AN:Aaand another chapter. I know it's been a while, but I really don't have as much free time as I would like, and I used to have as well. While I can't promise a chapter every three or so days, like I used to do, I will try and get three chapters a month out if I can, at least two a month at the minimum. Still, a chapter's done when it's done, and this one is now done. Idle thought: Doesn't Andariel look amusingly similar to Sarah Kerrigan?
Beta'd by: NIX'S WARDEN
Chapter 08 – Points of View
"Hello, Death." Harry casually greeted the aspect. "I've been expecting you."
Death rose an eyebrow at that. "Just how long have you been waiting to say something like that, and did you plan it?"
Harry pouted. "Spoil my fun why don't you."
"So that's a yes then." Death rolled her eyes.
"E-Excuse me, but is this really Death here?" Luna asked.
Death snorted and instantly turned into a double of Sirius, before morphing into a female version of him, then becoming some sort of giant insect, followed by an amorphous blob of shadow, and then returning to the form it wore before.
"If it's my appearance that's messing with your head, don't think about it. All of the Aspects of Existence are formless, we can look like whatever we want, but this is the form I mostly appear in around Harry here." Death explained.
"Logical." Ai nodded her head. "Death applies to all things, so Death must be all things."
"Yeah, it's just as the brat said." Death inclined her head in agreement. "Now, onto why I'm here, though I'm certain you can give it a pretty good guess-"
"Before that, Death, I have a question." Harry interrupted her, earning a curious look from the Aspect. "There seems to be something... strange occurring in this world, and I can't seem to find out just what it is. Can you detect anything that might be the cause of it?"
Death cocked her head to one side, an expression of slight confusion appearing on her face. "Huh... yeah, I see what you mean. There's definitely something here, but it's both of this world and not at the same time. Whatever it is, it's not coming through to me clearly, meaning the concept of death does not apply to it. Be careful, kid, things like that's aren't something you want annoyed at you, not even someone as powerful as you."
"Really?" Sirius asked. "Harry mentioned something before about beings greater than the Aspects, but just how many are there at that level?"
"A handful, and the ones that do exist are few and far between, though most don't bother with the infinite number of worlds in existence, narrowing the likely candidates down to three." She glanced at Harry. "And I'd say he knows who those three are, so I'll say no more on the subject. Now, onto why I'm here-"
"The Hallows, right? Harry has just collected a second set of three of them." Sirius interrupted her this time, and wilted into a frightened mess when Death glared at him. "Shutting up now." He managed to whimper out.
"Yes, the Hallows." Death confirmed. "Collecting them together brings one closer to death, closer to me, and if they survive, they become an avatar of mine. Usually, they don't get much, perhaps a slight boost to their magic, an improved affinity for necromancy, small things like that. Harry, however, is different..."
Harry grimaced. "This is going to hurt, isn't it?" He asked.
"Yes, yes it is." Death agreed. "Look on the bright side though, you survived having your soul forcibly melded with a divine-level cursed entity, and even came out on top, so the chances that this will do you in are... low."
"That's not exactly comforting, you know."
xxxxx
Back in the Headmaster's office, after Harry's revelations, chaos had descended on its occupants. Loud arguments, shouts of surprise, and heated 'discussions' had erupted amongst the staff gathered there, and would undoubtedly have continued if Dumbledore hadn't let loose a cannon blast from his wand and called for order-
"SETTLE DOWN!"
- or at least something resembling order perhaps.
"Albus," Mcgonagall was the first to speak. "The boy's claim is ridiculous. Honestly, these fabrications are above and beyond the limit, someone needs to bring him to task!"
"As... ludicrous as you believe it to be, you must admit, it does answer some questions we have about him." Flitwick chimed in.
"Filius, please explain." Dumbledore requested.
"Well, let's start with when he first turned up in the castle, shall we? Do you remember how he reacted to the summoning?" Flitwick asked. "He wasn't surprised in the slightest to suddenly appear in another world. He claimed that Zelretch was his adopted grandfather, so it's quite possible he has some experience with alternate realities."
"Since then, he has shown little to no concern with threats of any description." The charms professor continued. "Given the names he rattled off, and the company he keeps, is it really that much of a surprise that he dismisses those like Voldemort as barely a threat at all?"
Mcgonagall didn't look happy about that, and decided to turn to something else. "Miss Granger, can you please tell me how you discovered the identity of one of Mr Potter's...companions?"
Hermione, who had finally gotten over the sheer terror that Harry's curses had induced in her, gulped, and nodded to her head of house. "Well, it was a couple of small things added together really. The name 'Alt' was clearly a nickname, or a shortened version of something else. Then there's how she's so far always worn sunglasses, making sure that no one sees her eyes, even when indoors. I thought that was quite weird, especially given that it's not all that bright out..." That was true, it was autumn, and the weather recently had been rather overcast.
"What really made it click though was Harry's patronus." Hermione continued. "From what I've read, a patronus takes the form of something that makes you feel safe, comforted, or protected. They can be very symbolic sometimes, rarely literal, and I wondered what Primate Murder could symbolise, so I looked it up in the library."
"Primate Murder," Dumbledore frowned. "The Beast of Gaia, Human Death given physical form as a canine. Physically, incredibly powerful. Magically resistant to the point that I don't actually know anything capable of even scratching it. Capable of killing humans simply by thinking about it. None of those are pleasant things to contemplate."
Lily shifted nervously, accidentally drawing attention to herself. Seeing this, she decided to contribute to the 'discussion'. "Well, Harry hasn't done anything yet, has he?" She asked. "We're all jumping around, screaming our heads off... and Harry hasn't done anything apart from refusing to help."
"Lily, my dear, I don't think you understand just how bad things currently are." Dumbledore sighed. "Regular Dead Apostles are a nightmare to deal with as they are. Being dead already, not even the killing curse works against them, and it takes some heavy-duty spell-casting to destroy their bodies enough to put them down permanently. A Dead Apostle Ancestor however..." He trailed off.
"They're monsters." James continued for Dumbledore. "Even the weakest Ancestor could tear apart villages and towns with populations of thousands, tens of thousands, by themselves. They're almost impossible to put down, and the only spell that's proven somewhat effective against them is Fiendfyre, and even that can be brushed off by a lot of them." He shook his head.
Dumbledore once more spoke up. "If it was a matter of Harry simply being very difficult to kill, there wouldn't be an issue. In fact, it would be a reason to celebrate! However, Dead Apostle Ancestors are dark creatures, very dark. As James said, they are capable of, and actually do, slaughter thousands. They feed on their victims, draining their blood, consuming them. They turn innocent people into 'ghouls' to further spread their taint." He frowned. "If Harry truly is one of them... I don't believe that anything we could do would even slow him down."
"Even if he could do that, it doesn't mean he will do that, right?" Lily asked, almost pleaded.
"Perhaps, perhaps not." Dumbledore sighed. "Truly, I could not say, as I only know Harry's character as I've seen it these past two days." He stood up. "Regardless, Harry's status as an Apostle must be kept secret, we can ill afford a panic at this time. I'll speak with Harry myself, either later tonight or tomorrow morning, see if I can't at least acquire a promise not to feed on the students from him and his companions."
He left the room, leaving quite a heavy atmosphere behind. It was Mcgonagall that broke the silence.
"Summoning that monster was a mistake, if only I'd been able to see that beforehand and warn Albus." She shook her head, gathered herself together, and also left the room.
"Oh, Harry, what happened to you?" Lily whispered under her breath, a tear falling from her eye as she joined the others leaving the room.
xxxxx
Dream or Destruction looked up from the experiment she was currently occupying herself with, a rather interesting theory that Harry had been wondering about concerning the relationship between energy and matter, connecting it to the First and Third Sorcery.
In essence, because a side-effect of the Third transformed one's soul into a perpetual motion machine, generating an infinite supply of prana – or any other energy produced by one's essence, their soul – then it can be said that you are 'creating' raw energy.
Considering that raw energy and matter can be converted into each other, as Einstein's theory of relativity has it, then the energy, prana in this case, produced by the Third Sorcery can be converted into matter, creating something from what was originally nothing, which is the concept behind the First Sorcery.
So far, all DoD had managed to do was increase the efficiency and speed that Harry could create 'permanent conjurations'. Simple elements, such as Hydrogen, were the easiest of substances to 'create', but she was hopeful that she would have Harry capable of creating tanks and aircraft from thin air before too long.
Anyway, back to what had caught her attention.
Dream, like Harry's other aspects, was aware of what was going on outside, and so she did know just what Death was saying to Harry right then, and the offer she was giving him. On the other hand, while being a part of him, she resided inside of him too, and was therefore far more aware of the changes Harry's own being, his essence, was undergoing right then.
Of course, being the aspect of Curiosity, she just had to poke it with a stick.
Making her way through the desiccated trees in Harry's mind, walking alongside the black river of curses, and past the open connection to the void, Dream eventually came to the source of Harry's newest change, a representation of the further changes Harry's strengthening connection to death had wrought on him.
In a clearing amongst the 'trees', DoD could clearly see what appeared to be a well of some sort. It looked a little worn, and rather basic too. It was essentially a circle of stone blocks that rose to around waist high on the average adult human. The feeling it gave off, however, was completely at odds with its unassuming appearance.
DoD climbed onto the edge of the well and looked down.
And down.
And down.
The well, from what she could visibly see, appeared to be infinitely deep, but far in the distance, further than any living thing had any right to be capable of seeing, was a slight glow of blue light. Exactly what was giving off that light was unclear, but based upon the offer Death had made Harry, and that he'd accepted, DoD could take a good guess.
"Vault of Souls, Sea of Souls, an endless eternity, a repository of all that cannot be ended so simply." DoD gave a fanged grin. "A 'Well' of Souls, where the dead end up when their afterlife is over and done with, oh, how I wonder what such a place is like."
Of course, Dream was fully aware that such a place was neither physical or tangible. Even the 'well' that had appeared within Harry's mindscape was a representation of something that could not be defined with mere words, just the same as most of his mindscape actually.
"What was that saying that Daddy heard?" DoD cocked her head to one side. "Ah, curiosity killed the cat, wasn't it?" A twitch from DoD had a transfigured pair of cat ears on her head and a tail coming from behind her. She giggled. "I wonder what aunties Len and Nel would say to this?"
DoD shook the idle thought off as she looked down into the well once more, an ominous gleam within her eyes as she bodily threw herself down there.
If one were to be stood in the clearing afterwards, they would have heard an rapidly fading echo come from the well.
"For SCIENCE!"
xxxxx
Tyrant blinked as her ears twitched at a sound she couldn't physically hear.
"Shouldn't it be 'for Magic'?" She questioned thin air. "And people say I'm the stupid one." She sighed, then frowned down at the blade in her hand, grumbling. "Serial is happy as she is, Dream gets something new to tinker with, even Shadow gets to fuck with someone's head and do what he wants! What do I get, where can a girl get a good fight around these parts?"
Plopping herself down, Tyrant began to clean the blood of her blade. Honestly, she had absolutely no idea what that thing she'd killed was, all's she'd known about it was that it was aggressive, had half-way decent speed, and seemed to think it was hot shit.
Oh, she also knew it had died like a bitch before her blade too.
Given the fact that, actually, the thing she'd fought would have been on par with a high-level Servant summoned in a Grail War, and that in terms of speed, power, and endurance, Tyrant outclassed it immensely, it really shouldn't be a surprise it had died so easily.
Tyrant huffed, taking a look around herself once the corrosive acid the thing had in place of blood had been wiped off her sword, her totally damage and blemish free sword.
She was on the coast somewhere, west coast if the positioning of the sun was anything to go off. The corpse of the thing she'd killed was behind her, or at least it was until Tyrant figured DoD would be happy to have something new to dissect, and so it instantly vanished into Harry's mind, near the section Dream had claimed for herself.
Tyrant pulled a rag out of her pocket and began to wipe down her sword. True, as it was simply part of herself, a weapon formed of her own nature, she could have dismissed it and summoned it again in perfect condition, but there was something about cleaning the blade by hand that made it so Tyrant would do so at every opportunity she had.
Of course, Tyrant being a part of Harry, she possessed his strange luck, magnified by the fact she was actively searching for something, and it just so happened that, as soon as the blade in Tyrant's hand was completely cleaned of blood, something rose out of the water nearby.
Like a mountain rising from the seabed, a vaguely spoon-shaped head emerged, attached to a long, thick neck. Glancing around, Tyrant double-checked that there wasn't anyone around to see this, thinking it was a good thing that this was happening along an isolated length of coastline.
Tyrant's eyes narrowed at the sight as she prepared her weapon to strike. A fragment of Harry she might be, but unfortunately she didn't have the same senses regarding souls that he did, so she couldn't tell what the being in front of her was feeling or thinking. However, she could tell just who this was with but a single look.
"Jormungandr, the Word Serpent." Tyrant spoke in a clear, carrying voice. "How strange to see you here, so far from Scandinavia, and awake as well. Are you here to test your fangs and hide against my blade?"
"How strange." The large snake looked curiously at Tyrant. "I could swear I felt something... more, an echo of what awoke me just a few days ago."
"Huh, so you're another one that woke up when Origin was summoned? Doesn't make a difference to me, I just want a good fight. So, are you going to give me one?" Tyrant asked.
"'Origin'? So, you are connected to whatever that was." Jormungandr gave Tyrant a calculating look. "You seem as battle-hungry as Thor, yet you seem to lack his arrogance and condescension. Tell me, just what are you?"
"Not that it's really any business of yours, but I'm a fragment of Origin, his Aggression as it were." Tyrant replied, proud of her own nature. "And I really want a good fight, but all I seem able to find are pathetic little things like that... whatever it was that I just slaughtered."
Jormungandr looked over Tyrant once again, before looking to the South-West. "Hmm, I do believe I may be able to sate that battle lust of yours." The massive snake rumbled. "From what I can tell, Scathatch was woken up as well when your 'Origin' was summoned, and she enjoys a good fight too."
Tyrant raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you can take me to her, can you? Strange, I would have thought a Norse deity like yourself wouldn't be on such... good terms with a Celtic legend."
Jormungandr rolled his eyes and snorted. "I'm an outcast of the 'Norse' pantheon." He pretty much sneered that out. "Outcasts tend to wander around a bit more than others, and tend to see a bigger picture of the world. There was one time my sister, Hel, tried to seduce Anubis, let me tell you. She failed, and it sent her into depression for a century and a half, but things like that happen with those of us who live on the fringes of our 'groups'. Scathatch isn't a bad sort, just a bit fight happy, like you seem to be."
"Interesting, interesting." Tyrant commented as she focused more on the Scathatch bit than the rest of it, though she did remember it. Once she returned to Origin, her memories would become part of his too, and he might find some amusement about one Death goddess trying to seduce the Death god of another pantheon. "Can you direct me to Scathatch now?"
Jormungandr sighed. "Such a one track mind." He rolled his eyes and lowered his head a bit. "Hop on, I'll take you to her, but in return, if you come across Thor, give him a good beating from me, would you? That arrogant ass has pissed me off a few times too many, and being turned into paste a time or two will do wonders to his 'humility'."
Tyrant grinned at the thought of another fight.
"Not a problem." She said, hopping onto the World Serpent's massive head.
xxxxx
With sunlight, or at least a magically created version of it, shining overhead, a being sketched out what it could see. The being in question appeared to be a sixteen or seventeen year old male human with a light tan. Said being had a bird's nest mop of inky black hair on top of his head and a faded, almost invisible, lightning bolt scar on his forehead. He also had intense yellow eyes.
Shadow of the Heart hummed to himself as his eyes flickered between the view in front of him and the paper he was currently sketching on. He wasn't entirely sure why he was doing this, he just was. As Harry's impulsiveness given form, he tended to, as the saying goes, 'go with the flow', often acting upon random ideas that popped into his mind.
Still, whether it was an impulsive decision or not, the view was great, and Shadow of the Heart was turning out to be quite a decent artist.
The view in front of Shadow was, in fact, part of Harry's Soul World, a bay with an 'island' in the middle of it. Truthfully, said 'island' was actually a phantasmal beast that Harry had offered sanctuary to – with said creature accepting – and the island part of it was growing from the back of, what was essentially, a giant turtle.
As a breeze ruffled Shadow's hair, said aspect found his mind wandering to the increasing population of Harry's not so little hideaway. Aside from Elestia and Aqua, two of the first beings to transfer themselves there, a few herds of unicorn had also come along, as had a number of serpents, both magical and mundane, and Amaterasu had even had a mausoleum built for herself at the foot of one of the mountains.
In addition to that, the Fae were also starting to trickle into Harry's Soul World, each one of them enriching it further. The Huldra Harry had met back in his Birth World had been one of the first to come and see what the place was like, and finding that it was a pleasant place removed from the human world, decided to stay. A few sylphs, some bauchan, and even a small number of abatwa had followed after her.
Since a number of them had decided that the gift Harry had given them, by offering them a place to live without worry, was not something that could be ignored, there had been several offers made to contract with Harry. The Fae being a collection of beings that often lived by contracts – and tricking humans into disadvantageous and/or amusing ones – thought it quite unique, and rather humorous, that each contract that had been offered to Harry had been done without hidden intentions.
The Fae wouldn't screw over someone they found interesting after all, though that hadn't prevented some truly epic prank wars occurring between them and Harry's group, prank wars of such scale that Zelretch himself had been somewhat wary of getting involved with them.
Not that a minor thing like that stopped him in the end though.
Brought out of his thoughts, Shadow of the Heart manifested an odd shaped dagger and threw it hard and fast to his left, the small blade embedding itself in a tree right next to the head of another human-looking being.
Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He growled, not recognising the invader at all.
The invader smirked back at him. "Jumpy little bugger, aren't ya?" He cockily commented. "Shouldn't you already know who and what I am? It's not like just anyone can get here, or is that too complicated for something as simple as you."
Shadow's first thought was to punch this guy in the face, which he did.
Oh, come on! He's impulsiveness given form, you really expect him to think things through straight away.
"I don't know what it is, but something about you just pisses me off... though you do feel familiar for some reason." Shadow murmured that last bit, deciding to take a closer look at whoever this person was.
The individual appeared to be in their early twenties, with messy, shoulder length, rust red hair, a permanent smirk stuck on his face, and cloudy grey eyes. It was essentially impossible to see how he was dressed, as his body was covered by an ever-shifting shadow that seemed to bend and sway in impossible ways, yet still clung rather tightly to his form, whatever that may be.
"Oh, one point for you, but that's just not enough, is it, dear brother?" The man laughed.
"Brother?" Shadow questioned. "My only siblings are Tyrant, Seri- Ah, you're like us then, another facet of Origin's self." He sighed and palmed his face. "So what are you calling yourself and what do you represent?"
"Take a guess, maybe that tiny little mind of yours may work it out." The fragment of Harry's soul taunted Shadow.
He received another punch to the face from the representation of impulsiveness.
"You're really starting to piss me off, right n-" Shadow's eye twitched as he worked it out. "Okay, you're something along the lines of Annoyance or Vexation aren't you?"
"Irritation actually." He shrugged. "Call me Twisted Whisper, if you wish."
"Sure thing, Twisty." Shadow decided to mock the aspect to get back at him, before realising something. "Are you the reason Harry's temper's been so short lately?"
Twisted Whisper shrugged again, making Shadow twitch with irritation. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Maybe I am having that much of an effect on him, like how you amplified his instinctive 'evil' when you first appeared. Then again, maybe our dear Origin is simply dealing with fools and reacting appropriately."
Shadow palmed his face with a sigh. "Oh this is just wonderful." He muttered.
Twist snorted. "If you think this is bad, try meeting up with the other aspect that manifested at the same time I did. That pink bitch will really fuck with your head."
"Do I even want to know?" Shadow asked, preparing to go back to his sketching.
"Perhaps, this manifestation I speak of is a representative of Affection after all." Twisted Whisper twitched, remembering his own encounter with the... female manifestation.
Thud!
Twist simply smirked as he saw Shadow of the Heart bang his forehead repeatedly off the nearest tree.
xxxxx
While Harry and his group were becoming acclimatised to a new world, causing and dealing with issues, and generally making a nuisance of themselves, time had not stood still back home. Rin and Shirou had both finished their final year at Homurahara Gakuen, their school, and were now attending lectures in the Clock Tower.
Rin had managed to acquire an apprenticeship with Waver, and even secured an agreement with Zelretch on the side. She was not stupid enough to apprentice directly under the vampire, having been exposed to the old geezer's idea of 'fun', she'd rather avoid the possible mental scarring she would receive.
Shirou, instead, had made use of Harry's contacts amongst the Enforcers, aided by Bazett, and was now working alongside them, though he did keep himself from mentioning his Reality Marble. While Harry had a lot of influence in the world, and could probably bail him out if something ever did happen, he didn't really want to make things difficult for his friend.
Saber went with Shirou, becoming a partner of sorts whenever he went out on 'missions' for the Enforcers, as well as being there to make sure he didn't over-extend himself, dragging him back to Fuyuki whenever he was on the verge of pushing himself too far.
Saber and Rin were both thankful that Harry had supplied them all with re-usable portkeys, making the journey half-way around the world last seconds, rather than all of the trouble they'd go through by using more mundane methods of transport.
Of course, these 'portkeys' kind of pissed off a lot of Magi in the Clock Tower. While such things were common amongst wizards, Magecraft followed different rules, meaning they were 'mystic codes' of quite some worth, and a few Magi had even tried to steal said artefacts.
Not that they'd work for them, Harry had modified the portkeys to be linked with the circuits of the ones he'd given them to. That made them little better than pretty trinkets to a regular magus.
Anyway, those three aside, things had been rather calm and quiet in Harry's home recently. Granted, Harry had only been gone for two days so far, but the house still felt far emptier without him around, and certain members of the household found themselves missing the frequent explosions that no longer came from Harry's workshop.
One of those who found herself thinking on Harry and his shenanigans was Sion, much to her own personal surprise. True, Harry had provided her with a 'cure' for her vampirism, a home to live in, materials for her research, and had even gone out of his own way to bring back one of her friends for her, but... yeah, perhaps it wasn't so much of a surprise that Sion held a certain amount of respect, admiration, and fondness for the purple-haired boy.
"What are you thinking about?" The voice of Sion's friend, Riesbyfe Stridberg, asked. "It's not like you to stare off into space."
Sion blinked and looked up at the woman. "Just thinking." She admitted. "It's been rather quiet without Harry around, the house feels rather... empty."
A small smirk tugged at the corner of Riesbyfe's lips. "Oh, is someone developing feelings for the resident oddball?"
Sion shook her head. "No. While I am fond of Harry, I have no intention of engaging into a romantic relationship with him. Instead, he is something of a... sibling? No, that isn't correct, a close friend perhaps. He is someone I respect and admire, rather like Satsuki does as well."
"True. Though he is not a servant of God, he is a man to be admired for his many talents." Riesbyfe commented, thinking about said boy herself. She had no hatred of Apostles, like many of the church's fighters do, and Harry did have traits she could respect. His rescuing of herself, purely due to the friendship she had with Sion, was commendable, as was his actions against terrorists such as this 'Lord Voldemort' she'd heard about, even if Harry treated him as a minor annoyance.
Seeing her friend lost in thought for a moment, Sion spoke up. "Shirou has another mission coming up soon, in Brazil I believe. Will you be joining him?" She asked. Riesbyfe, and even Satsuki, had occasionally joined Shirou on his missions over the last few months.
Satsuki had done so because it made her feel somewhat useful. She'd graduated Homurahara at the same time as Rin and Shirou had, despite being several years older – and that was something that Satsuki both loved and hated about her vampirism, being stuck as a mid-teen girl, complete with conflicting hormones – and she was now trying to find her own 'niche' as it were. Her Depletion Garden had proved incredibly useful against some of the more morally bankrupt Sealing Designates that she'd used it on.
Riesbyfe had joined in because fighting was what she knew best, and she was a little hesitant to immediately try and rejoin the church's ranks. They would undoubtedly keep her under lock and key for a while, examining her to see what, if any, effects being sealed up inside a Dead Apostle Ancestor would have had on her. The Church may work alongside Apostles on rare occasions, the whole thing with Merem Solomon being incredibly odd, but that didn't mean they particularly liked them, or things that connected to them in some way.
Riesbyfe's eyes flickered over the pile of papers in front of Sion. "Still playing with numbers, I see."
Sion raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm not 'playing'. This here is some of the paperwork for Harry's companies that I'm in charge of." She almost glowed with pride at that. Aside from the fact that Harry's business ventures were doing well with her direction, she simply loved the work itself. To her, it wasn't 'boring, but necessary', instead being 'enjoyable and enthralling'. She loved the fact that her predictions weren't always completely accurate, the fluid way things could change in an instant, and that she needed to actually put in some effort to keep on top of it all. That was probably why she was so good at it.
"That doesn't look like company paperwork." Riesbyfe indicated a few pieces of parchment off to one side with notes on them.
"Ah, that's not." Sion admitted. "I've been looking into 'Arithmancy', a subject that could be called 'Magical Maths', and I find it to be a very pleasant use of my spare time."
"It's a wonder you don't get bored of all the calculations, using them for both work and pleasure." Riesbyfe shrugged. "You'll wear yourself out if you keep this up all the time."
Sion gave her friend a small smile for her concern. "Don't worry about it, I do have other ways to 'unwind', but I also love numbers and seeing how they can be applied." She thought about something for a moment. "In fact, why don't you join me tonight? Sasha sometimes flies me around at night, and I don't think she'd mind another joining us."
"Sasha, as in that giant snake with wings?" Riesbyfe asked.
Sion laughed softly. "She wasn't always like that. Apparently, she was a 'normal' basilisk when Harry first met her, with lethal venom and a deadly gaze. Now, her scales have darkened to black, Harry's given her wings, and she's learning to transform into a human so she can attend church. Perhaps you two may be able to bond over that?"
"She's a snake." Riesbyfe dryly replied. "I don't speak snake, and she can't speak human languages."
"Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa will all be willing to translate, I'm sure. Even without that, you could simply wear one of Harry's translation lockets, he's had a bit of a breakthrough with magical languages, and they can now translate Parseltongue, Mermish, and Gobbledegook as well as all of the others." Sion encouraged Riesbyfe.
Riesbyfe chuckled and shook her head. "Fine, I'll have a chat with the serpent."
Sion smiled as she watched Riesbyfe go to retrieve a translation locket, before it faded slightly, her eyes flickering in the direction of Harry's workshop. Perhaps, just maybe, she should call Harry, see if he could return home for the weekends like he did previously.
After all, the place just seemed too quiet without him.
xxxxx
Sirius watched as Harry talked with Death, the two of them slipping into a language he didn't understand fairly quickly, though one that seemed to... resonate within himself somehow, making him shiver, a feeling of dread creeping over him. He still stayed there though, watching the proceedings, observing as Harry seemed a little exasperated and a little amused about something.
He watched as Harry shook hands with Death.
After that, some form of dark black fog appeared from nowhere, obscuring the two from view, and when it dissipated, only Harry was left standing there alone.
He noticed Harry stop, part way back to him and the others. The purple-haired boy cocked his head to one side, and Sirius could see the confusion in his eyes, before that gave way to mirth, which caused Harry to laugh out loud. Incidentally, Sirius had to keep himself from becoming entranced by Harry's musical voice, as did the others it seemed.
"Thanks for being around to cheer me up, guys." Harry said. "I seemed to have calmed down some now, and I do believe that I've left chaos behind in the school, or amongst some of the staff at least." Harry's voice gained a tinge of amusement as his eyes flickered up to the tower where the Headmaster's office was.
"It was not an issue." Ai replied. "Seeing another world is... a pleasant change."
"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Well, I'll see you around then." He nodded towards her, with the Hell Girl vanishing, most likely back to her own home world.
"Illusions, if you would." Nightmare Moon requested, as politely as she was ever likely to be.
"Sure." Harry replied, gesturing with Prismakreuz in their direction.
Sirius was a little confused as to just what purpose the illusions served, as it altered their colouring, size, and their shape. The marks on their flanks also changed. Nightmare Moon had her wings hidden, and Luna her horn. Both of them bid Harry farewell before he also returned them to their home world.
"What was that for?" Sirius asked.
"Hm?" Harry questioned him.
"I can understand changing the colours, it was said that they're supposed to be imprisoned on the moon, but why get rid of the wings and horn too?" Sirius elaborated curiously. "And why shrink them?"
"Ah." Harry nodded in realisation. "Well, to put it simply, alicorns aren't exactly... common in Equestria, so pretending to be a unicorn or pegasus makes it a lot easier to hide. As for the size thing, that's because alicorns are a lot bigger than regular ponies. I do hope the two of them enjoy their freedom, they were supposed to spend another seven hundred and something years on the moon, and I dread to think how out of touch they'd be if that held true."
Another odd expression crossed Harry's face, prompting Sirius to ask what was up with that.
"Just a little something I find amusing." Harry replied with an amused smile. "With me becoming closer to Death, she decided to give me a... responsibility of sorts. My newest title is 'Keeper of the Well of Souls', or 'Vault of Souls', or even 'Sea of Souls' – it's not like the place is an actual, physical location. Anyway, Dream or Destruction found the part of me that connects to that place and, well, kind of dived right in. At present, she is currently befriending, annoying, irritating, and amusing the various entities that exist there."
"Like what?" Sirius wondered aloud. "What exists in this 'Well'?"
"Everything." Harry shrugged. "The 'Well of Souls' is essentially what comes after an afterlife. When a soul can no longer last in a world, or a world has come to an end. It's like a section of Akasha, a record of everyone and everything that has ever died. There are a number of versions of myself there, and you as well, all coming together to create a strange sort of whole."
"And Dream is messing about in there?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Isn't that a little... dangerous?"
"I don't think so." Harry replied. "She's actually started making deals with the beings that reside there in my name. For example, Jean D'Arc has already agreed to assisting me as long as it is not to 'commit acts of evil'. The loyal knight types are considering whether to swear themselves to my service, and various demonic ones are trying to figure out what advantages they'd have in my 'service'."
"Any of them agree to 'serve' you yet?" Sirius asked.
"A few. Dream has only been in there for less than fifteen minutes, and already word of her is spreading throughout the entire place. One of them, the 'Maiden of Anguish', Andariel, has already agreed to serve me. She claims to have 'lost faith' in the 'masters' she served in life, and is willing to submit to my authority." He paused and cocked his head to one side. "I suppose, considering her nature, it's my power, and the ability to let her free once in a while, that led to her making that offer."
"Maiden of Anguish?" Sirius shivered slightly. "That doesn't sound pleasant."
"No, her speciality, from what I can read from her soul, is emotional torment." Harry informed him. "As long as she only targets those who deserve it, I've told her she can do as she wishes."
Sirius snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure having someone like that around will do wonders for your image." He commented with heavy sarcasm in his voice. "Seriously, Harry, I know you have a 'thing' for the 'darker' side of everything, but is there anyone that's remembered well among your allies?"
Harry chuckled at that, knowing that it wasn't a serious jab at him and his preferences. "I'm friends with King Arthur, remember? And didn't I just say that Jean D'Arc had agreed to assist me? Not everyone I know is considered monstrous, you know?"
"Just most then?" Sirius shot back, earning a roll of the eyes from Harry.
"Yes, just most." Harry replied, before his expression fell somewhat and he let out a sigh.
"Something else on your mind?" Sirius queried.
"Hmm, yeah." Harry distractedly answered. "I'm... not entirely sure what to do with myself in this world. I mean, what's the point of staying in Hogwarts when I know everything they teach to a level beyond NEWT level? The only reason I can see myself staying is, well, my alternate's family, and I don't think that potential relationship is all too stable."
Sirius decided to be completely blunt at this point. "James is against you. I know just how stubborn that man can be at times, just look at how determined he was in pursuit of Lily, and it would take something incredibly major for him to change his opinion of you, like, you could save the world and he'd still not be convinced of your genuineness."
"Already knew that." Harry grumbled. "He's... not quite how I would have imagined him to be."
Curious, Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Just what were you thinking he'd be like?"
"I know he was a prankster in school, but he supposedly matured in his last two years quite a bit." Harry began. "I know he accepted Remus for himself, rather than hating a werewolf, and I know that Lily, my mother, eventually saw something worthwhile in him. With all that, I expected him to be a 'fun' adult type, with a perpetual grin on his face, occasionally playing little tricks, and an easygoing person who accepts people for who they are, not what they are."
Sirius sighed. "Instead you get someone who's been incredibly stressed out because of his dead son, who hates anything 'dark', and is somewhat irrational. To be honest, things could be a lot worse, and James isn't a bad guy underneath it all, just rather spoilt, and kinda prejudiced about things... and sometimes a little too vicious with pranks."
"Then there's Lily." Harry went on. "So far, she seems a decent person, and one who I believe I could come to like. She doesn't stick completely to moral and societal guidelines, willing to delve into forbidden knowledge in search of what she needs. She still seems rather unsure about a lot of things though, and her eyes are almost always red from crying over the death of my alternate."
"Yeah, I can clearly see what you mean there." Sirius agreed. "And what about the twins?"
"Hmm." Harry cocked his head to one side. "I have yet to form a complete opinion of them, but so far... it's promising. Neither of them were neglected, as it were, but they've always been the 'Boy-Who-Lived's sisters', rather than their own selves. They've kind of developed something of a dependency on each other which is quite intriguing."
"Haven't really had much contact with them myself." Sirius shrugged. "Oh, by the way, have you seen my newspaper at all?" He suddenly asked.
Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Paper?"
"Yeah, you remember I was reading a newspaper before we were transported to this world, right?" Harry nodded at that. "Well, I haven't actually seen it since we got here, and considering the article in there about you... Well, I think it's a good idea to try and track it down."
Harry sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Really? Ah, well, I guess I can do that while I'm in lesson."
"While you're in lesson?" Sirius frowned.
"Oh, it's just something Tamamo helped me with, remem- Ah, you weren't there when I first tried to shape-shift into a flock of bats, were you?" Harry interrupted himself as that particular memory jumped to the forefront of his mind.
"No, I wasn't, what happened?" Sirius asked.
"I managed it, but dealing with so many 'bodies' at once gave me a bit of a headache. I can do it now though, my mind rapidly acclimatised to controlling multiple bodies, and I can manage anywhere up to around two hundred at present, though I plan to improve on that." Harry's excited grin showed Sirius just how this pleased Harry.
"And just how is being able to turn into a load of bats going to help you be in two places at- Oh, you can't, can you?" Sirius just realised what Harry was getting at, and face-palmed at the thought of it.
Harry grinned at Sirius, before there was a surge of magic, resulting in Sirius standing within a circle composed of sixteen identical Harrys, or clones of himself at least. Sirius simply sighed, accepted it, and moved on. However, he did ask how much power each clone could call on.
"All of it." One Harry replied.
"The body I wear normally is essentially a meat suit now, a puppet." A second Harry shrugged.
"The difference here is that, instead of one body-" A third Harry chimed in.
"There's a number of bodies being controlled, directed." A fourth finished the third's sentence.
"Of course, if the original body was destroyed-" A fifth Harry gained a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
"Another body could become a host for my soul." A sixth Harry completed.
"After all, they're all identical." A seventh added with a shrug.
"Okay, okay, enough!" Sirius called out, waving his arms in the air. "Geez, I'm getting a headache and a bad neck just trying to keep track of which you is talking... and that felt so weird to say. So, you said you could control two hundred bodies at present?"
All of the Harrys nodded.
One of those who had yet to spoke vocally replied to Sirius. "Yes, my current limit is around two hundred."
"However, I can potentially control thousands, possibly even millions or billions, in the future, my mind just needs to learn to adapt to handle the information it receives from all of the different senses." One more Harry said. "I'm keeping the number below thirty for now, anything beyond that and I start to get a little nauseous, especially when moving at high-hypersonic speeds." That earned him an odd look off Sirius which he waved off. "I was trying to see if I could reach appreciable sub-luminal speeds and thought watching my own attempts might be able to help."
"I'm going to pretend that made sense and ignore it." Sirius told him.
Harry shrugged his shoulders as he dispelled out his doubles. "Meh, fair enough."
The two of them walked side by side back to the castle, and all of the frustrations that awaited them within.
xxxxx
Delores Umbridge was not a teacher due to an outstanding ability in that field. No, in fact, she had only managed to get a P on her own Defence OWL, though her Potions mark made up for it. Truly, one might question just why she had been put in such a position if she was so ill-qualified for the job.
The reason for it was simple, though she did not know it herself, she was a very predictable person. Even Fudge, as incompetent as he usually is, knew how to read her, and so he knew that Delores Jane Umbridge would have no issue reporting back to him when she learned what Dumbledore was doing with this 'other' Harry Potter he was summoning.
Umbridge was Fudge's eyes and ears at Hogwarts, keeping things under observation, reporting what was really going on there. She was there, also, because Fudge was worried. With Dumbledore leading the charge, so to speak, with yet another war, his political might would become even greater, and it would be a simple matter for him to remove Cornelius Oswald Fudge from his position as Minister and have himself put into place.
Fudge, over the last few years, had gained something of an addiction for power, and he didn't want to give it up.
However, Delores had found herself excluded from the interrogation of the disgusting creature that had been summoned, and that's what Delores believed Harry to be. There was simply no way that thing was human, and therefore lower than even the scum that was muggles in her books.
Her eyes landed on a newspaper she'd 'picked up' on the night Harry had been summoned, her eyes finding the article on the front page.
Yes, there was no way that thing was human, but how should she go about getting rid of it?
xxxxx
On top of the tallest tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, something wearing the form of a woman stood, looking down towards the grounds. At this height, no human would be able to make anything out, especially with how dark the late evening was.
Still, its eyes seemed to track something nevertheless.
Her expression was blank, her facial muscles slack, and her eyes held no emotion at all. That is until something seemed to shift in the night air, tugging at the hair of the thing wearing the form of a woman.
A small gleam of curiosity made its way into her eyes.