Harry and the Magic Factory
Chapter 17
X-c-X-c-X-c-X
January 1, 1998
Colin Creevey landed with a heavy thud outside the Potter School. His many bags landed right beside him, neatly stacked. He was the first of the Chosen to return. And terribly excited. He'd brought his camera back with him. And he'd made a promise to get his younger brother, Dennis, into the program as soon as possible. Or even enroll him in the Potter School.
It wasn't until Colin stood up and looked around that he noticed how very much the Village surrounding the Potter School had changed. There were massive banners and beautiful, nearly sentient lights flickering in the daylight. It looked like the whole place had been charmed into a fairy tale village.
Susan Bones – and her Aunt – appeared in front of the school a minute later. Amelia barely had time to lift herself from the ground before Sirius Black and Remus Lupin appeared from inside the school.
"Colin, Susan, Amelia, good to see you all," Remus said. Sirius nodded toward his old boss from his days in the Ministry.
"Thank you," came out of all three, before everyone shared a quick laugh. Amelia continued with, "I'm so glad you came when Susan sent off that owl, Sirius. I'm glad to be done of those fools for now. Even put the house under sealing spells, not even a bacteria can survive in an environment like that…"
Colin meanwhile latched onto Remus. His entreaty came out jumbled, then his second attempt sounded like, "Dennis, my brother you know, is so excited about what I told and I thought maybe he could come here to go to school because it's just so much better than Hogwarts, don't you know, and Dennis and my parents were terribly excited, so excited about it, and I said I would ask, and I'm asking, Mr. Lupin, can my brother come here and go to the Potter School, he'd be a third year this year and he and I both study a bit of the Muggle world during the summers and he'd fit right in, I just know it…"
Remus settled down the excitable young man. He also said that Dennis Creevey would be welcome to attend the Potter School if he and his parents agreed. (Harry and his other close counselors had already foreseen the possibility that the Chosen may wish to bring other family members into their lives. And when reasonable, the requests were to be honored.)
Remus helped Colin carry his bags to the ground floor of where the Apprentices would be living in the near future. Then he gave Colin a portkey and a thick sheaf of papers. "Be back soon, Colin, you don't want to miss the dueling, I'm sure. It's our most important tournament today."
And, like that, Colin was gone to fetch his younger brother. And Amelia Bones was amazed that such a village existed in England without all that many people knowing of its existence.
The Weasleys descended into the fray next. Sirius and Remus were directing the new Apprentices every which way. Finally, Neville and Luna appeared, nearly at the end of the time window. Sirius seemed relieved. Remus just looked like he'd known all the time.
"Sorry," Luna said. "Neville took forever to pack. His mum kept shoving these weevil infested books into his trunks and I kept taking them out. Then his grandmum insisted on the most horrid of wrackspurt-infested hats and robes. And I stomped a couple of times… It's the prospectice fiancee's job to keep her husband safe, you know…"
Neville was, of course, blushing from the number of embarrassing revelations Luna had just made.
But all was forgotten when an enormous detonation sounded from the far side of the Village. That was when Harry Potter rushed out of the school like a demon possessed. "Stupid, stupid," he muttered. Then he saw the Apprentices gathered.
"Welcome back, everyone. I see we have a full complement. We'll do the paperwork and assignments bit tomorrow, I expect. Amelia, I don't believe we've been properly introduced before…."
"I've never met you, young man."
"…well, you have, just not with this face, I'd expect. I attend a fair number of conferences during the year. I saw you last presenting a paper on criminal jurisprudence in Brussels." Amelia just nodded, mostly unbelieving. There was no way a teenager could have sat through that conference; it had nearly bored her to tears. "Perhaps we'll have a chance to chat one-on-one tomorrow. I'd have arranged it for today, and thank you again for coming, but we've been coping with a couple of different emergencies in the last few days. We'll get your testing set up tomorrow to see where you might like to fit in…" Here, Remus whispered in Harry's ear. "And we'll have a new student for the Potter School, wonderful. Well, farewell for now. Enjoy the tournament."
The young man wandered off and Amelia wondered at what had just happened.
"Who is he?"
Remus stepped closer to Amelia. "That young man is the future of magic."
Amelia raised a skeptical eyebrow. Sirius stepped into the conversation then. "Amelia, you've seen Alastor Moody duel, correct? Ever bested him?"
Amelia Bones laughed. "Yes. And no. I've never met anyone who could best Alastor."
Sirius smiled more broadly. "Get ready, Amelia. Alastor's gotten a whole lot better. And you'll also see him getting beat today. He's only ranked second or third here nowadays."
"And what does Moody have to do with that boy?"
Remus laughed. "You'll see."
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Harry was watching the first round of the dueling tournament. Moody was off tromping around some of the circles already, too. He'd bellow out random slogans and encouragements to the people inside the ring, often as not distracting them from their casting. Harry always enjoyed Moody's sense of humor, bizarre as it was.
Harry watched some of his students get aggressive. He smiled. He saw little Tyler Vector cast a stunner with his wand and then send a wandless banisher at his opponent. Drove the young lady right into the stunner, too. Lovely technique! Boy had just passed his Basic Competency and so this was his first Dueling Tournament. He perhaps had it in him to pursue a Dueling Mastery, if he chose.
Harry kept wandering around, observing the progress of the students he taught now and again at the Potter School. Harry, of course, was the sole wandless instructor, but very few children manifested the talents to utilize significant magic in a wandless fashion. He also lectured on his specialties within transfiguration, charms, and the other magical disciplines.
So, Dueling Day for Harry was like watching graduation. His friends and chums and students were growing up, growing talented.
Harry surveyed the proceedings. There were eight dueling circles set up and a couple hundred spectators already observing the proceedings. This early round had evolved over the years so that one) the top ten finishers from last year all sat it out to allow some new blood to gain experience and two) it was a pool system, where each competitor dueled with everyone else in his or her randomly drawn pool. The two best finishers within each pool moved on to the second round, along with the ten ranked duelists. Then the fun really started.
After this round concluded, the first exhibition duel would occur. It was the one Harry had volunteered to perform in this year: transfiguration only, for show and education, not for ranking credit. There were surprisingly few transfiguration masters within the Potter Estate. Harry thought they'd perhaps set the bar too high to complete a mastery in that field. He made a note to revisit the concern in a year or two.
Harry continued around the rings observing. He'd created the wards that kept all spells inside and allowed nothing to enter once the duel had started. Perhaps he'd have to block out external noise, too, but that wasn't realistic in a true battle. Of all the things they were, battles were not silent.
"Caedo," he heard. He listened to people positively shouting out their jinxes and hexes. "Reducto. Incendio. Lacero." But there were a few, a very few, on this side of the pavilion who seemed to have begun to understood how to duel. Age didn't seem to matter. There were a few young ones, in their first eligibility, dueling like would-be masters. There were quite a few who knew better dueling like open books who wanted to get hurt.
Still, there was reason for some hope and enjoyment. More people had mastered his silent method of redirecting spells. No one seems to have crafted any spells to counter the redirection, however. So, perhaps more than one person would be shocked when Harry started showing one or two of his special spells. Harry used neither wand nor word when dueling so no one would be able to directly copy him. But the precedent would be set: people would know it was possible to counter redirection. People would begin researching it.
And, in a few years, within competitive dueling, redirection would hold less value. By then Harry would have introduced some other of his new efforts, ones no one else would ever be able to duplicate.
Harry always liked to be three steps ahead of his opponents. Which was the reason it was so important not just to interrogate Severus Snape today, but to at least try him for being a Death Eater. It was New Year Day, but it was important to convene a trial even when the afternoon's mock duels took place.
Snape likely knew something about whatever the Ministry, at Dumbledore's request, was doing. Hell, even the goblins could smell Dumbledore all over this: Fudge wasn't smart enough for this plan and Umbridge couldn't see over her large stomach to kick at an Oompah unless someone else helped her with the entire plan.
Harry eventually saw his friend Cedric in the crowd observing one of the matches. "I thought you were signing up, Ced?"
"I'm a healer, not a fighter, Harry. I'll have to stitch together these yobs…"
Harry laughed.
"Not even an exhibition match? If memory serves, you're fairly devastating with illusions and charms. Wouldn't even have gotten a scratch on you."
Cedric shook his head. "Nah, the tournament director asked, but I passed this year. I'm trying to pull everything together so I can finish my mastery in Healing by July."
"Well, Ced, I'll be expecting to see your contribution next Duelling Day, then."
Harry moved off to observe the next dueling ring. The first round matches usually went quickly. Eight rings, twelve pools of competitors, thirty four eventual competitors for the second round split between four pools. Then more duels: the top twelve all duel each other. Then the final round for final placement: the top duelist out of the third round takes on the second best. The loser takes on the third best, and so on, until all the top ten duelists are settled into place.
Harry saw some of the new Apprentices near a ring up ahead. "Fred, George, good to see both of you."
"Just wondering how we could partake…"
"Got to pass your Basic Competency to try it, or have a relevant Mastery. So, work hard and you can give it a shot fairly soon," Harry said.
He stood next to the twins offering commentary as two young adults tore into each other while laughing and joking at each other. It seemed like fun, ferocious fun.
"Stick around, you can play in the afternoon after the formal Dueling Tournament is over. There will be lots of people eager to take on Hogwarts graduates, if you'd like."
"Anything goes," one of the asked.
"As long as you agree to it before you start. Ordinary rules are no killing curses. Period. So pranks, wards, potions, anything like that is legitimate."
That was when a loud noise filled the open-air pavilion where the dueling rings were set up. Suddenly a much larger ring shimmered into view at the very end of the pavilion. The ring for the finals and for the exhibition matches.
"Guess that's me," Harry said. "Hope you enjoy and pick up some new skills."
He did hear one of the twins moaning a bit. "Hope we fit in here. They're smart like Ravenclaws here and more vicious than Slytherins."
"Yup," the other confirmed. "We'll have to start cracking open books and being responsible sorts now. Damn it all to Morgana."
Harry was still laughing when he crawled into the main dueling ring. He'd already been announced, as had his 'opponent,' Compton Whipporwill, and that they were limited to transfigurations only.
Each man took an opposing side of the ring. When the short countdown ended, Harry smiled, raised his hands in a dramatic fashion, and then disappeared inside a tropical jungle that just seemed to erupt around him.
The audience gasped. Harry had never shown off his conjuration skills quite like this before. But it certainly was impressive. The vines inside the jungle began slithering out like thousand of snakes. Compton transfigured stones into weapons to begin hacking away at everything. Then Harry's jungle emitted five hundred tiny little birds that erupted into the air and then flew down to Compton and seemed to hang in the air, creating a kind of living shield between the opponents.
Massive trees from the conjured jungle turned into stone golems and began walking toward Compton.
Neither Fred nor George had ever seen a duel like that. There were no spells flying across the area, no one shouting out words. Hell, no one could even see Harry, he'd just disappeared inside the jungle he conjured. There was no way to conjure like that, but somehow both of them had seen this young man do it. It was utterly bizarre and beautiful.
A twelve foot long wall of bamboo seemed to erupt out of the ground behind Compton. The man began transfiguring as fast as he could. But the bamboo weaved to evade his spells. Eventually long stalks of it began to curl around his body as just the jungle vines tied together his feet.
The golem transfigured from a tree plucked Compton from the ground and held him in midair. The man's wand was carefully levered away from him by all the strange little birds.
Finally, a massive black jaguar leapt from the jungle and stalked toward the golem and its hostage. It looked like the magical construct was planning to make a meal out of Compton, when it suddenly reverted to a human form. Harry was a jaguar animagus. Wicked, Fred and George thought.
Loud and sustained applause filled the open air. It had been a short, but particularly intense battle. Compton hadn't even had the first opportunity to go on the offensive. But it was still a work of wonder.
Harry walked out of the dueling circle after he freed Compton. "Since the duel was so brief, I'll leave the transfigurations in place for thirty minutes in case any of you care to step inside and play around…"
The crowd cheered. Fred and George were among the first inside. Whatever that magic was, it was brilliant. Oh, the pranks one could do with something like that at their disposal. They began plotting immediately.
Harry used his spare moment to step over to the building where Snape's interrogation and trial would take place. He had only thirty minutes for his go at interrogation, but Harry was sure it would suffice. The trial this afternoon could drag the rest out of the man.
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Severus Snape fell into consciousness the hard way. He gasped for breath. He'd been stuck into his own dreams for so long he felt like he'd lost his way back into reality.
But now he realized he'd simply been stunned. Stunned so that it felt like he was out for a very long time. That was odd. He counted the days and nights. He'd been in his cell for just over a month. But, with this stunning, Severus thought perhaps he'd been here even longer.
His thoughts turned for a moment to Bracus before he remembered that his one-time son was a squib now and unworthy of the name Snape.
Then his mind turned inward.
He needed information now: Where was he? Who had brought him here? Why? And how did he wriggle his way out of it? If it was anything legal in Britain, Dumbledore would have already freed Snape. So, he'd either been picked up by vigilantes in Britain or by just about anyone outside Britain.
Didn't narrow much down.
Snape closed his eyes for a moment. He remembered the duel with the man in the darkness. He remembered that horrible bowel-loosening spell, but not much else. Then the month in his cell, the tiny little meals. Snape had never felt full. Snape always felt at least a little bit tired. Whatever these people were doing was certainly keeping him weak and off-kilter.
When Snape opened his eyes again, there was someone else in his little room. The kid was short, dark-haired. Merlin, it looked like bloody James Potter. Perhaps it was…
"You have twenty-two minutes to confess your crimes, Snape. Then it's out of my hands…"
It didn't sound like James Potter. This one sounded colder than the Dark Lord right now. A horrified chill descended down Severus Snape's back. If this was Potter, then they knew about his poisoning at the Potter Emporiums.
"Crimes?"
Playing innocent was a spy's first trick.
"Serving Tom Riddle, the self-named Lord Voldemort. Attacking Oompahs, the creatures you call house elves…"
Ah ha. Severus knew his next move.
"Preposterous. I am a respected Potions Master and a teacher at Hogwarts, your old school, remember, James? 'Course you couldn't touch a cauldron without having it explode, could you?" He paused as a nasty smirk crawled across his face. "As you can see from my bare arms, I do not have the Dark Mark."
"Let me correct a few of your misapprehensions, Mister Snape. My name is Harry Potter. My father, James, was killed by your Dark Lord many, many years ago. And the only reason you do not now bear the Dark Mark is that I took care of your Dark Lord's final binding keeping his soul tied to the earth. He's finally gone now, forever. He will not be coming back, so disregard whatever things he might have told you about immortality." This Harry looked over Snape's shoulder then. "Nineteen minutes, Mr. Snape. Confess."
Snape felt the situation was out of his control. Time for another tactic: belligerence and demanding his rights.
"I am a citizen of the British Ministry of Magic. I demand a hearing before the Wizengamot. You're just a thug, a terrorist. And you can't legally do a thing to me, Potter."
Harry smiled. "Seventeen minutes, Snape." The kid knew something. He was utterly cold, too, more so than the Dark Lord had ever been. He'd have been throwing Crucio's around by this point in an 'interrogation.'
"You'll not see justice from the Wizengamot and let me tell you why. I have called upon very old laws, the old Liege Laws. Your master attacked and killed my parents; I defeated him when I was very young. As a result, all of his property, including his vassals and their property, belong to me. Snape, you literally belong to me. I am giving you the courtesy of confession before I force you into it. I thought we'd start off on the right foot, if possible. Fourteen minutes."
With those simple words, Snape's mental shields seemed to collapse. He thought of all the disappeared families, Malfoys, Carrows, Lestranges, Notts, and the others. Merlin. He was in deep.
Severus began trying to determine if there was anything in the room he could use to attack this Harry with. But it was just his bed, bolted to the floor, and a blanket. Snape wondered if his wandless magic was strong enough. Maybe a Levicorpus would work on someone this young and inexperienced.
Severus tried.
Harry just smiled. He wasn't flipped up into the air. Nothing at all happened.
"You're not strong enough to flip over a flea, Mister Snape."
The Potions Master felt the chill of fear settle into his bones. His bag of tricks was nearly exhausted.
"Twelve minutes."
Snape just remained on his bed. Silence was a spy's first and last resort. Snape had violated one of his own principles by leaping immediately to denial. Now it wouldn't be of much use.
"You know, I am interested in what you did to your son. We've had a Mind Healer working on him since his accident. And our Forensic Healer managed to figure out what potions you doused him with. He'll actually be able to think on his own again in a few months, we think. But the tortures you – and others – inflicted on him, we're still trying to figure out what they were."
Snape was way beyond fear now. What he'd done to Bracus, with Dumbledore's insistence and assistance, was common but illegal. Nearly all the old line pureblood families used similar indoctrination methods. The exact formulae varied; some relied upon aversion therapies to correct bad habits. Some used Imperius to command thoughtful obedience. Snape had chosen elements of torture to punish misbehavior, blocked in black with special memory charms, in addition to compulsion potions layers on top of each other. Six potions per year, roughly, taken at different times was plenty to keep Bracus' mind and body in line.
"Torture me, if you will, Potter. Your family always delighted in torture, I should know. Your filthy father nearly got me killed back in school, from a prank, a prank…"
"Snape, don't lie. It was Sirius who nearly got you killed; it was my father who saved your life. Technically you are under a life debt to me, but lying is not an appropriate or recognized way of repaying it."
Oh god, Severus thought. The kid knew all his tricks. And Snape was too weak to continue lying and bluffing this way through this.
"I'm ready for whatever torture you may have, Potter."
"Seven minutes, Severus Snape. Seven minutes to atone. Do you wish to use them?"
The room fell silent for the remaining time. "There will be no torture," Harry said. "But, when you're tried this afternoon, the truth-telling wards will be at full strength. Works even better than veritaserum, which I'm sure you know some kind of counter for. Perhaps I'll listen to your confession in the courtroom. Your trial, of course, will be short and decisive."
Snape fell back against his uncomfortable bed after that Harry Potter left his room. How Potter had known he kept the counter to veritaserum in his blood vessels, Snape would never know. But it seemed all of his secrets would be out within hours, assuming the Potter brat wasn't overstating his own capabilities.
Severus didn't think the kid was. If anything, Severus Snape still thought he might be underestimating the little urchin.