Welcome back to another chapter of Bad Moon Rising in which, we meet the Sun God Lugh, Hop a bus, find out something interesting about Faúmnach, a Lord comes calling, and return to the place where it all began.
On with the show.
Harry Potter
Harry is welcomed back to the waking world by the sound of someone singing, a soft and low melody that Harry couldn't place as it is sung in Gaelic softly to Harry as he awakens with a groan.
"Gheobhadh a mhac mar fhear é, ach ní inseoidh sé a ainm," the voice spun the words softly to a melody only it could hear, it sounded sad to Harry and full of regret, almost as if it was a lullaby, "agus mar sin ghlac sé sleá dá leanbh féin agus chuir sé é féin faoi bhrón-," the voice stops as Harry groans and stirs from the far to soft bed he was laying on.
"Easy there, Boyo," the voice said to Harry, "You took a hell of a beating before you even deflected my blow. If what Faúmnach told me is true, you're still recovering, so take it slow," it says kindly as Harry finally opens his eyes. Harry wasn't sure where he was; it looked like a hotel room from the layout, and another bed in the room, but neither Theodore nor Faúmnach was anywhere to be seen, but their own bags, plus his was sitting on the floor right in front of the telly. Harry was surprised by who was in the room with him; it was the Dé Danann that had charged him back in the underground chamber, except he was wearing a yellow and black flannel with the top buttons undone, showing off his tattoos with the sleeves rolled up and his bracers missing instead of a Bratt and a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes at he sat in the chair by Harry's bedside.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asks as he slowly pushes himself up on the bed and just notices his jacket is missing.
"Well, the other lad and Fúamnach got hungry and decided to adventure out to find some grub, and I offered to stay behind and watch over you just in case you woke up before they got back," He explains with a shrug before kicking his feet up onto Harry's bed.
"Oh," is all Harry can say before he starts to look around, trying to think of something to talk about but ends up checking over his wounds. While his body still felt lead and sore, most of the wounds that were infected by the Ghosts of the Ninth Legion were mostly healed up somehow; the shallow wounds had become faint scars, and the deeper ones were already scabbing over.
"You're lucky that Fúamnach is one of the druids and knows how to heal nonfatal wounds, or else you'd be in a lot more pain, Boyo," the god says, with a grin to Harry.
"Right, have you seen my bag?" Harry asks, unsure of why the god had decided to stick around at all, but then again, Harry doesn't understand any of the gods he has met, and he honestly doesn't think he is meant to. But the god reached down on the other side of his chair and pulled out the black leather bag that had thankfully avoided the burst of divine flame Harry had unleashed before tossing it to him. Harry quickly opened the top flap before pausing for a moment; sticking out of the top was the golden eagle of Vulcon's standard. He frowns down at it, he doesn't really want anything to do with the Roman gods, but he doesn't like the idea of abandoning the powerful artifact for just anyone to find and figure out how to use, so he ignores it before reaching deep into the bag up to his shoulder looking for the thermos he had stored inside the back but stops for a moment as the god in the room snorts at the sight.
Harry looks up at him with a raised brow as the god gives him a cheeky grin, "Reminds me of the Morrígan with what ya doing, lad," he says, and Harry's face shifts to one of confusion as he looks at the god, whatever the joke was sailing right over the boy who lived head.
Seeing the boy's confusion, the god sighs and shakes his head, "Nevermind, Boyo, it was a joke in poor taste," he tells him as Harry shrugs before continuing his search and quickly finding his thermos and pulling it out.
"So, you don't like her or something?" Hardy asks as he unscrews the top before taking a careful sip from the thermos.
"Who? The Morrígan?" the god asks and scuffs as Harry nods his head, "You could say that; I'm honestly surprised that she put me near the top of the list to be released after what happened last time we saw each other," The god says with a frown.
"What happened?" Harry asks, curious about why someone else hated the Queen of the Dé Danann as much as he did.
"I almost killed her," The god says with a scowl, almost like he was angry that he didn't get the chance to finish her off, " We have a…long history, me and the Morrígan, and not a kind one at that," he says, the scowl never leaving his face, "I would have expected her to get me released after Scáthach to be completely honest, and those two hate each other," he explains to Harry before leaning back his head to rest against the wall as the boy just blinks at the god before taking another sip of nectar.
"So, you know Teacher?" Harry asks and watches as the god raises his hand and tilts it back and forth.
"Kinda; we've met a few times, fought once or twice, but never really knew each other; Sétanta knew her better," the god says with a shrug before scratching at his beard.
"You knew one of Teacher's old students?" Harry asks; Scáthach had told him all about Sétanta and his combat abilities, always with the same amount of pride in her voice as when she spoke of Harry's growth over the time he had spent with her.
"Well, I would hope so; he was my son, after all," the god says with a proud grin as Harry blinks in surprise.
"Oh, I knew he was a half-blood, but I didn't know which god was his parent; she didn't talk about that much," Harry admits, and as the god opens his mouth to say something, the sound of a door opening and Fúamnach calling out to someone cuts him off.
"Lugh! We're back! And we have brought pizza!" the high cherry voice of Fúamnach yells as she and Theodore enter the bedroom, "Oh, Harry, it's good to see you awake and not dead," Fúamnach says with a smile; she was back in her maid outfit carrying three tall boxes of pizzas.
It was a novel experience watching a god eat pizza for the first time; for one, Harry had never seen Artemis drink or eat anything before, and he wasn't sure if she had ever eaten food as she would probably see it as an unnecessary waste of time and effort. But when Lugh, or whatever his name was, took his first bite of pizza, Harry got a front-row seat to see the god's eyes light up, quite literally, and widen before he started to dig in with gusto. About halfway through eating his pizza, Fúamnach took out the drinks, some soda for him and Theodore, and a twelve-pack of dark draft Guinness for her and Lugh. After taking a sip of the first bottle, he downs that one and the next three in under a minute with an ever-growing smile on his face as he was enjoying the fruits of the new age that he had awoken in.
But before long, both mortals were feeling the exhaustion of the day, Harry especially. But before the Heir to the Hunt could curl up on the small couch and pass out for the night like he wanted to, Lugh had asked him to see him out. Harry sighed but stood up shakily, and before Theodore could offer to do it himself, Fúamnach gave him a look that stopped him before Harry and Lugh left the room and walked down to the entrance to the small hotel they found themselves in, the last rays of the fading sun shining over the town of Thurso, both Harry, and Lugh stop at the entrance of the hotel watching the sunset for a moment before the god speaks up.
"I wanted to apologize for what happened before you passed out; I attacked you without heed to who you were, letting my anger get the better of me," The god says before reaching into what remained of the twelve-pack and pulling out the last bottle of beer before tossing the box into a bin and cracking it open, "I don't got a doubt that Scáthach is gonna have some words with me over that when she gets out," he says with a grimace at the thought before taking a swing of his Guinness.
Harry let out a dry laugh, "Last god that did that got a Gaé Bolg to the chest from what she told me," Harry said, thinking back to his conversations with his Teacher.
"Oh, by Dana, that's terrifying," Lugh says with a chuckle of his own and taking another swing of his drink before he sighs out a bit and looks over to Harry with a sad look on his face, "You remind me of him, Sétanta, that is," he says to Harry, "When I saw your spear and that fierce, wild, and defiant look in your eyes, all I saw was Sétanta, and if froze my rage in my chest in shock, for a moment I had thought…" he makes an unreadable face to Harry before shaking his head once more.
"I was a pretty piss poor father to him in the end," Lugh admits with a pitched look on his face, "I didn't share any wisdom, let him run wild without trying to stop him, and never once punished him for his misdeeds and because of that he let his own foolishness and ignorance get the better of him when it could have saved two of the most important people to him, he was spoiled and drunk on his own strength and power and not once did he stop and consider the consequences of his actions," he says with a sigh of disappointment, to what, Harry couldn't say, in himself for not raining in his wild son, or in his son for not learning from his mistakes.
"So, to the boy who reminds me so much of my own Sétanta, I offer you this wisdom freely in hopes that you won't end up like him," Lugh tells him as he turns to face Harry fully, taking off his dark sunglasses to show the twin burning stars that were his eyes, "Watch your words and the words of others, for in this land, under the Dé Danann, your words have more meaning than your actions, never give your word freely for it will bind you; for if a man can not keep to his word, then he is no man at all," Lugh says as he places one of his hands on Harry's shoulder, "If you do something, and it is worthy of you, no matter what it is, be it love, war, skill, or learning, commit all of yourself to it or none of yourself, never take a half measure," The god says, causing Harry to shuffle his feet and look away for him, "And finally, to be a master at anything, you must accept that you will fail at it time and time again, but do not let that stop you, for sometimes learning for your mistakes is far more important then succeeding in what you were trying," Lugh tells Harry before downing the last of the beer and tossing the bottle into the near by bin and turning back to him.
"If how you deflected my attack back underground indicates anything, you'll be a great warrior one day, Boyo," Lugh says before placing two fingers under Harry's chin to lift it, "So do not bow your head to any that have not won your respect," he tells Harry with a nod before turning back to the setting sun and walking down the short steps and onto the sidewalk as the last light of the sun was suffocated by the oncoming darkness of the night, "See you around, Boyo," Lugh says before disappearing in a flash of light.
12 Grimmauld Place, London.
It had been a long day for Sirius Black, and that didn't even count the nerves and stress he felt after he had gotten off the mirror call in the morning with Harry telling him that they had freed three of the Celtic gods; oh no, the biggest source of frustration at the moment was Atalanta. Nothing against the Hunter; she was a lovely girl with a fun personality, but when she found out that Harry was on a quest for The Morrígan, it took both Dora and Moony to pull her off of Sirius and stop her from straggling him; which did nothing but cause another fight between Atalanta and Dora.
After repairing the second-floor landing and the living room, the day went by with Atalanta moping around and Dore making snipping comments toward the hunter; Sirius had no idea what had gotten into his cousin, but he was hoping Harry would wrap up his quest quickly, so he can get back home while it was still standing. Thankfully Dora had left to hit a pub with a few of her friends; hopefully, it would help with her worsening mood and maybe get her laid to blow off some steam. Sirius meanwhile sat in his study with a cold ale, drinking with the mopy hunter in hopes of lifting her spirits by swapping his old war stories with tales of the hunts she had been on because the girl had a lot. It was an odd thing to know that the woman sitting across from him was older than his family line, but it sank in quickly when she spoke of bloody Herakles of all people with a fondness in her voice.
She was about halfway through her story about the hunt for Calydonian boar, which was her first claim to fame when the small mirror that he kept on him at all times began to vibrate and talk, "Sirius! Sirius, are you there?" the familiar voice of his godson calls out, causing Atalanta to perk up with a smile just before Sirius sets down his ale and draws his wand to cast a wordless silencing charm on Atalanta, much to the girl's shock.
"Harry, there you are," Sirius says as he pulls the mirror out of his pocket and looks into the reflection of his godson, "Good to hear from you, did you get to Scotland, okay?" he asks immediately as Atalanta jumps out of her seat while glaring at him and coming over to stand in front of Sirius.
"Yeah, we did; we hitched a ride with a Dullahan, believe it or not," Harry says, drawing Sirius' attention back to him with wide eyes.
"Really? Thought they were a myth, oh, Moony is gonna lose it when he hears about that," Sirius says with a grin, "What else happened? Did you free the Dé Danann?" he asks; he had been worried for most of the day and unable to sleep the night before because of it, and he honestly thinks he wouldn't stop worrying about Harry.
"Yeah, got beat up a bit, but we freed him, so god named Lugh," Harry tells Sirius before the older man watches as Harry leans back with a sigh.
"The Long Arm?" Sirius asks before the words that Harry said before hit him, "Wait, what do you mean got beat up a bit?" he says, looking at Harry through the mirror as Atalanta holds out her hand for the mirror.
"It's nothing, just a bunch of angry legion ghosts we had to deal with; I'm fine," Harry says, but Sirius doesn't buy it for a moment.
"Harry, if it's too dangerous, you should come home; we'll figure out something else," Sirius pleads with the stubborn boy, but he watches Harry shake his head.
"No, Sirius, I gave her my word; I won't go back on that," Harry states with conviction, his eyes shining with resolve, "Besides, we one have one more to go; we're hoping on the knight bus in the morning and heading to Hogsmeade, from there we're taking the floo to Theodore's place and heading for the last one, after that I'll be coming home," Harry says, pausing for a moment to let out another sigh, "Has…has anyone shown up yet?" Harry asks; Atalanta stomps her feet and glares at Sirius waving her hand at him, demanding the mirror.
"No, no one yet," Sirius says, keeping his voice as level as possible in the face of the outraged hunter who tries to scream at him, but nothing comes out, "The Morrígan is probably holding off on delivering her end of the deal until you get the last one out, but she did give her word, and as a Fae; she has to keep it," Sirius says with a small smile as Harry nods his head with a frown, Sirius hated seeing Harry like that but the set up for his birthday pank was going to be well worth it.
"Yeah, sounds like her, I guess," Harry says, and Sirius fights the smile that threatens to overtake his face, "If someone does show up, will you call and tell me?" he asks.
"I'll try, Harry, but I don't want to distract you from what you're doing right now; I've been waiting for you to call me," Sirius says, committing himself to nothing as Harry just nods.
"I should be back tomorrow, hopefully not too late," Harry tells Sirius, who nods at his words; he was planning on getting Harry's friends over the day after tomorrow on his birthday to throw the kid a party, then the following day, heading out on a little outing with just the two of them into muggle London; well, now three, seeing that he was going to bring Atalanta with them as well.
"I'll see you then, kid, and be careful, okay?" Sirius says with a small smile as Harry nods.
"And if I can't, I'll give them hell," Harry says, returning the smile just before cutting the call off, and Sirius chuckles; while he looked like James, he had more Lily in him than anyone else. Sirius pockets the mirror before undoing the silencing charm on the Lioness, knowing he is about to get roared at.
The Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade.
Harry, Theodore, and Fúamnach had skipped breakfast to get out of Thurso early; apparently, the adventure the day before had drawn the attention of the Police, now investigating strange sounds that came from the old chapel, and the trio decided not to stick around to get pointed out by the locals. They head west out of town on foot before stopping on an empty road as Theodore pulls out his wand and summons the knight bus, and quickly pays for three before they get settled in. Harry hated the Knight bus for a few reasons; for one, it was magical travel that wasn't a broom, so it was out to harm and maim him in any way it could be throwing him around the stupid bus; he had one of the metal poles in a death grip just to stop that from happening.
Theodore was calmly sitting in another seat, reading the Prophet, and looking unbothered by the random jerks and slides he would randomly do.
Fúamnach was sitting in the very back row where the seat stretched from one side of the bus to the other, giggling and clapping as she slid from one side to the other like a five-year-old on their first roller coaster.
Harry hated them both at that moment.
"Well, it seems like the Prophet is changing their tune about you, Harry," Theodore says, reading an article in the newspaper.
"Oh, am I not some crazy attention-seeking liar anymore?" Harry asks, his eyes shut tight to not see what is going to happen on the bus next.
"Nope, they seem to think you're some poor kid that Dumbledore is manipulating to gain more power somehow," Theodore says with a smirk and a scoff; he knew if Dumbledore wanted more power, he would just take it if he wanted to.
"How-" The bus tilts sideways to dodge around a few muggle cars, and Fúamnach laughs in the back as she slides to the other side, "Grand!" Harry yells out as the bus lands once more, "How the fuck is this better than the motorcycle!?" Harry yells at Theodore as the other boy just smirks.
The bus stops right outside of the three broomsticks around noon, and the trio climbs off the bus; Harry curses the whole time before they make their way into the pub and finds one of the corner seats empty; the pub almost seems deserted this time of the year with all the students and professors away from the school, only a few of the town folks were in, enjoying lunch.
As the trio takes their seats, Madam Rosmerta comes sweeping over with menus calling both Harry and Theodore by name, saying it was odd to see them in the pud during the summer. Theodore laughs it off as two friends spending a nice summer day running around magical England looking for something to do before asking if they could use the floo at the pub after they eat; she agrees before taking their drink order and leaving, having to ask Fúamnach twice before the ageless which spoke up.
"Hm? Oh!" Fúamnach says, turning back to Rosmerta with a smile, "Sorry, I'll just have any ale you have on tap with the steak and kidney pie, please," she tells the seemingly older woman before turning back to the far back hall with narrowed eyes, "I need…to find the little witches room real quick, I'll be right back so don't wait to start eating without me boys," she tells them both before standing and walking to the back hall while Harry and Theodore watch her go.
"Does that seem weird to you?" Harry asks, turning back to Theodore, watching the boy shrugged.
"When it comes to her, everything she does seems weird," Theodore says with a roll of his eyes, just before Rosmerta sends over a plater with their drinks; Harry, having no way to argue that he takes his cold butterbeer before opening it.
Fúamnach stops just before entering the back hall to turn to see both Harry and Theodore enjoying their drinks and light conversation at the table; distracted from her, she turns quickly and heads up the flight of stairs that leads to the second floor. Contrary to what her descendant may think of her, she wasn't that crazy; she did things, no matter how weird and nonsensical they may seem, for a reason, like now. Fúamnach could feel her in the building, so she knew that she knew they were there, and yet, she hadn't revealed herself for some reason. Which was odd to the ageless Witch, for her student was sitting in the same building, and if she knew anything about Scáthach, it was that she grew an attachment to her favorite students.
So with that in mind, she quickly climbs the stairs and looks down the hall of private rooms, and sees one of the doors open a crack; she looks down the stairs one last time before walking down the hall and opening the door, "You know, if you wanted to talk, you could have come downstairs and joined us," Fúamnach says before she shuts the door behind her and turns to the woman standing in the room, she wore a long black dress with her Auburn hair falling loose and in waves down her back, her pale bare arms folded behind her back.
"That would ruin the surprise, don't you think-" Scáthach says as she turns to face the ageless witch, "-Teacher?" she says with a small, mischievous smile.
Fúamnach sighs, "I haven't been your teacher in a very long time, Little Scáth; you were my equal when we last parted ways," she says as she crosses the room, and the former student and teacher embrace one another.
"You will always be my teacher, Lady Fúamnach," Scáthach says as she returns the embrace, "And it is so good to finally see you out of that tree," she tells Fúamnach as they pull away from their embrace.
"It's good to be free," Fúamnach says with a smile, "And it's all the better that Midir will be left to rot in his cage just as long as he left me in mine," Fúamnach says with a wicked grin that causes Scáthach to shake her head and laugh lightly, Midir dug his own grave when he chased Étaín and ending his union with Fúamnach, who's heart Midir broke, and as they say, "Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned,"
"While I'm glad you're enjoying your freedom, Teacher, but do tell, what brings you to Hogsmeade?" Scáthach asks before sitting down on one of the couches in the room.
"Oh, me and the boys are just passing through; we just stopped to get some breakfast on the way back to Bré Léith; if I knew you were out and about, we would have stopped at Dún Scáith instead," Fúamnach says, not taking a seat like her old student, but crossing her arms while looking at her.
"Sadly, the school is closed to all but the professors over the summer, so even if you didn't show up, I couldn't have welcomed you inside," Scáthach says as she crosses one leg over the other.
"Not even if I had your own cute little student in tow?" Fúamnach says with a raised brow and a smug smirk as Scáthach chuckles.
"Not even then, dear Teacher," The goddess of swift death answers back with her own smirk before looking out the window as her smile slowly fades, "How is he?" she asks, not needing to say who she was talking about.
"You can find out yourself, you know, ask him; he's right downstairs," Fúamnach says, eyeing the god-slayer with a disapproving look.
But Scáthach shanks her head, "I've asked both Albus and the boy's sister to keep it from him; I want it to be a surprise when he needs it the most," she says, not looking back to the woman who taught her the secrets of magic in an age long ago.
Fúamnach was quiet for a moment, her eyes narrowing at her old student, "You haven't told him yet, have you?" she asks, though it sounds more like a statement.
"No," Scáthach answers the rhetorical question as Fúamnach throws her hands in the air in exasperation.
"Dana, Cuidigh liom déithe amaideach agus cinn tribe!" Fúamnach yells before rounding back on her flinching student, "Stupid girl, why have you not told the boy by now!? You, of All gods, should know how dangerous that is; what will happen when the boy finds out from someone else, hm?" She snaps at Scáthach, who shuffles in her seat under her own teacher's fiery glare.
"He won't," Scáthach says weakly, refusing to meet Fúamnach gaze.
"You can not guarantee that Scáthach, it's cra-" Fúamnach tries to argue with her former student, but she is cut off by a glare from the god-slayer and an angry whisper.
"He Won't," Scáthach says in almost a growl, "And don't even think about telling him; besides, it doesn't matter," she says, turning away from her old teacher once more.
"Doesn't…" Fúamnach says, trailing off in disbelief, "Tagann an deireadh linn go léir, tiocfaidh sé don bhuachaill," Fúamnach says with a glare that causes Scáthach to snap back to look at her with a glare of her own.
"And what would you know about that?!" Scáthach snaps at Fúamnach, whose face turns stormy as the golden eyes bleed away to the most matched blue and green as magic, thick and ancient, fills the room.
"Watch it, girl, a god you may be but do not think for one moment I won't rip your bones out for such blatant disrespect," Fúamnach warns her former student, half considering doing it anyway but sighs after a moment before turning to the door and opening it to leave, "Heed the wisdom of your teacher, Little Scáith, tell the boy before it's too late before you miss your chance to tell him yourself, he is, after all, your family and deserves to know it," and after saying her piece, she leaves her former student to her denial of what matters and what doesn't.
Harry Potter, the middle of the Irish Sea.
After Fúamnach had come back to the hot lunch waiting for her, the trio had eaten quickly before using the floo in the three broomsticks to head to Theodore's home, Brí Leíth, which turned out to be a huge ancient tower centered in the middle of the woods, magically modified so a large family could live comfortably in it for centuries, and survive a siege for just as long. Theodore explained that once they got to the ground floor, they would be able to Fea-travel to a coastal town called Arklow, where his family owned a few boats they could take.
The words "Fea-Travel" made Harry pause and look at the other boy like he had lost his mind, and asked him how "Fea-Travel" worked, and Theodore confirmed his worst fears, they were going through the Hedge, a bit more tamed version of them created and maintained by the Irish circles so they wouldn't run into any of the denizens of the lands beyond their own or suffer any ill effects, which didn't ease any of Harry's fears; but it was either that or a six-hour walk because the knight bus didn't come to Ireland. But before they even left, they ran into trouble, for Lucius Malfoy had come calling on Theodore.
As soon as the mismatched eye both saw him, he shut a door in Harry's face, making sure Lucius didn't see him trapping Him, Fúamnach, and Lucius in the same room. Harry pulled out Serpent-Hunter just in case things got out of hand and pressed his ear against the door to the welcoming hall to listen to what they were speaking about.
"Theodore, there you are, my boy," the slimy voice of Lucius Malfoy says with no doubt a false smile.
"How did you get in here, Lord Malfoy?" Theodore asks calmly to his intruder.
"Why you haven't answered my letters, and with a young child all alone, I had feared something may have happened, and with your father and me-" Lucius begins to explain, but Theodore quickly cuts him off, a bit more bite in his voice at the mention of his father.
"As you can see, I am fine," Theodore says sharply, "I am not so inept to be unable to care for myself, and while you do have my apologies for missing your letters, for I have not been in Brí Leíth for the last few weeks, that does not answer my question, how did you get in here, Lord Malfoy?" Theodore demands from the uninvited guest, not mincing his words or sounding polite.
There is a pause from the older man for a moment, "When your father was head of the Nott family, he had some…emergency additions added to the wards for his oldest friends in case they were needed," Lucius supplies, and Harry knew that wasn't going to go over well with Theodore and Harry was right when he hears the soft growl of the from beyond the door.
"Poll coileach dúr," Theodore snaps, "He had no right!" he yells in anger.
"I think you would find he was fully in his right as head of-" but once again, Lucius is cut off by Theodore.
"No, he did not; he married into this family so my mother could have a male heir to inherit the Nott family legacy, not for some pure-blood, inbred bigot to meddle with wards older than his whole family line!" Theodore roars before he hears Theodore turn to who he assumed was Fúamnach, "Lupusregina, remind me to contact a ward master as soon as possible to remove that stain from the wards of the keep," he tells the disguised maid.
"But of course, Master Theodore, I will write to Gringotts at once asking for their help In this matter," Fúamnach says in an almost submissive tone.
"Now, hold on, let's not do anything too hasty here," Harry hears Lucius say as footsteps draw closer, and Harry grips Serpent-Hunter harder.
"This is not hasty, Lord Malfoy," Theodore says, spiting the title like an insult stopping the man midstep, "But a matter of honor, my family's founder laid these wards down over three thousand years ago; I will not let someone like my father spit in her eye by corrupting them," he says, his tone getting colder and sharper as he spoke, "Now, what do you want? And do not start with that worried about me bit because I don't believe it for a second," Theodore says, and Harry could very easily see the boy stand straighter at his words, refusing to be looked down on.
Lucius was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, his voice tight and controlled, "I've come to access the Nott family archives," he says in that stupid "I'm more superior" tone of voice, but Theodore shoots him down quickly.
"Absolutely not," Theodore growls out, "And you are out of your mind if you think I would let you; there are records in there older than written Gaelic," Theodore tells Lucius.
"This isn't for me, boy," Lucius snaps at Theodore, "This is for the true lord of the Isles, our lord, the one who has come to complete Salzar's noble work, so I would suggest you let me in, or else I can not guarantee your safety," he says in a dangerous tone of voice, causing Harry to unfold Gaé Bolg and get ready to burst through the door to help Theodore and finally kill Lucius, but it turns out, he didn't have too.
"I'm sorry," the voice of Fúamnach echoes around the welcoming hall, and down the hall Harry stood in, "But did you just threaten him?" she asks before Lucius snaps at her.
"Quiet girl, I will not be talked to by a servant," Lucius said in a dismissive tone.
"Oh, is that so? Then allow me to introduce myself, Mister Malfoy," She says in a low and dangerous voice, "My name is Lupusregina; I am the Nott Family maid; I do the dishes, I keep the home, and on occasion, when called for, I take out the trash," Fúamnach says, the heels of her shoes clicking on the stone floor as she walked over to Lucius, "And you, Mister Malfoy, are starting to look more and more like trash with every word you speak," she says in a calm voice.
"I will not be-," Lucius tries to say but is quickly cut off by a grunt from him and then a loud slam coming from the other side of the room.
"I will speak to you However I damn well please, boy," Fúamnach says angrily, "and if I ever hear you speak to Master Nott like that again, there is not a god in this world that will stop what I will do to you and your whole miserable bloodline, now leave while I am gracious enough to let you keep your pathetic boot licking life," Fúamnach tells Lucius in a soft and dangerous tone; Lucius didn't stick around for long after that.
After that, it was a quick, if not fear-inducing, trip through the hedge to Arklow harbor before hopping onto one of the oldest-looking boots Harry had ever seen, and with Fúamnach at the helm, wearing a captain hat no less, they had set sail to the last seal they were to release. Theodore looked over the bow of the ship with a glare at the water and a frown etched deep on his face when Harry decided to talk to him.
"You okay?" Harry asks, leaning his back on the railings of the ship next to Theodore.
"Okay is relative, Harry," Theodore says, mimicking Harry just from yesterday with a sigh before rubbing his eyes, "But needless to say, I believe you about Voldemort now," he says as Harry snorts.
"Took you long enough," Harry says with a small grin.
"Well, consider me sold on it now," Theodore says, standing up straight and looking over the Irish Sea and shaking his head, "The disrespect I've faced in the last two days is getting to me, honestly," he admits with a sigh, "First the muggles and there stupid fucking church-" Theodore says before Harry speaks up.
"I've actually been thinking about that," He says, looking over at Theodore, who looks back at him with a raised brow and an angry look at Harry for rudely cutting him off, "So, this is just a crazy idea; so take with a grain of salt but what if some muggle priest or whatever walked over the seal of Lugh and felt something, like, Ya know, his divine jamba juice-"
"Please don't call it that," Theodore says with a groan putting his face into his hands.
"Rude to interrupt Theo," Harry says with a growing grin, "Anyway, he felt Lugh's divine jamba juice and goes," I feel the power of Jeebus, imma build a church here!" Harry yells, waving his arms about in an exaggerated manner as Theodore turns to look at him, his face shifting and twisting through a Myriad of emotions before settling in disgust.
"I hate the fact that makes so much sense," He tells Harry, much to the other boy's amusement.
Harry laughs, "Well, it's a better idea than some guy over a thousand years ago doing it out of spite, huh?" He says with a small smile before elbowing Theodore as the other boy just sighs.
"I guess you're right," Theodore says, shaking his head before looking back out over the ocean, "Say," he says after a moment, "You wouldn't happen to know any ward masters, would you?" Theodore asks, looking over at Harry.
"Do ward breakers count?" Harry asks with a raised brow, and as Theodore nods, Harry smiles a bit more, "Then yeah, I know one," he says, but before he can go into details of the who, Fúamnach yells out to them.
"Land prostitute!" She yells as Theodore groans again before yelling back at Fúamnach.
"It's land HO, HO! You mad woman!"
"I know what I said!"
Harry chuckles at the two of them before turning around to take a good look at where the last seal is, and his face drops.
For of all the places in the Irish Sea that it could have been…
For all the places Harry wished it was and wasn't…
Never did he even consider it was there…
And as the large stone island appeared out of the early afternoon mist, the small hut sitting on top of it, just as he remembered, Harry was sure that fate had a sick sense of humor…
For Harry Potter had returned to where he had gotten his freedom, he had returned to the Hut-on-the-rock…
Chapter over!
And as I said at the top, we return to where it all began. In the next chapter, we will wrap up the summer quest, and Harry heads home with his due rewards, just after we kill some pesky monsters, of course.
That means I'm coming for your ass in the next chapter, Naudha! You better watch out!
Now, I will NOT be answering any questions about what Fúamnach said to Scáthach; I want to leave you all confused and guessing; much more fun that way.
What follows is a commit I posted on AO3 when someone asked if Lugh was going to die from the Gaé Bolg, and I went off on a tangent and never really answered the question but explained a few behind the scene things:
Hmmm, I see. Well, I think it's time I explain how the Gaé Bolg functions in this story because it is obvious that a lot of people didn't read and/or understand the servant sheet I created to explain it. This will also be an explanation of a few things I've touched upon before but never explained because I don't want to hard-lock my story with any rules I could break in the future.
So, before we begin, know two things:
One: these are my thoughts and my thoughts alone on how things work in the universe I am writing and are subject to change if I ever see fit.
Two: this will contain some spoilers, so read at your own risk.
So, let's go down the fucked up rabbit hole that is my mind, huh?
*Rolls out the whiteboard*
Okay, we must first talk about what is the difference between a magical core and a divine core because they are very important to understanding what a Magician is.
A magical core, in simplest terms, is what allows a mortal to use magic. Magic is a semi-primordial force that is one of the fundamental building blocks of the universe, and all living things have it, but only a small percentage of all mortals can use it. A magical core acts as a filter, pulling in the ambient magic of the universe into the core to where it can pass through the mortal to express their will and intent onto the world around them.
All magical cores are the same size, though they can appear in different places in the body, mostly along the chakra points(think the eight gates from Naruto that Lee and Might Guy use); for example, Harry's magical core sits at his sternum while Hermione's sits in her mind, and Ron, his heart.
However, not all magical cores are the same density; the denser the core, the more magic it can filter through, and for longer as well, a core becomes denser the longer the wizard or witch lives, first stabilizing around their 17th birthday, which just means no more accidental magic past that age. However, some witches and wizards go against this known rule, and they have become the most powerful of their age, Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Lily Potter, just to name a few.
But what is a magical core?
That is a bit more complicated than I first let on; think of it as a repository of all memory and experiences that a witch or wizard has been through, reinforcing the core to become as dense as it can be the more a magical human learns and experiences over time, the denser the core comes to be, but there is a bit more to it.
All the way back in Under the Hunters Moon, I talked about why McGonagall didn't believe that Harry had ADHD and Dyslexia because if he did have it, Magic itself would have fixed the problem. That's because, normally, it would, because magic is this living thing much like the divine domains because it is a divine domain, which means every person who has a magic core has a tiny itty bitty sliver of the Divine Domain of Magic in them.
Now, what is a Divine core?
This is once again very simple but very nuanced. A Divine core is what the god/goddess that sired the demigod is and always will be and aparts upon the demigod some portions of the authority over the domains they serve that manifest in their powers and abilities; it is a small piece of their divinity that sits in the shared blood between that god and demigod, that is why everyone told Harry he "Carried a piece of his mother in him."
Now, let me explain what makes a Magician so special on a mechanical level.
Normal mortals, Demigods, and Wizards/witches can not stand the raw power of divinity or the domains, for that overwhelming power could reduce their mortal forms to ash. A Magician, however, technically has two divine cores within them, and with these two cores, they can withstand more divine power than most mortals should be able to, and with the two cores so close together, they begin to mutate to act like one another. The divine core begins to filter magic, and the magic core begins to filter divine energy allowing the Magician to do two very important things. One is the ability to mantle with a god, and the other is the ability to cast a divine form of magic that is based on the divine core; for example, if Harry would cast the killing curse, it would be a divine form of it able to kill divine monsters.
Now, what does any of this have to do with the Gaé Bolg?
Well, if you all remember, Scáthach is a Magician or at least born as one before ascending to godhood. After mastering the Spear, she went out to find someone who could teach her magic, and she did, that witch being Fúamnach, that's right, kids, Fúamnach is Harry's grand-teacher! After learning all she could of battle magic, runes, and curses from Fúamnach and mastering all of it to the same level as her teacher, Scáthach, with the help of Fúamnach and her sister Alofi developed the curse known as the Gaé Bolg.
This curse is one that only certain people can use; Scáthach is one, and so is her twin sister Alofi; Sétanta and Harry are the other two.
The curse *needs* a Magician to use it because it takes both a magician and a divine core to use it at its full power. The curse is strictly a mortal curse; it was created by mortals to use on the divine, and while it won't kill a god outright, it will hurt badly and weaken them greatly.
So, how did Scáthach use it to kill a god? Simple, she Mantled something and used its power to fuel the Gaé Bolg and kill her father with one strike and took from him his domain, his divinity, and his immortality, but we get more into that in this book.
The curse, no matter how dangerous and powerful it is, can not outright kill a god; it can wound them to the point where they are helpless, but not outright kill them.
If that's the case, why are the Tuatha Dé Danann scared of Scáthach?
Well, for two reasons, one: they don't know if she would be able to do it again, and none what to piss her off enough to test that theory.
Two: she can and will kick most of their asses. Scáthach dedicated her mortal life to perfecting the arts of war and single combat to such a point that nothing else mattered to her; she single-mindedly pursued a goal and reached the very heights of what a Magician can do before achieving godhood which pushed that already ridiculous skill cap to an even more ridiculous fucking level. The only ones among the Dé Danann that have a hope of beating her are The Morrígan(Though neither she nor Scáthach truly knows who would win in that fight), Manannán Mac Lir(do to owning Fragarach which is one of the only things in Celtic Myth in this story that surpasses the Gaé Bolg in lethality and just being a master swordsman on Scáthachs level, and yes, those two are fuck buddies), and Naudha(The original king of the Tuatha Dé Danann).
The curse seeks to end life, all life, no matter what life it is. It just so happens that Mortal life is the easiest one to end, so the curse will prioritize mortals over anything else to kill. There are two ways of getting around the backlash; one is being a God, it would hurt, but you wouldn't die.
And the other, is accepting the inevitability of your own demise, which Harry hasn't done yet.
And that concludes my TED Talk, thank you for coming.
Kingsaxcul, Out!