no one would put their "sons" through that on purpose, would they?')

The problems usually associated to lycanthropy are caused by fighting the inner wolf. If the bitten refuses to merge with the wolf, if they try to fight it and cage it, the wolf will madden and turn against them, making the transformations during the full moon extremely painful, and lashing out to any human it gets close to. ('Uh?')

The true werewolves, those who accept the wolf, do not only transform without pain, they can do it at will; although the transformation during the full moon is inevitable. It is what we could call mating day ('Do I sense a sneer here?'). Even without the ability to have offspring by themselves, werewolves feel a strong loneliness if they have no mate, and is during this time they seek a companion with whom to share their lives. It is also a time for social events, so to speak, as the challenges for leadership, the rites of passage to adulthood, and the introduction of new members to the pack happen during this night.

There are few true werewolves that are wizards, as those are the most prejudiced against lycanthropy. Muggles don't usually believe they are changing to werewolves, and, at the time of their first transformation, they merge with the wolf unknowingly. That night they usually met with the one who bit them and are brought to the pack. Opposing those who fight the transformation, these are very careful with who they bite (usually those they sense are in possession of some affinity to animals or empathy) and if possible only do so to children, as their young age eases the adjustment to their new environment and disposition.

Their society is structured as a carbon-copy of a pack of wolves, and even in human form they behave as wolves in the midst of their kin. They feel awkward when socializing with humans, as they rely strongly in their instincts, and the stiff and artificial rules of human society go against them ('Is he hinting to nudism?' he thought, amused). They are very protective of their own, playful in their free time, and very curious.

Werewolves are much more in tune with nature, especially with animals, than any other humanoid being. They have some kind of empathy towards all types of creatures, in particular with those most primitive. Mingling with werewolves outside of their own pack and other animals isn't strange, but they are extremely wary and distrustful of what they call loners (those who refuse the wolf) during full moons as it is not unusual for them to have bouts of insane aggression caused by jealousy ('Insane aggression indeed')

While werewolves wizards have more contact with, those loners, have only a slight part of the abilities of the wolf in human form (only rising a little the days around the full moon, when the wolf is nearer the surface) and no control over them, those who merged can access their full abilities at any time and even use as much or as little of them as they wish in either form. Those abilities, besides the empathy previously commented, are enhanced senses (accurate sense of smell and hearing and exceptional sight in the dark) and what it is often summarized as improved sturdiness (faster than normal healing, increased toughness to physical harm and high tolerance to pain) ('If this means less visits to the Hospital Wing, I can handle being furry once a month no problem')

Vampires:

The so-called undead. Only because once turned we don't need the heart to pump our blood, as it flows thanks to magic, and we can survive without breathing for extremely long periods of time, we are supposed to be walking corpses? It is time to dispel the myths.

A vampire's strongest ability is blood magic. This type of magic, while very specific, is extremely strong. As far as wizards know, it is used to produce the strongest wards and, when combined with runes, enchanted and cursed items of astounding power. Pensieves are the most known examples, as a vampire's memory is absolutely perfect and elder vampires design them to help with the study of recollections without the hassle of all the links formed with a few centuries worth of other ones, or to store painful memories to take away the edge time will never blunt. When one dies, dozens of these artifacts are usually left to be found by treasure hunters.

But blood magic has much more uses than that. ('God, he sounds like those people on the late-night commercials.')

One of them, misinterpreted for a natural ability, is the enhancement of the body (Here he couldn't help a snort). Vampires are not naturally as strong or fast as we are known to be. It is another use of blood magic (while still flowing in our bodies) that increases our strength, speed, reflexes, agility, flexibility and stamina. It is a deliberate use of magic, but so easy and useful we develop it to the point of using it without conscious thought. It can be used, with more difficulty, to dispel magic cast on us, or to accelerate the rate of our healing, making us really hard to fight, as only a single killing blow or the buildup of extreme amounts of damage can kill us. ('Useful, this blood magic. But will I need to go biting left, right and center?')

Another unknown use of blood magic takes place during our feeding. We don't really need blood to sustain us ('Yippee!'), but our magic weakens considerably without ingesting new blood for its recovery ('Boo!'). This ingestion, when done without being weakened and especially so if it comes from a magical being, gives us a temporary boost in our magic. It's unfortunate we can only take blood from humanoid creatures, as it would ease our existences if we could take it from animals. We can also use the blood to gain knowledge, but we will return to this later ('Yes, please, do so!')

This powerful blood magic does not come free, however. On account of the extreme amount of magic in our blood, we suffer a strange disease: xeroderma pigmentosum, also known as XP. To make a very convoluted explanation simple, it translates to a very strong allergy to UV radiation. UV doesn't burn a vampire automatically as it is often believed, but because of this ailment, the degradation of the DNA the UV induces in all beings cannot be repaired and it keeps pilling up until it kills. That's the reason we only go out at night and shy away of any intense light source, as even electric light produces some UV radiation ('Holy shit! He can spell electric? He has beaten all purebloods I know. Not bad for someone older than Dumbledore by some centuries'). This illness has only recently been discovered and since then we know what we need to protect from and repair, so there have been advancements towards a cure (here we have to be thankful of the veela community, as is thanks to the DNA correction abilities of their magic this advances have been possible). As of now there are potions that reduce the harm caused by exposure and help with the accumulated damage, but are extremely expensive (even when the main ingredient is given to us by our veela associates in exchange for the wards we put up in their settlements to keep unwelcome people away) and have a long and difficult brewing process, a short storage time and their influence lasts but a few hours. We've found that an extremely old and powerful vampire can use his or her own magic to shield themselves from the effect of the UV, but it demands a lot of magic, making us weaker and tiring us quickly, so we are reluctant to do it.

Another of the strengths of vampires is our mind magic, a tool so useful wizards have spend centuries trying to mimic it. The poor imitations they have accomplished are commonly called legilimency and occlumency ('Wow! Another sneer? This guy could give Snape a run for his money!'). This magic consists in the invasion and protection of the mind. Wizards have only accomplished the examination of someone's memories associated to a specific feeling of the invader's choosing, and the ejection of intruder from their minds ('Is this why Dumbledore always knows more than he is supposed to? Does he go into my mind every time I go to his office?' Harry seethed 'If I don't gain this mind magic I'll learn occlumency if it kills me. That old goat won't go snooping in my mind again!'). A few talented users have the ability to create false memories to hide the ones they want protected, but those are rare even amongst accomplished occlumens.

Vampires, instead, are true masters of mind magic and we are able to not only retrieve any information or memories associated to as specific a question as we want, but to implant subtle thoughts and feelings (a sort of weak imperious curse that, while not completely controlling the victim, it can inadvertently persuade them to do our bidding as if it was from their own free will) and erase or modify someone's memory with more precision than any obliviate. Our mental defenses are absolute against everyone except another vampire, and even then we are always aware of the intrusion and able to fight it. While it makes it easier to accomplish our purpose, vampires don't need to look at the eyes of our victim as wizards do, only having them in sight is necessary.

Some extraordinarily talented vampires, with a natural unsurpassable willpower even before their turning, are able to go beyond simple persuasion, and with some time and concentration can, by talking aloud (even if it's only under their breath out of earshot) while keeping their eyes fixed in the victim ('This sounds like what Quirrel did to jinx my broom'), put them in a trance where they are completely under their control, no matter how strong against imperius or how skilled in occlumency they are. Those are called whisperers ('How original') and are very rare, as it's a natural talent that cannot be learned.

We can also combine mind magic and blood magic to gain all the information someone has about anything while drinking their blood. This way is easier and a lot faster than any invasion of the mind when retrieving extensive information, to the point of picking up as much as year worth of memories with a single gulp of blood. It will take some time for this knowledge to be accessible, though, as the mind has to assess, organize and assimilate it ('I wonder if Hermione would let me bite her once or twice. I suppose she won't, it would be cheating in her eyes')

By nature, vampires are egoistic and self-centered individuals, with strong cravings (what we crave for depends on the individual, from blood or sexual intercourse to knowledge or property) and no wish to repress them whatsoever. We don't usually care about anyone but ourselves; association with others happens only when we have something to gain and even then, we do the bare minimum to accomplish our goals. Cold, calculating and arrogant by nature, we have been forced to change, to unite and rely on others, in order to survive.

Historically, a vampire only turns someone when they are tired of life. Our arrogance often leads us to have a childe to give our name and knowledge before taking our life, so than even after dead, we aren't completely forgotten. But the increasing persecution of our kin drove us to associate in clans and turn more childes to avoid being overwhelmed by numbers, and to cut short the killings to elude exposure. Lately, the way the world around us keep changing faster and faster has influenced us too, as old vampires can't change and adapt quick enough and need the help of the young to bring us up to speed.

Now, even when we are essentially the same solitary and uncaring characters, we have learned to live with and adhere to the rules of society and exercise restraint when feeding, taking the bare minimum of blood needed to keep us strong and spreading it throughout different victims instead of draining a single one, understanding that only this way can we avoid a full-fledged war with humanity and insure our survival. But our attempts to be recognized as more than killers have found a strong opposition because of the prejudices against what wizards call dark creatures."

"Egoistic and self-centered indeed. He has written more about vampires than the other two combined! And all that about cravings?" Harry shuddered. "The mere thought of turning like Hermione about anything is terrifying, but better books than blood, I suppose." He paused and looked at the wall in front of him with a horrified expression. "Wonderful! Now I'm talking to myself, the first sign of insanity. Next I'll be wearing Dumbledore's robes and having that annoying twinkle in my eyes" he grumbled while putting away the parchment he just read to take a look at the other one. "Again with all that Champion crap. If they keep it like that it will be even worse than wizards with their Boy-Who-Lived. If I had known I would have forbid calling me anything but my name in the terms of the agreement." Skipping all introductions he got right to the explanations about the gifts from the offerings.

"Dragon's blood:

This is an extremely high magical substance that has many uses, especially in potions and alchemy ('Dumbledore did- OK, stop it right now, Potter! No more talking to yourself. And get something resembling to social life before you really lose it. Damn Dursleys having me do chores all day long'), but through this ritual what the recipient gains is the innate abilities the blood gives to the dragons. It is a well known fact that dragons are one of the creatures most resistant to magic but only a part of this resistance is caused by their scales. Another very important factor is the enormous amount of magic in their blood. It places them among the beings closest to magic itself, right alongside phoenixes, unicorns and basilisks. What you will receive of this gift is a better grasp over your own magic (something that usually can only be improved, and slowly at that, with years of practice backed by an extensive knowledge of magical theory), an increased awareness of ambient magic (the ability to know when an object has been enchanted, something spiked with potions or magic cast in your surroundings) and a natural resistance to invasive magic, that is to say, any spell that would change your body, mind and emotions to anything different than what could be deemed as healthy standard. It will be harder to stun you (but it will be harder to cheer you up through a spell, too). Healing spells, instead, will work the same or even better. It applies to potions that don't rely in your own magic, as well. Those that only direct your own magic, like some of the medical ones for instance, will work as usual, but with the hold you'll have over it you'll be aware it is there and of what it is intended to do, even allowing you a chance to fight it or help it consciously if you want/can.

Clabbert's pustule:

This are very boring creatures, but their pustule shines when dangers approaches. Thanks to the ritual, you will be able to sense when you are in danger. We are unsure as how much forewarning you will have. The most accepted theory says it will be directly proportional to the amount of danger.

Diricawl's heart:

Another rather useless creature, if not for the fact their way of traveling is impossible to block. Almost identical to the one phoenixes use, diricawls can explode to disappear from one place and appear anywhere else in the world (As far as we know, there is no real limit to the distance). No magical or physical ward can maintain one of these birds contained, so neither will they work with you. If there was any way to acquire a powerful enough part of a phoenix, we would have used it, as it would have given you more abilities than simple travel, but ash or feathers don't have enough potency, and their tears would have only increased your healing, something deemed improved enough with what you've gained from the werewolves and vampires. Unfortunately, it's impossible to harvest anything from a (mature enough to be useful) phoenix without killing them (annoying shits always get away before it is possible to take even a drop or two of blood), what would defeat the purpose as it would burn to ashes and be reborn.

Boggart's essence:

The most difficult to acquire of our gifts, it is the most flexible and dead useful. Boggarts are the only true shapeshifters there are in existence. They can turn into anything, absolutely anything (alive or inanimate, real or imaginary), while retaining the abilities of whatever it has turned into; within the measure of their own magical power, of course. The perfect example would be a dementor or a veela, as the effect of their abilities would reflect the difference between the power of the boggart and the real thing. Those two examples have more innate magic than a boggart, so when shifted into those, it would be unable to produce as strong a reaction as being in the presence of a real one would do. From the essence of this creature, you will gain the exact same ability to shapeshift, and, depending of your raw magical power, even surpass what you change to. Someone like Merlin with this ability would probably be able to drain the happiness of anyone within a two or three miles radius when taking the shape of a dementor."

"Well" Harry rasped completely astounded. "They can choose what everyone will get me for my birthday; they are very good at it." After that he spend almost an hour looking at nowhere incapable of coherent thought.