Explanation: I am not perfectly knowledgeable in the Campione-verse to replicate everything perfectly and decided to throw the thought out of the window and focus on making a story. This will have different Campione than the Campione-verse and some of the diffferent magics will be different. I hope you understand this while I attempt to make a good story.
Oh BTW
I don't Own Campione nor Harry Potter series.
Chapter 1 – Changes
The next day after Hagrid's return and all the victims of petrification returned, Harry had brought both of his friends to a secluded part of the library. "Harry, I think that you didn't hear, but Dumbledore said there would be no exams for all of us" commented Ron, looking sour over being inside the library. Hermione on the other hand looked really happy as they were there and was affronted at Ron's words "Ron! Don't be like that! We still have to submit our applications for our electives, you know? Oh! I don't know what to choose, there's Study of Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, International Magicks and Muggle studies!"
"I heard that Divination is an easy Owl so definitively getting that one" commented Ron, but then Hermione interjected "Ron! We can't choose just anything, this will choose our future job" Ron just flinched but said nothing, and it was then that Harry did something that he wouldn't do normally "Is it your brothers?" Ron looked at Harry in shock, Harry himself shocked at what his own mouth said but Ron then sulkily nodded, but Hermione was confused but lowered her tone as she asked "What's wrong with your brothers…?" Ron looked down and replied "Bill was Headboy and is now a Cursebreaker, Charlie was Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and is now a Dragon Handler, Percy is gunning for a Ministry Job and the Twins have their plans to make a joke shop… Everything has already been done by them…"
There was a sullen silence for a minute before Hermione blinked "Wait a minute… No they didn't!" before she searched around the library under the confused stares of the boys and then returned with a book and searched around the pages muttering 2213 over and over. "Here! In Magical Organizations up till 1990 there are explanations on Magical Cabals! You could join one!" exclaimed Hermione but Ron grimaced while Harry looked curious "Those are for really smart people, I heard from Mom that they only research stuff and that they work with Vampires and Centaurs!" Ron seemed very scared at this thought but then Harry commented "Not all centaurs are bad…" Hermione then continued "Not all members specialize on researching, there are also the collectors! Here"
She showed them the passage and read out loud for them "Collectors are in a strange way one of the pillars of the Research Cabals, they are in effect freelance Magicals that can collect or retrieve rare magical plants or animals from all over the world, due to the work being so grueling for the normal wizard or witch, they are very well payed, upwards of a 100 galleons per mission. The Most Searched Ones are the ones who can survive in the lost Continent under Antarctica, Proelefsi. As many of the animals and plants are still under research… This is perfect!" she exclaimed happily, with harry smiling along
"Hermione, I don't know if you have noticed but I'm kind of a coward, I get scared easily-" Ron didn't get to finish as Hermione gave him a light whack on the head "Don't be silly, you are very brave, even braver than some adults if what you told me about Lockhart was true. You willingly went with Harry to a Chamber where a Big Snake that kills with a look resided, you are no Coward!" She declared with Harry nodding along.
Ron finally smiled and accepted defeat "Fine… what do I need?" Hermione Beamed at him before turning to the book "To Become a collector you just need to either pass the Exam at the Collector International Guild, or present yourself with a NEWT focused on Practical on Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures… I would also recommend spells to defend yourself and to survive camping" replied Hermione "So… Care of Magical Creatures and probably International Magicks… you can still do divinations if you want"
Ron looked at it for second before a smile appeared on his lips "Okay then… but no divination, too much work and I want my free period" Hermione's smile could have blinded them. It was then that she turned to Harry "So what do you plan to do after Hogwarts, Harry?"
Harry stayed silent for a moment "I don't know… but that was not why I brought you here, Hermione, Ron… Erm, What, Um, what do you know about Gods?"
Hermione looked confused but Ron stilled "H-Harry, are, are you talking about… Heretic Gods?" Hermione still looked confused and Harry gained the same look, so Ron rolled his eyes "C'mon everyone knows this… at least all adults…" At Harry and Hermione's unamused look he continued "From what Bill and Dad have told me, Heretic Gods are beings of legend, Gods and Heroes that were created by myth that jump out of their legends and attack the world and cause a lot of destruction, they are immune to magic and they are very powerful, so they are known to be impossible to defeat, except for a few people"
Then Hermione and Ron turned to Harry "Why are you asking about them, Harry?" asked Ron, his entire body trembling as he asked, meanwhile Hermione's eyes widened as she made the connection "Um, When we were there in the Chamber, remember that I wanted to go last…?" asked Harry, slightly guiltily "Well, erm, after you left a man, or I guess god, appeared saying that he was here for the Basilisk but that now he was going to kill me" Ron paled and Hermione gasped "Then a twenty headed snake appeared, saying that the Basilisk had prayed so much to him that, as punishment for killing it, he would kill me" Ron was looking at Harry disbelievingly as if he didn't know if he was actually seeing him there and Hermione looked like she wanted to cry "They identified each other as Shesha and Saint George before they started to fight each other" It was then that Ron let out a breath of relief and Hermione's eyes widened more "So they killed each other and you were curious? Harry you almost gave a heart… attack…" Ron slowed down as he watched the guilty expression on Harry's face.
"They didn't kill each other; I did"
Harry Potter: Campione
The Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stared in horror at the representatives of various Cabals as they all asked for help in a certain specific situation… The Birth of a Campione within the British Ministry of Magic's borders. The man sweated as they had just gone past the situation of the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts and now there was… This. The Various Representatives of the Cabals within Britain were arguing against each other about who would talk to the new king… that is when they found him or her.
"Order!" The minister banged his gavel as hard as he could to silence the room "Order! We are gentlemen! Not Centaurs!" one of the representatives, a centaur, looked offended but unsurprised as the room was silenced "Now to confirm facts! First, is it true that at 6:23 in the morning yesterday, a Heretic God manifested in Scotland? Rise your… erm Hands if yes, leave them down if no" He hoped against all hopes that most of them said no but his hopes were dashed when arms were raised all over the room "That's a yes. Now raise your hands if your hands if your… detection methods… failed to identify the exact location of the manifestation, indicating the usage of Unplottable wards?" Cornelius wanted to puke as all hands rose up again "Then to finalize, con you all confirm the declaration of the birth of the Seventh Campione, thus starting the End of Times Prophecy?" Cornelius almost cried as all hands were raised again "Then, to arrange a close to all disputes, the right to communicate or contract this Campione will be left to the Cabal that finds him first, but as stated in the ruling of the ICW all Campione's Name, Face, Nationality, Achievements and Kills are to be registered and made public, with this I," Before he could finish a Mage rose from her seat "May I speak?" The woman was the representative of the Atalante Magic Cabal, a cabal that could only be joined by women and specialized in the use of Artemis blessed Seers; the woman then spoke as Cornelius signaled her to continue "Our Cabal got a bit more information about this situation, the present gods were Shesha a Hindu God, and Saint George a Christian Saint, both of them were slayed nearly at the same time by a man that was, as stated by our priestess an incarnation of the concepts steel, serpent, serpent-slayer and death. One who was already destined to become a Hero"
The woman's words made the room explode in chatter, after all to Cornelius this was ridiculous. A Hero born in their Era? Did Dumbledore or Harry Potter kill a god? Cornelius snorted at the second one and shivered at the first one. Then there were the other statements, what kind of Human got reptile and death as their natural concept? Was the last Campione even Human? So far none of the Campione were a pure human and some of them were Beasts under the British Ministry's Rule, so the thought of say, a House Elf or a Goblin gaining Ruling Status within his country made him even more nauseous as he considered what kind of thoughts such a creature would have about him, especially considering this one fought and killed two gods before ascending.
As these thoughts wandered within his head and the representatives once again argued with each other, he wondered who this new Campione could be.
Harry Potter: Campione
Hermione cried as she saw the panicked eyes of a slowed down Ron, currently being under the impedimenta spell and slowed down as he was about to run out from their little corner of the library. For the first time she didn't have all the answers but she wouldn't let her friendship with these two boys end because she didn't act on time. She released Ron for less than a second before she immediately hit him with a "Petrificus totalus" petrifying him.
Harry stared with wide eyes as the situation went out of control, his shocked eyes watching as one of his friends suddenly attacked the other while the other tried to run away with what seemed to be very important information. "I will release you, Ron, but I need you to explain what is going on, Ok?" Ron just stared back petrifyied "Finite" Ron immediately went for his still damaged wand before Harry moved faster than they had ever seen him to "Expelliarmus!" Ron without options immediately begged to Hermione "Hermione! We have to run away! Harry is a Campione now so we-" Hermione reacted quickly and petrified him again but it was too late
"What is all that ruckus?!" Madam Pince was quickly moving to their position so Harry did as he always did under pressure and acted on instinct "Obliviate! You got angry at me because I confessed that I ate one of your sweets!" Harry barely threw a finite for the petrification before Madam Pince arrived, quickly taking in a chair on its back, Ron on the ground and Harry pointing his wand at him. "What is the meaning of this?!"
"Harry?!" exclaimed Ron as he was pulled out of the daze of Obliviation "What the Heck?!" He looked affronted at the fact that Harry, his friend, had pulled his wand on him. "Sorry Ron. I think that I am still a bit on guard since coming out of the chamber and you startled me" Harry was doing his best to lie, despite the fact that his eyes burned and his throat wanted to close on him.
Madam Pince looked at the two and noticed that Harry seemed incredibly remorseful about the fact that he had pulled his wand out and then asked the question that bothered her the most "Why were you making that much noise?" She glared scornfully at them, as if making noise in a library was a Capital Offense "Harry was kinda hungry yesterday and ate some of Ron's sweets, so he just confessed and Ron got a bit angry" Explained Hermione, who looked uncharacteristically sad. Madam Pince looked at them suspiciously but seeing the guilt on the youngest Weasley male seemed to seal the deal "If you are going to be fighting, you better do it outside the library! Now you two are not to enter until you have fixed your problems" Then she grabbed the two by the ears and pulled them out, not noticing that Harry was pleading to Hermione to stay silent with his eyes with her giving a nod back.
There was a lot to investigate for her
Harry Potter: Campione
Immediately after being thrown out of the library, Harry had apologized to Ron and promised him to buy him any sweet he wanted from the cart lady of the Hogwarts Express, Ron had brightened and forgiven him almost immediately. Harry smiled and joked with him, all the while feeling like an evil monster, a dirty snake with cold blood and no feelings. It took until they had walked together to the Gryffindor entrance before Harry made an excuse to separate from Ron and immediately after he went out of sight, he ran, he ran in search of place no one would find him, he ran for a place to cry alone. His feet unconsciously took him to the girls' bathroom on the second floor, but he couldn't help but stare in dread and horror as he had ran all the way from the Seventh Floor in less than 3 minutes and wasn't even slightly tired. He stumbled through and barely noticed that Myrtle wasn't present before he, without seeing a snake, changed to parseltongue and opened the chamber, only to jump in and let the chamber close behind him, as he slid down to the bottom.
Once on the bottom he just sat in a pile of animal bones and cried, he cried and cried, until he couldn't anymore. For his frustration at never having a normal life, for what he knew was a lost friendship in Ron, for the fear he now held at whatever he had become, for fear of also losing Hermione's friendship, for fear of losing Hogwarts as a Home away from the Dursleys, for many things he, for the first time in a long while, acted on his fears like a normal child and cried, desperately sounding out his distress like a baby asking for their mother.
After a few minutes or perhaps a few hours, he finally calmed down and focused on something else, shoving his distress to a corner of his mind like usual. Crawling through the hole Ron had managed to dig through the cave in he walked up to the chamber's round snake covered door and spoke in parseltongue once more, this time noticing that he didn't have to focus as much to speak the magical language. Walking inside he idly noticed that the Chamber seemed strangely less damaged than he remembered before he walked up to one of the many stone snakes that covered the walls of chamber. He got close to them but they didn't move nor respond, walking over the pool of water that covered his ankles, he focused on parseltongue and spoke "§Are you there?§" a few seconds of silence went before the snake moved and turned to him "§What is your request, Devil King?§" This immediately caught Harry by surprise as whatever this was called him by a title "§Why do you call me that? What is a Campione? Why did I become one? §" Harry asked the questions that he was most anguished about.
"§A Campione – a Godslayer – is a supreme ruler. Since they can kill a celestial being, they can therefore call on the sacrosanct, divine powers wielded by the gods. A Campione – a Godslayer – is a Lord. Since the power to kill a deity is in their hands, they therefore loom over all mortals on Earth. A Campione – A Godslayer – is a devil. Since of all mortals who live in the world, none can assume a power to match his! §" The snake recited the answer in a similar way to first year Hermione, mechanical and memorized, as if read from a book but Harry understood them and the meaning of what they implied and how they answered his question. "§Can I undo becoming a Campione? Why did my friend try to run away from me? What is going to happen to my body?! §"
The stone snake just replied without emotion "§Once you become a Campione you are one for life, your body will become stronger, faster and more resistant than that of a normal human, your magic power will become a hundred times greater, your very skin will become impenetrable to all spells… in other words you have become an entity that is the closest to a God as a human can get§" It completely ignored harry's horror, it completely ignored the fact that this information was distressing to the boy that just wanted to be normal "§Normally, you would also present an aura of power, similar to that of great warriors but it seems that by obtaining the power of a saint you have acquired a similar ability to restrain your godly aura. As for the reason a Wizard would immediately run away from a Campione is due to the fact that the Russian Campione once attacked Wizarding Britain in search of the Deathly Hallows, a rampage that lasted throughout the entirety of December 1987§"
Harry wanted to curse, in fact he did "Damn it" but once again the actions of another were affecting him, just because he had a similar ability, why did it have to be him? "§Er, what do you mean with aura of power and ability to restrain it? §"
The snake then replied "§Saints rarely are recognized as such before performing a miracle, they instinctively hide their aura of holiness caused by their faithful souls, when you killed Saint George, you seem to have gained a similar ability, this theory is unconfirmed though and it could also mean that you had already had such an ability§"
Harry nodded and grabbing his wand he pointed it to a rock and intoned the levitation spell "Wingardium Leviosa" while pointing to a rock, only for the rock to turn to dust in the ceiling. "This will take a while"
Harry spent his time remastering the Levitation spell and by the time he finished, he became very aware of the amount he uses in magic and how much easier it was to pull on it.
At least he now could cast spells without overpowering them.
Harry Potter: Campione
Hermione desperately searched the library, however searching for a word in a library was though; if it was magically organized it was even more so, however, she persevered and she had managed to search through a third of the library already. Her large buckteeth bit against the skin of her lip as she stressed over Harry's decision to obliviate Ron, on one side she knew that wizards were (probably for good reason) very superstitious and Ron could be overreacting like with the parseltongue thing, on the other, however, there existed the possibility that a Campione was something dangerous that Harry couldn't control and by stopping Ron she endangered the entire school.
It was understandable then that with all that stress, she almost jumped to the ceiling when someone grabbed her shoulder, the only thing stopping her being the very same hand that held her shoulder. Turning slowly and with her heart beating at maximum speed, only to see the stern face of Madam Pince "You are searching for a book in specific?"
Hermione mentally calmed herself down before replying "Yes, actually, I was reading through a book that mentioned dangers of the Wizarding World and found a mention of a… creature called Campione" Hermione winced and mentally apologized to harry for calling him a creature.
The librarians' eyes became reminiscing for a moment before they focused on her "Anyone who heard or remembers the Bloody December of 1987, will know about the term, Campione. To spare you the bloody details, a Campione tore through muggle and wizarding Britain in search for the Deathly Hallows, a set of items from fairytale." The woman explained succinctly "No history books about the event have been published due to the fact that an office of the daily prophet in Glasgow was destroyed due to reporting about this, so only word of mouth can pass the story of those events."
Hermione's mind was reeling due to the shock "Why… why did nobody stop them?"
The woman looked at the girl in the eyes and replied "Power. A Campione has so much power that no mortal can hope to stop them, that's why even if they're not inherently evil they are called Devil Kings"
"… can a Campione become a human again?"
"No. In fact whenever someone becomes a Campione they have to live the rest of their extremely long lives fighting against Herectic gods and their brethren until they die"
"… Thank you, Madam Pince"
Hermione silently left the library to search for a silent place to think.
Harry Potter: Campione
When they all reunited in the common room, the only one in a cheery mood was Ron. This, however, did not make them happier and instead turned the mood even worse than before, as they both remembered what Ron didn't, only making them feel bad about the fact that they were hiding this from him. In the end though, Ron, as dense as he was, only lightly noticed the sour mood but unaware of how bad the situation truly was, just shrugged it off and played chess with Hermione while talking about Quidditch with Harry until they went to sleep.
Sleep was not to come to Harry though and so he, a few hours after curfew, rose up from his bed and walked down the stairs only to find Hermione silently reading a book in the Common Room, the title being "Heretic Gods sighted from around the World" the book was thick so thick in fact that harry couldn't help but think that if it was put on the ground it would easily serve as a chair.
"Hermione" Harry called out to the girl, lightly startling her but at the same time informing her of his presence. She turned to him and her eyes held emotions he couldn't understand, for a second his thoughts, as usual, turned negative and the thought that she didn't want to be his friend anymore. He was surprised then when she stood up and ran into him with one her signature rib squeezing hugs. 'Huh… it doesn't feel like she's squeezing me… maybe there's good in being a campione' a part of Harry wondered if he now could take the rib breaking hugs of Miss Weasley.
"I'm sorry about Ron, Harry" Hermione's eyes were shiny and few tears were leaking out "Maybe something else could have been done, maybe if, if I wasn't petrified…"
Harry quickly narrowed his eyes and once again, instead of timidly saying it wasn't her fault he instead gently grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her in the eyes 'Wasn't she a bit taller than me?' "Hermione, the very moment the Basilisk and I were in the room, Saint George would have killed me and anyone on his path, and then Ananshesha would have killed anyone who killed the Basilisk, it was either I become a Campione, someone else becomes a Campione or a lot of people die. There was nothing else any of us could do."
Tears started to fall from Harry's eyes as he also, through his own words, realized the fact that it was true that there was nothing else that could be done.
He was a Campione and nothing would change that.
