Chapter 6
Amber groaned as consciousness slowly returned to her. Her head throbbed, and her entire body felt like it had been run over by a pack of Goliath. She tried to raise her hand, but all she got was the slight twitch of her finger. Slowly, she mustered up the strength to open her eyes. Immediately, light assaulted her vision, and she clamped them shut with a grunt of pain, spots dancing behind her eyelids.
She heard a door open, followed by a startled gasp and the sound of someone running out of the room. Minutes later, the door opened again, and this time she could make out two distinct sets of footsteps.
"How are you feeling, Amber?" That voice…it was familiar…
"O-Ozpin?" she croaked, her voice scratchy and dry from disuse. "Where…?"
Ozpin shushed her, and she felt the rim of a bottle being pressed to her lips. "Here, drink some of this," said Ozpin. "It will help."
"O-Okay." The bottle was tipped back until a liquid that most definitely was not water hit her tongue. She almost gagged, but she managed to force the substance down. Almost immediately, she felt strength gradually returning to her limbs. Grimacing, she tried opening her eyes again, more slowly this time.
This time, the light was bearable, and her surroundings slowly came into focus. She was in the medical wing of Beacon, laying in one of the surprisingly comfortable infirmary beds. Ozpin sat in a chair next to her, holding a half-empty bottle of pink liquid. Beside him stood Glynda, a look of shock replacing her normally stoic features.
"You gave us quite the scare," he said softly. The undertones of relief were not lost on her.
"What happened?" she whispered. "I remember…" She gasped. "I was attacked. They…stole my powers."
Ozpin leaned forward. "What else?"
Amber frowned in thought. "There was…a monster. A dragon. Someone…someone killed it." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ignore the feeling of someone drilling a hole in her skull. "I think his name was…Harry."
Ozpin nodded. "Good to see that you remember," he said. "I'll get in contact with him and tell him you woke up. He's interested in meeting you." He stood and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Try to get some rest. I'll let you know when he gets here."
Amber gave a minuscule nod and closed her eyes. Ozpin watched her for a moment before walking out of the infirmary, pulling out his Scroll as he went.
Harry picked up on the second ring. "Yeah?"
"Amber's awake," said Ozpin without preamble. "She's interested in meeting you. Is now a good time?"
"Sure, I'll be over in a few seconds. I just need to grab a few things."
"Excellent. I'll see you momentarily." With that, Ozpin ended the call and leaned against the wall to wait.
True to his words, the black-haired wizard suddenly appeared with a loud crack thirty seconds later. It took a considerable amount of Ozpin's self-control not to jump in surprise.
"Hey," said Harry, raising his arm in greeting; Ozpin noticed he was no longer wearing the sling, and Mors Umbra was situated at the small of his back. "How is she?" he asked, falling into step beside Ozpin as they walked back to the infirmary.
"Awake and coherent," replied Ozpin. "I questioned her. She remembers you by name, and your involvement with her recovery."
Harry nodded, satisfied. "That's better than I expected," he admitted. "With the amount of damage I saw, I was certain there would be some memory loss."
Ozpin didn't say anything for a moment, then asked, "Do you think she remembers who attacked her?"
Harry frowned. "It's possible. If she does, that makes my job easier. If not, it's not really a huge loss, since there will still be traces of her attacker's magic."
Ozpin hummed in response as they entered the infirmary and made their way over to Amber's bed. The Fall Maiden stirred and opened her eyes as they approached.
"Amber," said Ozpin, taking a seat next to her bed. "Feeling any better?"
Amber gave a small nod and a smile. "A little. My head's not hurting as much now," she replied. Her gaze then slid over to Harry, and her eyes widened. "Is that…?"
"Indeed," said Ozpin, waving a hand at the wizard, who had pulled up a chair on Amber's other side. "Amber, meet Harry Potter. He's the one who saved you."
Harry smiled and waved. "Hello," he said. "Nice to meet you while you're conscious."
Amber stared at the black-haired wizard. "I remember you," she said softly. "You killed that Grimm." Slowly, a smile spread over her face. "I don't think I ever thanked you for that while we were…in my head."
Harry waved his hand dismissively. "No thanks necessary. I'm happy to help out," he said, before leaning forward in his chair. "That does bring me to the point, though. I'll need to poke around in your noggin some more to make sure everything's healing the way it should. Are you having trouble remembering anything?"
Amber frowned slightly and shook her head slowly. "No, I can remember everything clearly," she replied.
Harry nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Excellent. In that case, I can perform the procedure now, if that's alright with you."
Amber smiled. "Of course. What do you need me to do?"
"Just look at my eyes," replied Harry. When Amber's chocolate orbs met his own green, he whispered "Legilimens" and dove once more into Amber's mind.
He landed in the familiar courtyard and looked around; there was still some damage, but Amber's mindscape had healed quite a bit since he killed the Grimm Dragon. The craters in the ground had disappeared, the grass was slowly becoming greener, and the statue of the Huntsmen and Grimm had been repaired.
Beacon itself was in a similar state; there were still a few broken windows, and the staircase was still damaged, but the cracks and holes in the floors were gone. Harry gave a satisfied hum as he walked up the staircase. Only time would tell, but he was becoming more and more confident that Amber would make a full recovery.
Satisfied with how her mindscape was healing, he set off in search of her memories. With any luck, he'd be able to uncover something related to her attackers. He wandered down the hallways, occasionally peeking into a room, but found nothing.
After what felt like half an hour of searching, he finally struck pay dirt. In one of the rooms on the second floor–which turned out to be a lecture hall–he found an old-fashioned movie projector and screen pushed against one of the walls. On the ground next to it sat an alarmingly large pile of movie reels.
Harry picked up the topmost reel and inspected it; the label was faded and illegible. With a wave of his wand, the reel attached itself to the projector, which shuddered to life, bathing the screen with light. A young Amber suddenly appeared on the screen, laughing as she chased after a butterfly. In the background behind her stood a tall man with dark skin and black hair, and a shorter woman with brown hair, the same color as Amber's.
Harry realized belatedly that those people must have been Amber's parents, and he quickly removed the reel with another wave of his wand. He was there to find Amber's attackers, not get caught up in watching all of her memories. A flick of his wand brought the next reel to the projector.
This continued for the next hour until, on the fourth-to-last reel, he found what he was looking for. The reel was severely worn and damaged, a sign of the trauma associated with the memories within. Regardless, Harry attached it to the projector, hoping for the best.
A few seconds later, he swore loudly: the memory was too blurry to make anything out, evidence of Amber's mind attempting to repress the traumatic experience. He wouldn't be able to access it without damaging Amber's still-healing mind until she was well enough to handle reliving the trauma, and who knew when that would be. Until then, the memory was useless.
With a sigh, Harry pulled the reel from the projector and tossed it back in the pile, then closed his eyes and faded from Amber's mindscape.
Amber blinked rapidly as Harry sat up and stretched his stiff back. "That was weird," she said bluntly. It was a rather unusual feeling, someone taking a stroll through one's head. It wasn't painful, but she decided she'd rather not relive the experience.
"Did you find anything?" asked Ozpin.
Harry shook his head sadly. "I found the memory, but she's been unconsciously repressing it," he explained. "I can't do anything more without causing permanent damage to her mind." He sighed. "Not the ideal outcome, but you know the saying: 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst.'"
Ozpin cursed under his breath and took a long sip of his hot chocolate. "So what now?"
"Good news is, I can still set up a ward around Beacon itself" said Harry. "Downside is, it will be more of a safety net instead of the bear trap we were hoping for. Warding magic is extremely precise. You have to specify exactly what you want kept out, what's allowed in, et cetera, or the whole thing just collapses–or worse, backfires. Since we have no idea what her attackers look like, all I can do is cast an intent-based ward coupled with a tracking charm around the school. That way we'll know if her attackers show up–or anything else that threatens the school, for that matter."
Ozpin nodded in acceptance. "I'll take what I can get. How soon can you set it up?" he asked.
Harry hummed in thought. "Well, I'll have to make a stop at a jeweler to pick up the materials, so…two hours, tops."
"Materials?" asked Glynda, speaking up for the first time. Harry almost jumped–he'd forgotten the Huntress was there.
"Wards are tied to what my people call 'ward-stones'," he explained. "They form an anchor for the magic and keep it grounded. They just need recharging every now and then; exactly how often depends on the wards. I can use ordinary rocks for the ward-stones, but the magic won't be as strong. Crystals are slightly better, but precious gemstones are by far the strongest."
"Fascinating," said Ozpin, sounding impressed. "I would love to hear more, but I would also like those wards to go up as soon as possible." He pulled out his wallet and tossed Harry what appeared to be a black-and-green credit card. "Use that to pay for anything you need, just be sure to bring it back."
Harry nodded and slipped the card into his wallet. "Got it. Be back in a bit." With a cheery wave, he Disapparated with a crack.
Amber and Glynda stared at the place the black-haired wizard had just occupied in utter shock. "What the…?!" cried Amber.
Ozpin chuckled and took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Oh yes, he does that. You'll get used to it."
Glynda somehow doubted that very much.
[Break]
The jeweler Harry had found looked skeptical when Harry asked for the largest gemstones he had, but a quick flash of Ozpin's credit card had him changing his tune. The elderly man had disappeared into the back of the shop with lightning speed, and returned with a tray of various diamonds, emeralds, and other gems.
Harry looked over each stone with a critical eye. While precious gems were ideal ward-stones, each one had properties that would affect the overall strength and properties of the wards in question.
He'd uncovered a book in Dumbledore's library that went in depth on this topic: for wards linked to damaging spells, such as a Bone-Breaker Curse, then a ruby would be ideal, whereas a sapphire was a more neutral stone best suited for channeling healing magic (Saint Mungo's hospital had a fifteen-hundred-carat sapphire as a ward-stone, for example). Emeralds were better suited for defensive spells such as Protego Horribilis and Salvio Hexia.
Diamonds, however, were the most sought-after gems by all accounts. Not only were they capable of holding and channeling a staggering amount of magic, but they had the ability to drastically increase the power of any spell that made contact with it. For example, a Fidelius Charm cast using a five-carat diamond as a ward-stone could cover everything in a twenty-kilometer radius. On the other hand, if someone hit that same diamond with a Blasting Curse, the result would be comparable to a nuclear explosion.
After a few moments, Harry decided to pick out three stones: a two-carat diamond, a one-point-five carat emerald, and a one-point-five carat sapphire.
The diamond would form the central ward-stone, holding everything together and amplifying the effects. The emerald would be the basis for a Lockdown Ward, a variation of an ancient spell the Egyptians put on their pyramids, which would seal themselves up when a tomb robber (or anyone else with ill intent) stepped over the threshold, leaving the would-be plunderer to die of thirst.
The sapphire would have two spells linked to it: a tracking charm, for obvious reasons, and a healing ward Harry had discovered in an ancient tome a few decades back called Field of Elysium, which accelerated a person's healing rate by a good amount, as well as regenerated damaged organs. Unfortunately, it couldn't regrow lost limbs or heal mental damage.
Harry paid for the gems and stepped outside, making his way to a deserted alley before Apparating back to Beacon.
He reappeared in the Vault, in front of the machine that formerly housed Amber's comatose body. With a wave of his wand, the machine was transfigured into a stone slab, with three indentations in the top. He set the diamond in the center, flanked by the emerald and sapphire, and raised his wand.
Contrary to other spells, which were two words long at most, Warding incantations could be up to several paragraphs long, and one mispronunciation could lead to a devastating backfire; this was the reason why many considered Warding to be one of the most dangerous branches of magic, right up there with Alchemy. Harry had to be extremely careful not to mess anything up, or the results could be catastrophic.
He took a deep breath, and began his incantations.
"Cum hoc magia ego tueri omnes intra haec moenia, quod malum non potest intrare. Cum hoc magia ego sanabo, quod innocens erit non pati. Cum hoc magia ego praecipio quod malum erit non evadere conspectu meo. Per hoc magia, mea fiet."
His magic and Aura burst to life around him, casting a flickering light on the walls of the Vault. The three gemstones slowly rose from their resting places, glowing with power as they absorbed the magical energy. After a moment, the sapphire and emerald gently floated back down, hovering slightly over their respective places.
Harry continued pushing his magic into the diamond, even though his body was starting to protest. He wanted to ensure that the spells were properly bound to their respective gems, or else he risked a backfire. Finally, after what felt like hours, he released his magic.
The gems glowed with a pulsating light, similar to a heartbeat. Harry nodded to himself–the wards had held and were currently being fed by the magical energy in the jewels. With any luck, they wouldn't need recharging for several months.
Satisfied with his work, he Apparated to the infirmary to inform Ozpin of his success and return his credit card. Then, he was going to explore Vale a bit more.
[Break]
After losing sight of the black-haired teen on the way to Beacon a few days earlier, Blake had honestly thought she wouldn't see him again until the combat exams, which were still two and a half months away.
She sat down at the bar of her favorite noodle restaurant and nodded to the chef; she'd been coming here so often since she came to Vale, he knew her order by heart. Within minutes, a steaming bowl of noodles was placed in front of her, with several decent-sized fish laid over the top. She couldn't help the slight bit of drool that dripped from the corner of her mouth as she thanked the cook and picked up her chopsticks.
The first bite was halfway to her mouth when a loud crack emanated from the alleyway adjacent to the restaurant, nearly scaring her out of her skin. Curious–and slightly annoyed at whatever interrupted her lunch–she leaned back to get a better look.
The black-haired boy from the other day strolled casually out of the alleyway and paused, looking down at his Scroll for a moment before heading down the sidewalk, toward the downtown district. Blake sat in confusion for a few moments, before something clicked in her head. She quickly turned to the cook.
"Can I get this to go?"
[Break]
Now that Harry had the opportunity to actually enjoy what Vale had to offer, he intended to take full advantage of it. He was particularly interested in the bookstore that Glynda had mentioned a few days prior. Granted, he was no Hermione when it came to books, but he could benefit from a few regarding Remnant and the Grimm.
A sudden commotion made him pause; ahead of him, a crowd had gathered and was chattering excitedly. Curious, he strolled over to have a look.
Once he'd pushed through the mass of bodies, he found a familiar face: the rabbit Faunus he'd met the other day–Velvet, if he remembered correctly–surrounded by three men of varying levels of intoxication. They were jeering drunkenly at her as she backed against the front of a business, looking frantically for a way out.
One of the men laughed, staggering toward her. "Where d'ya think yer–hic–goin', freak?" he taunted, hand outstretched to grab one of Velvet's ears. The crowd had a mixed reaction: half of the people booed and hissed at the drunken men, while the other half were cheering them on.
Harry's blood boiled; he'd tried extremely hard over the last two hundred years, but someone calling someone else a freak was still a sure-fire way to ignite his temper. He stalked over to the trio of drunks.
"Excuse me," he said with faux politeness laced with venom. "But you three need to leave her alone."
The lead drunk turned, nearly falling over while doing so. "Sez who?" he slurred, trying and failing to look intimidating while barely able to stand. His buddies lined up behind him and glared at Harry with bloodshot eyes.
"Says me," replied Harry without a care in the world as he slipped his hands into his pockets. He'd faced off against a basilisk, a dragon, a horde of dementors, and the evilest Dark Lord in modern history; a gang of drunks wasn't even close to being on the list.
The intoxicated men laughed uproariously. "An' what're you gonna do 'bout it?" the leader slurred, stumbling forward to take a swing at the young wizard. Harry easily sidestepped and stuck his leg out, tripping the thug, who fell flat on his face on the sidewalk. The crowd let out a collective "Ooh," with some laughing at the drunk's misfortune.
"Whoops," drawled Harry, channelling Qrow as he casually inspected his fingernails. "My bad."
The drunk growled as he staggered to his feet, nursing a bloody nose. "Get this guy!" he roared to his friends, who quickly shook themselves out of their shock at seeing their leader go down. The three thugs surrounded Harry, who slid into a ready stance.
Suddenly, a black blur leapt over the crowd and smashed into the back of one of the drunks, sending him to the ground in a heap; it was a black-haired, yellow-eyed girl of around Harry's visible age. With a quick punch to the back of the head, she knocked the thug out cold. The other two drunks just stared in astonishment, shocked that one of their own was taken down so easily.
Harry took advantage of the girl's distraction to deliver a devastating, Aura-fueled haymaker to the leader's jaw; the man crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut. Stepping over the thug's unconscious body, both Harry and the girl advanced on the third drunk, who backpedalled so quickly he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. He frantically scrambled backwards, away from the advancing teens, but the cheering crowd was blocking his exit. He let out a pathetic squeal as Harry lifted him up by the front of his shirt.
"I don't want to see you or your friends around here again," he snarled, eyes blazing with barely-repressed power. "Clear?"
The thug nodded rapidly, bloodshot eyes wide with fear. Harry released him, and he scrambled to his feet, the crowd parting as he fled, leaving his friends behind.
"Coward," Harry muttered, before turning to his newfound ally. "Thanks for the help. I'm Harry."
"…Blake," replied the black-haired girl. "I wasn't planning on getting involved, but three-against-one aren't exactly great odds." She scowled down at the unconscious drunks. "People like them make me sick."
Harry grunted in acknowledgement and turned to Velvet, who was still standing against the wall with a hand pressed over her chest, taking deep breaths. "You okay?" he asked.
The rabbit Faunus gave a shaky nod. "Y-Yeah," she said. "Just a little…overwhelmed."
Harry scowled in the direction the thug had taken off in. "Does that happen often?"
"No, not usually. Most of the time I get dirty looks or the occasional derogatory comment. This is the first time someone's actually done anything."
Blake's eyes narrowed in anger. "Still, that's not okay," she said vehemently.
Velvet nodded sadly. "I know, but try telling that to them," she replied, waving a hand at the drunks. "They're looking for someone to blame their problems on, and with what's going on with the White Fang, the Faunus as a race have become a convenient scapegoat."
"What's the White Fang?" asked Harry. He vaguely remembered hearing the name somewhere before.
Both girls looked at him in surprise. "You've never heard of the White Fang?" asked Blake. "What rock have you been living under?"
"I'm…not from around here," Harry deflected. "So what is it?"
"Less what, more who," replied Velvet. "They're a Faunus activist group, pushing for equal rights and fair treatment of other Faunus. They used to be peaceful, but…" She sighed. "Lately, they've been growing more and more violent. What started out as peaceful protests turned into raids on Dust mines, attacks on businesses that won't serve Faunus, even rumors of assassinations."
Harry frowned. "Sounds more like terrorism than activism," he remarked. Off to the side, Blake stiffened, a brief look of anger crossing her face before she schooled her features. He made a mental note of the odd behavior.
Velvet shook her head. "You're not the only one who thinks that," she said. There was an awkward pause, then the rabbit Faunus brightened, clapping her hands. "Alright, enough with the depressing stuff. Let's talk about something else! Like, what brings you to Vale today?"
Harry chose to let the bad attempt at a subject change slide. "Oh, just walking around. I was actually looking for a particular bookstore, owned by a panther Faunus. Ring any bells?"
"Yeah, that sounds like Tukson's place," said Velvet. "Mind if I tag along? I'm not doing anything today."
"Sure," replied Harry, before turning to Blake. "What about you?"
Blake paused, seemingly unsure, but eventually agreed. "Fine. I need to pick up a book from him anyway."
"What book?" asked Velvet curiously.
Blake's eyes widened slightly as her cheeks reddened. "Er…that…that's not important," she stammered. "Come on, he's not too far from here." With that, she quickly turned and walked off.
Harry and Velvet shared a confused look before jogging after their new acquaintance.
[Break]
Blake wasn't sure what to make of Harry.
She'd grown up hearing all sorts of anti-human propaganda from the White Fang, and even though she knew at least some of it to be untrue, it was still a bit of a shock to see a human jump to the defense of a Faunus, especially when said human was outnumbered.
She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel some satisfaction from knocking those drunks around, but she preferred to avoid violence if it could be avoided, unlike her brothers and sisters in the White Fang. What started out as a peaceful civil rights movement had spiraled and devolved into one of the most violent terrorist groups in history.
Oh, yes, she thought, Velvet was right on the money with the assassination rumors. Some no-name business owner had refused to allow any Faunus within a hundred feet of his front door, and two days later he was blown to kingdom come when he started his car and detonated the bomb in the ignition.
She glanced at her fellow black-haired teen as they browsed Tukson's shelves, occasionally asking where he could find certain books. The panther Faunus, like herself, was a former White Fang agent, and had naturally been wary of the only human in the group, but a subtle nod from Blake, followed by Velvet recounting the events of a few minutes prior, had been enough for the man to give Harry the benefit of the doubt.
Blake was violently jarred from her thoughts when Velvet leaned over her shoulder to see what book she had picked up. "Ninjas of Love?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the cover, which showed two silhouettes, one male and one female, entwined in a rather intimate embrace.
Blake blushed heavily. "Uhh…"
Velvet giggled and winked at her. "Don't worry, I won't tell," she promised. "Besides…" She leaned closer to whisper in Blake's ear. "…the sequel's supposed to be way better."
Blake stared at the rabbit Faunus in bewilderment. "Wha…?"
Velvet giggled again. "Trust me, you're not the only one who reads stuff like that," she whispered conspiratorially. "You're planning on going to Beacon, right? If you make it in, look me up. I'll let you browse my collection."
Blake blinked in shock and confusion. "Um…okay…?"
"Perfect!" Velvet chirped happily. Her gaze landed on a book just over Blake's shoulder and she gasped excitedly. "Oh my God, he has the new Sais of Passion! I've been trying to find a copy for weeks!" She quickly grabbed the book in question and raced to the front counter, giggling like an excited schoolgirl.
Blake stared after her in confusion, while her brain tried to comprehend what had just happened.
[Break]
They left Tukson's with their wallets considerably lighter. Harry had ended up getting The Illustrated Guide To Grimm, A Complete History of Remnant and Its Kingdoms, and How to Effectively Use Dust and Not Blow Yourself Up, all of which were tucked under his arm.
Velvet had bought her new Sais of Passion book, along with two other novels along the same lines: My Sweet Samurai and Sensual Shinobi. Harry didn't dare ask about the contents–Velvet's blushing and giggling was a good indicator.
Blake had walked out with only two books: The Man with Two Souls and, when she thought no one was looking, Ninjas of Love, the latter of which was immediately hidden in her bag. She was still fighting back the shock of Velvet's offer to peruse her collection.
Harry glanced at his Scroll to check the time. It was almost noon, and Ruby and Yang would be getting out of school soon. He wanted to get some more training in with Qrow, as the incident with Amber had eaten up a few days.
"Well, ladies, it's been fun, but sadly I must leave you," he said, slipping the Scroll back into his pocket. "I have to get back to my training."
Velvet's eyes widened in realization. "Oh yeah, you're taking the combat exam!" she exclaimed. "Well, it was good to see you again!"
"Likewise. We'll have to do this again sometime," replied Harry. "It was nice to meet you as well, Blake. Thanks again for helping with those idiots back there."
Blake smirked. "No problem."
Harry bid the girls farewell and walked away, waiting until he was around the corner before ducking into an alleyway and Apparating back to Patch.
[Break]
Qrow was lounging in his favorite armchair when Harry appeared with a loud crack; the man swore loudly and nearly toppled onto the floor, but managed to barely catch himself. He gave the black-haired wizard a withering glare.
"I really wish you'd stop doing that," he groused, getting up to retrieve his flask, which had been flung across the room. "Give me a heart attack, why don't you?"
"Oh, man up," retorted Harry. "Expect the unexpected and all that."
"Fuck you. Just for that, I'm makin' today's training extra brutal, you little brat."
Harry grinned as he made his way to his bedroom. "Bring it on, old man!" he taunted as he changed into his workout gear.
"Oh-ho-ho, now you're askin' for it!" shouted Qrow. "Outside in one minute or you'll run laps until I throw up!"
Harry laughed to himself as he picked up Mors Umbra and made his way outside to where Qrow was waiting. Next to him, Harbinger was planted in the ground in sword form.
"Took you long enough," grumbled Qrow, yanking Harbinger out of the ground with a sharp tug. "Let's get started."
Harry grinned in response and unfolded his scythe. There was a slight pause, then both fighters leapt at each other, weapons clashing and sparks flying. They pushed against each other for a moment before Qrow's superior strength won out, and he forced Harry on the defensive. Harry blocked as well as he could, but quite a few strikes hit their mark. Growing irritated, Harry leapt back and flexed his wrist; his wand snapped into his hand, and with a slight flick, cast a Levicorpus at the elder Huntsman.
Unfortunately, Qrow wasn't your average Huntsman. He'd picked up on the subtle twitch of Harry's wand and leapt to the side to dodge the spell, before channeling his Aura to his legs and shooting forward.
Harry wasn't prepared for the sudden charge, and as such Qrow managed to get inside his guard. The older Huntsman grinned wickedly and plucked Harry's wand from his hand. "Yoink!"
Harry growled and made a grab for his wand, but Qrow leapt back out of range and slipped Harry's wand into his pocket. "Not so tough without your magic stick, are ya?" he taunted.
He faltered when Harry raised his hand and cried, "Accio Wand!" Much to Qrow's surprise, Harry's wand flew from his pocket and back to Harry's outstretched hand.
Qrow gaped for a moment, then planted Harbinger in the ground and held up his hands in a 'T' shape. "Okay, time out. I thought you needed that stick to do your hocus-pocus whatsit," he said.
Harry rested the butt of his scythe on the ground and leaned on it, idly twirling his wand in his other hand. "Not necessarily. A wand is a focus for the magical energy, making it easier to harness and control. I can do wandless magic, but it's very draining if I use it for an extended period, or if I use high-level spells." To emphasize his point, he cast Wingardium Leviosa on his wand and made it float above his palm.
Qrow nodded in understanding. "I see. In that case, I'm adding to your training," he said as a malicious smile slowly crept onto his face. "You can do your little mumbo-jumbo stuff while we train, but only if you lose the stick. It's only gonna be a liability in a fight."
Harry glanced down at the holly wand that had served him so faithfully for the past two hundred and seven years. He understood where Qrow was coming from, but telling him to not use the wand was like losing a friend. After a moment, he sighed.
"Fine," he said resignedly, and walked inside to place the wand on the kitchen table before rejoining Qrow in the backyard.
"Trust me, you'll thank me for this," said Qrow as he transformed Harbinger into its scythe form.
Harry scowled and readied Mors Umbra. "Somehow, I doubt that."
Qrow grinned in response, and the two leapt forward to clash once more.
And that's it for this chapter! Apologies for the delay, I started a new job that has me working night shifts, 6 pm to 6 am, so there hasn't been a lot of energy to write with.
Latin translation: "With this magic I protect all within these halls, that evil cannot enter. With this magic I heal, that the innocent will not suffer. With this magic, I command that evil will not escape my sight. By this magic, my will be done."
Last A/N: I'm putting a poll on my profile: should Harry have a semblance, or just keep his magic? Vote for what you want!