Chapter Sixteen: Reinforcements
October 22nd
5:22pm
Hogwarts, Scotland
Harry
As much as it pained him to admit, they were woefully outnumbered. Legions of dark forces were massing according to the old timers and their poultry few would not be enough to hold back the tide. Coupled with the present danger at Hogwarts in the likes of junior Death Eaters, it was time they brought in some like minded people to secure their safety.
"You all know why you're here," Harry began, "we spoke about a group that had the primary objective of defending Hogwarts from external and internal threats." Hermione, Blaise, Neville and Luna listened from their conjured seats in the room of requirement, each there for their own unique motives but brought together in common cause. "As some of you already know, we suspect Draco Malfoy has already attempted an assassination on someone in this castle and due to incompetence, got Katie Bell seriously injured."
"In these sessions I'm going to teach you how to really fight for yourself, the person next to you and those that can't fight for themselves. I'll also be going over plans and contingencies should the castle be attacked by Voldemort's forces. Any questions?"
"Ah yes Harry. How are we meant to defend Hogwarts, isn't that something the aurors should be doing?" Neville asked, scratching his head .
"Absolutely," Harry agreed, "it is their job. The aurors also need to respond to external threats and may be off grounds, they might be fighting on the other side of the castle or, worst case scenario, they could be corrupt and let the enemy in." Hermione looked sick at the thought that the aurors of all people could be compromised but she bit back her comment which Harry appreciated.
Blaise, who had already started working for them, spoke up, "will we all have special assignments or is it just general security?" Having begun to understand the finer art of subtlety, Harry appreciated the question. It gave nothing away about him tailing Malfoy but was prudent enough to be a good question.
"Yes. If you agree to join then you may be asked to help us solve things, look through evidence, things like that." Harry watched Hermione's shoulders release some tension at the familiar task. "No combat besides defending this castle is necessary, we have people for that with a lot of experience who may even help with your training."
"How will we know when to meet?" Hermione asked, to no one's surprise. Her schedule never had any space in it between the study blocks, homework blocks and advanced study blocks so getting her to fit in training was going to be a hard sell.
"We'll meet weekly," Daphne answered, "starting right now." Neville and Blaise didn't look too thrilled at the proclamation so Harry stepped in to assist Daphne.
"That's right, if you agree to join us then you need to say goodbye to your Sunday evenings. I know that may seem unreasonable but we're talking about a cause that will save your lives here so it doesn't sound like much when put in context," Harry extrapolated, hoping to get them to see reason.
"What exactly will you be teaching us Harry?" Luna asked inquisitively, effectively breaking the uneasiness in the air. Something about how her serene voice calmed those around her and it had a visible effect on her peers.
Harry looked at Daphne and silently asked if she wanted to take over for that question. "It won't just be Harry," she said. "Harry and I will teach you offensive spells, tactics and we will run simulations every two weeks to see how you progress."
"You mean we're going to duel each other?" Neville asked semi-excitedly, barely trying to contain his joy at such a notion.
"No, you will fight each other, in pairs. You and Luna against Hermione and Blaise every fortnight, not as a competition but for experience." Neville looked even more excited at the prospect however Hermione was less than thrilled, she had never been good with new people but she would have to get used to him for the year at least. "Then you will all four of you go up against us two, I doubt I need to warn you that we will not go easy," Harry intoned and he watched Neville turn a little pale at the idea of fighting Harry and Daphne, even with a number advantage.
The room grew quiet as the four contemplated if joining was the right decision for them. When, after a few minutes, no one had any more questions and they all were looking at Daphne for them to continue, the two once again had a silent conversation before Daphne clicked her fingers and a contract appeared in the air next to her.
"Right then, the fun bit." The contract duplicated into four and one was floated down to each of their laps with an accompanying quill. "What you see before you is a contract to join P&G securities for two years as junior investigators and a non-disclosure agreement to not talk about what happens in this room or related to this group of people."
"That group includes our external compatriots," Harry clarified.
Hermione looked up and asked, "snuffles?"
Harry nodded and she looked less apprehensive at signing the contract with his confirmation. The other three had varying degrees of both concern and understanding at the parchment.
"Lovegood," Daphne addressed the absent minded girl, "yours is slightly different to the others. Considering you haven't done your O.W.L's then you cannot have a job with a ministry partnered company. Therefore your job title is 'intern' instead of junior investigator to circumvent the law."
To nearly everyone's surprise, Luna nodded her understanding and signed the contract first. Blaise shook his head disapprovingly and went back to reading each line one by one. "So this is how you got the ministry to play nice, clever" he said, nodding his appreciation before asking Daphne, "your father, I take it?"
"He had a hand," Daphne replied snootily and Blaise turned back to the contract once more. "I should remind you all, breaking the contract will not only incur legal repercussions but I also put a decidedly nasty curse on it for traitors."
Hermione, who had been hovering over the signature section, looked up aghast. "I shouldn't be surprised–"
"But you have no moral high ground here, remember?" Harry interjected, hoping to stop an argument. "Daphne simply took inspiration from your work, where do you think the contract idea came from?"
Hermione bit her lip and Harry could see the gears turning in her head. He knew she wanted to be indignant just for the principle of it but also recognised the hypocrisy of such an action. In the end she quickly signed her name and pushed the contract away from her and refused to look at it.
Neville was the next to sign, he hadn't said anything but he looked as resolute as the best of them. 'I wonder if your desire to be better will do to you what it did to me. Despite all of your adversity your innocence has remained, but for how long?' Harry mused sadly.
The final piece, Blaise Zabini, double, triple checked the contract. At this point Harry thought he was doing it for show but in the end the Slytherin sighed and said, "airtight, which both concerns and relieves me. Haven't taken a stand for anything in my life," he eyed the contract and raised the quill, "it's about time I start." All four contracts were signed and Harry felt relief flood him, they had all agreed to join him on the train but without knowing full well what it was they were getting into, there was no guarantee they would follow through.
Harry smiled at Daphne who gave a small twitch in return. 'If that's all I get then I'm happy. She's just as relieved as I am, more so even because she's been working on it since last semester.'
"Alright then, first on the list, the disillusionment charm. Not only how to cast it but how to blend it with other spells and what to avoid when using it," Daphne drawled in a way similar to Snape.
Despite that horrible comparison, Harry was glad for the way things were turning out. He took his wand out and joined the demonstration Daphne was beginning, 'it's a good time to practice too. Things are starting to come together quite nicely.'
October 31st
8:22pm
Hogwarts, Scotland
Harry
"Remember, just breathe and try again. You are the master of your magic, not the other way around," Daphne instructed from her place across from him, cross legged and eyes closed. It wasn't new to him, meditating together, but it wasn't making it any easier to connect to his core.
"I'm not used to failing for this long with magic except with transport, I'm allowed to be frustrated," he said irritably. There was only so many times he could be thrust out of his meditative state before he started to lose his temper. He laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling of the room of requirement angrily.
"And as I've said before, frustration is of no use here," Daphne replied patiently. "Where you can brute force a spell to work, although that is still dangerous, it will only serve to needlessly fatigue you here. So, reset yourself, breathe and try again."
Harry glared at her closed eyes for a moment before huffing and returning to his cross legged state. "Just breathe," he muttered to himself, "just breathe." He focused on the pulsing feeling of his magic from its core and how it bounced back. The warm feeling came to him easily, comforting him and vanishing his frustration as he felt the magic flow through him. He remembered his first lesson where they attempted to have him connect with his core, the instructions, if arbitrary, embedded in the memory.
/Flashback/
"To connect with your core you need to match your magic's flow in your mind and, when you feel in sync with it, thrust your consciousness into yourself when your magic comes back to your core," Daphne explained as if it made any sense to him at all.
"This is why I like martial magic more," Harry started to complain, "so much simpler."
"And when you can do martial magic without a wand you'll thank me for taking the time to teach you how," Daphne sniped back to which he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and smiled in appreciation.
/End of Flashback/
His synchronisation with his mind and magic coupled with the fond memory and slightly helpful instructions allowed Harry to make his first real attempt at connecting with his core. He thrust his consciousness inside himself, and for a moment he thought he had blacked out.
The world around him was bright, too bright for natural light. "Daphne?" he asked in apprehension. He realised that he was laying down so he got up and squinted. He was frightened to realise that he was no longer in the physical world as he looked up and saw a ball of fire raging silently above him. What confused him was the fact that despite the inferno before him, he was surrounded by an unnatural darkness, with shapes in the shadows. He took a step forward but his foot caught on something and he fell to the floor, face first. To add to his confusion, the floor beneath him was wet, as if there was a two centimetre pool all around him and when he reached out to touch it he found that it made no ripples when disturbed.
Remembering that he tripped on something he turned around to see if he could identify what it was. The dark made it hard to see but he could sense something familiar about the object. He crawled towards it and laid a hand on it, 'skinny, warm, dry? What is this thing?'
He ran his hands further up the object and found it continued higher than he could reach, interestingly, in the direction of the giant fire. Once again the sense he was feeling with the object earlier returned, although now it felt as if it was growing. Not understanding what was happening, Harry felt fear grip him for the first time in a long time. It paralysed him, rooting him in place, looking in the direction of what he assumed to be the culprit for his fall.
The feeling grew more intense and gained a sense of urgency. Harry lifted up his arms in defence and braced himself but an attack never came. Instead, a bright light shone in front of him and travelled high above his own height, towards the centre fire. The fire expanded slowly, reaching a size of serious concern for Harry who backed up instinctively, before deflating and releasing a dazzling display of light through several hundred tendrils around the large room.
'By Merlin! I've done it! My magical core stands right before me, and I was too foolish to see it!' Harry thought excitedly. He laughed out loud and, although he'd never admit it, jumped for joy. Still unaccustomed to surprises in his core, he didn't expect to keep floating upwards when he jumped. He flew into the air until he was high enough to recognise that he had no idea how to stop ascending.
He felt panic set in, the book Daphne had given him hadn't explicitly described how to manoeuvre in your core because apparently each one was different but he now felt that a disclaimer at how outrageous it was should probably be on the first page. He thrust out his hand and started rattling off spells.
"Finite! Descendio! Arresto Momentum! Bloody hell why won't you bleeding stop!" At his final cry all of the momentum he had gained in his ascent hit his body full force as he halted the climb. "Okay," he muttered, "so that's sorted then."
He took a moment to take in the sight before him, his magical core, pulsing magic through his body right before his eyes. He was so caught up in the view that he just barely managed to see the dark cloud, creeping around his core. As if sensing his recognition of it' existence, the cloud burst towards him in frightening speed. Harry raised his arms in defence once more as the cloud pushed him back and enveloped him.
"Har–!" a distant voice was heard.
The cloud passed him and whipped around to attack him once more. This time he was ready for it and glared at the offending thing. "Come on then," Harry remarked, "was that your best?"
The cloud seemed to shake in anger and struck once more and attacked with ferocity, enveloping once more and striking at him with what felt like blades. With no idea how to fight an incorporeal form, Harry endured, grunting and crying out at the stabbing pains across his body. He closed his eyes and felt the world flash around him.
"Harry, wake up you damned fool!" he heard from a familiar voice.
"Daph– Daphne?" he asked groggily. He felt a strong arm hold up his head and another gripping his chin and turning his face side to side.
"Come on," the voice commanded, "let me see your eyes."
Harry groaned and muttered, "stabbed… chest… all over."
There was silence before it replied, "no one stabbed you, it's just you and me here." More silence ensued as he scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion and pain. "Sit up, I'll get you some water."
He felt her pull him up and the recognisable feeling of their velvet armchairs on his back for support. He forced his eyes open and strained against the brightness of the room around him. Footsteps to his right alerted him to his carer returning with the water that was promised.
"Here," she said as she offered him a glass, "drink this, slowly."
He took the offered glass and had a sip of the water. It felt heavenly on his throat and he scrambled to take another sip to feel the same relief. In his haste to get more, he had failed to notice Daphne plant herself right in front of him with an expectant expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
Daphne's left eye twitched and Harry knew she was annoyed. "Why? You know that's a good question. How about we instead start with why you were screaming your lungs out just a minute ago?"
"I connected with my core," he said with a smile as he remembered the feeling when he realised. Then he frowned remembering the rest of the experience. "But something was waiting for me in there," he revealed, "something… angry and it attacked me, was attacking me, until I woke up just now."
Daphne scrutinised him and digested his story. She stood and walked off to a bench where he remembered putting the book. He could see her flip through the pages before reaching one and tracing down it with her finger. "What form did it take?" she asked over her shoulder.
Harry jogged his memory and replied, "a cloud, formless but… sentient?"
Daphne nodded and he could see her shoulders tense in relief. She turned around and smiled a half smile. "Congratulations," she said, "not only have you connected with your core but you got to experience Samhain in its fullest."
"Samhain?" he asked as he got up only to collapse into the chair he was leaning on. "I've heard of that before, but where?"
"It's a celebration of Celtic origin, the time of year that would traditionally signify the pass over from harvest season to winter," she explained as she sat across from him in her own chair. "In the muggle world, they used to believe it was the day where the realms of the dead and the living were at their closest. Of course, they were right in some sense, spirit and ghost activity is at its height during Samhain. Some ghosts are corporeal for today and no other days simply because they can be."
"Today, right," Harry realised sourly. Not only because his luck had been terrible but because this day already had another meaning for him.
"Yeah, you've probably come into contact with a vindictive spirit that should go away in the next day or so," she said, not really watching his reaction. When she saw that he had reverted back into his brooding habit she realised her mistake, "Merlin's beard! I'm sorry, I forgot that it's not just some silly holiday for you."
Not wanting her to feel bad, and wanting to change the subject, he reassured her, "no it's fine. Does your family celebrate Samhain in some way?"
Daphne smiled, these traditions had been a part of her life for a long time and she was excited to share that with Harry. "We light a candle for lost souls in need of a place to rest before they pass over into the realm of the dead. If we're together then we might join a group festival or ritual with other families which can get a little rowdy if I'm honest."
"Really?" Harry asked, "I didn't think the highest of society could be caught dead being described as rowdy."
"Oh yes," Daphne said then laughed at a memory. "One year, a distant cousin of mine from France was dancing with the others and got a little too close to the bonfire. Fortunately it was just his pants that were set alight but the fool ran three laps around the camp before jumping into a barrel of knotgrass mead. Of course, the idiot ingested a lot of mead when he jumped in and when he jumped out he proclaimed he was fireproof."
"I imagine there isn't a happy ending for this cousin of yours," Harry surmised amusedly.
"They had him running around the camp with half his clothes burnt off and a wide smile on his face," Daphne remembered fondly. "He's always been a nutter, the most interesting of my extended family."
"He sounds like he knows how to have a good time," Harry joked to which they both laughed.
"I sometimes miss the festivities," Daphne admitted in a moment of rare sincerity. "As crazy as they can get, they remind me of my roots. That hundreds of Greengrass' beat the test of life so that I could be here, now and achieve my goals. That is why my father honours them, and so do I."
Harry took in the exhibition of emotion, melancholy, pride and regret. Regret, he figured, for not being able to honour them through her traditions as she would have with her family. "Well," he started trying to find the right words, "is there anything we could do to celebrate? Just the two of us, right here, right now, before the night is over?"
Daphne's gaze turned to his, a mixture of appreciation and apprehension set in her eyes. "Are you sure?" she asked, "aren't you Christian like the other muggle raised wizards?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment, "to be honest I never really caught onto the idea of an all loving god, not with where I grew up." He then gave her a lopsided grin, "besides, if it means something to you then that's all the motive I need."
Harry's sincerity seemed to have an effect on Daphne as the apprehension from before vanished, leaving only appreciation. Harry felt the room shift to Daphne's will and a brazier rose in the centre of the floor to waist height. Daphne went to her bag and ripped two pieces of parchment the sizes of a sickle and transfigured them into two pine nuts in her hand. She motioned him over to the brazier and lit it as he walked to join her.
"Here," she said, handing him one of the nuts. "During Samhain, there is a tradition where two people who are… close to each other will throw a nut into the fire and think of that person. If the nut burns peacefully to ashes then the two are meant to have a peaceful relationship." She watched for Harry's reaction but the boy seemed to be intently listening instead of drawing any conclusions which she thanked whatever deity protected her for. "Conversely, if the nut spits and pops then turmoil is inevitable."
"Right," he nodded, "I get it. How many people does your dad do this with to see if he should do business with?" he asked innocently, not understanding one bit the significance of the ritual.
"Not many," she replied with a smile that hid a joke. Harry decided it wasn't the time to ask and simply waited for her to continue. She stared into the flames and reminded him, "remember you have to think of me when you toss it in or else it won't work."
"Don't worry I've got it, think of you, watch the nut decide our fate, sever ties with you when it tells me you're trouble," he joked. She laughed politely but Harry could tell she was nervous, she always became overly careful when she was. 'I suppose she thinks I'm gonna screw it up cause it's my first time doing a ritual, that's fair I guess, time to prove her wrong,' Harry thought with a smile.
"Ready?" Daphne asked with her hand out over the fire.
Harry joined her position and replied, "ready."
They both twisted their hands and watched the nuts fall into the fire. Daphne didn't see Harry's smug expression as the nuts burned peacefully with no spits, pops or cracks. Neither did Harry see, nor would he comprehend, Daphne's satisfied smirk that rose as she watched the ashes scatter and run down to the bottom of the brazier.
Daphne turned to him and softly spoke, "thank you for sharing that with me Harry."
"That's alright," he replied instantly. "It was well past time this day meant something more than sorrow for me. So, at the risk of copying you, thank you for sharing that with me."
Daphne tilted her head at him in a way Harry couldn't quite describe. "Goodnight Harry," she said as a reply. Using her wad to pack her things as she walked out of the room of requirement.
"Goodnight Daphne."
A/N: Oh ho another chapter? So soon? You may ask, Mr Dark Lord, do you have a life? If you guessed no then you would be 100%, no questions asked correct. I am up at 7am (still haven't slept) churning out this chapter with 'As the World Caves In' by Matt Maltese blaring in my headphones. I feel like I'm on another planet and the euphoria I was getting just writing the last bit of the chapter ISN'T HELPING.
That being said, let's discuss my generally asinine decisions.
So we got some much needed backup for the duo in Hogwarts. With training, classes and meditating, there was no possible way either of them would have the time to tail Malfoy. In comes Blaise, our resident Slytherin that isn't plotting the world's (pleasant) subjugation. There will be scenes with them training but it will not become a major plot point. Romance, Horcruxes, Violence and Self Development are the frontrunners still.
The core visualisation scene felt weird to write but also presented a nice challenge. Changing the fundamentals of physics and anatomy in one go and adding a magical spin is something I've been looking forward to doing for a while and will become important later.
The attack on Harry seemed awfully convenient right? right? Yep, right on the day of his parent's murders and Voldemort's corporeal downgrade. Angry spirits assaulting the poor dude right after he accomplishes something great? Sucks to suck bro.
And now we move on to Harry and Daphne once again giving and receiving 'fuck me' eyes. Of course, Daphne has to open up about something important to her and of course I have to run with it and have them perform a ritual that is generally performed with engaged couples. Is Harry oblivious? When is he not?
This chapter's recommendation is 'barefoot' by Zaxarmas. It's Harry/Tonks and I'm no sure it's completed but the premise is really cool and deserves a read even if it isn't done.
Hope y'all enjoyed, I'm going to get some sleep :)