Note to older readers: some changes have been made to this chapter, mostly in regards to Harry's element/origin at the start of this chapter.

A/N: For those of you wondering about the timeline, my current plan is to follow Harry Potter canon (with increasingly large deviations over time) until the summer after 5th year which is when Tsukihime should occur. Fate/Stay Night will take place during his 7th year and finish the story off, assuming I manage to make it there. Harry Potter canon starts in chapter 10 and I hope to have year 1 done around chapter 22. Now, on to the story:

Chapter 6: Magecraft

Lorelei's workshop

"I have the element of blood?" Harry asked in wonder. "That's bad, right?"

"No, you have the dual-elements of blood and wind. I would say that's a very good thing. Having multiple elements is very good for magi, even if one of them is rather… unnatural."

"Why isn't having blood as one of my elements bad? It makes it sound like I'm going to be a super villain or something!" And with that, Harry stood up on the chair he had been sitting on and spread his arms before him, "This week Batman must once more foil the dastardly plots of Potter the Bloody and stop Gotham from descending into chaos!"

"Well I suppose you could interpret it that way," Lorelei said, trying and failing to hide her smile at Harry's antics. "But in the end, it is your decision that determines what you become."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. For example, many doctors have the origin of 'blood'. It gave them the desire to heal the sick and injured. Some were even named Blood because of their profession in the middle ages. You do not have this origin, I think, but it makes my point- blood does not mean evil. As for the element of blood, which you have, that is less common. It is found occasionally among dead apostles, but almost never among humans, and although most dead apostles have rather nasty temperaments, there are a… a couple that aren't actually… evil and deserving of a most painful death," Lorelei finished with a wince.

If he did not know better, Harry would have said that simply admitting that not every apostle was a force of ultimate evil caused his teacher physical pain. Obviously, he was wrong and simply imagining it, and so it was ignored in favor of one of Lorelei's earlier statements.

"But you said that it was unnatural!"

"And it certainly is. I can guarantee that you were not born with the element of blood and some traumatic event in your childhood caused your alignment to change."

"What sort of event?"

"That is actually a very easy question to answer, it was the event in which you received that scar," Lorelei replied moving close to look at it, "which despite being almost 5 years old appears to be no more than a month in age? That can't be right. A scar that old should be white and faded, not a bright pink like this one!"

Turning to him with a serious expression she said, "Come with me, we need to visit someone with more appropriate abilities for this." And with that, Lorelei strode out the door looking troubled.

The walk was not particularly long, but Harry quickly became lost in the maze of passages that he was led through. Soon they came to a large set of doors with a plaque next to it which read "Department of Spiritual Invocation".

Lorelei entered without hesitation, bringing Harry into a very large room full of magi. The opposite wall was lined with books that reached the ceiling far above. Many tables covered in books and papers were scattered throughout the room and a number of circles of various functions could be found on the floor. Numerous doors led into the chamber and magi were constantly entering and exiting the room. They were all dressed formally in a style that wouldn't have been out of place while Victoria was still Queen of England.

While Harry examined the room in awe, the Vice Director took a single look around the room, located her target, and directed Harry straight to him. He was a tall elderly man, dressed entirely in black, with long straight silver hair and was talking to two other magi. When Lorelei reached him, the others took their leave.

"Vice Director, what can the Spiritual Invocation Department do for you today?" The man said in a smooth, cultured voice.

"I am in need of your expertise. This child, has a scar which concerns me. I need you to check it for any anomalies and, if found, remove them."

Turning to Harry, Lorelei noticed his confusion, shook her head slightly, then spoke saying, "Harry, this is Samuel Raeburn, head of the department of spiritual invocation. He needs to perform a few tests on your scar, ok?"

Harry nodded, and went back to examining the room while Raeburn took a closer look, poking and prodding his forehead while occasionally muttering unintelligibly under his breath. A short time later he released Harry and stood up calling out to a pair of magi across the room.

The two summoned magi quickly arrived.

"We are performing a full scan of the boy's scar with the goal of finding and removing malignant magical residue. Prepare the room, we will be along shortly."

"Now, what exactly is it that concerns you about the scar?" He continued, turning to Lorelei.

"This scar is almost 5 years old, but, as you can see, it looks no more than a month in age."

"I see, and what caused this scar?"

"That wizard who called himself a dark lord attempted to murder Harry when he was only 15 months old. He failed and ended up having his curse rebound and destroy him, leaving the scar."

"And the reason the curse failed?"

"Unsure. The wizards believe it has to do with the willing sacrifice of his mother immediately prior. They think the curse was somehow deflected by 'the power of love' or some such nonsense," Lorelei responded with a scoff.

"We can look into the reason for that as well. I agree that love had nothing to do with his miraculous survival. While it is a powerful emotion which can be tied into magecraft to increase the potency of some spells, by itself it can do very little. His mother's sacrifice is a more likely culprit, but even then, the only way for such an effect to occur would be to tie it to a spell or ritual of some sort, and not one based in wizardry either. Those are entirely incapable of defending against that curse."

"So, her sacrifice likely powered some sort of pre-configured magecraft shield or barrier? That seems plausible, better than the drivel that the wizards came up with at least."

"Indeed. It would not be too difficult to set up in advance knowing the enemy and the curse he would cast. Impossible for wizardry, but not magecraft. While his mother was not known to be capable of magecraft, his family certainly had sufficient resources to create such a protection."

Raeburn stopped and thought for a while before continuing. "Does Harry have his family's crest?"

"No, he does not, we are unsure of the crest's fate. It might have been lost during the fight against Grindelwald, if not earlier. We won't be able to know for sure until Harry is of age and we can look through his vaults to see if it was simply stored for safekeeping."

"That's a pity, it was rumored to be quite powerful. Well his mother likely created the defense using the Potter's research and tied it to young Harry. She used her death to charge the spell as her child was too young to do so himself. Most likely it was a blood-based protection which is what enabled her to power it with her sacrifice, but I may be wrong. If permitted to examine him, I can give you a definite answer about the protection's nature."

"No, that is not necessary. I'll look into it myself later. May I ask how you are so knowledgeable about this matter?"

"I wouldn't be much of a department head if I was unaware of what occurred among our wizarding neighbors, especially those events that relate to my field of study. That so called 'dark lord' delved quite far into the wizarding version of spiritual invocation so I kept my eye on him. I have my suspicions about what we will find because of this. Now, the room should be prepared so follow me."

The room was large and dark, about 10 meters across and half that in height. Three torches were set into the walls providing little light and causing dancing shadows to flicker around the chamber. It was dominated by a large magic circle which, upon closer examination, consisted of three complex interlocked circles. Along the edges were various mystic codes and objects of power to focus the ritual's as well as to record the results.

There were fourteen of these objects in total, each one different. Seven were made of silver, and seven of gold. Half to focus the formalcraft mystery, and half to record it. They were very odd in appearance, having strange twisting geometric shapes which did not seem to follow Euclidean geometry. Examining the objects in depth revealed numerous runes carved along every interlocking surface, and also was an easy way to get a migraine.

Raeburn's assistants had indeed completed the preparations and the circle thrummed with power giving off a soft glow that did little to illuminate the dark room. They instructed Harry to strip so his clothes would not interfere with the magics at work. Raeburn had him lay down in a precise location at the center of the circle, then he and his assistants took position on its edges and began a long incantation.

The circle surged with power and light as they chanted in a long dead language, each artifact glowing with a different color. The colors mixed and merged, twisted and flowed, and soon Harry could no longer be sure of what he was watching and decided to close his eyes and let the colors that were also not colors, wash over him. It felt as if he was in a warm ocean with constantly changing currents flowing around him with sporadic bursts of hot or cold water.

As time passed the currents appeared to converge on his forehead and there was an odd tingling which made him feel lightheaded which grew in intensity until it was almost unbearable. And then it was over. No sudden flash of light or explosion of sound, it simply ended.

Raeburn was pouring over the data which had been collected and the other two magi were collecting the foci and flushing the residual prana out of the circle for its next use.

"Well well well. It was certainly the right decision to have the child checked Vice Director, there is a malignant power clinging to the boy's scar preventing it from healing. It seems almost alive... Of course, that's what it is." Raeburn sighed and looked up from the report, his face grim. "I am afraid that it is beyond our ability to undo this magic. Harry is afflicted with a Horcrux."

"A horcrux? I am afraid I don't know the term."

"Few do, it is an obscure type of dark wizarding magic. In order to avoid death, the user literally splits their soul and stores a portion in a container of some sort, typically an inanimate object. In this case, it appears Harry somehow ended up with a piece of the former dark lord's soul in his scar. It would require a magic on par with Heaven's Feel to remove it safely."

"I see. So, there is nothing you can do?"

"Nothing. The Einzberns were the last practitioners of Heaven's Feel, but lost it one thousand years ago. Your best bet would be to ask them for assistance as they may still be capable of using some portion of their lost art."

"You mentioned that these horcruxes are used to escape death?"

"Yes, by anchoring a portion of their soul to an object a wizard is able to evade death upon the destruction of their body. It's sort of a bastardized form of Heaven's Feel with nothing but drawbacks. Only a wizard would use such an inelegant solution to the problem of mortality, a magus would simply transcend to being a dead apostle." Raeburn finished.

"If you do, I'll hunt you down myself," Lorelei growled at him.

"Says number 12," He retorted.

"That's not my fault! Altrouge gave me no choice in the matter! I was myself one minute and… this the next."

"Doesn't matter, still a dead apostle."

After silently fuming for a minute Lorelei composed herself. "Let's get back on track, shall we? So mister Mort somehow stuck a piece of his soul in Harry's scar when he attempted to murder him? Does that mean he still lives?"

"Yes, he still lives. In fact, judging by the size of the soul fragment, I believe that he created several horcruxes prior to this one, and that this one was most likely unintentional and caused by the destruction of his body."

"Well then, he still lives and will likely need to be eliminated in the future. Should we be worried about him at the moment?"

"No. I have done some research into the matter, and while it keeps the user alive it renders them powerless. Someone would have to assist him and cause him to regain a body, either using one of his horcruxes or whatever is left of his original soul, before he could do anything."

"Very well, thank you for the help this afternoon. Come Harry, it looks like our time together will be cut short for now."

On their way to Zelretch's office, Harry walked with a downcast expression before finally asking the question that he had been stewing on. "Ma'am, why did you call me 'this child' instead of calling me your student? Are you ashamed of my scar or something?"

"Oh is that what you've been worrying about?" At his nod she continued. "Not at all. It's because I have many enemies and the Clock Tower can be a dangerous place. They are too scared of my power to confront me directly, but they would have no qualms with going after my apprentice, going after you. It would be best if you were known to be my apprentice by as few people as possible. By the way, when I am instructing you I expect you to call me 'teacher' or 'master', but when we are outside the safety of my rooms you should call me 'Miss Lorelei'. Understand?"

Harry nodded, feeling more cheerful now that his worries had been put to rest. They traversed the rest of the way to Zelretch's office in silence.

Swiss Alps

Altrouge was sitting on a padded rocking chair enjoying the pleasant weather as she usually did during the afternoon. Today she was rereading her favorite book for the hundredth time, Tolkien's epic tale The Lord of the Rings while sipping on a mug of coffee. The fellowship was just approaching the Falls of Rauros when an ominous portal materialized before her.

She put her book down with a sigh; Zelretch had an unnatural love of the dramatic, and so made his portals as flashy as possible. He could easily use his ability to travel instantly without his ridiculous portals, but what would be the fun in that? Today's portal appeared as if it led straight to hell. The dark portal glowed a sickly orange and was covered in veins of lava. Hot air emanated from it carrying wisps of smoke and the stench of brimstone. There was even an ominous moaning in the background. Then Harry stepped through, completely ruining the effect. Suddenly it began shrinking, before rocketing into the sky sounding like a rapidly deflating balloon before vanishing with a small pop.

Altrouge remained silent for a minute staring at the spot where the portal vanished before rousing herself with a shake and saying, "Zelretch going for the absurd rather than the ominous? That's a new one... Harry? I was not expecting you back until after 6."

"There was a problem and I had to come home early."

"A problem?"

"Yeah, something is wrong with my scar and it needs fixing! Something about a thingy's soul."

"Thingy's soul...?"

"You know, thingy-mort!" He replied while waving his arms around.

Altrouge darkened upon hearing that. "A soul leech. I had thought him smart enough not to use such an abomination. A true Dark Lord would never do such a thing, he's just an imposter."

"A soul leash?"

"A soul leech. A fragment of his soul that is stealing energy from you to keep him alive. A parasite. Not even the most deranged magus would do such a thing as the process damages both mind and magic. But enough of that, how was your day?"

"Really good! Miss Lorelei is really smart and nice, but she is creepy when she laughs."

At Altrouge's questioning look he continued, "When she found out about my element and origin she started laughing in a really creepy way for a reeeeeeeeeeally long time."

"Oh?" Altrouge asked, taking a nice long sip of her coffee.

"Uh-huh. I'm have the dual elements of wind and blood!"

At that proclamation Altrouge performed one of the most magnificent spit-takes in recorded history. For a brief instant, a beautiful double rainbow was seen in the spray. Then the moment ended with Altrouge somehow managing to fall backwards out of her rocking chair in shock.

"Um... is that a bad thing?"

"No, no, not at all," she quickly replied. "Just very unexpected." Altrouge grabbed the nearby table to pull herself back up, but luck was not with her on this day and it fell on top of her along with her mug of coffee knocking her back to the ground and leaving her soaking wet.

"Are you alright Alt?"

"Yeah, let's just continue this conversation inside."

A quick shower later

"First, before we start, what did Lorelei teach you other than discovering your elements?"

"She told me about history and why we have two separate magical worlds. Miss Lorelei also tried to find out my origin but was unable to for some reason."

"Did she explain how wizards and magi are different?"

"Um… she said that the magic was done differently and that wizards are able to boost theirs with wands or staves, but not really."

"Did she discuss anything regarding magecraft?"

"Lorelei told me about elements and origins, but nothing else."

"Very well, we will begin your education with that topic. While the distinction between magecraft and wizardry is interesting, simply knowing that they are different is sufficient for now."

"All right, that's where we will start then. As you probably know, a magus' mysteries are actualized using an energy called prana. Now magi have an internal store of energy called od, it is typically fairly small and limited and is created by their bodies. There is also abundant energy in the world around you which is known as mana. Prana is created by taking your od or some of the mana around you and converting it into usable magical energy with your magic circuits. Now your circuits are set at birth in both number and strength and provide a strict limit for how powerful a magus you can become. Each circuit can conduct a set amount of prana before literally burning out. The more circuits and the higher quality they are, the more powerful your mysteries can be… and I've lost you."

Harry's eyes had glazed over and he was fidgeting while glancing out the window.

Altrouge looked at him and sighed, "I keep forgetting that you are only 6 and therefore have the attention span of a chipmunk." Speaking up she addressed Harry directly, "Well, let's head outside for now. I think a practical demonstration is in order."

Stepping out into the sunlight, Altrouge held up a hand and conjured a basketball-sized sphere of flame over it. Upon seeing the fire, Harry radiated excitement and Altrouge began to speak once more.

"This is a simple mystery, or spell, that invokes a ball of fire. To keep the spell going it needs to be fed more prana, or magical energy. While you could use your od to do this, most magi are only capable of creating a small amount of their own energy. Mana is far more abundant. What most do is start a mystery with od and then continue to fuel it with mana. You stop fueling it," the ball of fire disappeared and Harry looked disappointed, "and it goes out."

"That was awesome! Can I do that too?"

"Perhaps, but it would be difficult. You don't have the element of fire after all. That means that casting a fire spell like I did is basically impossible for you. Formalcraft- that is using magecraft circles to cast spells- can do so, but that is it."

"Does that mean you have fire as your element? Also, why did it go out like that?"

"Is my element fire? Not exactly, but when you are as skilled as I am you find ways around the elemental restrictions. As for it instantly extinguishing when I stopped feeding the mystery with prana like that, the world saw it as unnatural and extinguished it."

"Unnatural? What do you mean by that Alt?"

"Well, for one the fire was using magical energy as its fuel instead of something like wood or oil, so when I stopped feeding it, it would naturally be put out. But it was also unnatural. Fire is not supposed to burn without a physical fuel source so the world sees it as unnatural and will correct the problem by extinguishing it. Some of the energy used to cast the spell is also used to stop the world from destroying it. Does that answer your question?"

"Uh-huh! Um… what do you mean by the world?"

"Ah, now we are reaching the most important thing to know about magecraft," Altrouge said as she leaned over and ruffled Harry's hair, to his great displeasure. "Gaia, or the world, has a sort of sentience and sees magecraft as wrong, as unnatural, and actively works to suppress it. This is one of the things that can make magecraft so dangerous to its users. It is said that 'A magus walks with death' which is true. Because Gaia suppresses magecraft, the greater the effect of the mystery, the more powerful the potential backlash and the more energy required to actualize or sustain it. Try to overreach your capabilities and death is not only possible but likely."

Altrouge could almost see Harry's perception of magic shatter into a thousand pieces as she spoke. Bluntly stating that death was a possibility every time magecraft was used was too much for the 6-year-old and he collapsed onto the ground.

"Don't worry Harry, although death is always a possible outcome of using magecraft, you have a very high capacity for it. Besides, you are the apprentice to one of the greatest magi of the modern era. Lorelei will push you hard but won't allow you to overstep your capabilities and kill yourself and neither will I. Now then, I do believe you would be interested in knowing what you can do with the blood element. How about we head down into the tunnels with Chimmy?"

Upon hearing that Harry's somber mood was instantly replaced with a radiant smile.

"Now… where are they? Let's see, it should be somewhere around here. Aha! Found them."

"Found what Alt?" Came Harry's exited voice from atop Chimmy as the chimera padded along behind her in the maze of tunnels.

"Some trolls."

"Uncle Zelly is down here?"

"Not that kind of troll. I mean the big, dumb, ugly, strong, magic resistant kind."

"Oh. Why were we looking for trolls?"

"Because they are big, strong, and magic resistant they will work well as test subjects."

"Oh. Well why didn't you say so earlier? We've already passed 3 different lairs on our way here. One of them is only a few minutes from the entrance."

There was a loud smack as Altrouge's hand met her forehead. Some inarticulate grumbling followed before she turned to him, "Why didn't you say so sooner?" she questioned.

"You never asked. You also never told me what you were looking for down here."

Altrouge stopped, moved to the nearest wall, and began to slam her forehead into it. This lasted for a whole minute until the force broke the wall exposing a small chamber completely filled with gold. A loud *crack* could be heard as the vampire's jaw hit the ground.

"Yay treasure!" Young Harry yelled as he dove into the chamber laughing delightedly. A few minutes later, after he had thoroughly explored the small room and discovered a large chest full of precious jewels in addition to all the gold, Harry returned to Altrouge. She was still frozen in shock.

"Alt, Alt, Alt!" Harry said while bouncing around her and tugging on her sleeves. "Can we take it home with us? Please!"

She remained unresponsive forcing Harry to take drastic measures. "Chimmy, attack!"

The large beast bounded into her knocking her to the floor. It then proceeded to thoroughly and unrelentingly lick her face, successfully rebooting Altrouge's brain. A few seconds later Chimmy the Chimera found itself on its back having been flung off by the girl.

Altrouge turned back to the pile of treasure, and made a complex gesture. Runes seemed to flow from her fingertips and encircle the room glowing a bright crimson. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound as everything contracted until, with a soft pop not unlike that of a wine cork being removed from a bottle, it all vanished.

"We can look through it when we make it back home. For now, let us return to our original purpose: demonstrating the uses of blood magecraft. You can also use wind magecraft, but I'll leave learning about that to Lorelei. Follow me."

A few twists later and they were in the troll's chamber. It was lit by flickering firelight and three hulking shapes sat around it.

"Now," Altrouge began as the trolls started to turn, "blood magecraft can be used in many ways. Perhaps the simplest way is in similar fashion to water magecraft."

One of the trolls began to lumber towards them, the others blinked owlishly in confusion. When it was only about 10 meters from the odd intruders, a wave of black liquid surged from beneath the female and slammed into the troll with enough force to stagger it. It then reshaped itself into a dozen black spears and leapt forward with terrifying speed attempting to cut gouges into the troll's flesh. But the troll was old and strong, the attack broke against its hide and returned to the odd female.

"Now," Altrouge continued as if she hadn't just violently assaulted the massive troll, "while this is the easiest way to use blood magecraft, it is the least efficient way. You need blood, and lots of it, to replicate any of the more powerful water element mysteries. If you are in a battle against many opponents," she continued as the second troll picked up a large log and began to lumber over, "this type of magecraft becomes progressively stronger as you defeat enemies and use their blood to help power your mysteries. The more blood you have, the bigger your attacks can be."

This time a veritable tsunami of black blood surged forth sweeping all three trolls off of their feet, extinguishing their fire, and slamming them against the walls on the far side of the chamber. The flames reappeared the instant the blood receded.

"But Alt, how are you doing that? Where is all the blood coming from?"

"For most practitioners of this art, they provide the blood themselves and have to be careful not to use too much and hurt themselves. As for me, I have my ways."

The large troll was dazed but standing once more and moving towards them. There was a bleeding cut on its arm where it had struck a very sharp rock, the pain enraging it. It began to move towards the dangerous female with purpose, but slowed. Something was wrong. Blood was shooting out of its injured arm like a fountain. The troll bellowed and tried to push forward, before suddenly collapsing like a puppet with its strings removed. Its wound continued to gush unabated.

"One of the deadliest things a skilled practitioner of this type of magecraft can do is drain the blood from an opponent's body. A small cut is all that is needed. Once the blood leaves their body you can control it and force it to leave faster and faster until they become nothing more than a desiccated husk."

All that remained of the once mighty troll was a shriveled form. Not a single drop of blood remained in its body. The other trolls had recovered by now and, upon seeing their dead leader, bellowed and began to charge, their footsteps thundering in the chamber.

On the right was the troll that had picked up the log, and somehow still kept hold of it. On the left was a slightly smaller troll that grabbed a large stone as it ran. The troll on the right prepared to swing at the terrible female. She smiled serenely at it and its swing went wide, and slammed into the smaller troll with tremendous force knocking it to the ground.

"True masters of blood magecraft are able to do more than simply control the blood that has already been spilled. We can control blood even while it is within the body of another." The larger troll turned around, lifted the log over its head, and brought it straight down upon the skull of the other troll smashing it to the ground and knocking it unconscious.

"Controlling the blood of another living being is very difficult. Your blood is part of you and readily responds to your wishes. The blood of enemies outside of their body is easy to dominate and make your own just as it is easy for water magi to control the flow of a stream or form waves on a lake. Blood while it is inside the body of another will not easily bow to your wishes. If the being is magical, it is even more difficult. But with enough skill even this is possible. Their every move is controlled by your whims, their very life lies within your hands."

The troll stood motionless as Altrouge reached out towards it with an open hand, then closed it into a fist. It instantly dropped with a crash, dead within seconds. She then turned to the last one and walked up to it, bent down next to it, and placed a hand near its head which began to glow a pale crimson. The bleeding on the base of its skull stopped and broken flesh knit together once more.

"While Blood magecraft is exceptional in its ability to kill, it is also exceptional in its ability to heal. By amplifying the life energies present in blood one can perform near miraculous feats of healing allowing you to bring someone from the brink of death back to full health in minutes."

"Wow! Is there anything else it can do?"

"Plenty! You can bind the energies in blood from one person to another in the form of magical contracts or use blood rituals to enhance them in various ways. One particularly eccentric vampire used his ability to create the best blood sausages this world has ever seen. As I said, it is a very versatile ability and I look forward to seeing how you decide to develop your ability. Now, there is one last thing that must be done once we return home before we make dinner. It is time to activate your magic circuits."

1 week later, 11am

Altrouge had finished the morning's lessons with Harry and he was currently in the kitchen preparing lunch. She was sitting on the porch once more reading a novel, this time Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling. It was a fanciful tale about her young charge that Zelretch had picked up in another world. The main character may have shared the same name as her Harry, but really, sticking his wand up a troll's nose? It was fiction at best with no basis in reality.

As she sat on her favorite chair enjoying yet another beautiful morning in the mountains, Altrouge thought she heard something odd, something unnatural, but couldn't quite place it. The sound quickly grew louder as if the object was approaching her house and she could finally see it.

'What's a helicopter doing out here?'

-End Chapter 6-