CHAPTER 8:

SETTLING IN

Indeed, it took Harry making some tea for all of them for Rin to calm down even remotely. Medea looked on the whole thing with amusement. Then again, given her skill compared to modern Magi, she could probably afford to be, Harry thought.

He didn't tell Rin Caster's real name, not yet. He doubted that Rin would react well to having Medea of Colchis around, infamous as the Witch of Betrayal was. Just having a Caster Servant in the same house as another possible Master was bad enough, given her eye-twitching. He got the impression she wanted to use him as target practise for Gandr curses. He had persuaded Medea to leave her hood down, showing her face. The Greek witch was currently stroking the head of Fawkes, and it was heartening to see Fawkes allowing this.

After taking some calming sips of tea, Rin got her temper under control enough for Harry to explain what happened. He didn't state how Medea broke off with her Master, only that he died. "I see. As it happened, Kirei actually told me that Caster's Master approached him, wanting to summon a new Servant. He didn't tell me any details beyond that, save that Caster's Master was going to approach Lancer's Master for help." She still looked at Medea suspiciously, but added, "I have heard something about Atrum Galliasta. If what you claim is true, then good riddance. Being on the defensive while having a Caster is good sense, but not even bothering to go out and fight is another matter. And that's without going into how he harvested mana. Ugh. No doubt Kirei will have to deal with cleaning up that mess."

"I am pleased that we agree, Miss Tohsaka," Medea said. "And I did encounter Lancer, albeit briefly. I managed to flee, though not before he managed to catch me with that damnable spear of his. Would you like a description of him?"

"That would be great, Caster," Harry said.

"Very well. Lancer is a lean but muscled man, in a blue bodysuit with silver shoulder guards. His hair is blue, with a ponytail, and his eyes are red with slitted pupils. Rather handsome, too, though rather cocky-looking. He wields a single red and rather phallic-looking spear, about two metres long, presumably his Noble Phantasm. He speaks with an Irish accent. I can make guesses to his identity, but they'd be only guesses unless I witnessed him using a Noble Phantasm. And as I am not one of the Knight classes of Saber, Archer, or Lancer, I am not sure I'd want to experience it."

"We can rule out Diarmuid of the Love Spot," Harry mused. "I asked Waver for a few details on the Grail War after we heard about the von Einzberns summoning a Servant, and he said Diarmuid was the Lancer of the previous Grail War. Not to mention he was dark-haired and wielded two spears. And there was the famous love spot."

"He didn't have a love spot where I could see any, so your assumption is probably correct. In any case, it would also have registered to me as a charm spell, given Diarmuid's legend." Something in Medea's tone and expression suggested she might have attacked him for it. Given that, in at least one variation of the Argonauts story, Medea was made to fall in love with Jason by Aphrodite, Harry could understand her issues.

"Still, Kirei told me that the von Einzberns have confirmed that their Servant is a Berserker, but little else besides. That means that the remaining classes to be summoned are Rider, Saber, Archer and Assassin," Rin said. "If Lancer finds Caster, he may finish the job he started."

"Calm yourself, girl," Medea said. "I am a Magus from the Age of the Gods, and have forgotten more magecraft than you will ever learn in this diminished era. The Bounded Fields around this place are fairly good for what they are, but they need bolstering. I was originally thinking of setting up shop at Ryuudou Temple, given the leyline convergence there, but this house is built on a similar convergence. It is a little less protected, though: Ryuudou Temple has a Bounded Field protecting it from spirits, save through the main gate, but I believe I can set up a similar protection. Maybe not as effective, but it would make it a fortress against Heroic Spirits."

"You would do that?" Rin asked, albeit bristling a bit at being called 'girl', and Medea's admittedly patronising tone.

"Consider it something that benefits the three of us. As my Master, it would be wise of me to help your brother," Medea said. "He has also made it very clear that, even if you become a Master yourself, he values your life too much to simply end it if you end up as opponents. And as a Caster, my speciality is in Territory Creation. I am at my strongest in my home base, so to speak. Making a strong, secure base is my specialty, beyond being a prodigious Magus."

"And what abilities do you have in magecraft?" Rin asked.

"Many things. I won't expose all of my abilities. Besides my professional pride as a Magus, what little there is left of it, you may become an enemy Master. Rest assured, with an adequate supply of mana, I am fairly capable in combat. I can utilise magic that would normally require a ten-count aria by today's standards with ease. Indeed, should I set up my territory correctly, I can effectively utilise what may be close to True Magic. I am still one of the weaker combatants, but your brother's supply of mana has helped boost my attributes."

"I see," Rin said. "Then you should begin at once, Caster. Leaving aside Lancer coming to kill you and possibly us, there's someone living nearby who is very dangerous, and it would not do to have him learn that a Servant is present, not so soon, anyway."

"You mean Zouken?" Harry asked.

Rin nodded. "He may have other means, but best not to make it easy for him. As you also claim to be able to be capable of helping my sister, I will accept your presence for now. While Harry is older due to…shenanigans, I am the heir and thus family head of the Tohsaka family. He has agreed to not demand the Tohsaka Magic Crest…though his own magic is so damned…hax, isn't that what Zelretch called it?"

"He's infected you, hasn't he?" Harry said deadpan. "Anyway, you're still much better at Jewelcraft than I am, not to mention all sorts of magecraft. Tokiomi at least gave you a well-rounded education in magecraft, as did Kirei. Most of the stuff I learned is not exactly useful. Not unless I wanted to turn a matchstick into a needle or learn to read tea leaves like a dipsomaniac would. And my combat magic education was pretty inconsistent. Had to teach myself and my peers one year." Harry shuddered at the thought of the Batrachian Bitch known as Umbridge.

Medea tittered. "Sounds like a rather potted education. Still, I can tell even from here that your sister has considerable power as a Magus for one so young. If you had lived in my time, I am sure that you could have learned things modern Magi could only dream of, Miss Tohsaka. Though, that reminds me…you two claim to be siblings, but you are clearly of different ethnicities. Was there some sort of Blood Adoption?"

"Me being adopted into another family, but yes," Harry said. "Parallel universes with differing time flows and magic systems were involved. Like Rin said, shenanigans."

"So I see." Medea continued to stroke Fawkes' head. "Still, my own family was complicated, to say the least. It's good to see Magi siblings actually cooperating."

"My brother's as infectious as Zelretch," Rin sighed in irritation that was partly theatrical. "He's headstrong and irritating, but he's endearing. Plus, he's a good cook."

Harry nodded, before he looked at Medea. "I think we need to make arrangements. Caster, what would be a better use of your time? Would you be staying here to work on your territory, or could you act as my guard? In case something goes wrong?"

"Until the Grail War begins, I will stay here for the most part. You can call for me via our link, and unlike most Servants, I can teleport without the use of Command Seals."

"And I can teleport myself, well, Apparate," Harry said. "I'm no slouch when it comes to magical combat, despite the potted education, but I'm not sure I can do much against a Servant, especially against one with magic resistance. It's pretty flashy magic, which would only complicate things around here with the witness issue."

"Well, hopefully, there won't be much danger quite yet," Medea said, looking at Rin. "With three Servants summoned so far, the Grail War may not start heating up until more are summoned. Not that that's an excuse to not be vigilant."

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Harry bellowed in his best Mad-Eye impression. However, that only earned him a glare from Rin and Medea, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

The next week passed fairly well. The tension between Rin and Medea eased, even if it never went away, especially after Harry revealed what happened to Atrum. Still, Rin approved of the new changes to the Bounded Fields, albeit grudgingly.

Thankfully, Harry sharing the Workshop he had in his expanded trunk with Medea seemed to gain some points with the Greek Magus. Then again, Rin was wary of allowing Medea into her Workshop or Tokiomi's. Hell, even Harry hadn't been allowed there at first.

Recently, Rin had uncovered a box locked by a code from Tokiomi's will, and had opened it. To her curiosity, there were a number of jewels, and what looked like a broken-up fossil of a snake. Rin speculated that it was the catalyst Tokiomi had used to summon his Archer Servant.

Harry had to call Kirei and let him know he had gained custody of the Caster Servant. He wasn't sure whether he should go to the church. Kirei sounded amused, though, as if expecting Medea to stab him in the back like she did to Atrum…figuratively.

At his request, he had asked to see her memories of her life, in exchange for her seeing his own. She had accepted reluctantly. After reviewing her life, it was his considered opinion that he voiced out loud to her (much to her shock, and eventual mirth) that Jason was a fucking idiot, that Aphrodite was an utter bitch, and that he didn't want to get into a fight with Heracles.

(He had no way of knowing that, as he thought that, in a snowbound forest in Germany, a hulking mass of muscle had sneezed, causing an albino girl to become concerned for the welfare of her Berserker Servant.)

Okay, she did a lot of bad things, quite evil things…but her first act of betrayal, against her father, King Aeëtes, was thanks to the gods instilling her infatuation with Jason. Her murder of her own brother was under that influence…and the Argonauts mostly turned on her because of something that was caused by the gods, not of her own true will. And when Jason was offered the hand of Glauce, the princess of Corinth, he accepted, rejecting Medea, who had been loyal to him, even if that loyalty was through divine brainwashing. That triggered her greatest rampage.

So, on being reborn through the Grail, Harry noted that she had helped save Atrum's captives, even though she could have left them to die when destroying his Workshop, or even consumed their souls to fuel herself. It said more about her character than anything else. At the very least this was someone seeking redemption for her sins. Unlike Snape, who was driven purely by self-interest and his infatuation with Lily, Medea, he felt, had a genuine desire for redemption, coupled with a decent character, tainted by her history.

Then, it was her turn to see his life's story. When she finished, she was staring at him with mixed feelings. She'd already made her disdain towards heroes rather plain while talking to him, given her experience with the Argonauts. She had met many heroes, including Jason, Heracles, Orpheus, and the sole female Argonaut, the huntress Atalanta.

And yet, his life had moved her. Probably because his life as a hero was filled with betrayal. The fickleness of the public, Dumbledore acting like a mentor while planning for Harry to either martyr himself or become a symbol more than a person, Snape being…well, himself…

Whatever it was, Medea was moved. When they looked back upon these events, they knew that the night he saved her, along with this moment, had been when the seeds had been sown, for a relationship that went beyond that of Master and Servant. Because they understood each other. There was an empathy there, between the Witch of Betrayal, and the Boy Who Lived…

CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:

Well, Medea and the Tohsakas have come to an agreement. And the first hints of Harry/Medea have begun…

Oh, incidentally, if you're in the mood for something else, I've been busily updating my Red vs Blue/Overlord crossover Xenagogy for Belligerent AIs and Dungeon Denizens alongside uploading chapters of this story. If you want to see Church kicking arse instead of Momonga, go read it. Yeah, I know, shameless plugging, but hey, who wouldn't want to see a foul-mouthed AI in denial kick arse?

Review-answering time! JeanneShinn: We will get to that later. Harry will get himself a new focus at the least.

Lu Bane Na: You underestimate her. You know what they say about experience and treachery winning over youth and energy. Medea has dealt with the Argonauts and the like. A tsundere in a criminally-short miniskirt, as you put it, is no match for Medea.

DalkonCledwin: Sadly, I think Alaya would have a perverse sense of humour, though Death of the Endless being involved would be funny.

No numbered annotations this time.