.

Balance Factor Chapter 46

Year Seven

Summoning

A/N: Only a few more chapters to go! Thanks for keeping up!

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Lupin looked escatic, his lips trembling.

"It's a boy! Harry, I want you to be godfather!" He turned to Harry, taking in the praise and admiration. Harry paused, looking up from his soup. This was the first meal he had eaten since withdrawing from his core and he was rather grateful for it. After all, he wanted to see how far Ollivander had gotten with his new wand.

"Sure."

Lupin left soon after, not wanting to be long too gone. Harry finished up his soup and was washing the dishes. Griphook and Hermione were still planning out details with Ron. Bill and Fleur were gardening outside.

"Twelve and a half inches, hazel, unyielding," Ollivander said softly, walking into the kitchen. He held out the wand for Harry. He had a tired, but pleased look on his face. "Unidentified cores. Here you are…"

Harry dried his hands before reaching for the stick. He felt a rush of warmth course through him, black and white sparks flaring from the tip of his new wand. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

"My pleasure, Harry Potter," Ollivander said. "It's a bit of a surprise though. Hazel wands often only accept one master and will lose its magical properties when their master dies. With those wand cores though… I do not know. Hazel has the unique ability to detect water." He smiled a little, sitting down, face relaxed. "Use it well, Harry Potter. It is a powerful wand."

"I will, Mr. Ollivander." He turned back to the dishes, the Light and Darkness in his Factor pulsing gently. "I will indeed…" His mind was racing back to his third year, when he had levitated water.

Ice and fire made water. He had suspected it was a byproduct of his two elements. But… perhaps… was it something more? A hidden power that he had? Or an extension.

Harry smiled and finished up. Then he pulled out his new wand, looking it over and giving it a smile and a non-verbal "Expecto Patronum".

Harry felt a rush of magic course through him before a silvery-white unicorn leaped out from the tip of his wand. He watched the unicorn gallop out the window and looked appreciatively at the wand in his hands. Beautiful. It vanished into the light outside, Harry giving it a sigh.

"Are you satisfied with it, Harry Potter?" Ollivander asked, watching him. Harry nodded, tucking the wand away.

"Of course," Harry said. He smiled and sat across from Ollivander. "You seem a lot better."

"I am still healing," Ollivander said softly. He turned his silvery eyes and looked at Harry's face. "But, for some reason, when I held those hairs… it calmed me. Working with the hairs gave me a sense of peace."

There was a silence and then Harry placed his elbows on the table, leaning forwards. "You still have some then." Harry spoke quietly, knowingly. The length of hair Ollivander had received from him was much longer than that of what the wand required. "Keep it. But promise me you will not use it in any other wand."

"May I ask why?" Ollivander asked, looking at Harry. He slid a hand into his pocket, bringing out the long strands of leftover hair, one white, one black.

"Because I do not wish to see someone die when they're using a wand you made them," Harry said simply. He reached over and took the strands, tying them up and knotting them into a bracelet. He offered it back to Ollivander. "Very, very few would be compatible and even less would stay compatible." He smiled knowingly.

"You know this person who donated these hairs, Harry?"

Harry was spared having to answer as Griphook and Ron entered the room. Ron plopped himself down on a chair and grinned.

"We've got details worked out. Hopefully, things will go smoothly," Ron said, smiling.

Harry turned to Griphook and pulled up a chair next to him, offering it to the goblin. "I am still working on the blade," he said gently. "It will take at least a couple more weeks for me to finish."

"Then get it to me after the war is done," Griphook said, looking grumpy. "I do not mind. If there was anyone I could trust in this world, it would be you, Balancer. And the Light One." He sniffed a little, hopping up on the seat.

"What has upset you, Griphook?" Harry asked. He didn't expect the goblin to burst into a tirade about wizard-kind.

-0-

Harry had to admit, this plan was utterly and absolutely ridiculous. So insane, in fact, that it was almost genius. As Shrigoane would have said "Nonsense that worked".

And work it did.

Harry held the goblin under the Imperius Curse with his new wand as they raced down the tunnels. Griphook was sitting in his arms, propped up against his chest, holding on for dear life. Harry allowed him, as the goblin seemed to like being so close to Harry.

When Bill had seen Harry hold Griphook right before they left, he had done a double take, shocked. The goblin seemed completely content in Harry's presence and Harry was in no hurry to shoo him away. They still needed his assistance and he needed to repay his debt.

As it turned out, the blade was easier to make than the handle. Harry had completed it before partaking on this journey. The blade was sitting in his core, gleaming brightly from the glow of his Factor.

Things were running quite smoothly, Harry mused. That was, until, they were headed for a waterfall.

Griphook's cry was drowned out by the rushing water. Harry had no time to react, as his wand let off a silvery wisp of smoke, his wand still trained on the goblin, as he had been the one to cast Imperio on him. He was drenched in water, suddenly tossed into the air as the cart crashed. Hermione whipped out her wand, the Polyjuice effects completely worn off and cast a quick cushioning charm.

Harry trained his wand on the goblin they needed, gripping Griphook tightly and landing on his feet, a little shaken from the fall. "Imperio!"

Immediately, the goblin's face slackened, a blank look of indifference crossing his face. Griphook panicked in his arms.

"We have to hurry! That's Thief's Downfall! They know there are imposters in Gringotts, they have set defenses against us." He slid out of Harry's hold and ran into another tunnel. The Imperiused goblin grabbed the bag of metal tools they needed and hurried along.

Harry jerked back when a hot stream of fire passed right in front of them. He turned the corner to see a gigantic dragon, chained in place. He spotted the huge, pink scars on its face and the milky white eyes. Griphook was saying something to the others, but Harry walked forward, confidently. The dragon gave a roar, but did not attack, trembling a little.

Harry reached forward, placing a hand on the dragon's snout. The dragon shifted its massive wings, its eyes focusing on Harry.

"Poor creature," Harry murmured to the dragon. "Let me pass and I shall reward you."

There was the sudden sound of loud clanking. The stone echoed the sound. The dragon whimpered a little, torn between retreating and staying where he was.

Harry gave it a soft coo, withdrawing his hand. The dragon shuffled his wings and watched as the group passed. Harry hurried to join them after they had safely reached the Lestrange Vault. The goblin touched the door and it melted away, revealing golden objects piled up everywhere. Potions, books, goblin-made helmets, silvery white cloaks, and…

"The cup!" Harry said, pointing at Hufflepuff's cup. Ron and Hermione turned, looking up at it.

"How are we going to get up there without touching anything?" Ron asked, Griphook having warned them about the Flagrante and Gemino enchantments. Griphook gasped as Harry summoned his spear, flipping the cup into the air and snatching it with the black sash attached to his spear. Harry ripped the sash off and stuck it inside his extendable sack, letting his spear vanish into particles of Darkness.

Harry then turned to Griphook, materializing the dagger he had made for the goblin.

"Here. Your payment," Harry said. Griphook looked flabbergasted, but Harry wasted no time. "We must leave now. Please… be safe."

"May gold always be in your vault, Harry Potter," Griphook said.

They ran out of the vault, keenly aware of the approaching footsteps. Griphook vanished into the oncoming crowd and Harry approached the dragon, pulling Hermione and Ron along.

"Harry, what-?!" Hermione started. Harry jumped onto the back of the dragon, feeling the dragon let out a burst of fire and pointing his wand at the cuffs locking it into place.

"Relashio!"

The cuffs banged open, falling heavily onto the ground. Harry could feel Hermione and Ron try to climb onto the dragon. The goblins had hesitated when they saw him, but the Death Eaters advanced, shouting spells. They bounced harmlessly off the dragon's scales, the dragon giving a roar of pain and anger. Harry pulled his friends up and said, "Go!"

He pointed his wand at the ceiling. "Defodio!"

The dragon reared, desperately trying to claw its way out, its massive tail snapping and hitting Death Eaters and goblins alike. They scattered, terrified for their lives as the dragon forcefully clawed its way out. Ron and Hermione copied him, trying to assist the dragon the best they could while still keeping a grip on the dragon's scales.

They broke through the bank, marble and concrete exploding in a shower of fire. The dragon flew high into the sky, gaining height and starting to fly smoothly.

Harry stroked the dragon's back, feeling the dragon give a rumble of contented pleasure. The dragon descended slowly, landing in a forest that was next to a lake before dipping its enormous head to drink. Harry slid off its back, giving it a grateful pat, which the dragon seemed to like.

"Alright, I will try to link my mind to the Dark Lord using this cup," Harry said, placing the bundle of black cloth in front of them, unraveling it. The dragon closed its eyes, completely content as Hermione and Ron slid off its back. "Hopefully we can find the last location for Ravenclaw's item. I still think it's at Hogwarts, but just to make sure, I suppose."

Harry sank down into his core, placing the cup on the ground. He felt the cup's soul try to reach into his body, as his vessel was empty.

He could feel Voldemort's anger. His fear. His confusion. Pictures flashed through his mind like a movie in fast forward.

The lake, the shack, and Hogwarts… How could the boy have known?!

Harry pulled himself out of his core and landed in his body. The cup sat innocently in front of him, but Harry merely smirked, drawing his spear. He plunged it into the golden object.

The cup seemed to give a scream, writhing, and curling. A puff of smoke exploded from the cup and then the cup shattered.

"Hogwarts," Harry confirmed to a bewildered Ron and Hermione. "He knows. Let's go." He stood up and took a deep breath, looking at the resting dragon.

"Harry, do you think You-Know-Who… knows about you?" Hermione asked. Harry paused at that, curious. "I mean… You and Ryuuko and… Shirogane," she clarified. "That you're their son…"

"Maybe…" he said softly. "Or… perhaps he thinks that I have merely gained favor of the King of Light. I do not know for sure."

"So, how are we going to get to Hogwarts?" Ron asked.

-0-

It turns out they just apparated to Hogsmead. Harry was in his shin form, as it was easier to fool people without his scar and black hair. Instantly, a scream was set off, Harry tensing under the cloak and watching Death Eaters burst out of The Three Broomsticks.

"Accio Cloak!"

The cloak remained covering them, not summoned. The Death Eaters instantly scattered, searching for him.

"Why don't we use dementors?" one of the Death Eaters said. "The Dark Lord wants to kill him, but he's technically not dead if he's lost his soul. And if he uses his Patronus, we'll be able to find out where he is."

Harry sucked in a breath. The cold suddenly settled over them and, and Harry suddenly felt a pull on his Darkness. There were at least ten dementors gliding towards them. Harry tried to shuffle back and away, but having Hermione and Ron really slowed down his progress. His Darkness pulsed twice and Harry could feel his clothes shifting, changing into his shin form.

He raised his wand, not wanting to risk getting Hermione and Ron killed because of his foolishness. He thought of Ryuuko and Akira, back in Japan, getting ready for battle. Battle that would likely happen tonight or tomorrow morning.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Unlike the silvery white unicorn or the bright white cat, something enormous and black erupted from the end of his wand. Harry stood, dumbfounded, as the creature descended on the dementors, swiping at them with the ends of its cloak, as it only seemed to be made of cloth.

"Harry!" Hermione whispered, her eyes very wide. "What is that?"

"Is that a Lethifold?!" one of the Death Eaters shrieked.

"OH MERLIN! IT'S COMING TOWARDS US!"

Harry flattened himself against a door as he heard Death Eaters running towards them. All of a sudden, they were pulled into the establishment.

Harry blinked, looking around. It was the Hog's Head. The manager looked at the three disapprovingly, but shut the door behind them. The Cloak had fallen off when they fell.

"Potter? That you?" the barman asked. Harry nodded slowly, keenly aware he was still in his shin form.

"Uh, polyjuice!" Hermione said quickly.

"Well, sure fooled me," the barman said. Harry peered at him curiously.

"You're Aberforth Dumbledore, are you not?" Harry asked quietly.

There was a silence and then the barman nodded. He seemed tired, old, but very critical.

"What are you doing here? You should get out before-" Aberforth said, but was cut off by Harry.

"I wouldn't have come back without a reason," Harry said calmly. "I am willing to risk my life for it."

"What kind of job?" Aberforth asked. "Surely, not one my brother gave you."

"It is not for Albus Dumbledore I partake in this quest," Harry said. "Dumbledore may have shown me how to do it. He may have wanted me to do it. But he is, ultimately, a human. He made his first mistake by withholding vital information, which has made my job ten times harder than it has to be. He lived a dimwit and died a fool." He glanced at Hermione, knowing she had read the article too.

"Harry, you shouldn't talk about Dumbledore like that," Hermione said, alarmed. Ron frowned.

"You know then," Aberforth said, slowly. Harry rolled his eyes.

"He had flaws. Fatal flaws. He wasn't compassionate enough. Caring enough. Otherwise he would have made sure I was well taken care of at the Dursleys. Food. Medicine. Maybe not called a Freak most of the first ten years of my life," Harry said dismissively. "He saw the whole picture. What needed to be done. Anyone who was in the way was sacrificed. Greater good, he called it. Who is he to decide who gets to live and who gets to die? He's a human, like the rest of us. Even Death Eaters have families and loyalties to them. But what would Albus Dumbledore care about that? One less Death Eater is one less problem in his book. For the greater good."

There was a silence. The fire in the fireplace crackled. Aberforth looked astonished. Harry frowned.

"I saw through him very quickly," Harry said finally. "I never hated him. But it is not for his sake I need to complete this mission." He stood up. "Will you help us get into Hogwarts?"

Aberforth stood up, nodding to the painting of the girl. The girl nodded back and moved back into the picture, walking away towards them. Then she was walking back, someone behind her.

"Hermione! Ron! And is that Harry?!"

"Neville?!"

"Polyjuice," Harry said faintly, confused. He let Neville lead them into the tunnel, tucking away the Invisibility Cloak in his extendable sack. "Neville, what happened to you?"

"Oh? These? These are nothing. You should see Seamus. He's a lot worse than me," Neville said. His black eye was very visible, his robes dirty, his face cut up. "Is it true? You broke into Gringotts? And escaped on a dragon? Everyone's talking about it. Terry Boot got beat up by the Carrows for yelling about it at dinner."

"Yeah," Ron said, grinning from the memory. "That's true. Hermione thought it might make a good pet-"

"I did not!" Hermione said, affronted. Harry smiled, following Neville back.

"So… What's it been like here?" Harry asked. He had a suspicion, but he wanted to hear it from someone who had been here.

"Well… You know the Carrows, right?"

"The Death Eaters that teach here?" Ron asked.

"They do more than just teach. They're in charge of all the discipline. Teachers are supposed to refer us to the Carrows if we do anything wrong. They don't if they can avoid it. Amycus Carrow teaches Dark Arts and we're supposed to use the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions-"

"What?!" Hermione and Ron squeaked. Harry closed his eyes.

"I knew it," Harry said softly. But Neville continued.

"Yeah. Alecto teaches Muggle Studies and we're supposed to learn about how muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how the natural order is being reestablished."

"As touching as that is, the reason wizards can do magic at all is because of muggles," Harry said flatly. "I take it the reason you're cut up is because of your smart mouth?"

"Yeah. But in April, this guy with red hair showed up in the school." Neville opened the door and hopped down. "Guess who's back everyone! Polyjuiced, but…"

"Harry?"

"It's Potter!"

"Potter!"

"Ron!"

"Hermione!"

"Red hair?" Ron asked, immensely confused, wondering if it was someone from his family. The room was chattering happily, welcoming them, whooping in happiness at their survival.

"Yeah," Neville screamed over the crowd. The crowd settled down a little. "Red hair. Long red hair and creepy green eyes. I thought he was part of You-Know-Who's army at first. He didn't dress like a Death Eater or anything. He had on black and white robes and a diamond pattern on his forehead."

Harry blinked, letting his shin form go and morphing back to his usual appearance. Several people looked disappointed, but Hermione and Ron looked pleased. Black and white robes. That was a little unusual for Death Eater garbs.

"Turns out he wasn't, because the Carrows confronted him when he arrived at the middle of the night," Neville grinned, as if remembering a good memory. "I'll never forget it. They were sent to the Hospital Wing for a week after. It was the best week all through the year."

Harry's eyebrows shot up.

"Does he have a name?" Ron asked, confused.

"Donno. He never talks to us," Terry Boot said, looking up from his hammock. "Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's not. No one can seem to find him in the day and at night it's hard to find him too. I think he must have evaded Snape though because Snape didn't try kicking him out."

"Or Snape's scared at what he can do. He's saved a few DA members though, from detention or getting killed," Neville said calmly. The room was now completely silent. "He comes sometimes to the Room. I've seen him twice here. Never talks to us outright, but sometimes I hear him mumble something about looking for someone."

"Right, well… I'll talk to him if I bump into him," Harry said, pushing the strange man out of his mind. "Anyone know of an artifact of Ravenclaw's? This is important."

There was a silence.

"Well, there is the lost diadem of Ravenclaw," Luna said, emerging from the hole Neville had led them out of. Harry gave a small start, wondering how she got there.

"It's lost, Luna," Michael Corner said. "That's kind of the point."

"What does it look like?" Harry asked.

-0-

Hermione and Ron stayed in the Room of Requirement to prepare for the upcoming battle. Harry headed to Ravenclaw Tower, Luna allowing him passage. He removed the cloak and climbed up the bust, looking at the diadem. It looked… familiar somehow.

"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure."

"Which makes you pretty skint, witless," a cackling voice said. Harry whipped around to see Alecto Carrow pressing her Dark Mark. Harry reacted instinctively.

"Shirogane!" He screamed into the common room.

There was a ripple in the balance. Then Darkness exploded outwards. Harry grabbed Luna and forced her down to the floor, covering her face with his cloak. Alecto shrieked and scrambled backwards, trying to get away, raising her wand at the gathering Darkness as if she could dispel it.

There was an enormous BANG that shook the ceiling. Luna's wand was up, just as Shirogane's presence flickered into the common room. Shirogane opened his eyes, his presence tall and regal.

"Hide!" Harry grabbed the Cloak and swung it over the three of them. Shirogane gave a start in surprise, but remained still, under the cloak. Alecto had been knocked out by Luna's stunner. Students were coming down the stairs, looking around the common room.

"I think she might be dead," a first year said gleefully. There was a sudden rap at the door, making Harry tense. Shirogane shifted so he was hidden in the shadows, pulling Harry closer and tucking him from sight. Luna gave a small gasp in surprise as Harry and Shirogane both disappeared, covered by the shadows.

Harry could feel his Darkness responding to Shirogane's proximity. He resisted transforming into his shin form, wanting to remain in his human vessel a little longer.

The person on the other end, who Harry suspected was Amycus Carrow, was banging loudly on the door. Then the familiar voice of McGonagall sounded.

"May I ask what you're doing, Professor Carrow?"

Amycus made a huge scene about Alecto being killed while McGonagall inspected her. Shirogane's hands loosened and he let Harry go. He bent down and spoke softly, right into Harry's ear. Harry felt a rush of warmth course through him.

"I'll take care of this. Stay here," Shirogane said gently. Harry looked at him, surprised. It was the first time in a very long while Shirogane had actually responded to his summoning. Shirogane slipped under the Cloak, but remained hidden in the Shadows.

"We can push it off on the kids," Amycus said, his pig-like face suddenly crafty. "Yeah… We'll say that they forced her to press the Mark, which is why he got a false alarm. A couple of kids, more or less, what's the difference."

Harry and Luna both tensed. McGonagall went very, very pale.

"Coward."

Shirogane stepped from out of the Shadows, his sapphire blue eyes narrowed in disgust. McGonagall gave a start, recognizing him, but Amycus raised his wand at him. Shirogane didn't even blink when he drew his katana and sliced off his arm. Amycus' bone-chilling scream echoed through the dorm.

"Do you enjoy showing off what little power you actually have, you disgusting vermin?"

McGonagall gasped as Harry pulled the cloak off himself and Luna. Harry looked quite indifferent, but Luna had tucked her head in his shoulder, not wanting to witness the murder.

"Die."

Shirogane stabbed Amycus in the chest, his sapphire eyes blazing. It flickered to McGonagall when Amycus was thoroughly dead and he pulled out his katana from the body, swinging it to rid it of blood.

"Potter! I… What are you doing here?! You need to get out!" McGonagall said, panicked, choosing to ignore the rather obvious murder scene in front of her. Harry looked up at Shirogane and placed his hand on Shirogane's wrist, not wanting him to draw his sword against McGonagall.

"I came back to destroy something Voldemort has hidden here," Harry said evenly. "We need to get going though. Shirogane…" He looked up at his Father, feeling his form change back to shin. For some reason, he had been doing that a lot lately… He supposed it was because Shirogane's presence was very powerful due to the proximity and that the current attribution for the human world was Darkness. "Father… I would like you to help me."

"The others are coming," Shirogane said shortly. "I will beckon them to your location." He stalked back into the Shadows, katana in hand. Harry gave a small sigh.

"That ability would have been so useful when I was hiding," Harry said almost wistfully.