Majo Kon-ki The Marriage of Tanya the Witch
(The marriage chronicles of a witch)
Arc 1 - Philosophers Stone – part 8 and final
June 1992, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Tanya was slowly regaining conscious. She could not tell how long she had been sleeping. Her body was heavy and she wished to rest a little more, but it was no time to lay around. She had to to get up and resume the search for the deathly hallows… and finally go home.
Tanya slowly opened her eyes…
"How… long… was… I… out-"
Her drowsiness was over the instant she saw… Harry Potter slowly bringing his face to hers, his eyes closed and-
"… is he trying to kiss me?"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"
Tanya screamed and shoved him so hard that he fell on the next bed.
"Wha-? YOU WOKE UP!"
Harry quickly got up and embraced her.
"I was worried sick!"
Tanya finally noticed she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts.
"Why I am- That's right! Voldemort, Quirrell, the stone… What happened?"
Harry told her they were knocked out by the explosion of the philosopher's stone. The headmaster arrived a moment later and carried the two unconscious children to the hospital wing. Harry regained conscious two days ago but Tanya wouldn't wake up. Madam Pomfrey explained that she had somehow exhausted all her magic and would need extra time to recover.
"… probably the effect of the killing curse." Tanya guessed that even if she could block the curse, her shield still needed an absurd amount of mana to fully protect her.
"Still better than the alternative…"
"No one knew how long you were going to sleep… Madam Pomfrey said that if you didn't wake up soon, she was transferring you to St Mungos!" Harry looked a little disturbed by this idea.
"Huh? So what? I would receive better treatment at a hospital."
"But… then we wouldn't see each other until the next term in September!"
"Oh! Right… It's almost the end of school year…"
"Is it so bad to feel so relieved? Really! I don't think I could survive being around this troublemaker for another month…"
"Wait! Is it wise for you to leave the school? Voldemort could go after you!"
"Ah… About that… It seems that as a long as I am close to my aunt nothing will happens…" Harry said begrudgingly.
He told her what the headmaster explained about the 'bond of blood charm'… a special protection his mother left to him but for it to be fully active, he would need to stay close to a blood relative for some time. He also told her about the magical defense he had against Voldemort in particular.
"So, that's how a baby was able to defeat Voldemort, actually it was Lily Potter all along… But most important…"
Tanya grabbed her own hair and started to pull.
"FUCK! WE HAD VOLDEMORT AT OUR MERCY! IT WAS AN UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY! If I had already started to train Harry- No, all it was necessary was for him to touch the creepyand it would all be over!"
Her frustration was so great that she started pounding her bed…
"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! How the hell I was supposed to know that he would appear so soon…? And in our first year here?"
"Errr… Tanya? Y-you alright?" Harry was watching this spectacle not knowing what to think or do…
"Dammit…I also got complacent! I became too dependent of my new and improved shield, I was starting to delude myself I had becameinvincible…"
… and now she was hitting her head against her pillow.
"T-Tanya?!"
"Ah!" She realized she was making a fool of herself in front of the boy.
"D-don't mind this… No… just forget you saw anything alright?" She asked him to forget this awkward moment.
"F-fine… It's better for you to rest a little more. I am gonna call madam Pomfrey. She may want to examine you-"
"Wait… You still didn't explain why you were you trying to k-kiss me!"
"Ah!" Harry flushed at that.
"S-sorry! I didn't mean to do that disgusting thing, but Fred and George said you would wake up if I did!"
"… and you believed?! More important, why they were here in the first place?"
"They come to tell me we lost by default…"
"Afff… Knowing those two, they probably wanted to trick you as a revenge for the team's defeat…"
"Oh, no… They said everyone was sorry for how they treated me. And gave this advice that if I wanted to wake you up, all I had to do was…" He didn't need to finish.
"I am no Sleeping Beauty… and neither Snow White!" Tanya said giving half a glare to the boy.
"I didn't believe at first, but then I remembered how you helped Mrs Lovegood."
"I didn't kiss her! It was- Hold on! Were you going to shock me if I didn't wake up?!"
"W-well…" Harry averted his eyes, desperately trying to hid the two wands he was holding…
"THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE COULD DO WHAT?!"
As if the shock of learning how easily Harry Potter could've finished Voldemort was not enough, now she discovers that the philosopher's stone was quite literally a gold mine…
"Shit! I could have used the money to hire people to do all the searching of the hallows… Talk about a wasted- no, TWO wasted opportunities."
This time it was professor Snape who was visiting Tanya. Harry was discharged, but madam Pomfrey decided to keep Tanya in observation until the school end-of-the-year.
She was visited by Hermione, and even Ron came to apologize for insinuating that she was an adult man.
"… being sleep for days must have convinced him that I am not using any polyjuice potion."
Harry already told her most of what had happened after the stone explosion. But professor Snape brought up some interesting facts.
She now knew what is… or rather, was the philosopher's stone. Besides making gold out of nowhere, it was an object capable of preventing it's user death, but it couldn't bring the dead back. Neville Longbottom informed her wrong.
"My apologies for not arriving in time, but I wasted a precious long time to finally understand what Longbottom was trying to say as he would not stop stuttering… And I still had to get Hagrid to take his three-headed dog out of the way… by the time this was all done, the headmaster had long reached you."
"A-actually, that was the plan. Because I thought it was the resurrection stone… I had to make sure nobody would be present to try to stop me from stealing it, so I send Longbottom after the professor I knew he was afraid of…"
"Years ago, when we first met and you blocked my Legilimency Spell, I theorized that you could also block the three unforgivable curses… I am really glad I was right… tell me… should I call you the-girl-who-lived?"
"This is not funny, sir! Besides… I am more the one-who-barely-survived." She reminded him how exhausting it had been.
"Just to make sure… Is there another philosopher's stone somewhere?"
"No… Nicolas Flamel is the only one to ever be successful in making one. The headmaster once mentioned that he tried to make more but failed."
"… and the Flamels won't live long?"
Snape shook his head.
"Constant use of the life elixir is the only thing keeping their bodies from decaying."
"If you ask me… it's better this way. They already lived more than anyone… and that thing wasn't worth the risk."
"Just wish I had the time to make one or two gold bars although…"
"It wasn't worth your life…" the professor softened his features and she could see a tinge of concern in his eyes.
"Sorry…"
"No! It wasn't your fault…" he said with a very soft tone in his voice…
"… IT WAS POTTER'S!" … that turned into pure venom at the mention of the boy's name.
"Ahhh! Here we go again…" Tanya was reminded just how much the professor disliked Harry Potter.
"I told you that he was a troublemaker just like his father!"
"I-I know… Sorry…"
"I am not angry with you, but if the headmaster didn't arrive at that exactly moment-" Professor Snape took a deep breath to calm himself.
"… It's very fortunate that Dumbledore seems to always know what is happening in this castle."
"What happened with Quirrell?"
"That fool? By what Potter told, his body was too damaged. The dark lord must have discarded him… He probably ended a pile of ashes."
"… and Voldemort?"
"From what we understood, the dark lord is now a sort of 'specter'… he can't do much against beings of flesh, but he also can't be killed, just like you can't kill a ghost."
"… Does this means that even Harry won't be able to kill him? Still think that if he knew a proper curse, he could have already fulfilled his usefulness!"
"He will someday came back for the boy… That's why you should keep your distance."
"Sorry… but I can't…"
"Why?"
"'Why'? Isn't it obvious by now-?! Ah! I-I mean…"
Tanya lost her cool with this question. She understood that if she wasn't around, Harry Potter would have already died. This must be the real reason Peverell wanted her in Hogwarts. There was no way he could have escaped from Voldemort alive if he was by himself…
"S-sorry, but I-"
"No… It was a stupid question. He is, after all, 'important' to you…" The tone of his voice almost hid the disgust she knew he felt.
"But be watchful… He will keep attracting trouble for himself and for those around him… and for Merlin's sake, don't try to fight the dark lord ever again! Even in such state he is too powerful. As I said before, you can't kill him. That is Potter's task."
"Hm? Didn't he say something weird now…?"
"By the way… Congratulations! Slytherin will certainly win the cup tomorrow." Tanya changed the subject since talking about Harry Potter always put the teacher on edge.
"…" he didn't seem as Happy as she thought he would be.
"Something wrong, sir?"
"It's just that I know the headmaster. He probably will award last-minute points… just to make Potter's house win!"
"Ah? He can do something like that?"
"As I said: Dumbledore knows everything that happens in this castle… maybe even outside… He will find an excuse to ward him points…"
Snape let out a groan.
"After I made my house work to the bone… to end like this!"
Tanya should be happy about this… Her house would win mainly because of the points she earned. And yet, she could see that this would bring a big problem in the long run…
Now… which scenario would be most beneficial for her? The answer was so obvious that it only took a second to decide.
"Professor… Listen to what I am going to say…"
"… ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom."
The Gryffindor table erupted in noise. They were all commemorating the victory over Slytherin, all save one little girl.
"It was just like professor Snape said…"
Slytherin was about to win with four hundred and seventy-two points. Gryffindor was a close second with four hundred and sixty-five. But the headmaster awarded them with two hundred and ten points! It seems it wasn't enough to just win, he wanted they to have a great margin…
Tanya was impressed, apparently Dumbledore really knew exactly what transpired in those walls. She could see he discovering about the actions of Harry and his friends… But to know that Longbottom had stood against the three of them? How'd he do that? Then a thought came to her… could the headmaster actually know about Quirrell and Voldemort all along? But then… why expose the students to such peril?
"… we need a little change of decoration-" the headmaster was about to change the green hangings when…
"Before that professor Dumbledore… I also have a few events that I want to bring to light… If you allow me, of course?"
"What…? Oh! Of course Severus. Please proceed."
Professor Snape got up from his chair. The Gryffindor table immediately ceased their commemorating, almost predicting what was about to happen.
"First… Mr Ronald Weasley… For what I understood your game of chess was never properly concluded. This means that the fifty point you were given will be taken back. And in the matter of the chess board, I believe you got past thanks to a powerful cutting curse that damaged the pieces beyond any chance of repair. I take twenty-five points for damage against school propriety."
Of course, professor Snape forgot to mention that it was Tanya who destroyed the pieces using a curse that he taught to her in person.
Tanya almost pitied Ron Weasley… He had to take the full blunt of the angry stares of three combined tables. Even his own brother Percy, who just a few moments ago was gloating how proud he was of Ron being his brother, now gave him a glare so cold that seemed to say: 'you are not my brother!'
"Second… Miss Granger, you burned the Devil's Snare that professor Sprout took the entire of the summer recess to grow. Again, I take twenty-five points for damage against school propriety. Third… as much as Mr Longbottom was brave, this incident shouldn't have happened in the first place! I take twenty points from Miss Granger for cursing a fellow house mate."
Just as it was with Ron, Hermione was now the victim of the merciless glares of the combined three tables. The little girl felt less sympathetic to her, as unlike Ron, this was all her doing.
"Finally… I agree with the headmaster that these four demonstrated outstanding courage…" Snape said this, but Tanya saw him looking direct and only at her…
"… but the third-floor was still forbidden! I take fifty points… from each!"
This time, it was the Slytherin table that erupted in celebration as the same time that groans of frustration came from all the other tables. Gryffindor lost the first position and it was now down to third place.
Reverse to how Dumbledore awarded points, professor Snape took them all and managed to reduce their position to one even lower than before. And he did it all following Tanya's advice.
Her motivations were simple. First, it was to keep in professor Snape's good graces. He had been a wonderful ally, and Tanya could sacrifice the school cup, after all, she was already regarded as a role model. Maybe it would even make her look better if her house was considered inferior, it would only mean that she could 'shine' even in the shadow of an 'incompetent' house. But the most important reason was that she needed Harry Potter to not be rewarded for his behavior. She almost died protecting him this year! If the headmaster pampered him, who knows what sort of trouble he might get into in the years to come?
"Sorry Gryffindor… but don't mistake bravery with reckless!"
"Oh! And one last thing…"
"Hm? There is more?"
"Mr Potter… A boy shouldn't try to kiss a girl as she lay sleeping! For trying to assault Miss Degurechaff, twenty point will be taken!"
"… He saw that?!"
Immediately, all eyes were on her and Harry.
"Shit! Why me?! I really, really hate this place!"
And that is how Gryffindor ended as dead last in the house cup…
"The school year is finally over. I felt so tired that it looks like ten years passed instead of only ten months."
These were the thoughts of Tanya Degurechaff as she prepared to board the Hogwarts Express.
"This school is nuts! It makes one wonder if the Rhine was not safer!"
She was anticipating her return to the orphanage, she could not eat chocolate there, but at least there were no ghosts, or dark lords, or annoying brats monopolizing her hand. And both Harry Potter and the invisibility cloak would be safe thanks to his 'blood charm thing', so she wouldn't need to worry.
"His uncle house should be at least safer than this school! What school guard a dangerous artifact bound to attract a dark wizard-"
Tanya came to a halt.
"Wait… wait a sec…"
"They don't usually keep the philosopher's stone here… Then why now?"
It was actually a very simple question: What made this year any different?
"This year had Harry Potter attending… the one fated to kill Voldemort or die trying!"
Harry Potter had a very important destiny ahead of him. And Tanya knew it thanks to Ignotus Peverell.
"No, no! Only I know about his fate! There is no way that anyone else-"
'… don't try to fight the dark lord ever again! Even in such state he is too powerful. As I said before, you can't kill him. That is Potter's task.'
"Ah!" She thought at the time that professor Snape's remark was strange.
'That is Potter's task.'
"HE KNOWS!"
'Dumbledore knows everything that happens in this castle… maybe even outside…'
"And the headmaster probably knows too! Professor Snape respects and trusts him. If he knew, he would surely tell Dumbledore… But, how?"
Tanya could not see how they knew about Harry's destiny but it all fitted perfectly!
Just like she thought before, the headmaster knew about Quirrell and Voldemort. The stone was brought to Hogwarts as bait to attract the dark lord in the same year that Harry Potter started to attend… In order to make them fight, to fulfill their destiny. Even Tanya thought this was a golden opportunity to settle everything as soon as possible.
"But would the headmaster purposely put an eleven-year-old kid at such a risk? I mean, could I be overthinking this?"
A manipulative headmaster… a spiteful teacher… grudging relatives… fascist enemies… the dark lord… a school with dangerous lurking at every corner… and a talent for trouble-making…
Tanya was struck by the realization of just how low Harry Potter's chances of survival were…
"And if he dies… my way home is as much as closed!"
Reaching this conclusion, Tanya did what any rational being would do in such a dire situation: she panicked…
"HARRY!" She screamed trying to find him between the other students.
"HARRY, WERE ARE YOU?!"
Harry Potter was feeling down… Even Hagrid's present did not help improve his mood… He knew it was mostly his fault that Gryffindor didn't win the house cup and was scared of his house mates hating him again. So far, no one was bothering him and it was a great relief, but then another thought came to him. What about Tanya? Did she blame him? She wasn't as obsessed with grades as Hermione, but she worked so hard to earn points… Could she be angry with him?
Harry just sighed. He wanted to talk with her but his worry was making him avoid her.
"Harry!"
At first he was afraid that it was Tanya but it was Hermione with Ron coming in his direction.
"Hey… We have something for you." Hermione said.
"Something for me?"
"Consider this a consolation prize for not winning the house cup." Ron said, giving him an envelope.
"What you-" His heart skipped a beat.
In the envelope was a copy of the photograph taken of Tanya during her photoshoot.
Harry couldn't stop the blush from his face as the Tanya in the photograph smiled tenderly at him.
He then noticed that Ron and Hermione were smirking at him.
"W-why are you giving me this?"
"Hagrid told us that you now have an album… So, why not put a picture of your girlfriend in there?"
"Gahhhh! Are we back to this again?!"
"Come on mate… We already had this talk… a girlfriend is someone you fancies… you will want to snog, put your mouth in hers and start sucking…"
"I don't want to snog Tanya!"
"That's is not what Snape told everyone…"
"I-I already said that it was a misunderstand! A prank from your brothers!"
"Harry, there is no reason to be shy." Hermione said smiling…
"Y-you two… don't start weird rumors again… please!"
"But… It's such a waste. I mean, you two are crazy about each other-"
"I am not crazy about Tanya! I already said, we are like family!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? Tanya does not wish to be your mum! Now, the mother of your children… That's something I believe she would love to be someday!"
"!" This comment reminded Harry the last time he looked at the mirror of erised… The adults Harry and Tanya hugging with their children around…
"No, no, no!I don't think of her like that! That was some sort of mistake, the mirror must- Ah! That's right!The mirror must've broken because it was holding the stone… Yeah! That's the only explanation!"
"Hey. You keep pushing your opinion but… why not just ask Tanya if she really fancies Harry?" Ron asked Hermione.
"Ron… that's…!" Hermione began to say…
"… Actually a good idea!" Harry immediately gave his approval.
"No, that's a bad idea. I believe that Tanya is too proud to admit the truth. She would be too embarrassed because it would look like she is desperate for companionship… Girls are like that. Believe me, I know." Hermione dismissed completely Ron's suggestion.
"Afff! Well, I tried. Have a nice married life with her, mate."
"W-w-what?! Could she… Or maybe I-"
"Hold on!Could those two be making fun of me? Now that I think back… it was because of baseless rumors that I fought twice with Tanya." Harry had a serious expression as he thought this.
He decided to convince them that he had no such 'nasty' intentions towards Tanya. She was like a mum- no, scratch that… She was like a sister to him! That and nothing more!
"Now you two listen: No more rumors about Tanya! I am not going to fight with her again because you-"
"HARRY!"
Harry turned around by the call of his name. And there Tanya was breathing hard, probably from looking for him. Before she could see, Harry quickly put her picture inside his album.
"Oh! Tanya please listen-"
"No! Listen you!" The tone of her voice made him wonder again if perhaps she was mad at him for costing Gryffindor the house cup.
"You are going to hold my hand and not let go! You won't be out of my sight until we arrive in London!"
"… Eh?"
"Now, come with me!"
Harry found himself having his hand stolen and being dragged to the train.
In a last instant of confusion he turned and moved his lips in a soundless question to Ron and Hermione.
'What is going on?'
Ron just averted his eyes but Hermione gave him a dreamy look and moved her lips to give a wordless answer.
'She already misses you! How cute!' was what Harry thought she said.
"Tanya already misses me? But… could it be that Hermione is right…? Could this wonderful girl really fancy me? And… do I feel the same…?"
Unfortunately, Harry was still too immature in the matters of the heart, he didn't truly understand what love was. But he made a promise to himself to give this a full contemplation… the entire summer if necessary!
He was concerned about what the future would bring, what would became of them. But the warmth of her small and soft hand still comforted him and like always made his worries vanish, exactly like when they first met. Unconsciously, a small thought was taking root in his heart…
"Maybe, just maybe… it would not be so bad to have a girlfriend…?"
End of Arc 1
AN: Hope that no one got offended that I made Gryffindor lose the house cup. But this was a promise I made myself… I always thought that Gryffindor winning was very unfair. Like, just because they are the 'heroes', they can do anything! They didn't deserve to win! So, my promise was that should I ever make a fanfic about this moment, I would correct this. Oh! And I hope I did the mathematics right!
About Dumbledore knowing about Quirrell and Voldemort. This is a theory I had for years, and I don't think I am the only one as many fanfics turn him into another villain.
Also about Dumbledore. Originally, I was thinking of making in this chapter a part were he expose his thoughts about Tanya. But I think I will only do this in year 3.
As I was writing the last chapter, I came to a conclusion: Harry didn't save the stone. Actually, because of him, Voldemort almost got it! Because Quirrell and Voldemort would never have gotten past the mirror defense, Dumbledore would have arrived and fought them. But because Harry was there, he was able to take the stone out of the mirror and Voldemort almost got it, not to say that he also almost died. So, the three solving each challenge and finally reaching the stone… was all for nothing!
Oh! And still no new season of Youjo Senki…!
I don't know if I will make that extra chapter after all… If I finish the next draft early, I will consider, but expect a very 'crackish' and short chapter.
The next chapter will take a while to be updated, as I will research the chamber of secrets book to assemble a draft of the entire arc. I plan to finish this before July, but it could take more time.
Reviews:
Lubber: Thank you for always taking the time to leave a review!
Amon34: Thank you and I am sorry, but I'd rather go fast than go slower. I read lots of good fanfics in the past that suffered this. And even if I go too fast, it will still take at least two more years to finish this story. But, I do agree about the part of lack of description of the setting. I will try to do better in the future, okay?
Wedgegeck: Thank you. Poor Tanya will see all her plans fail miserably…
Ocansino: Thank you for always reviewing! Sorry about the spoilers, it's just that I am very eager to reach the good parts. But I will tone down, please keep reading my notes.
Guest: Thank you.
Najex: Thank you very much. I am looking forward to more of your comments.
Alexc123: Thank you. I am better now. I guess I was lucky compared with others that had a really bad time with covid 19…