The next chapter is here, and brings with it the first bit of action with it. I admit my fight scenes are not that good, but I hope I managed to write a good one. Enjoy
Chapter 6
The rest of the summer passed quickly for Harry and his newfound study partner Hermione. The girl demonstrated great intelligence and dedication, but had, at least according to Harry, a very naïve view of the world.
Still, he found her company enjoyable, especially when they had a debate on one or another topic. There were very few people on Earth that could challenge him mentally.
Before anyone knew it, it was September 1st, and time for a new school year.
"Enter." Harry heard a knock on his room door, and turned to see Dumbledore walking in. The old man's eyes widened at the assortment of strange weapons all over Harry's bed and floor.
Harry was currently busy turning a pile of strange components Dumbledore couldn't even imagine the purpose of in a pair of what Dumbledore guessed were some sort of advanced rifle.
"I wanted to check the condition of the weapons I brought while I still had the time. Give me five minutes and I'll pack it all up." Harry finished the assembly without even looking at the pieces and soon had everything back into his watch.
"Would you like to walk with me down to the Great Hall? The students will arrive soon." Dumbledore asked once he was finished.
"Might as well." With that, Harry's clothes changed to a Gryffindor robe set.
Once in the Hall, Harry took a seat at the Gryffindor table and lay down on the bench, staring at the night sky that was shown on the ceiling and hummed one of his favorite songs.
Lantrisi music was a very interesting subject, since it divided the society to two halves. One side practiced gar'shik music, which was soft and gentle, with uplifting and inspiring lyrics. The other side played lokor'isha music, which reflected the violent nature of the Lantrisi and had roots in Terran heavy metal but had evolved a great deal from that style.
He was still humming lightly when the first students began to file in. He sat up quickly, and began to study the people who walked in. Soon enough, people were starting to join him on the Gryffindor table, and many started asking who he was.
"Wait until everyone is here. I don't want to answer the same question a thousand times." Harry grinned, refusing to say more on the matter.
Once everyone was seated and McGonagall brought in the new first year students, Dumbledore stood up, silencing the hall as he did.
"Before we start, I have a small announcement to make. You have, no doubt noticed the new addition to the Gryffindor table tonight. It is with great pleasure that I inform you that after fourteen years, Harry Potter has been found and has joined his peers at Hogwarts. Let us all give him a warm welcome." Dumbledore clapped as the Hall erupted in applause, cheers and loud murmurs.
The people around Harry stared at him in a mix of awed surprise and shock as he gave them a slight smirk.
It took a while for the din to die down, but once it did, McGonagall proceeded with the sorting. It wasn't long before that was finished too and the food appeared on the tables.
Not really needing the food, Harry was content to sample the dishes enough to avoid suspicion, even if the nutritional value for him was like eating a handful of raisins was for a human.
Soon enough, the meal was over, and Dumbledore stood up once again.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start of term notices. First years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too."
Taking a short breath, Dumbledore continued.
"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door. We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore pointed out the two women.
"Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the…" He was interrupted however, by Professor Umbridge.
Her speech was purest rubbish, but the hidden message was very clear. She was there to make sure the school was run according to the will of the Ministry.
"Figures. Well, I'd say this will be a most interesting year." Harry sighed lightly. He had met with Umbridge several more times since their first meeting, and the desire to stab her repeatedly had not lessened in the least.
Harry split off from the rest of the students in the corridor leading to his room. Hermione noticed him, but since she knew he had a separate room, didn't comment. He had promised he would show it to her this weekend.
Classes started quickly, and Harry's expectations of the classes had proven true. Charms and Transfiguration were hectic, but also very interesting. History was as boring and bland as Sothian art, while Potions were a most interesting topic, especially the multitude of poisons he had read about in Sirius's library. It took several veiled and not so veiled threats towards Dumbledore to prevent the Order from removing even a single book from there, a fact that brought a smile to Harry's face every time he thought about it.
Ancient Runes was a very interesting subject, since thanks to Lord Deathhand, Harry knew how to read, write and speak most of the runic languages, and adding the magical side of it was only icing on the cake.
Arithmancy on the other hand, did not turn out so good. Harry endured a single class, cringing at the level of mathematics the magical world seemed to employ. After the class, he started redoing all the calculations and equations in his Arithmancy books using Lantrisi mathematics. It was a long-term project, but he felt it was something that had to be done in the name of his own continued sanity.
The one subject that made him want to bang a head in a wall (not his, of course) was Defense against the Dark Arts.
Umbridge made it abundantly clear in their first class that her lesson plan for the year was completely theoretical, and she was using a book Harry wouldn't have used for kindling, let alone what passed for a tactical manual in this society.
Finally, the weekend came, and with that, Harry had invited Hermione to his room. He contemplated on inviting others as well, but decided against it. Ron was a person with far too many negative traits and was grating on Harry's nerves whenever the boy spoke about his glorious adventures in the school. Ginny was all right, but it was hard to talk to someone when they were drowning you in pheromones. Fred and George were the only other people he spent time with, finding their inventions and pranks hilarious. He knew better then to unleash those two on his room though, especially with the amount of Lantrisi hardware he had in there.
"Oh my god. You actually have the Master's guide to Potions." Hermione gave an excited squeal when she saw the few rare tomes in Harry's bookcase.
"There was a copy in my family vault. I also have the Big Book of Transfiguration and the Olympic Dueling Manual." Harry' grinned as the girl was practically bouncing on her feet.
"Can I please borrow them?" In an instant, she stood before him, giving him a really adorable puppy eyes.
"No. You are welcome to read them here, though." Her protest died in her throat as she considered the offer. A private area where she could read in peace and work on her homework without distractions sounded perfect.
Life for Harry, however, did not remain as calm as it was so far. It seemed Umbridge was suspicious of his sudden appearance and his affiliation with Dumbledore, so she tried to have him riled up during her classes, but Harry had yet to react even once. He always delivered his homework on time, remained attentive, even in her class, and never caused trouble.
Feeling angry at her failure, she called Draco Malfoy to her office for a little talk. It didn't take much to convince the boy to attack Harry in the corridors where he could retaliate and Umbridge could punish him for fighting in the corridors.
Harry's sharp senses alerted him to the spell flying at him before it even made it half-way. He turned and sidestepped it, avoiding the spell and allowing him to face his attacker, who turned out to be Draco Malfoy.
"Big mistake." Harry snapped as his wand slid into his hand. At that moment, Umbridge walked in, and Harry realized what had happened, cursing himself for not being more alert.
"Fighting in the corridors, Mr. Potter? I think this merits a detention." She smirked victoriously.
"If you say so, professor. When should I come?" Harry said calmly.
"Tonight at seven, Mr. Potter. Don't be late." With that, she walked away.
"Malfoy." Draco stopped as Harry called him. "You will regret this."
Shivering from the icy tone in which Harry said that, Draco wasted no time to get as far away as possible.
"Please sit down, Mr. Potter. You'll be doing lines for me tonight." She gestured to a desk on which there was already parchment and a strange looking quill.
"What should I write?" Harry asked.
"I will not start fights." She grinned as she sat down behind her desk. Harry found the whole place revolting, starting with the odd kitten pictures on the wall to the scent that lingered in the chamber.
He wrote the first word when he felt a sting on his palm, and there on the paper, written in red ink was the letter I. Bending a bit, he felt the scent of Lantrisi blood.
His eyes widened at the realization. The quill was drawing blood from him. This toad was actually daring to force him to spill his blood for something this insignificant?
He clenched his hand in anger and heard a loud 'snap' as the quill broke in half.
"You little brat, do you know how much that cost me?" Umbridge roared and moved in on him, wand drawn, but before she could cast anything, she was disarmed, pressed against the wall and hanging a foot above the floor.
Harry's grip around her neck was unyielding, leaving her just enough slack to get some air in her lungs.
"I should kill you for this insult, you ugly bitch. Still, your disappearance would raise too many questions, so I will have to deny myself this pleasure." With that, he pulled his mithril wand and pressed it on her temple.
"Farik-tha iteri." He cast a memory altering spell and after he was satisfied with the changes, he dropped her, still dazed from the spell and rushed away.
Enraged by this, he stalked the corridors without aim until he managed to stumble at a house elf cleaning.
The poor creature was shivering in fright before the clearly pissed off and dangerous being before it, but the elf didn't dare leave.
"You, elf. You know the castle well?" The elf didn't trust his voice, so he only gave a nod.
"Is there a place where I won't be disturbed no matter what I do?" Harry was starting to lose his rage, but was still pissed off.
The elf nodded and led him towards the seventh floor. "You just need to pass the wall three times thinking about what you want, sir." The elf explained with a very heavy stutter and while shivering like a leaf in a hurricane.
"Good. You can leave now." The elf vanished instantly, and Harry did as it instructed. A standard Lantrisi door appeared, and slid to the side as he pressed the door control.
The inside was a perfect replica of a Lantrisi duel pit, and hissing and snarling at him from the other side was a Gorash warrior.
The Gorash were a race that resembled reptiles, but that was as far as that relation went. They were sulfur-based, but still breathed nitrogen-oxygen air, which was good for Harry in this situation. It wasn't much of a fight if all one had to do was remove your opponent's breather mask, was it?
Standing at eight feet tall and weighing over a thousand pounds with thick, rippling muscles, long spiked tail and mouth filled with sharp teeth dripping yellow ichor, the creature could easily tear a human in half.
Harry paced carefully around the pit as he and the Gorash eyed each other warily, waiting for the first strike to fall. It would be a hard fight, since Gorash were almost as strong as Lantrisi, a fact augmented by their greater size and mass. They were also surprisingly quick for a creature that big.
With a loud roar, Harry rushed his opponent, his hand moving for the creature's ribs. The Gorash twisted to the side, swiping its claws as it did, nearly tearing Harry's head off, who managed to duck and roll away.
He turned around, twisting to avoid another sweep of the beast's razor-sharp claws and used the opportunity to strike a nerve cluster in the arm, forcing the muscles to lock up for a moment.
Using the thusly provided opening, he went to the offensive and using a precise strike, broke one of the creature's lung covering plates. Similar to ribs, they served the same function and were just as debilitating when broken.
The Gorash roared in pain and this time, managed to bash Harry and tore a deep gash on his shoulder.
Harry jumped away, hissing and barring his fangs at the beast as the wound rapidly knitted together.
Spitting a glob of thick, dark-yellow blood, the Gorash growled and rushed Harry, who, while dodging the main strike, was struck by its tail when he kicked and broke one of it's knees.
Before the tear on his back could heal, the Gorash jumped him and ran him through and pinned him to the wall.
As the beast raised his other arm to deliver the killing blow, Harry's body rippled, then reversed itself. Roaring in defiance, Harry's hands snapped up and stabbed into the beast's chest, where he knew the two hearts were.
The Gorash collapsed like a house of cards from that, its weight loosening its hand from the wall and pulling Harry, who was still impaled on it down with it.
Wincing from the beast's coarse skin as he pulled himself off, he quickly healed his injuries. Clearly feeling the massive blood loss, he pulled out a feeder unit and drank greedily.
"A Gorash? What the hell was I thinking?" Harry growled, his anger replaced by shame. He acted in blind rage, and his fight reflected that. He fought wildly, without any control or technique. "I acted like a damn beast." He pushed himself up, as the body of the Gorash vanished. All that was left in the room were the various puddles of his blood which he quickly vanished.
"Am I falling to the Blood Rage?" He whispered. It was one of the few illnesses the Lantrisi had. It was a psychological disorder that caused uncontrollable bloodlust. The causes were not clear, but the cure was relatively simple. The afflicted had to fight until the lust was sated, or they died.
Feeling that his blood lust had died down after his fight, Harry sighed in relief, realizing he was not falling to this dreaded illness. However, it remained a grim possibility.
"I will not lose myself. I am stronger than that." Fists clenched tightly, Harry turned towards the door and walked out.