AN: I should start by saying I don't know Latin, and any of the words Harry will used have been bashed together in what I hope will make sense if one bothers to run them through Google.
A Hunter's Growth
"Okay, only the living room," Harry reminded, staring at the room which had become a lot more dishevelled since the staking incident.
"I got it. I got it," said Bree with an amount of impatience. She closed her eyes, clasping her hand around a small gold bar. She began; Harry instantly felt the power rise and fill the air, coiling around Bree in preparation for the spell. As the words of Latin dialect passed through her lips, Harry could the power begin to take direction; the coils spread out, moving slowly towards the living room then pulling themselves up and forming something Harry couldn't exactly see, but sense was enough to for Harry to know it was forming a shield.
It took a few minutes, then it stopped and the power dissipated into the ground. Bree let out a breath. "It's done," she said, her voice a little shaky.
"Bound to the bar of gold?" Bree nodded. Harry took a haggard breath, preparing for a step forward. "Connor, you have the axe for when I get out," Harry said, more to delay walking into the shield than actually pointing out the obvious.
"Why are we doing this again," asked Connor. He held an axe Harry had charmed a day ago to be Unbreakable. "If this doesn't work, you'll be stuck in there."
"We need to be sure this will hold Niklaus," said Harry. "Much though Bree has learnt on the Other Side, still, her prowess in magic isn't the highest ranking of all witches. No offence meant," Harry added.
"None taken."
Harry took two steps forward, feeling the shield bend around him as he entered, then closing tightly behind him. "Well, at least this time it let me in," said Harry. This was the sixth time they had tried the charm in two days, the first three times the shield hadn't let anything pass through, the fourth time it had broken the moment Harry had passed, and the fifth Harry had been able to take it down with a Stunning Hex. But this time Harry could feel it would different, the magic of the shield was condensed around the borders of the room like a thin pane of glass.
It was why Harry was weary.
"Stupefy," Harry tried and a red light shot out of his wand, hitting the far wall with a muted thud. The shield still held. Harry decided for something a little more powerful. "Bombarda." The bright blue spell shot out, hit the shield and ricocheted, slamming and blowing apart a sofa. "Bombarda Maxima…Confringo…Pyrus Impactus…Incendios Grata…Ictus..." and Harry continued in this vain for an hour, his spells increasing in power with each fail.
Hard of breath, and darkness starting to edge his vision. Harry stopped, marvelling to still feel shield intact. Slowly the wizard walked to the point he had been shooting most of his spells and touched it. The wall was cool to the touch, which was in itself amazing considering most of Harry's spells were of fire.
"It's still holding," Harry said, tracing the shield with his finger. It felt much like a pane of glass, absolutely unyielding. "This is amazing," Harry murmured. "Did my spells have any effect on the bar of gold?" Harry asked, thinking that maybe if the spell was bound to the bar of gold, then all damage to the shield would be transferred as well.
"None that I can see," said Bree. "Of course, I don't have supernatural sight." Harry walked up to Bree and Connor, the woman dutiful held up the gold bar. Harry waved his wand, trying to levitate but there was no effect at all, he couldn't help chuckling, an absolute shield. It was amazing. Harry wondered what effect the Killing Curse would have and quickly resolved himself to trying it out, not when he was being watched though, the Unforgivables were a closely guarded secret.
Harry looked the bar over and couldn't spot anything. He shook his head. "Nothing. This is amazing work," he said again.
"Should I break the thing now?" Connor asked and Harry quickly shook his head.
"No. No. Give me a few hours to do some test, three or four at most. I want to test the full lengths I can push this baby before it shatters," said Harry his excitement evident in his voice.
Connor looked mildly disconcerted. "Tell me you aren't going to be like this when you start studying my magic," he said.
Harry shrugged, and got to work on the charm again, losing sight of the pair as his focus stuck neatly on the shield. Harry tried a Portkey out of the room, turning one of the shattered sofas into one. The object disappeared all the same, but a millisecond later there was dry explosion and Harry's shield activated as pieces flew all across the room.
Harry shook his head. As far as Harry knew, this world didn't have Apparition or any of its variant—except when it came to ghosts and Harry didn't think they counted being confined to the Other Side and all—so it was amazing to think that the magic of this shield inherently restricted all persons from leaving, even stopping magic it wasn't accustomed to. This showed the versatility of magic, something Harry was still trying to push within his own form through his experimentations. Harry thought what might happened if he tried Apparating to the other side, but the thought was quickly wiped from his mind, he didn't want to risk being Splinched, for one thing it hurt like hell, and the other, he didn't have any vampire blood handy, not that Harry wanted to be too fully dependent on the stuff, the wizard wasn't too sure about the long-term effects of continuous use.
Harry waved his wand, his head filled with his happiest memory, and from his wand out came a blue light which quickly formed itself into Prongs.
"Hello, old friend," said Harry. The stag looked at him expectantly. "I wonder if you might walk to the other side of this shield." The stag nodded and began silently walking towards the shield, it didn't even seem to meet any resistance, just passed through the shield as though there was nothing there. Harry sighed. "Well, everything has at least one flaw," the wizard said before giving some thought to why the magic of the Patronus Charm was allowed to pass through the barrier while no other magic did, for that matter, Harry thought, if no magic passed then did his magically enhanced senses not function as well on the other side of the barrier?
Harry walked to the large window to gauge how far he could see, and the distance was still the same, he could still hear the soft murmurs from Bree and Connor from the floor above. His cursed senses still worked, then again the curse had now become a part of him and he thought that it would almost impossible to strip it off, but the Patronus Charm, that required a little more thought. The Patronus was an extra-ordinary piece of magic, pure and simple; it had been catered of the darkest of dark creatures, something this world did not have, perhaps the power of the Patronus was too much for the shield too hold, but if so then why didn't it shatter it? Perhaps, then, it was that the Patronus was emotion given form, and emotion was one of the few things which could not be stopped.
Okay, now that this was done, the spell proving to be enough to hold in even Harry, he wondered where Niklaus' prison would be. Harry needed somewhere he could keep a close eye on the Original, make sure that he wasn't freed by some unknown ally who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Though Harry did not like it, he knew the best place would be his house, but now he had to think of a way to know lure Niklaus into the house. That would not be too hard, Harry thought, he could just make the man angry by taking something he loved: his hybrids or Rebekah were the ones he would get a heated response from taking, but the latter he couldn't take because he had made a promise to protect her.
Woul—Harry quickly stamped down the voice. He had been doing so ever since Remus and Sirius had become aware, he didn't want any more parts of him lost. He didn't know if his sanity could take it.
Harry paced. He couldn't kill the hybrids without more information, but, he thought with somewhat of a smirk as the plan formed, he could make it seem that he had killed them, that would most likely piss the man off.
"Prongs," Harry said. "Tell Connor to break the bar." It wasn't even a moment before Harry felt the magic of the shield cave in and shatter. Harry had to admit though, it was a real weakness to bind something as powerful as this shield to a bar of gold which could be easy broken by an enchanted axe. He would have to keep protections around the bar itself. Harry hoped the two spells wouldn't counteract each other.
Harry felt a shiver rise up his spine, not a moment before Lexi appeared. "I think Klaus has left town," she said.
"You think?" Harry asked.
"I've been talking to Stefan, he's close to Klaus, and he thinks it's strange that no one has seen him around town these two days. Especially considering his feud with you."
Harry smirked. "Call the others. I think it might be time for action."
They didn't take too long gathering, there weren't too many of them that they needed to take an obscene amount of time to file into one of the drawing rooms.
"I have the workings of a plan," said Harry with an excited glint in his eyes. "One that could have us rid of Niklaus and working towards the greater of our plans."
"Finally," said Connor. I don't think I can spend another day hauled up in here."
"Right, right. Lexi has just informed me of a development. It seems Niklaus might be out of town." There was no reaction, so Harry went further. "Now, this is both good and bad; on the bad count, we don't know where he is or what he's planning: he could be recruiting more hybrids, or making friends with witches, or calling his brothers to join the fray. But on the good count, he's left his house and his hybrids in Mystic Falls."
"We going on the attack?" asked Connor with the same excited glimmer in his eyes Harry had.
"Yes, though we're not going to kill any of them," said Harry with a pointed look at Connor. "The plan is to make Niklaus thing we've killed them all. The man has a temper, so he won't even think before coming over here and trying to kill me."
"You want to set a trap?" asked Lexi and Harry nodded.
"Bree has the spell down to a T. I'm confident it can hold Niklaus so long as we have the bar of gold, which we'll have to hide pretty well, I'm thinking drop it in the ocean or something. We lure Niklaus into the house by making him want to kill me, then the spell is set, and he'll be trapped." They still looked expectant. "That's about it. I did say I had the working," he added.
"Okay," said Lexi. "Now to point out the flaws; we're still outnumbered, we can't be sure whether or not Klaus will be angry, and if he is, how do you come out of it alive? For that matter, I said I think he might be out of town."
"And there's the little fact that I don't think I'll be able to be around that many vampires, even if they are hybrids, and stop myself from killing them," said Connor.
"We have a day to make this work," said Harry. "To meticulously plan to make sure all of us come out of this alive, and Connor, I have faith that you won't kill anyone."
"You have faith?" the man asked with a little disbelief.
Harry shrugged. "If you've lived as long as I have, seen what I've seen, you start to put stock in things such as faith."
"You said when the word of a wizard or witch is broken there are consequences," he said. "You're the only so far that has proven to be as curious as I am about why I'm a hunter. I want answers, I don't want you dying be you can figure them out."
"And you will have them, Connor," Harry said. "I assure you I won't go that easily. I have no right over free will, yours, theirs," he said gesturing to Bree and Lexi, "or the ghosts I can call. I think the Universe will have to take that into consideration when it weighs my word and the retribution for it being broken."
"The Universe?" Bree asked, but Harry shot her a not now look.
"We have planning to do," said Harry, "but first we need to be prepared. We need to know how many hybrids we have to contend with," Harry said looking at Lexi.
"I'll get on it," she said, before disappearing.
"What do we do?" asked Bree.
"Connor, I need you to be in full hunter-mode; prepare as best you can for a full scale war where all the odds are against us. Bree and I will be making a basement which will serve as Niklaus' prison. I know a particular Drilling Curse I haven't used in a very long time," Harry said twirling his wand, it occurred to him that he was really starting to ruin his house.
They got started. Harry had a day and all through his blowing apart massive amounts of soil and vanishing the dirt, Harry listened as Bree recited all the spells she could manage at a distance—Harry didn't want Bree anywhere close to the action, she was their ace, a power Harry couldn't lose, but he wanted to make sure her full capabilities were met.
"Tell me about this Desiccation Spell," said Harry over the loud whirring as the brilliant gold curse tore through the ground beneath Harry's house. "I mean it sounds like very dark magic, but, as Lexi said, the odds will be against us."
Bree shook her head, not that Harry noticed. "It would require a human sacrifice," she said.
Harry sighed. "It would be a good spell to have," said Harry. "Maybe when we figure out how to get you Expressive (?) Magic, then you won't need the power from a sacrifice?"
Bree shrugged. "It could work, but I really don't know much about Expression, and I gather asking around would be bad."
"It would," said Harry. "If the witches of Mystic Falls are anything to go by, then witches abhor Expression. They say it goes against Nature, but as you've heard before I answer to a greater power."
"The Universe," she said with a hint of disbelief.
"Yes, the Universe. Nature, though powerful in its own right, is nothing when compared to the Universe."
"How is that even possible?" asked Bree.
Harry shrugged. "I can't really say I know the full specifics of it, but long story short; a deal was made in my world, and three objects were created. These objects were created by a universal force, or multiversal I should say, and now I hold all three of them, and therefore, I answer to the Universe."
"Holy crap," she said too low for Harry hear. "I don't know how to handle this," she said setting herself down on the steps Harry had meticulously crafted with nothing but skill.
Harry hummed. "It took me a while to get used to it as well," he said. "Okay, that would be a lie. I've tried not to think about it too often truth be told."
The whirring stopped, and Harry was relieved at the silence. The prison was large, about the diameter of the entire house, Harry had left a few columns and charmed them to become Unbreakable to bare all the weight.
"How's Connor doing upstairs?" Harry asked hoping to break her from her musing about Harry, it occurred to the wizard he was really getting trusting if he were telling her one of his closest guarded secrets. Then again, when they found out how to access the power of Expression, she would be taking on the burden of being labelled a Dark Witch, Harry could at least show some trust in her.
Bree tilted her head. "He's like a kid in a candy store," she said. "Did you know Vervain could be put in a bomb?" Harry shook his head.
"He does know we're not going to kill anyone, right?"
"I've reminded him," said Bree. "He says if we're going to make Klaus think all his hybrids have been taken out then there needs to be blood splatter."
"True," said Harry, conjuring a chair and taking a seat. Harry felt a bit fatigued, like he could sleep for a week and not even be close to waking up. But there was still much to do, and that was fuel enough. "But he might be going a little overboard with all this."
"You said it yourself, he's a Hunter."
"Do you happened to know anything about them? Hearsay and whatnot?"
She shook her head. "I could ask around. I'm sure there'll be people who know on the Other Side."
"It would be much appreciated. But not today, our focus should stick firmly on what we're about to do with the hybrids," said Harry and Bree nodded.
"What will you do if this doesn't work?" asked Bree.
Harry shrugged. "Faith, Bree," he said. "Don't let thoughts like that get in the way of what we're about to do. But if it does happen, then I'll try and get us all out with as little damage as possible."
"But this is Klaus Mikaelson," she said and Harry smirked.
"I dedicated fifty years of my life training to kill the man if by chance we fought. I know, as I had known then, that it won't be easy, but this time we're merely trapping him, which I suppose would be harder seeing as I'll have to direct him here, in this conspicuous basement, without his notice."
"It won't be an easy task," said Bree, "no matter how you like at it."
"I know that, which is why I'll need you to keep Connor and Lexi away from the house when this is all done."
"What? Harry we haven't even won yet, and you're already planning to side line us."
"If we do this and it works, Niklaus will be out of his mind," said Harry. "Filled with enough rage that he will kill anyone who stands between me and him. I don't make it a habit of putting friends in that kind of danger."
"But you expect us to just leave to fight Klaus alone?" she asked, and it sounded like she found Harry stupid for even considering it.
"Considering what else were trying to do, yes. If by some chance I die, I'll be on the Other Side," said Harry. "I can deal with that, especially knowing that there will people here who will keep on working on what will free me from it in due time."
Bree sighed, shaking her head. "I don't like even thinking about you going against that man," she said. "Do you know that he's someone the witches on the Other Side hate more than you?"
Harry shook his head, but then again he couldn't say he knew much on the witches on the Other Side beside that they thought they were serving a greater purpose. Harry didn't buy it. He couldn't see what purpose they served just watching as civilisation went on without them, and everyday those who knew of magic dwindled. Given time, they would be forgotten, remembered only by the abominations they loathed. Harry snorted, he definitely wouldn't be revelling if by chance he was killed before his Veil was done, and stuck on the Other Side.
"Why do they hate me?" Harry asked. "It might explain why the Spirits of Mystic Falls didn't trust me from the get-go."
"Talks say with every footstep you take you go against Nature," she said turning a little serious. "They say Death clings to you and you in-turn use it like we Nature. I wonder if this is the Universal force you were talking about."
"If I said it was, would it be a problem?" asked Harry.
Bree shook her head. "It dawns on me that I know nothing about you, Harry Potter," she said.
"Many don't," said Harry. "It's part of the reason I've survived for so long." Harry stood. "Your shield is top-notch, I admit," he said swiftly changing the subject, "but we can't put all the Ashwinder's eggs in one basket," she frowned in confusion, "'cause it will cause a fire and we'll lose the entire stock," Harry explained.
"What's an Ashwinder?"
"At this point, not important, just know that you should never put too many Ashwinder eggs in one basket. It's very dangerous. I'll get started, on my own set of enchantments," Harry said. "Could you go upstairs, pick-out the black Kevlar suit in my, Connor and Lexi's sizes and put whatever Protection Charm you can manage. I've already put as strong a shield as I can manage without the clothes spontaneously bursting into flames, but I think you would be able to add one more charm without such an occurrence. At least I hope," Harry added softly.
"I'll try it on just one to be safe," said Bree, then stepped up the stairs.
It took Harry two hours before he was satisfied with his Entrapment Charms. He had started with an Age-Line, a blue light hung a few inches from the ground, traced along the four corners of the room: it would work on two folds, keeping in anything that passed but pushing back everything less than a thousand years old. Harry didn't like this particular charm, especially seeing as this was supposed to be a trap, but Harry was sure with a bit of work he could get the line to stop glowing—after thirty minutes straight work, Harry breathed a sigh of relief when the blue glow faded. Then had been a series of cursed wards on the walls, they wouldn't hold for more than half a century, but their effect on Niklaus would leave the man in terrible pain if he tried to use brute strength in trying to break out. Harry let out a satisfied breath. He would need to rest after this, but first he needed to make sure their weapons were optimal, and then they would need to start the actual planning. It would be a long night, Harry wished he still had a time traveller at his side.
Connor was a sport when it came to his weapons being charmed, and he certainly liked having an enchanted gun which held ten times the amount of wooden bullets than it previously could—Harry made a note of enchanting all the man's bullets to miss the heart of anyone it shot, he might have had faith that the man would try and not kill anyone, but there was a fine line between trying and succeeding. There was also some headway made in making a new sort of bomb which shot out Vervain laced pellets. Harry also went to the trouble of creating a new trinket: it was a small metal ball charmed to conjure a Vervain laced rope then turn into a Portkey which would take hybrids to Harry's Godric's Hollows Estate, the estate had far greater wards around it and Harry was sure the hybrids wouldn't be able to get for at least a decade if they constantly punched at the wards for the greater part of that time (Harry made a note of taking a Portkey to Godric's Hollow to warn the locals not to go into his house until his next return, making sure to set-up another set of wards that would keep back the more curious of the people who called Godric's Hollow home).
By the time Lexi had gotten back Harry was dead on his feet but still working; the wards around the house had to be tweeked as well, Harry made it so that it was easier coming in than going out. When he had finally found that he was done, he couldn't think, and so he left the planning in their competent and less tired hands. He would hear everything out in the morning, make changes if such things were needed.
Harry walked into the drawing room with red eyes and his body still screaming of its need for sleep. He had used too much magic yesterday, and it felt like his reserves were extremely low, but not low enough that he felt they should change their plans. Niklaus had been gone for three days, there was no telling when he would be back. This was his chance into taking out the danger that was Niklaus Mikaelson.
Connor, Lexi, and Bree stood around a small table, what looked to be floor plans laid out in front of them. None of them even looked the slightest bit as fatigued as the wizard, which Harry thought was really unfair considering he had gone to sleep the earliest and was the last to wake up.
"You're awake," said Lexi, turning for the slightest second to look at Harry before her eyes returned to looking at the floor plans. "Though from the looks of it you get a few more hours."
Harry shook his head. "We have work to do. I want us to be done with all this before noon," Harry said, yawning as he finished. "What have you come up with?" he asked, because Harry hadn't even spared a thought of how this was all going to play out. "And where did you get these?" he asked looking at the plans.
"I drew them last night after you went to sleep," said Lexi. "They're floor plans to the Mikaelson Estate."
Harry raised a brow at that. "How would you have been able to get them?" Harry asked. "The hybrids would have seen you."
"I drew most of it from memory from when I was looking for your wand," Lexi answered.
"Not what we should be discussing," said Connor, his tone serious. "The house is big, which will be a disadvantage to us. The hybrids could be spread out, making them harder to find."
"Especially with your compass not with you," added Lexi.
Harry sighed at that. In his hasty flee from the Original, Harry had left both his compass and gun. He had to wonder what they were being used for, especially since Niklaus had had an interest in the trinkets. "We have another one," said Harry, "but I fear the Cobra might not be too happy if I took a piece of it off."
All eyes fell on him, all of them questioning.
"When you put too many charms on something it develop a quasi-life," Harry explained. "Anyway I can't take it off without fear of the Cobra going wild, and since it took me five years to charm that car, I don't want to lose it; can't we use your brand of Tracking Charms?" Harry asked Bree.
She shook her head. "I would their need blood, and even then it would only tell me that the hybrids are in that house."
Harry frowned, trying to coax his mind into working, but the damn thing didn't want to. It only wanted sleep, which Harry wasn't about to give it.
At Harry's frown Connor went on, "Bree, Lexi, and I shared between us what sort of spells we've seen you do and decided that the best way of action would be to be invisible."
"This would increase our surprise factor," Lexi continued. "But we wouldn't be able to see each other, which might work against us. Is there a way for you to make us see each other?"
Harry thought about it for a second. "The Human Revealing Charm," said Harry almost slurring. He pause, yawned, then continued, "Though I don't know how it would work with Lexi. I suppose I could charm a pair of goggles for each of us to we can see each other, but I've never used this charm before, and the goggles would be prototypes."
"How long would it take you to charm them?" asked Connor.
"An hour, two at most," said Harry.
"You'll have to do it," said the hunter. "The risk is something Lexi and I would be willing to take," he said to which the woman nodded. Harry would admit that he was surprised, not even a week ago the hunter couldn't stand vampires and now he was talking off one as an ally.
"Okay," said Harry. "Once that is done what next?"
"This part you won't like," said Bree and Harry felt his hear taking beat, hurrying in its motions.
"Go on," Harry prompted when Bree hesitated.
"I have to go in and cast a Binding Spell," she said.
Harry shook his head before even the statement was done. "No," she said. "You know what we spoke about."
"I know," she admitted. "But we need to make sure the hybrids don't escape, that means we keep them in, and my Binding is the best way we can do this."
"I can cast Entrapment Charms," said Harry.
"Those would take too long," said Lexi, "and they would be easy to notice. Your wards shimmer before they set."
Harry was still shaking his head. He had to have an alive witch. If she died then he could be stuck on the Other Side. "This will be dangerous," said Harry. "You have no experience fighting vampires."
"She won't be fighting," said Connor. "Once she's done with her ward, bound to something one of us will carry, she'll come back here."
Reluctantly Harry agreed, though on the explicit term that she put a protection charm around herself and that Lexi be her invisible guard in case there were any lookouts.
"And now, here's how it will all happen," Connor began before explaining the entire plan in detail. He explained it twice, then a third time just to be safe because how Harry felt was evident on the outside, even after the freezing shower Harry thought might jolt off his fatigue.
He Apparated to a store in a nameless town he had once searched through for a Ripper and found the goggles; small plastic toys that he would have to Transfigure to a stronger material. Once he got home he did, the charmed the glass part of the airplane goggles, the only part he hadn't had to transfigure, but physically put on, with the Human Revealing Charm. By the time he was done the clock had rung ten. Harry stood in the dishevelled living room dressed head to toe in a Kevlar uniform with the strap-on goggles on.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Harry turned at Connor's voice too caught up on psyching himself up Harry had missed the man's entry. "You don't look too good." The man was dressed a lot like Harry, except that his uniform had a multitude of stakes sticking out of the compartment, a gun at his hip, and the Unbreakable axe strapped on to his back, a bit overkill in Harry's opinion, but then again these were insurmountable odds.
Harry waved it off. "Never better," he said. "Though I admit after this I might take a long nice rest, give my body and magic some time to rest."
"We don't have to do this you know. We could just wait it out."
Harry shook his head. "They have the army. We need to catch them off guard. This will work," Harry said, but he felt a sinking feeling he didn't like too much. The wizard reached into his pocket and pulled out the obsidian stoned ring. "Take this," said Harry. "It's a last resort. Call out the name Mikael the Destroyer and tell him one of my favours is due and he should get you to safety. After that, I want you to snap his neck."
If Connor looked surprised by all this, then Harry couldn't tell. The man took the ring and put it on.
Lexi walked into the room. "It's time."